FRISCO — The Cowboys are downplaying team discussions with members of the leadership council and coach Mike McCarthy this week.
After a blowout loss to the Saints in Week 2, McCarthy made the theme of scheduled meetings with his players about ensuring things don’t spiral out of control.
“No, just making sure that we get things right, honestly, because that’s uncharacteristic of getting blown out like that after the performance that we had the first week,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis said after Thursday’s practice. “You can’t do that. You can’t have those two extremes. So we want to make sure that we got everything under control and see what we did wrong. And you know how our preparation was flawed.”
Several Cowboys players stressed there is no panic in the locker room and that the meetings were positive.
“Everybody’s opinion is valued,” special teams ace C.J. Goodwin said. “It’s open. We respect each other’s opinion.”
The Cowboys opened the season with a commanding victory over the Browns in Week 1. They entered Week 2 as a favorite over the Saints but the Cowboys were beaten up badly in a home loss. It was the second consecutive loss for the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys had won 16 consecutive home regular season games before losing in the postseason to the Packers last season.
In their home opener, the Cowboys were outplayed. McCarthy’s message was to calm down and make sure one loss doesn’t define the season.
“Yeah, absolutely, that’s the big thing we talk about all the time, right?” guard Zack Martin said. “You can’t let one week bleed into another week. I mean, obviously, in the NFL, and especially this place, there’s a lot of things said and written on a week-to-week basis. So the big thing is not letting that bleed into the locker room, making it overflow to the next week.”
The Cowboys will take on a Ravens team that can’t afford an 0-3 start. It would seem both teams are desperate to win Sunday afternoon. Dallas will have consecutive road games (at the New York Giants next Thursday night and at Pittsburgh on Oct. 6) so winning at home is imperative.
Normally players from the leadership council meet with McCarthy from time to time to discuss various topics. Last year, McCarthy spoke with the group about allowing players to arrive at AT&T Stadium from their homes rather than from the team hotel. The gameday captains speak to the team as well. Lewis spoke about appreciating the leadership of quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys’ loss to the Saints was alarming considering how well they played in the season opener at the Browns. As part of the discussions, not allowing another poor performance was the highlight.
“So we just came together and see how we can be more effective and efficient in practice, and see how we can lead the team,” Lewis said. “So we just don’t want it to be a roller coaster. We wanted to be a gradual line of progression. And I feel like we regressed.”
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