Cowboys Stadium is hosting the Super Bowl, and in the process hosting a small group of former players. A couple of those guys had brief stops in Big D - Erik Walden and Shaun Suisham - but the other one was a mainstay.
Flozell Adams spent his entire career with the Cowboys until he was released after last year. Adams was among the Cowboys best players for a long time; of course, for much of that time he played on some bad teams. Still, he was routinely honored as among the best left tackles in the league, and the Cowboys didn't worry about that position.
All of that started to change over the last few years. The Hotel seemed to be losing a step, he was getting beat more often by speed-rushers, and his penalties, always a source of irritation, seemed to reach the boiling point. With age coming on and nagging injuries hampering his play, Dallas decided the time had come to end the collaboration. Doug Free was the future, Flozell was the past. This is the NFL, time waits for no man.
Now, Flozell Adams comes home, at least to what was once his football-home, and does it in style. Playing for something he never got the chance to do in Dallas, a Lombardi Trophy.
While we as fans cringe at the idea of Dallas not being in the Super Bowl at home, and revolt at the idea of the hated Steelers picking up another Lombardi - I feel a little love for Flozell in this circumstance. Sure, I was among those who said it was time for him to move on, and that's still the right decision as Doug Free is starting to find his groove at the position. I raged when he got another penalty, averted my eyes when he was having one of those games where he looked like he was set in stone, and guys were going right around him.
But that was really towards the end of his time here. For most of the time, Dallas had a left tackle they could trust. All teams covet that.
When Willie Colon went down for the Steelers before the season, Flozell Adams got his second chance. He got a re-birth. A new city, a new team ...and a new position. He's now a right tackle for the Steelers, something that took some getting used to. But he's settled in nicely, and the Steelers love to run behind the Hotel.
I'm still rooting for the Packers, (I can't have the Steelers getting another trophy), but in some small way, I'll be rooting for Flozell. Hey, we may be in need of a right tackle... nah, let's just leave that alone.
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Former draft pick Erik Walden's story is here, he's going to be starting for the Packers if his ankle allows. You can check out former kicker Shaun Suisham's story here, he'll be booting it for the Steelers.