We’re about 24 hours away from Eagles-Cowboys II and Dallas owner Jerry Jones is locked in, and ready for a playoff atmosphere.
During his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan with Shan and RJ, Jones talked about the NFC East’s top rivalry, Jalen Hurts missing this contest, using top-ranked Philadelphia as a measuring stick, and more.
Jones credited Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman with building a Super Bowl-caliber roster and talked about his team stepping up to the challenge with Dak Prescott now under center.
Jones on Philly being the measuring stick
“Against how we played the first time, yes. It sounds like they’re not going to have their starting quarterback, but I do. Frankly it is important for us to come play good football right now. And I do want to see us do that. I had always planned on us being competitive and having the chance to really win the whole thing. And it’s still there. So, I want us, if I had my druthers so to speak, I want us to play as though we had to win it for the playoff game, to get into the playoffs.”
Jones on the cornerback opposite Trevon Diggs
Dallas’s two cornerbacks are out with injury and with Trevon Diggs likely to trail A.J. Brown, the cornerback opposite Diggs will have to deal with DeVonta Smith.
“I will let it play out. That’s what he meant. And we’ll see where it goes from there. Frankly I think these players realize that certainly maybe not over a week of practice, but in general, you’re up against playing out competition all the time, especially young players. And, so, I don’t think it surprised anybody. I think it could be very effective in terms of describing it that way or think of it that way because it could remind you as a player that you got to give it everything you got each play in practice. What you put in there in practice, what goes in is all that come out in a game. And that’s really as far as the entire year. All that you put in, that’s all that’s in there to come out. So, if you have not put in all the right stuff or put in a lot of good stuff, it’s not there available for you against Philadelphia. And, so, these guys are always encouraged to really bear down, really take that class work seriously, really bear down, and the ones that are best prepared usually play the best.”
Jones where Micah Parsons will line up
“I don’t know that that’s the case regarding Micah. I don’t know that that’s the case at all. He’s such a valuable pressure player. On the other hand, I want to be judicious with Vander Esch relative to the playoffs ahead. So, we’ll need to watch how quickly he comes back. I’m so relieved for him and that the injury was of the nature that it was, and not more substantial. But we’ll be very, very careful here. As you can see, he’s missed when he’s not out there. He was sore to miss the other day. They took advantage of him not being out there. And we have great depth. We’ve just got to get it out there and have it make the plays. But that should be our most in depth position, linebacker.”
Jerry Jones on T.Y. Hilton
“Yes, he will be. Yes. And I’m excited to see him. He’s got the experience, and, boy, he can really run and make his routes as you would expect. He’s always had that as expertise. One of the smartest players that you’ve been around in the NFL. And, so, he hit the ground running here and should impact us immediately.”
Jones on Howie Roseman
Jones is the owner and GM of the Cowboys so he can’t compare anyone to Roseman.
“I don’t know how you can be more impressed. I’m every bit as impressed now as I was when we played them earlier and they ended up winning. And, so, that was impressive. We didn’t have Dak [Prescott] at the time. So, let’s see where we are now. This will be a good measuring stick as you mentioned at the start of the show.”
Jerry Jones on Eagles Cowboys being the rivalry
Well, it sure is a rivalry. Make no mistake about that. And I don’t want to incite other teams by saying it is ‘the’ rivalry, but it is a rivalry. All you have to do — I’m reminded. This is a morning I have all my family around me, all my grandchildren, all of us. In their early years, you could bet that when we went to Philadelphia, and most of them went and were there, they would end up crying half the game because of all the things that were being said and all the things, gestures and everything that were going on. It’s hard for them to understand. But that just makes for a good feeling when you have a good day.”
