The Cowboys defense under Stewart is ranked 11th in the league.

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IRVING, Texas - According to reports, Wade Phillips will take over the lion's share of defensive play-calling responsibilities from coordinator Brian Stewart after a pair of ugly road losses.

While neither of the coaches feel at liberty to spell out exactly what changes are taking place, both have said Phillips is paying more attention to the defense, including taking a more prominent role in meetings, one of the most important parts of weekly preparation in the NFL.

While Phillips may have some increased involvement in what happens defensively, it's not like he was too far away from the game plans even before any switch. He was brought to Dallas because of his expertise running a 3-4 defense. So how much of what the Cowboys have done on that side of the ball did Phillips have a hand in?

"He's been a defensive coordinator 30 years, so I think you can answer that yourself," Stewart said.

The Cowboys defense under Stewart is ranked 11th in the league (303.9 yards per game), though they are 25th in points allowed per game (25.0).

"We do what we do and sometimes it ends up great and sometimes it ends up not exactly as you draw it up," Stewart said. "The season is not over. You should get measured by what you do at the end of the day, not at the beginning. Look at the full body of work."

Stewart has come under fire recently for some of the team's defensive struggles, though he said the criticism is all coming from sources outside the organization.

"You know what? The way you look at it is, you knew the job was rough when you took it," he said. "You're in a big media market and all you can do is be you, coach hard, be the best coach you can be at whatever you're supposed to be doing, and then what happens, happens. If you get blamed, you get blamed. If you don't get blamed - I think it's just like everything else, if you accept the pat on the back you've got to accept the (blame) too, so I don't have a problem with it."

As for the adjustment of responsibilities between he and Phillips, Stewart would only say that he's fine with the changes.

"I'm comfortable with what we've been doing and what we're going to do," Stewart said. "And I'm excited about what we've done and what we're going to do."

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