Emmitt Smith wants current Cowboys to reach potential
NFL Hall of Fame member Emmitt Smith in attendance during the NFL Super Bowl 56 football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. Credit: AP/Ben Liebenberg
Ever the optimist, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continues to believe that his team will be in the hunt for the playoffs. And a Super Bowl championship.
Even if year after year after year, those hopes unravel beneath the weight of failed expectations.
And there he was again this past week, a little less than three months after a stinging home playoff loss to the 49ers, talking about possibly being aggressive in the draft to fortify his team for the 2022 season.
“I would trade up in this draft,” Jones told reporters. “Just going in, what’s there and who’s on the other line [for a potential trade discussion], yes, I would trade up since we’re down as low as we are in those first two or three rounds.”
Will it be enough to get the Cowboys in contention for their first Super Bowl championship since the 1995 season, when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin – aka “The Triplets” – led the team to a third title during the ‘90’s? Too soon to know, but one member of that elite group of offensive players says the wait has been long enough. He’s had it with nearly three decades’ worth of heartache.
“It is disappointing, because you see how talented this team can be, was [in past years], and has the potential to be,” Smith told Newday. “The disappointing part is not seeing this team maximize its true potential, how it’s done, what they need to do. They need to figure those things out quickly for themselves, individually and as a complete team.”
Smith would like to see this year’s team take some of the lessons from his championship seasons and apply them to the 2022 season and beyond. And that means today’s players taking their profession more seriously.
“One thing I can say about my Dallas Cowboys teams back in the ‘90’s, there was an overarching commitment from each and every man on the football field to get better and be better and be physically fit and ready to roll once the season came around, period,” said Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. “What was important was what we did every off-season in terms of our physical training and getting in physical shape ready to go out there and compete, and we did compete. Not only amongst ourselves, but we competed once we got on the football field for four quarters, and there was no holding back. In my opinion, that is the environment that our current Cowboys are missing.”
The clear line of demarcation and the Cowboys’ descent was Jones’ firing of Jimmy Johnson after the 1993 season – even though the Cowboys managed to win another title in Barry Switzer’s second season. Smith would love to see the lessons Johnson imparted on his players before his ouster apply to the current team under Mike McCarthy.
“Jimmy gave us what we needed to have,” said Smith, who this month partnered with IHOP as a spokesman for the company’s “PanCoins” rewards program. “He gave us the tools and the foundation that we needed to move forward and to control our own destiny, because we knew how to work, how to prepare, how to train, and we had enough guys on that team to understand. We became leaders on our own football team does. That’s what a great coach does. He teaches you the tools that you need to be successful. That’s the one thing about our team (in the 1990’s) that I appreciate.”
He only wishes it applied to this year’s team.
A Baker’s dozen of complaints
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield watches teammates warm up for an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 9, 2022, in Cleveland. Credit: AP/David Richard
The day after a lackluster 13-10 home victory over the winless Lions, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield dismissed fans’ booing of his dismal performance, in which he threw for just 176 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“Those are probably the same fans that won't be quiet while we're on offense and trying to operate,” Mayfield said. “So, don't really care.”
Well, maybe he really did care, especially after a suggestion Mayfield offered to his critics during an appearance on the Ya Never Know podcast.
“I would love to show up to somebody’s cubicle and just boo the (bleep) out of them and watch them crumble,” Mayfield said.
Seems a bit touchy, no?
Mayfield is understandably chapped at being caught in the middle of the Browns’ quarterback plans after they traded for Deshaun Watson, but he didn’t help himself with airing his gripes about fans. Yes, Mayfield was limited by a shoulder problem, but outside of some impressive stretches during his four-year run in Cleveland, he did little to ingratiate himself with a fan base hungry for success. (For the record, Baker can deliver a personalized boo over a lousy column any time – although making his $18.2 million salary would certainly help ease the pain!)
Where does Mayfield go from here? That’s the biggest quarterback question left to a dizzying offseason of movement among the league’s passers. The best landing spot: Seattle, where Pete Carroll has the right temperament to deal with a high-strung quarterback who needs to get his career back on track.
Trouble for Snyder in Washington
Washington owner Dan Snyder listens to head coach Ron Rivera during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 in Ashburn, Va. Credit: AP/Alex Brandon
The case against Daniel Snyder continuing as owner of the Washington Commanders continues to grow, especially after allegations made this week as part of a Congressional investigation into workplace misconduct. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, alleging that the team withheld as much as $5 million in refundable deposits from season-ticket holders and also hid stadium revenue that was to be shared with all other NFL teams. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Washington Post, which reported that former team vice president Jason Friedman told the committee the team had two separate accounting procedures that included one used to underreport ticket revenue.
Snyder was in enough trouble with the investigation into workplace misconduct, which is now being investigated by former United States attorney Mary Jo White. The new allegations, which will also be reviewed by White, point to continued trouble for Snyder. And the NFL Players Association may also get involved, since revenue to be shared by the league is ultimately part of the formulation of the salary cap that governs team spending.
Bottom line: If there is enough evidence to convince fellow owners that Snyder has violated terms of the NFL’s constitution and bylaws, he may be forced to sell the team.
Time is right for Lamar to re-up
Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Reaves
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson shows no inclination to extend his contract and plans to go into the final year of his rookie deal with a $23 million salary. That’s certainly a handsome reward, but the far more prudent – and lucrative – choice is to re-up on a new deal before the season.
The Ravens have given every indication they’re ready to extend the contract, up to and including coach John Harbaugh’s comments on the Rich Eisen podcast this week.
“He’s not ready, you know?” Harbaugh said. “And when he’s ready, we’ll be ready. And when that happens, we’ll have something.”
There may be no better time than now to do a new deal. Think about it: Patrick Mahomes in 2020 signed a contract extension worth close to half a billion dollars – yes, that’s billion with a “B.” Deshaun Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230 million deal with Cleveland. Aaron Rodgers’ recently signed deal with the Packers is worth more than $50 million a year.
The money is right, and the time is right for Jackson, whose contractual rights will remain in Baltimore through the 2023 season even if he doesn’t sign a new deal. With quarterback values skyrocketing, and with Jackson playing a more physical game with his running than many of his peers, he’d make a fortune by extending his deal. He’s got everything going for him: a great coach in Harbaugh, roster stability with GM Eric DeCosta in control, and with an owner in Steve Bisciotti who is willing to spend.
Going another year without a new deal simply isn’t worth the risk.
Nice makeover in Indy
The Colts were within a game of reaching the playoffs last year, but that clearly wasn’t good enough even for a quarterback in his first year with the team. Out goes Carson Wentz, in comes Matt Ryan and now former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore is added to the mix. Gilmore, who signed a two-year contract Friday, joins an already reliable defense that features All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner and recently signed pass rusher Ngakoue Yannick. Add in reigning NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor, and this team looks like it can and will challenge the Titans atop the AFC North.
A record that may last forever
Given how much less reliant the NFL has become on the running game, there is reason to believe Smith’s rushing record, which he achieved over 15 seasons with Dallas and the Cardinals, may never be broken.
One man who has his doubts that 18,355 rushing yards will stand forever: Smith.
“I’m sure somebody said the same thing about Walter Payton’s record,” Smith said of Bears Hall of Fame tailback, who rushed for 16,726 yards from 1975-87. “And here I am sitting here as the all-time leading rusher. The way I see it is if a human did it before, a human can do it again.”
He acknowledges that won’t be easy, given the changes in today’s game and the increased reliance on passing.
“The right circumstances have to present themselves in order for it to happen,” he said. “But football is very cyclical. Today, it may be a pass-happy league, but tomorrow, it might have to come back because the development of young talent may not be as fast as it is now.”
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
