Tag: Wade Phillips (Page 4 of 8)

      What’s next for Romo, Phillips?

      January 17, 2010 /

      If recent history was any indication, a Cowboy postseason defeat was inevitable. They had played well throughout December and had gotten the playoff monkey off their backs with a first round rout over the Eagles last week. It figures that Tony Romo and Wade Phillips were due to fail, which they did in Dallas’ 34-3 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.

      Romo didn’t play well today, but blame could hardly be put solely on his shoulders. He was under constant pressure because his offensive linemen couldn’t block a statue and he also received little to no help from his running game. That said, there was no excuse for him to turn the ball over three times. His fumble in the second quarter set up a Vikings’ field goal and his brutal interception late in the second half sealed any comeback attempt by the Cowboys.

      The turnovers didn’t help, but what killed the Cowboys most of all was the fact that they couldn’t finish off drives. Several times throughout the game Romo led Dallas into Minnesota territory and failed to generate points. Of course, if the Cowboys had anything resembling a kicker they would have sported more than a field goal on the scoreboard. Shaun Suisham missed two field goals and essentially sealed his fate in Dallas this offseason.

      As for Phillips, there’s not much more he could have done in terms of play calling. His defense just failed to execute and the big play doomed them in the end. Phillips was able to drum up some pressure and Dallas did a great job containing Adrian Peterson, but they couldn’t come up with that big stop to turn the momentum in their favor.

      The question now becomes: Will Jerry Jones keep the combination of Romo and Phillips in the offseason? There’s no doubt that the ‘Boys failed to live up to Jones’ expectations, but Romo and Phillips each turned in a great season. I would have to imagine that Romo will be around in 2010, but there’s no guarantee for Phillips. People said he had to win a playoff game to keep his job, and he did that. But after they played so poorly today, that may not have been enough.


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      Phillips, ‘Boys finally get over playoff hump

      January 9, 2010 /

      Considering the Saints and Vikings haven’t played a down in the postseason yet, nobody should be ready to crown the Cowboys NFC Champions. But with how good Wade Phillips’ team has played over the past month, you get the sense that this Dallas team is primed for a great finish.

      The Cowboys obliterated the Eagles 34-14 in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday, and the game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates. Tony Romo completed 23 of 35 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Felix Jones rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and Miles Austin hauled in seven passes for 82 yards and a score.

      But for as well as the offense played, it didn’t hold a candle to how good the Cowboy defense was. They held the Eagles to 14 first downs and 56 rushing yards, forced four turnovers and were so far up Donovan McNabb’s ass today that he probably thought he went to the proctologist. Fans will criticize him for his performance because, well, they always criticize him. But the fact of the matter is that he had zero time to throw the ball, zero time to set his feet and very few open receivers. I’m not suggesting that he played well, but his offensive line couldn’t block a stationary bike. They had no answer for the Cowboys’ pass rush.

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      Can the Cowboys get over their playoff hex?

      January 7, 2010 /

      Over the past three weeks, the Cowboys have managed to end the Saints’ perfect season and hold the Redskins and Eagles to a combined zero points of offense. They’re the hottest team in the NFC right now and will play a Philadelphia team on Saturday that they’ve already beaten not once, but twice this season.

      But the postseason has not been kind to the Cowboys over the past decade. In 2003, the Bill Parcells-led Cowboys were shellacked 29-10 by the Panthers in the Wild Card round. In 2006, Tony Romo had, uh, some trouble with a field goal snap and in 2007, the ‘Boys were bounced out of the Divisional Round at home by the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants.

      Yes, the Cowboys have beaten the Eagles twice this season and yes, their defense is playing lights out. But these are the Wade Phillips-led Cowboys were talking about here: Nothing is a guarantee and nothing should be assumed.

      Dallas clearly matches up very well with Philadelphia. Their front seven has been able to shut down the running game and thus, Phillips has been able to amp up the pressure with edge-rusher DeMarcus Ware. Donovan McNabb hasn’t had a lot of time to throw the ball, which limits the Eagles’ ability to strike for big plays like they have all season.

      Playmaker DeSean Jackson has 63 receptions for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns this year. But in two games against the Cowboys, he has just five catches for 76 yards and no touchdowns. That means Dallas has been able to contain Philadelphia’s most dangerous offensive weapon.

      That said, the Cowboys have found ways to lose before, so why should anyone trust them now? They’ve been a team under Phillips that hasn’t been able to get out of its own way, so would anyone be surprised to see Philadelphia walk into Jerry Jones’ brand new stadium and steal a win? Doubtful.

      Dallas needs to rely on its defense to win on Saturday and limit mistakes offensively. If they can do that, then they shouldn’t have issues beating an Eagles team that has fought their own postseason demons in the past.

      Should make for an entertaining Saturday night.

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      NFL Week 16 COY Power Rankings

      January 3, 2010 /

      Upsets galore and crazy outcomes have forced us to look a bit harder at the Coach of the Year rankings, but most of our contenders are hanging tough.

      1. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—The poor guy is still dodging proverbial rocks being thrown by Colts’ fans, who wanted their team to continue its pursuit of perfection instead of rolling over against the Jets. Being that the Colts were still in position to go to 15-0 when Caldwell did that, we have to cut him some slack and remember that his team is still the top seed in the AFC and would be in the NFC as well.

      2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—Payton surely did not want to back into the #1 seed in the NFC, but after losing two games in a row, his team did just that when the Vikings’ loss Monday night let the Saints snag the top position. And once again, we have to consider the entire season’s body of work.

      3. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers—When you consider that Turner’s Chargers always play lousy in September, only to win when it really matters, that’s far better than it being the other way around. It’s time we started to give Turner his due.

      4. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals are another team not playing well, but they have dealt with two tragedies this season—the death of player Chris Henry, and the passing of the wife of D-coordinator Mike Zimmer. And still, the Bengals are 10-5 with an AFC North title. Raise your hand if you expected that.

      5. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Yes, the Vikings are floundering and in danger of losing the #2 seed to Philly or Dallas, but I’ll keep mentioning two players who Childress sought in the off-season that made this a championship caliber team—Brett Favre and Percy Harvin.

      Honorable mention: Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals; Mike McCarthy, Packers; Andy Reid, Eagles; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Rex Ryan, Jets; Wade Phillips, Cowboys; Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos

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      Taylor: Jones doesn’t want to fire Phillips

      December 30, 2009 /

      Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News made several good points about Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips (more specifically, Phillips’ job status) in one of his recent articles.

      No one is rooting for Wade Phillips to succeed more than Jerry Jones.

      If Phillips succeeds, then it justifies Jerry’s decision to hire Phillips instead of Norv Turner, and it justifies his decision to go with a players’ coach after Bill Parcells left.

      Besides, Jerry loves working with Phillips because the coach allows him to be himself. He can be part of the process instead of feeling like an intruder when he wants to address the team after a game.

      Jerry doesn’t want to fire Phillips.

      Frankly, he’s looking for reasons to keep Phillips around. His 32-15 is a good start, but Jerry wants some playoff success. You can’t blame him, considering the Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1996.

      That’s why Jerry hasn’t been shy about saying what needs to happen for Phillips to keep his job.

      It’s also why he hasn’t yet signed the club option that will guarantee Phillips another year.

      This was a very simple way of looking at the situation and I thought Taylor hit on several key points, none bigger than the fact that Jones wants Phillips to succeed. If Phillips fails, then Jones looks bad for hiring him, so why wouldn’t he want the head coach to succeed?

      It’s easy to get caught up in how Jones wants to make flashy decisions. Many people (myself included) somewhat expect him to go after Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan in the offseason because that just seems like a Jerry Jones thing to do. But the fact of the matter is that Jones is in Phillips’ corner – he just wants to see his team win or else he’ll have to make a change because in his mind, the Cowboys have a Super Bowl roster.

      This Sunday will tell a lot about Phillips’ future in Dallas. If the Eagles crush the Cowboys and Dallas gets bounced in the first round of the playoffs next week, Jones will likely make a change. But if the ‘Boys can muster a win against Philly and make a run deep into the playoffs, then there’s no guarantee that Jones will cut Phillips loose in the offseason.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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