Catching up with the Dallas Cowboys

Confession time, I was totally out of the loop the past couple of days. Yeah, I faked a couple of posts but I was working on a big project for something outside of the blog and my time was very limited. A big hat tip to Brandon for carrying the water while I was finishing up that outside commitment. I promise to be back on top of may game now, even though the excitement is passing. I picked two of the busiest days this offseason to be on the sidelines. On Tuesday, Jerry signs MB3 and Terence Newman to big contracts, on Wednesday, the Cowboys hold their first OTA with media access and I missed it. I spent this morning reading everything I could just so I could feel like I was back in the loop.

So what did I learn? I learned that just like me Roy Williams chose a bad time to absent from Cowboys duties. It’s not a huge deal, he had a pre-planned commitment, but if anybody needed to make a showing at the media-day OTA, it was Roy. I wanted to hear about his supposed weight-loss and how he looked on the field. Guess we’ll have to wait until next time.

Pacman Jones of course wasn’t at the OTA, but that didn’t keep his name from surfacing, on two fronts. One, he’s passed his physical so the trade is now formally complete. We just await the decision from the commissioner’s office. Two, and more interestingly, Pacman may get some plays at WR on offense. Sounds like fun to me.

Another reason to love MB3. He gets a new contract on Tuesday, hops on a jet from Miami that evening and is at Valley Ranch on Wednesday for practice. I love it. He could have stretched it out a little bit, said he needed a day or two to get to Dallas, but nope, he signed the contract and then put on his cleats. I would have liked to seen him working out at the Ranch the whole offseason, but now that he’s here its all good.

The Roy Williams absence was compounded by the absence of our other starting safety, Ken Hamlin. Hamlin still hasn’t signed his tender and the two sides were talking last week about a long-term deal, but it didn’t get done. Now, we don’t know if one will get done this offseason. With those two being unavailable, Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown manned the safety spots.

Chris Canty has been working out at the Ranch all offseason and is participating in the OTA’s although he still hasn’t signed his tender. You got to respect that. Meantime, T.O. is playing in the final year of his contract and hasn’t made it even a tiny issue. He is now officially the Pod. Jerry gave every indication that T.O. will be extended at some point and will be in Dallas for the next few years.

Terry Glenn didn’t participate in the OTA’s. Likewise Orlando Scandrick who has an eye infection.

The Cowboys will be four players over the roster limit once they sign all the rookies. They’ll have to make four cuts before training camp.

OK, I feel a little better, feel like I am somewhat caught up. Here are some articles to read for getting caught up if you missed some stuff.

Mickey Spags on Jerry’s press conference . Also, here’s a link to the Jerry Jones’ presser  provided by BTB-regular APerfectStar in a Fanshot.

Nick Eatman on MB3, Newman and upcoming contracts . 

General notes on the OTA’s.

Pacman passes his physical.

Hashmarks has an interview with Tony Romo.

Todd Archer likes Miles Austin, plus other tidbits from the OTA’s. 

What are your thoughts on the recent signings of Barber and Newman and the OTA’s? Let’s get the community chatting again!