Prospect of Landing Johnny Manziel Adds Intrigue For Dallas Cowboys, Pressure for Jerry Jones

 

 

 

We have asked.  Jerry has answered.

We have implored.  Jerry has declined.

We say maybe.  Jerry says never.

It’s been a good long while since there has been this much unity from Jerry’s bleachers over a prospect in the weeks leading up to the draft.  Too long.  But that’s what happens when you have only won one playoff game in nearly two decades.  Apathy becomes a local custom rather than a personal reaction.

The NFL draft hasn’t meant much to Cowboy Nation for many moons now because they have found little constructive activity in their team’s war room.  This year is different, though.  Because this year Johnny Football is calling it quits in College Station to join the big boys of the professional ranks, where money and legend can proliferate freely.

Johnny Football is a Texas gunslinger who would’ve made Slingin’ Sammy proud with his rocket arm, dare-devil attitude, and knack for the spotlight.  In two years at Texas A&M, all Johnny Manziel did was win a Heisman Trophy as a freshman, knock off mighty Alabama, and almost single-handedly put the Aggies in the national title conversation.

So accomplished is he that millions have taken hold of the thought that, “Maybe Johnny can fix the Cowboys.”

The Cowboys, as we all know by now, are in the deplorable habit of winning half of their games, losing the other half, and going home for the winter in a thoroughly confused state of emotions.

The franchise quarterback, 34-year old Tony Romo, is overpaid, likely overweight at this date, and some claim overwhelmingly overhyped.  His teammates all spend their off-season talking about the need to improve.  The owner, speaking for all, claims infinite satisfaction.

The football crazed town of Dallas knoweth no peace, for the team they are sworn to does not compute.  Nor compete.

The fans know this isn’t acceptable, so have offered their remedy, hoping that team owner Jerry Jones is thinking along those same lines.  As of yesterday, Jones claims he is not, citing an over-abundance at the quarterback position and a need to win now.

Remember, the topic of quarterbacks is a sensitive one around Valley Ranch right now, and with good reason.  The reality is that Jones has yet to find a quarterback in the draft during his 25 years on the job, and he doesn’t need any reminders on that front.

Jones has always claimed he learned a hard, but valuable, lesson when he watched Troy Aikman slide into retirement in 2001 due to complications from a bad back and a rash of concussions.  He blamed himself for not having a capable replacement waiting in the wings, ready to stand up when Aikman did finally go down, and considered himself at fault for going nearly six full seasons before another franchise quarterback happened along.  Jones says he’s aware more than ever how important the position is in today’s game.

Thursday is his chance to prove as much.

Right now there are only two quarterbacking carcasses behind Romo on the depth chart, moldy fossils of past failures who are simply hanging onto the league’s skirts for employment.  Brandon Weeden is a 31-year old with two years of experience in dog-eared Cleveland where he became, according to multiple reports, emotionally scarred for life.  Well, cheer up, Brandon.  You wouldn’t be the first.

Reserve signal-caller Caleb Hanie had a similar experience with Chicago.

The backup Jones wanted – Kyle Orton – hasn’t showed his face around the Ranch during the team’s optional workouts this spring, and word has it that Orton is currently leaning towards retirement.  That’s not the news that Jones should be fine with hearing, especially considering that his 34-year old starter is coming off his second back procedure in the space of a calendar year.

But Jones doesn’t appear concerned with this in the least and appears fully prepared to place his trust in his overwhelmed pair of reserves and Romo’s improving health.  Jones can’t be blamed for trying to stick with Romo.  He just needs to be aware of the danger of shoving all his chips that way.  Age at the quarterback position isn’t a problem until decay starts to set in.

And you can be certain that somebody at Valley Ranch has made him cognizant of what a financial boon it would be to select Manziel (yes, money is a big thing with Jerry).  According to the latest statistics, Jerry’s house of 100-dollar bills could use a serious upgrade, as poor production on Sundays has boosted inflation and caused the Cowboys to fall behind the competition.

Of the top selling individual players jerseys from the 2013 season, wide receiver Dez Bryant is the top Cowboy, checking in at No. 13.  Tight end Jason Witten was No. 17.  The quarterback of America’s Team could be found well down the list at No. 23.  Eleven quarterbacks ranked ahead of Romo, including public punching bags Ryan Tannehill and Eli Manning.

The Cowboys ranked fourth overall in team merchandise sales, behind Seattle, Denver, and San Francisco.

Selecting Manziel would be an instant boost in revenue, with jerseys and tickets flying off the shelf.  Yes, Jerry would likely sell out both of his preseason games this coming August, too.

A stable franchise could afford to take Manziel with the sixteenth selection.  Alas, that is not a state the Cowboys have enjoyed since Bill Parcells’ scowl was seen on the Dallas sideline.

A rebuilding franchise could do the same.

The Cowboys, unfortunately, fall somewhere in between at this juncture in time.  Without the luxury of either a winning or losing season to direct Jerry’s off-season agenda, the Cowboys have never lacked an identity more than in 2014.

The head coach preaches balance but stands helpless as Jerry’s system of quarterback-offensive coordinator autonomy enacts a pass-first circus that, more often than not, winds up in disaster.  The defense was non-existent a year ago, and certainly hasn’t improved on paper as of yet.

It would seem unfair to want to put Johnny Football in that kind of a situation, if it weren’t for the fact that Manziel dealt with a lot of those same problems at A&M.  Manziel threw the ball all over the yard in college, and had to outscore a gutless defense on most weekends, so probably isn’t going to be overwhelmed at being asked to score points in Dallas, too.

Jerry, on the other hand, is overwhelmed, and will probably be more so than ever by Thursday, according to past Cowboy drafts.  Maybe the prospect of having to choose Manziel will provide a rare moment of clarity from the Valley Ranch war room.

For over-expectant fans of the silver and blue, this one possibility is their one hope for the future.  And without it coming to fruition, the Monday morning commute will certainly be a drab experience when it dawns upon them that they will never have a Johnny, but will always have a Jerry.

 

 

 

You can read more about Jerry Jones' Draft-Day struggles in Ryan Bush's new book about The Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys' History, "Decade of Futility."  Use the following link to purchase your copy today:https://www.createspace.com/

For Jerry Jones, Parting Ways With Tony Banks Proved To Be Start of Trouble For 2001 Dallas Cowboys

Quarterbacks were in abundance on the Valley Ranch lawn during the 2001 campaign. The legendary Troy Aikman had retired in April, and team owner Jerry Jones was busy orchestrating a merry game of musical chairs in searching for a suitable ...replacement.
Cowboy enthusiasts remember the scene well, their beloved franchise owning five different starting signal callers from August to November, the once fabled "America's Team" looking strangely akin to a minor league baseball team searching desperately for a reliable arm out of the bullpen.
Tony Banks, Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Clint Stoerner, and Ryan Leaf each found their respective names at the top of the depth chart at some point during the season, a 5-11 marathon that seemed to accomplish more damage than good.
The unquestioned starter coming out of mini-camps, the sixth-year veteran Banks was inexplicably cut early in preseason by an owner who seemed determined to reach the 10-win threshold he had so outrageously predicted months before with the raw talent of Carter, a wide-eyed rookie from Georgia. While Jerry was busy touting excitement and a brighter future as the primary causes for such a bold move, fans and sportswriters could only shake their head in bewilderment. They didn't understand Jones using a second-round pick on Carter in the April draft, and they surely couldn't see why Banks should be ditched while his replacement had yet to even learn the proper grip of a professional size football.
Without a doubt, it was a decision that destroyed the season before it ever started, the Cowboys' once-aspiring offense destined for NFL ineptitude.

Read more about "The Quarterback Carousel" in Chapter 5 of Ryan Bush's new book about The Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys history "Decade of Futility." Use the following link to purchase your copy today:https://www.createspace.com/4161551

Not Taking Advantage of Demarcus Ware's Potential May Be Saddest News Of All For Dallas Cowboys

Demarcus Ware will one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in all likelihood as a Dallas Cowboy. There will be smiles and hugs all around on that occasion.
But for now, just hours after the team officially released the nine-year veteran, all that can be felt is sadness. Sadness that Ware couldn't have finished his career in Dallas, and sadness that money had to be the primary reason for his departure. But most of all, their is sadness because Ware was never ...able to win a Super Bowl with the team that drafted him.
Bill Parcells' 2005 draft class with the Cowboys, of which Ware was the anchor, was supposed to vault America's Team back to the pinnacle of America's sport. Yet, NFL history books will forever acknowledge that it didn't.
In Dallas, a place that once knew the greatness of Landry, Staubach, and Aikman, failing to take full advantage of a player with the capabilities of Ware has become commonplace. And that, my friend, may be the saddest news of all.

You can read more about Bill Parcells' 2005 turnaround, and the Cowboys' struggles thereafter, in the book "Decade of Futility." Use this link to order you copy today:https://www.createspace.com/4161551

 

Decade of Futility - Pros, Cons & Misfortunes of Dallas Cowboys' Trade for Joey Galloway Unlocked In New Book

Its details forgotten by the throngs, its merits argued by sports historians, the Dallas Cowboys' trade for wide receiver Joey Galloway in February of 2000 is still a point of contention for some even today. Was Galloway really worth two first round draft picks like Jerry Jones thought, or was the trade a complete wash?
By breaking the philosophy of the trade down into several increments, Decade of Futility lays this argument to rest once and for all with new, never-before-published material that accounts for every piece of the puzzle: words, actions, production, and misfortune. Crisp and refreshingly straight-forward, Chapter 4 of Decade of Futility simplifies the mysteriously complex Joey Galloway Trade.

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
https://www.createspace.com/4161551


For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

Decade of Futility - Injury To Michael Irvin The Undisputed End of Dallas Cowboys' Dynasty

Historians will forever dispute the starting point of the Dallas Cowboys' slide into mediocrity. But nobody will deny that Michael Irvin's career-ending injury suffered on this date in 1999 was the single event that significantly accelerated the process.
The 1999 Cowboys had won each of their first three games, and were in Philadelphia trying to make it four in a row when Irvin caught a short pass over the middle and was tackled hard by Eagles defender Tim Hauck. The rest of the story is a mixture of misfortune and infamy, as Irvin was carted off the field to chorus of cheers from the Philly faithful, and America's Team vanished never to return.
Dallas finished the season at a 5-8 clip and, though they made the playoffs as a Wild-Card, have never been the same since.
Read the full story in Decade of Futility. 

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
https://www.createspace.com/4161551


For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

Decade of Futility - When It Comes To Super Bowl Predictions, Nobody Is More Forthcoming Than Jerry Jones

During a late July "State of The Cowboys" address, Jerry Jones showed several signs that three consecutive seasons without a playoff berth were taking its toll, admitting that the Cowboys "have got a lot of work to do."
Yet, being the cheerleader that he is, he couldn't help but talk about how much better the team is at this juncture than a year ago, and even managed to insert a comment - though tongue-in-cheek it may have seemed - about making a run at the Super Bowl.
This pre-training camp talk about a push to the Super Bowl is a Jones trademark. During the writing of Decade of Futility, I was shocked to learn just how much so. Since the "One Year Away" Cowboys shocked the world in 1992 by destroying Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII by a 52-17 score, Jones has neglected to thrill listeners with Super aspirations a grand total of four times. That's four out of a possible twenty-one opportunities. Truly incredible.
Even more incredible are the circumstances surrounding those times when he deemed it better to be humble, rather than bold. The first occurrence was in the wake of Troy Aikman's retirement in 2001, when all the Cowboys were leaning upon was the unproven right arm of Georgia rookie Quincy Carter. Yes, Jones was magnanimous that day in his respect for the dark hour that his Cowboys found themselves in, foregoing any Super Bowl predictions, prophesying instead for a ho-hum mediocre campaign filled with only - yes, only - ten wins.
The only other times that Jones was silent on any personal visions of impending glory just happened to be during the first three years of Big Bill Parcells' four-year reign of pigskin terror, when Jones was effectively kept under wraps.
Jones talks so boldly because he wants the fans to know that he cares, and that he - in his position as the team's General Manager - has pieced together a roster that everyone will be proud of. He envisions himself as the sharpshooter in a darkened gym that calls his own shot on one three-pointer after another.
More importantly, is the fact that Jones believes these predictions are within the bounds of reason, even when others around him are pleading with him for patience, and temperance.
The passing years have revealed that Jones is oblivious to any personal prohibitions related to drinking that most seductive of drinks, Cowboy Kool-Aid. The Cowboys have reaped the rewards this millennium of changing head coaches a mind-boggling four times. Five losing seasons, countless melodramas, one measly playoff victory, and a decade (2000-2009) that houses the lowest winning percentage in franchise history.
And there, impervious to reality, criticism, and countless glaring statistics, stands the Cowboys owner, handing out a beverage that has enslaved the innocent and gullible for more than a decade. Yes, drinks are always on the house at Valley Ranch, no matter the hour, the venue, or circumstance.

Read more about Jerry Jones and the Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys History in my new book Decade of Futility.

 

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
https://www.createspace.com/4161551


For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

The Dallas Cowboys' Past - Troy Aikman's Last Win

by Ryan Bush

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman’s 306-yard passing effort against the Bengals in Week 12 of the 2000 season is remembered by many as his last complete game victory in his 12-year career.  Not only did it take the Cowboys a long time to find a capable replacement to Aikman, but it took an astounding 31 games for another Dallas quarterback to top the 300-yard passing plateau.                              

27-0 Embarrassment Versus Super Bowl-bound Ravens Left Jerry Jones Little Room To Dodge Reality

There's not much to say!

Throughout the twenty-first century, a bitter war between reality and perception has been waged within the confines of Valley Ranch.  Though perception persists, reality has nevertheless prevailed, even sometimes in alarming fashion.

So in honor of today’s Super Bowl XLVII participant from the AFC, let’s take a peek back into history and remind everybody just how good the Baltimore Ravens were back in the year 2000…and how low the Dallas Cowboys of once mighty glory had descended.

The Ravens were a Super Bowl-bound team reliant on a powerful rushing attack led by rookie running back Jamal Lewis and a tenacious, hard-hitting defense.  The Cowboys, on the other hand, were a bad 4-6 squad that owner Jerry Jones envisioned on the way back up, a week removed from a gut-wrenching overtime defeat in Philadelphia with backup quarterback Randall Cunningham filling in for Troy Aikman.  Now, with Aikman slotted to be back in the starting lineup, Jones thought nothing could stop the Cowboys from muscling past an unproven Ravens squad in an unfamiliar environment in Maryland.

What transpired, however, on a cold Sunday afternoon before a Fox television audience was an omen of eventual triumph for the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV against New York a few weeks later, and a harsh reminder that the Team of the ‘90s was nothing more than a tread mark on the highway of irrelevance.

Going left, right and anywhere he pleased, Lewis rushed for 187 yards on only 28 totes.  Of Lewis’ carries, 17 went for 7 yards or more, and seven rushing attempts totaled 10 yards or more.  Coupled with a Dallas offensive attack that never got off the team bus, it all added up to a 27-0 hope-shattering defeat that left Jones little place to hide.

“This is very embarrassing,” said Jones following the game.  “This is stunning.

“Overtime losses have you looking at turnovers, at mistakes. This is a clearer read on where we are.  The way Baltimore ran the ball on us almost at will this left no doubt today.”

The head coach tried to be diplomatic in defeat, but even he was rendered speechless.  ““They came out and blocked us,” Dave Campo said.  “Why?  We’ll have to look at the film and find out why.”

The “why” in it all can, in retrospect, be linked to the ultimate destiny of each respective franchise. 

Brian Billick, Art Modell and Ray Lewis stood tall celebrating a championship season for the ages in early February, while Jones and Co. licked their wounds at Valley Ranch trying to figure out how such a 5-11 squad could have fooled them into thinking that a Super Bowl was imminent.

Here we are twelve years later with Baltimore still playing and Dallas back at home, the victim of sabotaged expectations yet again.  One will be making another attempt at football immortality, while the other continues to grapple with a reality that fails to line up with in-house perception.

Some things never change.

The Day Jerry Jones Tossed Troy Aikman Aside

In Search For Head Coach, Jones’ Politics Reveals Just Whose Image Is No. 1 At Valley Ranch

Terry Donahue

Public criticism had dogged his and his Cowboys’ steps every inch of the way through a turbulent season that concluded in the smoke of a 6-10 train wreck.  A very self-aware Jerry Jones had just witnessed the official end to the Cowboys dynasty of the 1990’s as Dallas wobbled, teetered, and then finally crashed down the stretch of the 1997 campaign, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

Now, Jones was out to do more than just replace the departed Barry Switzer as head coach.  He was out to protect the two sacred foundational pieces that make up the bottom-line in Big D’; his trophy case and, yes, himself. 

He desperately wanted to hire a head coach who called his own plays, if only to quell the crazy rumor going around that a meddlesome Jones spent the previous season in the suite of offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese suggesting plays.  Publicly, the status-quo linked the necessity for an offensive mind with the health of battered quarterback Troy Aikman.

That much was well known.  What was not known, however, was just how sensitive the owner’s public image had become.

After a few weeks of what was repeatedly referred to as an “intensive coaching search,” it appeared that Aikman’s old ball coach at UCLA, Terry Donahue, was all locked up for the job.  Uh, in fact he was.  A news conference announcing the hiring of the fourth head coach in franchise history had been scheduled.

But then Donahue read the small print on the contract.

The Cowboys had included a clause in Donahue’s contract, clearly stating that he would be fined $25,000 every time he said anything that might throw a poor light on the Cowboys, or in particular, Jerry Jones.

Donahue balked at it and walked away.

“We never thought the insubordination clause, and certainly the money ($500,000 annually), would be the thing that turned it one way or the other,” Jones said.  “He was offered the job…I did feel he’d come in as a coordinator on an entry-level basis [pay scale] into the NFL as opposed to coming in as a Super Bowl coach.”

But then Jones tried to smooth things over and suggest that Donahue wasn’t really the right man for the job, ignoring the fact that he was merely hours away from announcing the news to the entire world. “…We were not on the same page of how we were going to do things on offense,” Jones said.  “I was on the page whether he could do it or not, but when the issues on the contract came up, I talked with my son Stephen and we realized we were trying to put a larger foot in a small shoe here.  We’re trying to make something happen, and we’re not a team that needs years to make something happen.”

Donahue wasn’t willing to tow the company line every week during the season, especially on a team such as Dallas coming off a 6-10 season and with many bumps still in front of them.

Jones finally found his man in Chan Gailey, who reportedly signed the contract with the same clause in it that Donahue had issues with.

Chan Gailey

 And this doesn’t mean that Gailey, an up and coming assistant, was desperate for a head coaching job. Calling out his players or owner publicly simply wasn’t in Gailey’s nature.  Agreeing to those terms didn’t bother him in the least.

No Protection

 But rather than protecting Aikman’s backside, the hiring of Gailey proved to only shelter Jones.  The Cowboys now not only had a head coach doubling as an offensive coordinator, but a man able and ready to wield feather duster and furniture polish in honor of the Owner to each and every press conference.

All is Well!

 So, with Jones having alighted upon the perfect solution to safeguard his own domicile, the fact that his good buddy Aikman was to be saddled with an offensive scheme that he couldn’t appreciate had suddenly lost any significance.