Jason Garrett press conference: La’el Collins update, Cowboys believe in Brett Maher

The Dallas Cowboys lost on Sunday to the Green Bay Packers. There’s a lot to figure out and we can always start with what Jason Garrett had to say.

The head coach took to the podium on Monday to discuss everything going on with America’s Team. We’ve got a recap of all of Jason Garrett’s answers right here for you (all answers are paraphrased and not actual quotes).

Cleaning up ball security and turnovers

Asked about having to clean up ball security and turnovers from the last two games, Jason Garrett agreed that it’s hard to win games when you’re turning over the ball. He did mention that the Cowboys did a great job of getting in proper position but ultimately couldn’t really put everything together with things like turning the ball over getting in their way.

Protecting the football

Jason Garrett added that he feels the Cowboys have done a great job of protecting the football generally and that what’s been happening is uncharacteristic of who they are. He mentioned it’s the number one statistic in football in terms of correlation to winning and that they haven’t done a good enough job lately.

Dak trying to draw a flag

Dak Prescott effectively said that he threw the pass to Michael Gallup that he did partly to induce a flag. Jason Garrett said the Cowboys don’t exactly coach to induce flags.

La’el Collins update

La’el left the game against the Packers early and there have been a lot of people holding their breath wondering what will come of the whole situation. Garrett noted that the MRI was “fine” on Monday and that La’el will be taken day by day.

Missed tackles

Asked what he attributes missed tackles to, Jason Garrett simply said that the Cowboys have to do a better job in space. He talked about doing things in a fundamentally sound fashion, that hasn’t been what we’ve seen lately in the tackling department.

Where is the concern on defense?

We’re five games in now so we have a legitimate sample size to draw some conclusions. Asked if that’s the case on defense Jason Garrett kept things close to the vest and said it’s all about basic things like sticking to fundamentals.

Explanation for Aaron Rodgers’ success

The Cowboys were obviously focused on keeping Aaron Rodgers “in the well” on Sunday and ultimately were not 100% effective. Jason Garrett attributed this simply to the fact that, well, Rodgers is very good. He talked about how you have to stick to fundamentals in situations like that and that you can’t break. Obviously that didn’t happen for the Cowboys.

Reflections on penalty

Jason Garrett was penalized on Sunday and said on Monday that he didn’t handle the situation well. He didn’t speak much more beyond that and just said that the Cowboys did a solid job of continuing to move the ball on that drive.

The Amari drop is on both Cooper and Dak Prescott

Asked about the first interception that Dak Prescott threw, Jason Garrett said he believed the responsibility was shared. Dak can throw a better pass and Amari has to catch it. Simple.

Brett Maher has made a lot of big kicks for the Cowboys

Jason Garrett didn’t really go down any possible road in terms of discussing Brett Maher potentially being cut by the Cowboys. He noted that Maher has made a lot of big kicks for the Cowboys and said they haven’t really considered bringing in anybody else.

Tony Pollard got banged up

Jason Garrett noted that rookie running back Tony Pollard had issues with both his knee and ankle happen on Sunday. He added that they’re hopeful he’ll be okay this week.

Tyron Smith is day by day

We’ll see what happens with him moving forward. Jason Garrett spoke similarly of Antwaun Woods as well. That’s that.