Dallas Cowboys’ Owner Jerry Jones Envious of San Francisco 49ers’ Linebackers – a Fan’s Take

Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones revealed what his prototypical linebackers would look like. In a recent interview, Jones said that his dream linebackers would look a lot like the San Francisco 49ers' duo of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.

"This is my dream," Jones said. "It's not exactly the prototype for the makeup of the two guys you'd want in the middle - you might want more of a thumper, a big guy, to go along with Sean Lee. But if we can keep both those guys out there, adjust our defense, we might be going toward Bowman and Willis area like they have in San Francisco."

That's a nice thought, but how close is Dallas to actually getting to that point?

Willis and Bowman

Jerry Jones already seemed envious of the way Eli Manning was playing in the postseason, not because Eli is better than Tony Romo but because the New York Giants seem to provide a better supporting cast for him than Romo had. Now, Jones is showing that he is envious of the team that the Giants played in the NFC Championship game. Obviously, when the 49ers finished the regular season with only three losses, due mainly to the defense, Jones has plenty of reasons to be envious.

Willis finished 2011 with 113 tackles, three sacks, three fumble recoveries, one interception and 13 pass defenses. Bowman was even better, finishing with 166 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and eight pass defenses. They were dominating and were a lot of the reason that no running back scored on San Francisco until the end of the season.

Sean Lee and Bruce Carter

However, while Jones might be envious of those players stats this season, Dallas is not in bad shape when it comes to linebackers. Sean Lee finished the year with 105 tackles, two fumble recoveries, four interceptions and seven pass defenses. He also did this despite wearing a cast on his hand for most of the season. I'd say that Lee is just as valuable as Willis and could play at Bowman levels when healthy in 2012.

Bruce Carter is the wildcard here. The rookie from North Carolina couldn't start the season because he underwent surgery at the end of his college career. However, when he came back, he began to try to learn the playbook and integrate himself with his teammates. 2011 is a Mulligan for Carter.

Carter has been clocked at 4.39 in the 40 and bench-presses 440. He finished his career at North Carolina with 215 tackles, 9.5 sacks and three interceptions. The guy is a natural talent and could be the difference maker in the middle for the Cowboys in 2012.

Plus, the Cowboys have a guy named DeMarcus Ware on the outside, so I don't think Jones should be too envious of those 49ers linebackers.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad

Source: Star Telegram

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