Is Roy Williams back? JJT seems to think so. Timmy Mac wonders as well.

Forget about Williams' pass coverage problems. The Cowboys have the personnel to mask that by taking him off the field in obvious passing situations. If he's a ferocious, fumble-causing force on first and second downs, Williams will be worth his $3.72 million salary and welcomed back next season.

Motivation certainly shouldn't be a problem for No. 38, who has been ripped in the media for quite some time now. Williams claims to never read the papers, but he always seems to have a firm grasp of the negative stuff written about him.

"I think what he's heard about himself and how he plays has put a fire under him," LB Bradie James said. "Shoot, I'm happy. Can't do anything but help us make plays and help us win games.

We would all like to tell the media to "zip it!"

Hat tip and shout out to Far Rider and his fanpost here.

 
We all have our problems with Big Flo but we all know we need him to protect Romo's backside.

Even though he speaks to the media about as much as a monk who has taken a vow of silence, he is aware that at times he was once thrown repeatedly under the bus and placed squarely in the Cowboys’ dunk tank, yet that never mattered.

"What matters to me personally is what my coaches and teammates think of me," Adams said. "As long as they don’t criticize me and don’t say all that other [stuff] and everything and I’m doing what I’m doing and the coaches and players, that’s all I care about."

I heard that.

Terence Newman injured his groin Monday. That sound you heard was me doing my Sanford-and-Son-This-is-the-Big-One heart attack routine. This is the first bit of adversity the team has faced thus far. He may be out for two weeks.

Hat tip and shout out to Deke and his fanpost here.

Our big uglies have been wrecking havoc in training camp.

Our other big uglies are pretty good too.

Jim Reeves admits he was wrong about T.O.

OXNARD, Calif. — Crow for breakfast, my least favorite meal of the day.

Stringy, sour and a little underdone perhaps, made all the more distasteful because it’s being served up by a — in my imagination at least — smirking Terrell Owens.

That’s OK. Bring it on. Time to dig in.

I was wrong.

Some two years and counting after I predicted that T.O. would almost certainly bring ruination upon the Dallas Cowboys and would very likely destroy the locker room with his selfishness, but he’s very much a central figure in his third training camp with the team.

And next to quarterback Tony Romo, very possibly the player the Cowboys can least afford to lose in 2008.

Surprised? Yes, of course I am.

Matt Mosley seems to be changing his tune about T.O. as well.

Sam Hurd and Miles Austin are battling it out for the No. 3 wide receiver spot.

Watch for Tony Curtis this year.

NFL decides to crack down on people being too mean to each other. 

The rule changes (forceout rule eliminated, no more 5-yard facemasks, defensive player can have helmet intercom, reviewable field goals, et al) were adopted in April at the NFL's annual meetings in Palm Beach, Fla.

My favorite point of emphasis? The NFL has asked officials to crack down on are violations of "mutual respect." This includes taunting, gestures, choreographed celebrations and general on-field goonery.

"If you just monitor the game with the demonstrations, physical activity and showmanship, I didn't see as much of that when I first got in the league," said umpire Butch Hannah, a 10-year veteran. "That has carried to a level where the league decided it had to do something about it."

Sigh. I'm so very tired of rules like this.

Jerry says this is not a win-it-all-or-else season for Wade Phillips. The media says "whatever!"

Michael Irvin dropped knowledge Monday on our receiving corps. He also considers himself too violent to be a coach.

"I don't know about the coaching part," he said. "I'm such an intense guy. I thought about coaching. I'm telling you, I'll be choking someone like [former Ohio State head coach] Woody Hayes. I think (I need to) stay away from coaching and just give this little stuff, and go in and talk about it on the air. That's the best I can do."

Calm down, Mikey. No need to get violent unless there's a turnover involved.

Get to know Dowayne Davis.

Lord knows I need to.

The earthquake weirds out Dallas-area reporters. Ha ha! Suck it up people.

Emmitt Smith gets replaced and reassigned at ESPN.