‘I don’t want to be rude.’ McCarthy reacts to Dallas Cowboys’ listless loss to Cardinals
The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy are in first place in the NFC East.
Even after dropping to 2-4 Monday night with an embarrassing 38-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys are in first place (still) because the NFC East is in the worst division in the NFL. Other than that, the McCarthy era with the Cowboys is going swimmingly. During his post-game press conference he tried to explain the team’s penchant for turnovers, the defense’s struggles to slow down offenses and Andy Dalton replacing Dak Prescott at quarterback behind a decimated offensive line.
Here’s an edited transcript of his comments:
McCarthy’s opening Statement
It was definitely, obviously, a very disappointing home loss here this evening and, frankly, until we get off this turnover ratio — negative 12 for the year — we’re not playing well enough as a football team to overcome those critical errors. It happened again tonight. I thought the defense came out strong with the three stops there in the first quarter. But I thought the turnovers definitely changed the game. Clearly, we didn’t handle the adversity of the four turnovers. We’re giving up 24 points off of turnovers tonight. We’re the worst in the league taking care of the football. We’re not taking it away and we’re giving up more points than anybody in the league off of turnovers. It’s frustrating to see the pattern here in five of the six games this year. So, we’ve got to continue to work at it. As I continue to learn this team, I felt the preparation coming into the game was probably our best so far this year. But obviously that doesn’t even count for anything, particularly after a performance like tonight. I thought those were really the big changes in the game. We didn’t handle it. We didn’t make big plays. But we need to get that turned and we’ve got to do that quickly because obviously we are in Washington here in six days.
McCarthy on the impact of the turnovers and if it’s discouraging the best offensive players are making them
It’s discouraging, period. It’s something that we work diligently on that’s not carried over to the game. That’s something we have to just continue to stay after. Maybe frankly, maybe we’re trying too hard or maybe it’s we’re overcoaching. It clearly has put us in a position where we’ve been playing uphill every single game. We haven’t gotten into a groove or a rhythm and got out in front yet this year. It’s just self-inflicted wounds that continue to plague us. We’ve got work to do and we’ve got to do it fast because, like I said, we’ve got Washington coming on us quickly.
McCarthy’s assessment of Dalton and other performances
I, frankly, don’t want to be rude. I have no assessments for you tonight. I think we all understand what the score is. We didn’t play very well on offense, defense or special teams. Most importantly, I didn’t coach very well. I have a continuing issue with ball security on my football team. That’s something I personally take a lot of pride in and how it reflects on how you play the game of football. I’m not getting it done right now.
McCarthy on the offensive line after Zack Martin left with a concussion
Obviously, losing Zack was key. This would have been our second week of having the same five out there. I thought Connor [McGovern] went in there and battled. Frankly, for those five guys to get into a drop-back game, I was impressed with the way they played, because that’s not the game we anticipated playing. We wanted to be into a healthy run game mindset. That was the plan coming in. But I felt those five guys battled. At the end of the day, we shouldn’t have been throwing the ball that much. But we had to because of the situation we put ourselves in getting behind. I think all that stuff works hand in hand.
Did the defense get worn down because of Arizona’s running game?
We didn’t stop the run for the whole game. I felt our guys started strong. I haven’t seen the video yet, so I don’t have the specifics for you.
McCarthy on the Cowboys’ defensive struggles
Adversity football is part of the situational football training that is part of our function. As I’ve stated already, there were 24 points that the Arizona Cardinals scored off of four turnovers. We turned the ball over. We didn’t handle the adversity of it. You know, these are things that have gone on so far this year and we need to turn it over because it’s affecting the outcome of games clearly.
McCarthy on whether the Cowboys have lost confidence
The mental and emotional gain and growth of your football team, in my opinion, is always the last component to come and develop to the level you need to be successful. Obviously, ours is not quite where we want to be right now. I can only go off of how I work with these men every day. They give it up for us as coaches every single day. They are doing the extra work that’s been asked of them. We haven’t handled the adversity in games. I mean, it’s an unfortunate part of the game when players do get injured. But we had a chance to prepare for this team. You have to overcome the adverse situations in the game.
McCarthy on his post-game message to Cowboys
We just talked about the specifics of the game. We talked about the things leading up to the game. And we talked about what’s ahead of us.
McCarthy on Ezekiel Elliott and the running back rotation
Well, every player that plays in this league, no different on our football team, if you don’t take care of the football it obviously will affect your opportunities. Tony [Pollard] got an opportunity and I thought he did some good things with his opportunities. But at the end of the day, Zeke is our bell cow, and we need to get it right. He’s part of the plan. He’s going to be part of our success. So we have to get it right. We have to take care of the football. That’s for everybody that touches the football on our team.
McCarthy on still being in first place in the NFC East
Yeah, I think that’s the reality of the National Football League. I’m just irritated with the way we performed. We need to get this turnover ratio — we need to get it right. It’s not right right now.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
