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Fire Wade Phillips Now; Trade Roy Williams Immediately
Congratulations to the New York Giants. To say I am shell shocked is an understatement. Coach Wade Phillips should be fired immediately. He is not a winner in the playoffs. This Dallas Cowboys team, once destined for the Super Bowl, was obviously not prepared to play this game today. The penalties were unbelievable. The defensive line and linebackers played a strong game. The secondary, namely Roy Williams, was disappointing much of the game. Allowing that touchdown seconds before halftime after the Cowboys had a 20-play drive for a game-leading touchdown was one of the most disappointing series I witnessed this year.
I cannot tell you how angry I am with Wade Phillips and his coaching style. I don’t like it. The Landry Hat calls for the promotion of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to head coach. The offensive line fell apart and if Sparano wants to go, too, I say go! How the offensive line seemed to forget how to pass block is unacceptable. Andre Gurode couldn’t even snap the ball to Tony Romo correctly.
Romo was under a ton of pressure in the second half. In fact, it is the most pressure he has seen all year. When the defense stopped the Giants, and gave the offense the ball back with 1:50 left in the game, it was that Giants pressure that won the game.
Romo….there will be a lot of talk this offseason if he truly is the answer. He is now 0-2 in playoff games. At the end of the game, sans the flip to Jason Witten, Romo overthrew players and missed a few open receivers. Then, there are the dropped passed, chiefly by Patrick Crayton and Anthony Fasano, both of which appeared to be easy seven points. There are plenty of what-ifs, but I will say the biggest play of the game was Fasano’s drop at the endzone. That field goal was the last time we scored. Romo was 18-36 for 202 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception at the end of the game.
“It’s tough to beat someone three times in a year and we didn’t end up doing it. Really I thought the touchdown before the half is the one that really hurt, ” Phillips said at the post game press conference. “I am disappointed over all. It was 14-14 at the half and we still had a chance to win. We could have held them to field goals instead of touchdowns. That’s what they did to us.”
On the distractions and if they affected the players:
“No, I thought we moved the ball well. We played aggressive. We ran the ball better,” Phillips said.
“We didn’t coach well to win, we didn’t play well to win, that’s the bottom line.”
Amen, Phillips. You hit the nail on the coffin. You’re fired.
Romo didn’t even make sense in the beginning of his post game interview. All I got from him was : “It hurts.” Yeah, Tony…it does hurt. It hurts bad. We felt this pain last year with you. And we are feeling it worse now. As Romo’s interview continued, I heard a lot of excuses from him. Enough!!!
But he was asked some pretty good questions later on:
1. You may have lost some fans with this game. What do you have to do to get them back?
“Next question,” Romo quickly replied as he shook his head. “We have a strong fan base and they love us. … I will take the blame and I will take the criticism here. That is why we are put in those positions. People are either going to enjoy watching you play and root for you or they are not. All I can do is work as hard as I can and try my best.”
2. Any regrets?
“I don’t live with regrets,” Romo said. “I’m content in my own skin. … I don’t think I will be reading or listening to anything for awhile. That’s just kinda how I operate.”
Terrell Owens had one of the most emotional closing interviews I have ever seen from a Cowboy. First off, T.O. deserves a lot of respect for his work ethic. He recovered from a high-ankle sprain because of his work ethic. He’s not the same player that he was in Philly or even last year. He’s a better person and a better player. I respect him. His tearful postgame interview is evidence that he cares about the game, his at teammates and about winning.
“We came up short today, but we’re still a team. No one person lost this game. We’ve got to give all the credit to the Giants. They came in here and they got the win,” Owens said.
Missed opportunities at the end?
“You just can’t pinpoint that last drive,” Owens said.
Owens then attacked the media for the controversy it spurred with the team. I am sure this will be replayed all season long.
“This is not about Tony,” Owens said. “You guys can point the finger at him. You guys can talk about the vacation. But if you do that, it is really unfair. That is my teammate. That is my quarterback and if you guys do that it is unfair. We lost it as a team. We lost it as a team, man,” Owens said, tears flowing down his face.
“This loss hurts. This loss hurts, because I know this team is dedicated and put in a lot of hard work to get where we are. We didn’t execute. We knew in order to win this game we had to put some points on the board and we didn’t do that.”
Disbelief? Did you feel this team was destined to get to the Super Bowl?
“I know we were and we didn’t make enough plays,” Owens said. “And it is really a shame on our part. We had the talent on this team.”
Continuing on, the Cowboys should trade Roy Williams. He just is an overrated safety. He can’t cover anyone. And he’s not even a good hitter anymore. Get rid of him.
Marion Barber needs to be signed immediately but it’s obvious he is not a full-time back. The Cowboys need to draft a running back in the first round of the draft. The Cowboys also need a corner or two in this draft.
Now a bit of honesty: I honestly had a feeling this was going to happen. I tried to use bravado for those three weeks up to this game. I’ve learned a lot blogging about this season and I think next year you will see a different Landry Hat. I’m not kidding either. Even with a 13-3 season, I don’t think any true Cowboys fan like myself ever really felt 100 percent confident like a Patriots fan feels. A lot crumbled over the last month and a half of the season and I tried to ignore it. I won’t do that anymore.
I actually felt sick in the stomach for the first time ever as a Cowboys fan. I didn’t feel like this past year when Romo fumbled that snap. There was just something about this game, the closeness of it, and how it ended that just made me queasy. I won’t supplicate for your condolences. I expect a lot of painful trash talking coming my way at this blog. I will prepare myself for it. I hope this week to have a couple of video blogs posted for a new addition for my readers. Of course, I will be masked to hide my true identity because it’s fun that way.
Coming all next week will be MOCK DRAFTS. Dallas Cowboys fans, we need to move on.
Remember how you feel right now. Now imagine how you’d feel if Dave wrote an article saying that your team cheated and played dirty in that playoff loss. That’s what you did to the Redskins a week ago, which is why I kind of went off on you. I hope this gives you a little perspective. I can’t say I’m sorry that your team lost because I’m not, but I’ll try not to rub it in TOO much. Here’s hoping the Giants go down next week!
January 13th, 2008 at 7:40 pmSorry about the loss. The Cowboys seemed to be in the same funk they had been in during the last few games of the regular season. Welcome to the waiting for next year for the rest of us.
January 13th, 2008 at 7:59 pmDoes T.O. think he’s running in the New Hampshire primary?
January 13th, 2008 at 8:18 pmSorry Dan, of course its been 6 years since Miami was in the playoffs so I really can’t remember how you feel…but I will say this, Romo looked good and was the benefactor of piss poor play from his center and untimely dropped balls, I think next year, the rest of the team should be going to Cabo to relax….but i suspect that Romo will not be passing Jess around though…:) Hang in there….could be worse, you could have the 1st overall pick…because you earned it…LOL
January 13th, 2008 at 8:29 pmI’m not understanding why you want to fire Wade Phillips? It sounds like a little reactionary rant to get yourself some attention. If you want Wade out tell us why. What specifically did Wade do as head man that didn’t make sense today. If you want to fire Wade, at least cite some grievances. Otherwise, it just sounds like a childish post.And ghenna, I second what you wrote.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:34 pmRyan, I was pretty clear, but I will restate it: This team was not prepared. A coach prepares his team to win. A Head coach manages the other coaches. A Head coach runs tape and finds holes and capitalizes those holes. I am not trying to drive attention to myself. I never wanted Phillips as coach. I didn’t want Garrett, either (as head coach) but I will take him now. I don’t like Wade’s coaching style (I said that in my post) and I think the Cowboys need a hard nosed coach. We were outcoached!
January 13th, 2008 at 8:46 pmSecondly, Ryan, I don’t see this post as a rant. Not at all. I pointed out some very serious problems with the Dallas Cowboys, and I blame that on the head coach. I also call for the trade of Roy Williams who is the most overrated safety in the NFL. I am tired of his inability to cover receivers.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:49 pmFir e Wade Phillips and promote Jason Garrett? I’m sorry, but Red Ball’s suspect play calling was the deciding factor in this game. In the first half we fed off of MB3’s running, in the second we repeatedly tried to get the big play and it cost us (remember, the Giants expected this to happen). Jason is a great coach, but he still needs to learn patience. Watch the way the Pats played O last night comapred to the way we did today. The reason they are great is that they can win with what the D gives ‘em. Today we were too busy trying to hit home runs against a team that was only 4 points up on us.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:38 pmI know it hurts, Dan. In fact I know it hurts more than if I rubbed it in which is why I’m not going to try. But I actually think you guys played a good game and just lost to a team that played a little bit better. There really isn’t any shame in this. I do think they ought to take Gurode’s ticket to Hawaii away from him, but otherwise, you played well for most of the game. The biggest mistake in the game seemed to be getting away from the run which is probably Garrett’s fault just as much as Wade’s. Before you fire anyone, consider the fact that your ideal replacement is just as culpable.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:06 pm<img src="http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2042/simpsownedyn7.jpg">
January 13th, 2008 at 10:59 pmhttp://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2042/simpsownedyn7.jpg
January 13th, 2008 at 11:00 pmhuge loss. it seems with that loss, things suddenly do not look well for the Cowboys. Their roster ages 10 years. You feel the window slam shut ?
January 14th, 2008 at 4:41 amWhat happened to the team in the last month and a half? They were not sharp Sunday. On offense players looked like at times that they didn’t even know where to line up. Got to figure some of the pass route wre run the same way. The first Giant touchdown the tackling (attempted tackling that is) looked like a bad high school team. The Giant drive just before the half was the same. Center was not snapping ball on timing, absolute silly unnecessary personal foul penalty Davis IE piling on Strahan. The second half The Cowboy coaches were outcoached badly. The Giants made changes that worked the Cowboys didn’t. Something changed. What
January 14th, 2008 at 7:02 amRojomark, I will address your good questions in a post.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:06 amAfter reviewing my comments I have decided that the Cowboys must have a lot of talent to overcome that many mental as well as physical mistakes and only lose by as close a margin as they did. That is also what is redassy about the whole thing
January 14th, 2008 at 9:18 amLandryHat, you say the Cowboys were outcoached, I’m asking for specifics. Just because a team loses doesn’t necessarilly mean it was outcoached. For most of the year many Cowboys fans praised Phillips for bringing a different demeanor to the sidelines than Parcells had. Many writers pointed to this as a reason Romo and TO were gelling. Saying a team is under prepared is just hyperbole. Where’s the beef to back that up?
January 14th, 2008 at 10:52 amRyan, I am assuming you missed the game if you are asking me why I think the Cowboys were outcoached? Or maybe you are just trying to pull more info out of me for another post. But I think I’ve clearly provided reasons why I think there needs to be some changes with the coaches.
But, for your sake, let me provide you with just a few specifics:
1. Laid back casual Cabo style. I don’t like it. I think Coach Phillips is too laid back, too quiet, too accepting. For the third time, I am saying it is a coaches job to prepare his players. 11 penalties tells me the players were not mentally prepared for this game. Penalities are usually caused by poor practicing.
2. Playcalling. If Phillips has any control over the plays, he needs to seriously re-evaluate the playbook. I was specific in my reasoning in the last post. I don’t want to go over it again.
3. Coach Wade Phillips is in charge of the coaching staff. He did nothing to get the game back in order. I didn’t see him counseling players much. I didn’t see him counseling his staff much or changing the playcalling around. Why? He went into that game with a plan and he didn’t change that plan once he saw it wasn’t working. That’s not a coach I want.
4. He is 0-4 in the playoffs now. I am sorry, but that is not a good statistic for a Coach of the Cowboys. Phillips was coach in Buffalo with the Music City Miracle disaster and he is coach of the Cowboys with the 47 second Giants drive before the half expired.
5. I don’t care that many writers pointed to Phillips laid back style as the reason this offense glided. It didn’t glide in the last five games. I don’t blame the players for that because most of us fans who watched every game saw something seriously wrong with the playcalling. The game plan stayed the same from week 1 to week 17. That’s not the players. That’s the coaches.
So maybe Phillips is the one who stays. Maybe not. But I am 100 percent sure of my statement that some changes in the coaching staff need to be made. I’d start with defensive coordinator Brian Stewart if Jerry Jones wants to keep Phillips.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:26 amMy comments are made because the one think I don’t like about blogs is how reactionary they can be. Everyone is frustrated. Five weeks ago I thought our Boys would be a Super Bowl team. I just don’t think firing a coach who went 13-3 is the answer. Bill Belichick is a reserved kind of guy like Phillips. I will say I didn’t like the hire of Wade at the beginning of the year. But he turned this team into a juggernaut. A lot of things happened since then. The players got over confident. The media and blogs, including this one, served as a distraction with the whole Jessica Simpson stuff. You have a right to your opinion and I have mine. I can’t blame Wade for this loss. Had Patrick Crayton caught that one deep slant after Romo scrambled, we’d be getting ready to host Green Bay. I put this loss on the players. It’s not Wade’s fault Crayton sucked and it’s not Wade’s fault our center forgot how to snap.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:52 amRyan, I understand you. I hear what you are saying. But blogs are commentary, and reactionary. That’s part of what we do. I used a lot of slapstick all year to make this place a bit different that some of the other popular Cowboys blogs. Thanks for expressing yourself here. I respect what you have to say and it makes sense. But I do think some major changes in coaching need to happen fast. If not Wade, then who?
January 14th, 2008 at 11:56 amAfter further review I will have to give the defense some credit. The second half they only allowed one touchdown. Then in the last 5 minutes when it was absolutly necessary if the Cowboys were to have any chance they held the Giants to 3 and a punt to get the ball back for the offense in fair field position
January 15th, 2008 at 8:21 amJust a heart-breaking game. Hardest loss to watch ever in my 30 plus years as a Cowboys fan. I am still not over it. I have been a zombie here at work. I feel like I need the week off to recover. I am depressed. Help me
January 15th, 2008 at 8:48 amMaybe the second hardest for me. I am still not completly over the Ice Bowl Game. KRAMER WAS OFFSIDES
January 15th, 2008 at 9:41 amThe best advice is to reform your evil ways. Stop cheering for the Cowboys and you won’t be corrupted by the dark side. Renounce the Cowboys! Join the forces of good! It’ll make you feel good! All the cool kids are doing it!
January 15th, 2008 at 9:42 am