Time to give Phillips some credit for Cowboys' success
By Scott Garbarini, Sports Network
The Sports Network
Wade Phillips has never had the genius label bestowed upon him like some of his contemporaries within the coaching profession, partly because he doesn't use big words when he speaks or seems to take himself overly seriously. But it's clear that the native Texan's easygoing and jovial style has made a positive impact in his first season as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach.
For those who chalk up Dallas' 2007 success solely as a product of superior talent over its competition (call it the "Barry Switzer" principle), consider these facts before completely dismissing Phillips' contributions:
The Cowboys are 9-1 after 10 games for the first time since 1983. That's a record Bill Parcells, a man with credentials beyond reproach who's someday headed to the Hall of Fame, never achieved during his four seasons in Big D. Neither did Jimmy Johnson during his wildly-successful reign in the early '90's.
And with a victory over the lowly New York Jets on Thanksgiving, Dallas can achieve its first 10-1 start in the franchise's storied history.
"To me, that's something," said Phillips on Monday during his weekly press conference. "To make history on a team that's historical and has done all the great things they've done."
There's no denying that the Cowboys do possess plenty of outstanding players whose performances have been greatly responsible for the team's current position. But one mark of a good coach is his ability to get the most of those players, and Phillips has certainly been able to do that in his short time at the helm.
Take Terrell Owens, for instance. While the attention-seeking wide receiver's on-field achievements over the past few years has remained at a high level, it's often been counterproductive due to a well-deserved reputation of creating locker-room disharmony.
Phillips has managed to keep the mercurial Owens happy and motivated, and the veteran wideout has rewarded his new coach by putting together his best season in years.
Owens amassed his fourth consecutive 100-yard outing in this past Sunday's matchup with the Washington Redskins, racking up 173 yards on eight catches. Most importantly, he scored a career-high four touchdowns to provide the difference in the Cowboys' 28-23 win.
The five-time All-Pro is on pace for a 19-touchdown campaign, which would easily better his personal best of 16 scores set while with San Francisco during the 2000 season.
Dallas' nine victories have already matched its 2006 regular-season total under Parcells, even though the Cowboys have mostly the same personnel as last year. Guard Leonard Davis and free safety Ken Hamlin were the only two current starters brought in during the offseason, while the club's second-leading receiver a year ago, Terry Glenn, has yet to play this season due to knee surgery.
"I think it starts with Wade and it works its way down," said Owens. "Within this locker room you can get a feel for what we have here, and I think it's special."
Further enhancing Phillips' resume is the noticeable drop-off his former team, the San Diego Chargers, has had on defense since he left his post as the unit's coordinator over the winter.
The Chargers rank just 25th in total yards allowed and 23rd in rushing defense so far this season after finishing 13th and seventh, respectively, in those categories last year.
OWENS UNSTOPPABLE
Owens became the first Cowboy receiver to score four touchdowns in one game since Bob Hayes accomplished the feat against the Houston Oilers on December 20, 1970. The 33-year-old also went over 1,000 yards for the season with his monster game, the eighth time he has reached the mark during his illustrious career.
Over his last four games, Owens has racked up an astounding 575 yards and eight touchdowns on 31 receptions. He has scored at least once in five consecutive contests.
"I'm just playing kind of out of my mind right now," Owens stated. "I can only attribute that to the success that we're having as a team."
Owens also made a play on the defensive end. Inserted in the secondary to defend a last-second Hail Mary try by Washington, the 6-foot-3 wideout swatted Redskin quarterback Jason Campbell's heave into the end zone out of bounds.
Tony Romo also had another terrific game on Sunday, as the standout quarterback threw for 293 yards on 22-of-32 passing along with the four scoring strikes to Owens. The former undrafted free agent now has fired 27 touchdown passes on the season, leaving him just two shy of tying Danny White's club record for that category.
BE-WARE THE PASS RUSH
Sunday wasn't a banner performance by the Dallas defense, which was lit up for 361 net passing yards by the normally run-based Redskins. The group was able to come up with some key stops in the second half, however, the most important of which being cornerback Terence Newman's interception of Campbell with 1:39 left to play after Washington had drove inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line.
Dallas came up with another turnover with the Redskins in enemy territory earlier in the game. On Washington's opening drive of the third quarter, linebacker DeMarcus Ware sacked Campbell and stripped the ball free, with end Chris Canty recovering the fumble to halt the scoring threat.
The Redskins held a 10-7 lead at the time of Ware's big play.
The sack was Ware's team-leading ninth of the season, a number which trails only New England's Mike Vrabel and Kansas City's Jared Allen for tops in the league. Both Vrabel and Allen have 9 1/2 sacks. The 2006 Pro Bowl selection also ranks third among Cowboys with 59 tackles.
"I've never seen an outside linebacker make as many plays as he does," said Phillips. "Inside linebacker, sure. But he gets in on so many plays -- running plays, pass plays, knocking the quarterback down, running him out of the pocket, all those things."
JETS FLY IN FOR THANKSGIVING
Dallas will host its annual Thanksgiving Day game this Thursday, with the New York Jets serving as the opponent. Eric Mangini's club will be coming in off probably the best moment of an otherwise disappointing season, as the Jets posted just their second victory of the year with a hard-fought 19-16 overtime upset over AFC North-leading Pittsburgh this past Sunday.
The Cowboys have won six of eight lifetime meetings with the Jets, including a 17-6 decision at the Meadowlands in 2003. New York did come through with a 22-21 win in their most recent visit to Texas Stadium, which took place on December 19, 1999. Parcells was head coach of the Jets at the time.
The Sports Network
Wade Phillips has never had the genius label bestowed upon him like some of his contemporaries within the coaching profession, partly because he doesn't use big words when he speaks or seems to take himself overly seriously. But it's clear that the native Texan's easygoing and jovial style has made a positive impact in his first season as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach.
For those who chalk up Dallas' 2007 success solely as a product of superior talent over its competition (call it the "Barry Switzer" principle), consider these facts before completely dismissing Phillips' contributions:
The Cowboys are 9-1 after 10 games for the first time since 1983. That's a record Bill Parcells, a man with credentials beyond reproach who's someday headed to the Hall of Fame, never achieved during his four seasons in Big D. Neither did Jimmy Johnson during his wildly-successful reign in the early '90's.
And with a victory over the lowly New York Jets on Thanksgiving, Dallas can achieve its first 10-1 start in the franchise's storied history.
"To me, that's something," said Phillips on Monday during his weekly press conference. "To make history on a team that's historical and has done all the great things they've done."
There's no denying that the Cowboys do possess plenty of outstanding players whose performances have been greatly responsible for the team's current position. But one mark of a good coach is his ability to get the most of those players, and Phillips has certainly been able to do that in his short time at the helm.
Take Terrell Owens, for instance. While the attention-seeking wide receiver's on-field achievements over the past few years has remained at a high level, it's often been counterproductive due to a well-deserved reputation of creating locker-room disharmony.
Phillips has managed to keep the mercurial Owens happy and motivated, and the veteran wideout has rewarded his new coach by putting together his best season in years.
Owens amassed his fourth consecutive 100-yard outing in this past Sunday's matchup with the Washington Redskins, racking up 173 yards on eight catches. Most importantly, he scored a career-high four touchdowns to provide the difference in the Cowboys' 28-23 win.
The five-time All-Pro is on pace for a 19-touchdown campaign, which would easily better his personal best of 16 scores set while with San Francisco during the 2000 season.
Dallas' nine victories have already matched its 2006 regular-season total under Parcells, even though the Cowboys have mostly the same personnel as last year. Guard Leonard Davis and free safety Ken Hamlin were the only two current starters brought in during the offseason, while the club's second-leading receiver a year ago, Terry Glenn, has yet to play this season due to knee surgery.
"I think it starts with Wade and it works its way down," said Owens. "Within this locker room you can get a feel for what we have here, and I think it's special."
Further enhancing Phillips' resume is the noticeable drop-off his former team, the San Diego Chargers, has had on defense since he left his post as the unit's coordinator over the winter.
The Chargers rank just 25th in total yards allowed and 23rd in rushing defense so far this season after finishing 13th and seventh, respectively, in those categories last year.
OWENS UNSTOPPABLE
Owens became the first Cowboy receiver to score four touchdowns in one game since Bob Hayes accomplished the feat against the Houston Oilers on December 20, 1970. The 33-year-old also went over 1,000 yards for the season with his monster game, the eighth time he has reached the mark during his illustrious career.
Over his last four games, Owens has racked up an astounding 575 yards and eight touchdowns on 31 receptions. He has scored at least once in five consecutive contests.
"I'm just playing kind of out of my mind right now," Owens stated. "I can only attribute that to the success that we're having as a team."
Owens also made a play on the defensive end. Inserted in the secondary to defend a last-second Hail Mary try by Washington, the 6-foot-3 wideout swatted Redskin quarterback Jason Campbell's heave into the end zone out of bounds.
Tony Romo also had another terrific game on Sunday, as the standout quarterback threw for 293 yards on 22-of-32 passing along with the four scoring strikes to Owens. The former undrafted free agent now has fired 27 touchdown passes on the season, leaving him just two shy of tying Danny White's club record for that category.
BE-WARE THE PASS RUSH
Sunday wasn't a banner performance by the Dallas defense, which was lit up for 361 net passing yards by the normally run-based Redskins. The group was able to come up with some key stops in the second half, however, the most important of which being cornerback Terence Newman's interception of Campbell with 1:39 left to play after Washington had drove inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line.
Dallas came up with another turnover with the Redskins in enemy territory earlier in the game. On Washington's opening drive of the third quarter, linebacker DeMarcus Ware sacked Campbell and stripped the ball free, with end Chris Canty recovering the fumble to halt the scoring threat.
The Redskins held a 10-7 lead at the time of Ware's big play.
The sack was Ware's team-leading ninth of the season, a number which trails only New England's Mike Vrabel and Kansas City's Jared Allen for tops in the league. Both Vrabel and Allen have 9 1/2 sacks. The 2006 Pro Bowl selection also ranks third among Cowboys with 59 tackles.
"I've never seen an outside linebacker make as many plays as he does," said Phillips. "Inside linebacker, sure. But he gets in on so many plays -- running plays, pass plays, knocking the quarterback down, running him out of the pocket, all those things."
JETS FLY IN FOR THANKSGIVING
Dallas will host its annual Thanksgiving Day game this Thursday, with the New York Jets serving as the opponent. Eric Mangini's club will be coming in off probably the best moment of an otherwise disappointing season, as the Jets posted just their second victory of the year with a hard-fought 19-16 overtime upset over AFC North-leading Pittsburgh this past Sunday.
The Cowboys have won six of eight lifetime meetings with the Jets, including a 17-6 decision at the Meadowlands in 2003. New York did come through with a 22-21 win in their most recent visit to Texas Stadium, which took place on December 19, 1999. Parcells was head coach of the Jets at the time.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:31 PM
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