FRISCO — Poor attention to detail.
Players not on the same page.
The need to be professional.
These are the themes coming out of the Cowboys’ locker room in the wake of their second consecutive loss. It’s hard to tell at this stage if the cryptic comments are the reaction of a shell-shocked team groping for answers or the recognition of an issue that could fester if not addressed.
It falls under the umbrella of professionalism. This is a topic Dak Prescott raised in his press conference after the 28-25 loss to Baltimore dropped the Cowboys below .500 for the first time in 36 games.
“As players, we’ve got to be more professional and understand our jobs,” the quarterback said. “Understand where we’re supposed to be and do that time and time again and keep our focus.”
Prescott’s definition of professional is all-encompassing and even more interesting if you read between the lines.
Remember, head coach Mike McCarthy spent 40 to 50 percent of his time in the Wednesday offensive team meeting ahead of the Ravens game talking about the need to clean up their route running.
“Knowing where you’re supposed to be, knowing your reads, knowing where you’re supposed to line up, knowing your routes and knowing your route adjustments versus certain coverages,” Prescott said. “Every part of what being a professional is.
“It’s a job and being prepared for every part of the job, however it may come. Time away from the building to being in the building, just being a pro and understanding that you can get so many practice reps. But you can watch the film, you can do all of these things that’ll help make up for it.
“We just have to be more focused,” he continued. “That’s what, to me on offense, where we haven’t been as focused as we should. Had a few mental errors that were crucial, I guess you could say, timing-wise.
“To me, it just goes into being a professional and understanding what you have to do.”
Jourdan Lewis echoed Prescott’s observation. The cornerback said it’s a player’s job to be professional, understand how an offense is going to attack you defensively and put in the work.
It’s about the details. Lewis punched that word time and time again in the locker room on Monday.
“We’ve got to be detailed,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to see how we stop people.
“At the end of the day, this is about us stopping people. That’s just what it is. We’ve got to be credible and accountable every single play. That’s 60 minutes of football.
“It doesn’t matter who we play, we’ve got to go out there and be detailed in the play. This is the NFL. If we’re not doing that, anybody can beat us.”
Detail is about discipline. DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons decried the need some players had to play “hero ball,” going outside of their responsibility to try to make something happen when they just need to do their job.
“I think everybody is trying to play hero ball and make a big play to get somebody started,” veteran nose tackle Linval Joseph said before Monday’s mock game. “We just need to get back to our fundamentals, work on the small things and let the big plays come when they come.”
The Dallas defense allowed 464 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in losing to New Orleans and Baltimore in an eight-day span at AT&T Stadium.
“We’re not detailed in our work,” Lewis said. “You’ve got to take advantage of details. That’s how you win in this league.
“Everyone is good in this league. It’s the details that make you different.”
Details come in watching film at The Star and away from the facility. It comes in how you practice.
McCarthy said the preparation leading up to the Baltimore game was in line with how the team performed early. Prescott acknowledged he didn’t have a good practice on the Thursday before the game.
“You have to practice every day like it’s your last day,” said Lewis, who along with linebacker Eric Kendricks and safety Malik Hooker declined a veteran rest day last week to prepare for Baltimore. “Until we do that, it’s going to be the same old thing.”
The Cowboys are only three games deep into a 17-game season. It’s hyperbole to say time is running out.
But with a game Thursday against the New York Giants and Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Francisco after that, Dallas can dig itself an early hole that will make the rest of the season much more difficult.
“It feels like everybody is for themselves right now,” receiver KaVontae Turpin said. “It’s like man, just play football. Play football. It’s something that you love.
“Everybody needs to be locked in. It doesn’t feel like everyone is on the same page right now.
“Once we all get on the same page, we’ll get clicking.”
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) at the special time of Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. this week.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
