CCBoy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 47,017
- Reaction score
- 22,608
Four questions for legendary Dallas Cowboys tight end Billy Joe Dupree
By Jeff Magnia
November 20, 2014 1:55 pm CST
http://cover32.com/cowboys/2014/11/...ry-dallas-cowboys-tight-end-billy-joe-dupree/
With all of the cold weather hitting the nation, the pit stayed cold especially since the Dallas Cowboys were on a bye week. I took another week away from the questions to bring you an interview that I had done prior to the season. BBQ will return next week after the Cowboys take on the New York Giants on Sunday night football in East Rutherford, New York at 7:30 PM central time.
Over the summer, I met with legendary Dallas Cowboy Billy Joe Dupree. Dupree came to Houston for an autograph signing, courtesy of Houston DC Nation. Chris Trevino and George Rodriguez put on a great event with Dupree in the house.
Dupree was drafted in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection from 1976-78. He was also the leading receiver in Super Bowl XII, as Dallas defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10. I was able to sit down with Dupree at Houston’s PH2. The interview was done on July 12th, prior to the season starting.
So Billy Joe, since retiring from the Cowboys in 1983, what have you been up to these days?
Well actually I should say no good, but.
[LAUGH]
Since I’ve retired I started a construction company three years before I retired, stayed in that for. Oh about ten twelve years, then I went to work for somebody, but worked for the city of Dallas as a full time job plus I wanted to spend more time with the kids as they were growing up. And that and these days I’m somewhat semi-retired but also, in the mix of the couple of law suits the NFL has been involved in. As well as we did a book, helped coauthor a book a couple of years ago called The Unbroken Line and we’re in the process of moving that forward trying to find some interest up in California someplace.
What do you think of Jason Witten and, how does he compare to the tight ends of your era?
Oh, first of all I’d say Jason is, one heck of an individual. And actually, the better person as a player which says a great deal about him being in that particular [INAUDIBLE], Jason has fell into a timeline and a format in the NFL where tight ends are more receivers than blockers.
To a certain degree, he’s held his own in the league. It is just unfortunate that the team as a whole hasn’t came up to the level that he’s been performing at these days.
So, you mentioned the passing game. With the game of football going to mainly you know, throwing the ball down field, how do you think you would play in today’s game?
Well I’ll express it to you this way. It took Jason over a 100 catches and a 1,000 yards to generate nine touchdowns in a season. It took me 28 catches, 29 catches, for nine touchdowns, which had just happened to tie over two or three years ago. Now if I hadn’t been in and out of the game I probably would have averaged somewhere around forty five or fifty catches.
But that’s the role that was assigned to him, that’s the one he’ll take. Jason’s doing a great job and I hope he gets an opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame because he’s had a spectacular career.
In comparing the two owners, you had Tom Landry and Clint Murchison Jr., and now there’s Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett,. In your opinion, how do the two compare?
Well, first of all, and I don’t have any reservations about what I say and who I say it about. But that’s a little obscure in how you describe that. There was Tom Landry.
Now it’s Jerry, Jerry, and Jerry. The other guys are just following suit, but I think he’s done a fabulous job for the organization of the team as a whole, but the team has not caught up with the development of the brand itself.
It was a real treat to hear the prospective of Dupree. After the event, he spoke with some of the fans that stuck around and talked about how it was in being a player for Tom Landry. He didn’t speak a negative word about him, stating that “They were always ready to play under Landry.” Hearing his side of how it was back then, it was a fans dream come true to hear things from a players view...
By Jeff Magnia
November 20, 2014 1:55 pm CST
http://cover32.com/cowboys/2014/11/...ry-dallas-cowboys-tight-end-billy-joe-dupree/
With all of the cold weather hitting the nation, the pit stayed cold especially since the Dallas Cowboys were on a bye week. I took another week away from the questions to bring you an interview that I had done prior to the season. BBQ will return next week after the Cowboys take on the New York Giants on Sunday night football in East Rutherford, New York at 7:30 PM central time.
Over the summer, I met with legendary Dallas Cowboy Billy Joe Dupree. Dupree came to Houston for an autograph signing, courtesy of Houston DC Nation. Chris Trevino and George Rodriguez put on a great event with Dupree in the house.
Dupree was drafted in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection from 1976-78. He was also the leading receiver in Super Bowl XII, as Dallas defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10. I was able to sit down with Dupree at Houston’s PH2. The interview was done on July 12th, prior to the season starting.
So Billy Joe, since retiring from the Cowboys in 1983, what have you been up to these days?
Well actually I should say no good, but.
[LAUGH]
Since I’ve retired I started a construction company three years before I retired, stayed in that for. Oh about ten twelve years, then I went to work for somebody, but worked for the city of Dallas as a full time job plus I wanted to spend more time with the kids as they were growing up. And that and these days I’m somewhat semi-retired but also, in the mix of the couple of law suits the NFL has been involved in. As well as we did a book, helped coauthor a book a couple of years ago called The Unbroken Line and we’re in the process of moving that forward trying to find some interest up in California someplace.
What do you think of Jason Witten and, how does he compare to the tight ends of your era?
Oh, first of all I’d say Jason is, one heck of an individual. And actually, the better person as a player which says a great deal about him being in that particular [INAUDIBLE], Jason has fell into a timeline and a format in the NFL where tight ends are more receivers than blockers.
To a certain degree, he’s held his own in the league. It is just unfortunate that the team as a whole hasn’t came up to the level that he’s been performing at these days.
So, you mentioned the passing game. With the game of football going to mainly you know, throwing the ball down field, how do you think you would play in today’s game?
Well I’ll express it to you this way. It took Jason over a 100 catches and a 1,000 yards to generate nine touchdowns in a season. It took me 28 catches, 29 catches, for nine touchdowns, which had just happened to tie over two or three years ago. Now if I hadn’t been in and out of the game I probably would have averaged somewhere around forty five or fifty catches.
But that’s the role that was assigned to him, that’s the one he’ll take. Jason’s doing a great job and I hope he gets an opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame because he’s had a spectacular career.
In comparing the two owners, you had Tom Landry and Clint Murchison Jr., and now there’s Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett,. In your opinion, how do the two compare?
Well, first of all, and I don’t have any reservations about what I say and who I say it about. But that’s a little obscure in how you describe that. There was Tom Landry.
Now it’s Jerry, Jerry, and Jerry. The other guys are just following suit, but I think he’s done a fabulous job for the organization of the team as a whole, but the team has not caught up with the development of the brand itself.
It was a real treat to hear the prospective of Dupree. After the event, he spoke with some of the fans that stuck around and talked about how it was in being a player for Tom Landry. He didn’t speak a negative word about him, stating that “They were always ready to play under Landry.” Hearing his side of how it was back then, it was a fans dream come true to hear things from a players view...