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http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-phillipsswoon120609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
The sense of defeat was evident even via text message.
As one Dallas Cowboys player sat on the bus going from Giants Stadium to the airport for the latest ugly December flight home, he kept his comments brief when asked about the general state of the team after the ugly 31-24 loss to the archrival New York Giants on Sunday.
“SOS” is all the message read.
When pressed with a simple “?”, the player responded with “Same old [stuff].” Not that the SOS part needed much translation, but the second part of the message told the story.
“Wade: Don’t worry guys, it’s alright,” the player wrote.
For all the things that players love about Phillips (and there are plenty of players throughout his 33-year NFL career who will vouch for him), there is one thing he doesn’t know how to do: Close.
As in close the deal, close a season, finish the race, hit the throttle; whatever it is that has to happen late in a season to separate the good from great.
The loss Sunday was the latest exhibition of Phillips’ inability to have his team ready. Up 17-14 in the third quarter, the Cowboys let this one slip away the same way they let the Baltimore Ravens beat them last season in the final game at Texas Stadium. They allowed a screen pass to Brandon Jacobs(notes) turn into a 74-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, they let punt returner Domenik Hixon(notes) escape at least four tacklers on the way to a 79-yard score.
Brutal. But this is what Phillips has let his career become: good early, bad late.
From September through November, Phillips has been an excellent coach, leading Dallas to a 27-8 record in his three seasons. That’s a 77.1 winning percentage, which is Hall of Fame stuff.
The problem, as it always has been with Phillips, is that December and January escape him as if he were trying to grab a cold wind with his hands. Tack on the loss to the Giants and Phillips is now 3-7 in December and January since inheriting a supremely talented team from Bill Parcells in 2007. That includes a playoff loss to the Giants two seasons ago and four consecutive road losses.
That trend was the same in Phillips’ previous head-coaching stops in Denver (two years) and Buffalo (three). At those two places, Phillips was a combined 35-25 before December, 10-12 afterward. That includes two previous playoff losses in Buffalo, most notably the Music City Miracle loss when Phillips inexplicably started backup quarterback Rob Johnson(notes) instead of Doug Flutie.
It’s as if Phillips is like a great starting pitcher in the closing years of a career, when six or seven innings is as much as he can muster before turning the game over to the pen. Sadly, you can’t call in Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher the way the Yankees used to have Mariano Rivera finish up for Roger Clemens.
Phillips is what he is, an amiable man who happens to be the classic coaching tweener. He’s a great defensive coordinator, so good that it shouldn’t be that big a step to successful head coach. And for the most part, Phillips is a good head coach. At least for 10 months a year.
In a sport where players have to perform as if they are being shot from a cannon, Phillips is a calming influence. He keeps people moving in the right direction, never overreacts and rarely does something that leaves you wondering “Huh?”
But December is a different beast in the NFL. It is the time when great coaches know how to expose nerves and push players beyond their norm. Parcells, who failed to win a playoff game with the Cowboys, did it with pride-wrenching insults. Marv Levy did it with speeches. Jimmy Johnson did it with fear.
Phillips?
“Wade is just a really good guy,” former Buffalo wide receiver Andre Reed said two years ago.
The interesting part is that this is the great opportunity for Phillips. With a good December and an NFC championship game appearance, Phillips could put a lot of pressure on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to give him a contract extension. Another two or three years at $3 million or so a year should be plenty of incentive for Phillips on a personal level.
Likewise, the Cowboys, whose last playoff victory was in 1996, would be wise to pick up the pace for Phillips. Either that or they could be looking at a new coach come late January (Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgren could easily be interested). The problem with that is that new coaches tend to clean house. That could mean plenty of guys with lost jobs.
All good stuff that a great coach might remind his players of at this time of the year.
Instead, Phillips tells his guys not to worry.
Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Updated 12 hours, 12 minutes ago
________________
The dam is starting to leak..
The sense of defeat was evident even via text message.
As one Dallas Cowboys player sat on the bus going from Giants Stadium to the airport for the latest ugly December flight home, he kept his comments brief when asked about the general state of the team after the ugly 31-24 loss to the archrival New York Giants on Sunday.
“SOS” is all the message read.
When pressed with a simple “?”, the player responded with “Same old [stuff].” Not that the SOS part needed much translation, but the second part of the message told the story.
“Wade: Don’t worry guys, it’s alright,” the player wrote.
For all the things that players love about Phillips (and there are plenty of players throughout his 33-year NFL career who will vouch for him), there is one thing he doesn’t know how to do: Close.
As in close the deal, close a season, finish the race, hit the throttle; whatever it is that has to happen late in a season to separate the good from great.
The loss Sunday was the latest exhibition of Phillips’ inability to have his team ready. Up 17-14 in the third quarter, the Cowboys let this one slip away the same way they let the Baltimore Ravens beat them last season in the final game at Texas Stadium. They allowed a screen pass to Brandon Jacobs(notes) turn into a 74-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, they let punt returner Domenik Hixon(notes) escape at least four tacklers on the way to a 79-yard score.
Brutal. But this is what Phillips has let his career become: good early, bad late.
From September through November, Phillips has been an excellent coach, leading Dallas to a 27-8 record in his three seasons. That’s a 77.1 winning percentage, which is Hall of Fame stuff.
The problem, as it always has been with Phillips, is that December and January escape him as if he were trying to grab a cold wind with his hands. Tack on the loss to the Giants and Phillips is now 3-7 in December and January since inheriting a supremely talented team from Bill Parcells in 2007. That includes a playoff loss to the Giants two seasons ago and four consecutive road losses.
That trend was the same in Phillips’ previous head-coaching stops in Denver (two years) and Buffalo (three). At those two places, Phillips was a combined 35-25 before December, 10-12 afterward. That includes two previous playoff losses in Buffalo, most notably the Music City Miracle loss when Phillips inexplicably started backup quarterback Rob Johnson(notes) instead of Doug Flutie.
It’s as if Phillips is like a great starting pitcher in the closing years of a career, when six or seven innings is as much as he can muster before turning the game over to the pen. Sadly, you can’t call in Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher the way the Yankees used to have Mariano Rivera finish up for Roger Clemens.
Phillips is what he is, an amiable man who happens to be the classic coaching tweener. He’s a great defensive coordinator, so good that it shouldn’t be that big a step to successful head coach. And for the most part, Phillips is a good head coach. At least for 10 months a year.
In a sport where players have to perform as if they are being shot from a cannon, Phillips is a calming influence. He keeps people moving in the right direction, never overreacts and rarely does something that leaves you wondering “Huh?”
But December is a different beast in the NFL. It is the time when great coaches know how to expose nerves and push players beyond their norm. Parcells, who failed to win a playoff game with the Cowboys, did it with pride-wrenching insults. Marv Levy did it with speeches. Jimmy Johnson did it with fear.
Phillips?
“Wade is just a really good guy,” former Buffalo wide receiver Andre Reed said two years ago.
The interesting part is that this is the great opportunity for Phillips. With a good December and an NFC championship game appearance, Phillips could put a lot of pressure on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to give him a contract extension. Another two or three years at $3 million or so a year should be plenty of incentive for Phillips on a personal level.
Likewise, the Cowboys, whose last playoff victory was in 1996, would be wise to pick up the pace for Phillips. Either that or they could be looking at a new coach come late January (Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgren could easily be interested). The problem with that is that new coaches tend to clean house. That could mean plenty of guys with lost jobs.
All good stuff that a great coach might remind his players of at this time of the year.
Instead, Phillips tells his guys not to worry.
Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Updated 12 hours, 12 minutes ago
________________
The dam is starting to leak..
