Getty Michael Gallup cod the Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had instant bulletin board material when Doug Pederson seemed to guarantee an Eagles victory Monday. Even when the Eagles coach back-tracked, the damage was done.
Pederson downplayed his comments during his day-after press conference by telling reporters that it’s his job to keep the locker room calm and confident. What was he supposed to say? Never have truer words been spoken. In Dallas, several Cowboys players were asked about the “half-guarantee” and all took the high road.
Receiver Michael Gallup provided the most interesting sound bite as he attempted to describe the team’s mentality going into Sunday’s divisional showdown. His main point being that if either team needs a coach to fire them up, then they probably shouldn’t be playing in the NFL.
“If you need a coach, or anybody else, to fire you up, I don’t think you really should be playing,” Gallup told reporters, via USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “That’s what Dak [Prescott] says, really every week. We shouldn’t [need] anybody else to motivate us to be fired up. You should already have that. For me, I’m not looking for anybody to fire me up.”
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis echoed that sentiment, adding that the game is played on the field and not in the press.
“That’s fine,” Lewis told USA TODAY Sports. “You’ve still got to face an opponent and the results are still uncertain, so that’s definitely something to get his team riled up and ready to play.
Michael Gallup: “If you need a coach, or anybody else, to fire you up, I don’t think you really should be playing. That’s what Dak says.”
Cowboys respond to Doug Pederson, for @usatodaysports: t.co/vG8nCuTUyl
Doug Pederson Reiterates He Didn’t Guarantee Victory
After the internet went wild with Doug Pederson’s assertion that the Eagles were “going down to Dallas, and our guys are gonna be ready to play, and we’re gonna win that football game” the head coach downplayed it. He used his day-after press conference Monday afternoon in Philadelphia to make it clear he would never guarantee a win.
“Never said guarantee a win,” Pederson told reporters. “I’d never do that.”
To be fair, Pederson never used the word “guarantee” in his initial comments. Either way, it’s pretty evident that the coach was trying to light a fire under his team after an embarrassing 38-20 loss in Minnesota. Time will tell if the words he chose were prophetic or ill-advised.
“Doug Pederson is trying to send a message because the Eagles do need this game. … After watching Dallas the last 3 weeks, I’m not scared of them. The Cowboys aren’t going to present a whole bunch of problems when the Eagles look at the film.” — @criscarter80
“We have a lot of things stacked against us going down there, but as the head football coach, I’m going to stand here and show confidence in my football team because that’s what I have,” Pederson said. “I have confidence in my football team, the guys that are on the football field, and it’s our job as coaches to prepare them, get them ready to play and we go play.”
The Eagles and Cowboys have met 120 times in the regular season, with Dallas holding a 68-52 advantage in the all-time series. The Cowboys took the previous two meetings after sweeping the season series last year in two down-to-the-wire games.
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Cowboys Players Respond to Doug Pederson’s Eagles Guarantee