Jane Slater of NFL Network reported on Tuesday that a few anonymous Dallas Cowboys players called the coaching staff totally unprepared and claimed that they weren’t good at their jobs. Head coach Mike McCarthy said he hadn’t heard any such discussions and would rather things be handled like men amongst his players.
McCarthy had a briefing Wednesday morning with the media and called the incident a “teachable moment” for his football team.
“The anonymous is something we don’t want to recognize,” McCarthy said, via USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “But it’s important to recognize anything and everything for a teachable moment.”
It’s been a struggle all season long for the Cowboys to consistently play well. They switched to a hybrid scheme with multiple three and four-man fronts under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and it hasn’t worked as previously hoped. They rank 27th in yards allowed and dead last in rushing yards allowed per game (173.3) and points per game (36.3). They rank 19th in sacks per game (1.8) and of their 11 as a team, four have come from Aldon Smith, who he hasn’t recorded one since Week 3 vs the Seattle Seahawks.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cowboys led the NFL averaging 464 yards per game. However, they also have had major turnover issues, recording nine in the last three games (1-2 over that span).
The Cowboys suffered a brutal 38-10 defeat on Monday to the Arizona Cardinals. They’ll have a chance to redeem themselves this Sunday when they visit the Washington Football Team who are currently on a five-game losing streak.
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