Reputation.
If this team in the locker room gets mad if Dak goes somewhere else, it was not a team to begin with...not a one man show.
I didn't articulate that as well as I should have. I believe, when you boil down the Riddick comments, you get to a point the team perhaps changes their views of this franchise. If you recall, the players were all talking about their leader on the night of and day after Dak's injury. Both sides of the ball.
If a team can lose faith in a coach and quit on him, why would Jerry be any different since he has his hands meddling in every aspect of this team? And why wouldn't the players stop giving a frick. Maybe to the point of looking to get out of Dallas. And would this not affect the free agency aspect, when the team seems to be bent on this tightwad attitude after giving the wrong people too much money?
I realize Jerry is at the core of this stalemate. People want to blame Dak and his agent. But Jerry has this idea he can wait until the last minute and get a better deal. This mindset of a non-football man trying to use his business tactics on sports agents is what has exacerbated this stand-off. Jerry is at fault and about to screw this up.
And one point that seems to not be articulated is the fact Jerry chose to get pushed into paying Zeke. And how did that play in his relationship with Dak when Jerry suddenly starts playing hardball? Think Dak felt under appreciated after his time making 4th round money without a complaint? And right before his big payday, the running back comes along and gets a major payday, early?
The cadre of people who bemoan Dak's play fall into two categories. One is fans who simply don't have any critical thinking and can't see past a season with no training camp and a new head coach and a world of turnovers, which may be the symptom of the confluence of negative aspects which, together, caused the 2020 season. You will see the great unwashed reply that all other teams had the same situation. But that is not really the case at all. I expect this team will be better prepared this next season. This group of fans also seems to live in hurt feelings. They are a group who look to blame someone. Dak is an easy target.
The other group are the Barco-Lounger GM's who act like Dak's check is coming out of their checking account. You hear the despondent chortling about no team every had a player cost a percentage that Dak will cost and still win. They forget Romo's contract which paid him
close to the same percentage. They won enough to get to the Green Bay game. At that point it is up to the head coach and players to win.
I have wrestled with this issue. Especially after Dak was injured. But it is my belief now, that Dak uses adversity as a motivational technique to push him to his limits of talent. And that is far beyond what people here slander daily.
I see the let Dak walk or trade him as a Babe Ruth curse for this franchise. While fans here are remiss at actually calling themselves out for their opinions when they backfire. So you won't hear much from those libelers when he succeeds here or somewhere else. This will go down in the history of this team as the most stupid arse decision Jerry and Stephen have ever made. Far surpassing the Randy Moss debacle.
I could be wrong about this. But just quietly consider Jimmy, back-to-back championships, and Jerry allowing him to walk because Jerry didn't get the credit he thinks he deserves. Now ask yourself, could this be a revisit of this monumental fail for the Cowboys?