By Randy Galloway
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
All Jerry all the time can be a good thing if you are drinking a beer with him. He's entertaining and engaging.
But when it comes to football?
That's also entertainment. Except it's mostly the wrong kind of entertainment.
The annual NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up this week in Indianapolis and, as always, Jerry became a vocal local media centerpiece for three or four days.
Jason Garrett, the head coach, spoke briefly up there, and didn't say much for media consumption, as usual.
Stephen Jones, No. 1 son and a strong voice in the Cowboys organization, had some comments in Indy, and, as usual, attempted to be honest, at least when he said, "we need more talent on defense."
But mainly it was all Jerry all the time.
Jones, of course, has taken a local media beating here for a couple of his Indy comments, the most prominent being:
"I see the talent level being able to put us in a competitive situation for the Super Bowl...There's a talent level that can compete for a Super Bowl."
Suddenly, the worst kind of football fears surfaced. Jerry had taken what the Giants did, going from a 9-7 regular-season record to win the Super Bowl, and what Green Bay did the year before, going from a 10-6 regular-season record to win the Super Bowl, and applied his own brand of logic that told him, "That can be us."
In both cases, there are easy rebuttals, but why waste time?
Jerry is delusional when it comes to this stuff. Let him be delusional. He's going to be anyway.
Same old story: Jerry, the owner-GM, repeatedly fails to accurately assess his team's talent; therefore he makes decisions that do not benefit the team in the short or long term.
My man Friedo uses the current case of franchise-tagging linebacker Anthony Spencer (speculation says the underachieving Spencer will be tagged) as another prime example:
It's the right move for the Cowboys because they don't have options. It's also about what's horribly wrong about the Cowboys because they don't have options to replace a disappointing player.
Amen, Friedo.
Across the board, the Cowboys have Spencer-type players, but at least there will be multiple options awaiting in the NFL Draft coming up in late April. If they could hit on an offensive lineman, a pass-rushing defensive end or linebacker, or anything in the secondary, or all of the above, then holes would be filled.
"If," of course, is the grab-bag word of the moment.
I wasn't in Indy, but in reading along with what Jerry had to say, there were a couple of head-shaking moments.
Of note, Jerry laid the blame for the team's failures of late on the offensive line. That's wrong. Kinda wrong, anyway.
The blame for 2011 goes on the defense, period. Many other factors were involved, but first and foremost, it was the defense.
Yet, Jerry tossed a veteran departing coach, Hudson Houck, under a passing 18-wheeler, by saying the new offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, will make it all right again.
Houck doesn't deserve that.
He was a faithful and successful coach for the Cowboys for many seasons. No matter what has happened lately, why did Hudson Houck, in retirement, have to read that from Jerry?
Jerry is better than that. I know he is.
And then there's my personal phobia.
When it was all Jerry all the time in Indy, there was also an avalanche of "I" and "me." Anything involving personnel decisions, coaching staff decisions, etc., it was "I" and "me."
Jerry blamed himself for the offensive line woes, saying before last season he stayed too long with veteran players. The Cowboys usually always stay too long with veteran players, but that's another story.
You name it, from the draft, to player evaluation, to the coaching staff, what was read was "I" and "me."
Fourteen months ago, when Garrett was hired as the permanent head coach, the official bottom line from Jerry was Jason has the final say on the roster and on the coaching staff.
Did I mention this was a personal phobia?
In his own way, intentional or not, the "I" and "me" answers once again undermined the position of head coach at Valley Ranch.
For some, the rebuttal will be, "Get a clue, man. Jerry-is-in-total-charge-at-Valley Ranch. Accept it."
But I'd answer that, as long as Jerry continues to weaken the position of head coach, there will never be overall team strength for the Cowboys.
With Garrett, I thought it'd be different.
But based on what was read from Indy the past week, then, yes, the doubters are right.
Get a clue, man.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/01/3777364/jerry-jones-reverts-to-i-and-me.html#storylink=cpy
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
All Jerry all the time can be a good thing if you are drinking a beer with him. He's entertaining and engaging.
But when it comes to football?
That's also entertainment. Except it's mostly the wrong kind of entertainment.
The annual NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up this week in Indianapolis and, as always, Jerry became a vocal local media centerpiece for three or four days.
Jason Garrett, the head coach, spoke briefly up there, and didn't say much for media consumption, as usual.
Stephen Jones, No. 1 son and a strong voice in the Cowboys organization, had some comments in Indy, and, as usual, attempted to be honest, at least when he said, "we need more talent on defense."
But mainly it was all Jerry all the time.
Jones, of course, has taken a local media beating here for a couple of his Indy comments, the most prominent being:
"I see the talent level being able to put us in a competitive situation for the Super Bowl...There's a talent level that can compete for a Super Bowl."
Suddenly, the worst kind of football fears surfaced. Jerry had taken what the Giants did, going from a 9-7 regular-season record to win the Super Bowl, and what Green Bay did the year before, going from a 10-6 regular-season record to win the Super Bowl, and applied his own brand of logic that told him, "That can be us."
In both cases, there are easy rebuttals, but why waste time?
Jerry is delusional when it comes to this stuff. Let him be delusional. He's going to be anyway.
Same old story: Jerry, the owner-GM, repeatedly fails to accurately assess his team's talent; therefore he makes decisions that do not benefit the team in the short or long term.
My man Friedo uses the current case of franchise-tagging linebacker Anthony Spencer (speculation says the underachieving Spencer will be tagged) as another prime example:
It's the right move for the Cowboys because they don't have options. It's also about what's horribly wrong about the Cowboys because they don't have options to replace a disappointing player.
Amen, Friedo.
Across the board, the Cowboys have Spencer-type players, but at least there will be multiple options awaiting in the NFL Draft coming up in late April. If they could hit on an offensive lineman, a pass-rushing defensive end or linebacker, or anything in the secondary, or all of the above, then holes would be filled.
"If," of course, is the grab-bag word of the moment.
I wasn't in Indy, but in reading along with what Jerry had to say, there were a couple of head-shaking moments.
Of note, Jerry laid the blame for the team's failures of late on the offensive line. That's wrong. Kinda wrong, anyway.
The blame for 2011 goes on the defense, period. Many other factors were involved, but first and foremost, it was the defense.
Yet, Jerry tossed a veteran departing coach, Hudson Houck, under a passing 18-wheeler, by saying the new offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, will make it all right again.
Houck doesn't deserve that.
He was a faithful and successful coach for the Cowboys for many seasons. No matter what has happened lately, why did Hudson Houck, in retirement, have to read that from Jerry?
Jerry is better than that. I know he is.
And then there's my personal phobia.
When it was all Jerry all the time in Indy, there was also an avalanche of "I" and "me." Anything involving personnel decisions, coaching staff decisions, etc., it was "I" and "me."
Jerry blamed himself for the offensive line woes, saying before last season he stayed too long with veteran players. The Cowboys usually always stay too long with veteran players, but that's another story.
You name it, from the draft, to player evaluation, to the coaching staff, what was read was "I" and "me."
Fourteen months ago, when Garrett was hired as the permanent head coach, the official bottom line from Jerry was Jason has the final say on the roster and on the coaching staff.
Did I mention this was a personal phobia?
In his own way, intentional or not, the "I" and "me" answers once again undermined the position of head coach at Valley Ranch.
For some, the rebuttal will be, "Get a clue, man. Jerry-is-in-total-charge-at-Valley Ranch. Accept it."
But I'd answer that, as long as Jerry continues to weaken the position of head coach, there will never be overall team strength for the Cowboys.
With Garrett, I thought it'd be different.
But based on what was read from Indy the past week, then, yes, the doubters are right.
Get a clue, man.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/01/3777364/jerry-jones-reverts-to-i-and-me.html#storylink=cpy
