There's an old saying that goes "Success has many fathers while failure is an orphan." They obviously don't teach that saying during Cowboys staff retreats because everyone is trying to fall on the grenade that was Tashard Choice's fumble on Sunday night.
Wade Phillips has been begging you to blame him all week for allowing the offense to run that play instead of simply falling on the ball. As we've discussed ad nauseum, his rationale wasn't simply being a stand up guy. After three years of effectively sharing the top job with Jason Garrett, Uncle Wade seems determined to prove to the world that he's in charge of the entire team and, somewhat perversely, his big chance to prove it has come via one of the bigger screwups of his tenure.
Garrett isn't going to cede his territory so easily, however. He had his weekly meeting with the media on Wednesday and tried his best to make sure that the scarlet letter was affixed to his headset. He also made a not too subtle attempt to remind everyone that he's always been the only voice that matters offensively.
"I called the play," Garrett said. "It’s my responsibility. ... We've had an aggressive style here, really throughout our football team and on the offensive side of the ball, for the last three years and it's served us well. Having said that, you have to manage situations better."
When asked to give a more pointed assessment of his relationship with Phillips, Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas reports that Garrett turned his head and took a question about Alex Barron instead.
We're not going to attempt to play armchair couples therapist here, but there's clearly something wrong with this situation. You've got two guys falling all over themselves to be named the reason why the Cowboys did something colossally stupid and lost a game that they absolutely should have won and you've got a subordinate who refuses to even pay lip service to respecting his boss while speaking in public. God help us all if the Bears should smack the 'Boys around on Sunday.
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