Top 5 all time Jerry Jones draft day quotes

So Jerry Jones wants Tony Romo to spend a Peyton Manning amount of time with the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason to make this team better.

You pay a guy who has one career playoff win $1 trillion and you expect certain things. As much fun and as much potential material as Jerry provided with this quote over the draft this previous weekend, this is a nothing compared to some of his previous winners.

I went back to review some of his great comments after certain classes.

Enjoy ...

5. "We are really pleased with not only the way we were able to trade down, but also with the players that we had pinpointed. We could, in this draft, really make a difference on our football team in 1995."
- Jerry on April 23, 1995 when the Cowboys traded down to select Sherman Williams, Kendell Watkins, Shane Hannah and Charlie Williams on the first day of the draft.

4. "I know what we’ve got coming tomorrow. It didn’t look good trading Herschel Walker and doing some things. But you had some information that you knew you were going to get better. While this wasn’t of that magnitude, we’ve got a chance to get some good players. We have a chance to get real extended value because of the early pick in the third round."
- Jerry on April 25, 2009 when the Cowboys had already traded out of the first round to obtain WR Roy Williams and then traded out of the second round in a draft where they selected 11 players, none of whom is currently on the roster.

3. “He was the best player available, and we were fortunate to get him."
- Jerry on April 18, 1999 after the team drafted defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban in the first round.

2. “Not in my wildest dreams."
- Jerry on April 17, 1999, after the Cowboys drafted defensive backs Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore and Mario Edwards.

1. “We didn’t want to live with missing him if we bet wrong in the third round . (He’s) a player we may not see the likes again for a couple of years – if even then."
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on April 21, 2001 regarding the drafting of quarterback Quincy Carter.

To be fair, you could do this to just about any NFL GM, or coach, on draft day. Everyone misses with the draft. If you hit 50 %, you're a genius.

Jerry has presided over a lot of quality draft picks in his career (DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Jason Witten, Troy Aikman, Larry Allen and countless others), but these one liners are just too much fun.

 

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Video: Galloway & Big Mac debate whether to sign or wait on Tony Romo

 

 

 

 

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The Cowboys are going to make Tony Romo uncomfortable with an extension

The news out of Indianapolis, Indiana at the NFL combine should not come as a great surprise - Tony Romo is going to sign a contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaking to reporters aboard the Cowboys bus in downtown Indy, Cowboys head coach Jerry Jones told Mr. Clarence E. Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that, "Yes, that would be the most positive result – to extend him, re-sign him, extend him and then have him retire. That means we’ve had some success. And I would like that to happen."

That means you should just plan on Tony Romo being the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys for the next four seasons.

Barring injury, Romo should be around at least through the 2016 season. He's only 32. Deal with it.

Giving Romo an extenion one season before he could become a free agent was highly likely because the Cowboys are desperate to create some wiggle room against a salary cap they are currently pressed against.

The other reason it was likely is the team not only likes him, but absolutely hates the alternative of quarterback hell. Jerry is obviously still very scarred from the years after Troy Aikman retired, which one time included Clint Stoerner making a start.

Despite some logical thinking that both sides would be better off waiting, that simply was not going to happen. Romo would be stupid to turn down an extension of large guaranteed dollars, even if leaving may not be such a horrid idea. The Cowboys need the cap space, and the idea of letting Romo walk puts them in a situation that teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and so many others find themselves in.

The Cowboys have decided the devil they know is better than John Skelton or Brandon Weeden.

What this cannot mean is the Cowboys do not seriously consider drafting a quarterback. This 2013 draft class may not be loaded with QB prospects, but just because Romo will be locked in with an extension is no reason to ignore this position. 

The San Francisco 49ers reached the NFC title game with Alex Smith, and the next year they reached the Super Bowl with Colin Kaepernick.

The Cowboys think they still have their guy, regardless of the body of evidence in front of their own eyes. The guy can play. He can also make some stunning bonehead plays.

He's not going anywhere, but that can't mean the team thinks they don't need to look for his eventual successor.

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It's official - Jason Garrett has been neutered

Listening to Dallas Cowboys assistant head football coach to the general manager deliver a state of the staff on Wednesday afternoon was almost painful. Not since the State of the Union and the GOP rebuttal have so many words been spoken without anything actually having been said.

You can't blame Jason Garrett, though. The man has had his knees cut out from under him by the real head coach of this franchise. If Garrett is able to keep this team playing hard for him the way he has in the previous two years it will be a great achievement.

Garrett would not specifically say ... well, anything, but it does sound as if Bill Callahan will be this team's play caller in 2013. Garrett threw out some BS about how this process has evolved over the years, and this has been a collective exercise.

"My respect for him is off the charts," Garrett said of Callahan.

It should be noted Coach Process expressed similar respect for Skip Peete and Rob Ryan. Both of those guys were fired this offseason.

Apparently the play calling has always been a collective thing since Coach Process became the head coach. This is an outstanding way of sharing the blame. Bill Parcells was one of the best at this.

Garrett would not say whether he will call plays next season, but all signs point to Callahan carrying that responsibility with Garrett as the final say. That's not completely atypical for a lot of offenses.

This whole play-calling thing is a giant mask for this team's real problems - the talent level isn't high enough. Both lines have been weak, and the depth isn't there.

"We trust the offense and we're pretty confident we'll get it right," Garrett said.

At this point, he is strictly in the minority.

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How the Dallas Cowboys had a role in Ray Lewis' retirement

This morning one of the best defenders in NFL history announced that he will retire - Ray Lewis has said he is done after the playoffs. Click here for the story from the Baltimore Sun.

Lewis' name should be with Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary as one of the best linebackers to ever play.

Lewis has played 17 NFL seasons, but if there is one thing his last game - against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 14 - suggested was that Ray-Ray was just about done. No shame in that, considering he is a 37-year-old man. He may be as inspiring as any NFL player in recent memory, but on the field the body could no longer do what the mind wanted. It happens.

Lewis suffered a torn triceps injury against the Cowboys that afternoon that forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season. He plans to play against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC playoff game this weekend.

What we saw against the Cowboys that day was that he could still make tackles, but he was not contributing the types of plays he was known for - sacks, tackles for a loss, forcing fumbles. The Ray Lewis impact was gone.

Lewis had 14 tackles against the Cowboys that day; the Cowboys, however, ran for 227 yards as both DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones each had over 90 yards.

In the end, Ray Lewis was a "victim" of the absurdly high standards he set over his career.

 

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Texas Tech at TCU tops best games of 2012 in FW/d

The one thing we can never get enough of is lists. A list of our favorite songs. The best Nicholas Sparks novels. The top 10 Rocky movies.

The end of the year brings the trite, mail-it-end look back at the year that was. Because The Big Mac Blog loves cliches as much as the next, here is a look at the best games of the year. I tried to spread the wealth ...

1. Texas Tech 56, TCU 53 (3 ot); Oct. 20, 2012.
Hands down the most entertaining game of the Big 12 season. 
In TCU's first year of the Big 12, the Frogs led Tech by five in the fourth quarter before the Red Raiders rallied to take a 10-point lead with 4:06 remaining.
TCU managed to tie the game with 18 seconds lef that set up one of the more entertaining series of overtimes you could watch.

2. Cowboys 27, Steelers 24 (ot); Dec. 16, 2012.
Tony Romo played one of the best games of his career as the Cowboys rallied to win a game they trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter.
Romo passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns, one to the busted-fingered Dez Bryant.
The Steelers weren't as good as advertised but this was a highly entertaining game and offered the Cowboys at their best. 

3. Texas Rangers 11, LA Angels 10, (10 innings); Aug. 1, 2012
The Angels led 7-1 after four innings. The Rangers scored four in the fifth, and runs in the eighth and the ninth to send the game into extra innings. The Angels scored three times in the top of the 10th, but the Rangers scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, the final two on an Elvis Andrus single.

4. Texas Rangers 10, Baltimore Orioles 3; May 9, 2012
Josh Hamilton hit four home runs. 

5. DeSoto 49, Southlake Carroll 45; Dec. 8, 2012.
In the 5A quarterfinals, DeSoto trailed by 18 points in the first half before taking the lead. Carroll QB Kenny Hill was stopped on consecutive running plays from the 1-yard line, the final as time expired.  

6. TCU 20, Texas 13; Nov. 22, 2012.
Easily the biggest win of the year for TCU as the Frogs won on Thanksgiving night in Austin. The Frogs forced four turnovers, including the game-clinching pick by Sam Carter with less than two minutes remaining.

7. Oklahoma 63, Texas 21; Oct. 13, 2012.
The game was boring as hell but there was so much comedy and amazement to watch Bob Stoops' Sooners put yet another nasty beatdown on Mack Brown's Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. It truly was watching a train wreck.

8. Dallas Mavericks 101, San Antonio Spurs 100 (ot); Jan. 29, 2012
This was before the Mavericks completely crashed in the playoffs and was Jason Terry at his best. He hit a 15-foot game-tying shot to tie the game with 1 second remaining and send the game into OT. Terry finished with 34 points.

9. Dallas Stars 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (ot); Feb. 26, 2012
Before the Stars fell apart to miss the playoffs yet again, they rallied for this impressive win against a good Canucks team. The Stars were down 2-1 with less than one minute remaining before Mike Ribeiro scored to tie the game. In overtime, Loui Eriksson scored the game winner.

10. Cowboys 24, NY Giants 17; Sept. 5, 2012
In the NFL season opener, the Cowboys defeated the defending Super Bowl champions in what would be arguably their most complete win of the season.
Romo threw for 307 yards with three touchdowns; Kevin Ogletree caught eight passes for 114 yards with two TDs; DeMarco Murray rushed for 131 yards.

 

 

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Tony Romo should look elsewhere & other genius observations

LANDOVER, Maryland - Tony Romo has one year remaining on his contract, but the time has come for him to move on.

This offseason is normally the time the Cowboys give potential free agents an extension, but this should not be one of those times. He has been the starting quarterback of this team since the middle of 2006, and by now the Cowboys know. This is who he is.

After watching Romo throw three interceptions against the Redskins in the season-ending 28-18 loss here on Sunday night, the evidence has now reached the "overwhelming" stage. He will be 33 in April of '13, and still has a few good years left but at this point he needs to go to another team that needs a quarterback.

The guy can play, but you have to wonder if even he isn't so tired of this story that he is ready to pull the trigger to see if the results will change.

Other astute observations from D.C. ...

1. The lines of the Cowboys have serious issues. The offensive line is limited; Tyron Smith may be fine at left tackle, but it looks as if the Cowboys are ready to write off Doug Free. The interior of the line is just -ish.
The defensive line is just as average. After basically missing the whole season with an ankle injury, Jay Ratliff may be cut. Josh Brent is gone. As a player he was developing into a solid stuffer. Sean Lissemore and Tyrone Crawford may eventually be OK, but this line has to start making some plays.

2. At one point in the fourth quarter the receivers were Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris and Kevin Ogletree. Injuries to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant made this scenario a necessity.
Ogletree was too erratic this season, but Harris is a major find both as a punt returner and a third receiver.

3. Have Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware wasted their best years? Probably. Witten just had the finest regular season ever for a tight end, but he has been in the league for 10 years. He can likely continue to put up good numbers for a few more years, but you can't expect any more 100-catch seasons like this.
Ware will be 31 next year and you have to think he has two more years of high quality plays left in him. 

4. Robert Griffin III is hurt. Griffin was wearing a heavy brace over his right knee on Sunday night, and he was not moving the same. Regardless, he still ran six times for 63 yards and threw for 100 yards on 9-of-18 passing.

5. The Redskins swept the season series against the Cowboys for the first time since 2005. Good timing.

6. Dez Bryant is a man, man baby. But he is fragile? This is a tough human being. He had the broken finger that is going to require surgery, probably this week. And he had to leave Sunday night's game with a bad back. 
In his third season in the NFL, Dez developed into a top No. 1 receiver. But you ever notice how often he is always addressing some type of injury?

7. Miles Austin was this team's most disappointing skill position player. He had 66 receptions for 943 yards this season, hardly awful, but the Cowboys needed more from him. Austin is not 30, and he has demonstrated he is a legit threat. He needs to stay healthy, which does not get easier as you turn older, and he has to make bigger plays.

8. Reasons to be optimistic - Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr should be the core of what can be a pretty good defense next season.

9. RB Felix Jones and CB Mike Jenkins are gone. Jones is the portrait of why never to select a running back in the first round of the draft, unless his name is Adrian Peterson. Both Jones and Jenkins were first round draft choices by the Cowboys in 2008. And it looks like both will be gone before the start of the '13 season.
To have neither of your first round picks from that draft, and but one playoff win in their careers here, is a waste.

10. The Cowboys deserved to finish 8-8. The line between 10-6 and 8-8 is scary thin in the NFL, and the Cowboys were never good enough to seperate themselves even slightly because this is what erratic teams do - finish .500.

 

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The numbers: Dan Snyder vs. Jerry Jones

According to www.Redskins.com, Washington Redskins team owner "Dan Snyder has put his passion into action. He has consistently led the franchise to new prominence in the community, the business world, and the National Football League."

According to www.DallasCowboys.com, Dallas Cowboys team owner "Jerry Jones' stewardship of the Dallas Cowboys has brought unprecedented results and success to one of the world's most popular sports entities."

It's on the Internet, so it must be true.

Let's look at the numbers ...

Dan Snyder's Washington Redskins
Year purchased the team: 1999, $800 million
Team record: 100-123, .448
Playoff appearances: 3
Super Bowls: 0
Playoff record: 2-3
Winning seasons: Four (#)
Double digit losing records: Six 
Forbes rank of NFL teams: 3rd, $1.6 billion
Home Field: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland (capacity 91,704)
Coaches: Norv Turner, Terry Robiske, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs, Jim Zorn, Mike Shanahan
Best move: Hiring Mike Shanahan, getting out of the way (finally) and trading up for Robert Griffin III.
Dumbest move: So, so many. The topper has to be trading defensive back Champ Bailey to Denver for running back Clinton Portis in 2004.
Portis was a nice running back whose career died while Bailey is still playing and will go to the Hall of Fame.
(# Does include 2012; Redskins are guaranteed a winning record.) 

Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys
Year purchased the team: 1989, $140 million
Team record: 211-177, .544
Playoff appearances: 12
Super Bowls: 3

Playoff record: 13-9
Winning seasons: 13* 
Double digit losing records: Six
Forbes rank of NFL teams: 1st; $2.1 billion
Home Field: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas (capacity 80,000 - can go up to over 100,000)
Coaches: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett
Best Move: Hiring Jimmy Johnson. 
Dumbest Move: Where to begin? Allowing Jimmy Johnson to leave is a good place to start. Most recently the acquisition of receiver Roy Williams from the Lions for was a real winner.

(* Does not include 2012; Cowboys can still finish 9-7.)

The verdict: They're both loaded and own franchises with such strong and loyal fan bases they are printing money, and neither is selling any time soon. Deal with it.

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Pro Bowl droppage - No Spencer or Dez = Dumb

On the same day both Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant and OLB Anthony Spencer got screwed from a deserved Pro Bowl selection, NFL Network reporter and friend to The Big Mac Blog Albert Breer writes the future of the NFL Pro Bowl could be in jeopardy for a variety of reasons.

The least important reason is a roster that routinely can't avoid a few screwups every year. Always happens, and it always will with any All-Star selection process that allows fans have a say. Players, too.

The voting process ends after 14 games. Why? The way technology is today the voting should be completed the day after season ends. People could vote from their phones.

The Cowboys had two players selected to the NFC roster - TE Jason Witten, who is having a record year for tight ends, and OLB DeMarcus Ware, who was picked because he is really popular.

Both Spencer and Dez deserve to be selected; Dez should have been picked over New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz, and Spencer should go ahead of Ware.

Victor Cruz - 82 receptions, 1,040 yards, 9 TDs
Dez Bryant - 88 receptions, 1,311 yards, 12 TDs

DeMarcus Ware - 55 tkls, 11.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 0 int.
Anthony Spencer - 87 tkls, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 0 int., 3 passes defended

Given the way Pro Bowlers routinely drop out of this game I fully expect both Spencer and Dez to be in Hawaii to fake their way through the exhibition of trying to avoid injuries. 

 

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Whatever it's worth - the Dallas Cowboys do not quit under Coach Process

CINCINNATI, Ohio - (Computer issues). Whatever happens the rest of the year he Cowboys' 20-19 win in Cincinnati against a decent Bengals team will be the highest, and lowest, point of this season.

They are 7-6 and still have a chance, however small.

1. Jason Garrett – The best he has been since he took over as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. His post-game comments were sincere, compassionate, and from the heart. As to whether he remains this team’s head coach after this season, not been decided yet. The team continues to just barely be good enough to win or lose.

Say this again – he has never lost this team.

2. Right tackle. Doug Free’s days of holding this job down are obviously over. The Cowboys are trying to develop Jermey Pernell and are now rotating him in. That’s a stinging indictment on Free. Neither guy was great on Sunday against a very good Bengals’ pass rush, but both held up throughout.
With the exception of guard Nate Livings, the line held up better than expected. 

3. Dez Bryant. He didn’t have one of those monster days - four catches, 50 yards - like he had in the previous four weeks but he did come up with the rather large touchdown in the fourth quarter. All nine Dez Bryant TDs have come in second halves this season.
It should be noted when he had to come out for a bit that Kevin Ogletree, who down to fourth on the WR depth chart, came up with two catches for 28 yards in the fourth quarter. 

4. Rob Ryan. Absolutely embarrassing. It’s sometimes charming to watch him growl up and down the sidelines during a game. When he dog-cussed Bengals’ tackle Andre Smith for an obvious hold that was not called and was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct he crossed the line into Stupid. Can’t do that.
He really didn't need to "help" his defense that had enough to deal with without his stupidity.
His defense gave up 146 rushing yards on 20 carries.

4.5 Anthony Spencer is going to get paid this offseason. In a contract year Spencer is having the best year of his career. Against the Bengals he had 11 tackles and two sacks.

5. Brian Moorman. Wow. Noteworthy because it was really hard to do what he did – three punts of 30 yards or fewer. Granted, one was tipped but he had an awful day.

6. Miles Austin. Remains the very worst quote on this team. After the game I asked him what changed for his offense in the fourth quarter – the team scored 10 points in the fourth when it had been held to 10 the previous 45 minutes.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We have to go back and look at the film and see what we did schematically.”

He could say, "Nothing. We just made the plays this time."

7. DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys offense line isn’t that good. The Bengals defensive line is good. Both of these things explain why Murray ran for 53 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. That said, he is so much more of a threat that any runner on this roster the Cowboys are completely different when he is not playing.

“You have a guy that can win one-on-one matchups in different avenues,” Tony Romo said, “whether it’s the run game or the pass game.”

On the Cowboys’ final drive they faced a 3^rd-and-5 inside the Bengals' 50, Murray’s leaping run gave them a first down that helped set up the game-winning field goal.

8. A.J. Green. One of the very best receivers in the NFL had maybe of the worst games of his life - three catches for 44 yards, and several drops. He hangs on to those passes & it’s a different game.

9. Brandon Carr v. Terence Newman. The Cowboys cut Newman in the offseason and signed Carr as his replacement. Carr was better on Sunday by catching the interception in the first half to set up a touchdown. Newman dropped at least one interception, including one that would have sealed the game.

10. NFC East
1. NYG Giants (8-5): at Falcons (11-2), at Ravens (9-4), v Eagles (4-9)
2. Washington Redskins (7-6): at Browns (5-8), at Eagles (4-9); v. Cowboys (7-6)
3. Dallas Cowboys (7-6): v Steelers (7-6), v Saints (5-8), at Redskins (7-6) 

 

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