Tom Orsborn, Cowboys Insider
Updated 11:56 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013
Jerry Jones knows he's made plenty of mistakes during his last two decades as owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, ones that have landed the franchise in what the former oilman calls a rut.
But Jones also believes he's still capable of returning the team to the Super Bowl. And when it happens, he would like us all to give him a standing ovation.
“I would grant you the decisions that have been made over the years have not produced a Super Bowl, two Super Bowls or three Super Bowls that I would like to have been a part of,” Jones said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “And the only thing I am going to do there is keep trying and then make sure I get the credit when we do get that one. You all are going to give it to me, aren't you?”
Jones can keep trying all he wants, but the credit he craves isn't likely to come until he changes his thinking.
About the offensive line. About Tony Romo. And about himself and how he runs the club.
Let's start with the offensive line and quarterback. Even after adding guards Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings in free agency and moving Tyron Smith from right to left tackle, the unit still yielded 36 sacks and was a major reason the Cowboys amassed a meager 1,265 yards on the ground in 2012, the team's lowest total for a 16-game season.
Yet there was Jones sitting aboard his luxury bus in Indianapolis suggesting Dallas can get by with a lousy line because of Romo's elusiveness.
“If you're going to have a guy that can handle a porous offensive line, it's Tony,” Jones said. “Tony has some of the best percentages operating in pressure situations of anyone in the NFL. If there was a place theoretically that you had to have a weakness with Tony Romo at quarterback, that might be a place to have it. You just can't have it all.”
Never mind that Romo will be 33 in April and should be losing some of his nimbleness any time now. Never mind that he's the one player the Cowboys can't afford to lose, a fact reflected in Jones' desire to extend his contract. Never mind he has already suffered a season-ending injury (broken collarbone in 2010) thanks to a big hit.
“All I'm saying to you is Tony is outstanding at understanding why it is you can't have it all,” Jones said. “He really understands that. Had he rather have a little less pressure and a little more at receiver? What he would rather have is no pressure, give me a couple more great receivers, and, by the way, give me the best running game you got. I'll take more all of that.
“But nobody understands better that you just can't have it all. You just don't have it all.”
What the Cowboys don't seem to have is a GM capable of pulling them out of the muck of mediocrity they've been stuck in since they won three Super Bowls in the 1990s with a team built largely by Jimmy Johnson's shrewd personnel moves.
Since the start of the 1997 season, Dallas is 128-128 in the regular season and has only one playoff win in that span. The Cowboys have missed the playoffs the last three years and are 16-16 in the regular season the past two seasons.
It's a sorry showing that would have resulted in the firing of any other GM. Of course, any GM who suggested it was OK for his club's franchise QB to play behind a porous line might not survive, either.
If it is credit Jones wants, perhaps he should step down as GM and find a sharp, young mind to replace him. Such a move would be guaranteed to produce plenty of applause.
torsborn@express-news.net
Updated 11:56 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013
Jerry Jones knows he's made plenty of mistakes during his last two decades as owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, ones that have landed the franchise in what the former oilman calls a rut.
But Jones also believes he's still capable of returning the team to the Super Bowl. And when it happens, he would like us all to give him a standing ovation.
“I would grant you the decisions that have been made over the years have not produced a Super Bowl, two Super Bowls or three Super Bowls that I would like to have been a part of,” Jones said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “And the only thing I am going to do there is keep trying and then make sure I get the credit when we do get that one. You all are going to give it to me, aren't you?”
Jones can keep trying all he wants, but the credit he craves isn't likely to come until he changes his thinking.
About the offensive line. About Tony Romo. And about himself and how he runs the club.
Let's start with the offensive line and quarterback. Even after adding guards Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings in free agency and moving Tyron Smith from right to left tackle, the unit still yielded 36 sacks and was a major reason the Cowboys amassed a meager 1,265 yards on the ground in 2012, the team's lowest total for a 16-game season.
Yet there was Jones sitting aboard his luxury bus in Indianapolis suggesting Dallas can get by with a lousy line because of Romo's elusiveness.
“If you're going to have a guy that can handle a porous offensive line, it's Tony,” Jones said. “Tony has some of the best percentages operating in pressure situations of anyone in the NFL. If there was a place theoretically that you had to have a weakness with Tony Romo at quarterback, that might be a place to have it. You just can't have it all.”
Never mind that Romo will be 33 in April and should be losing some of his nimbleness any time now. Never mind that he's the one player the Cowboys can't afford to lose, a fact reflected in Jones' desire to extend his contract. Never mind he has already suffered a season-ending injury (broken collarbone in 2010) thanks to a big hit.
“All I'm saying to you is Tony is outstanding at understanding why it is you can't have it all,” Jones said. “He really understands that. Had he rather have a little less pressure and a little more at receiver? What he would rather have is no pressure, give me a couple more great receivers, and, by the way, give me the best running game you got. I'll take more all of that.
“But nobody understands better that you just can't have it all. You just don't have it all.”
What the Cowboys don't seem to have is a GM capable of pulling them out of the muck of mediocrity they've been stuck in since they won three Super Bowls in the 1990s with a team built largely by Jimmy Johnson's shrewd personnel moves.
Since the start of the 1997 season, Dallas is 128-128 in the regular season and has only one playoff win in that span. The Cowboys have missed the playoffs the last three years and are 16-16 in the regular season the past two seasons.
It's a sorry showing that would have resulted in the firing of any other GM. Of course, any GM who suggested it was OK for his club's franchise QB to play behind a porous line might not survive, either.
If it is credit Jones wants, perhaps he should step down as GM and find a sharp, young mind to replace him. Such a move would be guaranteed to produce plenty of applause.
torsborn@express-news.net
