I look at the rumor mill like the gutter. Occassionally you'll find some money or something shiny but most of the time it's just garbage.

With that being said, Gil Brandt just dropped quite the stinker into the rumor mill.

While making a long early-morning drive and listening to Sirius NFL Radio’s replay of Monday’s Late Hits with Jack Arute and Gil Brandt, we heard Brandt make an intriguing observation regarding Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

Asked by Arute whether recent changes in the enforcement of the illegal contact rule has hurt Williams’ ability to defend against the pass, Brandt offered a concise "no."  Brandt, previously a long-time personnel guru with Dallas, said that Williams often is in position to make plays but simply doesn’t make them sufficiently consistently.

Then came the kicker.  Brandt, citing an unnamed NFL source, said that Williams could be a cap casualty of the Cowboys if he doesn’t have a strong training camp.

Now I qualify this response by stating I'm not a capologist. I've never been a football executive. I certainly don't want to speak for anybody in the Dallas Cowboys organization.

But I just have a hard time believing this could be true. The numbers don't work. He's pretty bad in coverage but Williams is pretty darn good at tackling people even if he doesn't deliver bonecrunching hits as much as he used to. This isn't Nate Jones we're talking about here or Aaron Glenn. He's still one of the better safeties in the league. Calvin Watkins answered this question last January. I stand by his analysis.

I'd put this rumor in the "plausible but unlikely" column. Much like the "Scarlett Johannson is stalking me on Myspace" rumor I've tried to get going. I mean, it could happen. But the chances of it occurring are infinitesimal. 

Hat tip and shout out to mandmeisterx for his fanshot here.

Terry Glenn and the Cowboy brass need to go ahead and make like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie: bury the hatchet and get on with the show.

Looks like it may happen.

IRVING – The summer-long soap opera starring Terry Glenn and the Cowboys could end soon.

On Monday, coach Wade Phillips said he's hopeful a peaceful resolution can occur by Friday, the day the team has its first training camp practice in Oxnard, Calif.

The Cowboys want the veteran receiver to sign an injury waiver that would give him $500,000 if he re-injures his right knee. The team has told him he can't practice with the team without the waiver.

Heck yeah. I'd love to see Glenn and T.O. doing the shake-n-bake at a stadium near you.

I have a lot of love for Bill Parcells obviously. He's the inspiration for my moniker.

But he won't get any Christmas cards this year from me. Why? In all of his infinite wisdom, he, along with Jeff Ireland, decided to ship one of the best pass rushers of his generation to the Deadskins.

Jason Garrett's response? Oh. That's just excellent.

Power Rankings are always a hot topic in the offseason. FOXSports.com contributor Peter Schrager gives the lowdown on all the teams in the league. He places New England at the top and the New York Giants right below them. Kansas City and Atlanta bring up the rear.

Schrager has the 'Boys at No. 5.

5 — Dallas: For a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in 12 years, the media sure has a lot of confidence in the Cowboys this off-season. Everywhere you look, pundits are pegging Dallas as the NFC East favorites and the Super Bowl frontrunners out of the NFC. In truth, Jerry Jones did some nice things in the off-season, plucking both Zach Thomas and Adam Jones for 40 cents on the dollar, and re-signing Ken Hamlin to a long-term deal. Wade Phillips is Marty Schottenheimer Lite, though, having never won a playoff game, himself. Anything less than a conference title will be seen as a great disappointment in Big D this season. Is this squad up to the challenge? We'll have to wait and see. Camp: Oxnard, Calif.

Ok. I get that we haven't won a playoff game in a while. Like Saul Bloom says in Ocean's Eleven, "Everyone knows this." But maybe the reason so many experts are picking the Cowboys to come out of the NFC is because we have a boatload of talent on both sides of the ball, a Pro-Bowl QB, an All-Pro linebacker and an All-Pro wide receiver. Maybe the experts are picking us because ... we're good.  Just a thought.

Is the Playmaker coming over to the NFL Network? Mac "The Knife" Engel has the scoop.

There is a report out by USA Today stating that former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin is going to take a very part-time gig with the NFL Network. Irvin had been an analyst with ESPN as late as 2007 until the two parted ways. Now Irvin has taken his mouth to the local airwaves hosting a radio show on ESPN 103.3 FM.

The plan, according to the report, is to use Irvin for the Aug. 2 coverage of the Hall of Fame induction festivities.

I was totally suprised by Michael Irvin's success as a TV personality and radio host. I've seen Emmitt Smith and Nate Newton and thought Irvin would be somewhere along those lines. But much to my surprise, his affable and infectious attitude shined through and I generally liked his contributions.

Will he bring those talents to the NFL Network permanently? Who knows. I think Steve Mariucci's head will explode if he has to deal with Irvin and Deion. Wow.