I’m traveling over the next couple of days before I leave for training camp later this week. So my posting schedule will be curtailed, hopefully Brandon and Tuna Helper will pick up the slack.

Here are some quick headlines for today.

Georgia Tech’s Darrell Robertson thought he was going to be drafted but injury dropped him to UDFA status. 

Robertson, along with Nfldraftscouts.com, assumed he would have been a third-round pick in the 2008 draft, but the harsh reality of a muscle injury crushed the possibility.

"When I was training for the combine in March, I tore my pectoral muscle," Robertson said. "This was a major setback for me. It shot a lot of hope of what I wanted to do."

Lucky for us. I’m telling you guys, this guy could play at Georgia Tech.

Todd Archer reports the Cowboys are thinking Super Bowl or bust. 

Mac Engel with 5 questions for 2008.

Tim Cowlishaw doubles-up Engel with 10 questions for 2008..

Frank Luksa reminds us of training camps gone by.

Felix Jones.

LB coach Reggie Herring. 

Sniff…sniff…what’s that I smell? The first whiff of training camp. Yup, we’re within a week of the first practice. Hallelujah!

I know it’s almost time for training camp because a lot of the articles are about…you guessed it…training camp.

ESPN says our biggest issue is finding a legit #2 WR.

Teams will often shade the free safety to [Terrell] Owens' side, but late in the season, opponents also bracketed Jason Witten, who is one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league, which really slowed this offense down. Patrick Crayton, last season's No. 2, put up good numbers (50 catches and 7 TDs), but is not a big playmaking threat. Backup developmental receivers Miles Austin and Sam Hurd will push Crayton for that spot this season and finding that complementary receiver to take pressure off Owens and Witten will be a huge lift to an offense that struggled late in the season.

Don Banks says it’s all about AJ being a choir boy.

Six weeks of good behavior is all that stands between Pacman, oops, Adam Jones and reinstatement to the NFL. If the ex-Titans cornerback and poster child for the league's get-tough approach to personal conduct can't stay off commissioner Goodell's radar screen between now until Sept. 1, then heaven (and Michael Irvin) help him.

And the LA Times – with a hat tip to the Star-T – goes with the standard.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo needs to prove he can win when it really counts. Two years ago, he botched the field-goal hold in Seattle and the Cowboys bit the dust. And last season, he couldn't get it done against the Giants.

That's consecutive one-and-done playoff performances. And a trend that goes back even further.

Gil Lebreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that in the last three years Romo was the starter at Eastern Illinois, his team lost each of its three first-round games in the Division I-AA playoffs.

"Superman had his kryptonite," Lebreton wrote. "Tony Romo has the playoffs."

Here’s a looong article about training camp from a paper near Oxnard. 

Tony Romo is getting in some final rounds of golf.

As BTB-regular sublimezg noted in this FanShot, the Dallas Cowboys website has a new look. About time. Their site was looking very old-fashioned; the new one looks more modern. I’ll have to get used to it but I give them a thumbs-up.

Sorry, not a lot of time to post today. Here are some articles that will hopefully spur some conversation.

Long article by Michael Silver at Yahoo about Tony Romo. It definitely had a great start with this line:

Like his girlfriend Jessica Simpson, Tony Romo is known primarily for two things –

 Ha! Stay classy, Silver. But it is funny.

The article chronicles Tony Hollywood’s celebrity status in relation to winning in the postseason; but mainly it’s a re-hash of the Mexican Vacation Situation.

We knew Romo played golf, and some basketball, but we also find out he plays soccer.

Uh, soccer? That's right – Romo, who last October signed a six-year, $67.5-million contract extension, routinely rips it up in the midfield in a Dallas-area rec league. Heaven help the Steve Bartman wannabe who takes him down with an aggressive slide tackle.

Yikes! I could see NFC East teams paying some thugs to infiltrate the Dallas-area rec league.

Hat tip to bluewolf021 for the FanShot.

Another “Romo needs to win in the post-season” story. 

Mickey’s travels.

The Orlando Scandrick deal is official.

This is recommended reading about a plan to keep Cowboys fans from infiltrating the Cardinals stadium for the game there. Complete with this zinger if you break the rules that are suggested:

If you are caught it is punishable by death or having to watch the Cardinals vs. the Saints in the preseason, whatever your preference is.

Give me death.

Standard “it’s almost time for training camp” story.

Don't forget to check the FanShots for more stories. BTB-regular scottmaui owns that place.

One down, five to go. The Dallas Cowboys agreed to terms with fifth-round pick Orlando Scandrick. 

Scandrick is expected to sign his four-year, $1.85 million deal on Friday, that includes a $185,000 signing bonus.

[snip]

With his top-rate speed, Scandrick might be in position to contribute right away on special teams, seeing that the Cowboys lost several key coverage players last year in Keith Davis, Nate Jones and Jacques Reeves, who all signed with other clubs in free agency.

Hat tip to Deke for the FanPost.

Todd Archer has some training camp questions. But he ignored a biggie for me; will AJ unseat AH at CB?

[UPDATE] Todd Archer emailed me to let me know he didn't consider AJ vs. AH because these were under-the-radar questions. His bud Calvin Watkins will be writing an article about some of the bigger questions this week. Right on, looking forward to what he has to say on the issue. [END UPDATE]

I guess it had to end some time; the Cowboys special teams unit was ranked #20 by Scouts, Inc. - breaking our Top-10 streak. Harsh. 

The Cowboys field a very solid punter and place-kicker to handle their special-teams duties, but their coverage units can be inconsistent at holding field position. P Mat McBriar has a strong leg and can directional-kick and drop the ball inside the 20-yard line effectively. PK Nick Folk is coming off a successful rookie season in which he showed excellent accuracy inside the 50-yard line. Patrick Crayton is sure-handed and reliable at getting upfield as a punt returner but isn't explosive with the ball in his hands. A healthy Terence Newman also should elevate the return production in this area. Miles Austin is solid when returning kicks but isn't dangerous in the open field. First-round draft choice Mike Jenkins could bolster both return teams, and Adam Jones could change the entire complexion of the Cowboys' special-teams units if he's reinstated. Defensive reserves Pat Watkins, Bobby Carpenter and Kevin Burnett are core special-teams standouts who give Dallas a good place to start when it looks to improve its coverage teams.

As good as McBriar and Folk are I would think we’d rate higher. And what’s up with not even mentioning the impact Felix Jones could have on kick returns?

Looks like we’ll catch a mini-break in the opening game. 

[Cleveland] Browns general manager Phil Savage told WTAM-AM Thursday that [Joe] Jurevicius likely will start the season on the physically unable to perform list. Jurevicius would miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. Adam Jones has been doing all the right things so far to insure that he’ll suit-up in the opening game. We’ve barely heard a peep out of him since we’ve gone into the dead zone. After the mini training-camp, players are pretty much on their own and if there was a time for AJ to stray, this would be it. Smooth sailing, so far.

It will take a while for AJ to lose the "so far" when people talk about the rehabilitation of his reputation. Saying "so far" is not the equivalent of Ed Werder saying "not yet" while playing a "gotcha" game with Tony Romo in an interview. "So far" is in the positive, as in "I’ve given you a clean slate although I’m not oblivious to your past, but so far, you’re looking good.""Not yet" is in the negative, it implies "not yet, but you just watch, it will probably happen." (And "Not Sure" is in the hilarious, as in a very underrated movie.)

Adam did have to testify before the grand-jury in the most notorious event of his past, the shooting at the Las Vegas club. But even that was a low-key, almost non-event, that passed with very little notice. Today, he makes the papers for a good cause and strikes another tiny blow to the "so far." He got together with a Dallas Maverick to buy some beds and furniture for four kids whose mother was really struggling to house the family. 

"It helped me keep that last thought in my mind: One more slip-up, you can be right back to the hood," Jones said. "Even though I’ve received millions of dollars, I’d give up my whole left leg to stay where I’m at. It’s a blessing. When you’re young and you get all that money, you take it for granted, and then you have a couple of setbacks and you see what life is really about."

Keep the left leg AJ, you just might need it in coverage.

Public relations move? Maybe partly, but does it really matter? Just by doing things like this and keeping his head down will lead to more positive news from our new corner. Breaking his old habits and forming some new ones is what he needs. And once you get into the good habits, how you got there is simply background.

Anthony Spencer is doing his part to help young athletes, although it isn’t totally altruistic. He’s part of a company that trains high school athletes to get better performance but they are also training the mind. 

"Just coming out here to give them some drills to do and help them during the offseason to make them better athletes and at the same time give them some responsibility and have good role models around is important.

"There is so much potential in Fort Wayne, athleticwise. It is about the decisions that kids make. That’s one of the biggest things I learned, especially during your high school years that mold you for the rest of your life."

What a difference an offseason can make. We did a lot of complaining about our secondary last year, and some of it was for good reason. Our depth turned out to be sub-par and injury did strike. But with a couple of additions, we’re now viewed as the #1 secondary in the league according to Scouts, Inc. We edged out the Raiders and the Eagles. 

The Cowboys have an outstanding group of athletes in their secondary with Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Roy Williams and Ken Hamlin returning from last year. When you combine that group with the recent additions of Jones and rookie first-round draft pick Mike Jenkins, the Cowboys now have the type of depth that few other teams can match. They will have a tremendous amount of flexibility within their personnel packages to take advantage of each player's strengths while also being able to disguise coverages. Opposing quarterbacks will have to be smart and accurate to have success against this group. The talents of the secondary combined with the effective pass rush of the front seven will force opposing quarterbacks to make some quick decisions.

No love for Orlando Scandrick? Oh well, still nice to see stuff like that being written about our secondary.

Hat tip WB3forMB3 for this FanShot.

From the "It sounds good but what does it really mean" department. 

If I ran the Dallas Cowboys, I would make sure my offensive linemen left training camp in the best shape of their lives. Last year, late in the playoffs against the Giants, this line struggled to protect and it cost them their season. Training in Thousand Oaks is not always the best for getting in shape with the humidity. Two of the Cowboys' first four games will be played in humid conditions, Cleveland and Dallas, both with 4:15 starting times.

 Sounds good. Our o-line did appear to tire-out in the second-half of the playoff game causing all kinds of problems. But what does it really mean? How are the Cowboys going to train the o-line any different? I mean, it took all the way to the 17^th regular season game for this "tiring-out" to occur. Now you’re talking about two games in the first four of this year. Last year, under the same training regiment, no one would have said the o-line tired-out in those first games and cost us a win. Just doesn’t compute.

- Good Mel Renfro interview.

- Here’s a very long article in the USA Today about the Cowboys 2008 season. It covers the roster in pretty good detail and highlights some of the storylines going into 2008. Most of it you already know, but you might enjoy the read. 

- Interesting article about Jason Ferguson and the "South Beach Cowboys." Interesting, that is, if the name Parcells doesn’t cause you seizures. Here's Fergie on Parcells.

"One thing about Bill, if you haven't already noticed, he's got a story for every (situation). There's always been a guy who's been through something he's told you about. 'Oh, I had a guy who sprained his ankle 105 times . . . broke it in three places . . . and he played the next Sunday.' Yeah, sure he did.'"

We’ve been doing pretty well in Scouts, Inc.’s rankings of positional units so far.

QB = 6^th, RB = 5^th, WR = 8^th, TE = 2^nd, OL = 2^nd, DL = 6^th and now our linebackers come in at #1 in the league.

The Cowboys have three outside linebackers who can get after opposing quarterbacks and DeMarcus Ware is as good as it gets at the position. Ware can do it all with his rare blend of quickness off the ball, pure speed and ideal body type for the position. He sacked the quarterback 14 times last year, but his ability to stay with backs and tight ends in coverage is often overlooked and Ware is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate who keeps getting better.

True that!

Greg Ellis returned from injury to have a very productive 2007 season while Anthony Spencer, last year's first-round pick, is going to be tough to keep of the field due to his ability to rush the quarterback. For now, though, Spencer is simply an exceptional No. 3 outside linebacker who could see time on throwing downs and make things very difficult on opposing protection schemes. Bradie James plays inside on the strong side and is a thumper who is always around the football. Zach Thomas came on board to finish his career at home in Texas and will play alongside James on the inside. Thomas played in a 3-4 alignment some in Miami and was very effective, and the transition to playing a 3-4 full-time should not be difficult for such a fundamentally-sound player. Dallas does not have much invested in Thomas so the risk is minimal, but if he can stay healthy it will be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank.

Good stuff. Zach Thomas could be a big improvement and Anthony Spencer just might surprise this year.

Bobby Carpenter has yet to live up to his first-round selection and has shuffled from inside to outside, and while he does provide depth he needs to step up and become more of a contributor. Kevin Barnett is yet another talented young player who will find it hard to get on the field unless injuries intervene, which just goes to show how great this group is overall.

Dude, the guy’s name is Kevin Burnett. And he actually got a fair amount of playing time last year in the dime sets. I expect he will again this year.

Hat tip to WB3forMB3 for the link in this FanShot.

Read all about Ken Hamlin’s deal here, here, and here.

Tony Romo is doing it for the kids. Sure Romo may be a famous face in the tabloids and on TV lately, but there’s only one real way to measure his fame in Burlington, Wisconsin.

"In Burlington, if you go down to Veronico’s (restaurant), they have a wrap named after him," said Joe Baumeister, a senior-to-be running back for Burlington. "He’s pretty big in Burlington. He’s all over the place."

That’s what I’m talking about.

Its official,  Ken Hamlin signed a deal for six years at $39 million. $15 million is guaranteed with $9 million coming in a roster bonus. It’s top-end money for a safety, but then Ken Hamlin is a top-end safety. We all saw that last year, and with a more talented secondary around him this year and with the defensive scheme already in place from last year, I think we can expect an even greater impact from our QB on the defense.

"I'm just glad everything has worked out," Hamlin said. "It means a lot for me to know the organization wants me to be around for a long period of time, and I definitely wanted to be there as well."

Hamlin’s long-term deal is just the crowning feather in the cap for Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones. I don’t know how they’re doing it but those two have managed to get just about everyone signed to long-term deals that the Cowboys needed to this offseason. Terrell Owens, Flozell Adams, Terence Newman and Marion Barber all received new contracts. They also acquired AJ (Adam Jones)* and Zach Thomas. The only guy left is Chris Canty. Over the last few years, the Cowboys have been locking up their stars to long-term contracts. Players know if they produce here - they’ll get paid. The core of this team should be together for the next few seasons. Kudos to Jerry and Stephen.

*(I’m going with AJ for Adam Jones. I thought of doing it before when he first said he's not Pacman anymore, just because "A" and "J" rhyme, it's short and obviously his initials, just like Marion Barber has become MB3 to me because it’s short, it's his initials and "B" and "3" rhyme. So when I heard Ken Hamlin say AJ on Jim Rome’s show yesterday, I figured I'd do it. Besides, Adam Jones just seems like a player who needs a nickname.)

BTB-regular scottmaui went nuts yesterday and dropped a ton of Cowboys knowledge on us with not 1 or 2 FanShots, but 5 FanShots all at the same time. I went and checked out the articles he linked to and found it good reading material. Check some of it out for yourself. 1,  2,  3,  4 and 5. 

Especially read the first one listed above about the defensive line and Tank Johnson. Everyone at Valley Ranch seems to be raving about the potential of Tank this year. If he is playing like a starter and getting a lot of reps, then Jay Ratliff is free to play some NT, some DE and some DT when we go to four-down. With the improved play of Chris Canty from last year, that should be an imposing defensive line. And that’s not even taking into account the principles of the 3-4 and how at least one OLB is really a down-lineman on every play. ESPN continues it’s ranking of the different position groups with a take on defensive lines. The Cowboys rank sixth.

The Cowboys utilize a three-man front most of the time, but the outside linebackers will rush the passer from the defensive end position during obvious passing downs. DEs Marcus Spears and Chris Canty give the Cowboys great size on the edge and do a good job of getting their hands up in the air to alter passing lanes. NTs Jay Ratliff and newly signed Tank Johnson give Dallas quickness and agility on the inside and can shoot gaps to penetrate and cause problems in the backfield. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart will blitz his linebackers from every angle at any point in the game.

That’s pretty generic but not wholly inaccurate. They also did TE’s and OL’s that I missed posting recently. I dropped them in below the fold. Be sure to click on the link below to see them.

Special teamer and backup to DeMarcus Ware, Justin Rogers, gets some ink. Justin has some work to do this training camp. Sixth round pick Erik Walden and UDFA Darrell Robertson will be looking to take his job. One of the bottom of the roster camp battles that will soon be upon us!

Continue reading this post »

The deadline for Ken Hamlin and the Cowboys to get a long-term deal done is fast approaching. 

The Cowboys and McGuire have until 3 p.m. Tuesday to reach an agreement on a long-term deal or else the Pro Bowl safety can only play for the one-year tender offer of $4.396 million.

For a longer review of what's going on with Hamlin's contract, BTB-regular APerfectStar posted a link in this FanShot.

OK, here’s one out of the blue. A sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer was asked about the Browns next possible moves.

The more urgent need, of course, is for a veteran cornerback. I still believe they should make a pitch for Anthony Henry of Dallas, but the Cowboys want to get through their preseason without an injury before considering a deal.

There’s no way this could happen. The Cowboys, for the first time in a while, appear to have quality starters and real depth at cornerback. I can’t see anyway they mess with that this year. Starting next year, they may have some decisions to make, but let’s at least get Adam Jones through a full year without suspension. Let’s see Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick play in actual NFL games. And let’s see what happens with Ken Hamlin long-term and Anthony Henry playing in some pseudo-safety alignments. Let all that happen then the Cowboys can look at dealing a player – in 2009.

As a lot of you already know, Tony Romo finished third in the celebrity golf tournament yesterday. 

Romo also did an interview with Ed Werder for ESPN. Watch the interview as Romo plays with Werder. It’s like a boxing-match, no, more like sparring while training for a match. It’s not full-out combat, but when Werder starts with the questions about suspended players on the team, could there be locker room trouble, etc. – Romo coolly counter-punches with effortless efficiency and minimal malice. It’s like he doesn’t really want to make Werder look bad, except for references to his haircut, but wants to remind him that he’s full of it.

Kevin Burnett on Tony Romo.

Before games, [Romo] a Jason Witten are side by side talking football and what side adjustments they are going to use for that particular week. Once those two are done talking, Romo will grab 81 for a quick five-minute meeting to talk about mismatch opportunities and who the weak links maybe. Romo then gathers a few younger players and goes into a break down of the opposing teams coverage and personnel. On a side note I don't call very many people great because I believe the term is used too loosely today. When you look at 9, he does things that great ones do but he doesn't want you to call him great yet.

Our boy Tony Romo is in second place at the Tahoe celebrity golfing tournament. Today is the final round that, according to this article, will be shown on NBC today from noon to 3 PM PST. Romo had a little trouble at the start of his round on Saturday.

Romo took a spill in a pond on the first hole after losing his awkward footing on a steep bunker shot, but rebounded to increase his total to 43 points, while his girlfriend, actress-singer Jessica Simpson, watched from the gallery.

Romo’s main squeeze, her sister and new husband all showed up to cheer him on.

Meanwhile, this guy is a hater extraordinaire. If you want to get your blood boiling a little bit, read this.

Here’s a taste:

[Romo’s] going to find a way to make himself the center of attention while showing the lack of smarts that stops him from ever winning a single playoff game.

Dave Campo, he of the infamous wetsuit, is back as a coach in Big D. Thankfully, those 5-11 seasons that followed him around should be a thing of the past. Plus, as the new secondary coach, he walked right into a plethora of cornerbacks, the likes of which we haven’t seen in Dallas in quite a while.

"Well, I don't know what's going to happen, but I know we've got some guys that can play," Campo said of his cornerbacks. "We've got seven, maybe even eight cornerbacks that I know can play in this league. That means we might have two or three of those guys not make it. That's going to make for some outstanding competition. And that's what you want this time of year."

 And what about Roy?

 "I still think Roy is a tremendous football player," Campo said. "Sometimes a player goes through a period of time when he's not playing as well or not meeting expectations. But I know he's still a great player. It's just funny really. All of a sudden, everybody thinks he can't play. That's a bunch of baloney."

Campo did some moonlighting as a head coach recently. 

Sometimes it’s hard to shake your past reputation. Once a narrative sets in about your life’s story, getting people to believe otherwise can be a long and sometimes impossible task. Our very own Pod-person Terrell Owens has that problem. I’ve been writing about it and you’ve been commenting about it; T.O. is a changed player here in Dallas. Sure, he had run-ins with Bill Parcells and staff in the beginning, but nothing to the level of what happened in Philly. Since the arrival of Wade Phillips the Pod has been the consummate teammate and even emerged as somewhat of a leader on this team. With the recent contract extension he’ll likely retire as a Cowboy and has millions of reasons not to accidentally overdose on pain pills. In short, what was once considered a risky move by Jerry Jones has turned into a steal for the Cowboys. Having the best or second-best WR in the league on the roster with as good an attitude as you could hope for from a player has propelled the Cowboys offense to new heights.

But…the rest of the leagues coaches are still living in the past – circa 2005. 

Another question we asked NFL head coaches was which Pro Bowl-caliber player would they not want on their roster?

Of the 20 head coaches who responded, 14 voted for Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, who was the runaway winner. Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals was a distant second with three votes.

That’s just peachy keen with me. For one, T.O. isn’t going to be playing for any other team so this is all just hypothetical anyway. Second, if other teams don’t want a guy who is as dominant as you can get from the WR position and has turned his ways around to the point of being a model-Pod in Dallas, so be it.

As much as I was worried about T.O. coming here a couple of years ago, I have no problems with the T.O. of today. Even super-skeptic Matt Mosley agrees.

Now, can we get the same good results from another Pro-Bowler with a dubious past?

And the most notorious man not officially in the league, Adam Jones, received one vote. I think the low turnout for Jones has a lot to do with most of the coaches not considering him a Pro Bowl-caliber player after sitting out an entire season.

We’ll see. Jones is working on cleaning up his past and that includes testifying yesterday before a grand jury about the notorious Las Vegas shooting incident. 

Meanwhile, some Titans’ fans are having a tinge of regret about letting Jones go so cheap.

If he can stay out of trouble, few doubt that the gifted first-round draft pick could soon find himself in a Pro Bowl and help lead his new team deep into the postseason. His burgeoning maturity is causing some Nashville-area fans to question whether the Titans' decision to dump him on April 23 was a bit hasty.

 Admittedly, there are a lot more Titans fans who were just glad to see the problem of Jones moved elsewhere.

DC.com profiles linebackers coach Reggie Herring.

Contrary to the opinion of JJT, this article thinks Jason Garrett may be a hot commodity for other teams again when the 2008 season is over.

Garrett, 42, a former backup to quarterback Troy Aikman, is one of the most exciting young offensive minds in the game. He was highly sought after by Baltimore and Atlanta for coaching gigs this past January, but he decided to stay with Dallas. Even though Jones pays Garrett like a head coach, Garrett probably will get an offer he can't refuse after this season.

I don’t know, at this point I don’t think Jerry Jones is going to let Garrett go anywhere. He’ll do whatever it takes to retain Garrett, including promoting him to the head coaching job.

Patrick Crayton interview below.