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Tampa or bust for the Dallas Cowboys

JJT has really been on fire of late. Recently he's pumped out a few good articles and started his own blog. I give a lot of the Cowboy beat writers grief but I really respect what they do. They do it a lot better than I can.

He hits a variety of high notes in his latest article. "Bling bling" should be our motto this year because anything less than a Super Bowl trip won't do.

The Cowboys are also the NFC's best team. That's not meant to disrespect the Cowboys' NFC East rivals, Seattle or New Orleans, all of whom are capable of beating the Cowboys on a given day, but let's be real.

The Cowboys were the best team in the NFC last year, compiling a 13-3 record, but failed to get the job done in the playoffs.

Again.

We must give the Giants credit for a remarkable playoff run that included road wins over Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay, before shocking the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

But no one really thinks the Giants were the league's best team last year. They simply rode a dominating defense and an opportunistic offense to a championship.

There's no shame in that. Any franchise would love to do that. The Cowboys certainly would.

Still, there's no need to act as though the Giants are a great team or Eli Manning is about to become the next Tom Brady. He's not.

That would be a zinger directed toward Eli Manning!

FOXSports.com's John Czarnecki continues the Romo-Eli comparisons.

Who doesn't like Tony Romo? Heck, he passed for 36 touchdowns last season and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decided to give him millions and secure his employment for years to come. But there are people who say until Romo wins a postseason game, something he didn't do in college, either, he will never be considered a top-notch NFL quarterback.

There is no question that the Hall of Fame is full of quarterbacks who won multiple championships, but there are also a few like Dan Marino and Dan Fouts who never won a Super Bowl. Fouts and Warren Moon never even played in one. I believe this is the season that Romo finally wins a playoff game...

Romo and Manning are perfect examples of how over-analyzed the NFL quarterback position is on an annual basis. Romo, with Jessica Simpson on his arm, is already considered a star whereas Manning really is one. He was the Super Bowl MVP.

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Nick Eatman has a great training camp preview at dallascowboys.com. It's very thorough. Although it doesn't cover much new ground it's an excellent synopsis of each position. I highly recommended it.

Key quotes about the offensive line.

Offensive Line
The Cowboys had three offensive linemen starting in the Pro Bowl last season, but still looming large is how the line struggled against the Giants' heavy pass rush in the playoff loss. Left tackle Flozell Adams was re-signed to a six-year deal and likely will end his career in Dallas. Marc Colombo will anchor the right side once again, while Kyle Kosier and Leonard Davis, who made his first Pro Bowl appearance last year, are returning to handle the guard spots. Andre Gurode made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons and should start to get some national attention as one of the NFL's best centers.

The question marks come after the starting five. The Cowboys drafted three offensive tackles - Pat McQuistan, James Marten and Doug Free - in the last three seasons and someone from that group needs to emerge. Cory Procter and Joe Berger have the inside track for the backup spots at guard and center, respectively.

The Cowboys also added some depth in the offseason, signing Cory Lekkerkerker, who played under new line coach Hudson Houck in both San Diego and Miami. The club also signed offensive tackle Ryan Gibbons and guard Adam Stenavich. All three players have minimal playing experience in regular-season games.

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ESPN's LZ Granderson says he's got to know the real T.O. and he's a pretty good guy. Imagine that.

The cynics who are reading this think I'm either a jock-sniffing columnist or just plain naive. I can tell you I'm neither. I'm just a guy who has gotten to know someone and has grown a little tired of the rampant misrepresentation of that person. Again, he's responsible for a lot of the criticism that's directed his way, but there are cats with DUIs and steroid suspensions who receive much more love. Is it really all about his constantly putting his foot in his mouth, or are some of us just shooting at an easy target? And, in either case, when do we cut the guy some slack?

Word. And that goes double for Tony Romo.

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Alright. I've always respected Donovan McNabb's game. Mostly because he kicked our butts for a good portion of a decade. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he came under fire from critics and I disagreed with almost all of them -- including Terrell Owens.

But now it seems like McNabb has been liberated by the criticism and he's saying some off-the-wall stuff. Take this for example.

"We beat the Cowboys last year, and we should have beaten them in the first game," said McNabb, apparently not afraid to provide a little bulletin board material for the folks training in Oxnard, Calif. "The Redskins, we should have beaten them the first time. The Giants, we should have beaten them both times. It's not just teams in our division; it's the NFC, period. I feel like we can compete with all of them. If you ask those teams, they'll tell you the same, that we have the type of team you have to look out for.

Uh, check this out. We whipped you in the first game. In Philly. 38-17. You fumbled on the first play. T.O. had 10 catches for 174 yards. We had 437 total yards and reached the end zone five times. The entire debacle is here.

You can compete with us. But you're not going to win. We'll look out for you. Then look back out the rear window after we run over you.

Sweet delusion. I know it's a comfort to most Iggles fans but wake up and smell the fava beans, Mr. Chunky Soup.

Hat tip and shout out to bigdogarita and his fanpost here.

Hat tip and shout out to billito and his fanshot here.

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FOXSports.com's Randy Hill has a weird article that details what each team in the league should be happy about and what they should be worried about. His take on the 'Boys? Be happy about Adam Jones and our running game. Be worried about our locker room. He also compares our team to "The View."

Are we comparing the 'Boys to the "The View" now? Really? I hit the mute button whenever I hear Elisabeth Hasselbeck talking. I might have to do the same with you Mr. Hill.

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Dallas released OLB Khari Long and will bring in Jeff Terrell.

Hat tip and shout out to Deke for his fanpost here.

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Go to dynastyrogues.com to hear Dave Halprin talk about Felix Jones and our No. 2 wide receiver issues. Scroll down a bit and you'll see it in the middle column.

Man. I feel so proud hearing Grizz represent for BTB. I feel like clapping my hands like Mama Klump. Hercules! Hercules! Hercules! 

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