NFL Nation: Dallas Cowboys
A weekly examination of the Cowboys’ ESPN.com Power Ranking:
Preseason: 20 | Last Week: 15 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002
The Dallas Cowboys dropped three spots in this week’s ESPN.com Power Rankings after their 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers, but they will have a chance to make a big jump if they can knock off the top-ranked Denver Broncos on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
With the way the Broncos are playing and the way the Cowboys' defense played last week against Philip Rivers (401 yards passing, three touchdowns), that seems like too tall of an order.
Among the voters, Dan Graziano continues to be a believer in the Cowboys, putting them at No. 14 in the rankings, while Kevin Seifert gives them their lowest ranking at No. 21. The Chargers did not receive much of a bump in beating the Cowboys, going from No. 19 to No. 17.
The Cowboys remain the top-rated NFC East team by a decent margin. The Washington Redskins check in at No. 25, but the Cowboys’ two wins this year came against the No. 29 New York Giants and No. 26 St. Louis Rams.
Beating the Broncos and Peyton Manning could be a huge boost, but the Cowboys are so much of a week-to-week team that you cannot predict that it would mean much going into their Week 6 meeting against the Redskins.
Preseason: 20 | Last Week: 15 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002
The Dallas Cowboys dropped three spots in this week’s ESPN.com Power Rankings after their 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers, but they will have a chance to make a big jump if they can knock off the top-ranked Denver Broncos on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
With the way the Broncos are playing and the way the Cowboys' defense played last week against Philip Rivers (401 yards passing, three touchdowns), that seems like too tall of an order.
Among the voters, Dan Graziano continues to be a believer in the Cowboys, putting them at No. 14 in the rankings, while Kevin Seifert gives them their lowest ranking at No. 21. The Chargers did not receive much of a bump in beating the Cowboys, going from No. 19 to No. 17.
The Cowboys remain the top-rated NFC East team by a decent margin. The Washington Redskins check in at No. 25, but the Cowboys’ two wins this year came against the No. 29 New York Giants and No. 26 St. Louis Rams.
Beating the Broncos and Peyton Manning could be a huge boost, but the Cowboys are so much of a week-to-week team that you cannot predict that it would mean much going into their Week 6 meeting against the Redskins.
IRVING, Texas -- The No. 1 job of the Monte Kiffin-led defense is to affect the quarterback.
The Dallas Cowboys did not do that in their 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers, sacking Philip Rivers just once and unable to put any consistent pressure on him.
The result was a 401-yard, three-touchdown day for Rivers.
Rivers was able to do most of his damage in a no-huddle offense with shorter throws to set up the deep shots. Simply, he did not allow the Cowboys the chance to generate much of a pass rush because he got rid of the ball so quickly.
“You’ve just got to get push in the pocket and you have to win quicker and you have to cover better earlier and not give them a place to throw the ball quite so quickly,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you make him hold it on some of those routes, quarterbacks tend to get uncomfortable. They just did a great job. He got the ball out of his hands. They got guys open. They did it consistently through the game.”
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will notice and use some of that against the Cowboys this week at AT&T Stadium. Manning has been sacked only five times and only twice since losing left tackle Ryan Clady for the season.
Garrett did not have a kind review of his defensive line from the Chargers game.
“They did not play to their level and a lot of different reasons for that,” Garrett said. “We’re playing a lot of different combinations ... but there are no excuses. One of the things that they did is they possessed the ball a lot. They were in that no-huddle offense and [Rivers] was at the line of scrimmage and they’re playing at a pace that they’re controlling. Sometimes that’s hard on defensive linemen but that’s the nature of this league. That happens a lot and you just have to make sure that you’re ready for the challenge.”
The Dallas Cowboys did not do that in their 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers, sacking Philip Rivers just once and unable to put any consistent pressure on him.
The result was a 401-yard, three-touchdown day for Rivers.
Rivers was able to do most of his damage in a no-huddle offense with shorter throws to set up the deep shots. Simply, he did not allow the Cowboys the chance to generate much of a pass rush because he got rid of the ball so quickly.
“You’ve just got to get push in the pocket and you have to win quicker and you have to cover better earlier and not give them a place to throw the ball quite so quickly,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you make him hold it on some of those routes, quarterbacks tend to get uncomfortable. They just did a great job. He got the ball out of his hands. They got guys open. They did it consistently through the game.”
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will notice and use some of that against the Cowboys this week at AT&T Stadium. Manning has been sacked only five times and only twice since losing left tackle Ryan Clady for the season.
Garrett did not have a kind review of his defensive line from the Chargers game.
“They did not play to their level and a lot of different reasons for that,” Garrett said. “We’re playing a lot of different combinations ... but there are no excuses. One of the things that they did is they possessed the ball a lot. They were in that no-huddle offense and [Rivers] was at the line of scrimmage and they’re playing at a pace that they’re controlling. Sometimes that’s hard on defensive linemen but that’s the nature of this league. That happens a lot and you just have to make sure that you’re ready for the challenge.”
IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett played quarterback for 12 years in the NFL and saw Hall of Famer Troy Aikman up close for seven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys coach has studied the game forever and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is doing things never been done before.
Manning“He’s playing quarterback at maybe the highest level it’s ever been played,” Garrett said. “He’s been doing it for 15 years. He’s a fantastic player. His understanding of the game is second to none. His command is second to none. His ability to positively impact the people around him is second to none. Physically, he’s awfully good. He throws it where he wants to over and over and over again. He throws it on time. He’s accurate. He has the ability to make a ton of big plays and very few bad plays. He’s playing at as high of a level as the game has ever been played.”
Manning has 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first four games. He has thrown for 1,470 yards. His quarterback rating is a ridiculous 138.0. His QBR is 91.4.
It’s only Tuesday so it might be a little early for the Cowboys to be tired of all of the Peyton Manning greatness talk, but there might come a point where all of the gushing about how well the Broncos quarterback is playing gets to be too much.
But could all of the glowing talk lead some of the defenders, rattled after last week’s performance against San Diego, make it seem like Manning is infallible?
“The one thing I would say is nobody is building him up; he’s doing it,” Garrett said. “It’s not like this is false bravado. It’s on the tape. You are going to watch the tape and see how good they are, and see how well he is playing, and the weapons that he has and how he’s using them and just how efficient and effective they’ve been. So, we are going to watch the tape and evaluate and put a plan together and we are going to go play.”
The Cowboys coach has studied the game forever and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is doing things never been done before.
Manning has 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first four games. He has thrown for 1,470 yards. His quarterback rating is a ridiculous 138.0. His QBR is 91.4.
It’s only Tuesday so it might be a little early for the Cowboys to be tired of all of the Peyton Manning greatness talk, but there might come a point where all of the gushing about how well the Broncos quarterback is playing gets to be too much.
But could all of the glowing talk lead some of the defenders, rattled after last week’s performance against San Diego, make it seem like Manning is infallible?
“The one thing I would say is nobody is building him up; he’s doing it,” Garrett said. “It’s not like this is false bravado. It’s on the tape. You are going to watch the tape and see how good they are, and see how well he is playing, and the weapons that he has and how he’s using them and just how efficient and effective they’ve been. So, we are going to watch the tape and evaluate and put a plan together and we are going to go play.”
Cowboys' deep passing game is lacking
October, 1, 2013
Oct 1
10:55
AM ET
By
Calvin Watkins | ESPN.com
IRVING, Texas -- In the first four weeks of the season, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has thrown just nine passes of 20 or more yards and fewer than 10 passes with 21 or more air yards.
To say the Cowboys don't take enough shots down the field would be fair. In Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers, 19 of Romo's 27 completions went for fewer than 10 yards.
Romo 
Bryant Defensive coverage, time in the pocket and play call affect whether or not Romo throws passes down the field. It would seem Romo has the weapons necessary to take shots down field in wide receiver Dez Bryant and at times rookie wideout Terrance Williams. When healthy, Miles Austin is a deep threat, but his ability to beat defenses on slants is something the Cowboys like to take advantage of.
The Cowboys struggled on third down, going 3-of-9 and had four drops in the passing game, three coming on third-down plays. The Cowboys ran the ball well, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but still didn't challenge one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL with deep throws.
"That’s certainly something you want to do," coach Jason Garrett said of deep throws. "You want to be able to make some chunk plays in the passing game. The touchdown that Dez had, the 34-yarder, was one of those kinds of plays. A ball doesn’t always have to travel that far in the air but you want to be able to make those plays, complete the ball in the intermediate range where you give your receiver a chance to break a tackle and go score. We didn’t do that on a consistent enough basis throughout the ballgame."
The touchdown Garrett is speaking of is the throw Romo made to Bryant in tight one-on-one coverage against the Chargers on a throw to the end zone.
"He can make that catch with two people on him," Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on KRLD-FM.
Jones said he doesn't feel the need to challenge defenses deep all the time. In the Chargers game, Jones felt Romo had time to complete all sorts of throws because the offensive line played well.
It's just interesting that Peyton Manning (17), Geno Smith (17), Philip Rivers (15) and Alex Smith (14) just to name a few have more 20-yard throws than Romo. Michael Vick leads the NFL with 23 passes of 20 or more yards.
"I think if we would have done a better job on third downs, you get a few more of those opportunities and we wanted to be balanced and consistently try to run the ball throughout," Garrett said. "We were able to do that, and hopefully you mix in a high-percentage game with a chunk, big-play passing game and that’s the way you want to play offensive football."
To say the Cowboys don't take enough shots down the field would be fair. In Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers, 19 of Romo's 27 completions went for fewer than 10 yards.
The Cowboys struggled on third down, going 3-of-9 and had four drops in the passing game, three coming on third-down plays. The Cowboys ran the ball well, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but still didn't challenge one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL with deep throws.
"That’s certainly something you want to do," coach Jason Garrett said of deep throws. "You want to be able to make some chunk plays in the passing game. The touchdown that Dez had, the 34-yarder, was one of those kinds of plays. A ball doesn’t always have to travel that far in the air but you want to be able to make those plays, complete the ball in the intermediate range where you give your receiver a chance to break a tackle and go score. We didn’t do that on a consistent enough basis throughout the ballgame."
The touchdown Garrett is speaking of is the throw Romo made to Bryant in tight one-on-one coverage against the Chargers on a throw to the end zone.
"He can make that catch with two people on him," Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on KRLD-FM.
Jones said he doesn't feel the need to challenge defenses deep all the time. In the Chargers game, Jones felt Romo had time to complete all sorts of throws because the offensive line played well.
It's just interesting that Peyton Manning (17), Geno Smith (17), Philip Rivers (15) and Alex Smith (14) just to name a few have more 20-yard throws than Romo. Michael Vick leads the NFL with 23 passes of 20 or more yards.
"I think if we would have done a better job on third downs, you get a few more of those opportunities and we wanted to be balanced and consistently try to run the ball throughout," Garrett said. "We were able to do that, and hopefully you mix in a high-percentage game with a chunk, big-play passing game and that’s the way you want to play offensive football."
IRVING, Texas – It’s time for Five Wonders while wondering just how many yards Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will throw for Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
1. We’ll keep it with the Manning theme with the first wonder. The Cowboys have allowed two 400-yard passing games in a season for the first time in team history. That they came in the first four games is troubling with Eli Manning throwing for 450 yards and Philip Rivers throwing for 401 yards. I wonder how many 400-yard games they will allow this season. This Sunday they see Peyton Manning. In the future they get New Orleans’ Drew Brees, who threw for 446 yards against them last season, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Philadelphia’s Michael Vick and Chicago’s Jay Cutler. Vick and Rodgers already have 400-yard games this season. Washington’s Robert Griffin III has the capability of a 400-yard game. And then there’s a rematch with Eli Manning and the Giants. I wonder if the total will be four or five. What do you think?
2. I wonder if the Cowboys need to take shots down the field offensively. It’s not about throwing go routes all of the time, but the field shrinks when the Cowboys don’t take shots. So far this season Tony Romo has completed 72.4 percent of his passes, but he has only three completions of 25 yards or more. In 2012 he had 34. In 2011 he had 35. In 2009 he had 39. The offense has changed, and I don’t believe it’s Bill Callahan’s West Coast philosophy. I believe it’s Romo being more sure with the ball and getting rid of it quicker. Manning is the best quarterback in the world right now and he has 11 passes of at least 25 yards. Vick leads the NFL with 15. Romo is on pace for 12 this season. He is in a tough spot because if he throws it up for Dez Bryant or Miles Austin to make a play and the pass is intercepted he has to hear how he’s forcing the ball too much. That shouldn’t dictate his thought process and I don’t believe it does, but did anybody see Atlanta’s Matt Ryan just throw it up to Julio Jones on Sunday night? At some point you have to take chances.
3. I wonder how Orlando Scandrick will do against Wes Welker. He fared pretty well against him when the Cowboys played at the New England Patriots in 2011. Welker had a touchdown, but caught six passes for 45 yards. Leading into that game Welker had at least 81 yards in every game. He had only three games with fewer than 45 yards the rest of the season on his way to a 122-catch, 1,569-yard season. Scandrick’s quickness helps in his matchup with Welker, but so does his aggressiveness. He can play as well as he possibly can against Welker, but the Broncos have Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas that will cause the Cowboys issues.
4. I wonder when the Cowboys realize their running game is at its best when they run out of three-wide receiver formations. They want to be as 12 personnel team and run two-tight end formations as much as possible, but it’s just not sticking so far. The Cowboys like it because they feel like they can dictate to the defense because 12 personnel does not allow the defense to determine the strength of the formation. By my count, DeMarco Murray has 152 yards on 25 carries out of 11 personnel in the last two games. He has 83 yards on 15 carries out of 12 or 13 personnel. Both are good, but 41 of those 83 yards came on one play against St. Louis. When the field is spread, Murray is a better runner and the Cowboys are able to block it better. This running game is not about overpowering defenses. It’s about angles. With more room, Murray looks like he can get to the angles better.
5. The Cowboys have shown nothing has changed from the last two years with their win-one, lose-one start to the first quarter of the season. I picked them to go 10-6 at the start of the season and to be a wild-card team. Clearly the NFC East will not get a wild-card spot, so the Cowboys will have to win the division. Getting off to a 3-1 start was a must, in my view, and they are 2-2. So now I wonder where they will steal a win later in the season to make up for it. This week against Denver? Hard to be confident in that one. At Detroit later in the year? Stafford is playing well. At Chicago? Winning in December at Soldier Field is tough. At New Orleans? Yikes. Winning their division games is even more important now and they might have to win five of their six games inside the NFC, so they have to sweep the Giants and sweep either the Philadelphia Eagles or Washington Redskins. Garrett does not look at it like this. He’s a one-game-at-a-time kind of guy, but that doesn’t mean the guys in the locker room are thinking that way too.
[+] Enlarge
Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty ImagesStopping Peyton Manning is going to be a tall task for a Dallas defense that has already allowed two 400-yard passers this season.
2. I wonder if the Cowboys need to take shots down the field offensively. It’s not about throwing go routes all of the time, but the field shrinks when the Cowboys don’t take shots. So far this season Tony Romo has completed 72.4 percent of his passes, but he has only three completions of 25 yards or more. In 2012 he had 34. In 2011 he had 35. In 2009 he had 39. The offense has changed, and I don’t believe it’s Bill Callahan’s West Coast philosophy. I believe it’s Romo being more sure with the ball and getting rid of it quicker. Manning is the best quarterback in the world right now and he has 11 passes of at least 25 yards. Vick leads the NFL with 15. Romo is on pace for 12 this season. He is in a tough spot because if he throws it up for Dez Bryant or Miles Austin to make a play and the pass is intercepted he has to hear how he’s forcing the ball too much. That shouldn’t dictate his thought process and I don’t believe it does, but did anybody see Atlanta’s Matt Ryan just throw it up to Julio Jones on Sunday night? At some point you have to take chances.
3. I wonder how Orlando Scandrick will do against Wes Welker. He fared pretty well against him when the Cowboys played at the New England Patriots in 2011. Welker had a touchdown, but caught six passes for 45 yards. Leading into that game Welker had at least 81 yards in every game. He had only three games with fewer than 45 yards the rest of the season on his way to a 122-catch, 1,569-yard season. Scandrick’s quickness helps in his matchup with Welker, but so does his aggressiveness. He can play as well as he possibly can against Welker, but the Broncos have Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas that will cause the Cowboys issues.
4. I wonder when the Cowboys realize their running game is at its best when they run out of three-wide receiver formations. They want to be as 12 personnel team and run two-tight end formations as much as possible, but it’s just not sticking so far. The Cowboys like it because they feel like they can dictate to the defense because 12 personnel does not allow the defense to determine the strength of the formation. By my count, DeMarco Murray has 152 yards on 25 carries out of 11 personnel in the last two games. He has 83 yards on 15 carries out of 12 or 13 personnel. Both are good, but 41 of those 83 yards came on one play against St. Louis. When the field is spread, Murray is a better runner and the Cowboys are able to block it better. This running game is not about overpowering defenses. It’s about angles. With more room, Murray looks like he can get to the angles better.
5. The Cowboys have shown nothing has changed from the last two years with their win-one, lose-one start to the first quarter of the season. I picked them to go 10-6 at the start of the season and to be a wild-card team. Clearly the NFC East will not get a wild-card spot, so the Cowboys will have to win the division. Getting off to a 3-1 start was a must, in my view, and they are 2-2. So now I wonder where they will steal a win later in the season to make up for it. This week against Denver? Hard to be confident in that one. At Detroit later in the year? Stafford is playing well. At Chicago? Winning in December at Soldier Field is tough. At New Orleans? Yikes. Winning their division games is even more important now and they might have to win five of their six games inside the NFC, so they have to sweep the Giants and sweep either the Philadelphia Eagles or Washington Redskins. Garrett does not look at it like this. He’s a one-game-at-a-time kind of guy, but that doesn’t mean the guys in the locker room are thinking that way too.
Morris Claiborne is struggling for Cowboys
September, 30, 2013
Sep 30
8:00
PM ET
By
Calvin Watkins | ESPN.com
IRVING, Texas -- There were plenty of questions during coach Jason Garrett's news conference on Monday about cornerback Morris Claiborne.
ClaiborneIn Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers, an unofficial count had Claiborne allowing four receptions for 84 yards. The four times he was targeted in what was thought to be man coverage, were all completed passes.
Claiborne lost the starting job to Orlando Scandrick because of a shoulder injury, but he's continuing to play through the injury on passing downs and when offenses line up with three receivers.
It seems Claiborne is playing with a lack of confidence and is struggling with his techniques when he faces receivers in tight coverage.
"I think it’s probably a combination," Garrett said. "Technically, you go back at each of the completions against him and you say, 'Hey, you should do this. You should do that.' But I also think confidence, playing that position, is critical. And usually those two things work hand in hand. When you’re playing technically sound and you have ability, you tend to have more and more confidence because you’re in the right place. They went to him too much in this ballgame, and they were too effective. He’s just got to play better, and he will play better."
An NFC personnel man had this to say about Claiborne: "He's a good cover guy with top-flight weight, height and speed to cover, but he gets lost trying to find the ball. He disrupts the ball, but he's not a ball hawk."
The same personnel man said chargers receiver Keenan Allen exposed Claiborne. Allen caught three of his five passes for 80 yards against Claiborne. On Allen's second reception of the game, he adjusted to a deep pass faster than Claiborne did to make a 31-yard reception.
The Cowboys expected more from Claiborne as he enters his second season and considering what the team did, move from No. 14 to No. 6 in draft selections to get him, you might say he's been disappointing.
"It’s a challenging position," Garrett said. "The quarterbacks and receivers in this league are very good. Guys at the college level, they don’t face the expertise or just the level of play, the level of skill that these guys have, so sometimes if you’re a more talented player, you can get away with being a little late to the ball because you can come back. The ball’s not really where it’s supposed to be. But guys in this league throw the ball on time. They throw it where they want to throw it. The route running is good. So technically you just have to be really, really sound to give yourself a chance to succeed out there, because you’re by yourself."
Claiborne lost the starting job to Orlando Scandrick because of a shoulder injury, but he's continuing to play through the injury on passing downs and when offenses line up with three receivers.
It seems Claiborne is playing with a lack of confidence and is struggling with his techniques when he faces receivers in tight coverage.
"I think it’s probably a combination," Garrett said. "Technically, you go back at each of the completions against him and you say, 'Hey, you should do this. You should do that.' But I also think confidence, playing that position, is critical. And usually those two things work hand in hand. When you’re playing technically sound and you have ability, you tend to have more and more confidence because you’re in the right place. They went to him too much in this ballgame, and they were too effective. He’s just got to play better, and he will play better."
An NFC personnel man had this to say about Claiborne: "He's a good cover guy with top-flight weight, height and speed to cover, but he gets lost trying to find the ball. He disrupts the ball, but he's not a ball hawk."
The same personnel man said chargers receiver Keenan Allen exposed Claiborne. Allen caught three of his five passes for 80 yards against Claiborne. On Allen's second reception of the game, he adjusted to a deep pass faster than Claiborne did to make a 31-yard reception.
The Cowboys expected more from Claiborne as he enters his second season and considering what the team did, move from No. 14 to No. 6 in draft selections to get him, you might say he's been disappointing.
"It’s a challenging position," Garrett said. "The quarterbacks and receivers in this league are very good. Guys at the college level, they don’t face the expertise or just the level of play, the level of skill that these guys have, so sometimes if you’re a more talented player, you can get away with being a little late to the ball because you can come back. The ball’s not really where it’s supposed to be. But guys in this league throw the ball on time. They throw it where they want to throw it. The route running is good. So technically you just have to be really, really sound to give yourself a chance to succeed out there, because you’re by yourself."
Cowboys not afraid to make lineup changes
September, 30, 2013
Sep 30
7:36
PM ET
By
Todd Archer | ESPN.com
IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett and his Dallas Cowboys coaching staff have shown they will not be patient with players.
Through the first quarter of the season, they have made a change at safety, replacing veteran Will Allen with rookie J.J. Wilcox; Brian Waters replaced Mackenzy Bernadeau at right guard, and in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers linebacker Bruce Carter was benched and replaced by Ernie Sims.
“I think we’ve always strived to make everybody feel accountable for what they’re doing around here and oftentimes competition allows you to do that better as a football coach and as a football staff,” Garrett said. “You look at the guys you have available to you and you make your best decision for your football team. And if you have guys who are competing for a spot and you can put the next guy in and he can be as good and maybe better than the guy who’s playing right now, you are more willing and able to do that. Hopefully the competition will bring out the best in both of those players who are competing for that spot and they’ll get better and you’ll consequently get better as a team.”
Guard Ronald Leary allowed a sack and had a key penalty, which could put Bernadeau in the mix at left guard. Cornerback Morris Claiborne did not play well against the Chargers, but the Cowboys are not ready to go with rookie B.W. Webb in the slot in order to keep Orlando Scandrick outside.
“We feel like the combination we had out there is the best combination, and if we thought otherwise we would make that change. But what he needs to do is just play better,” Garrett said. “He needs to play with the right technique and do it consistently over and over and over again.”
Through the first quarter of the season, they have made a change at safety, replacing veteran Will Allen with rookie J.J. Wilcox; Brian Waters replaced Mackenzy Bernadeau at right guard, and in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers linebacker Bruce Carter was benched and replaced by Ernie Sims.
“I think we’ve always strived to make everybody feel accountable for what they’re doing around here and oftentimes competition allows you to do that better as a football coach and as a football staff,” Garrett said. “You look at the guys you have available to you and you make your best decision for your football team. And if you have guys who are competing for a spot and you can put the next guy in and he can be as good and maybe better than the guy who’s playing right now, you are more willing and able to do that. Hopefully the competition will bring out the best in both of those players who are competing for that spot and they’ll get better and you’ll consequently get better as a team.”
Guard Ronald Leary allowed a sack and had a key penalty, which could put Bernadeau in the mix at left guard. Cornerback Morris Claiborne did not play well against the Chargers, but the Cowboys are not ready to go with rookie B.W. Webb in the slot in order to keep Orlando Scandrick outside.
“We feel like the combination we had out there is the best combination, and if we thought otherwise we would make that change. But what he needs to do is just play better,” Garrett said. “He needs to play with the right technique and do it consistently over and over and over again.”
Sore foot, poor play took Bruce Carter out
September, 30, 2013
Sep 30
7:20
PM ET
By
Todd Archer | ESPN.com
IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bruce Carter was taken out of the lineup Sunday against the San Diego Chargers not just for poor play but also a slight foot injury.
“That’s something we heard about in the second half of the game,” coach Jason Garrett said.
But the coach was clearly displeased with Carter’s performance. He was beaten by Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for two touchdowns and had other struggles in coverage.
“There were some other things going on in our other coverage that he didn’t do quite enough good job on,” Garrett said. “We wanted to give Ernie Sims some chances to come play, particularly in that nickel package. ... We’ve just got to get better there. Bruce has been a good cover linebacker for us, and he’ll be a good cover linebacker for us again.”
Garrett did not commit to Carter in the nickel package.
“We’ll continue the evaluation and we’ll give them both chances as the week goes on and make those determinations by game time,” Garrett said.
“That’s something we heard about in the second half of the game,” coach Jason Garrett said.
But the coach was clearly displeased with Carter’s performance. He was beaten by Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for two touchdowns and had other struggles in coverage.
“There were some other things going on in our other coverage that he didn’t do quite enough good job on,” Garrett said. “We wanted to give Ernie Sims some chances to come play, particularly in that nickel package. ... We’ve just got to get better there. Bruce has been a good cover linebacker for us, and he’ll be a good cover linebacker for us again.”
Garrett did not commit to Carter in the nickel package.
“We’ll continue the evaluation and we’ll give them both chances as the week goes on and make those determinations by game time,” Garrett said.
Terrance Williams still getting over fumble
September, 30, 2013
Sep 30
7:20
PM ET
By
Calvin Watkins | ESPN.com
IRVING, Texas -- The day after, Cowboys rookie wide receiver Terrance Williams was still dealing with his fourth-quarter fumble in Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers.
Williams Williams caught a short pass over the middle and while trying to stretch out for more yards, he was stripped of the ball at the Chargers 2. The miscue came at a difficult time for the Cowboys. They trailed 30-21 and a touchdown would have made it a one-score game. Instead the Cowboys had to continue to play catch-up after the fumble with 2:42 to play in the game.
"I still feel the same," Williams said of his sour mood. "I should have gotten down. I felt like we were pressed for time, but I should have gotten down so we could have kicked the field goal."
Williams was escorted off the field by Bryan Wansley, the director of player development. And several of his teammates, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray, along with team owner Jerry Jones offered words of encouragement to Williams in the locker room.
Williams also dropped a sideline pass earlier in the game. Overall, Williams had career highs in catches (seven) and yards (71) in the loss to the Chargers and continues to show the Cowboys why he's got a bright future.
But some mental mistakes, including running the wrong route which led to an interception against the New York Giants in Week 1, have opened the door for critics.
"He made a number of plays for us," coach Jason Garrett said. "He obviously had the fumble going in -- we had a real good scoring chance with a few minutes to go in the game. It was an effort play he was making, there's no question about that. He catches it short of the goal line and he wants to get in and he extends the ball, and one of the things he's going to learn as a young player is when you're in those situations guys are fantastic at getting the ball out. It's a physical game and they're going to knock the ball out. So, he'll learn from that experience."
"I still feel the same," Williams said of his sour mood. "I should have gotten down. I felt like we were pressed for time, but I should have gotten down so we could have kicked the field goal."
Williams was escorted off the field by Bryan Wansley, the director of player development. And several of his teammates, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray, along with team owner Jerry Jones offered words of encouragement to Williams in the locker room.
Williams also dropped a sideline pass earlier in the game. Overall, Williams had career highs in catches (seven) and yards (71) in the loss to the Chargers and continues to show the Cowboys why he's got a bright future.
But some mental mistakes, including running the wrong route which led to an interception against the New York Giants in Week 1, have opened the door for critics.
"He made a number of plays for us," coach Jason Garrett said. "He obviously had the fumble going in -- we had a real good scoring chance with a few minutes to go in the game. It was an effort play he was making, there's no question about that. He catches it short of the goal line and he wants to get in and he extends the ball, and one of the things he's going to learn as a young player is when you're in those situations guys are fantastic at getting the ball out. It's a physical game and they're going to knock the ball out. So, he'll learn from that experience."
Garrett has hope for Miles Austin this week
September, 30, 2013
Sep 30
6:38
PM ET
By
Todd Archer | ESPN.com
Austin missed the 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers with a hamstring injury suffered during the Sept. 22 win against the St. Louis Rams. Austin did not practice last week and did not do any running on the field during the portion of the sessions that were open to the media.
“He ran here the last couple of days and he’s made progress, so hopefully as this week goes on he’s able to practice and have a chance to play in this ballgame,” coach Jason Garrett said.
Last week Garrett said Austin’s hamstring strain was not as severe as the ones he suffered the previous two seasons. Austin did not miss a game in 2012, but he missed six in 2011 because of separate hamstring strains.
A review of four hot issues from the Dallas Cowboys' 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
Don’t lament the running game: The easy thing to do after a game is look at the final stats and say something like, "The Cowboys should have run it more."
DeMarco Murray had 70 yards on 14 carries, and, as a team, the Cowboys had 92 yards on 16 carries. However, the Cowboys did not have the ball enough in the second half to continue to make a dent with the running game. They were down two scores by the time they had their third possession of the second half, and running it made no sense.
The line rotation appears over: The right guard job now belongs to Brian Waters. After playing two series in each half of the Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and then alternating series with Mackenzy Bernadeau in the Week 3 win against the St. Louis Rams, Waters played the entire game Sunday against the Chargers. The Cowboys like Waters' strength and savvy, but left guard Ronald Leary will have to remain on his toes. As much as the Cowboys like him, they will not hesitate to make a move. So far this season, the Cowboys have benched Will Allen and Bruce Carter. They’re not afraid to make a decision.
Quick-strike defense: With Sean Lee's 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter, the Cowboys have three defensive scores in four games. They had three all of last season, and the last time they had four in a season came in 2010 after Jason Garrett took over as head coach.
Brandon Carr returned an interception of Eli Manning for a touchdown in the season-opening win against the New York Giants and Barry Church added a 27-yard fumble return for a score. Perhaps it could be an omen for this week’s game against the Denver Broncos. The last time the Cowboys saw Peyton Manning, Lee and Orlando Scandrick returned interceptions for touchdowns on Dec. 5, 2010, when Manning was with the Indianapolis Colts.
Need field-position work: Chris Jones has a big leg, but he needs to do a better job of pinning opponents deep in their territory. And when he has a punt land on the 15, as happened Sunday, the coverage team has to down the ball before it gets to the end zone. Lance Dunbar was unable to track a Jones punt in the fourth quarter, which went for a touchback and gave the Chargers the ball at the 20.
Six plays later, Antonio Gates had a 56-yard touchdown catch. Had Dunbar made the play, then the Chargers could have had to go a longer distance to score. Of course, with the way the defense played Sunday, it might not have mattered.
Don’t lament the running game: The easy thing to do after a game is look at the final stats and say something like, "The Cowboys should have run it more."
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Denis PoroyRunning back DeMarco Murray finished with 70 yards on 14 carries against San Diego.
The line rotation appears over: The right guard job now belongs to Brian Waters. After playing two series in each half of the Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and then alternating series with Mackenzy Bernadeau in the Week 3 win against the St. Louis Rams, Waters played the entire game Sunday against the Chargers. The Cowboys like Waters' strength and savvy, but left guard Ronald Leary will have to remain on his toes. As much as the Cowboys like him, they will not hesitate to make a move. So far this season, the Cowboys have benched Will Allen and Bruce Carter. They’re not afraid to make a decision.
Quick-strike defense: With Sean Lee's 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter, the Cowboys have three defensive scores in four games. They had three all of last season, and the last time they had four in a season came in 2010 after Jason Garrett took over as head coach.
Brandon Carr returned an interception of Eli Manning for a touchdown in the season-opening win against the New York Giants and Barry Church added a 27-yard fumble return for a score. Perhaps it could be an omen for this week’s game against the Denver Broncos. The last time the Cowboys saw Peyton Manning, Lee and Orlando Scandrick returned interceptions for touchdowns on Dec. 5, 2010, when Manning was with the Indianapolis Colts.
Need field-position work: Chris Jones has a big leg, but he needs to do a better job of pinning opponents deep in their territory. And when he has a punt land on the 15, as happened Sunday, the coverage team has to down the ball before it gets to the end zone. Lance Dunbar was unable to track a Jones punt in the fourth quarter, which went for a touchback and gave the Chargers the ball at the 20.
Six plays later, Antonio Gates had a 56-yard touchdown catch. Had Dunbar made the play, then the Chargers could have had to go a longer distance to score. Of course, with the way the defense played Sunday, it might not have mattered.
Cowboys receiving corps struggles
September, 29, 2013
Sep 29
11:20
PM ET
By
Calvin Watkins | ESPN.com
AP Photo/Denis PoroyCowboys receiver Terrance Williams is stripped of the ball as he tries to score. It was one of many miscues by Dallas receivers in a 30-21 loss to San Diego.You know things are bad when Bryan Wansley, the director of player development, escorts rookie wide receiver Terrance Williams off the field.
Williams received pep talks from Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Jerry Jones after a forgettable day at the office. Williams suffered a miscue when the Cowboys were rallying from a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were having one of their best drives of the day when Tony Romo found Williams across the middle. Williams, trying to stretch out for the first down, was stripped by cornerback Crezdon Butler. Richard Marshall recovered the fumble in the end zone and got a touchback with 2:42 to play in the game.
The Cowboys would get no closer to the Chargers end zone the rest of the afternoon.
“Just feel like I was trying to make a play and it didn’t turn out that way,” Williams said. “I wanted [to score]. I just feel like I let a whole bunch of people down. So it’s going to be kinda tough to get past it but I have to move on.”
At two different points of his sessions with reporters, Jones spoke to Williams and Bryant broke up another chat.
It wasn’t like the Cowboys were trying to protect Williams. They want to help him improve.
On the day, he finished with career-highs in catches (seven) and yards (71). But the fumble is the play people will talk about Monday morning.
“Keep your head up,” Bryant said he told Williams. “Everybody has bad plays and they don’t determine who you are. And don’t let a bad play dictate what you can do. I know he’s a great player, that’s something you got to let go and move on to the next.”
Williams wasn’t alone in the miscues.
There was Bryant with a sideline drop, his second of the season, on the seventh play of the third quarter. Bryant was open along the sidelines, but he dropped the pass as it hit his hands.
The ball fell incomplete and the Cowboys got off the field with 6:24 to play in the third.
“Just trying to see where I was at on the field,” Bryant said. “I lost the ball trying to keep my feet inbounds.”
The Chargers would get a field goal to take a 23-21 lead early in the fourth quarter which pushed the Cowboys into panic mode.
Driving the length of the field, the Cowboys faced a third down when Romo found tight end Jason Witten down the middle of the field, but safety Eric Weddle got his hand tangled up with Witten’s and the ball fell incomplete.
Witten tried to snag it with one hand but couldn’t do it. The Cowboys were forced to punt and the offense watched Sean Lee get beat on a 56-yard touchdown reception by Antonio Gates.
Third down issues bothered the Cowboys receivers because of the four total drops on the day, three came on third downs where the team went 3-for-9 on the day.
"Some players do a good job of grabbing a jersey without being seen, so we had a few of those and a couple of times we had some plays we could have made but we didn't make them," Romo said. "You've got to give [the Chargers] credit and they did a good job of having a good pass rush on a couple of other plays, so it was a mixture of things."
The Cowboys didn't seem to miss Miles Austin, who was out with a hamstring injury. Romo was able to spread the offense around. He targeted his wide receivers 22 times on his 37 throws. The Chargers did provide some tight coverage on the receivers, including using a safety to shade Bryant preventing the Cowboys from going deep.
Yet, Bryant had two touchdowns to go along with six catches for 81 yards.
In the fourth quarter, he was targeted just three times. He made a catch with 12 minutes to play in the game and didn't have another one until 24 seconds left.
That shouldn't happen regardless of the coverage. The Cowboys have to get Bryant into situations to get open to make plays, if not then days like Sunday will happen often.
"That's what this game is, like I said before, we got to much talent on this team," Bryant said. "That’s the great thing about it, everybody can make a play. Everything went well. We all as one. We just got to continue to execute the best way we possibly can."
SAN DIEGO -- Tony Romo kept waiting and watching. So did Dez Bryant. So did Jason Witten and DeMarco Murray.
From the time the Dallas Cowboys took a 21-10 lead with 1:19 left in the second quarter, thanks to Sean Lee’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown, to the time the San Diego Chargers took a 23-21 lead with 14:50 left in the fourth quarter, Romo and the offense ran seven plays.
Seven. That’s it. For the entire third quarter.
By the time the Cowboys ran their 15th play of the second half, the Chargers upped their lead to what turned out to be the final score, 30-21.
During that time span, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers managed 37 plays for 310 yards on four drives that led to 20 points.
For those who will criticize the Cowboys' lack of a running game, they were never in a position to really run the ball because they did not have the ball much.
The Cowboys had 10 possessions and ran a season-low 56 plays. Last week against the St. Louis Rams they 10 possessions but their 59 plays ate up 33 minutes, 28 seconds.
They had the ball for only 25:57 against the Chargers, marking the first time they did not hold possession for at least half of the game this season.
“It’s one of those games that come down to a couple of plays,” said Romo, who completed 27 of 37 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. “Without as many possessions as you’d normally get in the football game you have to make them all count.”
The Cowboys had to be perfect on offense to match Rivers (35 of 42, 401 yards, three touchdowns) and they were not even close.
On the Cowboys’ first drive of the second half after a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive by San Diego, Dez Bryant was unable to hold on to a sideline throw from Romo on third down, worrying about tapping his feet inbounds. On their second drive of the second half after a 13-play, 84-yard drive by the Chargers, a Ronald Leary holding penalty wiped out a first-down pass to Cole Beasley at the San Diego 32. Two plays later Jason Witten was unable to come up with a Romo throw down the seam on third down.
“You’ve got to make those plays,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Those aren’t easy plays. Those aren’t easy throws and easy catches, but those guys are capable of making them. Again, I keep saying this, but in a game like this, it comes back down to those kind of plays when we’re not slowing them down and we have to match them and every one of those allows you to maintain a possession by converting a third down or putting you in a more favorable third down type situation.”
The Cowboys’ fourth drive of the second half ended at the Chargers 1 when rookie wide receiver Terrance Williams fumbled attempting to reach for the goal line with the Chargers leading by 9.
“At that point it’s a two-score game,” Garrett said. “We knock it in there we give ourselves a chance coming back.”
But they didn’t and there was no chance of a comeback.
“With minimal possessions it’s going to come down to a few things that you do right or wrong,” Romo said. “Offensively we needed to do a few more right.”
Chargers pick on Carter, Claiborne
September, 29, 2013
Sep 29
10:16
PM ET
By
Tim MacMahon | ESPN.com
SAN DIEGO -- It’s time to tap the brakes on a couple of highly-optimistic comparisons.
It’s pretty clear that labeling Bruce Carter as potentially the next Derrick Brooks was premature, at best. And, at this point, Morris Claiborne has no business even being mentioned in the same breath as Deion Sanders.
A couple of young players the Dallas Cowboys are counting on to blossom into defensive superstars simply stunk in Sunday’s 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Carter and Claiborne were picked on repeatedly while the Chargers shredded Monte Kiffin’s defense for 506 total yards.
“We’ve got to correct that, because they’re the kind of players who can make plays,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. “They have the ability to make the plays.”
Carter made a lot of plays in Rob Ryan’s 3-4 scheme last season, and the schematic switch to Monte Kiffin’s 4-3 was expected to benefit the third-year linebacker as much as anybody. Carter's speed and athleticism were thought to be perfect fits for the weakside linebacker spot, where Brooks starred during Kiffin’s Tampa Bay days.
But Carter has struggled in coverage, something San Diego schemed to exploit. Carter twice got beaten by Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for touchdown receptions. On the second one, Carter got torched about as badly as possible on a 13-yard wheel route.
“There are no excuses,” said Carter, who was replaced by Ernie Sims in the nickel package after Woodhead’s second score. “It’s my fault. I take all that, and I’ve just got to play better.”
We’re still waiting on Claiborne to flash the playmaking form that prompted Cowboys scouts to give him a draft grade higher than any cornerback since Sanders. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft has one career interception and has become the preferred target for opposing quarterbacks.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who finished with 401 yards on 35-of-42 passing, seemed to feel like he could attack Claiborne at will. Rookie receiver Keenan Allen (five catches for 80 yards) had the most success against Claiborne, who described his day as “very frustrating.”
“They hit a couple of plays all over the field,” Claiborne said, “but obviously they found more over there on the right side.”
Claiborne has already lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick. That was originally to protect Claiborne’s dislocated shoulder, but Scandrick has clearly outperformed him.
It might be a stretch to think that Carter could be demoted, but he watched almost all of Sunday’s fourth quarter from the sideline.
“I mean, that’s just up to the coaches,” Carter said when asked if his benching was justified. “It’s my job as a player just to go out there and play and just go out there and do the best I can. That’s out of my control.”
Kiffin insists it wasn’t a benching, but that seems like silly semantics.
Pressed on the issue, Kiffin made a strange reference to needing to rotate players due to the San Diego heat. It was a sizzling 77 degrees during the game, and Sean Lee certainly didn’t come off the field.
“It’s not like, ‘Wow, this guy got benched,’ or something like that,” Kiffin said. “I’m just telling you, it wasn’t that. I can’t be more honest than that.”
The painful truth for the Dallas defense is that a couple of players they’re depending on to develop into stars got picked on Sunday.
It’s pretty clear that labeling Bruce Carter as potentially the next Derrick Brooks was premature, at best. And, at this point, Morris Claiborne has no business even being mentioned in the same breath as Deion Sanders.
A couple of young players the Dallas Cowboys are counting on to blossom into defensive superstars simply stunk in Sunday’s 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Carter and Claiborne were picked on repeatedly while the Chargers shredded Monte Kiffin’s defense for 506 total yards.
[+] Enlarge
Donald Miralle/Getty ImagesDanny Woodhead gets behind Bruce Carter for one of his two touchdowns.
Carter made a lot of plays in Rob Ryan’s 3-4 scheme last season, and the schematic switch to Monte Kiffin’s 4-3 was expected to benefit the third-year linebacker as much as anybody. Carter's speed and athleticism were thought to be perfect fits for the weakside linebacker spot, where Brooks starred during Kiffin’s Tampa Bay days.
But Carter has struggled in coverage, something San Diego schemed to exploit. Carter twice got beaten by Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for touchdown receptions. On the second one, Carter got torched about as badly as possible on a 13-yard wheel route.
“There are no excuses,” said Carter, who was replaced by Ernie Sims in the nickel package after Woodhead’s second score. “It’s my fault. I take all that, and I’ve just got to play better.”
We’re still waiting on Claiborne to flash the playmaking form that prompted Cowboys scouts to give him a draft grade higher than any cornerback since Sanders. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft has one career interception and has become the preferred target for opposing quarterbacks.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who finished with 401 yards on 35-of-42 passing, seemed to feel like he could attack Claiborne at will. Rookie receiver Keenan Allen (five catches for 80 yards) had the most success against Claiborne, who described his day as “very frustrating.”
“They hit a couple of plays all over the field,” Claiborne said, “but obviously they found more over there on the right side.”
Claiborne has already lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick. That was originally to protect Claiborne’s dislocated shoulder, but Scandrick has clearly outperformed him.
It might be a stretch to think that Carter could be demoted, but he watched almost all of Sunday’s fourth quarter from the sideline.
“I mean, that’s just up to the coaches,” Carter said when asked if his benching was justified. “It’s my job as a player just to go out there and play and just go out there and do the best I can. That’s out of my control.”
Kiffin insists it wasn’t a benching, but that seems like silly semantics.
Pressed on the issue, Kiffin made a strange reference to needing to rotate players due to the San Diego heat. It was a sizzling 77 degrees during the game, and Sean Lee certainly didn’t come off the field.
“It’s not like, ‘Wow, this guy got benched,’ or something like that,” Kiffin said. “I’m just telling you, it wasn’t that. I can’t be more honest than that.”
The painful truth for the Dallas defense is that a couple of players they’re depending on to develop into stars got picked on Sunday.
SAN DIEGO -- Observed in the locker room after the Dallas Cowboys' 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
Lee Momentum lost: The Cowboys felt like they were ready to turn a corner after last week’s win against St. Louis, but they were unable to come up with back-to-back wins when they could have kept separation in an NFC East that is there for the taking.
“It’s frustrating,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “We want to be a consistent team that wins week in and week out, and we haven’t been for two years. And right now we’re not. We’re an average football team. Until we start winning consistently that’s what we’re going to be.”
Missing an option: Rookie Terrance Williams took over Miles Austin’s role as the No. 2 receiver and finished with seven catches for 71 yards, surpassing what had been his season totals in catches and yards, but he had a drop in the first quarter and a fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter.
Austin did not play because of a hamstring injury, and it’s not known when he will be back, even though Jason Garrett said the injury was not as severe as some of the strains Austin has suffered in the past.
“Miles is a great football player,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “Whenever you don’t have him, it’s always going to be tougher. Saying that, it’s a part of the game. Miles knows that. Same thing when I got hurt. You’ve got to be able to find a way to win football games.”
Another injury for Ware: DeMarcus Ware has been bothered by stingers through the early part of the season, but that wasn’t an issue for him Sunday. A back strain was.
Ware said he pulled a muscle in his back in the first series of the game, and was in and out of the lineup for most of the game. He was held without a sack despite an inexperienced defensive line. He said he would not need an MRI for the injury.
“A little bit,” Ware said when asked how much it affected his play, “but if you get out there, you’ve got to play and do what you’ve got to do.”
“It’s frustrating,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “We want to be a consistent team that wins week in and week out, and we haven’t been for two years. And right now we’re not. We’re an average football team. Until we start winning consistently that’s what we’re going to be.”
Missing an option: Rookie Terrance Williams took over Miles Austin’s role as the No. 2 receiver and finished with seven catches for 71 yards, surpassing what had been his season totals in catches and yards, but he had a drop in the first quarter and a fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter.
Austin did not play because of a hamstring injury, and it’s not known when he will be back, even though Jason Garrett said the injury was not as severe as some of the strains Austin has suffered in the past.
“Miles is a great football player,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “Whenever you don’t have him, it’s always going to be tougher. Saying that, it’s a part of the game. Miles knows that. Same thing when I got hurt. You’ve got to be able to find a way to win football games.”
Another injury for Ware: DeMarcus Ware has been bothered by stingers through the early part of the season, but that wasn’t an issue for him Sunday. A back strain was.
Ware said he pulled a muscle in his back in the first series of the game, and was in and out of the lineup for most of the game. He was held without a sack despite an inexperienced defensive line. He said he would not need an MRI for the injury.
“A little bit,” Ware said when asked how much it affected his play, “but if you get out there, you’ve got to play and do what you’ve got to do.”
