‘I think we’re in better shape’ Jerry Jones says Cowboys improved from this time last year
The Dallas Cowboys 2022 season is officially underway. With the opening press conference in Oxnard, CA, training camp has officially begun. Owner Jerry Jones, CEO Stephen Jones and head coach Mike McCarthy took the stage to make their opening salvos and take questions from the gaggle of media in attendance and it feels like football again.
There were a myriad of topics of conversation broached on Tuesday afternoon, but the fundamental discussion is whether or not the Cowboys are in a better position than they were in 2021. After finishing 12-5 in the regular season, Dallas bowed out rather meekly in the playoffs, losing the wild-card contest to San Francisco. The elder Jones, who is ever the optimist gave an extensive answer in regards to where the team stands after several high-visibility departures during the offseason.
Jones stated emphatically, ‘I think we’re in better shape’ than at this point last year, when he feels he situated the team well for a run to the Super Bowl.
“I thought we had a team put together last year that was healthy enough when we got to the playoffs, which was always my fear, how healthy are we going to be in the playoffs. I thought we had a team put together . . .
. . . We had it teed up pretty good, and in my mind, we made a Hell of a run at it. We got disappointed, but we made a run at it. I think we’re in better shape today to make a run at it than when we were sitting here this time last year. And I say that following what I said right before that. I thought last year we had a chance to make a run at it and have people in place that if we were healthy enough we might get them. And I think we’re in better shape.”
Earlier in the press conference Jones referenced the old adage of availability being the best ability and how the lack thereof was the reason they jettisoned some of their top salaries in wideout Amari Cooper, right tackle La’el Collins and defensive end Randy Gregory.
“We lost three really high profile players. Those players were in the top-10 of our players that make the most money. When you get into that spot, I can tell you, your standards go up. Your bar is higher. Your conduct is higher. Your attention to the team is higher, not just your own performance, but everything. When you have that kind of responsibility, which you do when you have that much of the financial pie. So, what I’m trying to say is those decisions were made more about availability than ability, and they were made as to how you arrived at not being unavailable at times.”
All had various amounts of missed time over the last two seasons, injury caused Collins and Gregory to miss several games and Cooper parts of several. Collins also served a five-game suspension in 2021 and Gregory missed the first six contests of 2020 to be reacclimatized after being suspended numerous times.
“Availability had everything to do with it. I’m not trying to talk in pig Latin. I’m trying to be straight. I don’t mean to demean any player. I love those players personally. But you have to have number one thing is how we win a football game if you’re going to be in the top-10 of paid players in my mind for the team. Check ‘I’ at the door. It’s ‘we’ when you go through.”
Whether or not one believes Jones’ remarks to be his true feelings is up to them. Jones’ comments at the annual state of the union always need to be taken with a grain of salt, but one thing is sure. He loves his football team and loves to be given the court to talk about them. Tuesday didn’t sway any of those assessments.
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