Bradie James Talks

Cowboys linebacker Bradie James did a long interview on The Ticket (KTCK - 1310 AM) this morning, speaking openly about a wide variety of Cowboys-related controversies. Here's the best of Bradie . . .

Do you forget your individual success because of the team's failings?

James: "Yeah, that's what happens. There's been a lot said and some things that've been reported. With us, as players, we don't know what's going on just like a lot of the media doesn't know what's going on. Because, I guess sources say too much stuff was getting leaked out. That's one thing that has really caught me off guard - I know when I was in junior high, high school, college, when I wrote a paper, I couldn't go around saying 'sources say.' If I didn't put down my source, I got a flat zero. Now we have guys out there like Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) and Ed Werder (ESPN) - they're out there reporting things, and saying things like 'sources say this, sources say that.' When you don't name your source, it's basically you can't take it, cause it's like some things are made up . . . I've read some things since the season - if I didn't know any better I would have thought we needed the National Guard to come in and break up some stuff in our locker room . . . A lot of that stuff is just make believe, it's tabloid. It serves as a divisive note in anywhere."

What happened to this team?

James: "With talent, and with these names come certain egos. Now one thing that I've learned . . . talent doesn't win championships. You've got to have ballplayers plus a couple of egos. You can't have everybody thinking they're the greatest player and not getting the job done because you've got to deal with different egos. The whole beauty about winning a championships and the whole beauty about winning teams is that they set those things aside and come together. Now, we came together here off and on during the season, and therefore our performance reflected that. There was times that we could've won games, but whenever you don't win, when guys try to accept their roles and you don't win, then all hell breaks lose, and that's basically it . . . We had guys that accepted their roles, but when you start losing, then as far as accepting roles and stuff like that, it goes out the window."

Explain the different personalities of the offense and defense? The offensive players didn't seem to cheer on each other as much as the defense did.

James: "Defensively we knew what we had to do, and we went out there and tried to execute. Offensively, I think they tried to execute, but it was a lot of - first off, you go get a guy during the middle of the season. I'm talking about Roy E. (Williams). You get him in the middle of the season, so you already have guys that feel like they can play and they can produce. So you expect these guys to sit back and say 'Oh, okay, well we're just going to accept him and go from there. We're going to jel, we're going to automatically be a tight-knit group.' Well everybody is really trying to perform, and those guys feel like it was no need for certain people to come in. In the back of their minds, they've got to bite the bullet. But now he comes in, he didn't go through a training camp or a mini-camp, and half of us don't know him, we just played with him . . . No matter what production he has or anything, that's tough on the other players and himself to come in and just be an impact player, because he wasn't in the scheme all through mini-camp, training camp and all of that. So offensively that kind of throws some things off, and then your quarterback gets hurt."

Are there too many people in your locker room talking to too many (reporters)?

James: "The thing is, in order for us to know who the too many people are, you've got to list them. This is not the IRS or the Secret Service. It's not the FBI, where you've got sources and you've got to keep your sources. No, this is football . . . It stirs up things for people around, and then for us, if it gets back to us, we might look at each other and say 'Hmm, who said that. Ah, we're not going to worry about it.' But then if it continues to get reported then you have to entertain it. I call it tabloid, because if you can't name your sources then why report it?"

Would you like to see more discipline enforced by the coaching staff and the owner?

James: "We all are men. A lot of things go on. It's not just in our locker room, not just at our facility, it's at everybody's facility. Some people might be late. Some people will do this, and will do that. That's just the way it goes. Now in our case we had the reality show, we had 'Hard Knocks,' and then (Anthony Spencer) came in and he didn't go to a (treatment) and he got fined. So people thought that's probably how Wade does it all the time. I don't know how Wade does it because I was never late. When somebody was late they had to get up and say 'I apologize,' (and) whatever the reason was they were late. A couple guys would talk to them and say don't do that, but things happen. You can't expect somebody to not be late the whole year when we drive, and people live in different places . . . We can only do so much. If stuff is not enforced, it doesn't matter where you are. If I get in a guy's face and say this, and then he still turns back around and do it, and I'm not supported by the guys higher-up, then what can I do? I can't take anybody's money. I can't fire them. And then if you try to beat somebody up, sources will say it's going to come out. Our hands are tied."

If the culture of the club is going to change, does it have to start at the top with Jerry Jones?

James: "As far as Jerry, I don't know. I can't say that because I'm not around him in that light. Jerry is a leader. So I have to do with whatever he puts out there, whatever team he brings about, and then go from there . . . Really to be honest with you, and be real about the situation, the defensive coordinator wasn't the problem. What did we really solve by letting (Brian Stewart) go? The situation still is the same, so I think it's other moves that need to be made, but it's not about me. I'm a player, so I can't make those decisions. I've just got to deal with whatever we have, whatever we put out there."

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