IRVING, Texas -- Mr. Fix-it is back on the job.
Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Wednesday he's taking a more active role with the defense, the latest move to try shoring up one of the team's weak links during a 1-3 stretch that's taken them from Super Bowl favorite to third place in their division.
"I'm going to try to do more," Phillips said. "I think I can help more than I have. When I step back and look at it I say, `I'm losing some of my expertise.' Even though I'm in there on a lot of the meetings, I'm trying to be more proactive."
His stepped-up involvement could include calling plays for the defense starting Sunday at home against Tampa Bay. Phillips refused to say whether defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has been stripped of those duties, but he didn't deny it, either.
"I think we will work all that out ourselves," Phillips said.
Considering offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has full control of his side of the ball, there's little doubt Phillips already was spending most of his time with the defense. That's why he described this change as merely a move to "concentrate more, I guess you'd say."
"It was one of those things you think you're in there but maybe I wasn't enough," he said.
Phillips was hired prior to last season because of his expertise running defenses over three decades in the NFL. He proclaimed himself "Mr. Fix-it" and lived up to the nickname as Dallas went 13-3.
The Cowboys gave up 30 points only twice in all of 2007; they've already done so three times this season. They aren't getting many turnovers (only two interceptions, none by cornerbacks) and are struggling against both the run and the pass.
"We've got to fix what we have right now," Phillips said.
It was obvious something had to change after the way things went Sunday.
Losing 34-14 to St. Louis was bad enough. It's even worse considering Dallas let St. Louis score more points in the first quarter than the Rams had scored in a full game this season. The Cowboys were roughed up by Arizona the previous week and even struggled to contain winless Cincinnati the week before that.
Injuries are partly to blame, from safety Roy Williams out for all but a few plays since the second game (he went on IR Wednesday, ending his season) to cornerback Terence Newman playing only three games. Anthony Spencer, a projected starter at linebacker, has missed three games, as has backup safety Pat Watkins, who was supposed to replace Williams. The Cowboys also lost cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to a suspension.
Yet Dallas still has Pro Bowlers DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and Ken Hamlin back from last year's squad, with plenty more experienced players. Some rookies have been pressed into duty, but that includes first-round pick Mike Jenkins.
So, searching for answers, Phillips said the staff reviewed every defensive play this season. What did they discover?
"There are things we need to do differently," he said. "Some of them are technical. Some of them are basic things. We'll try to work on some of those things and alleviate any of the mistakes we made."
Special teams have been a problem, too. Last week's change was to have position coaches take a more active role on special teams, too.
"We're going to carry that on, trying to look at things that will help us do better," Phillips said. "That is part of what you have to do."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
