Stephen Jones on the Cowboys’ large number of penalties, technology in NFL officiating and more
Executive Vice President Stephen Jones recently signed up for the K&C Masterpiece at 105.3 The Fan. connected [KRLD-FM] to discuss everything about cowboys. Here are some of the highlights edited for clarity:
How did Dak Prescott fail to score a touchdown? What better technology to tell if the ball crosses the plane in a scrum?
Jones: “First of all, I think the reason it wasn’t checked was because they briefly said they wouldn’t see the ball. You could obviously see that Dak’s body had gotten into the end zone pretty well, but there was no clear way of telling where the ball was. You can always assume where it is, but that’s not the basis for playback. I think that’s why I’ve been asked many times: why wouldn’t they at least stop the game and play it again? I think they looked quickly and saw that there wasn’t going to be a good picture of the ball. So you have to go with what is called on the field. Obviously there is technology out there that comes with it. There are chips that are in the balls and you have to see how accurate they will ultimately be. You have to have, if you are going to do something like this, it has to be accurate. So it’s in the works, but obviously not at the point where we’re going to use it. It has to be cutting edge technology for us to get to the point, but I think it will be sooner than later where you can find out exactly where the ball should be, whether it’s a payline or a touchdown, that kind of thing. I think the technology is coming. “
What can you do to reduce penalties in the future?
Jones: “I think it’s easy to turn the tape on and go to work and see where we can be better with our tech. We all know what was a big part of the game last night, the offensive hold calls were really what caused it … You know, those officials out there are doing the best job they can. The most important thing you hear on the competition committee from GM coaches, from people across the league, is that everyone just wants consistency. And I know they are trying to offer that, and sometimes you feel like they weren’t as consistent as they could have been. It happens every Sunday and every team will have feelings one way or another. That is the nature of our game. “
On the speed that Ezekiel Elliott has regained …
Jones: “He’s the ultimate competitor. I think last year with the pandemic there were a lot of moving aspects about not being able to have your offseason programs not knowing if you were going to play soccer or not. So it was a tough year last year and we could certainly have done a better job all around, be it with our players, with our coaches or with our organization. If we land where we ended up last year, that shows we could have been better. But I think Zeke is playing at a very high level. He’s always been a tough competitor and dialed into this team. He and Tony Pollard do a great job taking care of this running back spot and it certainly opened up to Dak and the receivers the success they have had on the ball in the last three or four games. Right now, at the level we’re playing, you have to choose what you want to do, and if you choose, other options remain open to other players as they line up, no different than last night and really work on that Stop running, watch out for New England. They did a good job for the most part in stopping the run, but certainly Dak and our receiving corps were able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the focus on the running game. “
After missing so much time, did you expect so much from Randy Gregory?
Jones: “I’ll start with you always doing with Randy: what a great job he did with himself as a person outside of the field. We all know when it came out and that’s why we took a risk. What a great player he was and all the potential he had. You knew you got a good feeling that there was a great soccer player there, but he obviously had some other things to fix in his business. Definitely hats to him. He did that in spades. And now his game is obviously showing up on the field. No, I think he exceeded all expectations for his return. Nobody deserves it more than he does. He is very detailed in his work. He has become a leader of this soccer team. He plays with a lot of energy, he plays hard and he’s the type of soccer player you want on your soccer team. “
Were you impressed that you won a game that you shouldn’t? Did it feel like yesterday wasn’t your day?
Jones: “Really, I really think, and hats to Dak, we feel this way – every time he’s healthy and at the level he’s playing, you feel like you’re winning the game. Have complete trust in him and trust in our defenses. There were a few tough things at the beginning where they quickly hit 14 points, but then I thought we were put on the defensive and held them up pretty well. And then of course we moved the ball. We just had some tough breaks when it came to converting those meters into points. But we really felt that we would get over that and felt that they were going in a good direction there. But I’m glad we did it and felt good when we stopped it and the offensive had the ball, that we’d get a great opportunity to go down there and finish the game. “
Do you like Bye Week where it is?
Jones: “I think we’re good, especially with a little question mark at Dak of course. It’s good that he still has a few weeks here. Of course we have several players in IR who are destined to return. This will give them time to leave another week behind, and I think you might see a few guys return to training after goodbye. So, I think it’s as good as any other and we’re going to take advantage of that and I know Mike [McCarthy] will do a great job of getting their feet back under them and getting them ready to play against a very competitive Vikings team. Of course, we have the greatest respect for Coach [Mike] Zimmer and know they’ll be a handful too when we go there to play the Vikings. “
Click here to hear the full interview.
More cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News can be found here.
[ad_1]