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Dallas Cowboys Offseason Roster: Who'll Be This Year's Surprise Cut?

2013-05-25T16:00:07Z

The Cowboys will be entering training camp with 90 players, the same amount as last year, and ten more guys than in previous years. But the roster cuts will be the same as they've always been: As in previous seasons, the first roster reduction will happen at 4:00 PM ET on August 27, the Tuesday following preseason Week 3, when rosters will have to be trimmed to 75 players. The final roster reduction to 53 players will have to be completed by 9:00 PM ET on Saturday, August 31, a day after the final preseason games have been played.

Along the way, and perhaps even before those cut-off dates, some players that few of us will have expected will likely end up getting cut.

Last year, the Cowboys cut Kyle Kosier, Terence Newman and David Buehler at the beginning of the league year in mid March, added safety Brodney Pool to the list of cut veterans after a week of training camp and cut ties with Stephen McGee after camp.

In the year before that, the Cowboys cut seven big-name veterans. At the start of the (delayed) league year, on July 28th, 2011, the Cowboys cut Marion Barber, Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis and Roy Williams. The Cowboys later followed that up in a second wave of cuts by releasing three more veterans after training camp in Andre Gurode, Igor Olshansky and Montrae Holland.

This year's first wave of cuts - Gerald Sensabaugh, Dan Connor and Marcus Spears - remained relatively moderate, which could mean that the second wave of cuts, during or after training camp, could see more big-name players released.

Early candidates to not make the 53-man roster team could include Lawrence Vickers, whose role may become obsolete with the increased emphasis on the 2-TE set (and who would save $1.2 M in cap space). Other candidates could possibly include OC Ryan Cook (now probably third or even fourth on the depth chart at center and a $1.1 M cap saving), LB Ernie Sims (who will likely face some serious pressure from the young guys) and S Danny McCray (too much competition to survive as a teams guy only).

Also, as rabblerousr pointed out earlier this week when he looked at which players could be bad fits in the new scheme, DT Sean Lissemore and LB Alex Albright may find themselves without a clear role in the new defense. As much as I'd hate to lose either guy, I think the upside is that both should have some trade value. There's a novel concept for the Cowboys: How about getting something in return for the players you're not planning with?

Also, as much as I'd like to think each 2013 draft pick will make the team, outside of perhaps the top four or five picks, nobody is guaranteed a roster spot. In 2011, the Cowboys released CB Josh Thomas (5th rd) and FB Shaun Chapas (7th rd) during final cuts and released WR Dwayne Harris (6th rd) later in the season. The latter two both made it back to the practice squad. In 2012, the Cowboys released Danny Coale (5th rd) during final cuts but were able to re-sign him to the practice squad.

With 90 players competing for 53 spots, there are bound to be some surprise cuts. Who do you think could be the surprise cut from the team this year?

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Dallas Cowboys Playcalling And The Meaning Of Life

2013-05-25T13:00:04Z

So I was hanging out in the virtual BTB staff lounge, and got into a little discussion with Coty and Rabs about tautology, Basho logic, the Kyoto school of philosophy, the Unity of Opposites and the overall differences in the Western and Eastern view of life.

What, you think we just spend our time talking football and cheerleaders? Those are important subjects, I grant you, but we are persons of deep thought. Sometimes. I am currently reading a book about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and how, among other things, it is the first tool available to allow the eventual discovery of the Higgs Boson (which it did accomplish after the book was published).

Now, before I give you the wrong idea, I have also read a ton of murder mysteries, conspiracy thrillers, science fiction/fantasy, and the entire 50 Shades trilogy, so I am man of eclectic tastes.

Anyway, we were talking about how the West, particularly America, has a hard time dealing with issues that do not have simple black and white answers. I used an example of the way many of the reporters who cover the Dallas Cowboys look at things (since all questions of great meaning eventually come back to the Cowboys, which is the true philosophical center of all meaningful concepts). Instead of trying to grasp complex interactions and the fact that there might not be one simple answer to everything, they reduce everything down to a binary, either/or situation, and then often go on to harshly criticize the team/owner/staff/players for something that, in essence, does not really exist.

Seriously. That is what we were talking about.

And then after we got fairly far along in the discussion (which is still going on, as such e-mail based things are wont to), I came across a perfect illustration of just what we were talking about: Another article about who is calling the offensive plays for the Cowboys (this one proposing that Jason Garrett is going to keep the duty because, in another rather imprecise bit of logic, his job is on the line). Here is a bit of the reasoning involved:

The best way for Garrett to ensure he gets at least some credit for whatever success the Cowboys have this season is to call the plays. Otherwise he's going to find himself in a situation like Rangers manager Ron Washington where everyone gets credit for the victories and he absorbs the blame for the losses.

Anyway, we know Garrett put additional pressure on his unit to perform this season when the Cowboys spent the draft adding pieces to the offense, the team's best unit, while ignoring the obvious issues on the defensive line.

Here is one of the great frustrations I face in addressing this ongoing obsession the media has, which in my mind does not even ask the right question to begin with. The situation is approached as "Jason Garrett calls the plays or Bill Callahan calls the plays. Period." There is also some discussion of Tony Romo, as part of his "increased responsibility", calling the plays, but that is seen more as a subset of one of the two options, with either Garrett or Callahan still maintaining the play card and just giving Romo a chance to run the hurry-up more this year.

That is a very typical attempt to force reality, in all its chaotic messiness, into neatly labeled, clearly defined little boxes. This makes things much simpler to grasp, and it hardly is limited to coverage of the Cowboys. It truly permeates almost all reporting today about any topic, at least in the US. It allows things to be explained very simply ("This good, that bad.") but it is almost always wrong, because reality is not configured that way. It is messy and uncertain and always getting out of our carefully constructed mental containers.

I could go on forever about the current state of American journalism, but I am sure you would much rather keep this pertinent to the Cowboys. As I was saying, the whole premise of the argument made about Garrett vs. Callahan is quite likely irrelevant. It does not have to be just one or the other, especially when you consider it in light of being something that does not just take place on the sidelines during a game while the offense is on the field. It involves the overall structure of the offense, which is being worked on now while the staff begins to figure out who their players will be, it is reshaped every week when the game planning takes place for each opponent and the plays for that week are installed, and it happens between offensive series and at halftime as adjustments are made and the key actors, namely Garrett, Callahan, and Romo, figure out what is working and what is not, and what to do about it.

I would not be at all surprised to see a situational approach on game day, with Callahan calling the bulk of the plays except when they let Romo take the reins to put pressure on the opposing defense, and Garrett stepping in for key points of the game if he really wants to make sure that things are done a certain way. Or perhaps that could be reversed, or change from game to game or even quarter to quarter. There actually is a way to use this to maximize the unpredictability of the offense, where Callahan and Garrett switch out on whose headset is live in Romo's helmet, with the opposing team not able to tell who is making the calls. This could throw a curve to the other team while they are trying to figure out what is coming next.

The key point of all this is that the reality of how the Cowboys (or, really, any team) operate is not as straightforward as most of the people reporting and "analyzing" the team want it to be. In reality, they are trying to impose a type of order and simplicity on what they observe that fits their mental model of the team, instead of seeking to perceive the reality of nuance and shading that is actually in front of them. This is the way most reporters work (and, to a certain degree, always have) since they seek to impart their viewpoint to a mass audience. I saw a comment on Twitter recently about how certain sports and/or news outlets have a policy of dumbing down things to reach a wider audience. That is not the approach we take here at BTB. It is not something that is directed for us by Dave, but merely a reflection of the fact that all the writers here have faith in the audience we deal with, that the readers want to learn about what is happening with the Cowboys and are willing to learn more about the game along the way. Among other things, it makes this a tremendously enjoyable experience for the writers Dave has brought here and nurtured. We all love the learning and broadening of our perception, and just expect to have the people who come here join us.

As a result, we find our viewpoints (which are by no means all identical, but respected by each of the other writers) often clashing with the popular memes running out there. We are more concerned with whether the team can find a more effective way to call the plays, not who is in charge or the winner of some contest involving a comparison of genital endowment. There are certainly serious questions to ask about the efficacy of play calling in the Garrett era, as was brought up in the article above.

In the last four years his offense has ranked second, seventh, eleventh and sixth in yards, while ranking 14th, 13th, 10th and 15th in points scored.

This is a real issue that must be corrected. But again, to properly address that requires accepting that some aspects of the offensive approach work well, while others don't, and the real goal must be to improve the deficient areas without disrupting the part that is excelling. That takes more than just putting one name on the headset that links to the quarterback's radio.

It is the same problem when writers get all exercised about the "hot seat" question. There is no simple answer to that. Job security among NFL head coaches is basically non-existent. Any time a team experiences an unforeseen meltdown, as happened with the Cowboys in 2010, the coach can be terminated, no matter how well he has done the previous seasons. And there is no hard and fast line that determines a successful season. Suppose the NFC had a very atypical season, with a clustering of teams at the ends of the won-lost spectrum, rather than in the middle (which seems to be the intent of the league in the era of parity). If you have the admittedly unlikely case of seven or eight teams with 10 wins or more (balanced by the rest only managing five or six victories at most), and the Cowboys getting edged out of the playoffs despite only losing 6 games, would that still mean Garrett would be fired? I don't think so, but that is because I see Jerry Jones as a bit more complex and thoughtful in his reasoning than the cartoonish image most writers portray. Add in the fact that I believe Jones truly likes what Garrett has done in building his staff and roster so far, and I think he will try to give Garrett one more year unless the team truly falls on its face absent some major extenuating circumstances.

Which is to say that we can't even begin to guess what will happen until the season plays out. And that is going to be influenced a great deal by how the playcalling is managed. Even that may be overridden by a very strong showing by the defense, which is certainly possible if early reports are accurate. Monte Kiffin may carry the team this year with his scheme and the players on his side of the ball. He certainly has done it before, unless you think that Brad Johnson was really an elite quarterback. This would mean that the Cowboys might win even if the playcalling is not really better, Garrett would keep his job, and if those wins keep going far enough after the regular season, we would all be very happy.

Maybe I put too much weight on the fact, but I keep remembering that Garrett is a Princeton product. I think he is very able to understand the complexity of how all the factors work together and has a very good chance of finding a way to make this all work. I suspect he gets an idea that rabblerousr expressed better than I can.

. . . understanding/ tolerating/ welcoming/ accepting ambiguity takes discipline, because essentializing, or forcing order or narrative clarity upon a chaotic and unclear universe, is lazy (and therefore undisciplined) thinking.

Lazy thinking is exactly what I am fighting against when I take on articles that present an overly simplified view of the way the Cowboys work. I will admit that I don't know if things will work out for Dallas, but when I try to understand the entire picture, with all the shadings of gray involved, I find I believe in the discipline and hard, sweating effort that Garrett, the coaches, and the players are bringing to the table. And I will cheer like mad for them to succeed.

More Cowboys Coverage

Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: "Special Year" For Cowboys, Barry Church Is Back, More

2013-05-25T10:00:08Z

Orlando Scandrick sees 'special year' if Cowboys play as they should - DMN
According to Stats Llc., Orlando Scandrick allowed an elite-level burn rate of only 39.3% in the eleven games he played in last year, allowing only 11 completions on 28 passes thrown his way. Scandrick is looking to build on that performance for the 2013 season and believes it's going to "be a very special year" for the Cowboys if every player would perform up to his potential.

Barry Church picks up where left off - ESPN Dallas
Barry Church won the starting job with a dominant performance in training camp last year, but his season was cut short by a torn Achilles after only three games. He was cleared for full offseason activities just last week, and he plans to pick up exactly where he left off:

"I definitely feel like the job’s mine to lose and I don’t plan on losing it," Church said.

Five NFL scheme changes to watch: Defense - NFL.com
Marc Sessler takes a cursory look at five teams that are changing defenses: The Cowboys are moving to a 4-3, the Saints, Eagles and Browns are moving to a 3-4 based scheme, and the Jaguars are moving to a Seattle-type hybrid defense under new head coach and former Seahawks DC Gus Bradley.

The Sid Gillman coaching tree - ESPN
ESPN.com is running a series on the greatest coaches in NFL history and yesterday examined Sid Gillman's coaching tree and legacy. And look who they had gracing the cover art for the article:

Things get decidedly murky after that, as ESPN shows Jason Garrett as a member of the Bum and Wade Phillips coaching tree. While that may be technically accurate in that Jason Garrett was an assistant coach under Wade Phillips and then went on to become a head coach, the reality is that Jason Garrett is philosophically much better located on the Nick Saban coaching tree.

Bears to Retire Ditka's Jersey During Cowboys Game - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Ditka played the first six NFL seasons in Chicago, and played the last four seasons of a twelve-year career in Dallas, where he also started his coaching career. Ditka was hired by Tom Landry as an assistant immediately after ending his playing career and spent nine season working on Landry's coaching staff before moving back to Chicago to lead the Bears in 1982. It is only fitting, and a nice gesture, that the Bears retire Ditka's jersey during halftime of their game against the Cowboys.

Travis Frederick will shave on May 30 - DFW Entertainment News and Nonsense
Frederick plans to shave the beard on May 30 in a ceremonial shave-off: The shaving of the beard will happen on The Ben and Skin Show and will be carried out by Floyd’s 99 Barber Shop.

Judge Denies Motion To Revoke Brent’s Bail - CBS Dallas
Mike Fisher writes that a judge has denied the Dallas County DA's motion to have Josh Brent’s bond revoked, finding that the Dallas Cowboys lineman is not in serious violation of the terms of his bail. Brent has however been ordered to wear an additional monitor that randomly takes photographs of him and his whereabouts, and he is required to be home by 3 a.m.

BTB Community Friday: Get To Know Your Cowboys Bretheren!

2013-05-24T19:00:05Z

Hello everybody. My name is KD, and I'm a Cowboys-a-holic. I figured there isn't a better time to get to know each other than the slow period that is... well... now. It was suggested by Scott Maui that we do an exercise for everyone to exchange twitter handles and the like, and I thought it was a great idea. As you know, you can follow me on the BTB main handle @BloggingTheBoys but also my personal handle @KDP10For10. You should follow me on both!

I'm also at your disposal on the BTB Facebook page, Blogging The Boys, on the YouTube channel, SBN Blogging The Boys, and my podcast on iTunes (or any podcatcher): Cowboys Crunchtime With KD.

Please share with us ways to keep in touch with you off the blog- there's no reason we can't keep the conversation going outside of the site! And no offense meant to our Sisters in Cowboys Worship, don't let the title fool you!

I got intrigued by the NFL, being a maniacal baseball fan, during the NFL Strike of 1987. I became an interested observer of the Dallas Cowboys because of stupid Redskins fans during that strike season, and then became fanatical during the single victory on the 1989 season.

During this era, my link to the Cowboys (living in Maryland) was Sports Illustrated. No cable, no internet, no local newspaper coverage. I learned about Tom Landry from the likes of Rick Reilly, here.

Yes, Rick Reilly used to serve a purpose. When 1-15 happened, I spent that "1" day at my Uncle's house, surrounded by Skins fans save for me and my Aunt Peggy. I declared that the lowly, winless Cowboys would win the game, and they did, 13-3. I've been hooked ever since. Go search the Sports Illustrated vault to see how folks like me followed the team during the Jimmy Johnson era. It's a whole different ball game.

Now, a quarter century later, I'm basically defined by my fandom. Dallas is my obsession and I'm blessed with the opportunity to share my thoughts on them with the fine readers and followers of BTB. Although it may not seem like it sometimes (wink, wink) I am extremely humbled by the fact that people actually want to know what I think about this team. I was recognized in a CVS a couple months ago as the Cowboys Youtube guy. Did I mention I live in Maryland? Surreal.

Thank you, one million times, Dave Halprin. I'd crash through walls for you in appreciation of the platform. Reference, 2013 Draft Weekend.

Us BTB'ers aren't the only ones on Social Media. The Goog has collected a listing of all 59 current Cowboys that are using the service, and we present them for you. Feel free to follow the list that I've created: Cowboys Players.

So as I said before, share with us your twitter handles. Follow each other. Be sociable! Salute!

Dallas Cowboys Young Guns: Top 10 Players Under The Age Of 25

2013-05-24T17:00:06Z

Over the last couple of weeks, we've looked at the playing time of the Cowboys' recent rookie classes, wondered who the 2013 breakout player could be and how much playing time the 2013 draft class could see this year.

Along the way, we touched on a couple of names that will likely be Cowboys franchise players in a couple of years: the Cowboys' young guns. In five years or so some of the young guns on the current roster will be the faces of the Dallas Cowboys. So today, we'll look at who the top ten guys under the age of 25 are.

The reason we're going for 25 is that Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com last year looked at the league's top ten players under the age of 25, and 25 felt like a good cut-off age. When I then set out to compile the list for the Cowboys, I thought it'd be an easy exercise. Before I even started compiling names, I thought that I'd have to add an addendum with the players not making the list. Turns out, that wasn't the case, as some of the players that I was thinking of for this list are already 25 years or older: DeMarco Murray, Bruce Carter, Dan Bailey are all 25, Phil Costa, Sean Lissemore and Orlando Scandrick will all be 26 by the time the season starts and Sean Lee will even turn 27 on July 22nd this year - those guys are not spring chicken anymore.

So without further ado, here are the top ten young guns on the Cowboys' roster, all of whom will still be under 25 at the start of the 2013 regular season on September 5, 2013.

Rank	Name	POS	Experience	Age on Opening Day 2013
1	Dez Bryant	WR	3	24 years, 10 months, 0 days
Dez Bryant squeezes into this list with just two months to spare, and I'm not sure that calling him a "young gun" is doing him justice any longer. Bryant came into his own in the second half of last season and now looks to be everything the Cowboys expected when they moved up in the first round to get him. There is no denying his athletic ability, and he is electrifying to watch. There are other very good wide receivers in the league, but very few bring such a level of raw energy and intensity to the game, and it will be Bryant's "intangibles" more than his play that will make him a superstar in the league. As Garrett would say, "Passion. Emotion. Enthusiasm." Nobody has more of it than Dez Bryant. Bryant has the stuff to be the emotional leader of this team; he already provides the emotional spark when the Cowboys need it. There's still a long way to go, but Bryant is beginning to fill out that no. 88 jersey.
2	Tyron Smith	LT	2	22 years, 8 months, 24 days
Incredibly, Smith already has two years of NFL starting experience and is still the second youngest player on this list. Smith won't even be 23 years old by the time the season starts. In his second year at left tackle and his second year under Bill Callahan, Smith is poised to take a big step in his performance. A step he has prepared for diligently, taking karate classes in the offseason to improve his hand-eye coordination and adding 10 pounds of weight to "be a better run-blocker and be stronger and more physical."
3	Morris Claiborne	CB	1	23 years, 6 months, 28 days
Secondary coach Jerome Henderson said that Claiborne’s offseason wrist surgery impacted his rookie year significantly: he wasn’t able to participate in OTAs and wasn’t able to spend enough time in the weight room to gain NFL-level strength, and Claiborne had a rocky rookie season as a result. The Cowboys famously had ranked as the "the highest-rated DB since Deion Sanders", and towards the end of the season, with his confidence increasing, we began to see glimpses of what he could be capable of. When you combine a full offseason in which he's already added eight pounds of muscle, a year of NFL experience and his talent level, then you could have the makings for a huge sophomore season, especially in the new defensive scheme.
4	Tyrone Crawford	DE	1	23 years, 9 months, 13 days
People tend to forget that Crawford had a college production ratio of 1.62, the highest number of any defensive lineman in the 2012 draft. With 303 snaps in 2012, Crawford saw a moderate amount of playing time in the Cowboys' defensive line rotation as a defensive end. He acquitted himself well and saw his snap count increase in the second half of the season. Like the other rushmen on the defensive line, Crawford should benefit immensely from the new scheme. And while it's highly unlikely that he'll win a starting job at DE over either Spencer or Ware, he should see of lot of action in rotation duty, with maybe some starts towards the end of the season.
5	Matt Johnson	S	1	24 years, 1 months, 15 days
Critics deride him as the best safety to have never played a snap in the NFL, but those same critics have never seen him in practice either. What we know is that the Cowboys are extremely bullish on Johnson - to a degree they put him on "IR designated for return" last year as they were looking to play him in case they made the playoffs. Johnson is already taking first-team snaps in OTAs and has caught the eye of at least one teammate: “His ball skills are incredible,” Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne said. “When the ball is in the air, he knows how to go up and play it.” For Cowboys fans who've been underwhelmed by a succession of one-and-done starters at safety - Ken Hamlin (2009), Alan Ball (2010), Abe Elam (2011) and Danny McCray (2012) combined for only three interceptions in four years - any player with even a modicum of ball skills will appear like a Godsend.
6	James Hanna	TE	1	24 years, 1 months, 23 days
Gavin Escobar may have the draft pedigree, but Hanna has a full year of NFL experience under his belt. And where Escobar ran a lowly 4.84 at the combine (he improved that to 4.70 at his pro day), Hanna ran the fastest 40 of any TE with a blistering 4.43 a year earlier. There's every indication that the ’12 Personnel’ or 2-TE set is going to be Dallas’ base offense. In the base set, Jason Witten looks like he'll be joined Hanna (who apparently still has a lead over Escobar) as the "second" tight end, while Escobar will come in for the "Big 12" package, which sounds like a short yardage or goal line package to take advantage of Escobar's size. Escobar may end up getting the TDs (and with them, the glory) but Hanna will likely get the yards to set up the TD attempt.
7	Travis Frederick	OC	Rookie	22 years, 8 months, 4 days
Including a rookie who hasn't done squat in this list may be a bit of a stretch, but you can't ignore the positive impact he may have on the entire offensive line. Frederick projects as a starter and as such is the only rookie we'll include in this list.
8	Ronald Leary	OG	1	24 years, 4 months, 7 days
Competition for a starting spot along the interior offensive line will likely be fierce this year. In the recent OTAs, David Arkin and Ronald Leary split time at right guard in place of starter Mackenzy Bernadeau, who is still recovering from off-season right shoulder surgery. Last year, the Cowboys promoted Leary to the active roster after the Oakland raiders tried to claim him off the practice squad in December, and the Cowboys like how he's developed over the last year.
9	Cole Beasley	WR	1	24 years, 4 months, 10 days
Cole Beasley is up against tall competition for a roster spot. 12 wide receivers are competing for five, perhaps six, roster spots. But in a league that values quick, shifty slot receivers very highly, Beasley may have found his niche. And his 15 receptions for 128 yards last year also work in his favor.
10	Sterling Moore	CB	2	23 years, 7 months, 1 days
Moore was plucked off the Patriots practice squad last year, and while still young, already has two years of NFL experience. In New England, Moore was being developed as a "Hybrid DB", and was used as a nickel/dime corner, playing what the Pats term a "heavy safety". That is a player who is positioned like a middle linebacker when the Pats were in a Tampa 2 type, 4-3 alignment on defense, but who is seen more as a coverage player. In his two years in the league, he's already played 699 snaps on defense, including 102 in five games for the Cowboys, and that could become more this season.

In the NFL, there are a couple of premier positions that you absolutely have to have locked down because they are almost impossible to acquire in free agency. How often do quality left tackles or edge rushers make it to free agency in the NFL? Almost never.

The premium that teams pay to have a quality player at those positions on their roster is reflected in the 2012 franchise tag numbers by position:

Position	2013 Tag Value	Position	2013 Tag Value
Quarterback	$14.896 million	Defensive tackle	$8.450 million
Defensive end	$11.175 million	Running back	$8.219 million
Cornerback	$10.854 million	Safety	$6.916 million
Wide receiver	$10.537 million	Tight end	$6.066 million
Offensive line	$9.828 million	Kicker/Punter	$2.977 million
Linebacker	$9.619 million

Excluding the QB position, the top four Cowboys players under 25 cover the top four most expensive positions in the NFL. That bodes well for the future of the franchise. The Cowboys have one of the best young left tackles in the league. They have one of the most promising corners league-wide, a premier receiver with height and a defensive end who may be able to rush the passer. And if you were to argue that Crawford is a DT and the Cowboys need a DE, that's what the 2014 draft is for.

Who's missing on this young guns list, and which player would you slot differently?

More Cowboys Coverage

Rebuilding In The Offseason Is Not Just About Team Structure For Dallas Cowboys

2013-05-24T15:00:09Z

For pro football fans, the offseason is like a barren desert, desolate and parched, with only the hope of the coming season to draw us onward.

OK. Maybe that metaphor is just a tad overwrought, but you know what I mean. As fans, we miss football, and are counting the days until things get back into full swing, even with the knowledge that most teams will not be successful. After all, we are all convinced that the other teams will have a bad year, but not out own.

But for the players, football is really a year round job. Even though the CBA has put some serious limits on contact between the coaching staff and the players in the offseason, the players, or at least the smart and motivated ones, are still out there working hard to be better in the coming year, some by overcoming injuries, and others just seeking how to be better, stronger, and faster than they were.

One player the Cowboys really need to see come back improved is Matt Johnson, who missed his entire rookie season. He is the presumptive starter at free safety right now and the team hopes he can nail the job down, rather than go with free agent signee Will Allen. Johnson started behind the power curve with the Cowboys due to league rules that kept him out of OTAs in 2012 because of the schedule at his college, where he was still in classes. Then he hurt his hamstring (part of the 4,368 hamstring injures suffered by the Cowboys last season, or so it felt like) not once but twice. Now, he has made some changes to his conditioning program and is coming in a little lighter as well.

"We've done more hamstring work instead of putting on 400 pounds and squatting," Johnson said Tuesday after the Cowboys' first organized team activity practice. "When I was in college, I did that some. When you get to the pros, and playing at safety, I don't need to squat 500 pounds. We did more position specific and more dynamic work. You don't need to be a bodybuilder to play football. I was big enough."

Johnson said he's lost three or four pounds and weighs about 212 now.

"I feel better at that weight. This league is all about running," Johnson said. "Obviously you have to be big, too, but on the back end, you have to run a lot."

We still have to see if all this pays off, but there is a lot of hope, and things are off to a good start. Johnson is already getting some nice reviews, including from cornerback Morris Claiborne, who is quoted at the end of that article. And Claiborne is another Cowboy who has done some personal adjusting and tuning.

Claiborne worked all offseason on getting stronger, going from 187 pounds last season to 193 pounds at the start of this year's Organized Team Activities. Now he's learning how to move around and keep his speed with the added weight.

Claiborne was another 2012 rookie who was limited in his preseason work, in his case by wrist surgery after college and an MCL problem in camp. Jerome Henderson flatly stated that there were certain techniques that Claiborne could not execute due to a lack of strength. The model the Cowboys are using for their defensive backs are the Seattle Seahawks, who have a lot of physicality in the secondary (and the defensive line is studying what Rod Marinelli was doing with the Chicago Bears). Now Claiborne has put on some muscle and is ready to build on what was generally a successful first year.

The second year players aren't the only ones coming in with a different approach to things. Dez Bryant had by far the best year of his young career in 2012, but as further evidence of his growth and maturity, he is not going to rely on the status quo.

"Just being able to run all day," Bryant said. "I hear coach talk about it all the time, and that's one of my goals."

That coach he refers to? That would be Jason Garrett, and what he was talking about was how Michael Irvin would stay after everyone else had left practice to keep working. This ability to outlast all the rest strongly impressed Garrett, who was often there with Irvin so he had someone to throw him passes.

Bryant has obviously absorbed that lesson, and is molding himself to be more like one of the all time greats. That will not only pay dividends on the field, but it is certainly going to catch that coach's eye.

In a larger sense, this is one of the key elements of the RKG concept. Garrett is looking for the players that go a step further, that seek to be better players on their own, and that put in the work to make it happen. He operates on the principle that if he puts a team composed of those kinds of people together, they will be winners. And while there is the zombie-like meme of no leadership on the Cowboys, seeing players like Bryant take this kind of approach should be more than enough evidence that there is very strong and influential leadership present at Valley Ranch. It may not be exhibited in histrionics on the field, but it is likely more effective. These three players are examples of how it works.

More Cowboys Coverage

Brian Urlacher Wanted To Be A Dallas Cowboy

2013-05-24T13:00:09Z

Recently one of the best linebackers in NFL history decided to call it a career and hang up his cleats. Brian Urlacher had an amazing career that took him from an All-American safety at New Mexico and made the successful transition to inside linebacker in the Tampa 2 scheme in Chicago.

After the 2012 season, the writing was on the wall for Urlacher and there was some noise circulating that the Bears weren't too motivated in bringing back a player who was the centerpiece of their defense since he was drafted ninth overall back in 2000.

Reports and rumors surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys were interested in Urlacher's services, but Stephen Jones shot the idea down back in March.

"Any time you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player in Urlacher, you don’t ever dismiss Hall of Famers, in my book," Jones said Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. "It would be difficult – he obviously plays what Sean Lee plays – to move everything around for a year. Doesn’t really make a lot of sense."

"But at the same time, you don’t ever rule anything out."

With Sean Lee in the middle, it really didn't make a lot of sense for Dallas to financially pursue the services of the aging linebacker.

One theory that was considered included Urlacher coming in to mentor Lee in the new 4-3 scheme that Monte Kiffin was bringing to Big D. The only problem is, Sean doesn't need much help learning a defense or teaching his teammates. For such a young player, he's already a valuable piece to the defense and his leadership qualities have always been there.

Since being drafted back in 2010, Lee has battled a variety of injuries and unfortunately there isn't a middle linebacker behind him on the Cowboys' roster that can fill in and take his place. We may never know if Urlacher was willing to take a reduced salary to become the backup to Lee, but he did make it clear that Dallas was a place he wanted to be.

"If I could have picked a spot, it would have been Dallas," said Urlacher, who grew up a Cowboys fans. "They run our defense. They took our d-coordinator (Rod Marinelli). That would have been ideal. But they have two really good young linebackers."

As of right now, there really aren't a lot of options on the roster behind Lee at Mike linebacker. Rookie DeVonte Holloman will probably get some looks at all three positions, undrafted free agent Brandon Magee is my personal favorite to back Lee up but he lacks NFL experience and then there is veteran Ernie Sims who filled in last year and played solid football for us.

If you look over that list and don't exactly feel comfortable, then you're not alone. Adding another Mike linebacker was on my pre-draft priority list, but the position was never really addressed.

We shouldn't close the door on Urlacher yet, but when asked about a possible Michael Jordan return to the game he loves, it sure sounded like he is going to stay retired.

"First of all, Michael was like 30 when he (first) did it, and it was basketball, not football," Urlacher said. "It’s a little different for us. ... I’m done."

An reunion of Urlacher and Marinelli would be a great for all parties involved. The question is, can the linebacker still play at a high level? At worst he gives the Cowboys experience and depth, but there is some concern that Urlacher has lost a step. He's retiring for a reason, he knows that physically he probably can't hold up and he wants to go out on his own terms.

In an era where there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for the Dallas Cowboys, at least one future Hall of Fame linebacker wanted to take his talents to America's Team. Let's tip our hat to Brian Urlacher, a great player and person who changed his position.

Dallas Cowboys News and Notes: Brent In Court, Matt Johnson Healthy, More

2013-05-24T09:00:02Z

Matt Johnson sees training regimen as culprit for hamstring injuries - DMN
Johnson thinks his recurring hamstring injuries from last year could be a result of his weight-room routine, specifically the weight he was squatting.

"We’ve done more hamstring work instead of putting on 400 pounds and squatting," Johnson said Tuesday after the Cowboys’ first organized team activity practice. "When I was in college, I did that some. When you get to the pros, and playing at safety, I don’t need to squat 500 pounds. We did more position specific and more dynamic work. You don’t need to be a bodybuilder to play football. I was big enough."

So how much has Miles Austin been squatting?

Broaddus: Backup RBs Making Most Of Reps; Rookie DT Impressive - DC.com
Bryan Broaddus with another summary of OTA activities, this time focusing on tight ends, linebackers and Anthony Armstrong in addition to the RBs and the DT mentioned in the title.

Cowboys' Brent accused of tampering with alcohol-monitoring device - wfaa.com
This is serious. The Dallas County district attorney's office says that Brent missed two bond-supervision appointments and may have tampered with an electronic alcohol-monitoring device. The DA is asking that Brent's bond be revoked. Hearing is set for today at 8:45 CDT.

Time table for possible Anthony Spencer deal - DMN
Rainer Sabin explains that the Cowboys have until mid-July to work out a deal with Spencer. If they don't get a deal done by then, Spencer plays out the year under the franchise tag.

In his OTA review, Mike Fisher wrote that Kyle Orton struggled a little with his accuracy in the first OTAs, and that it would be helpful if the veteran would ramp it up. It could be a lot worse:

Early thought on #Jets QB comp: Ugh. Sanchez 6-for-11, 3 INTs, 1 sack. (1 INT may have been a sack.) Geno Smith 3-for-10, 1 INT, 1 sack
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) May 22, 2013

Here's our tentative schedule for today:

9:00 AM EDT: Archie Barberio has a write-up Brian Urlacher wanting to play for the Cowboys.
11:00 AM EDT: Tom Ryle looks at how Mo, Dez and Matt all worked to change/improve themselves physically in the offseason.
1:00 PM EDT: OCC reviews the Cowboys' young guns and proposes a list of the top 10 players under the age of 25
More stuff to follow after that.

So check back later, we'll have new posts up throughout the day.

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