Jones: Cowboys Need To "Empty the Bucket" Over Next 3 Games
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DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) - The Dallas Cowboys finished the 2016 regular season with an impressive 13-3 record, now as they prepare for the playoffs it's Super Bowl or bust for owner/General Manager Jerry Jones.
When it comes to looking back over the enormous success the team has had this year, led by rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, Jones can't say enough good things about the team.
"The circumstances, as they played out, our adversity turned out as positives for us" Jones said in his weekly radio show with The Fan's Shan & RJ. "That a rookie in Dak Prescott could get the snaps that he's gotten..that just wouldn't happen under normal circumstances. He wouldn't have gotten that opportunity, so to speak, but he wouldn't have gotten that preparation, he wouldn't have gotten that much attention, he wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to be in those situations that he was in, and of course he's grown right before our eyes. He's just gotten better and better, and he's thrived on it. We're able to see a player who's taken everything that he works on during the week - he's a special, all the great ones are, but he's diligent, he's an over-achiever in the classroom, he looks at every detail, he soaks it up coming from his coaches, he soaks it up coming from Romo, and then he takes it to the practice field and he takes it to the field. We would never have seen that had we not had the adversity of losing both the quarterbacks early."
When talking about the energy they've brought to the team and factoring both Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott (322/1,631 yds, 15 TD) into the NFL MVP conversation: "When you look at what they've contributed, I can't imagine any others having a bigger impact" Jones said, adding "obviously Zeke is a cornerstone to what makes our offense run, and we work off that."
But even with all the records broken and wild success that the Cowboys have earned this season, don't think they will be sitting back and taking it easy during the first-round 'wild card' playoffs.
"Don't think for one second, this owner understand how rare this is to be in this spot" Jones said. "We had the opportunity in 2007 and it was on us and out of here - before I blinked."
Jones recalled the 2007 because of it's similarity to the 2016 season - when the Cowboys finished the regular season tied for the best record in the NFC (13-3-0), and earned a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. But, they lost their first playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants,
"I look at the game it's self, I've replayed it a hundred times. Those just hang with you, they haunt you" Jones said. "We want to be ready in case we see signs of that - getting ready for the game, into the game, we want to be ready for every nuance - that's how i'll spend my time over the next two weeks, with that kind of thought."
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