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When Deion Sanders was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame the Saturday before the Super Bowl, BTB had a great discussion in the comments section on whether or not Deion's signing was the beginning of the end of our dynasty. Posters felt that Jerry fell in love with all the media firestorm over his pursuit and transitioned further into the line of thought that star power was as important as team chemistry. Well, it appears that more than a few of Deion's teammates felt that way about him back then. The Ft. Worth Star Telegram rehashes a story that claims returning strength coach Mike Woicik originally left the team via a him-or-me standoff with Prime Time himself over his conditioning. Current head coach Jason Garrett was on the team for that, so I think it's safe to make the leap that Woicik's hiring further demonstrates Garrett's philosophy of player personnel management. More good feelings as we move forward, I like our direction.
The Super Bowl seating fiasco continues to play out. The Ft. Worth Star Telegram put together this interesting read, a timeline of the seating fiasco, going back to December 22nd. As the lawsuit was formulated, the NFL was expanding the reach of their compensation package, to include over 2,000 fans that were displaced as well - just not to the extent of the Famous 400. Now, from the world of who saw this coming, the lawyer for the disgruntled fans says he is working on an out of court settlement. Surprise! You gotta love America.
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Sometimes, I wonder about the guys that get paid tons of money to talk football. I'm sure they are great guys, and it's probably impossible to keep track of all 32 team needs, but this one is just crazy talk in my opinion. In an online chat, Pat Kirwin of NFL.com says that the Cowboys should consider a QB with the #9 pick. Ummmm, what? OK, you may not have a lot of faith in Tony Romo, we can disagree there. However, you cannot say that with all the other priorities the Cowboys have, that getting a quarterback in a QB-unfriendly draft is the best medicine for what ails the Cowboys. Yes, I am considering any season that doesn't project a top 10 QB until after all the games have been played a QB-weak draft. Heck, the Cowboys showed that they could be a very competitive team without ever throwing downfield with Kitna! What improvement does this draft pick bring to Dallas in the next two-three years?
The Cowboys have added another linebacker to the fold, signing former University of Oklahoma player Mike Balogun. Balogun was just released from the Buffalo Bills last week. Balogun missed his entire senior year in 2009 because of participation in a semi-professional league. From newsok.com:
Balogun entered the 2009 season as one of OU’s top linebackers. But two weeks before the season opener, the NCAA decertified him and launched an investigation to determine if he had played semi-pro football after turning 21. The NCAA, whose rules mandate that for every season an athlete plays semi-pro football past the age of 21 he loses a season of eligibility, eventually ruled that Balogun had. Nfldraftscout.com had him ranked as the 42nd ILB prospect heading into the 2010 draft, here's their bio for Balogun. He's spent time on San Francisco's, Tampa Bay's and Washington's practice squads, and was active for two games with the Bills last season. On Friday, I posted this piece outlining the use of the Franchise tag and the NFL / NFLPA's disagreement over whether it can be used or not. The owners have moved forward, and have started to franchise players. Here's a look at who has been given the tag so far. --- Eagles QB Michael Vick, K David Akers (transition tag) --- Chargers WR Vincent Jackson You can expect more names to be added to this list, as teams are preparing for next season if there is one. The franchise tag is not guaranteed to be part of the new CBA, but if it is, these teams are prepared for it. Quick Links: --- The mothership with a profile of Josh Brent --- WR Roy Williams was a panelist at the UTPB Black Leadership Conference. --- Rainer Sabin of DMN reports the Cowboys players could be learning their plays from iPad apps. --- Nate Davis of USAToday compiled an All-Cowboys, All-SuperBowl team.