Tuned out?
Garrett preaching same message, but are the Cowboys listening anymore?
FRISCO, Texas — Jason Garrett says the right things. He tells his players to focus on the day, not tomorrow or the previous day.
There is nothing you can do about what happened in Philadelphia because that game is over with. All the Cowboys can do now is beat the Redskins in the regular season finale at AT&T Stadium, and hope the Eagles lose to the Giants in order for Dallas to earn a postseason berth.
While Garrett continues to talk about focus, is anybody listening?
Do the Cowboys still connect with their head coach knowing he’s a lame duck and missing the postseason most likely will be met with his demise?
“I don’t feel like the direction is lost,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said. “I feel like sometimes the focus is lost and if you’re not on your toes, and you’re not making sure you’re 100% correct, some plays (are) going to be critical at different times in the game. Even though you don’t play outstanding, the stats can be very deceiving. It can be 2-3 crucial plays that really hurt you.”
Garrett’s status with the front office hasn’t changed since last year when he wasn’t given a contract extension. It’s not the first time Garrett didn’t receive one, he also entered the 2014 season as a lame duck and the Cowboys responded with a 12-4 record only to lose in the NFC divisional round of the postseason.
He signed a five-year contract extension after that season giving him the security he sought.
Faced with a similar circumstance, it appears Garrett would need more than a division title to warrant a contract extension.
Garrett’s voice seems muted around a locker room that knows he’s gone. It seems difficult to maneuver around a place that’s tuned out the message. Or so it seems.
“It’s different things that can play a part of what’s going in the team and organization that people don’t even understand what’s really going on,” Lawrence said.
“So, all I say (is) everybody on this team, everybody in this fan base needs to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves: Are they really here for the Cowboys or are they really here to just place blame on each other?”
The Cowboys are an inconsistent group that started 3-0 and then endured a pair of three-game losing streaks during the season.
The NFC East is so bad that somebody will win the division either at 9-7 or 8-8.
And the Cowboys’ current mark of 7-8 means what exactly?
“That we’ve played 15 and won seven and lost eight, that’s really what it is,” Garrett said. “The biggest thing is we try to focus on what we can do now and, again, we have to put this last game behind us. You have to learn from it. And there were some good things in there and we have to build on that and clean up the other stuff and we got to get our eyes focused on this challenge on Sunday.”
The Cowboys are average, that’s pretty evident right now looking ahead to their game against the Redskins. A victory and an Eagles loss means the Cowboys would have backed into the postseason.
If that occurs, you can guarantee Garrett would continue preaching about taking things one game at a time. The reality would be the Cowboys are a playoff team, and who knows what might happen then? But the criticisms of Garrett, regardless if he makes the postseason or not, will never wane unless he pushes this franchise to a Super Bowl.
“I mean, it’s hard but that’s why I try to make sure I’m staying off social media,” Lawrence said. “He’s not the only one getting criticized. We’re all getting criticized. It’s a team sport. I don’t feel like the blame should be put all on one man, but you know everybody got to take fault in it.”