Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman recently joined The Musers on KTCK-FM 96.7/AM 1310 The Ticket. Here are some highlights:

What was the main thing that did the Cowboys in this season?

Aikman: “Well… I just think that this year’s not a lot different than most years. I think that there just seems to always be a lot of discussion about this team that has very little to do with what’s happening on the field. I’m a believer that that stuff takes a toll. It goes back to the start of the season. 

“With Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension — when was it going to occur? Could they push it into next year? That went on and on and on and on. I think that created some distraction — a bit of doubt for a staff putting together game plans and things of that nature. So I think that was part of it.

“And of course, the whole situation with the commissioner and, you know, there was a number of things that had very little to do with what was happening on the field. 

“I don’t think the organization did a very good job of preparing for when the suspension took place.

“You had Darren McFadden on this roster — I’m not sure why. I thought, in the event that there was a suspension — not to say you can’t change your plans. Lots of things come up during a season that you go then in a different direction. I don’t think they were prepared there.

“And then when they went into Atlanta… when they were playing pretty good football — I think they had won three-in-a-row at that time if I’m not mistaken… were doing some good things offensively. They lose Tyron Smith — it’s one thing not to anticipate the problems going into a game, but in-game adjustments in that game were not good and they seemed to never quite recover from that situation. And then they were out of sync.

“They didn’t have any big play ability. It’s hard to score points when you’re not creating big plays, whether it’s in the running game or passing game. And it all kind of snowballed on them. And unfortunately for them, they were playing in a year where it was going to take 10 wins and that’s not typically… not that you don’t anticipate needing 10 wins, but that not having 10 wins would keep you out of the postseason either. It was one of those rare years where it was a pretty competitive conference.”