Last Tuesday, Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones got miffed at the morning show on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. To the point where he essentially threatened to have the hosts fired.
This Tuesday, Jerry was back. Right out of the gates, he addressed the elephant in the studio.
“I don’t have anything to say about last week,” Jones said. “I’m surprised that last week got the attention it got.”
I’m not. Jerry seemed to be genuinely upset. It wasn’t a joke or a bit. He was pissed, plain and simple. And he flexed his monetary muscle a little bit to remind the hosts and everyone else who’s boss.
While he never apologized (then again, being obscenely rich means never having to say you’re sorry), Jones seemed to be a little contrite, at least as it relates to the purpose of speaking to the fans via a popular local media outlet.
He called doing the twice-weekly radio spots “a privilege,” and he acknowledged that he expects to get many of the questions he receives.
Given the incredible Monday night performance from Ravens running back Derrick Henry, Jones answered (again) the failure to pursue Henry before he could be asked, calling it a “get in your ass-type of question.”
He explained that the issues with the Cowboys go “beyond whether we have Derrick Henry or not.” Henry, per Jerry, might not have the same impact in Dallas than he’s having on the Ravens.
Jones said the Cowboys’ issues are more about “holding your blocks” and “not making mistakes” and having receivers “running through tough man-to-man coverage.” About not “designing bad plays” or “designing bad concepts.” He said that there are some “execution” issues. And, at some level, it’s about talent — even though the man in charge of the talent on the Cowboys said (surprise) he really likes the team’s talent.
“Derrick Henry didn’t fit because principally of managing the cap,” Jones eventually said, “and in anticipation of the players that we were going to sign weeks later or in anticipation of the players we’re going to be signing in the future.”
That explanation continues to principally be a load of crap. The Cowboys misjudged the amount of gas he still has in the tank. They failed to envision the impact he could have, on any offense. And now they’re suffering the consequences for it.
What Derrick Henry can do is universal to football. The ability to blow through holes and hit hyperdrive carries massive value.
The Cowboys didn’t think he had it. And they didn’t want to pay for whatever he had left.
That’s fine. The Cowboys weren’t alone in striking out on Henry. The fact that Jones brought the topic up this week without being asked about it, however, proves that the topic really has, to use his phrasing, gotten in his ass.
The best news for the radio hosts is that, this week, they managed to avoid getting in his ass.
