DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Cowboys safety Xavier Woods had quite the response when asked about the defense's effort in Sunday's 49-38 loss to Cleveland.
"Our effort’s been good. I mean on certain plays some guys, I mean me included, there may be a lack but overall the effort is there. I mean you don’t expect, we’re in the NFL, you don’t expect guys (to go) full speed for 70 plays. That's not possible," Wood said. "We're going to push as hard as we can. You don't expect a backside corner to make a play on the opposite side. (If) he's running full speed the whole time it's just not possible to be honest."
It's not often you hear a player admit that it's okay to take plays off. This kind of mentality might explain why the Cowboys defense has allowed the most points in the league (36.5 points per game) through four games.
The Cowboys were blasted on social media for their effort on Odell Beckham Jr.'s game-sealing 50-yard touchdown run, and coach Mike McCarthy defended his players' effort at his press conference Monday.
"We don’t have an effort issue,” McCarthy said. “You’ve got to be really careful when you start challenging professional athletes about effort, especially from a distance,” McCarthy said. “We don’t have an effort issue. If we had an effort issue, that game would have been over in the middle of the third quarter [when trailing 41-14]. Our guys fought all the way to the end. And they made a huge play there down the stretch with the reverse for the touchdown.”
McCarthy might want to button some things up with his players.