Cowboys news: Gil Brandt selected to the Hall of Fame; it’s Super Bowl Sunday!

2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame class: Meet the newest members - Jeff Legwold, ESPN
The Cowboys have added another member of their family to the Hall of Fame as Gil Brandt will be inducted on August 3rd in Canton, Ohio.

GIL BRANDT | VP OF PLAYER PERSONNEL , Dallas Cowboys, 1960-1989

How teams evaluate players can be traced to Brandt’s long run with the Cowboys, including the use of computers, tracking multisport athletes and mining small-college talent.

Why he was elected: The Cowboys with Brandt, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm are generally credited, in addition to the success on the field, with bringing scouting and the evaluation of players into the computer age. The Cowboys also mined smaller schools for talent -- such as Hall of Famer Bob Hayes -- as well as scouting players in other sports, given they were regulars at the NCAA track and field meet. The also were scouting in Europe and Canada.

Signature moment: Beyond the 20 consecutive winning seasons and 13 division titles the Cowboys had during his tenure, he has said the Cowboys’ two Super Bowl wins (VI, XII) would top the list.

He said it: “I was always proud of how we did it, how we built the team and the way we went about it -- always proud of that.” -- Brandt

Gil Brandt Becomes Cowboys’ 17th Hall Of Famer - David Helman, Dallas Cowboys
What did Brandt do to deserve such an award? Well, quite a bit actually as David Helman from the Mothership explains:

Brandt is revered as the father of modern football scouting, as he was at the forefront of many advancements in the profession that are still used today. He was the first to incorporate computer technology into scouting and talent evaluations, helping the Cowboys automize their preferred qualities and traits into numbers and formulas that could be computed for easier reference.

He was also one of the first scouting figures to use psychology and personality tests to determine the mental makeup of prospective players. In a feat that all NFL draftniks can appreciate, Brandt was also one of the guiding voices in creating the annual NFL Scouting Combine, which has grown from humble beginnings into the must-see event of every NFL offseason.

All of these factors combined to help Brandt, head coach Tom Landry and team president Tex Schramm build the Cowboys into one of the dominant franchises of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time period, Brandt oversaw the drafting of franchise cornerstones like Bob Lilly, Lee Roy Jordan, Mel Renfro, Roger Staubach, Rayfield Wright, Randy White and Tony Dorsett.

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Should Ezekiel Elliott get a deal in the same ballpark of Todd Gurley’s contract extension? - Kevin Sherrington, SportsDay
The Cowboys have a lot of tough decisions to make when it comes to extending some of their young talent, including the league’s rushing champion over two of the last three seasons.

Do you think the Cowboys will extend Zeke this offseason, similar to how Gurley was extended?

Sherrington: Certainly possible. On the offensive side, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry rates Zeke over Dak. On the other hand, there was a question when Zeke was drafted about whether he’d be a one-contract player or not. His usage rate is extremely high. Players who touch the ball as much as he does should be considered high-risk. He’s certainly proven to be very durable, but I wouldn’t let that influence my decisions very much. Hard to give up on a guy who’s accomplished what Zeke has, but the Cowboys made the very prudent decision to let DeMarco Murray walk. I thought they were making a mistake, and they proved me wrong. Which wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last. Running backs aren’t as hard to find, especially if your offense is geared to their success.

The time has come for the Cowboys to build a consistent winner - Ben Grimaldi, Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys have a lot of money to spend this offseason, but where should it go? Clearly, they’ll re-invest in their own guys, but should they also open up their wallets to outside players?

The philosophy of spending cap dollars on your own talent is a wise decision, especially with the quality of players Dallas needs to re-sign this off-season. However, being selectively aggressive could do wonders. Going after a stud safety like Earl Thomas or Landon Collins would qualify as a smart move for the Cowboys. They don’t need to sign all the big-name free agents, but they do need to go after the right ones.

If the Cowboys stand pat again in free agency, they will be testing fate. The team is good, but still needs help to get over the hump and it can’t all come from the draft. Dallas won a bunch of close games this season, they were 10-5 in one score games (including postseason), and got a few friendly bounces come their way in the second half of the year. These types of games usually even out the following season and standing pat instead of pushing forward would be a mistake.

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Police issue statement on Wade Wilson death, Cowboys react - Patrik Walker, 247 Sports

It was sad news on Friday after learning that former Cowboys quarterback and coach had passed away.

There has been no official cause of death named in the death of Wilson, but CPD do not expect foul play was involved. They were called to his home on Friday morning around 9am CST and found him unresponsive, and unable to be resuscitated.

There is no additional word at this time from his family or CPD.

Jerry Jones also released a statement...

Jones, Garrett Issue Statements on Wade Wilson - Nick Eatman, Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys head coach also issued a statement about the passing of his former teammate, QB coach, and good friend.

Jason Garrett:

We are so sad to hear the news of the passing of Wade Wilson. Wade was a great teammate, a fantastic coach and a dear friend to so many in our organization and throughout the NFL for over 35 years. I am forever grateful for his friendship. He had such a positive impact on me as a player, as a coach and as a person during our time together. He was smart, funny, and had an incredible way of bringing out the best in everybody. He had a selfless attitude and always put the team first. I feel so fortunate to be among the many whose lives were made better by Wade Wilson. We love him and will miss him very much. Our most sincere condolences go out to Sherry, Travis, Hayden, Sophie, Cole, Kathy and his entire family.

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Cowboys 7-Round Mock 1.0: Safety and DE help - Matthew Postins, 247 Sports
What could the Cowboys haul look like come April? Matthew Postins throws a bunch of names out there that you might want to check out.

Second Round (No. 58 overall): S Taylor Rapp, Washington

Rapp wasn’t the highest-rated player on the board. That was Iowa State running back David Montgomery. He’s probably no threat to Ezekiel Elliott’s job. I want value here but I also want a player that can contribute right away at a position of need. And there were other good players in front of Rapp — wide receiver Kelvin Harmon, RB Josh Jacobs, guard Martez Ivey, WR Emanuel Hall and RB Justice Hill. But they came at positions that I felt the Cowboys had enough talent at.

Taking Rapp gives the Cowboys additional depth at safety, and in this NFL you can’t have enough depth in the secondary. Remember — the Cowboys used a lot of two-linebacker sets last season when Sean Lee was out. They may continue to do that, so having an additional set of hands on the back row will help (two linebackers means you have to play five defensive backs). Rapp came out of college a year early, earned All-America honors in 2018 and is Mel Kiper Jr’s No. 5 safety prospect. I could see him plugging in immediately as a backup to Jeff Heath or Xavier Woods and pushing his way into rotation playing time. He’s also a hard-hitting safety who can help on special teams.

2019 7-Round Cowboys Mock Draft for the Super Bowl Weekend - Brian Martin, Inside The Star
Want a little mock to spice up your Super Bowl Sunday? Here’s seven rounds worth of names, including how the Cowboys might be able to find another second round star defensive linemen named “Lawrence.”

If Dexter Lawrence somehow falls to the Dallas Cowboys in the second-round, he would be hard to pass up in my opinion. At 6’3”, 340 pounds, Lawrence would immediately become the Cowboys biggest interior defensive lineman and go a long ways in upgrading a talent deprived unit. He isn’t a penetrating DT like Rod Marinelli typically likes in his defensive front, but does have some surprising quickness to his game for a player his size. His ability to anchor down against the run and collapse the pocket with his strength in the passing game would immensely help the Cowboys defense. I believe he would be a Day 1 starter at the 1-technique.

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Checking in with the enemy...

Philadelphia Eagles expected to franchise, trade Nick Foles, sources say - Adam Schefter, ESPN
It looks like last year’s Super Bowl winning quarterback won’t be donning an Eagles uniform next season.

Before using their franchise tag, the Eagles first are expected to pick up Foles’ $20 million option in the next week, per league sources. Foles then has the ability to void the option by paying the Eagles $2 million, which he also would be expected to do, per sources. And in turn, the Eagles then would be expected to place their franchise tag on Foles, giving them the ability to try to trade him to another team, which it sounds as if the team is determined to do. For the second straight season,

Foles came on in place of injured starter Carson Wentz and led Philadelphia on a late-season run to the playoffs.

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Energize your football watching experience with this “must have” Super Bowl Challenge sheet - Danny Phantom, Blogging The Boys

If you are planning on having a Super Bowl party, you’re going to want to have this fun game sheet for all your friends.

I have put together a fun little game to make the Super Bowl experience more enjoyable. It’s a question sheet that is filled with a bunch of different topics about the Super Bowl. Most of them are related to the game itself, but then there are some fun non-football questions like a commercial survivor one where you have to guess which celebrity’s commercial will air last. When the answers reveal themselves, the crowd at our party will cheer or moan based on whether or not they correctly answered the question. People who aren’t even that into football love the competition of the challenge sheet. For years this fun little game has made our Super Bowl experience a lot more exciting and we are glad to pass the fun on to you.