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at anything, it was at himself for under-throwing Terrell Owens on that deep ball which was picked off. He said he had been encouraging Owens to jump inside the DB on that route, and Owens finally did, and what does he do, but not get the ball out there.
There were complaints about the Cowboys' punt coverage, some even suggesting guys were loafing downfield, and that was a sure sign the guys weren't ready to play. What no one pointed out, though, was how Keith Davis absorbed a block in the back on the play, sending him flying past Jacoby Jones, whom he surely would have tackled.
There were complaints about the run defense, after giving up just 84 total rushing yards in the first two games, allowing the Texans to go for 142. But as Phillips pointed out, the Cowboys gave up 66 yards rushing in the first half and 46 of those were on that one Ahman Green run when he broke the attempted tackle of Roy Williams six yards in.
"We can go crazy about it, but basically our run front was pretty good . . . there weren't any gashing holes, even on (Green's run)," Phillips said.
Then Wade had to go through those semantics with injuries. First he was challenged on Glenn, who will return to practice on Saturday following his July 31 arthroscopic knee surgery. When Glenn initially had his surgery, his return was projected to be in two to four weeks. Somehow everyone got stuck on the two, not the four. Tuesday was four weeks.
So a little mini-debate raged on that during the Monday press conference, to the point of almost being silly. So at the end of his near 30-minute session, Phillips quipped, "See you in two weeks."
Ha-ha.
Or take Tuesday when quizzed about Gramatica's availability, not just for Thursday's game, but also for practice next week since his kicker explained in Spanish to one of the Spanish-speaking reporters on Monday how he didn't think he'd be able to practice for a while.
Phillips, with a mischievous look in his eye, blurted out "Si."
Or there was Phillips trying to explain how he's been of the mind Greg Ellis has been day-to-day since leaving that first training camp practice complaining of pain in his heel yet having his accuracy challenged.
So when asked if he thought there would be a definitive word on Ellis' availability for the first game after visiting Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedic specialist in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, Phillips dead-panned, "I think he'll be day-to-day."
Definitely not the sign of an uptight coach.
Instead the sign of a head coach who has been around the block a time or two in his previous 30 years of coaching, and guarantee you the exact response that player leaving Reliant Stadium wanted to see. Relaxed. Calm. Composed.
This NFL is game to game, no one game a defining moment unless Game 16 means playoffs or bust.
This NFL maybe even, uh, day to day, just like we all are on this green Earth.
Spagnola: Painful Ending Clouds A Fine Season
Heading into the weekend, lets look back at some positives from the 2022 season, plus a quick look at what we already know going forward.
McCarthy Explains 2023 Outlook for Cowboys
Mike McCarthy is justifiably disappointed in how the season ended, but he also has every right to appreciate the trajectory of the Cowboys roster for 2023 — especially their draft successes.
McCarthy Saw Plenty of "Great Things" From Dak
Dak Prescott had his ups and downs this season from injuries to turnovers along with career milestones and a road playoff win. At the end of the day, head coach Mike McCarthy was pleased with his franchise QB's campaign.
Mailbag: What Made Dan Quinn Stay Again?
Last year, I was surprised Dan Quinn decided to come back. But this year, after the season we just had on defense, I'm truly shocked. Why do you think Quinn wants to be here more than getting back to a head coach?