There are benefits to being delusional. Take Jerry Jones, for instance.
His comments from the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., suggest it will be business as usual this offseason at Valley Ranch. Now that he's had time to digest another late-season collapse, he's given into optimism. When you watched the Cowboys this season, you may have noticed cornerbacks being hurdled by opposing fullbacks and pass-rushers applying little pressure to quarterbacks.
But Jones looks at this 8-8 team and sees a diamond in the rough. He unwittingly (maybe?) threw his coaching staff under the bus this week when he said there was nothing wrong with the Cowboys' "core personnel." He believes that quarterback Tony Romo is surrounded by enough skill players for the Cowboys to be just fine in the future.
On defense, he pointed to how good cornerback Mike Jenkins can be in 2012 if he doesn't have to fight through so many injuries. Some of you more cynical types might recall Jones saying similar things about Terence Newman in the past. Apparently the Cowboys are stacked with talent – as long as no one's injured. And really, isn't this organization due an injury-free season?
What Jones isn't willing to accept is the Cowboys need to completely retool the secondary and find another starter at outside linebacker. Maybe you can move Sean Lissemore to nose tackle full time to help Jay Ratliff, but that just leaves more holes at defensive end, where Jason Hatcher would be the only consistent performer.
The Cowboys have added a couple talented assistants in offensive line/coordinator Bill Callahan and secondary coach Jerome Henderson, but it might be good to mix in a few players along the way. The fact that Jones seems to be in denial about what happened down the stretch has to frustrate even the most optimistic Cowboys fans. Folks within the organization used to tell me how they'd walk out of meetings with Jones following a 5-11 season, and believe they'd actually gone 11-5. In most walks of life, that level of optimism is an admirable trait. In the cutthroat world of the NFL, failing to admit your faults is the quickest way to get fired. Of course, that's the biggest problem with the Cowboys. The only man with the authority to fire Jones would never think of doing such a thing.
Meanwhile, owners such as Robert Kraft and John Mara who allow their football people to run the show will be squaring off in Indianapolis. And what must Garrett think when he reads a quote from Jones indicating the team doesn't have any issues with personnel? His coaching future is in the hands of a man who's allergic to reality.
Jones didn't say much when Bill Parcells was around. And if Garrett has some intestinal fortitude, he should ask for the same arrangement. Unfortunately, it appears that Garrett isn't willing to ask Jones to change his ways. And thus, the owner continues to deliver confusing statements. He's praising Eli Manning and the New York Giants while maintaining the Cowboys have a strong base of talent. Take this man at face value at your own risk.
"[The Giants] quarterback play, as a team they got better and better near the end and that's obvious and we didn't," Jones told reporters in Mobile. "We had counted on getting better and we didn't. We went the other way. It was a complete team effort on [the Giants] part. And we didn't play well enough to compete. And I don't know if we had been competing, if we had gotten into the playoffs to the level the Giants are. I'm giving them credit, and they deserve it."
What Jerry's trying to say is the Cowboys may not have gone anywhere even if they'd won the NFC East. Does he actually believe those words? I seriously doubt it.
By the time training camp arrives, Jones will look out onto the pristine Oxnard, Calif., practice fields and see a Super Bowl contender. And once again, his lying eyes will undermine any hope of that actually happening.
His comments from the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., suggest it will be business as usual this offseason at Valley Ranch. Now that he's had time to digest another late-season collapse, he's given into optimism. When you watched the Cowboys this season, you may have noticed cornerbacks being hurdled by opposing fullbacks and pass-rushers applying little pressure to quarterbacks.
But Jones looks at this 8-8 team and sees a diamond in the rough. He unwittingly (maybe?) threw his coaching staff under the bus this week when he said there was nothing wrong with the Cowboys' "core personnel." He believes that quarterback Tony Romo is surrounded by enough skill players for the Cowboys to be just fine in the future.
On defense, he pointed to how good cornerback Mike Jenkins can be in 2012 if he doesn't have to fight through so many injuries. Some of you more cynical types might recall Jones saying similar things about Terence Newman in the past. Apparently the Cowboys are stacked with talent – as long as no one's injured. And really, isn't this organization due an injury-free season?
What Jones isn't willing to accept is the Cowboys need to completely retool the secondary and find another starter at outside linebacker. Maybe you can move Sean Lissemore to nose tackle full time to help Jay Ratliff, but that just leaves more holes at defensive end, where Jason Hatcher would be the only consistent performer.
The Cowboys have added a couple talented assistants in offensive line/coordinator Bill Callahan and secondary coach Jerome Henderson, but it might be good to mix in a few players along the way. The fact that Jones seems to be in denial about what happened down the stretch has to frustrate even the most optimistic Cowboys fans. Folks within the organization used to tell me how they'd walk out of meetings with Jones following a 5-11 season, and believe they'd actually gone 11-5. In most walks of life, that level of optimism is an admirable trait. In the cutthroat world of the NFL, failing to admit your faults is the quickest way to get fired. Of course, that's the biggest problem with the Cowboys. The only man with the authority to fire Jones would never think of doing such a thing.
Meanwhile, owners such as Robert Kraft and John Mara who allow their football people to run the show will be squaring off in Indianapolis. And what must Garrett think when he reads a quote from Jones indicating the team doesn't have any issues with personnel? His coaching future is in the hands of a man who's allergic to reality.
Jones didn't say much when Bill Parcells was around. And if Garrett has some intestinal fortitude, he should ask for the same arrangement. Unfortunately, it appears that Garrett isn't willing to ask Jones to change his ways. And thus, the owner continues to deliver confusing statements. He's praising Eli Manning and the New York Giants while maintaining the Cowboys have a strong base of talent. Take this man at face value at your own risk.
"[The Giants] quarterback play, as a team they got better and better near the end and that's obvious and we didn't," Jones told reporters in Mobile. "We had counted on getting better and we didn't. We went the other way. It was a complete team effort on [the Giants] part. And we didn't play well enough to compete. And I don't know if we had been competing, if we had gotten into the playoffs to the level the Giants are. I'm giving them credit, and they deserve it."
What Jerry's trying to say is the Cowboys may not have gone anywhere even if they'd won the NFC East. Does he actually believe those words? I seriously doubt it.
By the time training camp arrives, Jones will look out onto the pristine Oxnard, Calif., practice fields and see a Super Bowl contender. And once again, his lying eyes will undermine any hope of that actually happening.
