tr1
January-1st-2007, 03:37 AM
Typical Bill finish...if they lose in Seattle, I think he's done.
By Clarence E. Hill Jr
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2003504296_cowboys01.html
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
IRVING, Texas — For the Cowboys, there is no use being mad anymore.
They shouldn't waste any emotions on being frustrated and just resign themselves to what they are: a playoff team that is likely not long for the postseason.
The facts say as much.
Only eight teams this decade have entered the playoffs losing three of their final five regular-season games, as is the case with the Cowboys after Sunday's 39-31 loss to the lowly Detroit Lions.
None won more than one game.
The Cowboys' performances of late — typified by their dismal play against the Lions before 63,008 seemingly disillusioned fans at Texas Stadium on Sunday — tell the rest of the story.
Yes, the Cowboys (9-7) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2003, visiting the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) in a wild-card game Saturday evening.
But any hope beyond that is fleeting after Sunday's effort against a Lions team that was playing for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
It was the third loss in the past four weeks for Dallas and the second consecutive loss with a chance to win the NFC East title.
"This is about as tough as it can get," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I want so much for my team to be finishing strong and going into the tournament with a good attitude. But that is going to be difficult."
Parcells said he is trying to remain hopeful because the playoffs are a new season, but acknowledges he is at a loss for answers and words. Instead of a bounce-back performance following the 23-7 Christmas Day loss to Philadelphia, just as they have done following the previous five losses, the Cowboys sunk into a deeper funk.
A week of turmoil, including finger-pointing by teammates, didn't offer any positive results. And neither did wholesale changes on defense, shifting from the 3-4 to the 4-3 alignment, as the Lions scored their most points since 1987. :laugh: A shift in defensive scheme in the last game of the year...desperate team.
Jon Kitna passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Mike Furrey had 11 catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. Former Texas star Roy Williams grabbed six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Parcells, who came to Dallas in 2003 to return the Cowboys to Super Bowl glory for the first time since 1996, said he's at his lowest point. A team built to Parcells' exact specifications to make a Super Bowl run in 2006, in what could be his last season, is playing its worst football when it counts the most. The Cowboys are 35-30 in Parcells' four seasons. They are 8-12 in the crucial month of December after this season's 3-5 showing.
"Of course I take it personal," Parcells said. "This is my life. This what I have been doing all these years. I can't tell you how disappointed I am."
Cornerback Aaron Glenn said what's most frustrating is that no one has any answers for what's ailing the Cowboys — not the players or the coaches.
"We are all low right now," Glenn said. "Not just Bill. We don't know what to do. But we do know we are in the playoffs. At least we have a chance."
The Cowboys are on the road for the playoffs and have won more road games (5) in 2006 than home games (4). The last time the Cowboys accomplished that feat was in 1989, when they were 1-7 on the road and 0-8 at home.
It doesn't help that quarterback Tony Romo, who was 5-1 his first six starts but has gone 1-3 since, seems to be regressing. Romo passed for a season-high 322 yards with touchdowns of 56 yards to Terrell Owens and 6 yards to Patrick Crayton. He was intercepted once and lost two of four fumbles.
Said Romo: "We haven't played to our potential. It's very frustrating for me. The thing I hang my hat on is that we are in the tournament. Now that we are in, it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
By Clarence E. Hill Jr
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2003504296_cowboys01.html
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
IRVING, Texas — For the Cowboys, there is no use being mad anymore.
They shouldn't waste any emotions on being frustrated and just resign themselves to what they are: a playoff team that is likely not long for the postseason.
The facts say as much.
Only eight teams this decade have entered the playoffs losing three of their final five regular-season games, as is the case with the Cowboys after Sunday's 39-31 loss to the lowly Detroit Lions.
None won more than one game.
The Cowboys' performances of late — typified by their dismal play against the Lions before 63,008 seemingly disillusioned fans at Texas Stadium on Sunday — tell the rest of the story.
Yes, the Cowboys (9-7) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2003, visiting the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) in a wild-card game Saturday evening.
But any hope beyond that is fleeting after Sunday's effort against a Lions team that was playing for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
It was the third loss in the past four weeks for Dallas and the second consecutive loss with a chance to win the NFC East title.
"This is about as tough as it can get," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I want so much for my team to be finishing strong and going into the tournament with a good attitude. But that is going to be difficult."
Parcells said he is trying to remain hopeful because the playoffs are a new season, but acknowledges he is at a loss for answers and words. Instead of a bounce-back performance following the 23-7 Christmas Day loss to Philadelphia, just as they have done following the previous five losses, the Cowboys sunk into a deeper funk.
A week of turmoil, including finger-pointing by teammates, didn't offer any positive results. And neither did wholesale changes on defense, shifting from the 3-4 to the 4-3 alignment, as the Lions scored their most points since 1987. :laugh: A shift in defensive scheme in the last game of the year...desperate team.
Jon Kitna passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Mike Furrey had 11 catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. Former Texas star Roy Williams grabbed six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Parcells, who came to Dallas in 2003 to return the Cowboys to Super Bowl glory for the first time since 1996, said he's at his lowest point. A team built to Parcells' exact specifications to make a Super Bowl run in 2006, in what could be his last season, is playing its worst football when it counts the most. The Cowboys are 35-30 in Parcells' four seasons. They are 8-12 in the crucial month of December after this season's 3-5 showing.
"Of course I take it personal," Parcells said. "This is my life. This what I have been doing all these years. I can't tell you how disappointed I am."
Cornerback Aaron Glenn said what's most frustrating is that no one has any answers for what's ailing the Cowboys — not the players or the coaches.
"We are all low right now," Glenn said. "Not just Bill. We don't know what to do. But we do know we are in the playoffs. At least we have a chance."
The Cowboys are on the road for the playoffs and have won more road games (5) in 2006 than home games (4). The last time the Cowboys accomplished that feat was in 1989, when they were 1-7 on the road and 0-8 at home.
It doesn't help that quarterback Tony Romo, who was 5-1 his first six starts but has gone 1-3 since, seems to be regressing. Romo passed for a season-high 322 yards with touchdowns of 56 yards to Terrell Owens and 6 yards to Patrick Crayton. He was intercepted once and lost two of four fumbles.
Said Romo: "We haven't played to our potential. It's very frustrating for me. The thing I hang my hat on is that we are in the tournament. Now that we are in, it's not how you start, it's how you finish."