Some tidbits of information from a slow March week:
Horsecollared: The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that the Cowboys will vote for a rules change banning the "horsecollar" - type tackle, whenever it is written. NFL Competition Committee members have struggled to find the appropriate way to define an illegal horsecollar.
The Cold Shoulder: Saints GM Mickey Loomis is quoted in the same story as saying he's getting "the cold shoulder" from Jerry Jones in his attempt to work out a deal for DE Darren Howard. The sticking point is compensation: the Saints want more than the Cowboys are willing to give. This is following the scenario I predicted; unless a team like Minnesota enters the picture, the Saints will be trying a lot harder to move Howard before the draft than the Cowboys will be to acquire him.
Give it Back: new Cowboys guard Marco Rivera offered to return his entire signing bonus to Jerry Jones upon injuring his back last week, according to NFL.com. Jones declined the offer.
Cowboys Gain Two Picks: the NFL awarded Dallas two compensatory sixth-round picks in next month's draft. The picks, numbers 208 and 209 overall, are for losing DE Ebenezer Ekuban and CB Mario Edwards in the 2004 free agency swap. They bring the total number of Cowboys picks to eight. Dallas did not have a sixth round pick, having traded its own to Oakland for DE Kenyon Coleman. The Cowboys now have picks in every round except the third; that pick was swapped to Houston for QB Drew Henson.
Coming soon: a series on how to read draft books.