FRISCO – For the fourth time in the last few days, old friend Colin Cowherd has fired a nasty shot in the direction of the Dallas Cowboys, this one so lacking in reason that the Fox Sports 1 host’s motives are becoming negatively transparent.

Keep this up, and the very talented national host is about to be known as “The Boy Who Cried Wolf … Er, Cow.”

The first three empty shots?

He termed Micah Parsons nothing more than a “splash” player not worthy of a big contract.

He predicted that Dallas will in 2025 get “humiliated” on a regular basis on game day.

He insisted that new coach Brian Schottenheimer is “one and done” and will be fired by Jerry Jones after this season.

None of this claims – headline-grabbers though they are – have much basis in fact. … and they are barely worth arguing about.

But Item 4 might be the most outrageous, and yet compelling, of all.

Cowherd has delivered a rant comparing “America’s Team” to a broken-down sports car.

Said the host: “I’ve never owned a Maserati, but the Cowboys and Maseratis are that luxury brand that feels like they spend way too much in the shop. … I think Dallas is a bottom quarter, bottom fifth NFL franchise. But because they’ve been such a luxury brand it’s hard to wrap your brain around that.”

And so … in the Fish Report, we take that bait and we play the game.

Are the Cowboys a “bottom”-barrel NFL franchise? If so, what makes them so?

And if they are an elite franchise, how is that judged? We argue that it is about winning (which in the last 60 years pretty much no NFL team has done more than Dallas), and it’s about financial viability (the Cowboys have lapped some rivals in valuation) and it’s about the width and breadth and passion and sheer size of the fan base.

And if those are the measures? Jerry Jones’ Cowboys – as much as it pains the critics to admit it and as much as it bores the talking heads to address it – remains the NFL gold standard.