Flozell Adams and Deon Anderson Fight on Plane Ride from Philadelphia

Now that the Dallas Cowboys 2008 season is over, it appears all sorts of stories are coming out about the lack of unity within the team. As I listened to Bob and Dan on the Ticket this afternoon, Bob Sturm was commenting on a story regarding a scuffle between two Dallas Cowboys players, Deon Anderson and Flozell Adams.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Cowboys players Deon Anderson and Flozell Adams were involved in an altercation on the plane ride home after the devastating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The fight was broken up by guard Leonard Davis.
This fight between Flozell Adams and Deon Anderson is simply one of a number of incidents within the Dallas Cowboys organization as the season wound down.
Terrell Owens met with Jason Garrett, Roy Williams, and Patrick Crayton to complain about Tony Romo having an alleged preference for throwing to Jason Witten.

This story became a major headline as numerous sources within the team began to take sides and speak about major disagreements within the team. According to Jennifer Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, cornerback Terrance Newman spoke out against the disagreements within the team.

“Too many guys are not accountable in this organization. And when you sit there and make excuses and put the blame on other people, it erodes what you are trying to build,” said Newman.

While Deon Anderson laughed off the fight between himself and Flozell Adams on Monday, saying that everything was fine between the two, it is clear that everything is not fine within the organization.

During the game against Philadelphia, Tank Johnson caused further disruption by yelling at teammates on the sidelines and in the huddle.

The lack of unity within the Dallas Cowboys proved disastrous as the Cowboys attempted to match the hype of the beginning of the season. Much of the blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of head coach Wade Phillips.

Wade Phillips proved this season that his personality is not suited to be an effective head coach. He was unable to control his locker room and assert himself to restore order to his team.

With a number of outbursts from players, many coming from the always divisive Terrell Owens, Wade Phillips did not present a strong presence in the locker room to keep the team focused on actually playing the game of football. Instead he allowed the team to split into separate factions, involved in numerous spats and disagreements.

The altercation between Deon Anderson and Flozell Adams on the way back from Philadelphia was simply another symptom of a tremendous problem within the Cowboys. It is clear that the players see the Wade Phillips and the coaching staff as a complete joke with no real authority. This issue must get resolved or the 2009 Dallas Cowboys will be just as disappointing as this years team was.