National Football League

Beware Cowboys after bye week in Wade Phillips era

Published Oct. 4, 2010 11:47 p.m. ET

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The Dallas Cowboys came back from their bye week still in the thick of things.

It may seem early to be watching the standings, but the Cowboys put themselves at risk of getting left behind by losing their first two games.

While they're still just a meager 1-2, Dallas is a half-game behind everyone else in the NFC East and only 1 1/2 games behind the best record in the NFC.

Any team could seize control over the next month - and the Cowboys are set up to do it.

Their next four games are against teams at or below .500. Three of those games are at home, starting Sunday against Tennessee (2-2).

Plus, there's this tidbit: Dallas has won at least three straight games coming out of its bye every season under coach Wade Phillips.

''It's a little bit of a fresh start,'' tight end Jason Witten said. ''That doesn't neglect what we've done in the past. I think we have to look at that with a critical eye, and we did. I think this team is moving forward.''

The big theme around this team is quality practices.

They were deemed missing after their 0-2 start. So Phillips changed things up to get more work done in less time. The result was a strong all-around performance in a victory over Houston. That was followed by a week of practices that linebacker Keith Brooking called ''better than any practice we had all year, and it was in our bye week, when we were game-planning a little bit for the Titans but obviously we were still a week and half away from playing them.''

Players were off from Thursday afternoon until showing up Monday morning. However, they seem to have picked up where they left off because Phillips said it was a ''spirited'' session.

''It's like starting the season over, almost, as far as their mental feeling,'' he said.

Physically, the Cowboys are doing well, too.

Witten and his backup, Martellus Bennett, were the only players who didn't practice Monday. Phillips said he expects everyone to suit up Wednesday.

When Phillips spoke to the team Monday morning, he pointed out that everyone in the division has two losses. When he spoke to reporters, Phillips downplayed the division and conference races.

''Ultimately, it's what we do from now on,'' he said. ''We've won one in a row. We're going for two, that's where we're going.''

Asked how they get there, Phillips returned to the theme that how you practice is how you'll play.

''We're going to try to get an even better attitude, better preparation and go forward,'' Phillips said. ''The will to prepare is just as important as the will to win. That's the message. We found that out.''

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