| Jerry Jones is at it again! |
by Ryan Bush
Just when the Valley
Ranch soldiers were beginning to look like a disciplined unit…Poof!
It’s always something around here. Or, in this case, a certain someone.
Why is it that some people simply can’t leave well enough alone?
Here’s the skinny: All was well at the little Ranch on the prairie…Valley Ranch, that is. And then the General Manager showed up with his checkbook.
Yes, that General Manager.
The Owner himself.
Some other time, Jerry.
Please. Don’t mess with the team
chemistry this time around.
Gotta hand it to Jason Garrett. His 2012 Dallas Cowboys have looked focused
and been all business from the time they convened for training camp out in the California wine
country. And after a yeoman-like win
over New York, the ‘Boys went back home to
prepare for another road battle, this time against Seattle.
No pomp. No circumstance. Just business. That’s the way it should be.
Give credit to Garrett for this positive development. In a league where a team often takes on the
personality of their head coach, it should be a comfort for fans to have
someone like Garrett leading America’s
Team at this point in time. Garrett has
been on Super Bowl teams before, and knows how to handle success. More importantly for a first-time head coach
employed with the task of cleaning up from Wade Phillips’ headfirst dive into
the NFL furnace, he was there firsthand when the Dallas dynasty of the ‘90s fell apart from
the top down. He knows the trademarks of
a puppet, Barry Switzer, when faced with one, and was determined not be the
next in a long line of Jerry’s Puppets that earned an inauspicious exit down
the Valley Ranch garbage shoot.
The media tires of his straightforward press conferences
laced with what are perceived to be worn-out cliché’s. But at least his steady demeanor is rubbing
off on the right people. By each and every early indication, this year’s Cowboys
appeared to be taking on some of that personality. That’s big news after so many seasons of
emotionally-charged collapses.
And then the rumor began swirling this week that Jerry Jones
was negotiating with Tony Romo’s agent about a contract extension. Why now, Jerry? Why
not wait till later, huh? After all, it
isn’t like Romo’s contract expires at the end of this season. This isn’t the fabled “contract year” Romo’s
laboring under.
Ah, it’s been a good seven, eight, nine days (however long
it has been since Dallas
last played a football game) for the Cowboys genial owner. His $2.1 billion empire goes into New York with an
underpaid, underweight offensive line and takes down the mighty Giants by the
strong arm of Romo. Brilliant!
Then, a few days later, the invention of JerryWipes hits the
market, Jones’ new pet eyeglass cleaner that can also be used to wipe clean so
many other things not worth mentioning.
Believe me, the appearance of Jones’ personal portfolio has been greatly
improved with this stroke of genius. Brilliant
again!
But what’s a perfect week without a little splurge? What better way to let the world know that
the Cowboys are “back” than by throwing a few wads of cash around the parking
lot? Especially at your big-name,
big-smile quarterback.
So goes the thought process of Jerry Jones. As much as he likes to say it, winning isn’t
happiness to him. If it was, the
almighty dollar wouldn’t get mixed up in the equation so often.
And he would have known better than to broach the wormy
subject of contract extension with the captain and savior of his
franchise. Nothing is more of a distraction
for a player or a team than to have a contract hanging over the franchise
quarterback.
Garrett has worked eighteen long months to rid the locker
room of any, and all, distractions.
Bespeaking of his character, Garrett loathes distractions. That’s why Marion Barber and Leonard Davis
are gone, and why he’s given the Mike Jenkins and Felix Jones situations such
kid glove treatment. That’s why he is a
one-day-at-a-time-while-going-forward type of guy.
The Cowboys were only beginning to reap the rewards of
Garrett’s philosophy when Jones walked around the corner wearing newly-shined
eyeglasses and waving cash under Romo’s nose. It’s the last thing the doctor would have ordered for the
second week of this season. This isn’t
time for handouts. It’s time to prepare
to go on the road to one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. It’s time to try to win back-to-back road
games for the first time in nearly three years.
It’s time to try and get a leg-up within the NFC East, not to mention
the entire conference.
Yes, Jerry, Romo is a special player, but his bank account
isn’t really suffering at the current date. Remember, it wasn’t even five years ago you gave him that $67 million
deal. The only thing Romo needs concern
himself with for the next five months is reading blitzes, throwing touchdown
passes, and the welfare of wife Candice and baby boy at home. That’s it.
Romo is confident with this offensive cast, he’s happy at
home. No need to mess that all up with
worries of financial security when his playing days are done. Because, let’s face it, in all probability
this will be Romo’s final contract as an NFL player.
Garrett and the Cowboys don’t need Romo preoccupied with a
full season in front of him, nor do they need him, even subconsciously, resting
on his laurels with his future set in stone.
Should Romo relax, then it’s safe to say it’s only a matter of games
before the evidence starts to reveal that the rest of the locker room has
followed his example. This is too
important a season for everyone involved for that to happen.
So, Jerry, shall we wait on the compensation act? The probabilities of it turning out for the
good are next to none, if even that good.
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