IRVING, Texas – Losses like the one handed to the Cowboys by the Saints on Sunday in New Orleans are typically the ones that lead to fundamental changes.
The Cowboys had stayed within 11 points of every opponent before losing by 32 points to the Saints and falling to 5-5, forcing executive vice president Stephen Jones to say on 105.3 FM "The Fan" that everything needs to be evaluated.
"Any time you're having the type of issues we're having, everybody comes under fire," Jones said. "That's to be expected. That's part of what accountability is."
Outside of special teams, not much went right for the Cowboys against the Saints.
The defense allowed 625 yards and an NFL record 40 first downs. The offense had just 193 total yards of offense, and Tony Romo threw for only 128 yards. In addition, injuries forced out more starters, with Sean Lee and Justin Durant both hurting their hamstrings. [embedded_ad]
Jones was asked about the strength and conditioning staff, as hamstring injuries continue to hamper the Cowboys, but Jones was complimentary of strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Woicik. He said Woicik's one of the best in the business, noting the coordinator's six Super Bowl rings.
"I think his success speaks for itself," Jones said. "But you have to look at everything at the end of the day, and we'll certainly do it again."
That goes for the defense and offense, as well.
"The type of defense we're playing right now puts a lot of pressure on the offense," Jones said. "That probably to some degree gets you out of what you're trying to do from an offensive standpoint when you feel like you've got to score every time you touch the ball.
"But I do feel like that'll change. No excuses, but we were missing quite a few people in terms of our defense. I think if we can get everybody back healthy and playing solid, then I think things are going to get a lot better quickly."
