Yahoo Sports: Familiar December dud (player texted " SOS" from team bus)

[DFWJC]

I read this in the Sproting News online today. They have a point, imo.

"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Observations from the Meadowlands, where the Giants saved their season by beating the Cowboys 31-24.

1. The beginning of a potential December swoon may seem like the biggest concern for the Cowboys, but Sunday's loss may speak more to their inability to beat decent teams. Dallas is 7-0 against teams currently .500 or below and 1-4 against winning teams. So if they fall to San Diego, New Orleans and Philadelphia later this season, it's not because of the calendar -- it's because they can't beat good teams.

2. It may be difficult with his job on the line, but Cowboys coach Wade Phillips needs to take the team's chronic December problems with a grain of salt. He seemed aggravated with questions on the topic. "I don't think it's a mental block," Phillips said. "I think it's something you made up. You said something about Tony [Romo] hadn't lost a game in November. Well, we lost one in November." Phillips might as well let go and try to have fun with the rest of the season, even if his job is on the line. If he tightens up, it's not going to help his team.

 

[links18]

I'm not here saying Wade is a great coach. I barely consider him a decent one.

We didn't lose that game yesterday because of Wade Phillips. They can't tackle. It's a football basic, and they can't do it. Spencer was totally out of position on the Jacobs play. Wade can't be on the field telling him what to do. There's a point where a coach can only do so much. Wade isn't free of blame, but he's not the major reason we lost. Not even close.

And as the Senior Project Manager, I can't sit with the Data Processors when they are running the data book, but you better believe if there is a mistake when it gets to the client, I am the one that is going to be responsible.

AHH, there is a disconnect in this argument somewhere.

 

[jobberone]

We lost that game on two big plays. Take those two plays away and we probably win that game. We dominated TOP. Our QB was hot.

I can't take away the good plays by the Giants on those plays and to their credit it was enough to win the game despite being nearly dominated. And I can't take away from the poor play that allowed those two plays.

But to blame Jerry and Wade for one loss is asinine.

 

[utrunner07]

We lost that game on two big plays. Take those two plays away and we probably win that game. We dominated TOP. Our QB was hot.

I can't take away the good plays by the Giants on those plays and to their credit it was enough to win the game despite being nearly dominated. And I can't take away from the poor play that allowed those two plays.

But to blame Jerry and Wade for one loss is asinine.

I doubt anyone is blaming Jerry for this ONE loss.

 

[kramskoi]

who on this team had the audacity to be texting stupid stuff that should REMAIN in the lockeroom!

...it is no doubt a veteran player who's probably been with the team since at least 2006...

...and here we are again...disgruntled players with loose lips so-to-speak...

...my personal view of the situation is this:

...my wife by nature is an optimist, quick to diffuse a situation with a positive outlook to restore calm and order...conflict is her kryptonite and she shuts down...

...i am, by nature, a pessimist/realist and i'm always looking at the potential for problems pretty far down the road...i think that sometimes "we must storm", ala Shakespeare, not merely sit still and boil in the stew of our own making...as a result it becomes rather unnerving to me sometimes being forced to deny my instincts in the interest of keeping the peace...what happens is that problems that should be confronted wind up being neglected to the point that a confrontation manifests itself anyways...

...in that locker-room i'm sure that there are players that are experiencing this dynamic and they need to vent it any way they can...the ones who want to "storm" likely feel shackled by the hierarchy of the team and they're beginning to resign themselves to a fate they feel is beyond their control...the stuff of December collapses, the stuff of players meetings...they likely feel that making their feelings public will be viewed as undermining the locker-room and creating a distraction...

...to quote Jimmy Johnson...nobody has a hammer and especially not Phillips...if nobody says anything, the team will sleepwalk into oblivion as in years past...but who's going to grab this team by the scruff of the neck and shout "follow me"?...i wish i knew the answer to that question...

...the dog days of December are upon them now and the breach once again awaits them with an array of enemies who appear more focused, desperate and mentally tough...and lately these are the games that the Cowboys have been finding ways to lose...

 

[links18]

We lost that game on two big plays. Take those two plays away and we probably win that game. We dominated TOP. Our QB was hot.

I can't take away the good plays by the Giants on those plays and to their credit it was enough to win the game despite being nearly dominated. And I can't take away from the poor play that allowed those two plays.

But to blame Jerry and Wade for one loss is asinine.

There were a lot more than just 2 plays.

 

[ravidubey]

But to blame Jerry and Wade for one loss is asinine.

You don't get it.

Dallas lost because the defense and ST's repeatedly couldn't stop multiple big plays of 16 yards or more. Those plays happened because the Giants players held their blocks longer. They wanted it more.

Why did the Giants play hard for each other like a team should in a must-win situation? Because their coach was able to motivate them to respond that way.

The Dallas head coach can't... it's not his fault, he's just missing a vital piece of what it takes to be a HC in the NFL. Why is he in charge, then?

Because Jerry Jones acting as GM either has no clue what a real NFL head coach should be like, has no idea how to find one if he does, or refuses to hire one because he would feel threatened.

Jones bizarrely felt the Cowboys needed a 3-4 defensive coordinator to run the entire team and hired Phillips, but not before hiring other members of his staff, immediately undermining Phillips' authority and re-establishing the puppet perception.

Coaches need balls to run an NFL team, Wade has none. Coaches need authority to use the balls they have, but the Cowboys coach will never have that authority because of Jones.

We as fans are stuck with this situation for the foreseeable future. When Wade is fired, another puppet will take his place. Take a good look at the Raiders-- that is our future once the talent Parcells cultivated inevitably declines.

 

[Alexander]

Those plays happened because the Giants players held their blocks longer. They wanted it more.

Just wanted to point this out for emphasis.

 

[RoadRunner]

What do you want him to tell them? Wow, you guys suck.. you won't win again this year??

If I was the coach, I would have said pretty much the same thing. We lost, but its ok, still 4 games to go, we are still in 1st place. We have to get things corrected and win the remaining games, but we are ok.

I don't understand why what he said is bothering people.

If I was the coach I would have gone Sgt. Hartman on the team after that game. I would have kicked tables over, and benched some guys. I would be threatening cuts for the next idiot that makes a stupid mistake to cost us a game. Basically, I would have done what Jimmy Johnson would do in this situation.

 

[RoadRunner]

Give me a break. He can't make them make a tackle. If they miss it, that's solely the players fault. Is Wade responsible for teaching them how to tackle correctly? Is it his responsibility to tell Spencer not to be so slow? Spencer blew the coverage. That's no fault of Wade's. Spencer knew what he had to do, but blew it.

Sure as hell he can make them tackle by having the team practice it, and NO MORE CUPCAKE DAYS OFF. This team can't tackle well because they don't practice the fundamentals.

 

[Joe Realist]

I e-mailed the writer, Jason Cole, but he said he would not identify the player any more than he already has. I had asked him if he would be willing to say if an offensive or defensive player. Who knows, maybe he will join this site.

 

[Cover 2]

I e-mailed the writer, Jason Cole, but he said he would not identify the player any more than he already has. I had asked him if he would be willing to say if an offensive or defensive player. Who knows, maybe he will join this site.

If he were to identify the player he would lose all his sources. Nobody would trust him with anything ever again.

 

[Joe Realist]

If he were to identify the player he would lose all his sources. Nobody would trust him with anything ever again.

I know that. I wanted to see if he would be willing to say what side of the ball it came from.

 

[Cover 2]

I know that. I wanted to see if he would be willing to say what side of the ball it came from.

He probably won't want to give clues out that could eventually reveal the source. And even he did say which side of the ball the player was from, they might not trust him with anymore stories, because they don't want to take ANY chances that their identity would be revealed.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Just wanted to point this out for emphasis.

:laugh2:

 

[DallasEast]

He probably won't want to give clues out that could eventually reveal the source. And even he did say which side of the ball the player was from, they might not trust him with anymore stories, because they don't want to take ANY chances that their identity would be revealed.

This isn't a ultrasecret conspiracy. If Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, Wade Phillips, etc., wished to learn the source's identity, they could easily find out. They may already know.

In this particular situation, the importance of the source's anonymity is too small to measure. What's the worse that could happen? Phillips demonstrated on HBO's Hard Knocks how he 'anguished' over cutting players he didn't believe could play for his team. Now we are to assume that he going to go ballistic over knowing who Deep Throat is on his team? A guy he believes can play on his team?

If his name were known, the rest of the league would probably respond by saying, "We already knew that. What's the big deal"? Some so-called journalists twist the integrity of journalism far too tightly by protecting the identities of sources who do not need protection and for their own 'professional' careers.