EXCLUSIVE: Cowboys' Jerry Jones Issues A Randy Gregory Demand
FRISCO - We have suggested in this space before that maybe the reason Randy Gregory hasn't experienced enough "breakout games'' this season is because the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff has its fondness of other defensive ends.
Based on our conversation with Jerry Jones, that is about to change.
"I think you're right on it,'' the Cowboys owner told us in an exclusive interview. "We need to have him in there every time that we get a chance.''
What we were "right on,'' specifically, is our educated guess, phrased in the form of a question, about whether Jones - reflecting on Gregory's dominant performance in the Cowboys’ 37-17 win over Philadelphia in Week 16 (six tackles, three forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks and a pass deflection) - was a major talking point in the owner's usual Monday staff meeting here at The Star.
We asked it because ... we already knew it to be true.
Jones has stuck with Gregory starting on the day the Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, knowing full-well about some of his behavioral issues.
"I thought when we drafted him he was the best pass-rusher in the draft,'' Jones told us in our 105.3 The Fan visit. "And that’s why I took the risk on him that I took. But it was a risk at the time and we paid for that risk (with Gregory spending two years under NFL suspension). Randy will be the first to tell you. And now it’s paying off for us.''
Gregory has played just 38 games in a Dallas uniform. He is emerging as a player who is as impactful as any Cowboys defender. Has he "arrived''? To the people who run the Cowboys, trust us, that's not the issue. The issue is, "Why hasn't this coaching staff given him the snaps to help him 'arrive?''
Up until a couple of weeks ago, Gregory was playing just 20 percent of the snaps. Dallas' defense isn't good enough, isn't talented enough, isn't well-coached enough, to make that a reasonable number.
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Jerry Jones has heard the reasons ... er, ... excuses ... from his staff.
Conditioning, you could say that,'' Jones said. "Not wearing him down. Those are things -- maybe situational, but what (coaches) maybe didn’t see is how he’s evolving in the progression and how he’s just getting better and better.''
Jones told us about a long-term plan involving Gregory, something that would be a blessing for all involved.
"I’m just excited,'' Jerry said. "I have visions of a future for Randy here with the Cowboys that can meet the promise we really were looking at when we drafted him in the second round.”
But that is for "then.'' What about "now''?
Jerry Jones has a Randy Gregory demand. And he's not demanding anything of Gregory; it's a demand for Gregory.
"We need to have him in there,'' Jerry told us, eyeing this Sunday's pre-playoff game at the Giants, "every time that we get a chance.''
