DMN Blog: Jerry gives State of the Cowboys
by Albert Breer
Jerry Jones just gave a few of us some time on the Cowboys bus. Actually, it was a lot of time, and he spoke on a myriad of issues. We'll be passing stuff along as we go through more than an hour of tape. For now, here are three major things he addressed:
1) Darren McFadden: Jones saw the 4.27 40-yard dash the Arkansas superstar produced today. And he did say that he's hoping to add a "Wow" factor to the Dallas offense during the offseason. But you came away from talking to the owner thinking that there's a very, very slim possibility that the Cowboys move up and take McFadden.
The first thing Jones mentioned was that the Cowboys haven't had serious discussions about moving up into the Top 5. He emphasized that be saying he has no idea where reports to the contrary have come from. The big thing, in Jones' mind, was the value there would be in trading up A) in the amount they'd have to give up to get there and B) the money they'd have to spend to sign that pick. He made it sound like, from a philosophical standpoint, the cost would prohibitive.
The second point he touched on was the idea that an infatuation with McFadden came from the Arkansas connection. He defused the thoery by pointing out that he couldn't remember the last major player he had on the idea aside from relative newcomer Ken Hamlin. We looked it up. In 19 drafts since Jerry bought the team, the Cowboys have never drafted a Razorback Hamlin is the sixth former Arkansas player to play for the Cowboys. The other five: Lance Alworth (1971-72), Jermaine Brooks (2003-05), Tom Crowder (2004-05), Jim Mooty (1960), and Clint Stoener (2000-02).
2) New Stadium. Jones defended the prices of the premium seats, priced at up to $150,000 for a season, is the his new place. He said that those prices account for a small fraction of the total seating, and will allow more affordable seating elsewhere in the stadium.
Of course, he's right about this -- the vast majority of the seats, which number more than 80,000 without the expanded seating, haven't been priced yet.
3) Free agents. One thing seemed certain: Jones believes he has his workhorse in Marion Barber. And as for everything else, he wants his fanbase to calm down and look at history.
What did he mean? When assessing the contract situations of Terrell Owens and Barber and Terence Newman and DeMarcus Ware and others, he pointed out that the same questions arose about Tony Romo last year. Things worked out there.
He also pointed in the direction of a possible un-capped year in 2010. He made sure that it was clear he wasn't counting on it. But it did note that it would provide a lot of relief if the Cowboys are to lock up some of their stars now, especially since the team has the capital to spend.
We'll have more up soon from a very thorough discussion with the team boss.
Jerry Jones just gave a few of us some time on the Cowboys bus. Actually, it was a lot of time, and he spoke on a myriad of issues. We'll be passing stuff along as we go through more than an hour of tape. For now, here are three major things he addressed:
1) Darren McFadden: Jones saw the 4.27 40-yard dash the Arkansas superstar produced today. And he did say that he's hoping to add a "Wow" factor to the Dallas offense during the offseason. But you came away from talking to the owner thinking that there's a very, very slim possibility that the Cowboys move up and take McFadden.
The first thing Jones mentioned was that the Cowboys haven't had serious discussions about moving up into the Top 5. He emphasized that be saying he has no idea where reports to the contrary have come from. The big thing, in Jones' mind, was the value there would be in trading up A) in the amount they'd have to give up to get there and B) the money they'd have to spend to sign that pick. He made it sound like, from a philosophical standpoint, the cost would prohibitive.
The second point he touched on was the idea that an infatuation with McFadden came from the Arkansas connection. He defused the thoery by pointing out that he couldn't remember the last major player he had on the idea aside from relative newcomer Ken Hamlin. We looked it up. In 19 drafts since Jerry bought the team, the Cowboys have never drafted a Razorback Hamlin is the sixth former Arkansas player to play for the Cowboys. The other five: Lance Alworth (1971-72), Jermaine Brooks (2003-05), Tom Crowder (2004-05), Jim Mooty (1960), and Clint Stoener (2000-02).
2) New Stadium. Jones defended the prices of the premium seats, priced at up to $150,000 for a season, is the his new place. He said that those prices account for a small fraction of the total seating, and will allow more affordable seating elsewhere in the stadium.
Of course, he's right about this -- the vast majority of the seats, which number more than 80,000 without the expanded seating, haven't been priced yet.
3) Free agents. One thing seemed certain: Jones believes he has his workhorse in Marion Barber. And as for everything else, he wants his fanbase to calm down and look at history.
What did he mean? When assessing the contract situations of Terrell Owens and Barber and Terence Newman and DeMarcus Ware and others, he pointed out that the same questions arose about Tony Romo last year. Things worked out there.
He also pointed in the direction of a possible un-capped year in 2010. He made sure that it was clear he wasn't counting on it. But it did note that it would provide a lot of relief if the Cowboys are to lock up some of their stars now, especially since the team has the capital to spend.
We'll have more up soon from a very thorough discussion with the team boss.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:34 PM
<< Home