Week 7 has arrived in the NFL and the bye couldn’t have come quicker for Jerry Jones and his Dallas Cowboys. That butt-kicking the Cowboys took Sunday at the hands of the Detroit Lions has everyone riled up and in a foul mood.
A week off to regroup should be a good thing except they’ve got a visit to the Bay Area for a meeting with the 49ers waiting on the other side. This six-week stretch the Cowboys recently entered is the toughest of the season and they’re already reeling and feeling the effects.
Jerry Jones hears the criticism and is tired of it
The entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex had its feathers ruffled after that devastating, 47-9, loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Jerry Jones may have taken it harder than anyone and that came shining through during his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. The hosts were grilling Jones and giving him a bit of grief, but Jones wasn’t amused and didn’t have time for their shenanigans on this day.
“Listen, let me tell you what I’ll do. Let me tell you what I’ll do about it,” Jones said. I will let us sit down and look at the decisions we’ve made over the last several years, OK? I’ll look at it. Now if you think I’m interested on a damn phone call with you over the radio and sitting here and throwing all the good out with the dishwater, you’d have got to be smoking something over there this morning…”
“Now, listen, we both think we’re talking to a lot of great fans and a lot of great listeners. And I am very sorry for what happened out there Sunday. I’m sick about what happened on Sunday. And I’m not talking to these yay-hoos on the end of this phone. I’m talking to you, the fans, that are listening this morning. And we can spend a lot of time going over zigging and zagging on the stupidest things I ever done that anybody has ever analyzed is buy the Cowboys. It was an idiot that did that. So idiot things can turn into good decisions. Smart things can turn into bad decisions. The facts are that when you make one you don’t really know whether it’s gonna be good or not at the time.”
Jerry had a bit of a meltdown there and was not in the mood for the radio hosts and their line of questioning. While he did go the D-bag route of playing the trump card, it’s obvious Jones has grown tired of his team coming up short in big moments. But he is the one who built the team or at least takes the credit for doing so. Well, vice president of player personnel Will McClay and the scouting team do most of the leg work then fill Jerry in. But Jones has always wanted credit and he’s getting it.
Optimism waining on Micah Parsons’ speedy recovery
After Micah Parsons went down in Week 4 with a high-ankle sprain, the Cowboys had initially hoped it wasn’t too bad and wouldn’t keep him out too long. Now heading into the bye week, there’s no guarantee Parsons will be back for their Week 8 tilt with nemesis San Francisco.
Initially, there was hope that Parsons might be able to suit up against Detroit but that was not the case. Again, the same attitude is carried toward their game with the 49ers coming out of the bye next week. While he’ll have nearly another two full weeks of rest and treatment, ankle injuries are one of the worst when it comes to framing a timeline.
Dallas’ Nov. 3 meeting with the Atlanta Falcons might be more realistic in terms of Parsons returning to the field to be on the safe side. That is if the Cowboys want Parsons to be as close to 100 percent as physically possible. Let’s not forget Parsons is still looking for a long-term extension and the more time he misses the more it could hurt the eventual amount he winds up with.
Mike McCarthy safe for now
Most Cowboys fans won’t like this, but head coach Mike McCarthy will remain just that for the foreseeable future. Jerry Jones is not entertaining a midseason coaching change. Only time will tell if this turns out to be the gospel.
"I haven't considered that and I'm not considering that hypothetical," Jerry Jones said following Sunday’s home loss to the Lions. "Just so we're clear, I'm not considering it. Do you think I'm an idiot? OK then, well I'm not going to hypothetical with you about what I'd consider for a coaching change, or timing. I'm not at all."
At this point, the Cowboys have so many flaws simply removing McCarthy from his post would serve as a Band-Aid on a missing limb. Either way, Dallas looks more and more like an eight-win team each week. It’s pretty clear that McCarthy isn’t going to be the one to turn Jones’ franchise to its past glory. But whether McCarthy’s fate is decided now or at a later date, odds are he’s not in Dallas this time next year.