Jerry Jones: Keep an eye on Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones hopes this is the year the Cowboys return to the postseason. (USATSI)

If nothing else, Jerry Jones is the eternal optimist, even if the face of sometimes overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

After a season-opening loss to the 49ers followed by wins over the Titans and Rams, the 2-1 Cowboys host the 1-2 Saints on Sunday night. And Jones likes where his team is and, hopefully, where they're going.

"I think we've shown some things that would cause you to hold in discounting us," Jones said during his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). "That's an awkward way of saying that we should be looked at out of the corner of peoples' eye."

In each of the last three seasons, the Cowboys have finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. In each instance, the team needed only a Week 17 win to qualify for the postseason. It never happened. Meanwhile, Jones knows talk is cheap.

(By the way, CBSSports.com's John Breech picked the Cowboys to make the playoffs. We talked about those seemingly long odds in the latest Eye on Football Podcast, conveniently embedded here.)

"We've got to do it, though," he continued. "We've got to put it together, with putting the right people on the field as it relates to injury, and that's happening for us. We could have [Henry] Melton out there this weekend.

"We could have [Rolando] McClain out there this weekend. We could have [Tyrone] Crawford moving over as the No. 3 tackle, and then moving out to end, why? Because Anthony Spencer is going to be out there taking some snaps.

"Now that's serious stuff," Jones said. "Get [Justin] Durant back in there, get [Rolando] McClain back at linebacker. Now, all of a sudden we've got about three or four players out there that arguably are the best defensive players that we hadn't had the last two or three games. That's a big deal. And if we're that, then I think [Tony] Romo's certainly getting his timing down. I like the experience our offensive line is getting and has gotten in these three games. Yeah, We need to be glanced at over here."

Also needed: More glitz and glamour.

During the same appearance, Jones offered up praise for Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, the same man Jones fired after the 2012 season.

Jerry Jones says Rob Ryan will be a great head coach with the ability to motivate better than anyone he's ever seen @1053thefan. #Cowboys

— Shan Shariff (@NewSchoolSS) September 26, 2014

And who knows, maybe Ryan will even be a great head coach for the Cowboys one day (which, frankly, would be the least surprising development ever).

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