DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ weekly appointment on the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan came once again on Tuesday, where Jones talked about the latest with a team that continues to be winless at home and is on their longest losing skid since losing seven in a row in 2015.
In this installment, the owner talked about the most recent loss, a 34-10 defeat to the Houston Texans, where the team’s injuries were a big factor in the loss, and quarterback decisions could be coming moving forward.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ weekly appointment on the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan came once again on Tuesday, where Jones talked about the latest with his team ahead of the holiday season.
In this installment, the owner discussed a rare win following the victory over the Washington Commanders in Week 12 that snapped a five-game skid. In addition, the owner was asked about tanking and the team’s home woes.
To start, Jones praised the Thanksgiving tradition of having the red kettles out for the Salvation Army and the millions of dollars that they raise every holiday season. “This is a big day…and I don’t want to forget mentioning it because it’s as important as anything the Cowboys have ever done,” said Jones before getting into the discussion about his team.
On the wild Week 12 finish in Washington
“The timing of it didn’t allow you the time to soak in what had happened to you, or what you had done to them,” said Jones as he claimed that he couldn’t remember a more crazy finish to a game.
The final quarter in Dallas’ 34-26 win featured one of the most outlandish few minutes of a game in recent memory, which is saying something for a team that routinely plays some of the wildest games imaginable.
What clicked for the defense?
“Do your job, be where you’re supposed to be, read what that play looks like,” assessed the owner after the Dallas defense allowed just nine points through the first three quarters before the wild fourth quarter finish. “If everybody was where they’re supposed to be, you can have lesser talent, but more execution and more success. And I think you saw the results of it.”
This has been something that Jones has continued to mention on a weekly basis about the defense. If the defense plays sound in their assignments, they would have better results. That showed up in the win over the Commanders.
KaVontae Turpin’s impact
“Here’s a guy that came from the XFL. Each year he’s just stepped it up. You can see his speed and his gift. His acceleration is Deion Sanders kind of acceleration,” Jones surmised following Turpin’s key kick return for a touchdown in the closing minutes of Sunday’s win.
“I don’t wanna get in trouble for making the comparison, but the bottom line is he knows how to use his speed and acceleration, two different things, and he has them both.”
Jones added thoughts on how the offense is trying to get the ball to Turpin on offensive packages because of his game-breaking ability which has been on display in the last couple of weeks.
On beating Dan Quinn
“I’m all for Dan,” Jones said after the Cowboys beat their former defensive coordinator in their first shot at him as Washington’s head coach. “I really personally like him and enjoyed his time in Dallas. He deserves any success that comes his way. He’s a hard worker, he’s unique, and his personality, he’s really done a good job.”
The owner also said he respected Quinn and the Commanders, but he added how desperately the Cowboys needed the win, which added to the thrill of beating their division rivals.
Is Mike McCarthy due an extension?
“I don’t think that’s crazy at all,” Jones responded after weeks of speculation that McCarthy could be on the way out. “McCarthy’s an outstanding coach, as Troy Aikman reiterated several times, Mike McCarthy’s a Super Bowl-winning coach. He’s been there, done that, got great ideas.
"In no place, body language or anything else has given indications about what we’re going to be doing relative to the staff at the end of the year. And we shouldn’t, we’ve got a lot of football left to play.”
There is no reason to bring McCarthy back and this season has been an indication that he no longer should be the coach of the Cowboys. However, this could be some posturing from Jones, who doesn’t want to reveal his plans.
Cowboys fans already aren’t satisfied with McCarthy at the helm, especially after the season started so poorly during an “all-in” year, and the team risks sliding further into irrelevance if Jones makes good on another try with the current lame-duck coach.
On Micah Parsons’ comments about tanking
“I love it! Just absolutely love it,” Jones said after his defensive star said that he was going to fight, not tank following Sunday’s win. Jones followed up by mentioning the youth on the field in the win.
“We had a very young team out on that field. We’ve got inexperience because of the injuries we’re dealing with, but that’ll be better on Thursday, and 10-12 days from now, but that group of young players is what we’ll be playing with for years to come.”
Neither Parsons or Jones’ stance is surprising. Very few owners want to lose, and players are programmed to avoid losing games. The sentiment about having young players out there with something to prove is a valid reason to continue to play hard.
These are competitors who want to play their best and it’s not in Jones’ DNA to quit on a season, no matter how bleak it looks.
On Cowboys annual Thanksgiving game
“That game was an orphan for years, but the Cowboys took it on,” Jones explained how Dallas claimed an unwanted spot on the schedule and made it a tradition. “Tex Schramm, to his credit, took it on. But the one who took it and made it into the national event our game is, is Charlotte Jones. She got Dick Ebersol to promise to not cut away during halftime, Ebersol said, ‘if you put up a Super Bowl type of performance out there, we’ll keep it on.’”
Jones did mention that the NFL has brought up replacing the Cowboys or Detroit Lions as annual Thanksgiving fixtures, but it got only four or five votes, signifying that the league still values the tradition.
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