Jerry Jones: Rams, Eagles ‘bet it all’ for Super Bowl; Cowboys open to risk but prefer long-term approach

Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys have not advanced past the divisional round of the NFC playoffs since Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin powered Dallas to Super Bowl glory in the 1995 season, and his remarks Tuesday at the Senior Bowl down in Mobile, Alabama shed some light as to what some of the reasons for that drought may be. The Cowboys have gone 12 consecutive playoff runs without reaching the conference championship round, the longest such streak in NFL playoff history. 

When asked about how the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles utilized “aggressive offseasons” to represent the NFC in the two most recent Super Bowls, Jones elaborated on his risk tolerance in comparison to those teams in which he compared apples to oranges in lumping the two teams’ philosophies together. 

“Anybody who thinks I won’t take a chance has misread the tea leaves,” Jones said. “But I do think longer term, and I’m real hesitant to bet it all for a year. There’s a lot of things that can happen for that year. In essence, we’re seeing a couple of teams [the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles] that have had some real success putting it all out there and paying for it later. Don’t think that doesn’t pop in my head end get my eye as far as doing it, and I know how to do that. It’s part of what you put in that computer and what comes out. We’ll see how it comes, but that’s pretty impressive to have two teams in the last two years empty the bucket and get to the Super Bowl. But if you miss, it’s a long go.”

“On the other hand, my general experience has been that if you will stay aggressive, I’m talking whether it’s on the field or off the field, but you pick your shots with risk-taking, and I’ve spent a lot of time in my life doing that,” Jones continued. “When they cut me open, it will be all those scars, heart attacks, for all those risks I took and the years I spent paying for them. My point is, I do know how to take risks. They are absolutely right. We have been in the middle here for a few years, but I like where we are right now, more in the middle. But given the opportunity, if it would make some sense, I’ve definitely got some risk-taking in me.”