A question arose out of the Cowboys’ press conference on Tuesday, one wanting to delve back into last year’s disappointing season.
Coach Wade Phillips’ response started simply yet succinctly.
“We’ve moved on.”
It seemed to be the theme of the day.
As the Cowboys set to begin training camp tomorrow at the Alamodome, forward thinking is encouraged. Yes, they’re well aware of how they flat-lined in that embarrassing regular-season finale in Philadelphia, and they want players to remember and get motivation from that nasty finish.
Otherwise, it’s all about setting a standard worthy of their gleaming new Arlington stadium. It’s about the wide receivers they have now, not the one they sent packing.
It’s all about this season.
“Our team is very capable of being a playoff winning team. We’re very capable of that,”
Felix Jones said. “I think it’s so motivating to me and influential to me not to have won a playoff game in as long as it’s been. It’s big to me. It’s very important that it’s big to this team and it’s big to these players.”
So now it’s just getting there. It obviously starts with quarterback Tony Romo, whose on-the-field life was as big of a subject on Tuesday as the stadium. Both Jones and Phillips were impressed that Romo didn’t miss a practice this off-season and said that should add to his leadership abilities.
“You know this guy’s come a long ways,”
Phillips said. “It’s harder to be a leader when you’re a free agent than it is when you’re an established quarterback. And now he’s made this path, he’s gone further and further each year, and with that experience and know-how and those kind of things I think that helps his leadership grow also.”
The Cowboys will find out a lot more in the coming weeks. As for talk of the past? Well, it’s just that.
“We’re ready. It’s time. Let’s get going,”
Phillips said. “We were knocked down some last year and we’re going to get back up. We’re going to get back up fighting. I think our team knows that.”
