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Jason Garrett, Rod Marinelli must do more for Cowboys
Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett hasn’t helped his team enough during the Dallas Cowboys’ seven-game losing streak. Neither has defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
It’s because of their philosophical approach.
Garrett and Marinelli are each old school in their approach to the game. They believe in the power of simplicity. They don’t want their players thinking too much on the field; they want them playing fast and to do a few things well.
They're not into trickery; they're into whipping the man in front of them.
Garrett saw that approach up close as a backup quarterback, when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls in the 90s. The Cowboys didn’t use much shifting or motion and every defensive coordinator knew Emmitt Smith was running lead draw and Michael Irvin was going to catch the skinny post from quarterback Troy Aikman. And they still couldn’t stop it.
When Marinelli won a Super Bowl as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, the Bucs used a simple defensive approach anchored by Hall of defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and safety John Lynch, who’s receiving strong Hall of Fame consideration.
These Cowboys, ravaged by injuries, don't have anything close to the type of talent those Cowboys or Bucs had, so they need the coaching staff to provide more of an edge.
For the most part, during this seven-game losing streak, Garrett and Marinelli have asked their players to work harder and improve a little more each day individually and collectively.
"As you go through the season, whether you’ve had success or adversity, you're always trying to do things better,” Garrett said. "We’ve certainly tried to do that as a coaching staff. I've tried to do that and each of our coaches on both sides of the ball have tried to do that.
"To suggest we’re questioning how we do things. I don’t think that’s accurate.”
That’s the point. Maybe, they should question how they do things. During this losing streak, the Cowboys have blown four halftime leads, three fourth-quarter leads and lost twice in overtime.
They’ve used Lucky Whitehead on some jet sweeps and lined up Cole Beasley in the backfield to create matchup issues for defenders, and Darren McFadden has attempted one halfback pass. Obviously, there have been some subtle changes in the running and passing game, but nothing dramatic enough to make a difference.
Three times during this losing streak, the Cowboys have failed to score an offensive touchdown.
"What we have to do as coaches is evaluate ourselves,” Garrett said. "Are we giving these guys the best chance to execute at a high level? Then the accountability goes to the player.
“Certainly the things we’re convicted about don’t change. There’s no question about that. Those are all things we as a coaching staff believe in and anybody who follows football believes in the same kinds of things: hard work, preparation, fighting, competing and being a relentless football team.”
No one coaches his unit to be more relentless than Marinelli. After all, he charts every time a player fails to hustle in practice or a game. He preaches the concept of swarming the runner and gang tackling. Normally, his teams are near the top of the league in turnovers.
But the Cowboys have forced just six turnovers this season, only Baltimore has fewer, and they rank 22nd in the NFL with 16 sacks.
Marinelli, though, hates blitzing. He believes in rushing four and dropping seven into coverage. The Cowboys have blitzed on just 17 of 88 third-down pass plays (19.3 percent), among the league’s lowest totals.
“You just keep coaching. That’s the best part about it,” Marinelli said. “You just keep believing in it. You don’t get frustrated, you just stay on the details we’ve been working on since Day 1.”
He’s talking about playing the proper gap control and taking the correct angle, when chasing a ball-carrier. He’s talking about all of the things a good defense does, and all of the things the Cowboys have done inconsistently this season.
Hope exists for this season because the New York Giants are the only team in the NFC East that’s .500. But it all starts with beating the Miami Dolphins and winning for the first time in two months.
“Everybody has a hand in it: coaches, players, offense, defense and kicking game. Everybody,” Garrett said. "We’re all going to look at ourselves and make sure we focus on ourselves and focus on what we can do today to get better.
"What did we do that prevented us from winning the game -- we were close again -- in the fourth quarter we didn’t do what was necessary. We didn’t get a stop on defense, we didn’t make a play on offense that allowed us to win the ballgame.”
And they didn’t get enough help from their coaching staff.
Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett hasn’t helped his team enough during the Dallas Cowboys’ seven-game losing streak. Neither has defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
It’s because of their philosophical approach.
Garrett and Marinelli are each old school in their approach to the game. They believe in the power of simplicity. They don’t want their players thinking too much on the field; they want them playing fast and to do a few things well.
They're not into trickery; they're into whipping the man in front of them.
Garrett saw that approach up close as a backup quarterback, when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls in the 90s. The Cowboys didn’t use much shifting or motion and every defensive coordinator knew Emmitt Smith was running lead draw and Michael Irvin was going to catch the skinny post from quarterback Troy Aikman. And they still couldn’t stop it.
When Marinelli won a Super Bowl as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, the Bucs used a simple defensive approach anchored by Hall of defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and safety John Lynch, who’s receiving strong Hall of Fame consideration.
These Cowboys, ravaged by injuries, don't have anything close to the type of talent those Cowboys or Bucs had, so they need the coaching staff to provide more of an edge.
For the most part, during this seven-game losing streak, Garrett and Marinelli have asked their players to work harder and improve a little more each day individually and collectively.
"As you go through the season, whether you’ve had success or adversity, you're always trying to do things better,” Garrett said. "We’ve certainly tried to do that as a coaching staff. I've tried to do that and each of our coaches on both sides of the ball have tried to do that.
"To suggest we’re questioning how we do things. I don’t think that’s accurate.”
That’s the point. Maybe, they should question how they do things. During this losing streak, the Cowboys have blown four halftime leads, three fourth-quarter leads and lost twice in overtime.
They’ve used Lucky Whitehead on some jet sweeps and lined up Cole Beasley in the backfield to create matchup issues for defenders, and Darren McFadden has attempted one halfback pass. Obviously, there have been some subtle changes in the running and passing game, but nothing dramatic enough to make a difference.
Three times during this losing streak, the Cowboys have failed to score an offensive touchdown.
"What we have to do as coaches is evaluate ourselves,” Garrett said. "Are we giving these guys the best chance to execute at a high level? Then the accountability goes to the player.
“Certainly the things we’re convicted about don’t change. There’s no question about that. Those are all things we as a coaching staff believe in and anybody who follows football believes in the same kinds of things: hard work, preparation, fighting, competing and being a relentless football team.”
No one coaches his unit to be more relentless than Marinelli. After all, he charts every time a player fails to hustle in practice or a game. He preaches the concept of swarming the runner and gang tackling. Normally, his teams are near the top of the league in turnovers.
But the Cowboys have forced just six turnovers this season, only Baltimore has fewer, and they rank 22nd in the NFL with 16 sacks.
Marinelli, though, hates blitzing. He believes in rushing four and dropping seven into coverage. The Cowboys have blitzed on just 17 of 88 third-down pass plays (19.3 percent), among the league’s lowest totals.
“You just keep coaching. That’s the best part about it,” Marinelli said. “You just keep believing in it. You don’t get frustrated, you just stay on the details we’ve been working on since Day 1.”
He’s talking about playing the proper gap control and taking the correct angle, when chasing a ball-carrier. He’s talking about all of the things a good defense does, and all of the things the Cowboys have done inconsistently this season.
Hope exists for this season because the New York Giants are the only team in the NFC East that’s .500. But it all starts with beating the Miami Dolphins and winning for the first time in two months.
“Everybody has a hand in it: coaches, players, offense, defense and kicking game. Everybody,” Garrett said. "We’re all going to look at ourselves and make sure we focus on ourselves and focus on what we can do today to get better.
"What did we do that prevented us from winning the game -- we were close again -- in the fourth quarter we didn’t do what was necessary. We didn’t get a stop on defense, we didn’t make a play on offense that allowed us to win the ballgame.”
And they didn’t get enough help from their coaching staff.
