'Same Old Story!' What's Aikman Mean with 'Bold' Cowboys Playoff Analysis?

'Same Old Story!' What's Troy Aikman Mean with 'Bold' Dallas Cowboys Playoff Analysis?

FRISCO - We will grant the merciless critics of the Dallas Cowboys this much: When former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman speaks on the 2023 team's "shocking'' playoff ouster at the hands of the underdog Packers, it is easy to misinterpret his meaning.

Start with his recent remark from our exclusive Video Visit with the Hall of Famer: "The fans are shocked, the organization is shocked, I'm shocked. I was planning on going to the championship game this week in San Francisco and I was planning on the Cowboys playing in it. It gets harder every year when you come up short like that ...''

And now marry that with another comment Aikman made after the Cowboys for the third straight year finished with a dazzling 12-5 regular-season record before their postseason flop ... 

The one about this being "the same old story.''

That comment, though, needs context. It is being painted as being a "bold'' take and a criticism, fueling the notion that Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in Dallas and who despite his ESPN media perch holds a place in his heart for Jerry Jones' Cowboys, "dislikes'' the team and the owner.

But again, to that "context'' ...

“It’s the same old story,'' Aikman said carefully, adding, "and I don’t mean that as a criticism.''

The second part of that sentence is as important as the first. He's not being "bold.'' He's not even being "critical.'' Rather, as he explains in full, he's rather mystified by it all.

“I’m asked about the Cowboys as to why they have struggled,'' Aikman said. "They’ve put together some really great regular seasons and they just have not for whatever reasons (played) their best football when the games matters most. That’s what you have to do. That’s the key to winning in the postseason and then getting into the Super Bowl.''

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No disagreement there. So, amid the annual calls for Jerry to "hire Troy as the GM!'' and the like, we have identified the illness. The next issue, though - and this requires less talk of Aikman's remarks being "bold'' and more examination of his true feelings - what is the cure?

And this is where Troy Aikman isn't trying to be "bold.'' He's just being honest.

"What the answer to that is,'' Aikman said, "I’m not sure.”