IRVING, Texas - As of his early afternoon meeting with the media, Wade Phillips hadn't met with reinstated cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to discuss his place with the team, or the way he must conduct himself.
And while the coach said such a conversation would likely take place, he was hopeful it wouldn't be necessary.
"I don't know how the guy couldn't know how serious it is," Phillips said. "I can tell him those things and I probably will. I mean the guy might not ever play again, as far as what I know, and I don't know what the commissioner will do, but if something else comes up, I'm thinking the guy might not play football again. So I don't know, I would think he knows that."
Jones didn't speak to the media during the day's open locker room session, and likely won't until at least next week when serious preparation begins for his expected return, Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh. And while it's worth speculating how the cornerback fits in on the field, with some of the team's young players establishing themselves in his absence, that conversation can wait. For now, the Cowboys are saying they are happy he is back, and hopeful he's here to stay.
"He's going to be welcomed back," said team captain Greg Ellis. "We accepted him as a teammate the first go-round. He had a stumbling block. It was a setback for him personally. But, you know, the team can still use him. He developed some good relationships while he was playing here at the beginning of the season and those relationships haven't been broken or broken off, so he's going to be welcomed back with open arms."
Ellis, like the rest of his teammates, offered a necessary caveat to the hearty welcome.
"He can't let us down in the aspect of off-the-field issues," Ellis said. "If he gives up a play here, that happens in football. But when you're doing things that take you away from your teammates because you're not keeping it together off the field, those are the kinds of things you can control most of the times."
Where Does Jones Fit?
While the most important thing in Jones' life has to be better judgment off the field, his past transgressions are of little matter between the chalk. Because of the tenuous nature of his reinstatement, though, the Cowboys will have to be careful about how important a piece he is to the team.
Phillips and owner Jerry Jones have talked recently about his ability as a kickoff and punt returner, and though he averaged just 5.0 yards per punt return in six games this season, there's the likelihood he would resume those duties, and maybe take over on kickoffs as well. As for what he can bring to the secondary, where he started each game he was eligible to play earlier this season, that won't be decided right away.
"Well, we'll work that out," Phillips said. "That's part of what we are doing. He's not going to play this week. It's not a week we can work him back in slowly that way."
With Mike Jenkins (hamstring) likely out Sunday, and potentially longer, and Terence Newman hampered by groin pain, there is a chance Jones would be called upon to play cornerback. His 30-day stay in a Boston area rehab facility might have cost him a couple slots on the depth chart, though, as Jenkins and fellow rookie corner Orlando Scandrick have been able to showcase their skills.
When Jones was playing, he was arguably the team's best cornerback.
"He's another great player and (adds) more depth, for sure," Newman said. "He can be a starter for any 32 teams in the NFL, and he's on our team. He's a good football player."
Ellis' take was a bit more tempered.
"We need to let him get in here and assign him a job to do and just go with that," Ellis said. "Don't place the fate of the whole defense on Pacman. That doesn't need to happen. Or even the fate of the secondary on Pacman, to say that he's going to lift up the whole secondary because that doesn't need to happen."
In Defense
Frank Gore entered Sunday's game at Texas Stadium with the sixth most rushing yards in the league, and Marion Barber was ninth. Neither had a great day, but Barber can at least thank the Cowboys defense for helping him gain on Gore.
The San Francisco back had just 26 yards on 14 carries, and was shut down on a couple of goal line carries in the first quarter. By the time the Cowboys built their big lead with 29 straight points, the 49ers had been forced to mostly abandon their running game in order to keep up with the Cowboys high-scoring offense.
The Cowboys have been superior against the run in three of their last four games, and Phillips said the team probably learned something from a couple of games in which they struggled recently, against St. Louis and the New York Giants.
"I thought we could do it all along," the coach said. "We didn't obviously. But I thought we were better than what we showed a couple of weeks in there. But some of the things we showed, even in the Giants game, in the first half, they really didn't have anything running-wise on us. We have the capabilities of playing real well even against good running teams. I'm glad we stepped forward the last couple of weeks."
And while 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill was able to throw for 304 yards and two scores, the Cowboys were able to get pressure on him throughout the game. They sacked him four times, Anthony Henry intercepted him once, and Zach Thomas recovered a fumbled center exchange, which, if not for an early whistle, he would have returned for a touchdown just before the half. Each of the Cowboys' outside linebacker pass rushers recorded a sack, as did safety Ken Hamlin. Jay Ratliff also forced a red zone field goal with third down pressure.
"I think it certainly helps our pass defense with the pressure we have," Phillips said. "I like for it to come from different people because you have different threats. If it's just all one person, they can double them all the time. And they try to do that with DeMarcus (Ware), but he still gets there."
Short Shots
While the Cowboys will practice every day this week, Seattle elected not to practice Monday . . . Injuries to receivers and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck have combined to make tight end John Carlson the Seahawks' leading receiver, with 32 catches for 351 yards and three touchdowns . . . The Cowboys are 25-14-1 on Thanksgiving Day.
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