The Amazing Jerry Show

It’s amazing to me how things can get so out of shape after a disappointing season in Dallas. Never mind that the team did win 9 games on one of the tougher schedules in the league, or that they lost a game to each of the eventual Super Bowl contenders by 6 points, one in overtime. It all comes crashing down.

It’s been a slow end of the week and weekend so far news-wise, so it’s easy to recap what has happened this weekend. There’s been two major stories to come out of Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, first is Wade’s now infamous “I can’t … against the rules” comment when asked for an update at the combine on Friday, and second is Michael Crabtree and his broken foot.

It’s nothing new for the Cowboys to be thrust into the media spotlight at any event in football, even during the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl the Cowboys were discussed in-game by the analysts calling each game. But the team usually never sinks to such a low as this, one man stepping up and claiming ultimate rule and power over a team, is that even possible?

Jerry Jones has tried to do it in the past, but he’s never been quite so successful at it until now. “I’m the guy that’s got the full picture,” Jones says, and he adds, “I just want to make sure you’re not getting bits and pieces of information. That’s not doing anybody any good and you’re not making accurate reports.” So please, let us see what is accurate.

Since Jerry Jones, who is now beyond any doubt Head Coach Jerry Jones, is the guy then we can safely say that the spread of misinformation amongst the media is his fault. Sure, he’s made it clear today that he wasn’t the one giving the false information to the press, but then he’s also taking control with his gag order, essentially placing his team on lock down. That’s to say that he has the power to do so, to control the situation, why else would he be doing this?

So that must mean that he failed to enforce his rule in the past, that’s how the misinformation leaked to the press.

He says “All I’m trying to say is basically that’s where you need to go to see where the status of that decision is.” Since he is the only Dallas Cowboy allowed to speak to the media now, it means that he is where to go for the status of all decisions.

So how about it Jerry … What’s going on with Terrell Owens? What is the plan to fix the woes of the 2008 season? How will you declare a leader for this team on the field? Who will be coaching the players? What players are staying and going? Can the fans sit down in this new stadium? Is team chemistry important? Is 9-7 good enough?

For most of that, he simply isn’t saying at this point. But Head Coach Jerry has stated that 9-7 is good enough, which brings me to my next point. Sure, the Cardinals went 9-7 and made it to the Super Bowl, they played their best football at the right time of the year. Let us not forget, though, that had they been in any other division they probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to play their best football in January. The combined record of their NFC West opponents was 13-35, so Arizona knew they were in the playoffs in mid December.

Even the AFC West, with the Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers; still had more combined wins than the NFC West. And it took a week 17 showdown between the Chargers and Broncos to hold all teams in that division at no better a record than .500.

Being that the Cowboys play in the NFC East division, I think it’s safe to say that while a 9-7 division title can happen, it won’t for the Cowboys.

But the real question, the one that will not be asked at this event, or any other, is how can one man run a football team in the NFL? Jerry Jones has tried to do it for 20 years now, and while it started with the likes of Troy Aikman and Jimmy Johnson, without them this team hasn’t even won a playoff game.

A lot of the time, Jimmy Johnson is given credit for running a Super Bowl franchise, but he was just the Head Coach. He was the coach at a time when Jerry Jones didn’t know enough about the sport to try doing so much as he does now, and he had something extra. He knew how to approach Jerry Jones; he knew how to handle his players.

In the years since our last playoff win he’s tried it Jimmy’s way and been tough. He’s tried it Chan’s way and been lenient, he’s even tried being tough the Parcels way, and none of it has really worked for him.

Maybe he’s figured doing it the way someone else would isn’t good enough anymore, so he’s doing it his way, I don’t know. But I can tell you that gagging your entire coaching staff during their time of the year isn’t going to work.

Letting your players be the primary source of misinformation to the media isn’t going to work. Coddling your players with new deals and huge contracts whenever they want isn’t going to work. And bringing in fading talent isn’t going to work either.

The simple truth is that Jerry is asserting his control over this franchise without controlling anything. His players talk to the media, but his coaches can’t. He imposes fines to the players that are cheaper than my gas bill. His overpaid Offensive Coordinator interviews for every job available, every year.

The only thing Jerry is controlling is who gets more time in front of the cameras, and while he’s made it clear that his coaches aren’t good enough for it, he’s also made it clear that his players are.

Personally, I’d rather my coaches talking and my players working, not the other way around.

The Problem With Old Greats

If there is anything I’ve learned over the years being a Cowboys fan it’s this, you don’t win championships with another team’s talent.

We’ve seen it many times in Dallas in this 12 year post-season drought, with the remarkable likely being either Terrell Owens or Zach Thomas; both current players. We have seen good come from these worn out vets, like Romo stepping in for Bledsoe and not only shocking this fan nation back to life, but doing so after learning from an intelligent and once very solid quarterback.

Even when Romo took over for him, it wasn’t because Drew had forgotten how to play like it appears Brad Johnson has, and it wasn’t because he never did anything great. He was a recycled quarterback from Parcels glory days. And he wasn’t the only one that “The Tuna” brought in.

I guess Big Bill thought quarterbacking was like coaching, even past the expiration date, cheese can still be good. I don’t think Bledsoe or Testaverde were ever comparable to even something like cottage cheese while in Dallas, but they weren’t so bad that they single handedly caused seasons to go down the drain.

I mean look at Kurt Warner, how many times has he been written off since that famed season with the Rams in which he led them to a Super Bowl victory, unlike last night as the Cardinals top guy. Yet there he was last night, and nobody was saying, “if Warner can limit his mistakes, they’ll have a shot.” In fact, the worst I heard said about him was from John Madden seconds after the 45 yard completion to Boldin, and it was simply a comment about his ability to throw it deep when he has enough time in the pocket.

Again, it’s less about not taking players well beyond any ability, but taking players that have made a career, a long career, in another city is just not working out too well across the league.

So the talk of picking up players like Ray Lewis and Julius Peppers just sounds like more of the same, and we all know how that’s been so far. I was for the Peppers trade at first, but only when I figured there was a chance he’d stick with a defensive end spot. As time goes by it becomes clearer that he wants be a DeMarcus Ware and switch to a 3-4 and the OLB spot.

The problem for the Cowboys there is simple though; Ware isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Jerry Jones is going to compromise his ability to fill other holes on the team to make sure of that. So that leaves the left side where Ellis and Spencer are currently. Spencer is up and coming still, as long as he stays healthy, and has much more upside than Peppers does at this point, and Ellis would likely contemplate suicide before quitting the team if Peppers were signed. That is a distraction that none of us need, let alone these Dallas Cowboys.

And let’s say we do sign Peppers and figure out a way to make the whole Peppers-Ellis-Spencer thing work out, you’re going to get maybe 4 or 5 years out of Peppers. The same thing goes for Ray Lewis really.

You’d get a few years out of him and there’s no telling how he’d play. A backup has never been the leader of a team with any positive outcome, not even Keith Davis. The one thing that the Lewis rumor has going for it is our need for a good inside linebacker, whether Thomas and Kevin Burnett leave or not.

But perhaps the biggest gamble when signing another teams long standing talent is their ability to adjust. Most of the top players that the media is rumoring and drooling over are on teams that have had consistent coaching, meaning one coach for most of their career and in a system that changed little, if at all.

Suddenly you want to take a guy like Lewis, who is practically a house-hold name as power LB, and throw him into a new defensive scheme. Sure, there may be some similarities and overall you’d expect a team to make some accommodations for a guy like that, but then you’re also changing what you’ve been teaching your guys, some of them too young and inexperienced to handle changes like that right away.

Look at Owens, who has been very vocal about his desires to use more of a west coach offense, his bread and butter before joining the Eagles. And even they used him in a similar way, unlike Garrett and Parcels have since he joined Dallas. He was great before coming to Dallas and that’s why he was signed, but he hasn’t adjusted to this offense well enough to be great again. By great, I mean that a 1,000 yard season shouldn’t be a surprise or even worth mentioning.

All in all, while there is something to be gained from seasoned veteran free agents, it’s just another project in the long run. Hasn’t the Cowboys’ “long run” been long enough?

Busted Barry Horn’s story for Saturday morning

Okay, I know it’s rather trifle or petty, but after reading the latest blog entry of Barry Horn at DMN, I just couldn’t help myself.

He throws in a little teaser about a incident Michael Irvin told him about. I’ve seen the reports already and know what happened, so I left a comment telling him we knew all about the incident, and that he should write it anyway. That at least we’d know he was telling the truth. I used the name BTreece.

I know Horn hasn’t been one of the major players in the recent rumor mill in the media, but I’m tired of hearing about a “source” and some outrageous claim from that source about the Cowboys.

We should all demand more from our journalists.

Who says reality TV can’t be useful

So the story isn’t quite what we would all hope for right now, especially not after how Hard Knocks turned out last year, but the yet-to-be-named reality show that Michael Irvin is doing this spring might actually be a good thing.

I doubt that any real players will come from it because usually the good ones do make it in other, more traditional ways. Then again, I lived next door a lineman on the practice squad for a few years in some ratty apartments in Arlington, and the practice squad players are usually considered worthy prospects.

I do think, however, that this is a step in the right direction for Jerry Jones and his obvious cravings for national media attention. Last year it was Hard Knocks, and we all know how that turned out having the HBO cameras all in training camp. It was a distraction in many ways, some of which only proved true once Martellus Bennett started catching touchdown passes.

This year though, a show that won’t take place at training camp, it won’t be in the players face, and the coaches currently employed won’t be dealing with it. You’ll have former coaches and players participating, but the only current Cowboys member set to be a part of this production is none other than Jerry Jones, who will make appearances as a judge.

Anyone think it’s a bad idea to get Jerry away from the team a little more?
See Tim MacMahon’s article on the DMN Cowboys Blog for the full story.

Media all but shutout

You know what? Good for wade Phillips!

He should be shutting out the media after all the crap they’ve gotten started this past year. Even when writing a blog to complain, albeit sarcastically, about his silence in Mobile, Alabama this week, they tried to keep something going that hasn’t been started officially.

Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News writes, and I quote, “Here’s hoping that Wade will share some wisdom with us on draft weekend (assuming he’s still employed, of course).”

More of the same antagonistic crap, though the local media in Dallas hasn’t been that bad about the rumors and drama this year, I guess they’re making up for a late start now.

What’s worse about it is while Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips both have refused to talk about the issues we all want to hear them talk about, people are still doubting that they can change.

The most prevalent trait of the Dallas Cowboys over the years has been Jerry Jones saying what he shouldn’t in the media, and the coach at least speaking to the media. Yet it’s apparently no small feat that they have changed that so far this year.

I say, good for Wade Phillips, Good for Jerry Jones. I realize keeping the media in the dark also keeps the fans in the dark, but the media deserves it right now.

Dallas Morning News Article Today

Did anyone happen to catch that article from Dallas Morning News Cowboys beat writer, Calvin Watkins? If you missed it, check it out – Calvin Watkins Bogus Article.

According to him, and his ‘sources’, the team was basically acting like a family of 40 brothers in one house, aside from the outright fighting that would occur in that situation. I’m not even sure if I can trust any of what this writer claims in his article. Then again, I found myself questioning the DC.com writers as well during this article.

I guess it was Nick Eatman, today, that said on DC.com that he was on the flight to Philly in December with the team, and that the plane was late, but not because of a player. He even said they knew it would be late before they got there. He does work for the organization, and they (DC.com writers) have been known to misstate things before, so I don’t know if he was covering, or being truthful.

Kind of makes me wonder about the media in general. I know the article was all about how players and coaches are bitching about other players and coaches, but to me, the author of the article stood out beyond any of the alleged facts he presented.

I for one, find it very difficult to put any credibility into an unnamed source for the media. If what you’re saying is so good, why not make yourself known? If losing your job was a big concern for you, you wouldn’t be starting crap to begin with, so why not take some pride in being a rat? That’s my thought anyway.

It just goes to show us all one thing; there is not one single person in this organization responsible for all the Cowboys’ struggles this past season. They all had a hand in it, one way or another.

The question now becomes, how do we get this ship sailing smooth again?

So how about it guys, what is it going to take to get the Cowboys back on track after the 2008 season? Comments are open to all.

Dallas Cowboys Nation

Tag Archives: Media