patsox23

Can't find the link or the source - this was quoted on a Cowboys messageboard...

IRVING – The scariest thing about Sunday was the New England Patriots' attack.

The scariest thing about Monday was Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips' defiant "I'd do it the same way" attitude.

Phillips acknowledged at his Monday news conference that the Cowboys' approach was to stop Sammy Morris and make Tom Brady beat them.

Let me repeat that.

The Cowboys' approach was to stop Sammy Morris and make Tom Brady beat them.

"You've got to stop the run," Phillips said. "You want to make them pass it, and then you've got to get turnovers and get pressure.

"We ran into a similar deal last year with Brady."

Yes, they did. A year ago, Phillips was defensive coordinator of the best team in football, at least by regular-season accounts. You couldn't tell it from the playoffs, because the San Diego Chargers got beat at home in the first round by the Patriots.

With better talent than the Cowboys, the Chargers intercepted Brady three times. But they let him throw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, and that was when his go-to receivers were Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney.

Now he's got Randy Moss, Donté Stallworth and Wes Welker, and he's on pace to obliterate Peyton Manning's season touchdown record and all kinds of yardage records. And Phillips wanted to stop Sammy Morris?

In other words, he's walking Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp to get to Big Papi and Manny.

He's daring middleweight Kelly Pavlik to outslug him.

He's double-teaming Smush Parker and saying, "Go ahead. Try to beat me with Kobe."

I gave Phillips a chance to say he would approach it differently if the teams were to meet again, which, obviously, would have to be in Glendale, Ariz., for the Super Bowl.

He said no.

"I think you've got to [stop the run first] to win. I think you've got to force them into passing situations and go after them," he said.

Wow.

This is kind of disturbing for Cowboys fans.

I think this team can still do impressive things, such as finally win a playoff game. I think it's capable of getting to a Super Bowl, although that's a long, long way from being a sure thing.

And I think Phillips was the right hire for Jerry Jones to make. This defense is more creative than the one Bill Parcells kept under wraps last season.

But the great coaches are the ones who are willing to adapt their philosophy.

The great coaches do what Bill Belichick did as the Giants' defensive coordinator in 1990.

He felt like in order to slow down Buffalo's no-huddle spread offense (not that much different from what the Patriots do now), he needed to let Thurman Thomas run to keep Jim Kelly from killing them with the pass.

As the late David Halberstam wrote in The Education of a Coach, stopping the run was what Giants football was all about.

Now [Belichick] was saying he wanted to change that for the Super Bowl. "You guys have to believe me," he kept saying. "If Thomas runs for a hundred yards, we win this game."

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he would approach the Patriots the same way if they met again.
Belichick changed the defense by putting linebacker Lawrence Taylor on the line, putting safeties at linebacker – basically adding speed all over the field which made them better against the pass and more vulnerable against the run.

Thomas ran for 135 yards.

The Giants won the game.

What's troubling about Phillips' unwillingness to suggest he's open to change is that if the Cowboys get where they want to go, they are going to face the Patriots or the Colts.

Stopping the run first isn't the answer.

In order to get there in the NFC playoffs, they may have to beat the Packers or the Giants or even possibly the trigger-happy Lions.

Stopping the run first isn't the answer.

The Phillips' 3-4 can provide some of the answers that will bring about the change Cowboys fans are so anxiously waiting for.

But it's missing one of the biggest and that's a philosophy flaw born out of a previous era that Phillips needs to reconsider

NE39

Here is the link:

LINK

The article is by Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News.

BradyManny

Congratulations Wade, you stopped Sammy Morris!

RayClay

It's the same approach the Patriots use. He just let this reporter make him look like a goon, which I guess he is.

If you let the running game get going, you can't drop extra players into coverage.

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patsfaninpa

To steal a line from Jack Buck. I can't believe what I just read!!

JoeSixPat

I guess what he's saying is that no matter what the Dallas D did it wasn't going to stop the Patriots...

Indeed, my thoughts on the game was that Dallas actually played pretty well - with the exception that they couldn't stop the Pats from scoring!

Porco Rosso

That is beyond moronic, everybody knew going into that game that the Cowboys' weakness is the secondary.

I used to think that despite being a sh1tty head coach Phillips was a good defensive mind.
Now I really wonder.

Rob0729

After one loss, the Cowboys already seem to be coming apart at the seams. I have never seen so many ridiculous post game quotes from a team that got their asses handed to them. Between TO saying the Pats aren't the best team to Patrick Crayton basically guaranteeing the Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl and getting their revenge against the Pats if the Pats are lucky enough to make it to Wade Phillips saying he wouldn't have changed a thing, I really have to wonder if the Cowboys are just a house of cards just waiting for a little more adversity until it all comes crumbing down.

It is quite clear that Phillips has no control of this team and is in over his head if they start to get hit with adversity.

ALP

umm, lol...well. he certainly didnt stop brady...
but that wasnt his intention...so, did he stop morris?

i would have to say no...hold on a sec though...did he stop 3rd string faulk?......ummm, thats a negative....was he able to stop 5th string eckel...again no...

so wut is this guy thinking? i think his gameplan was have roy hit the playmakers, and hope to god he hurts em bad...

btw, wut type of coaches focuses on stopping a teams 2nd string RB, in order to win a game? regardless of the fact that brady is the QB, and moss, stallworth, welker and watson the recievers...

DisgruntledTunaFan

Honestly-90% of the personnel is Bill P's.

In Parcells' 3-4 base schemes, they largely relied on coverages(and not the attacking style used by your team, Pitt, and SD)-most of the DLmen he got are largely RUN STUFFERS, and NOT pass rushers(i.e. Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, etc), who just merely "react" to the ball instead of "attacking" the ball.

IOW-to be fair to Wade, he's only working with the hand he was dealt with.

Frankly-Parcells left us in good shape(i.e. getting Jeff Ireland to lead the scout team), but NOT in GREAT shape-there's just so many holes on this team you can poke holes through b/c of his "draft gems".(i.e. Bobby Carpenter)