Jerry Jones on Cowboys Trade for Patriots ex Michael Bennett: 'He's A 'War Daddy'
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys trade for Patriots ex Michael Bennett has produced a trio of good quotes to CowboysSI.com. But the Quotebook on the acquisition of the controversial defensive lineman wouldn't be complete without knowing: What does Cowboys owner Jerry Jones say?
"He loves football,'' a source told me on Thursday evening, shortly after Dallas agreed to give New England a conditional 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for Bennett, "and he has opinions. He has a mind of his own and he speaks that mind.''
That's a very avant-garde analysis of Bennett's long history of "speaking that mind.'' (See my Top 10 Takes inside The Star on the trade here.)
From a second source: "Trust me. We did our homework.''
And all the homework and all the research and all the "love'' for a player who is about to turn 34 but who has over the course of his 147-game career been one of the most productive pass-rushers in the NFL eventually needs to be handed up to owner Jones for approval.
Owner Jones?
"He’s known as a great locker-room personality,'' Jerry said Friday on 105.3 The Fan with "Ben & Skin.'' "There’s nothing negative about him as an individual. … He’s got 'war daddy' in him when he gets on the field.''
Dallas has first-hand knowledge of the "war-daddy'' (Jerry's pet phrase for a big-time defensive force) damage Bennett can do on a football field. Last December, in what would be a 29-23 win over Bennett's Eagles, he recorded 1.5 sacks, seven tackles, two tackles for lost, a forced fumble and five QB hits.
Said Jerry: "The thing about Michael is he’s got a great motor. He plays with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. It can be said he’s not the same guy when he straps on his helmet than he is when he’s away from his helmet. … Every time we’ve ever played him he’s played well against us. The scheme they had him working in up in New England, which had a lot to do with us being able to trade for him, probably didn’t utilize him what he can bring as much as we’ll be able to utilize it. … This all fits for us.”
Bennett can be a PR hot potato due to his willingness to speak out on, well, anything. As he said this week in New England following his reinstatement after a week's suspension (for conflicting with an assistant coach) but just before he was dumped, "This is America. You can voice your opinion.''
This is America. But it's also "America's Team.'' The Michael Bennett/Jerry Jones marriage is going to be an ... interesting one.
"I like how his personality is,'' Jones said. "He’s an extrovert relative to his thoughts on different positions. I know that he’ll fit us great. He’ll fit anything that I’m about great, or anything we’re about as a team.”
