According to the official Cowboys website, here is what Dallas players and coaches are saying about Sunday night's game against the Bears.
On Bears Head Coach John Fox...
Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett:"He's a great coach, he really is. He's a great person. He's great for the National Football League. He was the defensive coordinator in New York when I was playing there. We really developed a great relationship and he's someone I have a great deal of respect for. The hallmark of his teams is he's had a lot of different kinds of teams through the years as a head coach both in Carolina and Denver and now going to Chicago, but typically they play really good defense, typically they run the football, they play hard and they play the right way. It has a lot to do with the kind of culture he instills in all his guys... his players love to play for him."
On WR Alshon Jeffery...
Cowboys Cornerback Orlando Scandrick:"Alshon's a big guy that goes up and gets it at the highest point. He's got big, strong hands... you know it's a guy that I've played against over the years. He's a great player."
Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett:"Just a really good player. Been a playmaker for them for a long time. He's really big, he's long, he makes plays over his head, he gets a lot of attention from opposing defenses and he still comes up with plays. They've done a good job getting him opportunities and over the years of his career he's typically stepped up and made a lot of plays for them, so a really good football player."
On Bears quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer...
Cowboys Cornerback Orlando Scandrick:"You just prepare for both of those guys. Jay's got a big arm and he can make every throw. Jay's got all of the physical ability in the world. Brian he's kind of a different guy, but the same guy, they're going to run the same offense. I don't think they're going to change much for him. He's (QB Brian Hoyer) an established guy in this league, he's been a starter in this league and he's been around for some time."Â
On Vic Fangio...
Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett:"First of all, Vic is an outstanding coach. I've known him for a long, long time and he's one of the great coordinators in this league and has been for the last 25-30 years. He's been around some great people, he's been around some great defenses. The hallmark of the defenses that he's coached is these guys play hard, they play well, they tackle well, they don't give up a lot of big plays typically they've impacted the game by affecting the quarterback. He's a really good coach and has been like I said for nearly three decades in this league. From a scheme standpoint, there are certainly some things that you'll see him do that he did all the way back with the New Orleans Saints in the 1980's and early 90's... been around Dom Capers and you see a lot of that in his defenses. At the same time he's a really good coach and he evolves with the game and he evolves with the team and personal that he has. So you'll see a lot of the same principles of his defensive philosophy when he's gone from team to team over the last number of years, but he also does a really good job fitting his scheme to the people that he has."
On Bears defense...
Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott:"They've got some good players over there, even with the injuries, we are going to have to come out there and play our ball. We are a run first, physical team and that's how we are going to be successful."
Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott: "Chicago... they are a tough defense. I mean, they've got some injuries, they are banged up a bit, but they are going to put their best guys out there. We're preparing just the way we did the last two weeks for a good team."
On Bears injuries affecting preparation...
Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett:"It really doesn't impact us. Hard to know who is going to play for them and who is not going to play for them. We have a philosophy of next man up, I'm sure they have the same philosophy. The guys that are going to play for them wouldn't be on the team if they didn't believe they could do the job. We have to focus on us and our preparation. If there's a discernable difference between guys who may or may not be playing we certainly look into that. We evaluate tape seeing the different guys who might be playing and how they might play differently if they are in the lineup, but for the most part we're getting ready for their offense, we're getting ready for their defense, we're getting ready for what they're doing in the kicking game."