Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his center, Phil Costa, misconnected on several snaps Monday night, making the team look disorganized. After the game, Romo had an explanation for the confusion.
“Costa said the Redskins’ D-line kept calling out the snap count. We’ll get that worked out,” Romo said. “We’ll tell the league and see if that’s something that can be fixed because you’re not supposed to be able to do that. So we’ll see. But we can’t have that happen. We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”
Redskins defensive lineman Stephen Bowen disputed that explanation Wednesday.
“I don’t understand how I could simulate his snap count. Am I supposed to memorize the colors and the numbers he’s saying?” Bowen said. “Honestly, I lost a lot of respect for Costa. Just be a man and tell the truth. If that was the case, if we were making snap counts, how come no other offensive linemen jumped offsides? It makes no sense because he’s lying. He needs to be a man and stand by his word. Everybody respects a man who could tell the truth.”
Bowen, who spent five seasons with the Cowboys before joining the Redskins, said he was surprised by the accusations.
“Yeah. You could ask the guys in Dallas. They know my character. I’ve never been that type of guy. I just line up and play ball,” Bowen said. “Even during the game, the ref came up to us and said, are we giving fake snap counts? I looked at Barry [Cofield], like: ’Did you make a noise?’ He was like, ’I didn’t make a noise.’
“He’s trying to make excuses for him messing up.”
Atogwe: ’No bad blood’
Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe downplayed the importance of facing his former team Sunday when the Redskins travel to St. Louis.
“I left St. Louis in a good place,” Atogwe said. “There’s no bad blood between me and the Rams.”
Atogwe spent six seasons with the Rams before joining the Redskins and called the Week 4 game big for both sides.
“We’re coming off a tough loss, and they’re trying to turn around an 0-3 start to their season,” he said. “We need to build momentum so we can build our confidence.”
Atogwe shared some insight into his former quarterback, Sam Bradford, calling him a player who fits into the mold of superstars Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“I knew that from the moment he stepped into the building, he could be in the category of those guys,” Atogwe said. “I know one thing about when we play them - he will already know our defense. He will study everything and he will be prepared.”
Last season, the Redskins lost to the Rams 30-16.
“That’s because I was there,” Atogwe said of last season’s game. “But the team that wins is the team that plays best on that day.”
Atogwe, who took the podium briefly after DeAngelo Hall, took a moment to discuss his teammate when asked.
“I know this isn’t a word, but he’s one of the ’goodest’ guys I know. He plays with passion, and sometimes that’s what comes out. But we’re in this together,” Atogwe said. “We [the secondary] will be as good as we believe ourselves to be. When we’re all working together and jelling together, we will be a force. We will be what we envisioned in training camp.”
Cooley tries out new position
In a somewhat unusual move by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, tight end Chris Cooley spent some time at fullback Monday night. His grade at the position, Cooley said, depends on who you ask.
“If you ask Kyle or [tight ends coach] Sean McVay, I graded out really well at fullback. If you ask [running backs coach] Bobby Turner, he’s a little more critical. I was pleased with the way I played,” said Cooley, who graded himself a little more harshly.
“Looking back on the film, I was really disappointed in the end result. I had so much fun throughout the day playing a new position. I thought I played well. I know we didn’t score a ton of points, but I had so much fun playing it.”
The opportunity to give fullback a try came about due to injuries to Mike Sellers and Darrel Young.
“They both got injured last Thursday within 15 minutes of [each other in] practice,” Cooley said. “So I just naturally went back and started playing fullback. I was the next guy, and we have all those plays in for practice. It’s not foreign to me to go back in the backfield and do the exact same thing I’m doing out of two tight ends.”
• Carla Peay can be reached at cpeay@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.