Brian Schottenheimer was asked on Monday whether he wants a team that is angry or one that is measured after a 2-4 start. He answered for himself first.
“I always like guys that are angry,” the Dallas Cowboys head coach said. “I have a little of both. I’d say right now I’m pretty pissed off.” Asked about his players, he said: “I think they’re pissed off too. We’re ready for a win.”
The Cowboys lost 23-13 at Green Bay on Sunday night, their second loss in a row. Dallas has an extra day before its next game, a Monday night trip to Philadelphia on October 26, and Schottenheimer opened the day with injury news that changes the middle of his defense.
Winters likely out, Overshown likely back
Linebacker Dee Winters has an Achilles strain and will “likely miss this week,” Schottenheimer said. Winters was hurt in the second quarter of what Schottenheimer called “maybe his best game for us,” a game that included an interception of Jordan Love. Kick returner KaVontae Turpin, hurt on the opening kickoff, has a rib cartilage injury. “Like I said last night, rib cartilage will be week to week,” Schottenheimer said, and he called Turpin unlikely for Philadelphia.
The good news is DeMarvion Overshown, who has been out since hurting his hamstring in Week 1 against the Giants. “We’ll see how he works back into practice this week,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re hoping he returns this week.” Asked why the hamstring took so long, he said: “The hamstrings can be tricky. You don’t know how they’re going to react. I think we do feel really good that he’s going to be back this week.” Co-owner Stephen Jones said in a radio interview on Monday that Overshown would play the weak-side spot next to rookie Jaishawn Barham, who has had the green-dot helmet since Overshown got hurt. Schottenheimer said the two linebacker spots are “interchangeable” and that Overshown’s snaps would be built up.
He also praised the backups. “Shemar James, like I said, is doing a really good job. Justin Barron last night did a really good job,” he said. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who left and returned on Sunday, “rolled” his ankle again, Schottenheimer said. “He went, got it taped up and went back.”
“Second-half catch-up”
Dak Prescott threw 54 passes and completed 34 for 258 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Dallas ran 15 times for 48 yards. Schottenheimer said falling behind in back-to-back games has warped everything else. “The last two games we’ve been playing second-half catch-up, if you will,” he said. “And when you play second-half catch-up, it’s going to affect a lot of things. It’s going to affect your rushing attempts. It’s going to affect how many times teams can blitz you and pressure you.”
He admitted the protection has problems, “from a blitz pickup standpoint, all of us, from a scheme standpoint, from an execution standpoint,” but returned to the score. “We’ve just kind of put ourselves behind the eight-ball and had to play catch-up against two aggressive teams,” he said. “They’ve come after us, and we haven’t handled it very well.”
He did not plan to throw it 54 times. “That’s not a good formula,” Schottenheimer said. But he ruled out a wholesale change. “We’re going to get back to work. We’re going to figure it out. We have great trust in our offense. I’m not concerned about our offense,” he said, pointing to how explosive Dallas had been last season and in four of this season’s games. Asked whether execution falls on the players or the coaches, he answered with one word: “Both.”
Moving Pickens around
George Pickens caught six passes for 73 yards on 11 targets. Schottenheimer agreed that Dallas has to get him going earlier. “Yeah, no, we need to. I think that’s fair,” he said. “We need to move him around more. Again, I think when you look at GP, he’s able to move around. We just got to do a better job of moving him around with the design, put him in different spots. But they’re certainly paying attention to him. They’re certainly finding him.” He added that he likes how Pickens keeps working “to make plays late.”
On defense he named defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, who both had sacks, along with cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Porter. He also gave credit to Jonathan Mingo for fielding punts in the wind. Mingo’s return set up a touchdown. “I think that’s the definition of complementary football that we haven’t done enough this year,” he said.
“I’ll never not take accountability”
Co-owner Stephen Jones publicly backed Schottenheimer on Monday. Asked whether he needed to hear that, the coach said: “No, not really. I’m focused on the process of turning this around, for myself, the players. Certainly not good enough. We’re disappointed with where we’re at. We know we need to play better. We know we can play better.”
He said he does not need a show of anger to reach the players. “I’m always honest with these guys. I raise my voice a lot with these guys. You guys don’t hear it because you’re not out there, you’re not in meetings,” he said. “I’ll never not take accountability for the fact that we’re 2-4. It’s not what we planned on being. We’ve got to play better, we’ve got to coach better, and it needs to start this week against Philadelphia.”
Dallas visits the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday, October 26, at 8:15 p.m. EDT. Of the Cowboys’ next five opponents, only San Francisco has a winning record.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.