The Dallas Cowboys defense called a players-only meeting Monday morning after a lopsided loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped the team to 2-3 on the season.
The closed-door session came after Dallas allowed 241 rushing yards and 419 total yards to a Buccaneers offense that had not won a game all year. The Cowboys defense also failed to force a single turnover and has given up at least 375 yards in every game this season.
Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown described the meeting as a direct exchange among teammates.
“Looking ourselves in the mirror,” Overshown said. “Putting what we wanted our standard to be, we put that on the board. We went by bullet point, bullet point. Are we holding up to this? Are we being this? As a unit, how can we get closer? What is it? Just hearing from all of us. It really wasn’t like a fire drill conversation, it was more so, ‘What can I do to help you? What do I expect from you on Sundays, or every Monday walk throughs?’ We’ve got to talk to each other like that because the ship is only going to go as far as the weakest person on the boat. As long as we all in this together, I think we’re going to be great. I know we’re going to be there.”
The meeting comes as Dallas tries to regroup before a road trip to Green Bay. The team has already made changes on the sideline: defensive coordinator Christian Parker is moving up to the coaching booth, and the Cowboys have brought in longtime NFL coach Mike Pettine as a senior assistant.
Dallas is also counting on Overshown, who is returning from a four-game absence due to a hamstring injury, to add speed back to a defense that has struggled to contain opposing offenses through the first five weeks of the season.
Whether the meeting translates into better play on the field remains to be seen. The Cowboys’ defensive issues have been consistent through the season’s early stretch, and the next test comes against Green Bay.
