JJT takes a shot at sorting out our backup QB situation.
TAYLOR: We've addressed this quite a bit as of late. No coach wants to entrust his job to a free-agent quarterback who has never thrown a pass in a regular-season NFL game. I don't know that Tony will ever get a chance without the Cowboys' starter being injured. Then he would have a chance to show what he could do. I think he has talent, and I'm really interested in watching him play this preseason, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for him to play.
Q: After Drew Henson's NFL Europe season, and before training camp, what is your opinion and/or assessment of the Dallas QB situation?
TAYLOR: He needs a strong preseason to give the Cowboys hope that he can eventually be a starting quarterback one day. Because he starred at Michigan and many thought he would be a first-round pick, Henson doesn't have to deal with a lot of the bias that Tony Romo has to. It's not fair, just the reality of the game. Anything less than an outstanding preseason and I wouldn't be surprised if this is Henson's final year in Dallas.
I consider this a moral victory. FOX Sports actually ranks our offensive line among the Top-20, better than I would've expected.
And now, it's time for "Where's the Discipline, Part Two", starring a very atypical Bill Parcells team. For Dallas, the discipline went the way of the depth chart. The `Boys led the league with 28 holding penalties, and that number was weighted toward the right side of the line. Rookie RT Rob Petitti drew 11 total penalties and appeared about as overwhelmed as your average rookie. That the team was playing a newbie sixth-round pick on the line in the first place tells you a lot about their depth. The line took a major hit in October, when tackle Flozell Adams was lost for the year with a knee injury. To beef up for the future, Dallas signed former Jets tackle Jason Fabini. The obvious loss to this line was the departure of future Hall of Fame guard Larry Allen, who signed with the 49ers after twelve years and ten Pro Bowl trips in Big D. However, Allen was pretty much on his last legs. Tight ends will play a bigger part in the team's blocking schemes, and this is why Dallas signed former Seahawk Ryan Hannam, one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL.
The Cowboys gave up 52 sacks in 2005. While this is due in part to quarterback Drew Bledsoe (who will never be classified as a "quick release" guy), such numbers are anathema to a franchise used to the all-time great lines of the 1990s. In 2005, Dallas was as far away from those days as Parcells is from outrunning T.O. in a short shuttle.
At this moment, we still have only signed one of our draft picks, 7th round pick Pat McQuistan. No need to panic yet, the Cowboys do this every year.