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By Tom Orsborn on Aug 4, 09 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Even though Jon Kitna has looked solid at camp, Wade Phillips said he couldn't imagine ever sending Kitna into a game just because an injury-free Tony Romo got off to a bad start.
To illustrate his confidence in Romo, Phillips pointed to Romo overcoming a club-record tying five interceptions to lead the Cowboys to a 25-24 come-from-behind win over Buffalo in 2007.
"I don't know if you could have a worse start than that game," Philips said. "I believe in Tony. Even if he's having a bad start or having a bad game, he can come back. And he's still better than your backup guy. He's still a better player. He may be having a bad day or an off day, but that doesn't mean he's going to continue that. And we've seen him in a situation where almost any quarterback wouldn't have brought the team back like he did."
"It's like pulling out any player, really, any starter, in fact, any Pro Bowl-type player. You expect him to pull it out and change what's happening."
WFAA Blog
Phillips press conference
5:07 PM Tue, Aug 04, 2009 | Permalink
Ted Madden
E-mail
Notes from Tuesday's presser:
Phillips' dad was at practice, and afterward Phillips said that his dad (Bum Phillips, former Houston Oilers coach) notices a lot of things, and he noticed today that players who weren't actively participating in drills were concentrating on them anyway. That's a good sign.
We had our first fight at practice - after a Bobby Carpenter interception, Jay Ratliff knocked down Marc Colombo, and Colombo popped up and went after him (we'll have that video on tonight at 6, and probably 10). Phillips was asked if he had to bet, would he have thought Ratliff and Colombo would have been the first two involved in a fight at training camp, and he said No. Phillips said Keith Brooking was the most likely candidate to get in the first fight - Phillips basing that on working with Brooking in the past.
More from Phillips
5:12 PM Tue, Aug 04, 2009 | Permalink
Ted Madden
E-mail
Dale is getting into the mix today - two questions from Hansen already (has to be a new record).
Cowboys PR man Rich Dalrymple met with the media at practice today and asked us not to show and talk about it when the Cowboys practice an odd formation (wildcat, for example). The Cowboys don't want opposing coaches to have a chance to see that until the real games start.
Dale asked Phillips whether he thinks that it makes any difference to NFL coaches what we talk about or write about. Philllips response (and probably the highlight of the press conference): "Yeah I don't think anything y'all talk about makes any difference." That got a big laugh from the media in attendence, and Wade cracked himself up too. "We're looking at putting in the triple lindy on offense. And defensively we're either going to do the radar defense or the seven-diamond."
Then he went ahead and gave us a real answer: "Coaches certainly are paranoid a lot of ways in that they're worried about somebody else but I mean, you know, they could send a coach to spy on us every day ... in training camp all these training camps are open. But you don't like too much information to get out and say, hey you're running this and this and this so Tampa Bay's getting ready for it."
Later, Hansen asked whether, if Jon Kitna is the player the Cowboys expect him to be, is Phillips the kind of coach that would ever take his starting quarterback out of a game and replace him because of poor play. Phillips brought up the Buffalo Bills game on Monday night from a couple years ago, when he stuck with Romo despite a horrible game. His faith in Romo was rewarded with a last-minute comeback. Phillips also said that NFL coaches in general stick with their starter because he's a better player than the back-up, so even if he's struggling in a game, he's still the better quarterback.
Even though Jon Kitna has looked solid at camp, Wade Phillips said he couldn't imagine ever sending Kitna into a game just because an injury-free Tony Romo got off to a bad start.
To illustrate his confidence in Romo, Phillips pointed to Romo overcoming a club-record tying five interceptions to lead the Cowboys to a 25-24 come-from-behind win over Buffalo in 2007.
"I don't know if you could have a worse start than that game," Philips said. "I believe in Tony. Even if he's having a bad start or having a bad game, he can come back. And he's still better than your backup guy. He's still a better player. He may be having a bad day or an off day, but that doesn't mean he's going to continue that. And we've seen him in a situation where almost any quarterback wouldn't have brought the team back like he did."
"It's like pulling out any player, really, any starter, in fact, any Pro Bowl-type player. You expect him to pull it out and change what's happening."
WFAA Blog
Phillips press conference
5:07 PM Tue, Aug 04, 2009 | Permalink
Ted Madden
Notes from Tuesday's presser:
Phillips' dad was at practice, and afterward Phillips said that his dad (Bum Phillips, former Houston Oilers coach) notices a lot of things, and he noticed today that players who weren't actively participating in drills were concentrating on them anyway. That's a good sign.
We had our first fight at practice - after a Bobby Carpenter interception, Jay Ratliff knocked down Marc Colombo, and Colombo popped up and went after him (we'll have that video on tonight at 6, and probably 10). Phillips was asked if he had to bet, would he have thought Ratliff and Colombo would have been the first two involved in a fight at training camp, and he said No. Phillips said Keith Brooking was the most likely candidate to get in the first fight - Phillips basing that on working with Brooking in the past.
More from Phillips
5:12 PM Tue, Aug 04, 2009 | Permalink
Ted Madden
Dale is getting into the mix today - two questions from Hansen already (has to be a new record).
Cowboys PR man Rich Dalrymple met with the media at practice today and asked us not to show and talk about it when the Cowboys practice an odd formation (wildcat, for example). The Cowboys don't want opposing coaches to have a chance to see that until the real games start.
Dale asked Phillips whether he thinks that it makes any difference to NFL coaches what we talk about or write about. Philllips response (and probably the highlight of the press conference): "Yeah I don't think anything y'all talk about makes any difference." That got a big laugh from the media in attendence, and Wade cracked himself up too. "We're looking at putting in the triple lindy on offense. And defensively we're either going to do the radar defense or the seven-diamond."
Then he went ahead and gave us a real answer: "Coaches certainly are paranoid a lot of ways in that they're worried about somebody else but I mean, you know, they could send a coach to spy on us every day ... in training camp all these training camps are open. But you don't like too much information to get out and say, hey you're running this and this and this so Tampa Bay's getting ready for it."
Later, Hansen asked whether, if Jon Kitna is the player the Cowboys expect him to be, is Phillips the kind of coach that would ever take his starting quarterback out of a game and replace him because of poor play. Phillips brought up the Buffalo Bills game on Monday night from a couple years ago, when he stuck with Romo despite a horrible game. His faith in Romo was rewarded with a last-minute comeback. Phillips also said that NFL coaches in general stick with their starter because he's a better player than the back-up, so even if he's struggling in a game, he's still the better quarterback.
