Jones Steers Clear Of Quarterback Debate
Mickey Spagnola - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
October 24, 2006 5:01 PM Change Font Size A A A A
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' team is headed for a critical three-game road trip.
IRVING, Texas - Cowboys owner Jerry Jones realized Monday night there was enough fuel being spilled on his team's red-hot quarterback fire that he didn't need to do anything to fan those lapping flames.
So Jones very carefully deflected the delicate questions concerning the Cowboys' quarterback situation stirred up when Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells decided at halftime of the team's 36-22 loss to the New York Giants here at Texas Stadium to bench veteran starter Drew Bledsoe for inexperienced backup Tony Romo.
"Really, I'm not getting into the decision or any aspect of the decision," Jones said. "There were a lot of mistakes out there for everybody. It's pretty frustrating."
When asked about Romo's performance, completing 14 of 25 passes for 227 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, again Jones was hesitant to pass judgment, and especially not on if he thinks Romo will take over the starting quarterbacking job.
"I'm not getting into that," Jones said. "Romo did some good things, but he also made some mistakes out there, and we'll just see where we go from there."
Romo's first pass attempt in the game was picked off by Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce after defensive end Michael Strahan batted the rollout-throw high in the air for easy pickings. The interception return to the Cowboys' 14-yard line set up the next Giants touchdown, giving them a 19-7 lead with only 55 seconds gone by in the third quarter.
Romo would throw touchdown passes to Terrell Owens (eight yards) and Patrick Crayton (53 yards), the second coming in mop-up time, but he also was picked off two more times by the Giants, who would finish the game with four interceptions, six sacks, nine quarterback hurries and an extremely high number of passes defensed (13).
"I'm more disappointed in the game," said Jones, knowing the Cowboys not only dropped to 3-3, just a game off the 4-2 Giants' NFC East-leading pace, but also to just 1-2 after the first round of NFC East play with the Giants sitting there at 3-0. "That was an important game for us, we know that. We didn't play like we wanted to play, but I'm disappointed in the game."
When asked if he thought these first six games confirm the Cowboys to be an average team after so much was expected heading into the 2006 season, Jones said, "Well, we're six games into it, and that's what happened to us so far," meaning winning those games against teams with losing records and losing to those teams with winning records.
"I think 3-3 is half and half - half full, half empty. I don't know if that's average."
Jones would give no indication if he thought Parcells' decision to change quarterbacks was just for Monday night, or if this decision to bench his 14-year veteran starter and first draft choice back in 1993 when he took over the New England Patriots was for just this game or if it will be for the season. Bledsoe currently has a quarterback rating of 69.2, next to last in the NFC, and has been intercepted more times (eight) than he has thrown touchdown passes.
And this was the second time in three games Bledsoe has been intercepted in the end zone with the Cowboys sitting inside the opponent's 10-yard line, poised to score a critical touchdown. Against Philadelphia, the Cowboys were trying to force overtime in the final minute. Monday night, the Cowboys, after a disastrous first half, were attempting to take a 14-12 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
If Parcells decides to go with Romo heading into the Sunday night game at Carolina, Jones said, knowing Monday night was the first NFL snaps of consequence for Romo during his four seasons with the Cowboys, "He's going to make some good plays and early he's going to make some bad plays, and we just got to really work, work during the week to keep him from making those bad plays."
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