Ed Jones was a legendary Dallas Cowboy so famous that he went by the nickname “Too Tall.” The defensive end played in three Super Bowls, with the team winning the ultimate prize on a January Sunday almost 50 years ago.
Jones and his Cowboys teammates knew how to win in regular season and in the playoffs. They were the Doomsday Defense, after all. And on offense, Roger Staubach rarely failed in a comeback. He had the likes of Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson and an incredible offensive line led by Rayfield Wright to lean on.
And Jones thinks the reason why the current Cowboys, and some other teams across the NFL, don’t get far in the post season is because there are no players who have ever been on the field in the biggest games.
Jones, the No. 1 pick of the 1974 NFL Draft, talked about this topic during a recent interview with CBS Sports.
“If you look at these teams now that make the playoffs, like Buffalo, Baltimore, all those teams, they don’t have anybody on those teams that won a Super Bowl in that locker room,” Jones said. “The regular season is the regular season. It is what it is. To be a champion, you’ve got to be able to get to another level.
“What separates good players and good teams is teams who have players who can go to another level in big games,” said the former Cowboys star. “Every general manager in the league should be out trying to pick up a guy that gets cut or something that’s been to a Super Bowl and put him in that locker room. It makes a big difference.”
In 1970s, Cowboys were loaded with legends
The Cowboys during Jones’ time were loaded with talent and big, bold characters. Dallas selected Jones with the No. 1 pick of the ’74 draft not knowing for sure if he could play at an elite level. After all, Jones started college as a basketball player at Tennessee State. He quit hoops to concentrate on football two years into college. And as legend has it, the 6-foot-9-inch Jones got the name of “Too Tall” his first day at football practice. Team managers couldn’t find a pair of pants long enough to fit his legs. He was too tall for the uniform.
The Cowboys of the 1970s featured defensive players like Jones, Randy White, Harvey Martin, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, Jethro Pugh and D.D. Lewis. They knew how to win games.
And Jones says those kinds of players are missing from the current Cowboys. They can win in the regular season, but that’s it.
“That is definitely one of the things,” Jones told CBS Sports. “The team plays too well every year. They win 12 games every year and they’re a different animal in the playoffs. And let me say this in [coach Mike McCarthy’s] defense. Coaches can’t do it all to put you over the top. You must have internal leadership. I’m not just talking about captains. I’m talking about a guy in that locker room that’s been there, done that, knows what he’s talking about, and players will follow.
“Who will they follow? Dallas don’t have it. Several teams don’t have it,” Jones said. “That’s just one of the things. They’re missing a few horses in key positions, too, but oftentimes, when you have the right leadership and the right chemistry, you make up for it.”
