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Ron Rivera, head coach of the Washington Football Team, is gearing up for his team to take on NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys later today in what looks like is shaping up to be one of the key deciding factors as to which team will ultimately win the division and thus make the NFC playoffs.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, in a recent press conference, guaranteed a win today against Rivera and the WFT. Those words did not sit well with 'Riverboat Ron,' as he took umbrage to the comment.
Ron Rivera fires back at Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy's comment
During a press conference last week, McCarthy was speaking about his team when he said this,
"We're going to win this game. I'm confident in that."
Soon after, word of this comment made its way to coach Rivera and he had this to say in response to McCarthy's guarantee of a victory:
"I think it's interesting. I don't think it's important," Rivera said. "I think that's the big mistake, because as far as I'm concerned, you do that for a couple of reasons. One is you want to get in our head. And so I've told our players, 'That's interesting, it's not important. What's important is our preparation, getting ready to play on Sunday.' Secondly, he's trying to convince his team. So, again, I think that's another mistake. Because he's now made it about him and what he said, it's not about his players anymore. So I think that's a big mistake. That's why to me, you don't do those things. What you do is you focus in, you get ready, and you play football. We show up on Sunday, and we'll see what happens."
Rivera has been through a lot of adversity over the past few seasons, both on and off the field. Last year, Rivera announced to the world that he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, which is a type of skin cancer which was detected on his neck.
Although the coach is now cancer-free, Rivera knows that he must continue to push himself to remain as healthy as possible and continue with scheduled checkups.
As for troubles on the field, the WFT began the season with a 2-6 record only to rally off four consecutive wins and now has an overall record of 6-6.
The Cowboys, who once had a commanding division lead, are now 8-4, just two games ahead of the WFT with the first of two head-to-head meetings today.
Stay tuned for a what is set to be a wild finish in the NFC East.
