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The Cowboys took a day off from OTAs on Tuesday to participate in the club's annual golf tournament. As you might expect, the majority of the news came from Grapevine, where the Cowboys Golf Club is located. If golf, as Mark Twain once quipped, is "a good walk spoiled," then I'd bet, given what we've seen of most football players' golf swings, that there were a lot of spoiled walks on Tuesday.
Dallas Cowboys take part in annual golf classic - The Mothership
A thumbnail overview of the day's events, complete with a slideshow of very large men trying to hit a very small ball.
Interviewed on the links, Stephen Jones said that the team wouldn't rule out a return - adding that the league office will have to review and approve any such move. Brent is officially retired, but could seek reinstatement. If he’s readmitted, however, he would be subject to additional discipline under the terms of the league’s personal conduct policy. For more info, read Tom Ryle's intelligent take on the Brent situation.
Weeden picking Tony Romo's brain - Todd Archer, ESPNDallas
No, this isn't some sci-fi plot gone awry. The Cowboys new backup quarterback has been wearing Tony Romo out with questions about the Cowboys offense. The OSU product knows he can't replicate Romo's Jedi moves in the pocket, but he can be Romo-esque in other areas:
One thing about me, I'm going to be an aggressive thrower. I'm going to stretch the field vertically and I'm going to throw the ball aggressively. Sometimes I may get myself in trouble but I think being smart aggressive vs. being dumb aggressive is two different things.
I like him better than Kyle Orton already....
Jerry Jones says no to Brian Urlacher - Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas
The Cowboys' owner squashed this week's Cowboys news-not-news with a simple "no."
Tyrone Crawford: surgically-repaired Achilles weaker than I expected - Jon Machota, DMN
Crawford told reporters that, although his Achilles injury is fully healed, it isn't as strong as it needs to be:
[It’s] definitely weaker than I expected it would be at this point, and sometimes I try to put my foot down and it doesn’t hold as well as I want it to.
Given the fact that Crawford is a strong candidate for 2014's breakout player, I'd prefer different news...
Five things that need to happen for the Cowboys to make the playoffs in 2014 - Jon Machota, DMN
Machota offers a five-point plan for winning the division: 1) No more significant injuries; 2) Romo must return to form; 3) Either Mo Claiborne or Brandon Carr must have a career year; 4) DeMarco Murray must have another Pro Bowl-caliber season; 5) The defensive line must generate consistent pressure and register 40+ sacks.
Seems a fair list...
Healthier Claiborne knows he needs to earn back spot - Rowan Kavner, The Mothership
Judging by his talk, Claiborne appears ready to do something about number three on the above list. Hopefully, he is fueled by a gnawing existential angst:
This whole offseason I’ve been sitting pretty much in a dark room, sorry to say, just trying to get my mind right and getting ready for this upcoming season – to take advantage of this opportunity I have
DeMarco Murray ready for the Cowboys to give him even more - Charean WIlliams, Star-Telegram
As with Claiborne, Murray appears set to check an item off of Machota's list. He claims he's never felt better after an offseason of yoga, spin classes and MetCon workouts. Lets hope so; as the article points out, Scott Linehan's 2013 Detroit Lions offense registered more rushing yards (1,792), more rushing attempts (445) and had the run game as a bigger percentage of its total offense (40.4) than the Cowboys did, and Murray will be a big part of that should it continue.
In a set of excerpts from a radio interview, Aikman doesn't exactly lay out a Machota-like multi-point plan for improvement; rather, he fires off a set of off-the-cuff suggestions that the DMN's headline-makers spice up to make it look like a real article. In case you're wondering, the "4 things" are: the team must stay healthy; Tony Romo has to stay healthy; Romo has to play well; the defense has to be better. Well, yeah. To read our fearless leader's take on why the defense might be better, go here)
Wilber proving versatile and valuable - John Tranchina, Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine
One reason the defense might be better - if only incrementally - is the development of Kyle Wilber. Here, we're treated to a nice profile piece on the former Demon Deacon, who was a double-major at Wake Forest, which is a very competitive university (click here to read last night's story on Wilber from Tom Ryle).
Hmmm, I guess Chip Kelly didn't invent the notion of drafting motivated students after all...
And, a couple of residual OTA tidbits:
NFL offers pointers after Sean Lee injury - Todd Archer, ESPNDallas
After reviewing tape of the Cowboys recent OTA practices, the NFL office has offered a couple of soft corrections, just to remind everyone who makes the rules. There's no story here, folks, kindly move along.
Broaddus: position battles & OTA second impressions- Bryan Broaddus, The Mothership
The Broad One offers a second round of thoughts on the first day of this week's OTA sessions. One in particular caught my eye, a response to a question about the most surprising player:
Defensive tackle
Terrell McClain . He was productive in the few snaps a game in Houston he got, but he has shown he can play the three with quickness that I didn’t even see on tape. This kid is non-stop and can be difficult to handle when he comes off the ball with that quickness.
Now that I can live with.