Will Jerry Jones Go All In with These Dallas Cowboys?:

The word “when” can be used as an adverb, as in “When did you see him last?”  However, it’s often used as a conjunction in sentences like, “I loved math when I was in school.”  Every Dallas Cowboys fan does not use it as an adverb or conjunction. They use it simply as a standalone word with a question mark. Cowboys fans log on to see the news each morning and ask themselves, “When?” When will Jerry Jones sign CeeDee Lamb?  When will Jerry sign anyone?  When will Jerry do anything to help the team?  When is the word of the offseason for the Jones family. 

Before we understand how we got to a one-word descriptive offseason, we need to go back to Saturday, January 14th, at Jerry’s World, when the Green Bay Packers embarrassed the Cowboys. And embarrassed is the right word. The Packers dominated the game, making Dak Prescott and the defense look bad from start to finish. They also made everyone forget the 36 wins Mike McCarthy accumulated in three years. 

 

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The Boys were outplayed and outcoached, which had to make Jerry Jones feel horrible. Those never-in-the-game type losses don’t go away. They linger like a bad cold for months, even years. Jerry’s patient reaction, instituting the “when” offseason, must be his response to the game. Why would he hand out big checks to Prescott or McCarthy after witnessing a complete meltdown? Winning big games is all that matters to someone like Jerry. At 81, he knows his moment to receive another Lombardi trophy is whittling away. All offseason, the media keeps asking: Has Bills star quarterback Josh Allen missed his window to win a title? The real person to ask about missing the championship window is Jerry. 

Which begs another question. If Jerry thinks time is slipping, why has he installed a when mentality to the offseason instead of being proactive? Perhaps Jerry doesn’t think money will solve this problem. 

Jerry was deeply embarrassed. As good as a salesman Jerry can be (we know he can talk a cat off the top of a fish truck), he couldn’t sell this to himself. Normally, Jerry always sells a huge dose of hope. How else can he remain relevant without a trophy since 1995?  He has convinced the fans and media year after year that all will be well—even though they haven’t been to an NFC Championship game since 1995 and have lost numerous home playoff games. The Dallas Cowboys have been mediocre at best—some good, some bad, same ending. No matter what Jerry has tried, the ghost of Jimmy Johnson’s team visits at the most inopportune time, causing good seasons to go down the drain and sending everyone into “Remember when Jimmy ran the team” mode. Based on his actions this offseason, hiding behind the word “when,” Jerry will see if all these high-priced people on his payroll, players and coaches, can find their way out. 

You might say this doesn’t make for good ownership. Fans want their owners to be “all in” every year—which Jerry claimed would be his off-season approach regarding signing his star players. So far, Jerry has been nothing like “all in.” He has been “all when.” This leads us back to the game against the Packers—where Jerry, his son Stephen and the other family members keep asking, how do we reward Prescott when he looked so bad in the game? How do we justify extending McCarthy? How do we justify committing to the current regime when our last memory took away all the positive vibes the 36 wins over the past three years have created?

I am sure the Boys will sign Lamb before the season starts. I don’t think they will sign Prescott, Micah Parsons, or extend McCarthy. All those “whens” are dependent on this year. And from my viewpoint, getting to 12 wins is a reach—hell, getting to 10 will be a challenge. Every year is a new year, and no one can expect the Cowboys to have a 124-point differential lead at the half. Those fast starts hide the Cowboys’ lack of talent at defensive tackle, their inability to play the run and be a physical front. The Boys on defense are best rushing the passer (although they failed to get off the field on too many 3rd and tens in the Packers game), pinning their ears back and jumping routes.  Can Daron Bland get five Pick-Sixes this season? No way. Can Dallas win every home game like last year? Can their offense be as good? Again, no. 

What has been missing for Dallas since Jimmy left the building and was briefly installed when Bill Parcells returned is a mentally tough team. For whatever reason, when things go bad for the Boys, they stay bad. When Dallas needed to score a touchdown on the last drive of the Eagles game in Philadelphia, they false-started, allowed a sack, and then fumbled the game away. They melt; they don’t close, and Jerry knows from all his years that coffee is for closers. 

 I don’t have an answer for why they can’t close, why they end up with a set of steak knives, not the Cadillac as discussed in the sales meeting of the movie Glengarry Glen Ross.  With outside pressure on the team, how can anyone expect them to close, play carefree and win close games?  Not me. I love their Under win total, I love the Browns +1.5 in Week 1, and I believe the Cowboys will need a reboot next year.    

The Dallas Cowboys are front runners—plain and simple. This year, they won’t be running in front, so I cannot see them answering the “when” question until after the season. I am not rooting against them or have a grudge. My evaluation is knowing how hard it is for players and coaches to function well with lame-duck status—especially when the team hasn’t been able to overcome obstacles before.    

When January arrives, we will know. 

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