The Dallas Cowboys are taking a predictable approach for the well-covered Sunday Night Football matchup against Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers. It is fitting that only weeks after trading away your best player, he would return to attempt to push you to 1-3 on the season and, in doing so, kill playoff hopes.
With this in mind, it has been a well-covered subject that The Athletic's Jon Machota reported head coach Brian Schottenheimer's thoughts on. When asked about Micah's pending return, the head coach offered, “Who’s coming to town?… He plays for Green Bay?”
Schottenheimer's sarcastic response is understandable when you consider he never was in a leadership position over Parsons while the star was in Dallas. Opting to just ignore the question makes a level of sense, even if it does show a tinge of disrespect. Something that owner Jerry Jones just openly embraced with Star Telegram's Nick Harris reporting Jones' comments on Parsons' return. When asked about a possible tribute for Parsons, Jones offered the following:
"I don’t think that’s appropriate this week. Emmitt’s a different story. That’s not to diminish Micah, but I think Micah’s got enough welcome out there."Jerry Jones
Again, this screams an insecure owner who is choosing to be petty over honoring a player who is the most talented piece you've rostered for the last decade. No player has Parsons' potential ceiling or impact on either side of the ball in recent memory. Still, Jones would prefer to fuel the star and hand even more bulletin board material to the Packers ahead of a matchup that could doom Dallas in the NFC wildcard race.
Cowboys Leadership Continues to Disrespect the Dallas Legacy of Micah Parsons
If Jones could think beyond his own hurt feelings, the owner would realize the power of a tribute video for one of your best players. Not only are you choosing a classy way out of a tough situation, you're opting to play an emotional card that could push a star a bit out of his comfort zone ahead of the game. There is a level of mind games you can play with the video, doing the right thing while attempting to gain an advantage.
However, it isn't a surprise that Dallas ownership cannot see this angle, but only the frustration they have with the star. Choosing to compare Parsons to another Dallas great while pointing out why honoring the tribute isn't needed is simply disrespectful and fueling Parsons in a game where you're already a decided underdog.
This leaves no question as to who deserves blame for the way things ended with the star and the defensive fallout that has followed. Dallas, being among the worst defensive units in the league, isn't a shock when you consider how much everything rested on the shoulders of Parsons.
Still, even after watching what this defense looked like without him, the Cowboys had to take the predictable approach of fueling the defender even further and refusing to acknowledge what he meant to this franchise.