FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Thursday that the accountability meetings this week began with his own play calls, and that he put the plays he did not feel good about on the screen in front of the defense. Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
Parker called his first regular-season game Sunday night in a 28-20 loss at the New York Giants, where New York outgained Dallas 394-244 and held the ball for 36:40.
“I think the meetings, everybody was accountable, including me. I showed them the plays that I was referencing that I didn’t feel great about,” Parker said. “We showed the good and the bad throughout the game and how we can build upon that and correct those.”
Fixable is the word he used for what came back on tape.
“I think the first thing you look at when it comes to errors is, is it a mental mistake? Is it a technique error? Is it an NFL player on NFL player? Those happen too,” Parker explained. “I think that, to a man, as we were watching the film, guys were like, no, these are fixable mistakes. This is what they did. It’s what we did. Losing leverage, eyes in the wrong place, block destruction, all those type of things. Those are things that we can handle internally. We have a lot of confidence in our ability to do so.”
Christian Parker On The Calls He Wanted Back
Some of the calls registered with Parker in the moment, and he went back through them a second time later in the week.
“There are a couple of play calls I certainly wish I had back for different reasons. I think that started like right after. Usually you say it and you’re like, you kind of feel that,” Parker said. “Then you look back at it again with fresh eyes, without the emotions of the win or the loss, and try to assess it again. So there are a couple that I wish I would have had different. I think that’ll be the case win or loss in any game. You’re trying to chase perfection in terms of putting your guys in the best position to make plays.”
Personnel churn is the part of calling a game Parker said he underestimated least and thinks about most.
“The most important thing is just, personnel’s changed, and that’s them, that’s us, everything else. The most important thing is getting the guys a call that they can play,” Parker said. “Every call isn’t going to be perfect. We all know that. Offense is going to have an answer to everything. The most important thing is that we execute and make them go the long road.”
The Process Behind It
Dallas runs an after-action report on everything, Parker said, in the preseason and the regular season alike.
“I think the main thing is what went right, what went wrong, just kind of an after-action report. That’s what we always have after every practice, after every game,” Parker said. “So it’s really been business as usual when it comes to that. Okay, what did the film say? And then what could we have done differently in the past? And what can we do different moving forward?”
Where he draws the line is on overhauling anything.
“Some things, if there’s a matter of a simple mistake or it’s a player-on-player issue, you don’t need to overhaul the whole scheme,” Parker said. “But then there’s some other things that you have to adjust and move forward as you learn the players, as we learn our play style as a team, the complementary nature that we want to play with, from offense, defense, and special teams.”
Coach Brian Schottenheimer sits in on Parker’s game planning through the week and does not call plays. Parker was hired Jan. 22 as the fourth Cowboys defensive coordinator in four seasons.
