Tony Romo rounds out The Sporting News' top 10 quarterbacks, ranking him between Eli Manning (9) and Matt Hasselbeck (11).
The Cowboys' plan to run more in '09 speaks to the strength of their running backs and the relative inexperience and lack of depth at wide receiver. It also raises a flag with regard to the coaches' confidence in Romo after an up-and-down '08 campaign. He will be on a short leash as Dallas looks to limit turnovers and costly errors.
Todd Archer takes his own look at the Romo-to-Roy connection, getting Felix Jones back, and perhaps the most important offseason acquisition: ST coach Joe DeCamillis.
CBSSports includes Dallas' releasing of such players as Terrell Owens and Adam Jones as one of its "smartest, boldest" offseason moves.
Let's hear it for Jerry Jones. One minute he loses his mind and signs these morons; the next, he wises up and discards them. Hallelujah. I applaud Jones for admitting his mistakes. Adding Owens I could almost understand. On second thought, no, I couldn't. If Philadelphia was willing to let him go to a division opponent, just how bad could he be? Dallas found out, with the Cowboys reduced to a weekly ESPN soap opera. Maybe it makes for good TV, but it never made for great football.
The Cowboys didn't win a playoff game with Owens. Pacman, on the other hand, is a waste of time. He seeks out trouble, even when it means messing with the security team Jerry Jones hired to keep him out of the papers. You can't make this stuff up. If he has a future it's as a supporting actor in Reno 911!
More VRR after the jump!
Michael Irvin's 4th and Long sure sounds like it will be an interesting show. The HOFer answered some Qs from TSN about his show, as well as his thoughts on the current state of Cowboys and his reaction to the practice facility collapse.
Q: What do you think of the Cowboys' "addition by subtraction" moves this offseason?
A: We'll have to see how things play out. They shook up the locker room, and with the moves they made it's clear they wanted to go back to being more of a team. It remains to be seen if the technique of cutting down on talent for the sake of unity pays off.[snip]
Q: You once were the Cowboys' No. 1 receiver. What's in front of Roy Williams?
A: Roy has experience as the Lions' No. 1 receiver, but it's a whole lot different in Dallas with the expectations and the pressure. He was on a team in Detroit where losing an average of 14 games was the norm; with the Cowboys, a team with Super Bowl expectations, there's a higher responsibility. Before, he could just get away with making a few big plays. Now, not only does he need to make those plays but he is expected to help lead the Cowboys to wins, too.[snip]
Q: What was your reaction to the collapse at the Cowboys' practice facility May 2? You're hosting a benefit, too, during the TV show's premiere party, right?
A: It was scary. It's a sad situation. My heart goes out to Rich Behm. For him to be paralyzed with three young kids, I can't imagine how tough that is. I've never experienced anything like that in practice, but I was once laying on the hard carpet in Philadelphia, thinking to myself I may never walk again. When we debut the show in Dallas (today), we will be continuing to raise money to help (Behm) and his family see through this.
For both legal reasons and out of respect of those victimized by the indoor practice facility collapse, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys' organization have remained understandably quiet. A few veterans recently expressed their thoughts on the accident.
Demarcus Ware:
"I thought, 'If you build a building for the weather, shouldn't it hold " he asked. "It was really a disaster. The up against the weather?' whole place was flat like a pancake."
Roy Williams:
"I talked to one guy and he's still kinda terrified," Williams said. "In our locker room he keeps looking at the ceiling worried that that might come down. I can't explain what those guys are going through."
Marcus Spears:
"The guys that were hurt you were concerned. Then you hear about Rich and that really gets you," defensive end Marcus Spears said. "His life immediately changed. It's been a wonderful outpouring of people showing concern, but at the end of the day the guy can't walk."
Offensive quality control coach, Wes Phillips, will run the special teams activities while Joe DeCamillis recovers from surgery. Phillips will meet with DeCamillis daily to prepare for next week's OTAs and the June minicamp.
What if T.O. was still a Cowboy? VH-1 instead of HBO cameras will be watching, following the wide receiver's day-to-day life for his new reality show. They will arrive with Owens in Buffalo this weekend as the Bills break into their voluntary mini-camps.