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Byron Jones giving Jerry Jones ‘visions of sugar plums’ | Jon Machota, Dallas Morning News
Machota writes that Jones gets "visions of sugar plums" when he thinks about Byron Jones playing in nickel packages.
"I don’t think we could have asked for more, sitting here today, than what he’s shown," Jerry Jones said Wednesday. "He certainly has shown the athletic ability, which was a given, but he’s shown the instincts, shown the ability to have position flex of corner as well as safety."
"You couldn’t ask for a pick to pan out better than he’s panned out, much less being a first-round pick. He is everything as advertised."
Six corners, four safeties? - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
In his Friday mailbag post, Archer wonders whether the Cowboys will go heavy at corner this year.
I'm in the process of putting together my first roster projection and I'm seriously leaning toward six cornerbacks. With Byron Jones and Corey White being able to play safety, I think that adds value to their spots and helps the Cowboys keep six corners. In general, 10 defensive backs is a good number in putting together a 53-man roster, so however you break that up is fine. Six corners, four safeties make sense to me.
Orlando Scandrick puts a ring on it - People.com
Orlando Scandrick with the first ring of the season: Scandrick is now engaged to reality star Draya Michele.
Bob Sturm: Still mad that Cowboys didn’t pay DeMarco? A look back at ‘insane’ deals Dallas did hand out | Dallas Morning News
Sturm reviews the Cowboys' contractual shop of horrors to explain why the Cowboys didn't pony up a 5-year, $40 million contract with $21 million guaranteed for DeMarco Murray.
Look at the deals they handed out over the years.
- In 2008 they gave Marion Barber a 7 year deal for $45m with $16m guaranteed. That deal was to expire last season! How insane is that contract? DeMarco would have given anything for that offer.
- In 2009, they gave Roy Williams a 5 yr/$45m deal with almost $20m guaranteed. Insanity!
- In 2010, it was Miles Austin's turn for 7 years, $54m with $17m guaranteed.
- In 2011, Jay Ratliff was 7/$49m with $17.5m in guarantees.
The Cowboys are realizing that too many of those deals to ok-but-not-elite players causes a top-heavy roster with no depth. Now, they are going in the opposite direction and following the lead of the "smart franchises" and I applaud them.
Herschel Walker: Jerry Jones is a terrible G.M. but the best owner | ProFootballTalk
Somewhere, the NFL Executive Of The Year is chuckling.
Gosselin: What if Dez Bryant isn't there for the Cowboys? Life will go on | Dallas Morning News
Gosselin provides his take on what life without Dez would look like in Dallas.
Dez might not be there but Tony Romo would be.
This doomsday scenario involving Dez is exactly why teams give their franchise quarterbacks $100 million contracts. NFL quarterbacks carry teams, not receivers. They are paid those handsome sums to make the players around them better, and that includes the receivers.
Dallas Cowboys hope to have 'tenacious, relentless' Rolando McClain healthy for training camp | AL.com
Jerry Jones believes McClain can bring something to the Dallas defense that other players can't.
"He's an inspirational player," Jones told the Dallas Morning News. "He's probably as good of a natural football player as we've had, and that's saying a lot. When you're watching that tape after Sunday (games) and you see that whole thing cave back the other way, about four or five bodies going back the way they came, then you get a lot of Ro in there and that's a good thing. He's excellent."
Cowboys rookie Randy Gregory doing all the right things, including adding healthy weight | Charean Williams, Star Telegram
The defensive end has added 12 pounds, up to 243, with the Cowboys hoping for even more healthy weight before training camp starts.
"I don’t really have an exact target," Gregory said. "They want me above 245, I’m sure. They’d probably like me to be above 255. But anywhere between that I think is reasonable to start training camp."
Every day is April Fools day at NFL.com
All-NFC East Team (via @Dameshek): QB: Eli Manning RB: @DeMarcoMurray WR: DezBryant MORE: http://t.co/f6JW04VOgt pic.twitter.com/JForBgXC0S
— NFL (@nfl) June 19, 2015
Whose line is better, Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles? - ESPN Dallas
Todd Archer and Phil Sheridan discuss which team has the better line. Our own Tarheel Paul weighed in on this topic earlier and more succinctly.
@OCC44 @phillysport @brookob Ok. guy 4 guy. Smith Peters = wash, Leary > than whoever, Fred > Kelce, Martin > whoever, Free -> than whoever
— Paul Leatherman (@Tarheel_Paul) June 14, 2015
Tampa Bay Buccaneers look into getting virtual-reality system used by Cowboys - Pat Yasinskas, ESPN
The Bucs are looking to purchase the virtual-reality system already being used by the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys recently invested in a virtual-reality system that allows players a 3-D look at live action from practice. Quarterbacks, as well as linebackers or safeties, wear a virtual-reality headset that will adjust the video in the room to what the player is looking at and allow the coaches to see whether they are making the proper reads or checks during each play. It will also help the backups get views of plays they would not have experienced.
NFL safety boss says the league could ban helmets one day - BBC Sport
It is "not around the corner" but the chairman of the NFL's safety commission, John York of the 49ers, believes gridiron could ban helmets one day.
For the game to be played without helmets, York says the league would have "to do away with" the three-point stance and start each play in a more upright position.
The three-point stance is the starting position usually taken by linemen when the ball is snapped - the three points being the player's feet and a hand on the ground for balance.
Such a stance enables players to launch themselves at each other headfirst, providing the trademark crunch that punctuates each play.
Is Eli Manning overpaid? Embarrassingly so, according to ESPN - Big Blue View
ESPN has a list of the most overpaid players in the NFL, and lists Manning as the third-most overpaid player in the NFL. Of course, with Brandon Carr showing up on the same list, we're sitting in a glass house ourselves. But we'll throw a teeny tiny stone anyway, courtesy of ESPN:
Odell Beckham Jr.'s presence helped Eli Manning a lot in 2014, but he remains just an average NFL quarterback.
Manning's accuracy percentage of 72.5 was just the 24th best of 39 quarterbacks, and his numbers against pressure and on deep throws weren't much better. Having Odell Beckham Jr. helped Manning's overall stat line look good in 2014, but that had a lot more to do with Beckham than with Manning.
The Dream Team Is Back... In New York - Bleeding Green Nation
The Eagles stepped into the Dream Team stuff like somebody stepping into a bag of burning dog poop on their porch, and are now doing a crazy dance trying to get rid of it.
QB Battles Roundup: Where do they stand? - NFL.com
Gregg Rosenthal looks at some of the QB battles around the league heading into training camp, and offers this assessment of what's going on in Philly.
The battle is not truly between Bradford and Mark Sanchez. It's between Bradford and his surgically repaired knee. Perhaps he'll be fine when training camp starts, but this offseason was a reminder that Bradford is entering uncharted territory. We haven't seen a starting quarterback attempt to play after successive ACL tears, and this recovery is taking longer than Bradford's first injury.
Consider that Carson Palmer, 35, is practicing without limitations before Bradford, despite suffering his ACL injury three months after Bradford. Sanchez has reportedly looked "substantially" better than he did a year ago in practices, which isn't a huge surprise in year two under Kelly. It would not be a surprise if the Eagles chose to bring Bradford back slowly and Sanchez started the season.