- 4 minutes ago
Jerry Jones joined The K&C Masterpiece to discuss the Cowboys' upcoming home opener. Jones spoke on defensive execution, stopping mobile quarterbacks, DeMarvion Overshown's injury status, and more.
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00:00Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager, Jerry Jones. Good morning, sir.
00:05Hey, good morning, Kevin, Corey. Good to be on with you guys.
00:08Absolutely. Now, last week, you talked about it leading into the opener, that tingle, that excitement that you had.
00:14Does that trickle over for, like, the home opener as well, or what's that vibe you get before that?
00:21Well, let me say this. The home opener is special.
00:24And it seems like forever since we've played the meaningful game.
00:30And so you can't ever dismiss that excitement of being there.
00:37This one's particularly challenging, not challenging, but exciting, if you will,
00:42because we really did not do what we wanted to do on our opening game there in New York.
00:52And so this puts added emphasis on this game for us.
00:57We really want to play well here in front of our home fans.
01:00Just to kind of springboard off of that, and I realize it's a long season and only the second game,
01:06but given it is another divisional game, do you kind of already look at the Commanders as like a must
01:11-win game?
01:13Well, I think that, in a sense, if you really put your feelings up there when you walk into a
01:23game,
01:23they all are of that nature.
01:27You know, a game, you don't really hit the grand scheme of things.
01:31You don't have that many in football relative to baseball or basketball or maybe even other sports.
01:37So you have a limited time, numbers of times that you can walk out there and have it all together.
01:45We're relatively healthy, and we're certainly motivated.
01:50And we've had a lot of work, not just since the game last week,
01:56but we've got an entire offseason that we need to bring to the game here Sunday.
02:04And so when you look at all of that, they're all that important to me.
02:08I'd say it's all focused on what we're going to do out here Sunday.
02:13Jerry, I have my kids playing freshman football at Plano,
02:17and when they lose, just watching the intensity that he prepares for, prepares with the next week,
02:23I love seeing that.
02:24It just rips him up to lose a game.
02:26And that's the part of the intensity.
02:29Do you see that intensity in your guys this week?
02:33What you're experiencing, that I experience, that's not your question.
02:39But to be involved with your kids and to basically live it vicariously.
02:46Of course, you always are talking to them about doing things above what you could do.
02:54You live it through them.
02:56And I coached Stephen and Jerry.
02:59I coached their ball teams.
03:01I would travel hundreds of miles to make a practice and wouldn't even go home.
03:05I'd go back to where my work was.
03:07But the main thing is those were the most rewarding time,
03:12and I thought I was doing it for them.
03:14When it was all said and done, the one that got the most out of it was me.
03:19So, boy, live it up right there.
03:20That's important.
03:21Were you a nice, friendly coach or kind of a hard ass?
03:26Oh, I don't know.
03:27I was, of course, had come off of a lot more recent than today, having played.
03:36So, maybe I had a little of that in me, had a little of that coach in me.
03:41And I'll never forget one time I was telling Jerry to hit it up in there.
03:46And, my goodness, he hit it up in there so hard.
03:49Those tears were coming out of his eyes.
03:51And I was grabbing him and pulling him up off the ground and saying,
03:55get back here and let's go again.
03:57So, I guess I was hard.
03:59Let's say this.
04:00I was probably a lot more aggressive and tougher being their coach and their dad
04:05than I ever was as a football player.
04:08That happens to dad sometimes.
04:11I love hearing that part of it because Kevin can tell you this morning I came in
04:15super excited about a win they had last night.
04:17It was more for me.
04:18I know how excited I was for him.
04:20I know exactly what you're talking about there, Jerry.
04:23I was with.
04:24I was with.
04:25I know we've got other subjects, but I was with a recognition of the Hall of Fame
04:33and the monument that's going to build in Washington.
04:35I was with that last week, and we had great attendance by senators from other states
04:44that had supported that bill.
04:46And one of them was talking to me about coaching his kids.
04:49And he was kind of tongue-in-cheek, and he said,
04:52Now, if you're looking for some help, an offensive coordinator, I'm real good.
04:56This is a United States senator, actually.
04:59A senator who said, I've got my plays down and what have you.
05:02I said, let me tell you how bad I was.
05:05I'd be sitting in Oklahoma City.
05:07My practice was that afternoon in Arkansas, so I'd have to go that far to practice.
05:12But I'd be sitting there, and people would be explaining me some things that,
05:17if I didn't understand it or wasn't paying attention, it really would have brought the house down.
05:22It was serious stuff.
05:23And I'd be back there with my kind of arm down, my head down,
05:26and I'd be diagramming my plays rather than listening to what they were trying to tell me.
05:30He reached in his pocket, he, the senator, reached in his pocket
05:35and showed me his plays he'd been diagramming while he'd been there in session there in Washington.
05:42Were they any good?
05:43I'm telling you, I'm telling you, it'll happen to you.
05:49It's an addiction for sure.
05:50Jerry, if this team is going to be successful after week one, going into week two here,
05:56how much of it is going to be on the growth of these players in their roles
06:00as opposed to the coaching staff's ability to teach?
06:04Oh, I think it's a combination.
06:07But it certainly is.
06:09At the end of the day, the players are making the plays or making the mistakes.
06:13And so it has to manifest itself right there on the spot, on the field.
06:18But the improvement, certainly from where we played Sunday,
06:25that improvement is to be expected and will be there.
06:32I'm just going to say it.
06:33It will be there.
06:34I know how hard these guys are working.
06:36I know their physical capabilities.
06:39And I also know their motivation.
06:42And so you'll see improvement.
06:44I will go on record as saying that.
06:47One of the things in particular, obviously, you saw defensively, we all saw,
06:52was still the struggles with the running quarterback.
06:54You've got Jaden Daniels this week, and then you've got Lamar Jackson next week.
07:00While you talk about the confidence that the defense will improve,
07:03how do you feel about the defense's ability to stop that running quarterback?
07:07Well, it is a fact of life in the NFL.
07:12And, you know, I'll even go as far as to say they've got an edge because of the sliding rule.
07:20They can basically take off and they can be very effective on the run.
07:24And they're protected.
07:26And so they have a little nuance there that would encourage you to put that in your game plan
07:33if you've got one with the ability to do it.
07:35On the other hand, all of that comes to it when you do have an injury at that position.
07:44So it comes with some compromising when you say, well,
07:48we'll just put our quarterback in the running game a little bit more.
07:52Having said all of that, you bet that hurt us last week.
07:58The quarterback did a really good job.
08:02They just did a good job all over.
08:04And I will tell you, they were better than we thought they were.
08:10I'm anxious to see how New York continues to play.
08:14But I really, a combination of things.
08:18We didn't play as well as we should play and can play.
08:21But they played better than I thought they could.
08:24Does that, I hear everything you're saying about this team progressing and we're all on the same page.
08:30But when you say New York was better than you anticipated,
08:34is there anything even in the back of your mind that's like maybe we're worse than we thought we would
08:40be?
08:41Of course.
08:43And to say it that way, I'd rather say it more positively.
08:48Sure.
08:49We're not at the level.
08:50We're not at the levels.
08:51We're not at the level that we thought we would be.
08:54I can give you a lot of reasons, logical reasons you're dealing with a conceptually new coaching staff,
09:02dealing with a new to a lot of people out there, the defensive scheme.
09:08And then you're dealing with people who are fresh into that scheme.
09:14Now, you've got a lot of veteran players out there.
09:16But still, they're changing up some of the things that they're doing.
09:19But are they capable of doing what we're asking?
09:22Absolutely, they are.
09:23But the bottom line is that the last time, frankly, frankly, the last time that from my perspective,
09:31that we had as many changes on defense, we had as many changes with the coaching staff,
09:36had as much change with the personnel, and had as much change with the team,
09:40was the first year Jimmy Johnson was our coach and we won one football game.
09:46Now, things have changed, and you can come in with less experience than you could in those days.
09:56But having said that, it's a challenge now to put it together and get it ready to go.
10:01We didn't play well last week.
10:04I said what I meant to say was New York had really more to do with it than I thought
10:11they would.
10:12Yeah.
10:12Than I thought they would.
10:13And so that's a factor.
10:15But Washington could have a lot to do with it here Sunday, too.
10:20So we've got to be ready to step up the level of play.
10:24There's no question.
10:25I don't know if you're able to isolate things like that after a loss,
10:29but speaking of the positives, were there any individual Cowboys players
10:34that you maybe thought had particularly positive games on Sunday night?
10:40Many had positive plays overall, and that usually can happen.
10:48Did they do things that made up for maybe some of the things that they could have done better?
10:57But what bothered me more than anything was the repetition of making the bad play.
11:06Really, you hear too much about it, but not too much about it.
11:10The communication, the breakdown on where you are or where you're supposed to be.
11:16And to see that happen several times by the same game is very correctable, but it's also very, very frustrating.
11:29Jerry, I'm sure that he would have loved to have had maybe one, maybe two different plays back.
11:36I'm kind of curious, what is George Pickens being judged on this season by the Cowboys
11:41or maybe even the rest of the league?
11:43Are there certain numbers he has to hit, or is there like an all-encompassing thing that shows his value?
11:50Who are you talking about again?
11:52George Pickens.
11:53I missed it.
11:53George Pickens.
11:54George Pickens.
11:55Oh, I'm fine.
11:55No, I'm, for whatever the reason, George had a couple of plays that are a piece of cake for him
12:06to make.
12:07Now, his piece of cake plays to make are superhuman almost, but still, he can make those plays.
12:14And we're used to him making those plays, but I've seen him do them.
12:18But certainly he had that one big drop that was a meaningful play in the game.
12:24In a game where we just kept the ball away from us or we kept it away from ourselves,
12:34then those were glaring, those drops or whatever, they were glaring because we had so few opportunities
12:42relative to what our opponents did.
12:46So we've got to have more possessions.
12:49We've got to have more tries at it.
12:52Now, I know Quinnen asked to stand up and talk right after that game.
12:56He actually went to the staff and said, hey, I want to speak.
13:00What did you think about him doing that, standing up and being part of that phase for it?
13:06Well, in order to stand up, you have got to really have stature.
13:12And he's got it.
13:13And he has got it.
13:15And he has it among the team.
13:18And he just has it.
13:20He's arguably one of the top two or three players on the team.
13:24And so it's real good for everybody concerned, for our fans, for everybody, for me, for everybody,
13:34for him to take that leadership role.
13:38And so that's a big plus for us, that he's got that quality.
13:43You talked about the relative health of this team, especially in the NFL.
13:47We know how difficult that can be.
13:50One player in particular, I know you've talked about before, so is Steven, is DeMarvion Overshown.
13:56Are you of the belief that hopefully he really can be back in another week or two?
14:01And do you have to handle his return a little bit more conservatively because of the injury history he has?
14:09No.
14:10The return, when we project a return out, that's not a conservative return.
14:17That means they're returned so that they can step out there and take the snaps that you would expect them
14:24to take as a starter.
14:26Or if they can't, then you should say so and plan for it.
14:31But I think the expectation is for him to step in there and be a full-time player.
14:37Is that difficult at all to plan around with that expectation when he has had injuries over the years?
14:44Well, any time, I'm bad for everybody, but I sure feel bad for him because it seems like that's following
14:54him around.
14:55And so it pretty much speaks for itself.
14:58But I'm hopeful that this is a really minimum pull because those things can take as much time sometimes as
15:09any other type of major injury in terms of time away.
15:13But I don't think that's the case here.
15:16But I know that he, as well as everybody, are aware that he's lost a lot of time with his
15:24injuries.
15:25Jerry, on the other side of the field, Dan Quinn, he had pretty immediate success here in Dallas.
15:29I know it was a big addition personnel-wise that y'all made to make sure he had the right
15:35guys.
15:35But I'm sure he had some growing pains, too.
15:37What did you notice about his coaching style that connected so well with players, with Dan Quinn?
15:46Well, you've actually said it.
15:48He connects so well with players is the way I would define his style.
15:53Great communicator.
15:56Seriously complements the game.
15:58His style.
15:59His way of creating an enthusiasm.
16:03A can-do atmosphere.
16:04That fits with football.
16:06And that's why he's so successful.
16:09And I really talk about the coaching giants.
16:14I hate to see him up there.
16:16But Quinn is, Dan is quite a formidable coach to play against for Washington.
16:22And we knew that actually when he was here, it was really obvious to me that he was going to
16:31be head coach again quickly.
16:34So, he's a good coach.
16:36Now, Jerry, we've heard some whispers, and I think Shoddy was asked about it this morning as well, with Sean
16:42and RJ.
16:42Are you going to surprise the fans with any kind of window-tenting or anything for this home game?
16:49Well, I don't know about any hints or Shoddy or anything, but I really don't know about that at all.
16:58And so, no, not necessarily.
17:01Okay.
17:02All right.
17:02I know the World Cup was really fun.
17:05We had a blast watching the World Cup here.
17:07And okay.
17:07All right.
17:08Well...
17:08Yeah.
17:08No, I don't think so.
17:10Now, and then the last thing...
17:11I'm not for sure what you're referring to, but I don't know of any plans to surprise our fans.
17:17Now, the last thing that I was curious about is you talked about the defense improving, obviously the communication being
17:25better.
17:25Just how much do you want to see more physical defense for that home opener as well?
17:32Well, I think all the way around, on both sides, all three phases, both sides of the ball, we have
17:41to be more physical.
17:42And we've structured, especially our defense, we've structured it to be physical.
17:49And we've structured a running game to be physical.
17:53And so, it's a real factor if we are in a game and the bell sounds and the game is
18:04over and we've been out physical.
18:07So, everybody's on the same page around here.
18:12We've got to really approach the thing from the standpoint of giving them our best.
18:18And something about possession time, and it's when it really gets lopsided.
18:26And, of course, we didn't get the possessions that it takes to win.
18:29And we could have had those because we actually had turnover opportunities that could have given us those possessions and
18:38made a big difference in that game.
18:41So, hopefully, we will take advantage of some of those turnover opportunities that we missed up there last Sunday.
18:47But, at the end of the day, when you have the limited possessions or the other team holds you to
18:55much fewer possessions than you would be expecting, the word out physical is going to come out every time.
19:05Possession is synonymous with being physical in terms of just the interpretation of it.
19:11You feel like you've been out physical if they've out-possessed you three or four or five possessions.
19:16So, that has a way of causing that.
19:20And, by the way, it's real.
19:24You have, when the possession is, of course, offensively, they've just had more shots at it.
19:32They've had more shots to run plays against you.
19:34And, in a way, that will define physical.
19:39Well, we appreciate the time, as always.
19:41I know you're fired up for that home opener.
19:44And we'll catch you again next Friday.
19:46Okay, guys.
19:47Good to be on with you.
19:48And you bet we are fired up.
19:50Let's go get a win.
19:51Love it.
19:52Love it.
19:52There you go.
19:53Jerry Jones right here on 105.3 The Fan.
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