Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Cowboys Drafted More Pro Bowlers Than Any Other Team In Last Decade

Dallas Cowboys have drafted most Pro Bowlers in last decade - NFL.com
The Dallas Cowboys annually are among the teams with the most members heading to the Pro Bowl, and a big reason for that is because the team has been especially adept at drafting future star players.

Pro Bowl players drafted: Zack Martin (year drafted: 2014), Travis Frederick (2013), Tyron Smith (2011), DeMarco Murray (2011), Dez Bryant (2010), Mike Jenkins (2008), Martellus Bennett (2008), Anthony Spencer (2007), Nick Folk (2007), Jason Hatcher (2006), DeMarcus Ware (2005), Marion Barber (2005), Jay Ratliff (2005).

The skinny: Three members of the Cowboys' current offensive line -- Martin, Frederick and Smith -- were first-round draft selections who became Pro Bowl picks (a fact that might have contributed to rookie La'el Collins declaring this coming season's Dallas offensive line as the "best in history.").

It wasn't until after signing with the Chicago Bears that Bennett became the offensive threat that the Cowboys envisioned when the team used a second-round pick on him in the 2008 draft. In back-to-back drafts, the Cowboys got one of the game's best receivers and one of the game's best running backs. Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, the team wasn't able to afford to keep both.

No Greg Hardy ruling, nearly a month later | ProFootballTalk
Hardy is not going to win his appeal with the NFL, but will win eventually in court. That leaves only one sure loser, trapped in his own delusions of grandeur: the morally bankrupt commissioner.

The real question for Hardy becomes how quickly he and the NFL Players Association will head to court if Hardy’s suspension suggests that he was punished under the new Personal Conduct Policy, instead of the version that was in effect at the time Hardy violated its terms. As PFT previously reported, the NFL didn’t say which version of the policy it used during the hearing, and Henderson didn’t force the league to say so.

A federal court undoubtedly will, unless a deal is reached between Hardy and the league that makes it all go away.

What is Jerry Jones' Net Worth? - The Motley Fool
The owner of the Dallas Cowboys has more money than you may have thought.

The Dallas Cowboys alone are estimated to be worth $3.2 billion, according to Forbes, more than any other football team and ahead of Manchester United's $3 billion market cap, making it the most valuable sports franchise in the world.

While Jones has a few other assets, such as a half interest in 75 Papa John's locations, his largest asset is definitely the Dallas Cowboys and the team's stadium. All told, his net worth has now reached $4.2 billion, according to Forbes, enough to make him the 130th richest person in the U.S. and 393rd in the world.

FAA says it’s probing NFL teams’ use of drones to film practice | The Kansas City Star
NFL teams have started filming practices with the help of drones, which has garnered the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA, when asked about drone use by three teams, said it has been in contact with the Cowboys to "explain the proper procedure for obtaining the necessary exemption." It plans to reach out to two other teams that used the devices to film their own workouts: the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

No word yet on which team's practice the Patriots were filming.

Cowboys' Ron Leary looking to make La'el Collins better | FOX Sports
Four-year veteran left guard Ron Leary has "embraced and mentored" rookie La'el Collins.

"I think when you're at this level, you always going to talk to a guy that's younger than you," Leary said Friday at Dirk Nowitzki's Heroes Celebrity Baseball practice. "I talk to Collins."

La'el Collins gave 'great' thought to signing with Detroit Lions - Detroit Free Press
Collins said at a Play60 event at the NFL rookie symposium that Lions coach Jim Caldwell phoned him the day after the draft and that he gave "a lot" of consideration to signing with the Lions, but obviously didn't.

"For me, I just, at the end of the day just after looking at everything, going over everything, Dallas was just the best fit for me," he said.

NFL makes exception, lets Cowboys' Collins attend Rookie Symposium | FOX Sports
The NFL Rookie Symposium is intended only for drafted players, but the league made an exception for Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman La'el Collins.

"My agent and (the Cowboys’) PR guys did a great job of communicating with the league and giving me the opportunity to be here," Collins told co-host Gil Brandt and Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "They accepted me with open arms. I’m excited to be here. It’s been a great experience."

Continuity a Refreshing Change for Weeden | Scott Crisp, NBC 5 DFW
After having a different offensive coordinator in each of his first three seasons in the NFL, Brandon Weeden feels understandably comfortable going into his second year under Scott Linehan.

"It’s a big difference," Weeden told the team’s website. "You’re around the same guys. You’re around the same coordinator (Linehan), the same coaching staff, and I didn’t have that in Cleveland. We’ve been in the same offense for the second year now, so it’s nice not worrying about what’s going on trying to fit in."

Cowboys’ Dan Bailey on Dez Bryant: ‘I think that guy could eat cookies and cake all the time and still be a freak athlete’ | Michael Florek, Dallas Morning News
Bailey has known Bryant since they played together at Oklahoma State in 2007, and describes him as a crazy athlete and provides the quote in the title. As for Bryant's contract issues, those are just "part of the business," according to Bailey.

"Our job is just to come in and do the best that we can everyday, sometimes that stuff kind of creeps in and that might be a thought, but for the most part we try to block that out and really just kind of let that take care of itself and it usually does."

NFL's Most Underrated: 32 teams, 32 players who don't get their due - CBSSports.com
Pete Prisco identifies the studs who aren't getting their due on every NFL team. For the Cowboys, that's Tyrone Crawford, though Prisco's desciption wouldn't have you believe that he's talking about a stud.

He moved inside last season and did a nice job at tackle, even though he's a bit undersized. He can play outside in a pinch, but it looks like he's settled in at tackle for now.

Does Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III spark fear in opponents? - John Keim, ESPN Washington
The NFC East writers continue their series of roundtable questions, and in this article Keim asks how NFC East opponents view Robert Griffin. Todd Archer answers for the Cowboys.

From a coach and player perspective, I think fear is too strong of a word. They respect him, of course. They know what he can do if healthy and confident, which are two things he hasn’t been lately. Griffin was so good so early that he will always be chasing that ghost. If Jay Gruden can get the rest of the pieces around Griffin playing better, then he will have a chance and he will give the Cowboys more things to worry about than the normal quarterback.