(What is the mood at practice this week? Some people are concerned about it being a trap game.)
How fast it turns. This is no trap game. Last week we had no chance to win it and now it is a trap game. There is none of that, I can promise you that, just the way we practiced and the way we approached our meeting today. We are playing a very talented football team. The same message that I gave the team last Wednesday was trust the film when we were preparing for the Jets and trust your preparation. Its no different this week. There is a lot of productivity on the Dallas Cowboys film. There are a lot of good players. Things may not have gone the right way if you want to point to their record, but were looking for a knockdown, drag-out game here on Sunday night. The bye is something we have been looking at. We want to get to 6-3, get to the bye and get healthy. So we are approaching it (as) were got a five-day season. It was a very energetic, upbeat, physical practice today, so I expect the same tomorrow.
(What do you see when you look at the Cowboys? Are they proof of just how fine a line it is in the league?)
I think thats been very apparent the last decade in the NFL. Parity has been in this league for quite some time, and theres a very fine line between winning and losing, and you have to prepare, practice and train that way. It will always be about the details. It will always be about the fundamentals. Its important to identify what you want your team to look like, practice it, emphasize it, and you have to make sure it comes up on Sundays. This is a very talented football team coming in here. Its a team that we expect a heck of a football game from. Thats our mindset.
Mike McCarthy wrote: