While it's certainly an easy thing to do, let's not get lost in all of the Scouting Combine talk. The Amateur Draft is always the highlight event of the NFL offseason, but even with a quality haul, you are only looking at a few players that do anything beyond contribute to special teams their first year. Let's take a look at news concerning current Dallas Cowboys middle and upper management.
--- Jerry Jones released a statement taking some responsibility for the Super Bowl seating fiasco. [DMN] This was Jones' first official statement about the mishap.
“I do, along with the NFL, take responsibility for the seating issue,” Jones said. “Some of the things we would like to improve on regarding the seating issue, informing the fans that were involved, all of those areas, the NFL and I take responsibility for.
“You always like to look at areas you can be better, get better. We certainly intend to and will get much better in terms of the seating and how that is handled. I don’t have a lot of details for you, relative to specifics, but that’s part of the process of the work ahead to do it better.”
Cool.
--- Rainer Sabin reports that the Cowboys staff has alerted players that they will meet before the CBA expires on Thursday. [dallasnews.com] I wonder if there is any bad blood between any factions of the players and coaches. Being middle management in labor disputes has to be an awkward situation. Some of the rookies have never experienced a true NFL offseason and are looking towards the vets for guidance.
"Whoever is here is coming in," said fullback Chris Gronkowski. "They want to talk to us and get us on the right track. We're going to talk it over and make sure that we're doing what we need to get done and get a whole workout planned."
"We don't know what to expect," said safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, who was in the Gronkowski's rookie class last season. "So, we don't know what to do or what not to do. The main thing is to watch your veteran teammates and see what they're doing."
--- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of the greatest leaders of athletes in recent times, thinks very highly of our new general, Jason Garrett. [espn.com] Winners are winners, and even though you obviously wouldn't expect Coach K to speak ill of JG, you have to like the description of our leader. Remarkable, humble, fantastic and sharp. I can dig it.
--- For what it's worth, Peter King thinks that when the CBA is finally completed, we should expect the older version of unrestricted free agency will return. That will make four and five year players such as Doug Free available to all 32 teams. [sportsillustrated.cnn.com]. There's a lot of worry that the Cowboys are gambling by not having Free signed, sealed and delivered for years to come.
--- Ever the optimist, owner Jerry Jones has decided the players and staff need to use last season's disappointment as next year's inspiration. [nbcdfw.com] I've decided that I'm not going to talk to Jerry until there's a new CBA. I've weighed the issue, and I'm siding with the players. Don't let anyone fool you, JJ has at least one of the two end seats at the owner's table along with Robert Kraft of New England. I hold him responsible and want him working to fix this with all his energy. So Jerry, you get the silent treatment. Don't talk to me about the team until you guys get it right.