He stated that his players are in the prime of their careers and will need to start winning soon.
Now, is it just me, or is that complete B.S.??
Has he lost his mind, or has he just lost all confidence in his team's ability?
I mean, yeah, sure, Dallas has struggled over the past several seasons, winning just one postseason game during the Tony Romo-era (1-4 in four postseasons since 2003) and posting a combined 14-18 record over the last two regular seasons.
But if anything, Mr. Jones should be excited about the coming season and have nothing but hope and positive vibes coming from the Dallas front office. Five of eight losses in 2011 were by six points or less, and had they posted a better division record (2-4) they could have easily found themselves atop the NFC East and in the postseason this past season.
Tony Romo was back to his elite form for a majority of the season in addition to a fantastic rookie performance from the third round pick DeMarco Murray before he went down with a season-ending injury in a Week 14 matchup with the Giants. With his 164 carries, the 24-year old Murray accumulated 897 rushing yards and two TDs, allowing the offense to be two-dimensional.
Romo, 32, and wideouts Miles Austin, 27, and Dez Bryant, 23 are in the prime of their careers right now. Well, technically Bryant's is just taking off, finishing his second professional season with a 928 yard-9 TD season in 2011. Tight end Jason Witten (79 receptions, 942 yards, 5 TD) continues to be one of the top receiving tight ends in the game.
On offense, Dallas will be just fine. I really don't see them having too much trouble keeping up with the offenses in the East, including defending champion New York Giants. As long as Romo limits his mistakes, we could see a high-flying/scoring offense in Dallas this season.
As for the defensive unit, the front office designated linebacker Anthony Spencer as the franchise player, locking him up for at least another season after his 51 tackle, 6.0 sack season. All Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware completed his sixth consecutive double-digit sack season (19.5 in 16 games), further proving why he's the top pass rusher in the game.
When you add the highly underrated inside linebacker Sean Lee in to the mix, you get one of the most dangerous linebacking corps in the league. Lee, 25, led the team with 69 solo tackles and four interceptions this past season.
Jay Ratliff anchors a defensive line that ranked seventh against the run last season, allowing 4.1 yards per carry and under 100 yards a game.
It was the secondary that gave Dallas a hard time in its 2011 campaign, but the front office did what they could to address that issue so far this offseason. The aging, inconsistent cornerback Terence Newman was released on March 13 (later to be signed by Cincinnati) and will be replaced with sixth overall draft pick in April, Morris Claiborne, out of LSU.
Claiborne will make an immediate impact and hopefully assist a defense that ranked in the bottom half in forced turnovers last season.
In all, Dallas has plenty of youth on its roster to compete not just this season, but in the next 4-5 seasons. Why Jerry Jones felt the need to publicly announce his skepticism, and possibly add unneeded pressure to his squad, is beyond me.
If one thing's for certain, it's that there will be no shortage in drama (once again) for the Dallas Cowboys this season. Drama seems to follow Mr. Jones every where he goes. Personally, I think he secretly enjoys creating it.
Answer to the question: No, Jerry!
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