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Jerry Jones: Romo expected to be ready for OTAs - Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas
The Cowboys hope Romo will be back in time for OTAs after undergoing back surgery yesterday. Says the ever-optimistic Jerry Jones:
"My expectation is that one of the pluses for having had it done as early as this morning is that it would really contribute to him being able to get right there when it comes time for the team to be in OTAs and do the preparation, the beginning of the preparation for next year," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. "The OTAs are what we call the equivalent of our spring practice. So we would anticipate him being right on time there and expect it and we’ll see how it goes."
Romo already home after back surgery - ProFootballTalk
In an embedded video on the site, Peter King of TheMMQB.com explains the nuts and bolts of how Romo ended up under the knife yesterday.
Romo's last drive of the season was an award winner: named GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week - Clarence Hill, Star-Telegram
... thanks in no small part to some rabid voters here on BTB!
Jones: Cowboys Won't Use High Draft Pick On QB - David Helman, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys just signed Tony Romo to a six-year extension, and it follows that the Cowboys have no intention of spending a high draft pick on a QB any time soon.
"It’s way too early to do that with the way things are today with my expectations of Tony’s career -- which I think will be several years to come," Jones said. "It’s too early to be drafting a highly ranked or costly quarterback."
Troy Aikman: My back led to my retirement; Romo's back should concern Cowboys - DMN
Troy Aikman, who knows a thing or two about back problems, dismisses the notion that he retired because of concussions, citing his back issues as the main reason for his retirement.
"I think it would be a concern of mine if I was with the Cowboys, having back surgery once again and at his age," Aikman said. "It could be a factor going forward as far as his performance."
Jerry Jones: Kyle Orton won’t have the same freedoms Tony Romo had in Dallas Cowboys offense - Jon Machota, DMN
Orton will not be as involved as Romo was in creating the game plan, but Jones believes Orton will function well in the Cowboys offense anyway.
"It’s different. Tony was so involved in the makeup of the game plan this year, so involved in what we were offensively. Several parts of it tailored to the kinds of things that he does the best and wants to do the best. It’ll be different. On the other hand, it will be very, very good in my mind. The good thing about Orton is that he understands this philosophy of I would say, for lack of a better term, Jason [Garrett's] offense. He understands what’s expected from it."
"He can read it well, he’s got a strong arm and he’s got a lot of experience. From that standpoint, he’ll be very friendly to this offense and this offense will be friendly to him."
Game plan tailored to what Orton likes - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
Archer writes that while the Cowboys have not developed a "Kyle Orton game plan," they have adapted the game plan more to what Orton likes. Bill Callahan explains:
"Some like certain plays, some like other plays, some like certain personnel groupings and certain concepts more than others," offensive coordinator Bill Callahan said. "It’s kind of a personal affinity to what they want. But the system doesn’t vary that much, though. We’re not completely shifting to a whole new offense. That’s not the situation at all."
"We know what he likes," Callahan said. "We’ve gone through that, past experiences with him in practice, during the week, during the game plan. We talk about plays."
Can Orton be the Hanna-whisperer?
Cowboys' Dez Bryant And Tyron Smith Named To Pro Bowl - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys send two players to the "new" Pro Bowl.
Ware Has MRI For Elbow; Vows To Play Sun. Despite Iffy Status - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
Ware suffered another elbow injury in Thursday’s practice, this time to his left elbow, which forced him to sit out practice on Friday. Ware is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, with both back and elbow issues, but Ware said he's play regardless.
"I’m playing," Ware said with authority. "Without a doubt, I’ll be out there."
Sean Lee: For the second consecutive season ‘I haven’t been there when the team needed me most’ - Jon Machota, DMN
Sad but true.
Cowboys expect largest crowd of the season and one of the largest in stadium history - Charean Williams, Star-Telegram
Their largest crowd ever at AT&T Stadium was the NFL-record 105,121 who saw the regular-season opening of the $1.2 billion stadium in 2009. And while beating that may be a stretch, the Cowboys expect to top 92,758 the Cowboys drew for the Broncos on Oct. 6 this year.
"We’ve sold everything available. We’ll have them hanging from their rafters. It’ll be one of our biggest crowds."
Can the Eagles avoid the trap on Sunday? - Philly.com
All the Eagles need to do on Sunday is beat a Dallas team that is missing its starting quarterback and top defensive player. The Eagles know what's at stake and insist they will not look past the Cowboys or suffer a letdown because of Dallas' injuries. Yet that is exactly what happened two weeks ago against Minnesota, writes Bob Ford:
"It was just two weeks ago that the Eagles, having promised they saw the trap and would step around it, stepped into something different entirely against Matt Cassel and the Vikings. [...] The Eagles will have to do more against the Cowboys than just acknowledge that on-any-given-Sunday-blah-blah-blah."
"What could go wrong, if something goes wrong, will be apparent early. If the Eagles can dominate the first half, the Cowboys will wilt away and accept their whupping. No one will blame them given the way the odds are stacked. But if Dallas can hang around, or even take advantage of turnovers or other Eagles mistakes and get in a position of control, then it will be interesting to see how the Eagles respond."
Giants and Redskins finish up disappointing seasons - Fox News
The Giants will miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons, while the Redskins have missed the playoffs five times in the last six years.
Jets, Giants shut out of Pro Bowl - ProFootballTalk
Ha ha ha.
