DMN Blog: Troy Aikman has one problem with the way Cowboys cut T.O.

[WoodysGirl]

1:34 PM Tue, Apr 07, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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Troy Aikman believes in addition by subtraction, so he was on board with Jerry Jones' decision to boot T.O. from Valley Ranch.

But Aikman didn't like the way it was announced. He thought Jerry did his franchise quarterback a disservice by publicly vowing to make the Cowboys "Romo friendly" days before releasing T.O.

"I don't know that it's Romo friendly," Aikman said this afternoon. "I think maybe terming it better would be quarterback friendly, whether it's Tony Romo or anybody else. Based on saying, 'Hey, we want to make it Romo friendly,' I think that takes away from why the decision was made.

"I do know this: When you lose a guy like Terrell Owens, you're losing a pretty talented guy. The decision was apparently made that losing a talented player, there would be addition by subtraction because of some of the things that had gone on, whether it be in the locker room or during the course of the ballgame and some of the distractions.

"Time will tell, but with that decision, there's no question that it puts a lot of pressure squarely on the shoulders of Tony Romo, based on the way that decision was announced."

While Aikman has reservations about the Cowboys' remaining receivers -- especially Roy Williams -- he believes that letting T.O. go was in the best interests of the team.

"When there's pressure on an organization to try to make a player happy," Aikman said, "that is not how you win football games."

Count Aikman among those who believed that the circus atmosphere that surrounded T.O. took a negative toll on the team.

T.O. didn't publicly point fingers during the Romo/Jason Witten/T.O. triangle drama. However, he did blow up on the sideline in Pittsburgh. Romo and Witten each accepted blame for the interception that decided the game, while T.O. made sure the world knew that he was open on the play.

T.O. also blasted offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who happens to be Aikman's good friend, during a carefully orchestrated interview with NFL Network's Deion Sanders on the heel of a huge win in Washington. That sort of thing definitely didn't sit well with Aikman.

"I played with a guy who wanted the ball every play as well in Michael Irvin," Aikman said. "But there was never a confrontation between he and I on why he wasn't getting the ball, and he didn't always get a lot of balls in his direction. He understood why it was happening, and I certainly never had to read about it in the papers or he wasn't constantly asked by the media, hoping that they could get a sensational sound bite that would run on the evening news that night.

"I think there's just a lot of drama that gets taken out of the equation. There's frustrations within every locker room, but that's where it should stay, and I think how some of those things were handled presented a problem.

"Hopefully, whether it's Jason Garrett or Tony Romo or Jason Witten or any of the other players, they're just going to go play and recognize that from week-to-week we're going to do what gives us the best chance to win. I've always believed that if you win, that should be good enough. My career was based on that.

"I really don't have a lot of good things to say about anybody who comes out and vocalizes their displeasure because they're not getting more passes or more throws or more carries. To me, that's not what this game is about."

That's not what the Cowboys are about any more, either.

 

[xWraithx]

Oh how I long for the days of yore everytime I hear/read Aikman, Irvin, and/or Emmitt talk about one another

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I value the opinion. I don't know that I totally 100% agree with it but I agree with at least the vast majority of it.

 

[Reality]

While I don't dislike TO, I am glad that the Cowboys are moving on without him. However, all of that being said, I think Troy Aikman is forgetting one major factor .. the media of 2007-2009 is a LOT different than the media of 1989-1999!

Competition is fierce both online and on TV and networks like ESPN thrive on sound bytes and controversey and most sports media outlets feature athletes with big egos, loud mouths or who are all too willing to belittle other players, coaches, etc.

There are so many stories that are just coming out about Irvin and many of the other Cowboys during the 90's that would have been front page, lead story, etc. news for days if not weeks at a time if they were to happen now.

I really like Aikman but I think he tries to maintain this illusion that "in his time" everything was better when it wasn't. The only difference is that the 90's Cowboys were winning Super Bowls and the media did not have the access or the public exposure that they have today.

-Reality

 

[TellerMorrow34]

The only real problem I have with Troy is that I don't recall him screaming at the top of his lungs for Irvin to be shipped out of Dallas when all his off the field BS started to be an issue.

It's really easy to sit in a booth and say, "Hey this guy is a cancer, get rid of him." But it's not quite so easy when it's your receiver that is causing drama and a circus atmosphere is it Troy?

 

[Rampage]

I agree with Aikman's take on the whole "Romo friendly" thing. But it happened so it's time to move on.

 

[Doomsday101]

The only real problem I have with Troy is that I don't recall him screaming at the top of his lungs for Irvin to be shipped out of Dallas when all his off the field BS started to be an issue.

It's really easy to sit in a booth and say, "Hey this guy is a cancer, get rid of him." But it's not quite so easy when it's your receiver that is causing drama and a circus atmosphere is it Troy?

I don't recall any of the cowboy players screaming at the top of their lungs to ship off TO. I do agree with Troy in the fact that Irvin wanting the ball and how he went about and how TO went about it are different. That Cowboys group was a team where individual numbers did not matter as much as winning. Hell Troy could have been hollering to throw more passes to be able to put up the numbers of other top ranked QB's but what Dallas was doing was working and they were winning which was the only important part to Aikman.

 

[DallasEast]

http://i356.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo4/DallasEast1701/aikmanknows.jpg​

 

[WoodysGirl]

While I don't dislike TO, I am glad that the Cowboys are moving on without him. However, all of that being said, I think Troy Aikman is forgetting one major factor .. the media of 2007-2009 is a LOT different than the media of 1989-1999!

Competition is fierce both online and on TV and networks like ESPN thrive on sound bytes and controversey and most sports media outlets feature athletes with big egos, loud mouths or who are all too willing to belittle other players, coaches, etc.

There are so many stories that are just coming out about Irvin and many of the other Cowboys during the 90's that would have been front page, lead story, etc. news for days if not weeks at a time if they were to happen now.

I really like Aikman but I think he tries to maintain this illusion that "in his time" everything was better when it wasn't. The only difference is that the 90's Cowboys were winning Super Bowls and the media did not have the access or the public exposure that they have today.

-Reality

and not because your my boss...

 

[Apollo Creed]

I just imagine what our offseason/draft would've been like had we not made the trade for RW.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I just imagine what our offseason/draft would've been like had we not made the trade for RW.

People still would've found a reason to complain either about the player we picked or whether or not we should trade it for more picks. And if we did trade down, then they would've *****ed and moaned about those picks. And remember, if we HAD NOT made the trade for RW, a lot of folks would be rueing the fact that we didn't trade for him (including the media).

Rue, rue, rue. That's what we do around here.

 

[Apollo Creed]

People still would've found a reason to complain either about the player we picked or whether or not we should trade it for more picks. And if we did trade down, then they would've *****ed and moaned about those picks. And remember, if we HAD NOT made the trade for RW, a lot of folks would be rueing the fact that we didn't trade for him (including the media).

Rue, rue, rue. That's what we do around here.

I was thinking of Rampage's "Draft Michael Crabtree" campaign that would be underway right now.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I was thinking of Rampage's "Draft Michael Crabtree" campaign that would be underway right now.

We would surely have to move up from #20 to do that. The question is, if Roy wasn't here, would TO still be a Cowboy?

 

[Rampage]

I was thinking of Rampage's "Draft Michael Crabtree" campaign that would be underway right now.

well who would you want if we didn't make the trade for Roy and also cut Owens? would you be happy with Crayton and Austin as your #1 and #2 wrs.

 

[gbrittain]

The only real problem I have with Troy is that I don't recall him screaming at the top of his lungs for Irvin to be shipped out of Dallas when all his off the field BS started to be an issue.

It's really easy to sit in a booth and say, "Hey this guy is a cancer, get rid of him." But it's not quite so easy when it's your receiver that is causing drama and a circus atmosphere is it Troy?

I might be missing your point or Troy Aikman's point or maybe even both points, but unless he called for Romo to scream at the top of his lungs to jettison TO then I am not sure what the problem is.

On another note, I don't think Aikman the broadcaster has to have the same mentaility he may have had as the QB of the Dallas Cowboys.

 

[khiladi]

"T.O. also blasted offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who happens to be Aikman's good friend, during a carefully orchestrated interview with NFL Network's Deion Sanders on the heel of a huge win in Washington. That sort of thing definitely didn't sit well with Aikman."Who cares what Aikman thinks about that? The fact is:1. TO was getting attacked before the Commanders game for the alleged drop in production.2. The Deion interview was scheduled, most likely, before the Commanders game.3. The Deion interview was meant to address the alleged drop in production of TO. He was responding to negative criticism, because he was being attacked previously.4. TO was criticizing Garrett before the Commanders game, when he was constantly faced with comments about how he has lost a step.5. TO was saying before the Commanders game that teams had figured this offense out.6. Even after all of this, the fact remains. After the Commanders game, the offense went back to what is was doing throughout the year. Jason Garrett did not adjust and the offense, even after the alleged 'big win', couldn't do jack-squat. The interview of Deion didn't affect how Garrett approached the game, so the interview of TO was essentially a non-factor.The idea that it was 'carefully' orchestrated in light of the 'huge win' of the Commanders is just ridiculous. The TO interview was simply a forum where TO vented that his drop in production was that he lost a step, answering the charges of his critics who were whining all year long. There is a reason the Cowboys went out and got Roy Williams and were harping about how it would open up the offense. Just because Garrett failed in even using RW, shouldn't make the 'interview' appear more relevant then it actually was. I don't see Aikman whining that Roy Williams was calling out Garrett in interviews after the season.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

So Troy wanted TO to go... His whole problem is that Jerry said "Romo friendly" instead of "quarterback friendly"? Hello? Would there be any question who "quarterback friendly" referred to?

And as far as that comment putting so much pressure on Romo... Troy should know better than anyone that there's a ton of pressure on Romo already. The wording of one Jerry comment doesn't change that at all.

 

[khiladi]

Also, Troy Aikman is making some stupid comments, simply based upon the fact that when he retired and Michael retired, the media was a whole different ball-game. Half the country didn't have ESPN. Even then, I still remember the media attacking the Cowboys and their image. The fact that Jerry Jones went out and got Greg Ellis instead of Randy Moss is just an example of how the media was attacking them. If ESPN was like it was back then, Irvin would have been harped on every single minute of the day.

 

[Concord]

I've always believed that if you win, that should be good enough. My career was based on that.

And what a career it was.

Man what I wouldn't give to re-live those Super Bowl years.

That was a special blend of players that I don't know if we'll ever see again.

 

[adbutcher]

While I don't dislike TO, I am glad that the Cowboys are moving on without him. However, all of that being said, I think Troy Aikman is forgetting one major factor .. the media of 2007-2009 is a LOT different than the media of 1989-1999!

Competition is fierce both online and on TV and networks like ESPN thrive on sound bytes and controversey and most sports media outlets feature athletes with big egos, loud mouths or who are all too willing to belittle other players, coaches, etc.

There are so many stories that are just coming out about Irvin and many of the other Cowboys during the 90's that would have been front page, lead story, etc. news for days if not weeks at a time if they were to happen now.

I really like Aikman but I think he tries to maintain this illusion that "in his time" everything was better when it wasn't. The only difference is that the 90's Cowboys were winning Super Bowls and the media did not have the access or the public exposure that they have today.

-Reality

Just because you go by the name Reality does not mean you should always try to speak the truth.