Jason Garrett press conference: Welcome to “Thursday” for the Dallas Cowboys

It’s Tuesday of a short week, that means head coach Jason Garrett addressed the media. Here’s what he had to say. (All Garrett answers are paraphrases of what he said and not direct quotes).

The Cowboys are getting ready for Colt McCoy

Jason Garrett was asked about Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy since that’s who they’ll face this week and he feels that Colt McCoy is a very good player, shocker. He mentioned that they liked Colt when he was coming out of the University of Texas and that when he’s had opportunities (like in 2014 against Dallas) he’s done well in them.

Washington did a nice job of stopping Ezekiel Elliott last matchup

It was a month ago that the Cowboys played the Redskins last, and it could have gone a different direction if not for a snap infraction. Jason Garrett talked about how he felt that was a good game overall and that it started up front which is obviously what helped Washington limit Zeke throughout the contest. He did mention that that game was a long time ago and that they’re focused on the here and now.

Dalton Schultz has grown a lot since training camp

The Cowboys felt confident that Schultz was capable of being a great run blocker and receiver in the NFL when they drafted him and Jason Garrett expressed pride in what he’s been able to accomplish. Obviously there are going to be more opportunities for him with Geoff Swaim injured and the Cowboys will need the most from him.

Zeke has great instincts

Jason Garrett was asked about Zeke’s ability to be patient when running and he noted that it’s perhaps more of an instinctual quality (he did specify that he did not know if Zeke came out of the womb with this ability). Elliott has been on fire as of late and Dallas is going to need more of it to stay in the NFC East race.

Travis Frederick’s best asset might be his ability to run the whole offensive line

The Cowboys have been operating with their all-world center this season and Jason Garrett noted that while Travis is great at run blocking and pass protection his ability to manage the offensive line as a whole might be his best trait. Joe Looney has done an admirable job at filling in for him, but Travis is special.

Practice on Tuesday will be a bit modified, but it is “Thursday”

This is a short week for the Cowboys what with their game being this Thursday on Thanksgiving. Jason Garrett is pretty habitual so he’s referring to Tuesday’s practice as what they would do on a normal Thursday, but there will be some pumping of the brakes since it’s a short week. He said it’s Thursday content and Friday tempo.

There are a number of different ways to handle a short week

Thursday Night Football is something that really began happening across the NFL as a whole over the last decade, but Jason Garrett has been around the Cowboys for a long time so he’s pretty aware of how things work on short weeks. He noted that there are different ways to approach it and that he’s seen a lot of them but the most important thing is adhering to what your team needs.

Taco Charlton should practice on Tuesday

That’s good to hear.