DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
IRVING — Once the season is underway, you can barely coax Jason Garrett into acknowledging that Thursday follows Wednesday.
To do so would diffuse the focus a player needs on Wednesday to perform his best that day.
With that in mind, there’s no way anyone can get the Cowboys head coach to admit his team is one game deep into a six-week block that will probably determine its playoff fate.
The game against New Orleans kicked off a stretch that sees the Cowboys play five of six games at AT&T Stadium. It’s a rare gift the team must maximize, especially given its 38-17 start over the Saints.
At this point the sticklers among you will argue that division titles and playoff berths aren’t won in October.
True. But a team can play its way out of one. A team can drop a game here, stub its toe there and be forced to chase .500 for the remainder of the season.
How have the Cowboys handled the mental wear and tear of that pursuit over the last three seasons?
“We’ve been here before,” tight end Jason Witten said. “You have to try to stack some wins up.”
That’s another one of Garrett’s favorite catchphrases. He talks about stacking one good day, one good practice on top of another. The same applies to games, an area in which this team has fallen short in recent years.
The Cowboys carry a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s game against Houston. A win against the Texans would equal the longest winning streak during Garrett’s tenure.
That took place nearly three years ago.
The Cowboys are coming off a big victory over a quality opponent. They are relatively healthy. A loss to Houston will undercut the momentum that can build from beating the Saints.
It’s a loss the team can’t afford given the next opponent.
“Is it at home or away?” cornerback Brandon Carr asked.
Carr really doesn’t know what team comes up after Houston?
“No,” he said.
That would be a road date against the Seattle Seahawks.
“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” Carr said.
“I take it one game at a time.”
Garrett’s influence is obvious. But if you don’t go to work every day at Valley Ranch, you realize it’s highly unlikely the Cowboys will beat the defending world champions in the Pacific Northwest.
Drop Sunday’s game, and the odds say the Cowboys will fall back to .500 as they enter Week 7. The same, dysfunctional pattern that has unfolded over the last three seasons will be back in play.
These next five games are where the Cowboys need to put some distance between themselves and .500.
“We just have to take it game-by-game, practice-by-practice and day-by-day,’’ receiver Dez Bryant said. “If we do that, there’s no telling what can happen.”
We get it. We get it. The Cowboys refuse to look ahead. Garrett’s concession that “you’re always a work in progress, you’re always trying to get better” is about as far as anyone in this organization — other than the owner — will go.
The Cowboys have only two games at home in the final eight weeks of the regular season. Add weather to the variables the Cowboys must navigate in the closing weeks of the regular season.
Quarterback Tony Romo didn’t address the schedule in the moments after the team’s win over New Orleans. He was talking about the state of the team as it heads into October.
But the same sentiment applies.
“I think we are excited to be able to close out teams,” Romo said. “It’s better to be in that situation rather than trying to hold on and giving up lots of points in the second half.
“Offensively, you are going to be able to put the pedal down and go finish games.”
The Cowboys need to put the pedal down now with this schedule.
If they do, they may actually return to the playoffs.
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) as they co-host Intentional Grounding every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. during the NFL season.
Coming up
Here’s a look at what faces the Cowboys before they leave for London to play Jacksonville in early November, with date, oppnent record and comment.
Sept. 28: New Orleans Saints (1-3) - Who Dat fell behind by 24-0?
Oct. 5: Houston Texans (3-1) - Already surpassed last year’s win total
Oct. 12: at Seattle Seahawks (2-1) - What will Richard Sherman say?
Oct. 19: New York Giants (2-2) - Eli’s coming
Oct. 27: Washington Redskins (1-3) - More problems than their name
Nov. 2: Arizona Cardinals (3-0) - Only unbeaten team in NFC at moment
Staff Writer
IRVING — Once the season is underway, you can barely coax Jason Garrett into acknowledging that Thursday follows Wednesday.
To do so would diffuse the focus a player needs on Wednesday to perform his best that day.
With that in mind, there’s no way anyone can get the Cowboys head coach to admit his team is one game deep into a six-week block that will probably determine its playoff fate.
The game against New Orleans kicked off a stretch that sees the Cowboys play five of six games at AT&T Stadium. It’s a rare gift the team must maximize, especially given its 38-17 start over the Saints.
At this point the sticklers among you will argue that division titles and playoff berths aren’t won in October.
True. But a team can play its way out of one. A team can drop a game here, stub its toe there and be forced to chase .500 for the remainder of the season.
How have the Cowboys handled the mental wear and tear of that pursuit over the last three seasons?
“We’ve been here before,” tight end Jason Witten said. “You have to try to stack some wins up.”
That’s another one of Garrett’s favorite catchphrases. He talks about stacking one good day, one good practice on top of another. The same applies to games, an area in which this team has fallen short in recent years.
The Cowboys carry a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s game against Houston. A win against the Texans would equal the longest winning streak during Garrett’s tenure.
That took place nearly three years ago.
The Cowboys are coming off a big victory over a quality opponent. They are relatively healthy. A loss to Houston will undercut the momentum that can build from beating the Saints.
It’s a loss the team can’t afford given the next opponent.
“Is it at home or away?” cornerback Brandon Carr asked.
Carr really doesn’t know what team comes up after Houston?
“No,” he said.
That would be a road date against the Seattle Seahawks.
“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” Carr said.
“I take it one game at a time.”
Garrett’s influence is obvious. But if you don’t go to work every day at Valley Ranch, you realize it’s highly unlikely the Cowboys will beat the defending world champions in the Pacific Northwest.
Drop Sunday’s game, and the odds say the Cowboys will fall back to .500 as they enter Week 7. The same, dysfunctional pattern that has unfolded over the last three seasons will be back in play.
These next five games are where the Cowboys need to put some distance between themselves and .500.
“We just have to take it game-by-game, practice-by-practice and day-by-day,’’ receiver Dez Bryant said. “If we do that, there’s no telling what can happen.”
We get it. We get it. The Cowboys refuse to look ahead. Garrett’s concession that “you’re always a work in progress, you’re always trying to get better” is about as far as anyone in this organization — other than the owner — will go.
The Cowboys have only two games at home in the final eight weeks of the regular season. Add weather to the variables the Cowboys must navigate in the closing weeks of the regular season.
Quarterback Tony Romo didn’t address the schedule in the moments after the team’s win over New Orleans. He was talking about the state of the team as it heads into October.
But the same sentiment applies.
“I think we are excited to be able to close out teams,” Romo said. “It’s better to be in that situation rather than trying to hold on and giving up lots of points in the second half.
“Offensively, you are going to be able to put the pedal down and go finish games.”
The Cowboys need to put the pedal down now with this schedule.
If they do, they may actually return to the playoffs.
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) as they co-host Intentional Grounding every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. during the NFL season.
Coming up
Here’s a look at what faces the Cowboys before they leave for London to play Jacksonville in early November, with date, oppnent record and comment.
Sept. 28: New Orleans Saints (1-3) - Who Dat fell behind by 24-0?
Oct. 5: Houston Texans (3-1) - Already surpassed last year’s win total
Oct. 12: at Seattle Seahawks (2-1) - What will Richard Sherman say?
Oct. 19: New York Giants (2-2) - Eli’s coming
Oct. 27: Washington Redskins (1-3) - More problems than their name
Nov. 2: Arizona Cardinals (3-0) - Only unbeaten team in NFC at moment
