By Drew Davison
ddavison@star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —
The Dallas Cowboys are on a four-game losing streak, and they have at least three more games without starting quarterback Tony Romo.
Keeping the morale high is certainly a priority for Jason Garrett and his coaching staff as the Cowboys could easily play themselves out of playoff contention before Romo returns.
It’s a daunting task, as owner Jerry Jones said.
But the veterans on the team are fully confident they can get things turned around to save what most hoped would be a Super Bowl-type season.
“We’re together. This is a tight group. We’re not going to break,” tight end Jason Witten said. “We’re going to keep battling. We’re going to learn from it. We’re still in the hunt and we’re going to get it turned around and get it fixed. It takes work, but this group is not going to break.
“We’re not going to point fingers. We’re just going to keep fighting. We just came up short today.”
Witten went on to say that adversity brings out the best in teams, and he hopes this year’s Cowboys team is ready to embrace it and come out stronger for it.
“Not to say you want to be in these situations because that’s not the case,” Witten said. “But great leadership from our coaching staff, from management, people that believe in us … we’ll fight. We’ll get it fixed. The challenge is daunting. We have to embrace that, understand where we’re at and look at it critically and get better at it.”
How, exactly, does this Cowboys group get it turned around?
As stated, Romo can’t return until the Nov. 22 game at Miami at the earliest, and it’s still unknown whether Bryant is going to be ready to go this Sunday against Seattle.
But Witten simply said they have to get back to doing the things necessary to win football games such as limiting turnovers. The Cowboys were minus-4 in turnovers against the Giants with Matt Cassel being intercepted three times in his Cowboys debut, and Cole Beasley muffing a punt at the end of the game.
“We can’t turn the ball over and expect to win games,” Witten said. “We’ve got to get that corrected. I thought Matt fought hard, he’s got a competitive spirit about him and he made a lot of big plays.
“We were able to run the ball and collectively we just couldn’t make enough plays. We’re going to keep grinding, get back to it and learn from mistakes and that is taking care of the football.”
On the flip side, the defense understands that it must get back to creating takeaways. The defense last had a takeaway in Week 2, and hasn’t forced a turnover in five of six games this season.
That’s got to change for a unit that ranked second in the league in takeaways a season ago with 31.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford said. “We’ve just got to figure it out, to be honest with you.”
“Figure it out’ could be a catchphrase for the entire team in all phases of the game. Every one in the locker room believes they can do just that and aren’t ready to give up on the season.
“Play the next game. Another big week coming up ahead of us,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “We’re back home. We’ve got to give our fans something to cheer for, get them in the game and just have to execute. Sixty minutes.”
Read more here: Reeling Cowboys remain confident they can get things turned around | The Star-Telegram
ddavison@star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —
The Dallas Cowboys are on a four-game losing streak, and they have at least three more games without starting quarterback Tony Romo.
Keeping the morale high is certainly a priority for Jason Garrett and his coaching staff as the Cowboys could easily play themselves out of playoff contention before Romo returns.
It’s a daunting task, as owner Jerry Jones said.
But the veterans on the team are fully confident they can get things turned around to save what most hoped would be a Super Bowl-type season.
“We’re together. This is a tight group. We’re not going to break,” tight end Jason Witten said. “We’re going to keep battling. We’re going to learn from it. We’re still in the hunt and we’re going to get it turned around and get it fixed. It takes work, but this group is not going to break.
“We’re not going to point fingers. We’re just going to keep fighting. We just came up short today.”
Witten went on to say that adversity brings out the best in teams, and he hopes this year’s Cowboys team is ready to embrace it and come out stronger for it.
“Not to say you want to be in these situations because that’s not the case,” Witten said. “But great leadership from our coaching staff, from management, people that believe in us … we’ll fight. We’ll get it fixed. The challenge is daunting. We have to embrace that, understand where we’re at and look at it critically and get better at it.”
How, exactly, does this Cowboys group get it turned around?
As stated, Romo can’t return until the Nov. 22 game at Miami at the earliest, and it’s still unknown whether Bryant is going to be ready to go this Sunday against Seattle.
But Witten simply said they have to get back to doing the things necessary to win football games such as limiting turnovers. The Cowboys were minus-4 in turnovers against the Giants with Matt Cassel being intercepted three times in his Cowboys debut, and Cole Beasley muffing a punt at the end of the game.
“We can’t turn the ball over and expect to win games,” Witten said. “We’ve got to get that corrected. I thought Matt fought hard, he’s got a competitive spirit about him and he made a lot of big plays.
“We were able to run the ball and collectively we just couldn’t make enough plays. We’re going to keep grinding, get back to it and learn from mistakes and that is taking care of the football.”
On the flip side, the defense understands that it must get back to creating takeaways. The defense last had a takeaway in Week 2, and hasn’t forced a turnover in five of six games this season.
That’s got to change for a unit that ranked second in the league in takeaways a season ago with 31.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford said. “We’ve just got to figure it out, to be honest with you.”
“Figure it out’ could be a catchphrase for the entire team in all phases of the game. Every one in the locker room believes they can do just that and aren’t ready to give up on the season.
“Play the next game. Another big week coming up ahead of us,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “We’re back home. We’ve got to give our fans something to cheer for, get them in the game and just have to execute. Sixty minutes.”
Read more here: Reeling Cowboys remain confident they can get things turned around | The Star-Telegram
