FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys simply cannot win.
And no, in this case, we're not talking about 29 years of Super Bowl drought.
In recent days, Dak Prescott has spoken openly about his belief that this team is "very close'' to winning a Super Bowl.
While he might be wrong, it occurs to us that Prescott is now getting unfairly criticized for saying what every Cowboys fan should want to hear.
Also in recent days, the subject of trading Micah Parsons has been broached here inside The Star. And while we've chastised whomever it was who leaked that information to NFL.com (hint: His last name begins with "J'') ... we also believe that Dallas is right to (privately) explore every single option in roster-building.
What's the problem here?
The problem is that certain media members who's stock in trade is "hating'' the Cowboys are offering up empty-calorie criticism of all things Dallas.
The FS1 response to the Micah story comes from LeSean McCoy, who in his effort to passionately defend Parsons then went off the deep end, insisting that any thought of trading him is "disrespectful.''
McCoy took the loony position that the Cowboys must now trade Micah because they simply don’t deserve such a talent on their roster.
And across the figurative street at ESPN? The master of fake outrage - and surely the model of what McCoy is trying to achieve - is Stephen A. Smith.
His predictably over-the-top take?
“Clearly delusional,” Smith said on ESPN. “This is Dak Prescott, when has he not been delusional? I mean, we’ve seen evidence of this time and time again from this guy.”
As Cowboys fans have (hopefully) figured out by now, this is all segment-filling baloney.
There is nothing especially wrong with Dak believing in his team ... and while you might disagree with his evaluation, personal insults really aren't necessary.
Similarly, there is nothing wrong with Dallas wondering about the value of Micah ... and while you might disagree with the Cowboys' answer ... no, they aren't "insulting'' him.
All of this is part of the cost of playing for (and rooting for) the Cowboys ... with our only real hope here being that the audience understands that what Smith and McCoy are doing here is "performance art.''
They are not "analysts.'' They are "actors.''
