Former Cowboys coach Kellen Moore confirms suspicion about problem Jerry Jones is trying to gaslight fans about
Despite the NFL world being witness to it for several years now, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones insists sunlight at AT&T Stadium isn't a problem. Never mind the multiple instances in which it has been painfully evident for the Cowboys, like CeeDee Lamb missing Cooper Rush's would-be touchdown pass in the endzone which could've lead to […]
Despite the NFL world being witness to it for several years now, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones insists sunlight at AT&T Stadium isn't a problem.
Never mind the multiple instances in which it has been painfully evident for the Cowboys, like CeeDee Lamb missing Cooper Rush's would-be touchdown pass in the endzone which could've lead to a much better situation in Week 10. Or that playoff game in which Cedrick Wilson totally missed the football on an on-target pass. Or heck, when Dez Bryant (yes, this has been going on since the Dez days) was so tired of it he claimed it had to get fixed.
Speaking of Lamb, he said postgame he was "1,000%" in favor of using curtains at the stadium. Moments earlier, Jerry Jones had sarcastically asked reporters if they wanted him to tear down the stadium (AT&T Stadium has used curtains for other events, including WWE, NBA games, and concerts).
But on Tuesday, it was an old friend with some experience in Dallas that confirmed based on his own experience coaching with the Cowboys that the sunlight is an issue in Arlington: Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
"Yeah (it's an issue), in general for everyone, been there, I was there a long time," Moore told reporters when asked if it had affected Jalen Hurts. "The sun plays a decent role and so you just have to call plays according to it and knowing certain parts of the field at times can be a little challenging."
Although Moore's comments confirm it's a problem when Jones is doing his best to convince Cowboys fans that it isn't, the owner likely loved to hear his former coordinator's words about calling plays knowing which parts of the field are affected. Jerry argued on the radio that it's an advantage to Dallas.
"I don't want to adjust it for one reason, it is an advantage to us," Jones told 105.3 The Fan. "Over the years, we've played 52 games that have anything to do with the time of the year when that sun could be there (…) We've won the majority of them."
In fact, Jones even used Moore as an example of someone who knew how to handle it.
"Kellen Moore knew about it," Jones added. "I'm sure he spent a lot of time planning and thinking about where the sun was going to be."
It doesn't make sense to think about the sunlight in AT&T Stadium as an advantage for the Cowboys
It's difficult to envision the sunlight at AT&T Stadium as an advantage for the Cowboys for several reasons. First of all, it simply doesn't happen all that much for a team to buy into it as an advantage or even get used to it. It's not the green monster, which sits on left field of Fenway Park or the short porch on right field of Yankee Stadium. If it was a "benefit" for the team, it'd be one that they only get to cash in a few games a year. They don't even train at the venue!
It's unlike the altitude teams have to deal with when they travel to face the Denver Broncos, nor the punishing heat of playing in Miami early in the year or the tremendous cold of Green Bay and other places.
Additionally, it's not like the portions of the field that are affected by sunlight are small. Sometimes, as the picture below shows, it leaves a third of the field unaffected. If that's the advantage, how is the tradeoff even worth it in a game where spacing is everything?
Last but not least, the Cowboys are naturally at a disadvantage just based on the fact that they're playing so many games in this over time. And they don't even control when they get the sun against or in favor because they'd need to win the coin toss to have such a decision on a game-by-game basis. By the way, the Cowboys won the toss on Sunday and elected to receive, thus it was the Eagles who picked the field at first.
It's a problem, and one that won't go away until the front office admits it. It's certainly not an advantage. So what are they waiting for?
