The Cowboys have made the playoffs. What are your
thoughts on this year’s team?
Bill Bates: First of all, the NFL is so competitive. There are great players on every team. The chemistry that each team has creates the chance to win games. The chemistry with the Cowboys has gotten a lot better this year. Injuries are a huge factor in the NFL. Fortunately this year, unlike last year when injuries were tough on the Cowboys with key guys going down, the guys have been pretty healthy. They are peaking at the right time. They are playing pretty good football right now. Now you have to win every game. Lose and you go home.

Your first playoff appearance was in 1985. What were you thinking the first time
you stepped on the field?
Bill Bates: My first playoff game was during my rookie year and we were playing the Los Angeles Rams. I had pretty much played special teams all year. Coach Stallings benched Dextor Clinkscale and had me start. That happened to be my first start at safety. It had rained the night before and froze the next day. The stadium was one cold place. They had Eric Dickerson and he ran all over us.

How sweet was the 1991 playoff victory over the Chicago Bears?
Bill Bates: That was awesome! We were back in the playoffs. It was cold. Steve Beuerlein was the quarterback. We had Coach Johnson and we just knew we were getting better. Intercepting the pass at the end of that game was very rewarding. We knew we had turned the corner. We were becoming a much better football team. We were making great strides with our team chemistry.

For the playoffs, how much preparation is put in by the special teams to get ready for a game?
Bill Bates: The thing that you try to do as a coach and as a player is to have a routine every year and every week. You don’t stray from it if it works. Practice the same way. Intensity is always there. There may be a trick play or two you have for the upcoming team that may work. The routine is the same, just the stakes are different. Either you win or you go home.

What do you think this year’s Cowboys team needs to do to insure playoff success?
Bill Bates: It’s the same theme: finish. Finish every play. You care for one another on the field and that you are striving to be your best on each and every play. If you’re not doing that in the offseason, preseason, at practice and in every game during the season, then you are behind the 8-ball. You can’t just turn it on, turn it off. It’s not that easy. You’ve got to work together as a team. You’ve got to finish. Finish with great energy and don’t let things get you down. I think this season with the Cowboys they have been doing that. They have been rising throughout the year and you want to be playing your best when get to the playoffs. The Cowboys are doing that.

You spent your entire NFL career with the Cowboys, given today’s era of free agency,
how special was that?
Bill Bates: There is no question that it was awesome! From seeing my locker to the first day of training camp to the end. My high school uniform was the same uniform as the Cowboys. A dream come true. To live that dream. I’ve overcome a lot of adversity and played with pain and injury. For my dream to last 15 years was incredible. I was blessed.

What’s it like to be the first player to be elected to the Pro Bowl because a
position was “created” for you?
Bill Bates: That was icing on the cake as far as my dream coming true. I was the first one out to practice. I was holding for field goals and extra points, punting and fielding punts. I wouldn’t light the field up, but I could catch punts. I just understood from my first day that the quickest way that I was going to get on the field and that I could make an impression on the coaches that I’m a football player was through special teams. Having a guy like John Madden point you out was just icing on the cake.

Are there any charities that you work with that the Blitz Weekly reader can contribute to?
Bill Bates: Wednesday’s Child is the closest one that I work with. That would be great if your readers can help make a difference. I’ve been working with them since my first year. Helping the kids out means a lot to me and I will continue to do so. It is very fulfilling.