Jerry Jones - Prophecy, Chaos & Discomfort

Jerry - pointing out flaws

While Jerry Jones holds the sports world in suspense, or rather discomfort, fans that reside closer to that elusive condition known as sanity should at least attempt to soothe their discomfort with repeated shots of logic. Forget the fact that the Cowboys General Manager, in spite of his age, is able to leave logic behind about as fast as Deion Sanders could view opposing return teams in his rear view mirror. Cowboys fans, however, owe it to themselves (and no one else, Jerry) to visit the past in order to bring about some semblance of order from this Valley Ranch imposed chaos. Please momentarily forget the fact that, in the real world, order does not proceed from chaos. Hopefully, my point will be made.

The first stop on this tour of chaos takes us back to just prior to the beginning of this past season. In spite of the hope of the new season about to begin, the upbeat attitude of Jason Garrett's players and the positive outlook of many football insiders, Jerry Jones takes it upon himself to inform the world that the Cowboys have a major flaw, the offensive line. Incredibly, he then takes it upon himself to shoulder the entire blame for this condition. As a GM, he pointed out his own failure in the area of acquiring adequate offensive linemen for the upcoming year. Nothing like a boost of confidence from your boss!

Inconsistent and Erratic Offensive Line

Think what you want about Jerry's managerial skills and his eye for talent, in this instance his cryptic statements turned out to be prophetically apocalyptic for the Cowboys. With the exception of Left Tackle Tyron Smith, erratic and inconsistent play across the offensive line was the norm for much of the season. In fact, only the more drastic injury trouble of the defensive unit kept the woes of the offensive line from constantly being the topic of choice for fans and media types.

Which Way Do We Go?

For those in the know about the psychological sensitivities of the Cowboys General Manager, the defensive tribulations were not what Jerry ordered. Precious attention was being diverted away from the area pin pointed by the man in charge of knowing what the Cowboys were all about. Believe it when  I say that Jerry really wanted, yes needed to get the focus back where it belonged, on him and what he had to say. He did all he could to relieve the defensive pressure. If you don't believe me, ask Jay Ratliff.

No Playoffs!

But, alas, this all culminated in an even worse scenario than Jerry envisioned, no playoff berth. As everyone knows, we still haven't escaped the reactionary wrath of the GM. He has simply gone dormant while everyone waits.

But, Jerry definitely left no one to guess who was in charge. He first dismisses the Running Backs Coach, Skip Peete. I believe it can honestly be said that this move was completely unforeseen. It also makes no sense at all.

Not a Happy GM

For a GM to publicly identify a problem area while taking professional responsibility for its existence is considered by most to be the ultimate in maturity and due diligence. However, blaming the running game by firing the RB coach speaks of a loss of professional equilibrium. Any running back or running backs coach will tell you that a good running game begins with the offensive line. The running back has nothing to do with injuries or the erratic and poor play of his blockers. So why fire the running backs coach if the offensive line was pegged as a liability before the season began?

Your guess is as good as mine, or maybe even Jerry's!

There are more points to come from this chaos. Until them, chaotic discomfort reigns. I just wonder if Jerry realizes that it's his world that is uncomfortable. I refuse to enter such chaos by clinging to logic.

Jerry Jones – The Only People Suffering Are The Fans

Jerry Jones - Not Smiling

After the disappointing loss to the Redskins to end the season and all playoff hopes, Jerry Jones went on the equivalent of a managerial tirade, warning coaches of the discomfort to come. Subsequently, Running Backs coach Skip Peete, Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan and Passing game Coordinator – Tight Ends Coach, John Garrett have been fired. Everyone seems to be walking and talking softly at Valley Ranch, not sure where the ax will fall next.

Meanwhile, the fans of America’s Team are watching what has to considered a type of torture. I’m not necessarily referring to any physical torment, but extreme discomfort of a more psychological nature. If you’ve ever had to endure the acting of a B movie, you know what I mean. The words are recited, the emotion is forced, the plot is too obvious, full of repetitious and trite cliché’s. As I said, torture.

Well, that is what has been emanating from the general Manager’s office for quite awhile, a second rate production that’s full of glitz and glamour, but no substance. In fact, this production is growing so monotonous that fans are growing tired of hearing and seeing the same thing year after year.

Fans couldn’t care less about the financial empire Jerry has created. But they do care about a team being put on the field that is successful. They expect it, especially since the legacy of the Cowboys is about winning consistently.

And the sad fact is that, in spite of the financial success of Jerry Jones, he has been nothing but a loser as a General Manager since their last Super Bowl Win which most think was won with the bulk of Jimmy Johnson’s efforts. That’s almost two decades ago.

The only consistent part of Jones’ production since is the football mantras repeated, the forced emotion, the trite cliché’s, the promises of a different plot year after year after year after year after year………and, oh yes, don’t forget the losing and mediocrity………..Torture, that’s what it is. And after a while, the ones being tortured can decide to invest their attention to something else, for the discomfort is too much.

After all, Fans have their limit when it comes to suffering needlessly.

For Old Cowboys Fans, Jerry Jones is Hard to Endure

Jerry Incognito?

 The current state of the Dallas Cowboys is especially hard for long time Fans to endure. By “long time” I mean pre-Jerry Jones.

This is not to imply that the Cowboys never had their on field difficulties resulting in a less than desirable win loss column. The initial years of Cowboys history records such struggles. It must be remembered that such difficulties are a part of what made the Cowboys available for Jerry Jones to purchase in 1989.

But there was one constant that could be counted on within the Cowboys organization. Ownership, Management and Team were separate, and essentially, at arms length. The flow of authority and responsibility was known and respected as all personnel were allowed to perform their jobs. And of course, occasionally, if their jobs weren’t performed satisfactorily, replacements were found. But the process worked.

But within the NFL family, this scenario was not always followed. Different business models were implemented which mingled positions, job descriptions, duties and authority. The concept of separation of power was not as adhered to in these models. In fact, sometimes, especially when Ownership was vested in a family, power seemed to collect within a particular individual and family members.

In Dallas, Jerry Jones implemented a rather ordinary business model when He purchased the Cowboys, one familiar to the NFL landscape. Yes, Jerry was a shoot from the hip, boisterous, cocky owner, but was relegated to trying to right America’s Team that had become a listing ship threatening to sink. His business acumen was the perfect antidote for such an economically sick, yet proud business enterprise.

A Celebration for all

The landscape began to change, however, with the arrival of success. Back to Back Super Bowl victories put Jones and the Cowboys on the pinnacle of the NFL universe with all the accolades that accompany those that prove to be the best in their business. Jones, however, wasn’t quite content with the acclaim that came his way. He decided, for whatever reason, that he wanted and/or needed more.

With this desire or need came commensurate meddling with coaches and players. At the head of the list was Jimmy Johnson and the authority he wielded through written contract over all personnel, coaches and players. Driving a wedge between himself and Johnson, they parted company on anything but amicable terms. Jerry was finally free to mold the personnel according to his image and prove that Jimmy Johnson the Head Coach wasn’t as necessary or significant as many thought. Partial vindication was won two years later when the Cowboys won another Super Bowl under Barry Switzer, yet the popular consensus among football insiders and fans was that the championship was won with Jimmy’s players.

3rd Super Bowl in four years - with Jimmy's players

The decline then started. The decline continued. The first  decade of the 21^st century saw the Cowboys experience their worst decade in team history. The second decade of the century has started with less than desirable results for Jerry Jones and his Cowboys. Though no longer languishing at the back of the NFL pack, they remain mired in mediocrity, unable to return to the elite status of years gone by.

Current Head Coach - Jason Garrett

 The second decade sees Jones seeking consolation for the long term, this time in the person of Head Coach Jason Garrett. Referring to Garrett as his “Tom Landry,” Jones seems to have long term plans for the even handed demeanor and varied abilities of Garrett. 

Jerry Jones' Tom Landry?

Long term Fans know different, though. The reference to a team Legend rings hollow, but not for any negative on Garrett’s part. In order for Jason Garrett to be considered the Tom Landry of his era, he must be free to have the final say on all coaches and players. Tom Landry never looked over his shoulder worrying about the next meddlesome move by management or ownership. In no way did this mean that he was unaccountable, but was free to be himself as Head Coach.

The Real Tom Landry

In the mean time, this mess is Jerry's creation. And it's hard to watch.

Jerry Jones – The Uncomfortable Search Continues

Just so you understand who's in charge!

With the Dallas cowboys once again left lonely on the sidelines to gaze upon post season activity, Jerry Jones continues his quest to make everyone uncomfortable. While telling the world that he is searching for the right combination of coaches to propel the Cowboys back into Super Bowl glory, the stark reality is one Jerry doesn’t want to conform to.

Right relationships are important!

 While having the right combination of coaches is important and not to be discounted, it is no less important that the relationship of the General Manager to those same coaches and players. And if a return to past glory is so important to Jerry, then a return to that initial relationship between himself as GM and the coaches and players is necessary.

But, this remains an extremely sensitive area with Jones, one which receives an immediate reaction when raised in his presence. As well it should, for it was Jones who destroyed that relationship years ago when he fired Jimmy Johnson after back to back Super Bowl victories. To date he has yet to re-establish it.

Why? Oh, the reason for that is easy and Jerry is will eagerly inform anyone willing to lend an ear to hear, camera or microphone. Jerry wants total control on all final decisions regarding players, personnel and staff within the Cowboys organization. This is why he fired Johnson. Jerry wanted what Jimmy had written into his contract and was unwilling to share with Jerry. Soooooooo, Jerry easily remedied that. Bye bye, Jimmy. The glory slowly departed and has failed to appear within sight of Jerry and his mission.

Bye, Bye Jimmy

In the meantime, everyone is uncomfortable in the presence of Jerry. They all know that the emperor, though fully clothed, is wearing the wrong attire. The mantle of General Manager is unsightly, does not fit and is threadbare. Even Jerry knows this.

Scapegoat

So, leave him alone to his task. If he keeps on, who knows?! The odds may be on his side. He may hit upon the right combination of discomfort and make it to the playoffs, maybe win a playoff game and, dare we dream, win a Super Bowl. Until that happens, the nightmare continues and the coaches fired are nothing more than scapegoats.

A Decade of Infamy – The Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones & Destruction

Jerry Jones does not like losing!

 The current malaise of the Dallas Cowboys is constantly being chronicled by journalistic types across a broad spectrum of media. Whether a blog post or a tweet or, imagine this, a legitimate product consisting of professional content and integrity, the daily machinations of General Manager Jerry Jones is under the watchful magnifying eye of lovers and haters alike.

Jerry Jones has his own decade of infamy.

And like the infamous bombing of Peal Harbor more than 60 years ago, the Cowboys have finished their own decade of infamy, though not from the expected sources of exterior enmity. No, this extended residence in the cellar of the NFC East was the result of a direct barrage of an Owner who exuberantly exercised his official duties as General Manager as if he were the incarnation of every Cowboys enemy in history. Misguided drafts, star crazed, misfit free agents and Coaching intervention of various types have all combined to leave the Cowboys of the 21^st Century professionally shell-shocked and with their worst decade in history.

How did this happen? Well, the details are in the forthcoming book by Ryan Bush entitled, Decade of Futility – How the Leadershipof Jerry Jones turned Americas Team into a 21st Century Debacle andresulted in the Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys History. It is due for publication this Spring and will be available in the United States and Europe through Amazon.

For more information, please visit Decade of Futility – byRyan Bush. You are encouraged to leave your e-mail address to receive immediate notification of publication.You are also invited to take part in the conversation at the Decade of Futility Blog.

The Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones & Decade of Futility by Ryan Bush

This blog is about the Politics of Heaven. Since the Dallas Cowboys have the reputation of having God watch them through the hole in their stadium roof (The old Texas Stadium & the new Cowboys Stadium), I thought it only appropriate to mention the following news.

 +Ryan Bush from Central Texas is soon to publish a book, Decade of Futility - How the Leadership of Jerry Jones Transformed America's Team into a 21st Century Debacle and resulted in the Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys History. He decided to initiate this project after publishing a weekly column about the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys Corner, in several small newspapers in Texas for three years.

Ryan has just initiated a blog and website (still under construction, but partially operable). Please visit the sites, take part in the conversation, and remember to leave your email address for immediate notification upon publication through Amazon, United States and Europe

Dallas Cowboys Open Home Schedule With Sloppy 16-10 Win Over Tampa Bay

by Ryan Bush

Hey, it’s only fair to give credit where credit is due.  And, for once, the Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager nailed it perfectly.  Arlington was, in fact, the sight of spectacular and improbable happenings on this second afternoon in autumn.  An attraction was in plain sight for all to see at Cowboys Stadium.  Yes, everything was bigger – and dumber – in Texas.

Jay Novacek was there.  Randy White.  So were 80,000 other fans.  If only the Cowboys didn’t have to show up the afternoon would have gone by without a single hitch.

The starred ones were out and about Sunday, ready to prove to the football world that last week was an absolute aberration.  Don’t trust them to inform you of what, because there were too many similarities that surely had many in attendance making early dinner reservations.

Jason Witten was dropping passes.  Tony Romo spent four quarters in life-preservation mode.  And Dallas receivers were running enough dysfunctional pass patterns to make Romo wish for the return of Roy Williams.

Just maybe the Cowboys didn’t realize that there was an actual game to be played.  It is, after all, quite possible in these parts.

Elaboration pertaining to in-game matchups was minimal this week.  Everybody was too busy talking about kneel-downs to concern themselves with worrying about Ronde Barber, Vincent Jackson, or anyone else on the Tampa Bay roster.

Oh, and the owner was busy trying to conceive of a magical way to attract fans to Arlington’s glass-plated mosque for a Dallas-Tampa Bay home opener that held little local appeal.  Who really cares about banners from two decades before anyway?  The magic from those years departed from Valley Ranch in a windstorm the minute Jerry up and kicked Jimmy out of his trophy-lined office.

The last time Tampa Bay was in town for a home-opener was in 2001 at the dawning of the infamous Quincy Carter era.  I guess Jerry’s busy trying to usher in a new era of his own.  Oh, well.  Just the latest operation of futility around here.  What’s one more?

And speaking of futility, how about pegging these 2012 Cowboys.  Love’em one week, spit on ‘em the next.  What should the proper attitude be this week by Dallas’ world-famous reception committee?  It surely won’t be as forgiving as today’s.

Let’s give a shout out to the home faithful who stuck it out through three hours of perplexing miscues.  It would have been understandable had they walked out.  Especially after such a familiar start.

For the second consecutive week, Dallas received the game’s opening kickoff only to turn the ball over.  In Seattle it was Felix Jones offering up a fumble as an offering – no surprise registered here – and this time it was Tony Romo celebrating an early Christmas with an early interception to former Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib.  Tampa Bay used that early gift to move 29 yards and go ahead 7-0 on a Josh Freeman touchdown pass.

But if there were any concerns of a impending re-run from last week when Seattle used an early score as impetus to run away with the game, those were as wasted as all those high-flyin’ pre-game predictions.

Romo didn’t throw for 500 yards like Eli Manning did against these same Bucs a week ago.  His 283 doesn’t even come close.  But he was able to move the offense, blessed with a short field after a Sean Lee interception, in position for a Demarco Murray touchdown run to tie the score.  Murray finished the day with just 38 yards on 18 carries.

Romo, meanwhile, was dealing with his own set of problems.  When it wasn’t his receivers running ill-advised patterns, it was his offensive line breaking down in their protections, leaving Romo primed and ready for a Texas-sized beating.  Romo was hit from every angle throughout the course of the game, resulting in two second-half fumbles that did nothing but keep the score close.

The Dallas defense completely shut down Tampa’s passing game, holding Freeman to just 110 yards through the air on ten completions, about half of those yards coming in the final two minutes.

As much as team officials try to shrug off Dallas’ 13-11 record inside the palatial Cowboys Stadium, it’s evident that the Cowboys possess anything but a home-field advantage.  Some might say they don’t have any advantage, but that’s beside the point.  Today was a day of homecoming, a day to salute the raising of five banners commemorating championships from so long ago.  While we’re at it, let’s honor Jason Garrett’s team for walking with Lady Luck in a game that each team seemed content to give away.

It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done at the end of the day.  There was a blocked punt that wasn’t, and a fumble return for touchdown called back, even when replays showed that it shouldn’t have been.

It was a game the Cowboys could not afford to lose.  But enthusiasm should be tempered by realizing that it was a victory with as much meaning going forward as Jerry’s overdone banner raising.

This mess is going on two weeks running, and needs to be cleaned up in a hurry.  Otherwise, it could be another seventeen years before the next banner is hoisted.

Time For Dallas Cowboys To Move On Without RB Felix Jones

by Ryan Bush

Ah, one more game down and we’re all just wondering when the end will come.  It surely can’t come too soon for certain reporters who brought the obvious necessity of it to Jason Garrett’s attention again on Monday.

The Dallas Cowboys need to throw their pre-draft scouting report on running back Felix Jones down the drain, and let Jones slip and slide right along with it.  The months that have elapsed since he last made a defender miss will soon turn into a full year.

But don’t try to get an exact read on the temperature on this subject at Valley Ranch, because they aren’t divulging any thing.  “Somebody asked me if we were going to replace [Jones[ or cut him from the team after the ballgame,” Garrett said.  “Every player is evaluated, really on a weekly basis, and what their role is.  Certainly, what they have done in the recent past is certainly significant, and what they have done in terms of their body of work is significant as well.  We’ll continue to evaluate Felix like we do every player on our football team and decide what that role is going forward.”

Let’s hope that Garrett and his staff don’t spend too much time searching for positives.  The reasons for keeping Jones around through his fifth NFL season are so few in number and so insignificant that they’re not even discernible.  He has gone from a rookie phenom with electrifying speed to a slow, overrated back with a skill set that has long since diminished.

Sunday’s fumble on the opening kickoff is just one additional reason to expedite this graceless Hog back to the Ozarks where he came from.

Wanting NFL To Bar Kneel-Downs Doesn’t Mean It Will Happen For Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones

by Ryan Bush

Jerry Jones

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks the NFL should do away with all kneel-downs.  Don’t expect it to happen, though. Jones, who considers the end-of-game kneel downs as anti-climactic, envisions a rule change as beneficial to the league.  It’s hard to understand why.

To eliminate kneel-downs would do nothing more than turn the final few plays of a game into a menagerie that is neither aesthetically pleasing to watch, nor productive for fantasy owners.  Instead of the usual scene of quarterback receiving snap from center and kneeling to stop the play, fans would be treated to a meaningless handoff to the tailback which is followed up by the runner falling unaided to the turf, where he will remain until the whistle blows the play dead.  It would be a lot of wasted movement for the same result, that much is for certain.

The teams that have the ball and the lead in the final two minutes of the game deserve the opportunity to milk the clock while protecting the football, and shouldn’t be forced to put their lead at risk unnecessarily.  The clock is their friend.  Letting them use it as such is a reward for a hard day's work, and a fitting conclusion for a captivating two-horse race against time.

Dallas Cowboys Blowout Loss To Seattle Not Indicative Of Direction Of Team

by Ryan Bush

Let’s be proactive about all this and agree that the Dallas Cowboys were mentally deficient in nearly every conceivable category Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.  Blocked punts, dropped passes, ill-timed penalties, and a gutless front-seven at crunch time… Those are all earmarks of any local junior high squad and provide the classic example of why so many refuse to consider the Cowboys as professional material.  Too often, they fail to resemble it.

Blocked Punt

So the big ‘Boys from Big D’ had their heads in the clouds after a statement win over the Giants, is that it?  Well, there are worse reasons to lose a football game.  Like, say, having your head served up on a platter.  Which was not the reality of Sunday’s 27-7 loss.

As many opportunities as Dallas made the most of during the opener in East Rutherford, they threw just as many away eleven days later. It was ugly in the extreme, as has been noted by the media since then, but in no way is an indication that this team is just another head-case that maximizes its potential by merely flirting with a postseason berth.

To compare this debacle to last season’s 34-7 loss at Philadelphia is doing Andy Reid and the Eagles a great injustice.  The Eagles team of a year ago was simply better than the Cowboys, no room for argument allowed. 

Such was not the case Sunday, even though the Cowboys’ superiority was never allowed to be evident.  It’s only fair to give Seattle credit for the victory, but there are a boatload of Cowboys that are deserving of a wholehearted assist.

1 of 4 Dropped Passes by Jason Witten

 When has Jason Witten ever dropped one pass in a game, let alone four?  And why couldn’t Dan Connor block the man right in front of him?  And why can’t Felix Jones hold onto the ball?  Dez Bryant let one pass from Tony Romo slip through his hands, as did Miles Austin.

Leave it to Cow-lovers to ignore the long list of football offenders above and fault the defense completely for this loss.  This is a classic example of why the majority of Cowboy fans are considered eccentric nerds.

It’s easy to blame Rob Ryan for a conservative game plan that failed to apply consistent pressure on rookie quarterback Russell Wilson.  But lack of a pass rush wasn’t the primary reason Dallas failed to produce a turnover.  The scoreboard, in fact, was.

By falling behind 10-0 and never recovering, the Cowboys never forced Seattle to divert from their run-first game plan they started the game with.  With at least one leg up on the competition from the game’s outset, the Seahawks head coach was able to ride the legs of Marshawn Lynch until the Dallas defense finally flopped down dead in the final quarter.

Arms weren't enough to tackle Lynch

Part of that can be attributed to fatigue, an understandable factor when considering Seattle controlled the ball for more that 20 minutes in the second half.  Yet a more perplexing problem was a lack of discipline by multiple players that allowed Lynch to gain extra yardage on several occasions.

The Dallas defense was playing without Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff in the middle, and it’s a credit to Garrett and Ryan for not overblowing his absence as an excuse.  Lynch’s 100-yard outburst in the second-half had little, if nothing, to do with any inadequacies of replacement Josh Brent. The Cowboys were either out of position defensively, or simply failed to wrap the ball-carrier up.  There were too many attempted arm-tackles and inconsequential big hits, two notorious no-no’s against a powerful runner such as Lynch.

No, it wasn’t the ideal performance against an inferior opponent on the road, but it wasn’t nearly as ground-shaking as it appeared to some.  The Cowboys can play fundamentally sound football.  We all saw that against the Giants.  

There will be a come-back-to-fundamentals cry from Camp Cowboy this week, and with the humiliation of Sunday’s loss haunting them every step of the way, it’s safe to say next week’s game against Tampa Bay will introduce a refocused Cowboys team to their host of distraught admirers.