Tag: Jerry Jones (Page 3 of 10)

      Losing is a collective effort now for Cowboys

      October 18, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Head coach Wade Phillips of the Dallas Cowboys reacts during a 27-20 loss against the Chicago Bears at Cowboys Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      Jerry Jones said Monday that he wouldn’t fire Wade Phillips during the season. He didn’t say whether or not he’d fire him a millisecond after the season, just that he wouldn’t give him the boot during the season.

      This may displease Dallas fans, but why should Jones fire him? Phillips isn’t the only reason the Cowboys are 1-4, nor is he even the main reason.

      The Cowboys racked up double-digit penalties in their loss to the Vikings on Sunday. They did the same thing in their loss to Tennessee two weeks ago and are now tied with Detroit as the most penalized team in the NFL.

      Is that on coaching or the players? Before you answer “coaching,” remember that Phillips made it a point of emphasis to his players after Marc Colombo was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the loss to the Titans not to jeopardize the team by making stupid mistakes. And yet there was Miles Austin on Sunday, leapfrogging over Roy Williams in celebration over Williams’ touchdown in the first quarter. Austin was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and although the penalty didn’t lead to a score for the opposition like Columbo’s did, it still put the ‘Boys in bad position.

      The penalty is a reminder that not everything is Phillips’ fault in Dallas. He didn’t leapfrog over Williams – Austin did. Those kinds of penalties are on the individual – not the Cowboys’ coaching staff.

      That said, Phillips and his crew don’t escape criticism here. When Tony Romo threw that horrendous interception to E.J. Henderson with under three minutes to play on Sunday, Marion Barber was 5-for-5 picking up first downs at that point. Yet with his team facing a 3rd-and-2 from the Dallas 22-yard line, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called a pass play and the result was disastrous. He did the same thing earlier in the game from practically the same spot on the field and Romo threw an interception then, too.

      Garrett also out-thought himself at the beginning of the game when he ran Barber three straight times to pick up an easy first down on the Cowboys’ first possession, then called three straight passing plays which netted a punt. I know Minnesota’s claim to fame defensively is stopping the run, but for the love of foghorns, Jason, keep the ball on the ground if it’s working.

      But this is what the Cowboys do every week now. The players shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties while the coaching staff either fails to make the proper adjustments or winds up out-guessing itself. It’s a sick cycle right now and one that is sure to continue unless Phillips, the players or Jones does something about it.

      Something has to give in Dallas.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jerry Jones wants Dez Bryant to play covered in bubble wrap apparently

      July 31, 2010 /
      Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stands on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis on January 17, 2010. The Vikings won 34-3. UPI/Brian Kersey

      After wide receiver Dez Bryant suffered a high ankle sprain during practice on Friday, Jerry Jones questioned the way the Cowboys’ coaching staff handled the workload of the rookie.

      Apparently the Dallas owner wanted answers as to why his first round pick was injured on a football field while performing football-related activities during a football practice.

      “It was really disappointing and it really causes you to … ask what can you do, what can you do in practices that can mitigate some of the exposure to some of these injuries,” Jones told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen after watching footage of the injury. Jones did not attend Friday’s practice.

      “The key thing is you ask yourself, ‘Are we pushing him too hard; does it happen at the end of practice when the players are tired?’ ” said Jones, who added, “We all know now when you get a little tired you can get injured.”

      Jones has every right to question the way his coaching staff is handling his players, but he’s going a tad overboard here. He’s been around football long enough to know that injuries are part of the game. They’re unavoidable.

      If undrafted rookie guard Phil Costa suffered a high ankle sprain, would Jones have said the same thing? Would he have wondered if the Dallas coaching staff pushed Costa too hard? Doubtful.

      Granted, Jones has more invested in Bryant than he does Costa, but the point is no matter how you slice it, football is a physical game. Whether guys or tired or not, focused or unfocused, injuries happen to everyone. No one is immune.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jones not ready to give up on Roy Williams

      May 28, 2010 /

      According to Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones isn’t ready to admit that he made a mistake by trading for Roy Williams two years ago.

      Will the Cowboys really release Patrick Crayton, a decent #3 receiver and punt returner with experience and keep Roy Williams just because of his contract? When you put it that way, no, it doesn’t seem fair. Crayton is more versatile than Williams. But Jerry’s not ready to admit he made such a big mistake on Roy. If he could ever play to his potential, Roy’s a weapon. Jerry would like to think he’s finally going to get that now. Nothing motivates like a contract year or competition for your position.

      I don’t think there’s any question that trading for Williams was a mistake given what Jones parted with (a first, a third and a sixth round pick) in order to acquire him. He also signed Williams to a six-year, $54 million contract with $26 million in guaranteed money and the receiver hasn’t come anywhere close to honoring that deal with his production on the field.

      Unlike some Cowboy fans, I don’t think Williams is useless but it’s hard to argue that Jones didn’t make a mistake in acquiring him from Detroit and paying him that much money. The other problem is that Williams is probably the fourth best receiver on Dallas’ depth chart behind Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Crayton. Fifty-four million is a lot of money to be paying a fourth receiver.

      At some point, I think Jones will have to cut his losses and move on. I don’t think it’ll be this year, but chances are Williams won’t see the end of his contract.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Will the Cowboys target Gaither after releasing Adams?

      April 2, 2010 /

      On Friday, the Cowboys released left tackle Flozell Adams and free safety Ken Hamlin and while the moves themselves aren’t surprising, the timing is a little strange.

      The Cowboys weren’t up against any sort of deadline to release either player. Adams was due a $2.5 million roster bonus in June, but they could have allowed the draft to play out before releasing him. Hamlin was on his way out at some point, but Dallas doesn’t have a suitable replacement on the roster at this point.

      If the season were to start today, Doug Free would protect Tony Romo’s blindside and Alan Ball would compete with Mike Hamlin at the free safety spot. It’s doubtful that the Cowboys would just hand the starting left tackle spot over to an inexperienced player such as Free, so don’t be surprised if they add an offensive tackle in one of the early rounds of the draft.

      Another possibility is that Jerry Jones will target Ravens’ restricted free agent Jared Gaither, who wants to remain in Baltimore but also wants a long-term deal. The NFL Network’s Jason La Confora said in a recent episode of NFL Total Access that Gaither could be had for a second round pick. The problem that the Cowboys face in that scenario is that the Redskins are also interested in Gaither, so maybe Dallas will be willing to part with their first round pick (No. 27 overall) in order to get ahead of Washington, which selects at No. 37.

      Of course, this is just speculation on my part but again, chances are the Cowboys aren’t going to hand the starting left tackle job over to Free after releasing Adams.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      The 2010 NBA All-Star Game – Brave New World or The Empire Strikes Back ?

      February 19, 2010 /

      DALLAS – So there I was last Friday afternoon in Austin, Texas, a little over 48 hours before the historic 2010 NBA All-Star game would take place just 200 miles away in Dallas. Somewhere around 100,000 tickets were said to be sold, including an unquantified number of $30 Standing Room Only “party passes.” The Great Recession of 2009 had left me nearly flat broke when they went on sale last year though, so I remained ticketless and with little hope. Then I read an interview with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, where he seemed to up the ante on what this event could be.

      I don’t think Cowboys Stadium has really been leveraged as a party destination the way it can. I think people are going to be pleasantly shocked. It’s more designed to be a night club than a destination for a sporting event. And because this is really geared toward fun, I think it’s really going to shine,” Cuban told the Dallas Morning News. “You’re just there to have fun. I think that makes a big difference. No one’s betting on this game. No one’s screaming and yelling. It’s just ‘Are you having fun? Yes or no.’ That makes for better people-watching. That makes for better enjoying of libations and such. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

      Cuban was probably engaging in a hype game, but all this talk of unprecedented, newly leveraged fun seemed to demand personal investigation. I hit the Dallas and Austin Craigslist ticket boards, trying to find someone who might unexpectedly have found themselves with a couple of those party passes to sell for face price. Most were asking around $60 apiece, while some pirates sought $100. Then I saw a posting that more of the party passes were now on sale at Ticketmaster.com – one click later, he shoots, he scores! I knew prospects for getting a decent view of the game were slim, but how could any serious NBA fan pass up the chance to attend this historic contest for a mere $30 and a three-hour drive? Not to mention that a California friend had just relocated to Dallas that week for a new job, providing free lodging to boot. It had clearly become a mission from God.

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      NBA

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