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Jerry Jones “Wasn’t” Criticizing Coaches In Reacting To Dez Bryant’s Injury

Dez Bryant just can’t get out of the news these days. The latest topic of discussion is an ankle sprain he suffered yesterday, one that will keep him out for at least the rest of training camp. Bryant’s owner, Jerry Jones (who often finds himself in the news) reacted to the injury with disappointment…but later said he wasn’t trying to criticize anyone. Color us unconvinced.

Here’s what Jones said initially:

“It was really disappointing and it really causes you to…ask what can you do, what can you do in practices that can mitigate some of the exposure to some of these injuries…the key thing is you ask yourself, ‘Are we pushing him too hard; does it happen at the end of practice when the players are tired?’…we all know now when you get a little tired you can get injured.”

It sure does sound like Jones is questioning the handling of Bryant there. Here are his most recent remarks, clarifying that he said initially:

“I’m not being critical. What I’m being is analytical, or trying to be analytical.

“This is when you all sit down and look at everything you’re doing and see if there’s some things you can do to help protect your team better, especially during this time five to six weeks away from the opening game.”

And while he did say that his current coach, Wade Phillips, is “one of the best [he's] ever been around” at preserving his team during the preseason, well, we can’t shake this image of Jones. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one.

Jones is a very, shall we say, involved presence around the Cowboys, and it’s easy to see how any comment of his could be interpreted as a not-so-subtle suggestion to his coaches – especially when those comments are directed at exactly what the coaches are doing. He might say he didn’t mean to criticize, but he knew what he was saying. He always knows – and he knows Phillips will hear it.

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