FLOWERY BRANCH — Dallas coach Jason Garrett spoke with the local media via conference call on Wednesday.
Here’s what Garrett had to say:
Q: How are the Cowboys coping in the face of all of the injuries?
A: It's really a philosophy of the next man up. Everybody who is on our football team, we have high expectations for them in terms of how they approach it and how they perform. When somebody goes out, who's been a starter for us, the next has to go in and play. We're going to prepare each day this week to play our best football on Sunday.
Q: How did quarterback Brandon Weeden look when he came in for Tony Romo last week?
A: For him to go into that game was a challenging situation. It's part of the job description when you are a backup quarterback. He demonstrated poise and composure. He executed our offense. He made some big throws in the game, certainly none bigger than that last one, when he threw the slant to Terrance Williams for the touchdown to put us up by three scores. He's gone into game before for us. He handles himself well. He's going to prepare this week and hopefully play his best ball on Sunday.
Q: No surgery for Tony Romo?
A: That is correct.
Q: Is this the same thing that happened to him a few years ago?
A: It's the same situation. Yes.
Q: Is that a quicker healing, than a surgery?
A: I'm not a doctor by any means. I hesitate to even go down this road, but my understanding of the situation is that when there is damage to the ligaments around the clavicle, the collarbone there, that is when they have to do surgery. When it's jut a break, it's more about just that bone healing. That's the situation that we have.
Q: Does Terrance Williams have a chance to put himself in a different class of wide receiver?
A: Terrance is just a good football player and has been since he got here. He's one of those guys who we love to coach and have on your team because he works so hard to get better every day. You really see him improving before your eyes on a daily and weekly basis. Whenever he's gotten opportunities, all the way back to when he had opportunities to play as a rookie, he's always taken advantage of them. He's ready. He's prepared. He's where he's supposed to be for the quarterback and he makes a lot of plays. He makes a lot of plays down the field. He also makes them on shorter throws where he runs after the catch. He's a heck of a good football player and we're lucky to have him.
Q: Are you all optimistic that Jason Witten will play on Sunday?
A: We'll see. He was limited today in practice. He's dealing with an ankle and a knee. So, he has to progress over the next few days. But he's a tough guy. He hasn't missed many games in his career.
Q: Do you feel that Matt Cassel is familiar with what you all do on offense?
A: He'll have to learn it. But he's an experience guy and he's played in different offenses. He's played in an offense that is similar in the terminology to ours. He's really just getting here (Wednesday). He has to dive in and learn fast. He's smart. He's experienced. He's been around. So much of it when you are coming in, particularly for a quarterback, is he'll understand the concepts… but what are you calling it and what are the nuances of how we do it here. Those are the things that he has to pick up. It just takes time to do that.
Q: What do you see on film from Julio Jones?
A: He's just a great football player. That's what you see. It's what we've seen since he was at Alabama, when he came out of school and why everybody liked him so much coming out. He's just been a fantastic player. …He's featured in the offense and rightfully so. He's one of those guys who's really rare in that he seems to be able do everything that you ask him to. He's big and strong. He's quick. He's fast. He's explosive. He's a great route runner. He's really good after the catch. They throw him quick screens. They through him stuff short, medium and deep. He's able to make plays everywhere. He's a hard guy to bring down. He's just a hard guy to defend in so many different ways. He certainly plays the game the right way and we have a great deal of respect for him.
Q: How do you slow him down?
A: You try your best. Obviously, it's a challenge for the guys who are guarding him. They are a balanced attack. So, their ability to run the football is something that you have to mindful of. Those corners are going to be out there by themselves at time. They are hopefully going to get some helps from linebackers and safeties at different times, but everybody tries to do those kinds of things every week to a guy like this and still he shows up and is so productive. It will be a great challenge for our whole football team.
Q: You’ve face Kyle Shanahan when he was in Washington. Do you see him doing anything differently with his play-calling?
A: I just think he does a really good job. They are a zone-running team. They do a great job with that scheme and they do so many things off of that. Their play-action game, their naked (bootleg) game, their screen game and their hard play-action game is really, really good. They challenge you in a lot of different ways. When the ball is snapped, the guys do a great job executing. It's a reflection of the players, but it's also a reflection of the coaching staff. I have a lot of respect for what they are doing on offense. It's easy see what they have been so successful up to this point this year.
Q: Are you all using the injuries as motivation?
A: It's always an opportunity. It's an opportunity for the guy replacing the player who's out. That player has been preparing for that chance for a long time. Hopefully, he's able to take advantage of it.
Q: Could you address the matchup between your offensive line and the Atlanta defensive front?
A: Dan Quinn does such a great job. Obviously, coming from Seattle, that's the culture that they lived in. I just have so much respect for him as a coach and what he instills in the guys that he coaches. … it's easy to see why they are playing so well. They have a mentality there, spirit and energy that they play with. It shows up really all over their defense and all over their team. Definitely, it's demonstrated on that defensive front. Those guys get off the ball and up the field. They do a good job of defending their gaps in the run game on their way to the quarterback. That's their style. That's their approach and they've been very effective at it.
