After the Cowboys’ 2008 season ended with a resounding crash, Jerry Jones made it clear that the organization would rethink it’s method of operation from the top on down. In recent years, one of the Cowboys’ most commonly scrutinized practices has been coach Wade Phillips’ laid back approach to training camp. While coach Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have both pledged to toughen their methodology, they may not have much control over the tempo at practice. In 2009, "Camp Cupcake" will be staring down the barrel of 12 second-day draft picks, fighting for their NFL lives.

What do you get when you mix a few fringe veterans with 12 bloodthirsty rookies? Grizz has dubbed the Cowboys’ upcoming training camp Death Camp 2009. I guess you could call it NFL Deathmatch, or Survivor: Dallas. Whatever you want to call it, the competition is officially on like Donkey Kong. The Cowboys have starters in place for the most part, but everything after that is pretty much up for grabs. I seriously doubt Coach Phillips will have to do much to ratchet up the intensity at practice this year.

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Roy Williams is the one of the keys to this draft, even though he played a partial season with the Cowboys last year. If RW can get in-sync with QB Tony Romo and produce a season worthy of a #1 WR, the 2009 draft must be viewed in a new light.

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Another draft is in the books and I saw these related comments from some experts on how they feel the Cowboys did.

Mike Mayock is one of the few draftniks that I respect. He gives a dispassionate opinion on players and their abilities and he doesn't have that annoying delivery that Mel Kiper displays.

Mayock recently said the Cowboys trade for Roy Williams was probably a good deal for the Cowboys since they wouldn't find that same quality at the 20^th pick in the draft. Here is the entire article.

Another guy I respect is Mike Lombardi who is at National Football Post.

"DALLAS: Looks like a special teams and depth draft to me. If I were a pro guy in the NFL, I might want to watch the ‘Boys this summer and make sure I know all these picks before they play in the preseason. They can't keep all of them."

Now that the draft is over has anyone graded the mockers? There is a site called The Big Lead that posted and compared and graded a number of mockers to see how they fared. The best of them was only right about 1 out of 3 times. The best was Mike Mayock.

John Czarnecki is the first draft grader that I've seen who gave the Cowboys a C and acknowledged that Roy Williams was the Cowboys 1^st round draft pick. He's the Czar from Fox Sports. You can see his draft grades here.

I know that we won't be able to really understand how effective this draft was until we have a few seasons to analyze the players at the NFL level. Judging from the comments I've read this was an emotional draft for many, it was for me as well. Now that some of the smoke has cleared I am beginning to view the Cowboys draft in a more favorable light. What about you?

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Will he or won't he? There seems to be some confusion about where Texas Tech UDFA Graham Harrell will sign. Reports said with the Cowboys, but it appears it might actually be the Browns.

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First, the Graham Harrell rumors about his signing with the Cowboys were confusing. They were rumors, after all. Harrell's first rookie minicamp will be as a Brown.

Here's the 8 undrafted free agents the Cowboys have agreed to terms with so far. Expect this list to be continued as more players are confirmed.

We knew about these guys:

WR Julian Hawkins, Boise State

WR Kevin Ogletree, Virginia (He was ranked the #7 undrafted prospect by draftcountdown.com)

G Greg Isdaner, West Virginia (Russ Lande at The Sporting News ranked Isdaner the #18 prospect still available for Day 2 of the draft.)

Dallas has dipped into The Fighting Irish's player pool.

Notre Dame FB Asaph Schwapp will report to Dallas. 

The Dallas Cowboys have come to terms with Notre Dame fullback Asaph Schwapp, TheRanchReport.com has learned.

Schwapp, considered the strongest player on the Fighting Irish team, only had 44 career rushers for 98 yards but is considered a devastating blocker at the point of attack.

OL Mike Turkovich, ­ Notre Dame

According to DC.com, "Turkovich (6-5, 305) was a two-year starter with experience at guard and tackle."

Here's two more:

OG Travis Bright, BYU

From dmn's blog:

Bright (6-5, 316) also has medical issues, having had a rod inserted to stabilize his broken leg two years ago. He's a mauler who can bench press 540 pounds.

TE Jamar Hunt, UTEP

From dmn's blog:

Hunt (6-7, 260) caught 31 passes for 367 yards and two TDs as a senior. He turned 26 years old in December.

QB Rudy Carpenter, Arizona St.

From DC.com's Josh Ellis:

Carpenter threw for 81 touchdowns and 10,491 yards in college. He had long been thought of as a draftable prospect, but had arguably his worst season as a senior, passing for just 16 touchdowns to go with 2,493 yards. Carpenter is 6-3, 225, the same size as the Cowboys' fourth-round pick, Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee. The Cowboys typically carry four quarterbacks through training camp in order to keep everyone's arm fresh.

January 3, 2004. To most Cowboy fans this date signifies the Cowboys 29-10 playoff loss to the eventual NFC champion Carolina Panthers. If you skim through the starting lineups from that game, you will find another significant footnote. In that game the Cowboys (#1 in total defense that season) started an aging yet still effective Darren Woodson, next to a young and dynamic Roy Williams at the safety positions. That game, five full seasons ago, was the last time the Cowboys have been able to line up with a capable safety tandem.

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When it comes to the NFL Draft, there is no such thing as a safe pick. Each year teams weigh production versus potential. At the top of last year’s draft the Miami Dolphins opted for the "safe pick", taking Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long with the draft’s first overall selection. The year before, the Oakland Raiders chose LSU quarterback Jamarcus Russell’s huge arm and potential over a supposedly more safe and "NFL-ready" Brady Quinn (Notre Dame).

The Cowboys’ free agent moves have put them in position to roll the dice a bit for the sake of upside. However, depth is limited up and down this roster, so the Cowboys could do themselves a favor by bringing in guys who can be solid contributors right away. Another draft class like last year’s ought to suffice.

Here is a look at a few of this draft’s safer bets who may draw the Cowboys interest:

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By filling all of the team’s major voids by way of free agency, the Dallas Cowboys have afforded themselves a certain degree of draft freedom. The Cowboys are in the enviable position of entering the draft without the obligation to come away with an immediate starter at a certain position. If the Cowboys so chose, they can sit on their hands until the 51st selection rolls around, and simply take the best available player. The team can also now feel better about swinging for the fences, and taking a player with a bigger upside.

Drafting players based on upside can be a crapshoot. Players with an exceptionally high ceiling (maximum potential) tend to have a lower floor (minimum production). Sometimes these "boom or bust" prospects pan out, and you end up with Terrell Suggs or Antonio Cromartie. More often these types of gambles prove to be failures, and you end up with guys like Troy Williamson, or Manny Lawson.

You won’t hear any complaints from my direction if the Cowboys focus on making safe selections, and take solid players with low ceilings and high floors. Those are the types of guys who provide the reliable depth that championship teams need. It would however be exciting if the Cowboys took a swing at a player with some genuine star potential. It is never a good idea to reach but if a guy with major upside falls right into your lap, do you take a chance or make the safe pick?

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I tried to take a stab at revising Jimmy Johnson's famed draft trade chart. It is now almost universally acknowledged as outdated. I had some basic changes that I wanted to implement and thought that I could whip out a new, streamlined version pretty quick.  It's just not that simple.

When it was first drawn up it was a secret weapon, though its exact origins are vague. Gil Brandt gave this history lesson on the chart.

The origins of the chart are vague. Gil Brandt, a former longtime executive with the Cowboys, said Dallas and Kansas City were among several teams that used an early version in the late 1980s. He said former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson modified it in the 1990s, ultimately coming up with a model that's closer to what clubs rely on today.

This chart was used to give Johnson's staff immediate relative values for every draft position on the board and allowed them to make rapid trade decisions while the selection clock ticked down on draft day.

This valuable tool migrated into other draft rooms as Cowboy assistant coaches accepted positions with other teams. Over time, the chart has been adopted by many teams and is still used when trades are done on draft day.

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Newsflash: The Dallas Cowboys need linebackers...bad. They need help at both inside and outside linebacker. The starters are set. The ever-improving Bradie James will line up at the strong inside linebacker spot. James will be flanked by his third weak side cohort is as many seasons, newly acquired veteran Keith Brooking. DeMarcus Ware will continue his reign of terror from one outside linebacker spot, while the other side will likely come down to a training camp battle between Greg Ellis and Anthony Spencer.

Beyond the starters, the Cowboys are thin. Justin Rogers has been mostly a special teamer. While Matt Stewart has experience in Wade Phillips' system, he has also been out of football for two years. Bobby Carpenter has been enigmatic, and we know next to nothing about Steve Octavien.

Here is a look at the Cowboys' current group of linebackers:

Keith Brooking (6-2, 241)

Bradie James (6-2, 239)

DeMarcus Ware (6-4, 252)

Greg Ellis (6-6, 265)

Anthony Spencer (6-3, 257)

Bobby Carpenter (6-2, 248)

Justin Rogers (6-4, 250)

Steve Octavien (6-0, 238)

Matt Stewart (6-3, 236)

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