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You don’t get as rich as Jerry Jones without being good at math.

So when the Cowboys owner looks at his 5-6 team, he realizes time is drawing short if they’re going to make the postseason.

But on his weekly radio show on KRLD-FM, Jones also suggested there are other goals at play as well, goals which sound vaguely Shanahan-ian in meaning.

“Getting it right? We do, yes,” Jones said when asked if the Cowboys have time to fix their season (via ESPNDallas.com). “We’re running out of time as to the playoffs. Do we have enough time? It’s numerically possible, but you got to really step out here this week and do the right things to win a ballgame on the field. You have time to do that.

“Certainly you want to be going into the final weeks of the season, . . . [and] playing at an uptick to play well in the playoffs. But there’s another reason why you want to be playing well, too. You want to be playing well so you can basically look at your core and see where you are with your core and evaluate your core as far as seasons to come.”

While not as blatant as Redskins coach Mike Shanahan’s “evaluate” comments after their loss to the Panthers, it does illustrate an eye toward the future.

In the offseason, all the talk was about “windows,” and if this team doesn’t make a push, Jones may come to the realization it’s already closed.

“I thought we’d be better than this,” said Jones, “although I do realize the kind of competition we have in the league. We got nine teams that are 5-6 or 6-5 in the NFL right now. I knew we were in a league that has a lot of competition, but I thought we would be better.”

He always does. And they haven’t been. Which makes you wonder how long a leash this core has.