them in front.
Flozell is hurting. Umm . . . Jason Witten is hurting. No doubt about that. He's a warrior like no other on this team, but just because he gritted it out and played Sunday, means in no way that he isn't in a lot of pain.
This team needs a break for sure, but it's more than physical.
The bye week schedule over the years has changed a lot with coaches having their own opinions on how to manage it. Guys like Bill Parcells believed in some time off, but he would usually try to manipulate the schedule to the point where the players would have to come in like Friday afternoon or even Saturday morning, meaning they couldn't really go out of town. If they did, it wasn't that far.
The idea was obviously to discourage players from taking some wild trips in the middle of the season. The last thing any team needs on an off-week is more distraction. That's kind of the idea of getting away, is to remove yourself from the distractions in the first place.
But Phillips said this week that he doesn't get involved in all that. If he's going to give them time off, he's got enough trust that they'll do the right thing.
Go to the right place. Get back on time and hopefully there won't be any incidents in between.
That's about all you can do as a coach. If the players don't know how important it is to make the right decisions by now, they just may never learn. And if that comes across as a shot to a certain player that might join the team in another week, then fine.
But that doesn't mean the team couldn't use a break.
That's why we have weekends. Not all jobs are Monday-to-Friday, 8 to 5, but the majority of them are close to that schedule. Ok, so what are Saturdays and Sundays for?
If you said, "to watch football" . . . high-five and you can come hang out with me. But honestly, it's to get away. Get your mind of the job for a moment. It doesn't mean you want to quit. It doesn't mean you don't like your job.
But you have to remove yourself from the current situation. And with this team, the way things have gone lately, I think the time is right for a break.
You've got a football team being touted as a Super Bowl favorite. Some crazy person with the same name as me wrote the Cowboys were the best team in football. And at 3-0, they were.
While three-inning baseball games might win you the World Series, three-game seasons don't win you a Super Bowl.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we've seen the problems. And they've been documented. And they've been asked for the players and coaches to answer. It seems like, at this point, this team is run out of answers, other than the obvious one that they will be better when the injured guys come back.
But no one really wants to hear that.
So, getting away for a weekend is exactly what this team needs. They'll be here during the week for a couple of days to stay somewhat mentally fresh, but then it's away from football. Ok, maybe just professional football. I hear that some players are headed back to their college teams to watch a game. And that's fine.
If you need to take your playbook with you, that's fine, too.
But get away from here. Get your mind off of it, if possible. Find out how important this team and this season really are.
Will it make a difference, who knows for sure? It might give this team the break it needs. On the other hand, there is a chance that some time off will break up the schedule and routine and get them off track.
Then again, a 5-4 record for a team predicted by many to play in the Super Bowl, one might suggest it's already way off track as it is.
