Cowboys Jerry Jones Has NFL 'Miffed' Over Eagles Comments: 'Who Cares?' or 'Fake News?'
FRISCO - Jerry Jones' critics have their panties in a wad - what else is new? - regarding the Dallas Cowboys owner's "criticism'' of the Philadelphia Eagles' roster-building style. But in a modern media version of the old elementary school "Telephone Game,'' maybe the panty-wadders need to check themselves.
What exactly did Jones say about the Super Bowl entrant (and eventual losers) from Philadelphia that, according to ProFootballTalk, has "NFL owners miffed''?
He said, in short, that teams that "empty the bucket'' in terms of spending assets with a win-now goal will "pay for it later.''
That's it. That's the essence of it.
Here's Jones' entire monologue on the subject:
"Anybody who thinks I won't take a chance has misread the tea leaves. But I do think longer-term, and I'm real hesitant to bet it all for a year. There's a lot of things that can happen for that year. In essence, we're seeing a couple of teams (Rams and Eagles) that have had some real success putting it all out there and paying for it later.
"Don't think that doesn't pop in my head end get my eye as far as doing it, and I know how to do that. It's part of what you put in that computer and what comes out. We'll see how it comes, but that's pretty impressive to have two teams in the last two years empty the bucket and get to the Super Bowl. But if you miss, it's a long go.
"On the other hand, my general experience has been that if you will stay aggressive, I'm talking whether it's on the field or off the field, but you pick your shots with risk-taking, and I've spent a lot of time in my life doing that. When they cut me open, it will be all those scars, heart attacks, for all those risks I took and the years I spent paying for them. My point is, I do know how to take risks. They are absolutely right. We have been in the middle here for a few years, but I like where we are right now, more in the middle. But given the opportunity, if it would make some sense, I've definitely got some risk-taking in me."
That's it. That's the whole thing.
Which part of that has former coach Jimmy Johnson pretending he's befuddled? Which part of that has Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie upset? Which part of that causes PFT to claim, in its usual overwrought and melodramatic tone, that the other NFL owners are now pissed at Jones?
Jones' general point is valid; he knows this from his own experience, as no NFL team over the course of the last 33 years has been more "go-for-it'' than his Cowboys. However, his specific point about the Eagles - assuming his word-salad point is that Philly will be a short-term success because it "emptied the bucket'' for one season - is absolutely wrong; the Eagles are well-stocked to remain competitive.
But why does Jones being "wrong'' equal the NFL being "miffed''?
PFT writes that Jerry's Eagles-related remarks are "viewed as inappropriate by owners who believe that owners should never comment (especially negatively) on the things other teams are doing.''
If that's true, the other owners must be "miffed'' at Jones 24 hours a day, because he has never hesitated in any way to comment on league matters.
And - one more time - Jones' comments about the Eagles were not negative.
PFT also suggests that the owners are have "ruffled feathers'' because one of Jones' companies, Legends Hospitality, is bidding on being a vendor for the 2026 World Cup, while the NFL has a tie to competing vendor.
We have an understanding for how Legends works, and we also remember how Jones introduced FOX and Pepsi into the NFL - and his fellow owners, initially "miffed'' by those ideas - ended up morphing from millionaires into billionaires in part due to Jones' lead.
We will therefore bet that this "controversy,'' as with the "negativity toward the Eagles controversy,'' is mostly fueled by a "Telephone Game''-like media misunderstanding. ... or worse, a panty-wadded click-baiting hatred of all things Jerry.
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