A day after the most decisive home loss since 1988, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy attempted to take a big picture view, Todd Archer of ESPN reports..
The Cowboys suffered the fourth largest home loss in franchise history in Sunday's 47-9 defeat against the Detroit Lions to fall to 3-3 overall. The decisiveness of the loss and how poorly the Cowboys played could be enough to affect the mental state of the team, but McCarthy still believes in the roster.
"At the end of the day if we totally don't believe it's about us, it'll always be about us and play to who we are, what we do, how we do it, then we're not going to get to where we want to go," McCarthy said. "And I believe we will. I think this is an opportunity that we relish. I know I relish it. And I think they do too.
"So this is a place that a lot of good can come out of it. Been here before. And I think this is a really good opportunity for our leadership. I think it's an excellent opportunity for our young guys to continue to play. It's an excellent opportunity for those guys to build off some of the things they have done well. Because this will pay forward. In my experience it always has. When you play young players this much and play this many different players this much, I think the long game definitely has a chance to be very bright."
This is the fourth time a McCarthy-coached team has started a season with a 3-3 record, and it's his first time with the Cowboys. The Green Bay Packers were 3-3 in 2010 when they ended up winning the Super Bowl. The 2012 Packers made it to the divisional round of the postseason, while the 2008 team missed the playoffs.
The Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 27 and could see the return of defensive end Micah Parsons (ankle), linebacker Eric Kendricks (shoulder) and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot).
McCarthy's Monday news conference was nearly two hours later than it was scheduled because meetings went longer than expected.
"When you have a chance to step back and really look at everything, I think it's important for all of us, it's part of the message to the team, I gave them a number of questions today as far as things to think about and make sure that they are reflecting, make sure they are looking in the mirror and just make sure you're filling in the blanks," McCarthy said. "Because why are we on this ebb and flow? Why do we perform seven days ago the way we performed at 1 o'clock in the morning [against the Pittsburgh Steelers] and then come home and perform the way we did? So those are the kinds of things we've got to work, focus on."
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/theredzoneorg
Don't forget to follow us on Threads at https://www.threads.net/@theredzoneorg
Like us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/Theredzone.org