Emmitt Smith: Dallas Cowboys 'Wasting Talent' is 'Frustrating as Hell'

"Are we going to just take all of this talent and waste it over three- or four- or five-year time frame?'' - Emmitt Smith

FRISCO - Mark down Emmitt Smith as the latest Dallas Cowboys legend who finds the state of today's Dallas Cowboys to be, as he puts it, "frustrating as hell.''

From Drew Pearson expressing disillusionment with quarterback Dak Prescott (see "$40 Million Disappointment'') to Troy Aikman calling this year's failure "heartbreaking'' (see "How Would I Fix Jerry's Cowboys?'') to Deion Sanders telling CowboysSI.com that the Cowboys "choked'' (see "Not Built for the Moment''), there is an army of Hall of Fame Cowboys who remained stunned at the modern editions of the team inability to get over the hump of success.

And now Emmitt chimes in.

“It’s frustrating as hell,'' said Smith, the NFL all-time leading rusher, in a visit on ESPN San Antonio radio. "You see great talent being wasted! You see time passing!”

The Cowboys finished 12-5 this past season, winning the NFC East, and amid high hopes entered the playoffs with a home game and as a favorite - but were they upset by the San Francisco 49ers.

Dallas has not been a Super Bowl since the 1995 season, when Aikman, Sanders and Smith were featured on the team.

“When I look at our Cowboys I’m looking for… who are we going to be?” Smith said. “Are we going to stay the same? Or are we going to just take all of this talent and waste it over three- or four- or five-year time frame, assuming and expecting to do something great doing the same things over and over and over again? .. And fans are just going to get more and more and more frustrated. With Jerry (owner Jones), with the team, and everything else.”

Smith cited the Cowboys late special-teams coordinator and a slogan about "foxes eating the grapes.''

“As Joe Avezzano used to say, 'It catches up to you when it catches up to you,” Smith said. “In other words, if you don’t eliminate the little foxes in the vineyard, they’re going to eat up all the doggone grapes. And the grapes will be gone, years will be gone, and you’re going to find yourself starting over again.''

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