Tag: Jerry Jones (Page 6 of 10)

Jerry Jones should be held personally accountable for keeping T.O.

After months of speculation regarding whether or not to release or trade him, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones has decided to hang onto wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Financially, this was a wise move. Cutting T.O. wouldn’t have created much cap space and there’s nobody on the open market outside of T.J. Houshmandzadeh who matches what Owens brings to the field. That said, Jones better realize that he has nobody but himself to blame if Owens turns around and makes a mess of things in the locker room this season.

Something is wrong in Dallas, this much we know. They have more than enough talent on both sides of the ball to compete for a Super Bowl, yet they can’t even make the playoffs in a weak NFC. For the Eagles to make the postseason after looking so bad mid-year, there’s no reason a team composed of Owens, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware should miss the playoffs. And yes, Barber’s injury hurt the ‘Boys towards the end of the year, but a team as talented as the Cowboys should be able to overcome one player’s absence.

The word that keeps coming up with this team is chemistry. The Cowboys don’t have enough good chemistry to win. If that’s the case, then that hangs on Jones’s shoulders and again, he should be held personally accountable. He put this team together and he’s the one that believes a bunch of malcontents like T.O. and Pacman Jones can survive under one roof.

Jones jettisoned one bad apple (Pacman), but decided to keep another (T.O.). If the decision to keep Owens sours (pardon the apple pun) in the end, then Jones needs to look in the mirror and discover that the main problem is staring him right in the face.

Jerry Jones hints that T.O. will be a Cowboy next year

All of the speculation that Terrell Owens won’t be a Cowboy next season might be a moot point after Dallas owner Jerry Jones recently suggested that his wideout will be back in Dallas in 2009.

Jerry Jones“You and I both know that the one [player] you’re asking about all the time, if I gave you the answer that you want to hear, then you would have already had it,” Jones said. “So the fact you don’t have it ought to tell you something.”

Jones assumes most of the media members want Owens gone. With some, it’s pretty obvious. So is there any way to interpret Jones’ answer as meaning the Cowboys plan to cut Owens any time soon?
I don’t think so.

And does the optimism that bubbled out of Jones at different times Tuesday afternoon suggest this is a man about to take a $9.6 million salary cap hit to get rid of his best receiver?
I don’t think so.

Jones isn’t going to change his ways now. He’s always been an owner that marches to the beat of his own drummer and that means chemistry always takes a backseat to talent in terms of teams he runs. Jones knows he has a ton of talent, but it just needs to come together. He’s waited for that talent to come together for two years now and he might have to wait longer if he continues to ignore the internal problems that are going on in the Cowboys locker room.

Top 10 active NFL touchdown leaders

Sometimes when deciding who you’re going to pick at your fantasy football draft, it’s easy to be infatuated with yardage and not with touchdowns, but TDs are really where the points are at. With the 2008 season now over, here is a look at the all-time active NFL leaders are in touchdowns, either rushing or receiving. Some names will not surprise you, but a few others might, but either way, you fantasy geeks can file this article away for when you start your preseason research:

1. Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys (141)—T.O. causes trouble everywhere he goes, but on the field he has a knack for finding the end zone, usually after he’s blown past a defender. And the best part for fantasy GMs is that you don’t have to actually interact with the guy like Jerry Jones does.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (141)—The scary thing about LT is he’s only 29. The really scary thing, though, is that he’s gone from a league-record 28 rushing scores in 2006 to 15 in 2007 to 11 in 2008. He probably won’t be drafted first overall again in 2009, but LT is still a first rounder.

3. Randy Moss, New England Patriots (136)—Moss has had an up and down career, but the one number you can never ignore is 23—the NFL single-season receiving TD mark he set in 2007 when he and Tom Brady were lighting up scoreboards. And Brady should be back in ’09.

4. Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Colts (128)—A knee injury ended Harrison’s 2007 season prematurey, and he was not as effective in 2008 usual, scoring only 5 times. Throw in some off the field issues, and while Marvin has put up huge career numbers catching passes from Peyton Manning, you have to believe the end of that career is in sight.

5. Shaun Alexander, free agent (112)—Has anyone seen a running back’s career decline so sharply? Dude broke the NFL record with 27 rushing TDs in 2005, but an injury limited Alexander to only 20 starts since then with two different teams. 112 might stay at 112.

6. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (91)—James reached double digits in touchdowns four times while playing in Indianapolis. And he’s reached double digits in Arizona too—16 scores, but over three seasons. He showed in the playoffs that he still has some juice left, but on a Cardinals’ team focused on the pass, don’t expect James to reach 100 before 2010.

6. Isaac Bruce, San Francisco 49ers (91)—Fifteen years in the league will give you a chance to put up close to 100 touchdowns, but it’s not like Isaac Bruce doesn’t have skills, even at the ripe old football age of 36.

8. Joey Galloway, Tampa Bay Bucs (83)—Galloway is another guy who has sipped from the fountain of youth, but he missed most of the 2008 season.

9. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs (76)—Gonzalez caught 96 passes for 1058 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2008, one of his best seasons yet, to earn first team All Pro at the age of 32. He may not be back in KC in 2009, but no matter where he lands, he’s always a good fantasy tight end.

10. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (76)—With 76 career rushing and receiving touchdowns, Portis is a solid fantasy player, but no LT. Then again, LT is no LT anymore either.

Source: Pro Football Reference

Terrell Owens not expected to be a Cowboy in 2009

Peter King of SI.com and Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post both believe that wideout Terrell Owens will not be a Cowboy next season.

Terrell OwensNow, for the real news out of Dallas regarding Terrell Owens. Peter King wrote this yesterday in his Monday Morning QB, and I believe he is dead-on accurate. When, not if, is the real question everyone is asking about T.O. He will not be back, but the team is still deciding when to make the announcement of his termination or trade.

Maybe Jones can work a trade out to send Owens to the Raiders since they have a huge need at wideout and have never been afraid to take on a big challenge. This will be interesting to follow as it develops.

One can’t help but wonder if the Cowboys aren’t making moves for 2009, but perhaps 2010 when Jerry Jones hopes to land Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan. Neither of those coaches would likely sign a contract with the ‘Boys knowing they would have to put up with T.O., so the team parts with him this year and fumigates the place for a season until one of those two are ready to coach again.

Regardless of what Jerry Jones and the Cowboys’ future plans are at head coach, it appears that Owens’ days in Dallas are numbered. And if they are, his situation in Dallas proves that having dysfunctional players on your roster will more than likely lead to destruction and desertion.

Dan Reeves: There is a tug of war in Dallas over Terrell Owens

Dan Reeves took a consulting job with the Dallas Cowboys but it lasted less than 48 hours. After his departure, Reeves told several media outlets that there is an internal tug of war going on at Valley Ranch regarding whether or not the Cowboys should part with wideout Terrell Owens.

Terrell OwensFrom David Smoak’s show on KTBB-AM in Tyler: “I don’t think you ever talk to the Cowboys without Terrell Owens coming up. I can say there are definitely some mixed feelings about T.O. Most everybody you talk to has a different opinion of him. They definitely have a decision to make as far as to what they will do about T.O., and I really don’t know what that will be.”

From Galloway and Co. on ESPN 103.3 FM: “I did find out while I was down there that there are a lot of mixed feelings about T.O. within the organization. They’ve got to sit down and make a decision.”
From BaD Radio on 1310 The Ticket: “There are certainly some differences of opinion within the people within that organization. So that’s gotta be something that people that are there, that work with him everyday, they’ve gotta make those decisions. From an outsider, I certainly have an opinion. I think the more distractions that you can eliminate and get the team focused on the team and not themselves, then you’ve got a better chance.”

T.O. didn’t come up during Reeves’ interview on 105.3 The Fan’s Ben & Skin Show.

Here’s a question Jerry Jones ought to ask himself: Can T.O. be a productive member of the Cowboys now that there’s on-the-record confirmation that there are people in the organization who want to get rid of him?

The mess in Dallas is probably bigger than anyone could imagine. The Cowboys seem to be at a turning point as a franchise and it all starts with Jerry Jones. Read between the lines and it’s pretty clear that he stands on one side of the fence regarding a lot of issues, while several members of his front office (whoever they may be) stand on the other.

It’ll be interesting to hear what Owens has to say about all this. We all know he won’t let anything like this slide without making his opinion be known.

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