FRISCO, Texas –
There is so much doom and gloom surrounding the Cowboys these days.
The unexpected 3-7 record.
The five-game losing streak, longest since the seven-gamer of 2015, the season ending in a 4-12 record. The Cowboys starting four quarterbacks that season with starter Tony Romo in for just four games, completing just two of them, helping the Cowboys to win three of them.
Third place in the NFC East, but just one game removed from joining the last place Giants (2-8).
And then the injuries, one after another after another, including in the 34-10 loss to Houston on Monday night, losing tight end Jake Ferguson to a concussion and finishing the game with three-fifths of their starting offensive linemen missing. And that doesn't even account for already missing Dak Prescott, Brandin Cooks, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Kneeland, Amani Oruwariye, Jourdan Lewis and Sam Williams, all either projected starters or having started.
But this week, we've been reminded that these guys are not robots, they are not mercenaries. They are human beings with real feelings. Real emotions.
The coaches, too.
Take special teams coach John Fassel. The three coordinators step to the press conference podium the day after games – Fassel, Mike Zimmer and Brian Shottenheimer – as they did Tuesday afternoon after the Monday Night Football loss to the Texans.
Fassel was asked about his special teams ace Markquese Bell, who suffered an early second quarter injury while covering a Houston fumbled-around kickoff they finally retained. Bell came diving in, one arm out, trying to tackle the Texans' Dameon Pierce. He landed on his right shoulder, arm stretched out. Was in serious pain.
Ends up seriously dislocating his shoulder according to Fassel, suffering a torn ligament but also a fractured bone under the shoulder, out for the season and needing surgery.
Fassel was asked about Bell.
The 50-year-old Fassel, in his 20th year coaching in the NFL and fifth with the Cowboys,got emotional. Shook his head a while. Couldn't speak for a good 10 seconds. Needed to compose himself. Reached down under the podium to take a swig of bottled water, consuming another 10 seconds to further gather himself.
"He's played as good a special teams ball over 10 games that I can ever remember," Fassel begins. "Man, he has just been unbelievable. He got hurt doing what he does best, just flying in there, diving. He's going to be OK, but man, just … gosh."
We tend to forget personal relationships are formed among players, among players with coaches. And when a guy like Bell gives so much of himself, having played 168 special teams snaps in 10 games this season after staring nine of 17 games last year stepping in to man the big nickel linebacker spot, that creates a soft spot in many a heart out here at The Star.
"(Darn), I'm hurting for him because he was on a mission, as good as we've had in a while," Fassel reveals. "That one hurt."
Fassel has developed a special teams scoring system by ranking players for various achievement plays on special teams. Bell was leading the pack according to Fassel, saying the third-year safety was going to break his scoring record.
"These young men are very human. They want so much out of their careers, and I want it for them," he says. "Man, when you're in that foxhole with them, and they fight, got their backs, you know.
"Saw Marquese this morning, and probably why I was so emotional, about 10 o'clock this morning went in the training room. He had the whole thing slinged up, and he was emotional, too."
These are the things we forget, so focused on tangible results, winning and losing, performance ratings, rankings, that a game played in helmets and pads disguises these emotional scars.
My best shot.
• Parity At Work: Yep, the Washington Commanders are 7-4, and so many are making a big deal out of them turning their record around. Why, the seven wins with six more games to play are the second most they've had since Dak Prescott came into the NFL for the Cowboys in 2016. Twice in the past eight seasons the Commanders have only won more than seven games, eight in 2022 (8-8-1) and eight in 2016 (8-8). The last time the Commanders finished with a winning record was in 2015, 9-7, to win the NFC East, only the third time they've won a division title since finishing 10-6 in 2012. The other was the 7-9 season of 2020. But here is the jest of this 7-4 mark so far. Equipped with the last-place schedule thanks to 2023, the Commanders have beaten only one team so far with a winning record, that being Arizona (6-4), but at the time the Cardinals came into the Week 3 game at 1-2. Conversely, the Cowboys, with the first-place schedule, have only played three teams with losing records so far, going 2-1 vs. Cleveland, New Orleans and the Giants. Their other six losses are to Baltimore (7-4), Detroit (9-1), San Francisco (5-5), Atlanta (6-5), Philadelphia (8-2) and Houston (7-4). Four of those six teams are first in their divisions with Baltimore second.
• And Then This: And wonder if this was a quirk in the NFL scheduling or possibly on purpose to help a Washington team finishing in last place last season at 4-13 and penalizing the first place 12-5 Cowboys. The Cowboys are traveling to Washington after playing a Monday night game this week, meaning six days between games, while Washington sits at home after playing a Thursday night game last week in Philly, 10 day's rest. Sounds fishy to me.
• Ray Of Sunshine: Well, lookie here, somebodies actually returning to practice for the Cowboys. Back after missing six games is veteran wide receiver Brandon Cooks, the Cowboys going 1-5 during his absence caused by a knee infection and scoring just six touchdowns during this current five-game losing streak. "I hope I can bring a spark on the field," Cooks says, listed as limited in practice Wednesday. Also practicing for the first time since the lead-up to the Detroit game, when his surgically repaired foot landed him on IR at the start of the season turned up sore, is DaRon Bland, a potential crucial plus since Jourdan Lewis is still out with the neck injury that caused him to miss the Houston game (limited Wednesday). Bland on the injury reports states fully practiced.
• Side Shots: Also good to see out at practice on a limited basis was defensive endMarshawn Kneeland, starting his 21-day IR ramp up, along with backup offensive tackle Chuma Edoga … But didn't like the looks of Zack Martin, Tyler Smith and Hunter Luepke missing out … And for the ninth time, Cowboys Ring of Honor safety Darren Woodson has advanced to the semifinals of the Pro Football Hall of Fame cuts for this coming year, and my goodness, it's about time for his induction … And if you look closely at the Cooper Rush intercepted pass in the Houston game, there is no way the Texans' Jimmie Ward didn't interfere with CeeDee Lamb, who got hit six yards from the line of scrimmage but also as the ball was in the air, for a terrible non-call.
And we turn to Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy for this week's last word, talking about facing his former assistant coaches Sunday with Washington, Dan Quinn now the head coach and Joe Whitt now the defensive coordinator.
"I think the big thing with Dan is what he stands for as a coach, in the big picture, the culture I'm sure he's created there," McCarthy says. "But schematically, just the way they play that's really what we've been studying the last two weeks. See a lot of similarities to Dan's time here. I think Joe Whitt has done a really good job of putting his variation on to it, and how he is calling it, which is a little different and naturally which is normal, different than Dan called it. It definitely fits Joe's personality. You know, Joe and I were together, what, 12 years, so when I watch them play, I definitely see Joe's influence on how he likes to play the game.
"Offensively, I think Dan going with Kliff [Kingsbury] was an excellent choice. Kliff does a great job schematically challenging you. Their team has played the right way, so a team that's playing really good football. They're doing a really good job taking are of the football and taking it away, things like that. They're having a good year."
And when ask if he can elaborate on what Whitt does differently as a defensive coordinator from Dan that you see on film from the past, McCarthy quips, "You're going to have to watch the game. … Hey, maybe for the first time in my time here, in the history of my tenure,we'll just try to keep it under wraps for one day."
Good one, though Mike was reminded owner Jerry Jones is on the radio tomorrow.
Goodness knows this place needs a few laughs once in a while.
