Dallas Cowboys random articles

Some quick headlines for you, the news is rather slow at the moment.

Mickey Spags has an article on Zach Thomas.

Daryl Johnston on the Pacman Jones trade. 

Ross Tucker, a former offensive lineman who now writes for SI.com, has an article about cheating in the NFL.  He even talks about stealing the Cowboys defensive signals during a game.

I remember a game earlier in my career during which I was assigned to stand on the sidelines and watch Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer on every play, dutifully looking for the specific signal I had been told to watch for. Once I identified that Zimmer had in fact called for the blitz, I alerted a member of the coaching staff, who waved a red flag to the offensive linemen on the field, making sure they were aware that the designated blitz was coming. I distinctly remember times when I wasn't sure whether Zimmer had signaled the blitz, and deciding I wouldn't say anything to our staff unless I was completely confident. It wouldn't have been good, of course, for my fellow linemen to be looking for and anticipating a blitz that never came. The thing is, although I think it helped my team's cause to some extent -- we picked up that stunt on a couple of occasions -- we still lost the game.

To this day I do not know how our coaches knew that Zimmer's gesture indicated a strongside dog by the Sam and Mike linebackers. My guess is that the signal had been decoded by an advance scout who had attended a prior game, or perhaps another member of the coaching staff had previously worked with the other team's defensive coordinator.

Labor troubles could be on the horizon this week if the owners opt out of the CBA.