Cure for Pacman Fever

OK, The Artist Formerly Known as Pacman has made it official. His old moniker is no longer viable.  

"There's really just a lot of negativity behind it," Jones said Saturday after speaking to kids at Dallas Mavericks forward Brandon Bass' camp. "It's just time for a change, man. I'm doing everything to make sure that I'm all right as a person mentally and emotionally."

The only people allowed to reference him as the most famous video game of them all are his momma, his teammates on the field and groups of kids at sports camps.

Tim Cowlishaw says the New York Giants are the still the favorites in the NFC, not our beloved Dallas Cowboys. He’s operating under the theory that the offseason turmoil the Giants are experiencing isn’t really that bad. It’s sort of hard to argue with that. We all know how the outside world perceives everything that happens at Valley Ranch and how non-stories turn into super-hyped meltdowns. So I can see that point of view. But there is also the idea that the Giants just got hot at the right time last year, and made a miraculous playoff run that belied how good their team really was. That’s no disrespect to what they accomplished last year, they earned a championship. Still, if you look at it in the context of maintaining that high level of play this year, I think it’s valid to be skeptical.

Cowlishaw works his way through explaining the Giants offseason problems and dismisses them pretty casually. On two of them, I think he missed the mark.

On Jeremy Shockey’s trade proclamations, Cowlishaw says he has no leverage because his replacement played well.

It means he knows he's expendable after watching the job last year's rookie, Kevin Boss, did throughout the playoffs when Shockey was hurt.

Expendable? Be careful here. While Kevin Boss did a fine job last year, half a season does not a stud make. You would need to see how he performs consistently over time. I’ve seen plenty of one-year wonders in this league. Plus, you’re talking about a guy who has been a lethal receiver in Shockey. As much as I hate him, he is good.

On RB Ahmad Bradshaw’s recent incarceration.

You never want to have your players in jail, but Bradshaw is serving a 30-day sentence that stems from a violation committed as a juvenile, not something he did in celebration of their Super Bowl victory.

I guess Cowlishaw didn’t read that the NFL is investigating the incident and that Bradshaw could be subject to some kind of suspension under the new regime of Roger Goodell. You can’t just brush these things off lightly in today’s environment.

The Star-T has an article where they posed five questions to three of their writers. They didn’t ask me to participate but I’m going to answer them anyway. 

Terry Glenn vs. Jerry Jones – whose side are you on?

If the Cowboys are so adamant about this that they would release Glenn, then the Dallas docs must not have any faith that Glenn will make it for the entire season. I’ve always had serious doubts that Glenn could return anyway, so I got to go with Jerry on this one.

Biggest surprise during mini-camp?

Considering I didn’t see mini-camp, I have no answer. But Miles Austin fans will be happy to know that the Star-T writers liked his performance.

Make or break season for Roy Williams?

Sort of. I think it’s only a break season if his play takes a serious decline over current levels. Jerry has made it pretty clear he’s not as disappointed in Roy as a lot of fans and media are, so it would take a really bad season for him to be released or traded next offseason.

Will Ken Hamlin get a long-term deal before camp?

I don’t know here. I get the feeling he wants more money than Jerry is willing to give and he's basing that on some of the outrageous safety contracts that were signed this offseason. If Hamlin wants that kind of money, he may have to play under the franchise tag this year and wait for next offseason and free agency. But Jerry and Stephen continue to defy my expectations in getting players signed, so it’s really 50-50.

Tony Romo – can he put the distractions to the side and focus on football?

That’s not even a real question. He always does that. The question should be can he win in December/January.

Article on Jason Witten’s kids football camp.