Todd ArcherESPN staff writer3 minutes to read
“After some years, I realized we were in better shape than others,” Jones said in a conversation that will be broadcast on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “There are parts of this team we’re as good as we’ve ever been since I was a Dallas Cowboy.”
Ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the New York Giants, Jones isn’t calling 2023 a Super Bowl season or a failure.
“I feel strongly that we should aspire, frankly, to do anything at any time that can make us better now to compete at this level,” he said. “I think I’m saying a lot when I say that. It’s not about the coming years. The good news is that you can make decisions that can help you now first and foremost, but they can also be a plus for the future.” .These are the people I look up to and give up on every single day.”
Jones has continued to support Dak Prescott, who is entering his eighth year as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. Prescott has not advanced beyond the divisional round in four playoff appearances in his career and is trying to do what only Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman have done for Dallas.
When asked what Prescott needs to show to prove he’s a Super Bowl quarterback, Jones said, “I think we first have to realize how few Super Bowls even the greatest quarterbacks reach. It’s never too late to start. So if “Should Dak start the year with a Super Bowl title and then compete for one or two more, he will be up there with the best to ever play for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Jones said he believes Prescott’s play will improve in 2023, in part because coach Mike McCarthy is now calling the plays, tweaking the only offense Prescott has ever had.
McCarthy’ would take advantage of [former OC Kellen Moore] “But at the same time, I think being able to really benefit from seeing those guys play, having seen the pros and cons of what Kellen did as a play caller,” Jones said. “I think all these things will make us a better team now.”
And what happens if the Cowboys don’t win the Super Bowl this season, extending their championship drought to 28 years?
“How we as a team as we develop through this season, we’ll keep all of that in mind,” Jones said. “We could easily have a team that doesn’t lift the trophy but is vastly better than a team if you clean house. So we’ll leave that set of facts, [let] The ones that play through this year’s 23 are the influencing things when we get to the 24.
“You’re asking me: Is winning the Super Bowl necessary without destroying this team?” And I say: No, it’s not.”
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