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SportsPulse: The Patriots and Saints both had statement wins in Week 9, but it’s the red-hot Chargers who we need to start paying attention to. Our NFL insiders break down the biggest storylines from the weekend of action.
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Eagles center Jason Kelce isn’t a fan of the Cowboys.(Photo: The Associated Press)
The Dallas Cowboys have long been nicknamed “America’s team,” an organization with five Super Bowl titles and a fanbase that stretches from coast to coast.
But ahead of their division matchup Sunday night, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce made clear Wednesday that he doesn’t think very highly of the franchise as a whole — nor its fans.
“I would say mostly I just don’t think that a lot of players, in particular me, just don’t really like the franchise, the organization, what is stands for — what it’s always stood for,” Kelce said in a radio interview with 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia. “This goes back to the lockout when they were getting replacement players, and how outspoken the Dallas Cowboys franchise was in ending that. I’ve just never really appreciated what the organization — and what its fans really stood for.
“A lot of fair-weather people from across the country that just kind of fell in love because they’re winners instead of having any type of emotional connection to the team whatsoever.”
Kelce, a two-time Pro Bowl honoree, added that there are players on the Cowboys’ roster for whom he has respect, including linebacker Sean Lee and offensive lineman Travis Frederick, but “it’s more the organization that you don’t like.”
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Kelce’s comments about replacement players are an apparent reference to then-Cowboys president Tex Schramm, who emerged as a staunch opponent to a players strike in 1987. Schramm was one of several owners who brought in new players and convinced others to cross the picket line in an attempt to undercut the players’ union’s efforts.
Regardless of his personal feelings about the Cowboys, Kelce also said the rivalry between Dallas and the Eagles certainly still exists, even though the Cowboys are 3-5 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2014.
“I don’t really know what it was like to beat the Cowboys when they were really, really good,” Kelce said on 94.1 WIP. “Since I’ve been in the league, there’s been (a lot of parity.)
“But there’s certainly a rivalry there. We play them twice a year. Everything’s heightened.”
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
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