Jerry Jones has his logic. And hes sticking to it.
Even with the Dallas Cowboys pass rush struggling through three games and free-agent addition Dante Fowler Jr. failing to make any discernible impact. And in spite of questions mounting about whether coaching changes could already be coming on the defensive staff.
Sitting at 1-2 and stung by key injuries with Micah Parsons returning to Dallas for a prime-time matchup Sunday night theres no hard feelings over the trade of his former star pass rusher.
He just wants to win this game. Maybe a little more than most of them.
Yes, I do, Jones said Tuesday, when asked by the teams flagship station, 105.3 The Fan, if he was feeling extra competitive drive to beat the Green Bay Packers. Of course, Ive said this time and time again, I think the world of Micah as an individual and of course know him well. I might say I wish him well except its obvious I dont this weekend, in terms of Green Bay winning the ball game.
This one has been circled for nearly a month now, since the moment Parsons was dealt to the Packers on Aug. 28 for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks. And it may still be the most anticipated game of this young NFL season, despite some deflating turns last weekend that included a shocking 13-10 Packers loss to the Cleveland Browns, and the Cowboys losing wideout CeeDee Lamb and offensive lineman Tyler Booker to injuries.
Certainly, those developments have tamped down some of the soap opera aspects that continue to linger between Jones and Parsons. Surely there would be more momentum into Sunday if the Packers were coming in undefeated and still on top of most of the pundit power rankings. And in Dallas, the talk would have been all Parsons if the team was fielding a full deck of starters.
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The week has instead kicked off for both franchises with pressing questions coming out of Week 3. Not that Parsons return hasnt retained ample anticipation. There has been some buzz about the Cowboys choosing not to honor Parsons with any kind of tribute to his four seasons in Dallas which, frankly, would have been odd given the Cowboys peak success with Parsons was a single playoff win.
On Tuesday, Jones continued to take as much air out of the hard feelings balloon as he could, reiterating that trading Parsons had been long considered and simply a business decision. Asked at one point if he let his money get mad one of Jones euphemisms for letting pride or emotion impact negotiations when it came to Parsons, the Cowboys owner balked.
Absolutely not, Jones told 105.3. Not at all. It was nothing personal. I told you, I like Micah. There was no issue regarding feelings relative to the negotiation. Certainly not on my part. It was just par for the course.
The facts are, the negotiation was ongoing. People made a lot that we werent talking. I had on the table the best deal I could do period. I wanted to see, by chumming it up out there [on the trade market], what Micah might be worth in trade value. That was the plan all the way through the negotiation.
Jones repeatedly said that the Parsons trade was nothing personal and that he has no ill feelings over it. However, he raised an interesting point: At this stage, Jones has nothing to be angry about because nothing has transpired on the field. Both the Cowboys and Parsons are only three games into the aftermath. The measurement of pain on one side or the other doesnt have a full accounting. And it wont until the football end of it plays out with a measurement of wins and losses and whoever can slip the next Super Bowl ring on their finger.
As much as Jerry might not have personal feelings now, that can easily change if Parsons embarrasses the Cowboys on Sunday with a significant personal performance and a win. Because Dallas might be only one more loss from starting to tilt especially if the Cowboys injuries continue to pile up and their pass rush continues to sag as badly as the first three games. As it stands, the signing of Fowler is drawing criticism over his lack of pass rushing presence. And now Dallas is trying to get a spark by adding well-traveled-but-rarely-retained defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who is playing for his seventh different team in the past eight years.
The moves, along with only four sacks in three games, scream of a significant Parsons void no matter how much Parsons might have freelanced at times and hurt the teams run defense. And while that run defense is improved over recent years, its not exactly stopping opponents from actually running the football. The Cowboys are allowing only 3.7 yards per carry, which is tied for seventh in the NFL but theyve also given up 329 rushing yards, which ranks 17th in the league.
Even in the early going, its clear problems remain in Dallas. And while Parsons has 15 pressures through three games in Green Bay but only 1 1/2 sacks, he returns to face the Cowboys with a chip on his shoulder and the ability to put up a monster performance against a banged up offensive line. Add to that at least one slight dig at Parsons by Jones on Tuesday, when the Cowboys owner seemed to suggest they know how to attack their former edge rusher.
Over the years when I saw Micah was mitigated, when I saw teams play him pretty well hes going to make some plays no matter how you play but when I saw people play us well with Micah in the game, and it did happen, then obviously well be looking to try to run those kinds of plays, Jones said.
Its not exactly the most heated bulletin board material, but it can certainly be construed as a continuance of Jerry pointing to Micah having been a weak link against the run at times. Whether thats true or not matters very little from this point on. The trade is nearly a month old. Both sides are moving into their own directions, and on Sunday, whatever is left between them will get worked out on the field.
If theres truly no hard feelings remaining over the trade, some new hard feelings can easily unfold on the football field.