We've all been intently focused on either the new defensive coordinator or the soon to be newest Dallas Cowboys. With no real rooting interest in the remaining playoff games, save for the team you least want to win on North Texas soil, the off-season is in full swing for Cowboys Kingdom. We shouldn't forget, however, that there are a core of players that call Valley Ranch their home away from home that make every attempt to make us proud on Sundays. Let's see what kind of tidbits they offer us today.
Being a integral part of the community is one of the responsibilities of professional athletes that rarely get mentioned. For all the debate we have on this guy's ability to produce at a high level moving forward, he seems to be living at a high level off the field. NBCDFW.com relates a story of Terence Newman performing his duties as an all-around good guy.
In October of 2009, while playing in a game for Pinkston High School, freshman Jared Williams was hit awkwardly, resulting in a broken neck and spinal damage, leaving the 15-year-old paralyzed from the chest down.
While in the hospital thereafter, Williams received a call from Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback Terence Newman. Newman, who founded the Rising Stars Foundation, aimed at mentoring and providing scholarships for scholar athletes, offered Williams some words of encouragement... But Newman did a lot more than pray for Williams; shortly after the phone call, a check arrived in Williams’ family’s mailbox for $10,000 from the Rising Stars Foundation, in order to help the family with medical costs.
With the draft a little over three months away, we are starting to look over the collegiate personnel that will be available to fill the needs that we think are so glaring. Well, those draft picks will have some young guns to compete with that aren't going to give up their depth chart slots easily. ESPN.com is running a series that gives some exposure to some of the lesser known guys on the roster, called Cowboys Future Focus. Here are the links to the players detailed so far:
- WR Manny Johnson
- TE John Phillips
- S Andrew Sendejo
- WR Teddy Williams
- S Barry Church
- NT Josh Brent
- OL Phil Costa
- CB Bryan McCann
- QB Stephen McGee
- RT Sam Young
- LB Brandon Williams
Out of the players profiled so far, which ones do you envision fighting off the next unproven rook brought in to take their spot? John Phillips is an obvious choice, pick someone that isn't as well known.
We can't forget about those Cowboys that have already established themselves as forces to be reckoned with. They are the foundation of our hopes for the future. Todd Archer reports here that Jason Witten and Dez Bryant followed up their Sporting News All-Pro designations with the same honors from Profootballweekly and the Professional Football Writers of America.
While some of you wonder why DeMarcus Ware was not picked – the outside linebackers were Green Bay’s Clay Matthews and Pittsburgh’s James Harrison – I would say Mat McBriar is the bigger omission.
Sorry Todd, but DeMarcus is just as big of an omission, regardless of the field. Single season, or for their careers, the only person currently worthy of being spoken in the same breath as Ware is Harrison. Matthews had a much better supporting cast around him and Ware still had the better numbers. Some of the comments from the thread for the Sporting News awards centered around Matthews having a greater impact of which I say... a word I can't say. For arguments purposes, who are the first five people you'd want to start a defense with? I'm not talking about for longevity, I mean just for one game, right now outside in the snow. My quick list (which I can be convinced to change with your arguments) would look like this.
- Troy Polamalu
- DeMarcus Ware
- Nnamdi Asomugha
- Patrick Willis
- James Harrison