There was a time when the moniker of “America’s Team” truly fit the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were one of the most revered National Football League franchise’s in the 1970’s as they won a pair of Super Bowl Titles in the decade. The Cowboys slipped into mediocrity in the mid-1980’s until Jerry Jones purchased the franchise in 1989. And under Jones, the Cowboys were able to re-emerge as one of the NFL’s elite team as they won three Super Bowl Championships over a four-year span during the 1990’s. But twenty years have gone by since the Cowboys last title and the term America’s Team has lost some luster. Since winning Super Bowl 30, the Cowboys have only won three playoff games as the championship parade has passed Jones by. And when you’re worth $4.2 billion like Jones is, you want positive results for your team.
Jerry Jones
Jones thought that he had a Super Bowl team last season until the Cowboys fell to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs due to a controversial call involving wide receiver Dez Bryant. Then the Cowboys allowed running back DeMarco Murray to leave as a free agent after leading the NFL in rushing in 2014 as he signed on with a division rival of Dallas in the Philadelphia Eagles. But even with that Jones still feels that he has a team that can win a Super Bowl and he’ll literally go to whatever lengths to win.
Over the years Jones has taken chances on players such a wide receiver Terrell Owens, cornerback Adam Jones, and defensive tackle Tank Johnson. Jones looked passed the off-the-field issues that some of these players had while also being distractions due to the fact that he solely focused on their physical talent and each time that he rolled the dice, he came up snake eyes. And it appears that Jones is about to get burned once more.
Greg Hardy
Jones wanted to beef up the Cowboys defensive line so bad that he signed defensive end Greg Hardy. Hardy spent the first five years of his National Football League career with the Carolina Panthers where he tallied 34 career sacks and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2013. But Hardy came to the Cowboys with a questionable background. In 2014, Hardy was found guilty by a judge for assaulting an ex-girlfriend. After playing the first game of the 2014 National Football League season for the Panthers, Hardy was deactivated by the team for the remainder of the year due to his domestic violence incident. Heading into 2015, Hardy became a free agent, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for the first 10 games of the season. Hardy appealed the suspension and his punishment by the NFL was reduced to four games.
Jones and the Cowboys pushed all of that aside and gave Hardy a one-year deal that is worth $11.3 million. Hardy has appeared in two games this season and he has 3 sacks to his credit, but is his presence on the Cowboys truly worth it?
Prior to the Cowboys Week 5 meeting with the New England Patriots, Hardy had some unfortunate remarks about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Buncdchen. Over the off-season, Hardy also made a rap video that featured strippers which is not going to endear himself to women and the general public as he has become a lightning rod for controversy.
This past Sunday, the Cowboys were looking to put an end to their three-game losing streak when they traveled to meet the New York Giants with first place in the NFC East on the line. The Cowboys defense kept them in the game as the Giants scored 17 points off of turnovers and a special teams touchdown. The Giants would defeat the Cowboys 27-20 as the game was decided by a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown by Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris midway in the fourth quarter. After the play, FOX cameras focused on an irate Hardy who was uncontrollable on the Dallas sideline. Hardy nearly got into a physical altercation with Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia before having an exchange with wide receiver Dez Bryant. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett attempted to downplay the incident which is fine if and when you’re dealing with an individual who does not have the previous track record of Hardy. And to make matters worse, Jones is contemplating giving Hardy a contract extension.
Hardy has made mistakes in his life and I am not here to say that someone should not be allowed to make a living because of their past. But that same person must learn from their prior mistakes and attempt to turn things around. Hardy is a very gifted professional athlete, but he has still yet to realize that playing in the National Football League is not a right as it is a privilege. And whereas Jones may coddle Hardy while Goodell would attempt to suspend him for incidents resembling his past domestic violence issue, the court of public opinion will come down on him much harder than the judicial system on the issue of domestic violence as this is something that former NFL running back Ray Rice can attest to.
But for Jones to put his faith in a player like Hardy on a long-term deal just lets you know how desperate that he truly is to once again possess the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he’ll take a chance on a questionable guy. The Cowboys are a team that is in need of leadership and it also doesn’t help their situation when Bryant who has a questionable background himself is a captain for them.
When the Cowboys won Super Bowl in the 1990’s, they weren’t a group of milk drinking choir boys, but they had enough leadership to trump all of the problems that the team had until things got completely out of control under former head coach Barry Switzer. But now the current Cowboys don’t possess that kind of leadership which means that there is no player within their locker room to keep Hardy in line. And the Hardy situation will only get worse for the Cowboys if he were to receive an extension. Desperate men tend to do desperate things and in the case Jones, he’s illustrating that he’ll literally do whatever it takes to once again win the Super Bowl.
Leave A Comment