piratebg
12-24-2007, 06:36 PM
http://dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=0E6B9C71-987F-7CF8-E726ACC3100186A5
Same Approach
Some Starters Might Rest, But Winning Still Priority
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 24, 2007 5:05 PM
Wade Phillips said the Cowboys may not play every starter but will certainly try to win this week.
IRVING, Texas - With one game still to play, all four items on the Cowboys' playoff wish list have been crossed off.
A playoff berth was clinched four weeks ago. Then it was the NFC East title. Next came the first-round bye. And over the weekend, thanks to Saturday's win over Carolina and a Green Bay loss to the Bears, the Cowboys secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
But with Sunday's regular-season finale at Washington looming, head coach Wade Phillips made clear on Monday the Cowboys (13-2) have every intention of playing to beat the Redskins even though their top playoff seeding already has been decided.
Now, just who will be playing for the Cowboys on Sunday is a different story. That's one question Phillips tried to avoid as best he could during his press conference at Valley Ranch.
Phillips said there is a chance the Cowboys could rest a few starters, but said that probably would be determined more by injuries.
Leading that list this week is wide receiver Terrell Owens, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's 20-13 win over the Panthers. MRI results on Sunday revealed only a sprain, but Phillips said Owens likely would be in a protective walking boot for the majority of the next two weeks leading up to the Jan. 12-13 divisional round weekend.
Owens was one player Phillips seemed comfortable in ruling out for Sunday's game in Washington, which the NFL moved from a noon kickoff to 3:15 p.m. (CST).
Phillips said he will wait until later in the week to decide playing time for other key players, including quarterback Tony Romo. However, he said Romo's bruised right thumb is not a big concern, especially after he threw for 257 yards on 42 attempts Saturday night.
Phillips said if Romo doesn't play or is limited this week, it won't be because of the thumb.
"I think he is all right," Phillips said of Romo. "He threw the ball well. I think he's one of those guys you say, 'Well, these guys are 100 percent and then you decide what to do with them.'"
Phillips said starting center Andre Gurode (sprained knee) and safety Pat Watkins (sprained ankle) would be questionable to play against Washington after missing Saturday's game. Starting cornerback Terence Newman and starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff also might be rested. Both players limped off the field briefly against the Panthers but returned and finished the game.
With only a 45-man game-day roster, Phillips said it's not as easy to rest players unless you're simply going to make them inactive.
"Anybody who has been banged up, I want to make sure they are well. If they're able to play, then I want them to play," Phillips said. "If you're going to sit a guy out, you almost have to make him inactive."
Even if the Cowboys decide to rest a few starters this week, Phillips said it won't alter the game plan or the approach.
"We feel like we can win with whoever we have to play. When we have injuries, we look at it that way, too," Phillips said. "There are a lot of considerations, and we'll consider them all. But we're still approaching the game to win the game. We want to win 14 games."
Since the NFL schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978, the Cowboys have never finished 14-2. They've only finished 13-3 one time, occurring in 1992 when they won the first of three Super Bowls in a four-year span.
So a 14-2 mark obviously would be something special for the Cowboys, and certainly Phillips, who would join San Francisco's George Seifert as the only coach in league history to win 14 games in his first season with a team.
"Thirteen is the most ever for this franchise, which is a storied franchise, so that would be quite an accomplishment," Phillips said. "Somebody may play for that. I'll be coaching for that, I'll tell you that."
Whether or not the coaching staff has already decided on which players will sit Sunday against the Redskins, Phillips made clear the time isn't right to inform anyone.
"It's really a matter of me not telling anybody until we decide, if you want to cut to the chase," Phillips said. "We have to make that decision and we're in the process of doing it.
"But we have something to play for. We play to beat the team we're playing. We play for pride. We play for our fans. We play for family, coaches. Integrity of the game - that I'm going to go out there and play the best I can play and do the best I can to win every game. So that's the way I'm approaching the game."
Same Approach
Some Starters Might Rest, But Winning Still Priority
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 24, 2007 5:05 PM
Wade Phillips said the Cowboys may not play every starter but will certainly try to win this week.
IRVING, Texas - With one game still to play, all four items on the Cowboys' playoff wish list have been crossed off.
A playoff berth was clinched four weeks ago. Then it was the NFC East title. Next came the first-round bye. And over the weekend, thanks to Saturday's win over Carolina and a Green Bay loss to the Bears, the Cowboys secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
But with Sunday's regular-season finale at Washington looming, head coach Wade Phillips made clear on Monday the Cowboys (13-2) have every intention of playing to beat the Redskins even though their top playoff seeding already has been decided.
Now, just who will be playing for the Cowboys on Sunday is a different story. That's one question Phillips tried to avoid as best he could during his press conference at Valley Ranch.
Phillips said there is a chance the Cowboys could rest a few starters, but said that probably would be determined more by injuries.
Leading that list this week is wide receiver Terrell Owens, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's 20-13 win over the Panthers. MRI results on Sunday revealed only a sprain, but Phillips said Owens likely would be in a protective walking boot for the majority of the next two weeks leading up to the Jan. 12-13 divisional round weekend.
Owens was one player Phillips seemed comfortable in ruling out for Sunday's game in Washington, which the NFL moved from a noon kickoff to 3:15 p.m. (CST).
Phillips said he will wait until later in the week to decide playing time for other key players, including quarterback Tony Romo. However, he said Romo's bruised right thumb is not a big concern, especially after he threw for 257 yards on 42 attempts Saturday night.
Phillips said if Romo doesn't play or is limited this week, it won't be because of the thumb.
"I think he is all right," Phillips said of Romo. "He threw the ball well. I think he's one of those guys you say, 'Well, these guys are 100 percent and then you decide what to do with them.'"
Phillips said starting center Andre Gurode (sprained knee) and safety Pat Watkins (sprained ankle) would be questionable to play against Washington after missing Saturday's game. Starting cornerback Terence Newman and starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff also might be rested. Both players limped off the field briefly against the Panthers but returned and finished the game.
With only a 45-man game-day roster, Phillips said it's not as easy to rest players unless you're simply going to make them inactive.
"Anybody who has been banged up, I want to make sure they are well. If they're able to play, then I want them to play," Phillips said. "If you're going to sit a guy out, you almost have to make him inactive."
Even if the Cowboys decide to rest a few starters this week, Phillips said it won't alter the game plan or the approach.
"We feel like we can win with whoever we have to play. When we have injuries, we look at it that way, too," Phillips said. "There are a lot of considerations, and we'll consider them all. But we're still approaching the game to win the game. We want to win 14 games."
Since the NFL schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978, the Cowboys have never finished 14-2. They've only finished 13-3 one time, occurring in 1992 when they won the first of three Super Bowls in a four-year span.
So a 14-2 mark obviously would be something special for the Cowboys, and certainly Phillips, who would join San Francisco's George Seifert as the only coach in league history to win 14 games in his first season with a team.
"Thirteen is the most ever for this franchise, which is a storied franchise, so that would be quite an accomplishment," Phillips said. "Somebody may play for that. I'll be coaching for that, I'll tell you that."
Whether or not the coaching staff has already decided on which players will sit Sunday against the Redskins, Phillips made clear the time isn't right to inform anyone.
"It's really a matter of me not telling anybody until we decide, if you want to cut to the chase," Phillips said. "We have to make that decision and we're in the process of doing it.
"But we have something to play for. We play to beat the team we're playing. We play for pride. We play for our fans. We play for family, coaches. Integrity of the game - that I'm going to go out there and play the best I can play and do the best I can to win every game. So that's the way I'm approaching the game."