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by Rainer Sabin
INDIANAPOLIS -- On a Dallas radio station last week, Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher was asked to identify the team's leaders.
"Uh, dude, I got to be honest with you. That's a good question. That's a good question," Hatcher said. "I really don't know, man."
The answer didn't inspire confidence in a club that has missed the playoffs two consecutive years. Rather it gave credence to the notion that one of the root causes of the Cowboys' greatest problems is the absence of a charismatic personality in the locker room capable of rallying his teammates.
When the topic of Hatcher's remarks was broached late Tuesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said "any comment is fair game that we got to get better in as long as we're not winning, whether it's Jason or anybody.
"At the end of the day, we've got to do better," Jones continued. "Whoever wants to throw it out there, maybe we better pay attention. But I think we have great men on our team who work their [butt] off and want to win. Now, do we need guys more Alpha who get in people's faces? I don't know. Whatever we're doing right now is not working."
Interestingly enough, Jones' reaction followed an unprompted observation that quarterback Tony Romo "has to be a leader and pull those guys in."
But less than 24 hours later, Jones softened his stance and said the Cowboys have players who exhibit the qualities that Hatcher indicated are absent inside Valley Ranch.
"I think we have leadership. I do," Jones said. "I think you can always use more. Who wouldn't want to have a Michael Irvin personality or have a Ray Lewis personality? Those guys are rare."
Jones understands what spurred the line of questioning that led Hatcher to make the remarks he did.
"Everybody has their reasons for our seemingly not making the playoffs or not getting the job done that we all want to get done, including Jason," Jones said. "He wants to go to the Super Bowl and so our guys appreciate that. I think we've got a lot of talent on out team. Our players believe it.
"Sometimes it's frustrating and it's then, 'Why aren't we getting it done? I think Tony's a helluva quarterback. We have good players on defense.' And I think we do, too. Everybody's trying to figure out what we need to do to take the next step. I'm sure if you ask 53 guys they've all got differing opinions as to why we haven't gotten it done. But we've got to make the next step."
by Rainer Sabin
INDIANAPOLIS -- On a Dallas radio station last week, Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher was asked to identify the team's leaders.
"Uh, dude, I got to be honest with you. That's a good question. That's a good question," Hatcher said. "I really don't know, man."
The answer didn't inspire confidence in a club that has missed the playoffs two consecutive years. Rather it gave credence to the notion that one of the root causes of the Cowboys' greatest problems is the absence of a charismatic personality in the locker room capable of rallying his teammates.
When the topic of Hatcher's remarks was broached late Tuesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said "any comment is fair game that we got to get better in as long as we're not winning, whether it's Jason or anybody.
"At the end of the day, we've got to do better," Jones continued. "Whoever wants to throw it out there, maybe we better pay attention. But I think we have great men on our team who work their [butt] off and want to win. Now, do we need guys more Alpha who get in people's faces? I don't know. Whatever we're doing right now is not working."
Interestingly enough, Jones' reaction followed an unprompted observation that quarterback Tony Romo "has to be a leader and pull those guys in."
But less than 24 hours later, Jones softened his stance and said the Cowboys have players who exhibit the qualities that Hatcher indicated are absent inside Valley Ranch.
"I think we have leadership. I do," Jones said. "I think you can always use more. Who wouldn't want to have a Michael Irvin personality or have a Ray Lewis personality? Those guys are rare."
Jones understands what spurred the line of questioning that led Hatcher to make the remarks he did.
"Everybody has their reasons for our seemingly not making the playoffs or not getting the job done that we all want to get done, including Jason," Jones said. "He wants to go to the Super Bowl and so our guys appreciate that. I think we've got a lot of talent on out team. Our players believe it.
"Sometimes it's frustrating and it's then, 'Why aren't we getting it done? I think Tony's a helluva quarterback. We have good players on defense.' And I think we do, too. Everybody's trying to figure out what we need to do to take the next step. I'm sure if you ask 53 guys they've all got differing opinions as to why we haven't gotten it done. But we've got to make the next step."