Jaylon Smith joins Mike McCarthy in calling out Cowboys for lack of effort

The Cowboys effort has been question by both Mike McCarthy and some players.

After their latest loss to the Baltimore Ravens, McCarthy was unhappy. His issue with the team wasn’t necessarily that they were out-classed on the field, but they didn’t give their best effort. Such a claim is tough to back up, but McCarthy knows his own team better than most. Dealing with significant injury problems and a worsening record, perhaps Dallas has hit a rut. There will be no playoffs in Jerryworld in 2020. They’re lacking star power on both sides of the ball.

Is there really anything to play for?

McCarthy would argue the opposite, and so would linebacker Jaylon Smith, for that matter.

McCarthy and Smith weren’t the only Cowboys to notice

Troy Aikman, a Cowboys great and NFL Hall of Famer, noticed the Cowboys lack of effort in the broadcast booth. It’s very rare for a broadcaster to openly question the labor of an athlete, but Aikman felt implored to do so on Tuesday night.

“I think there are a lot of guys who have to take a hard look at themselves and ask what their effort is like,” Aikman said. “Just that last play alone, I would question some of that.

“What would be hard as a professional is when an opponent is yelling, ‘Easy Money!’ And it has been. I just don’t know where this organization is, where they go. There are so many things that have to be addressed this offseason.”

After the game, McCarthy didn’t necessarily dispute those comments by Aikman. It was a startling agreement between team great and head coach that the current crop of athletes wearing the Dallas star is not giving it their all.

Hopefully, this is only a one-time issue.