Yikes.. What on God’s green earth is going on in Dallas? As a Patriots fan, with a combined record of 30-43, and one playoff appearance in 4-5 years since Tom Brady left, I have a general idea of what its like to root for a poor team. I have no idea however, what it’s like to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.
Man, this team, front office, and fanbase is in complete shambles right now. The team looks untalented, unmotivated, and soft through the first 6 weeks of the season. The front office (Jerry Jones) seems to shoot themselves in the foot at every turn, and the fanbase may be abandoning ship as early as I have ever seen them do so in my lifetime.
While there are issues with the team, I don’t think they are the biggest problem. I have been saying it for years, now it is really starting to gain traction; Jerry Jones is sucking the life out of the Dallas Cowboys organization. Nobody within the organization would admit this, most may not even realize it, but the slow cerebral decisions that were complete misses by big JJ have devastated this franchise. We could be here all day talking misses by Jerry, but I’ll only cover a few. A gross cocktail of pride, ego, and complete acceptance of mediocrity is at the root of this conundrum. Jerry prides himself in drafting and developing players. Idle is their hand in in free agency, and often does America’s team reach into its emergency reserves to field a bleeding roster. In fact, when asked about the lack of offensive weaponry with regards to acquiring Davante Adams, Jerry Jones essentially said we got what “we need in the building”. That is such a tone deaf statement it’s mind boggling. It’s hard to imagine that a member of a quasi sports media youtube channel called the “Two and A Half Virgins” would have a better idea how to make personnel decisions for a franchise, but I swear it’s true. Not signing Derrick Henry who is currently running like a man possessed for the Ravens was abhorrent. Signing Dak, who is a B tier QB with flashes of stardom, as the highest paid NFL player of all time is disgusting. Never allocating that money to potential bandages in the free agency is mystifying and JJ is at the root of all of this.
I was born in 1999, and the Cowboys have been the exact same product for my entire existence. A revolving door of all pro WR talent, a B tier QB who shows flashes of elite play, a quality edge rusher and a good to great offensive line is the standard. After saying that out loud, you’d think that franchise would have at least a couple of good to great post season runs! Of course, this is not the case with the Cowboys. They boast a whopping 4-11 playoff record since ’99 with all 4 wins being wild card games. Yuck. When a mechanic has changed the tires on a car, the breaks, the suspension, hell, even the transmission and the car still isn’t fast enough; it’s time to replace the engine. Jerry Jones must step back. He must relinquish all personnel decisions. He has to be a passive owner or nothing in Dallas will change.
Jerry is in it for the long haul, though. Or at least until his age / health prohibit him. I know this because the only thing that would hurt his pride more than relinquishing duties, would be the team succeeding upon doing so.
There is a problem in the NFL right now with historic franchises accepting mediocrity. The Steelers are perpetrators of this, (a write-up for another day) and the Cowboys wear mediocrity like a badge of honor. Unfortunately, I must say, this issue is partially the fault of the fanbase. Cowboys fans have damn near become a meme at this point. In years past they have watched the wheels fall off their flawed team again and again, yet start the next season with a Super Bowl on their mind despite the flaws remaining. This was always easy to laugh at growing up. Now though, I think the winds are changing. I actually think Dallas fans have had enough and seen enough. When I reach out to feel the Dallas pulse, I don’t get that same sense of blind ambition that I have in years past. I actually think they are over this movie.
If the Dallas faithful actually make a stand, I think grandpa Jerry would change their ways. Take the Patriots for example. By no means are they a beacon for other teams to follow in the last 5 years, but it took one historically bad season for Robert Kraft (at the wish of pats nation) to fire the best coach of all time. Bill Belichick went 7-9 with a washed up Cam Newton, 10-7 with a Rookie Mac Jones, (who was better than a lot realize) 8-9 with a D coordinator running the offense and then ultimately 4-13 in his final season. Bill failing to relinquish control over personnel, and his role as GM is what ultimately what led to his demise. Sound familiar? Franchises struggle with this problem of mediocrity, especially when there are franchises in the league that are so bad. The reason for this is simple. We just forget because we are blind fanatics. Every NFL owner has a bottom line. Make money, all is well, lose money, changes need to be made. Teams like the Cowboys and Steelers ain’t losing any money I can assure you. Acrisure and AT&T stadium are filled to the brim every home game, merchandise sells, and these fanbases travel. When franchises are making money hand over fist, an 11 win season with 5 dusty Super Bowl trophies in a case doesn’t seem so bad.
Until the Dallas Cowboys truly make a change, i’m afraid the past will continue into the future. If a plant does’t grow, it decays. Lord knows it’s not that sunny in Dallas these days.
-Tyler S @twoandahalfvirgins