Cowboys news: Stephen Jones says paying quarterbacks too much ‘decreases your chances to win’

Fans are certainly no strangers to Mr. Jones’ throwing out some jaw-dropping comments, but it was the younger Jones getting in on the action this week as Stephen Jones’ chat with NBC Sports Mike Florio leads off today’s top stories...

Stephen Jones: Paying QBs too much ‘decreases your chances to win’ - Dave Sturchio, Cowboys Wire

Uh oh...

Jones did not hesitate to say they want to pay him, and they’ve made numerous offers but the deal has to work for the team along with working for Prescott. However he is forever negotiating in public. He referred back to Jerry’s pie analogy in efforts to build this team with pieces around Prescott to be successful. He warns that because the salary cap is a “zero sum game”, the club has to be cautious not to sink too much into one particular position.

“There’s all sorts of analytics out there that show if your quarterback takes up too big a percentage of your salary cap, that it decreases your chances to win.”

Cowboys rule out rescinding Dak Prescott franchise tag - Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

While the uncertainty over Dak’s contract remains, one thing we know for sure is that the Cowboys have no intention of annulling the tag they placed on him a couple months ago.

Cowboys COO, executive V.P., and director of player personnel Stephen Jones was asked whether the franchise tag could or would be rescinded. “Absolutely not,” Jones said. “Dak’s our quarterback for the future. Obviously, this hasn’t been the easiest thing. As Jerry says, ‘As money gets bigger, deals get harder.’ Certainly, we’re talking a significant amount of money here which he so deserves. Absolutely not. Dak’s going to be our quarterback this year. He’s our quarterback for the future. We think the world of him. He represents our franchise in a very positive way in terms of what we want as a leader of our team. He’s just an outstanding man, and we would never rescind the franchise tag.”

Stephen Jones: Aldon Smith has met with Commissioner - Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

Jones also had this to say about his edge rusher who is waiting to be reinstated.

“We haven’t heard anything,” Jones said. “I do know for sure Aldon has been in front of the Commissioner. He’s waiting to hear back. I think Randy may or — I’m not exactly sure where that is. Sometimes we’re not privy to that. We’re not sure when we’ll hear something. Obviously, the league is looking out for their best interest. As men off the field and certainly that’s what’s first and foremost and the priority is how they’re coming off the field. If ultimately they get to a point which we think they can that Roger [Goodell] feels like they can come back to work and play football and that’s in their best interest in addition to what they need off the field, then certainly we’ll welcome them back and go to work.”

Our sister site Bleeding Green Nation must be under the weather, because they are clearly not themselves today...

NFC East Outlook: The top player at every offensive position in 2020 - Michael Kist, Bleeding Green Nation

Don’t look now, folks, but hell has officially frozen over at Bleeding Green Nation.

Projecting to 2020, situation is a key factor in quarterback success and these two are no different. The Eagles are on their third cycle of “Weapons For Wentz” and their third cycle of offensive coaches under Doug Pederson. It likely can’t be any worse in terms of supporting cast for Wentz, but there’s a good deal of unknown concerning how it all comes together.

The Cowboys made a key decision in the off-season in retaining offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. It would’ve been a huge blunder letting the young mastermind behind the 2nd ranked DVOA offense walk and the Cowboys ultimately made the right decision. They also locked in Amari Cooper and stole CeeDee Lamb in the 2020 NFL Draft.

In terms of “stability plus” - a term I made up just now - Prescott has the advantage while Wentz will need much better health around him and for new ideas to mesh well with new additions.

If you look to see who they selected at right guard, you’ll see that they are feeling better and back to their old selves.

NFL Backup QB Power Rankings, from 1-32: Andy Dalton gives Cowboys elite option behind Dak Prescott - Sean Wagner-McGough, CBS Sports

If you went through the list of the backup quarterbacks in the league, it’s not a pretty sight and a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys would’ve been near the bottom of that list. But things have since changed.

2. Cowboys’ Andy Dalton

What a signing Dalton was by the Cowboys. They just made the biggest upgrade at backup quarterback in the entire NFL, going from Cooper Rush to a quarterback in Dalton who ranks ninth in passing yards, 10th in touchdown passes, and eighth in quarterback wins since he entered the league way back in 2011. Dalton wasn’t any good in 2019 — he was even bad enough to get benched for Finley for a brief stretch — but he didn’t get much help from a bad offensive line and receiving group lacking A.J. Green.

In Dallas, Dalton will get to play with the best receiver trio in football, a top-five running back, and a top-five offensive line. Furthermore, Dalton is only two seasons removed from playing competent football. In 2018, he ranked 17th in both DVOA, which measures value per play, and total QBR. He’s often been a quarterback who can succeed so long as he has help around him. In Dallas, he’ll get exactly that. If Dak Prescott misses any time, whether it’s due to his contract situation or an injury, the Cowboys will be well equipped to survive his absence with Dalton.

NFL’s top backup quarterbacks? Plus, Jarrett Stidham’s promise - Bucky Brooks, NFL

Should something happen to Wentz, at least they should take comfort in the fact that they’ll have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league. Oh wait, no - that’s still Dallas.

The 10th-year veteran checks off all of the boxes as a top-end QB2 with a high IQ, significant game experience and a winning pedigree. Moreover, he is an effective game manager capable of playing at a high level when surrounded by a Grade A supporting cast. With a solid roster around him in Cincinnati, Dalton showed the football world his potential when he led the Bengals to five straight playoff appearances in his first five NFL seasons.

If pressed into service in Dallas, Dalton can look like a Pro Bowler again, with a top-five running back (Ezekiel Elliott), a talented trio of pass catchers (Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb) and a beefy offensive line to protect him. He has enough weaponry in place to thrive as a distributor and his significant game experience should enable him to play well as a fill-in.

Speaking of weapons, check out what the Cowboys new rookie wide receiver can do...

Film room: 3 underrated traits among 2020 Cowboys draftees, including CeeDee Lamb’s punt return ability - John Owning, Dallas Morning News

Owning goes to the tape to highlight some hidden talents of some of the newly drafted Cowboys, including the punt-returning ability of their first-round pick.

Lamb is a special talent with the ball in his hands, so it shouldn’t surprise that he thrives with the space available to him on punt returns. Lamb displays outstanding open-field vision to identify running lanes and manipulate the leverage of pursuing defenders. His creativity, burst, balance and elusiveness make him a threat for a big return every time he hauls in a punt.

Lamb has the rare ability to be able to string together consecutive moves to elude multiple defenders in space, showing impressive field awareness and body coordination in the process. Despite weighing in at 198 pounds, Lamb’s strong contact balance enables him to shrug off defenders who don’t properly wrap up.

Speaking of jokes...

Here is a revised map based on what every state seems to be talking about the most.

Joe Theismann Throws Shade At Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Saying ‘Take The Money’ - Sean T. McGuire, NESN

Who is more qualified to comment on what Dak Prescott should do about his contract than a Redskins quarterback who has been out of the league for 35 years?

Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, likely, never could have imagined the money current signal-callers are playing for. And perhaps that’s why Theismann, a former Washington Redskins QB, believes Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott should “take the money.” Theismann delivered the message to CBS Sports Radio while throwing a bit of shade toward Prescott.

“You’re not a top-five quarterback in the National Football League,” Theismann said. “You’re a good football player. You have the potential to be better, but what have you done? “If I was advising Dak Prescott, I would say, ‘Take the money.”

What has he done? I’ll tell you what he hasn’t done - thrown five interceptions in a game like Theismann did in his final career game at Texas Stadium.

This is very good use of head-turning new girl of interest meme.

To settle this quarterback controversy, we took to the polls to finally get to the bottom of this once and for all.

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