FRISCO - Maybe we can sugarcoat it and call it "salesmanship.''
Or maybe we can strip it down to the studs and call it what it is.
It's a lie.
Nearly a year ago, Dallas Cowboys brass began promising an attitude for the offseason that would lead to an "All-In" campaign for the 2024 season.
The truth? Jerry Jones was "all-in'' on signing Dak Prescott - eventually. But otherwise, the theme to the season was truly "Blow It Up.''
The Cowboys regressed in a significant way, going 7-10 and ending a streak of three straight playoff appearances. They also ended their streak of 12-win seasons while plummeting to third in an improved NFC East.
Granted, injuries hurt their cause in a significant way. Once Prescott went down with a season-ending hamstring injury, any faint hopes of contention disappeared.
But half the roster was on one-year contracts. And so was the entirety of coach Mike McCarthy's lame-duck staff.
The Cowboys weren't "tanking,'' or "trying to lose on purpose,'' or "trying to sabotage Dak.''
But as they let 11 valued free agents walk while signing only one significant player and making no significant trades, Jerry and company took almost no positive roster-building action toward making the team better on the path toward winning Super Bowl 59.
And no, signing Dak and CeeDee Lamb - contrary to what Jones is pretending - does not count as "positive roster-building action'' ... because they were already on the team.
Their presence on the 2024 Dallas roster didn't make Dallas better; it made Dallas the same.
We've talked about it all being part of a plan to remodel in 2025 with $100 million of possible cap room ... and we shall see.
But as it relates to this Super Bowl, in New Orleans, where Jerry held court late in the week? There is nothing Dallas did in 2024 that pointed to a berth in this Big Game.
And yet, Jerry's sugarcoated lie ...
"I wouldn't have signed Dak Prescott, highest-paid player in the NFL, if now wasn't when we wanted to win,'' Jerry said. "This is a shocker to be here at this Super Bowl and not have the Cowboys here (playing in it.)''
