ESPN analyst Darren Woodson spent his entire 12 year playing career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Lately a lot of articles and news about the Cowboys is dictated around owner Jerry Jones and the distraction that he has become.
Woodson spoke with the Dallas Morning News recently, stating that “distractions are overrated,” and “he never really listened to the outlandish things Jerry Jones said.”
No, not at all. I remember one time Bill Cosby came into the locker room before a game and I didn’t feel like it was a distraction. He was walking up to us and shaking everyone’s hand. He was a guest of Jerry’s. It was during the pregame, two hours before the game. The guy walked in and walked out, and it was no big deal. I’ve seen Arabian princes walk in and out, and to me it was no big deal. The Cowboys aren’t the only organization that goes through that. I remember going to the Chicago Bears locker room and they had a well-off guy there, and everybody was shaking his hand. It was no big deal.
Woodson was then asked if the comments Jerry Jones makes to the media make it hard for a coach to get his message across.
I don’t think the players really care. I mean, Jerry may have made comments outside of the locker room or during the week, but 98% of the things that were said, I never even heard. And when we did hear it, it was no big deal. It doesn’t affect guys when you’re preparing for a football game. I’ve always thought the distractions were so overrated. Let’s say you have a guy who gets arrested for something. You feel bad for that situation, you feel bad for that player, but at the same time, it’s not going to affect me in my preparation. I’m going to prepare the exact same way. It’s going to affect that player who’s going through the turmoil, but the other 53 players on that roster, it doesn’t affect what you do on a day-to-day basis. I’m going to prepare the same way, I’m going to get myself ready for the game, and I’m going to move on. It’s almost the exact same as being in corporate America and being in an office. If someone goes through some issues in their personal life, you feel bad for them, but it doesn’t affect your work. You still have got to move on and do the right thing.
That’s a Cowboys from the past telling the new breed of Cowboys to just go out and play.