Jerry Jones says that Brandon Weeden was “too cautious” after the Cowboys quarterback was benched in favor of Matt Cassel.
Weeden posted decent individual statistics as Dallas’s quarterback, but the team went 0-3. Jones told CBS Sports Radio 105.3 in Dallas that switching to Cassel will allow the team to take more chances and play more aggressively on offense.
“I think [Cassel’s] also got experience in basically just stepping up in the pocket and making some plays,” Jones said. “Now, he will, with that experience though, do something that Weeden was not doing. Weeden was so conservative, he was coached to be conservative to a degree, but he was not taking chances with that ball. Now, we know you can’t make plays if you don’t take some chances. So, we’ll see more of that. We could see the risk of that hit us a little bit, but hopefully we’ll be getting our share of them over on the defense with this group we’ve got.”
It wasn’t long ago that Jones was discussing how “gifted” Weeden was as a passer, but he’s clearly soured on him in recent weeks, as this isn’t the first time the Cowboys owner has backhandedly criticized the former Oklahoma State quarterback. Jones is right about the conservatism, as Weeden wasn’t really allowed to take any risks by design. It’s the reason for his completion rating being over 72%, as his pass attempts were generally shorter, high percentage efforts.
Will unleashing Cassel help that much? That remains to be seen, but he’s on his third team in as many seasons for a reason. It’s true, however, that the newcomer is definitely more experienced when it comes to leading an NFL offense. Not that this will come as any consolation to Weeden, who is reportedly “pissed” over losing his job.
