Jerry Jones' Actions Putting Dallas Cowboys Success in Question

The contract given to Terrence Newman a month ago is 100 times as much money. The contract given to Marion Barber is 90 times as much money. So why is Jerry Jones possibly risking the season over $500,000?

This is what the dispute between Dallas Cowboys ownership and Terry Glenn amounts to. Now Glenn wants to be released, and the already thin Cowboys' receiving corps is looking at the possibility of losing a starting receiver.

Jerry Jones has never been accused of being stingy. One of the main reasons the Cowboys have three Lombardi trophies from the '90s is because Jones has been willing to bring in the right players, regardless of cost.

Now is not the time for him to change that reputation.

You can make the case that this was an explosive Cowboys offense last year with Glenn on the sidelines, and that they can do the same this year. A closer look will show there was a significant drop-off in production toward the end of the year and in the playoffs. 

The safe bet is that with Glenn in the lineup, it may have been a different story. Patrick Crayton failed to step up, and as opposing defenses learned to double Terrell Owens and blitz Tony Romo, the offense sputtered.

This doesn't bode well for 2008.

Unless one of the young Cowboy receivers (Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, or Isaiah Stanback) steps up big this year, we will see a repeat of last season. The safe money is on that not happening.

This leaves two options:

1. Hope Glenn is healthy and back to 2006 form when he caught 70 passes and scored six TDs.

2. Make a trade for another top-flight receiver.

Since the Cowboys already tried and failed to get a receiver via trade before the draft, that option is almost certainly not plausible. Granted, it looks more likely than not that Chad Johnson will not be in a Cincinnati Bengals uniform come opening Sunday, there is no guarantee that he will land in Dallas.

This leaves you with Glenn, who says he's been cleared to play by the doctor who performed the surgery on his knee. Now it seems that Jerry Jones has alienated him, possibly beyond reconciliation. 

All over $500,000.