'Cowboys Soft!'? Mike McCarthy Claps Back At What Everybody Is Saying

FRISCO - It is a word I have almost never used. It is a word that even in the wake of me witnessing in person the Dallas Cowboys' 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium, I hesitate to use.

That trigger word? "Soft.'' Used in a Cowboys-related sentence? "The Cowboys are soft!''

Head coach Mike McCarthy this week urged the media to "be careful'' in using that adjective to describe his 3-3 team, and his caution is appropriate. As I have said many times in my 40 years as an NFL beat writer: Player literally risk their necks for our entertainment; there is nothing "soft" about any of that.

But ... as a relative term? Along come pundits - and not shock jocks, but guys who have lived it, such as former NFL players Damien Woody and Devin McCourty who are using that damning word. Heck, even former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett - who once supervised many of these players - is leaning that direction.

Read what ESPN's Woody says, and how respectfully he's saying it.

“The Dallas Cowboys are soft. And for me to use the word ‘soft,’ you’re basically attacking players’ manhood. The game of football is very simple. … Just watch what goes on in the trenches with the Dallas Cowboys.

“They can’t move anybody up front on offense, and on defense, the line of scrimmage is getting moved three or four yards backwards. No one’s getting touched at the line of scrimmage!”

Add what NBC’s “Football Night in America” broadcaster  McCourty says.

“Right now, Dallas’ defense — they just look soft out there,” McCourty said. “It’s not everything being schemed up. It’s (Lions running back) David Montgomery running over people. They’re grabbing at his jersey. They’re just not a tough football team right now.”

And finally, to Garrett, who made a lifetime commitment to playing and coaching in the NFL, and who has a devotion to Dallas.

Said RedBall: "They’re not physical on either side of the ball. On offense, they can’t run it. They’re not controlling the line of scrimmage. Everything is on Dak (Prescott), every time the ball is snapped — and they can’t stop the run on the other side.”

Garrett didn't dare say the dirty word. But I bet he was thinking "soft.''

McCarthy won't go there. But he did mention that there is a "belief'' and "trust'' problem. And that's pretty awful, too.

“To me, if goes back to the belief in the details,” McCarthy said. “The trust not being as connected, we had some moving pieces, I think some guys start guessing, trying to make plays instead of playing the call, there was way too much to that. I think some guys on offense were pressing trying to make plays, so we had some situations up front that they (Lions) they got after us on both sides of the line of scrimmage, so I think it was more of that.”

Related: Cowboys 'Good, Bad & Ugly': Analysis Reveals 'America's Team' Troubles

Really, it was "more'' of everything. ... and it leads to an awful accusation.

"The Dallas Cowboys are soft''? I'm just a broken-down old sportswriter. I'm hesitant to say it. But that's not stopping a bunch of guys who have lived the life from speaking that damning apparent truth.