Deion talks with Rich Eisen about the Cowboys playoff problems and the pressure that's on them this season.



I agree 100%, it's Super Bowl or Bust in 2008!

        

Here's the guys from NFL Live discussing the recent vote by NFL head coaches that named Zach Thomas as the smartest defensive player in the league..



Which position, Middle Linebacker or Safety, is the 'QB of the Defense'?

I guess it all comes down to what type of defense the team is running and who is playing those positions.
 
As for the Cowboys, I think it's an even split between Bradie James and Ken Hamlin.

        

Terrell Owens called into The Michael Irvin Show yesterday to talk about a whole bunch of stuff.

Here's a clip of him talking about Terry Glenn, Joe Horn and the pressure of being a Super Bowl favorite in 2008..

T.O. on The Irvin Show

As one of the team leaders it's nice to hear that T.O. is helping the young WR's however he can so they can in turn help the team win some games in 2008.

You can listen to the entire interview by clicking the link in the 'Cowboys Audio' section. 

        

Very interesting thoughts from Brad Sham on the running back position this season...



I agree that getting Tashard Choice in the fourth round was a great move by the Cowboys. From the moment they drafted him I felt better about the running back depth on the Cowboys.
 
Getting Felix Jones as an 'offensive weapon' was a no brainer, but I am still not sold on him being a consistent inside runner on the NFL level. Choice can do that though and I expect to see him getting significant playing time as the guy who spells MBIII every now and then.

        

Last summer once I found out I had the #1 overall draft pick in my fantasy league I told everyone I was definitely taking Tony Romo and no one believed me.

So when the draft began and I did it they were a little shocked. But then the kid had a monster season and I didn't look like a wacko after all even though most would say I should have taken a RB.

I say whatever to them. I had 'my QB' and he was dominating just about every week. Shhh, that Buffalo game was just a hiccup and the last game against the Skins didn't count in my league.

So would I do the same thing this season and take Romo as the overall #1 again?



Of course I would. He's only getting better and better. Plus I have high hopes for Felix Jones in his rookie year.

Here's a list from KFFL.com of where the players are going in fantasy drafts, read here.

Position Display: QB | RB | WR | TE | PK | DT | All

Adp	Early	Late	Drafts	Pos	Player Name	Team	+/-
1.09	1	2	120	RB	LaDainian Tomlinson	SD	0.01
2.03	1	4	120	RB	Adrian Peterson	MIN	-0.05
3.37	2	5	120	RB	Brian Westbrook	PHI	0.06
4.48	3	6	120	RB	Joseph Addai	IND	-0.04
4.64	3	7	120	RB	Steven Jackson	STL	0.11
6.50	3	10	120	QB	Tom Brady	NE	0.19
7.78	5	11	120	WR	Randy Moss	NE	-0.03
8.53	5	11	120	RB	Marion Barber	DAL	0.17
8.81	5	13	120	RB	Frank Gore	SF	-0.06
10.07	7	16	120	RB	Larry Johnson	KC	0.3
12.93	8	18	120	RB	Ryan Grant	GB	0.44
13.08	8	18	120	WR	Terrell Owens	DAL	0.08
13.14	7	20	120	RB	Clinton Portis	WAS	-1.44
14.38	7	21	120	RB	Marshawn Lynch	BUF	-0.67
14.82	11	20	120	RB	Willis McGahee	BAL	0.7
15.13	9	19	120	WR	Reggie Wayne	IND	0.18
18.51	11	26	120	QB	Peyton Manning	IND	0.12
19.13	14	33	120	RB	Laurence Maroney	NE	0.61
20.02	14	25	120	WR	Braylon Edwards	CLE	0.08
21.15	12	30	120	QB	Tony Romo	DAL	-0.23

Having three guys in the top 20 isn't too shabby.

        

Mike Jenkins interviewed at the rookie symposium by Vic Carucci.



I think this kid is going to be a good one when it's all said and done. He has great size and speed, plus he looks like a natural athelete which will help him adjust quickly to the speed of the NFL game.

Still trying to get used to him wearing #31 though. lol.

        

Here's an article from Fox Sports which asks the burning questions for all 32 NFL teams, read here.

These are the questions for the NFC East Teams..

Dallas Cowboys

Q:So many personalities. Is the Cowboys' locker room doomed?

A: I'm currently ripping through an advanced copy of Jeff Pearlman's latest book Boys Will Be Boys — a tell-all on the Jimmy Johnson-era Cowboys — and if those personalities could all mesh and win three Super Bowl titles, this team surely can too. Those guys make this group look like a bunch of choir boys. In truth, winning breeds happiness. And as long as T.O.'s getting the ball, the Cowboys are winning and the fans are happy with the product — this motley crew will be just fine.

It's been crazy in Dallas since Jerry Jones took over in 1989. Every player that comes here knows it and they just have to adjust to the atmosphere, it's called being a professional. If these guys can't get over the hump it isn't going to be because of the various 'personalities'. The main reasons will be because they didn't work hard enough or they just weren't good enough.

New York Giants

Q: When will the Giants retire Tiki Barber's No. 21?

A: They won't be. Rookie Kenny Phillips will be wearing No. 21 this season for New York. Maybe "The Today Show" will retire the oven mits Tiki used in his latest enthralling cooking segment, though.

Poor Tiki. The guy is their best player for all those years and he never gets a ring. Then the very next year after he leaves them high and dry they go and win the Super Bowl without him. Maybe if he wasn't such a jerk when talking about the team as soon as he left the football gods wouldn't have been so harsh on him, lol.

Philadelphia Eagles

Q: Was Jon Runyan the happiest guy in the world when news of Michael Strahan's retirement became official?

A: Runyan told the Philadelphia Daily News last week, "Retirement doesn't mean anything. All you've got to do is sign back up and you can play again ... As of now, he's done. Anything can change; people get hurt. Money persuades people. We'll see." In other words — he'll believe it when he sees it.

You know Runyan was ecstatic about hearing Strahan was getting out of the game. He used to abuse Runyan at times. The bad part is that the Giants pass rush is still going to be pretty good and the players filling in for Strahan are going to be younger and fresher so they won't be taking the occasional play off here and there.
 

Washington Redskins

Q: Aside from Joe Gibbs, what other big pieces did Washington lose in the off-season?

A: Umm ... nothing. In fact, all 22 starters from last year's NFC Wildcard team are back for '08. Washington also added two intriguing names on defense — oft-injured DE Erasmus James and workhorse safety Stuart Schweigert. Add in all those wideouts from the draft and you have a pretty exciting squad. Everyone's talking Dallas and New York in the NFC East this year. Don't sleep on the 'Skins.

When I see Jason Campbell playing consistently and not throwing all those silly late game INT's then I will worry about the Skins. Until then I think they are a middle of the pack team who will play tough, but could easily go 6-10 in 2008.

        

Jerry Jones is a risk taker, that's a fact. So we all know he is watching closely to see how well his latest big risk pans out, read here. 

Owner Jerry Jones, who admittedly took a chance on Jones because he believes he can be the difference in what is potentially a Super Bowl season in Dallas, acknowledges there are no guarantees. But he said he likes what he has seen from Adam Jones so far.

"Yes," Jerry Jones said emphatically when asked if Adam Jones has done every thing right to this point.

"He is very committed. He is very committed physically and mentally. He is smart. He recognizes his challenge and he is really doing well."

Adam Jones recently announced that he no longer wants to be called "Pacman," a nickname he was given by his mother as an infant, because of the negativity associated with the moniker. Jerry Jones knows that the nickname did not cause Adam Jones to be arrested six times since 2005. He also knows that distancing himself from the name won’t keep Adam Jones out of trouble in Dallas.

But he said it’s another of example of the suspended cornerback having his heart and mind in the right place.

"He has thought it out," Jerry Jones said. "It’s meaningful to him to talk about it. The fact that he is addressing things like that is a step, a sign. For him to address it shows me he’s thinking about it. When you are trying real hard and see things as issues, our fans ought to look at that as a sign that he is thinking about it and getting it."

Just keep him focused on football and make sure he's got plenty of stuff to do at Valley Ranch Jerry!

Sounds like Deion is keeping up his end of the bargain as well by making sure he spends time with Pacman doing some fishing...

"He was telling me he was so tired of Deion catching more fish than him that he asked a friend of mine if he knew a pro fisherman who could give him some tips," Jerry Jones recalled fondly. "He was so proud that he called me and told me that he out-fished Deion. He is a competitor. He caught a big fish in the deciding catch in the competition and called me to tell me about it. That was a big deal to him."

Thanks Deion!

        

A few days ago someone somewhere started a rumor about Terry Glenn agreeing to an injury waiver of $750,000 and that he would be signing it sometime on Monday.

Not True! This rumor has not been verified and whether or not this turns into a fact in time doesn't matter right now.

As of 3:41pm est on July 3rd Terry Glenn is still not any closer to a deal that would have him back on the practice field once training camp begins at the end of this month.

Here's a roundup of the entire situation from Nick Eatman, read here.

As of Tuesday, the situation remains about the same. The Cowboys have asked Glenn to sign a $500,000 injury waiver to protect themselves in case the receiver re-injures his right knee, which underwent a pair of arthroscopic surgeries last season and could stand to have microfracture surgery.

Glenn has opted against that procedure with hopes of strengthening the knee enough to play another season.

And while that seemed to be the plan, Glenn was somewhat surprised when the Cowboys initially asked him to sign the waiver, specific to an injury to his right knee. If Glenn were to sign the waiver and suffer an unrelated injury, he would still receive his $1.74 million base salary.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Glenn had his agent Jim Gould had initially agreed to sign the waiver. Then last month, Glenn reportedly fired his long-time agent and planned to represent himself. That was about the same time the receiver was quoted as saying he would not sign the waiver and even hinted at being released if the Cowboys didn't have faith he would return from the injury.

However, since then, Glenn has apparently re-hired Gould, although it remains unclear just where things stand between the two sides.

Terry Glenn needs to stop it already and sign the freaking waiver because that's the only way he's playing football for the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.
 
Now the Cowboys may indeed up the offer from $500,000 to $750,000 but in any case it's still an injury waiver no matter how you look at it.

        

Heading into the 2007 season I was expecting the Cowboys defense to become a dominate unit,  but with injuries to Terence Newman and Anthony Henry that never happened.

Now as we enter the 2008 season the expectation level for me is ever higher because of the additions of Zach Thomas, Pacman Jones and Mike Jenkins.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart is also looking forward to seeing what this defense can do this season, read here.

Although he is confident his defense has improved, he realizes there is no need for talk.

And therein lies another reason why the Cowboys should be better defensively: Stewart will be more experienced and comfortable after a year on the job.

"It’s just the growing process," Stewart said. "I know the division a lot better. I came from the AFC, and I knew the AFC a lot better than the NFC. I also know our personnel a lot better. You can’t necessarily do what you like. You have to do what the players can do. Now I know what the players can do well. I am really excited about this year and [about] being a better team."

After spending a year learning about these guys Coach Stewart should be able to devise some specialized packages which can put players into spots where they can really show off their talents.  As a reflection of the talent upgrade and better knowledge of the players we should also see more turnovers, more tackles for losses and a much improved 3rd down defense. I think we can also expect better sack totals from Ware, Ellis and Spencer.

Here's Clarence Hill's Jr's top three reasons why the defense improves in 2008...

1. Improved cornerback play

Even without the additions of Adam Jones and rookie first-round pick Mike Jenkins, the Cowboys are going to be better at cornerback because starters Terence Newman and Anthony Henry are expected to be healthy after being hampered by injuries last season. Jones, if reinstated, and Jenkins should give the Cowboys the most depth they’ve had at cornerback in more than decade.

2. Zach attack

Owner Jerry Jones said free agent linebacker Zach Thomas could have the biggest impact of all the Cowboys’ newcomers. The team believes Thomas is an upgrade at inside linebacker over the departed Akin Ayodele, who, according to Cowboys insiders, was solid but left a lot of plays on the field.

3. Experience

Brian Stewart should be more comfortable in his second season as defensive coordinator and will benefit from an improved staff that includes former Cowboys head coach Dave Campo as secondary coach. Stewart isn’t the only one looking to raise his game in his second season with the team. Nose tackle Tank Johnson has had an impressive off-season, according to Jerry Jones, and could emerge as a valuable contributor.

I think I would agree that those are my top as well.

Having some CB's who can man up every time out will give Coach Stewart the ability to be much more aggressive in his play calling.

With Thomas, just recently voted the smartest defensive player by a panel of NFL coaches, out there with Bradie James the Cowboys now have two very instinctive guys running the defense.

There is no excuse about this defense being too young anymore. The experience is there in the coaching staff and it's now also there as far as the players on the field.

Anything short of a top five performance by this defense in 2008 would be very disappointing.

        

Here's Tashard Choice doing some acting at the rookie symposium..
 


That was awesome. Tashard seems real natural acting in front of an audience.

        

For years now we have all marveled at how Zach Thomas has been such a great player even though he's not the biggest linebacker in the NFL. Maybe it's because he's so smart, read here.

Thirty of 32 NFL head coaches answered the question. Here are the results:

Place	Name	Position	Team	Votes
1.	Zach Thomas	LB	Dallas Cowboys	6
2.	Ray Lewis	LB	Baltimore Ravens	4
3. (tie)	John Lynch	S	Denver Broncos	3
3. (tie)	Ed Reed	S	Baltimore Ravens	3
5. (tie)	Corey Chavous	S	St. Louis Rams	2
5. (tie)	Warren Sapp	DT	Retired	2
5. (tie)	Michael Strahan	DE	Retired	2
8. (tie)	Ronde Barber	CB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1
8. (tie)	Derrick Brooks	LB	Tampa Bay Buccanners	1
8. (tie)	Nick Greisen	LB	Baltimore Ravens	1
8. (tie)	Rodney Harrison	S	New England Patriots	1
8. (tie)	Antonio Pierce	LB	New York Giants	1
8. (tie)	Brian Russell	S	Seattle Seahawks	1
8. (tie)	Jason Taylor	DE	Miami Dolphins	1
8. (tie)	Mike Vrabel	LB	New England Patriots	1

I know I have said it a million times already, but with Thomas and Bradie James manning the middle this defense we should really be improved in 2008. Half the battle of playing defense is having a good feel for what the opposing offense is trying to do against you. These two are going to be able to make a lot of presnap reads which could lead to some big plays such as turnovers, sacks and tackles for losses.

        

Last week I tried to bring you guys every single thing Newman did while he was at ESPN for two days.
 
I failed. As far as I know I only missed one thing which was his appearance on The Pulse. I had other things to attend to and to be honest I didn't even realize he would doing The Pulse radio show on Thursday night. When I was notified about him doing the Pulse I thought they meant his live chat which was done Thursday afternoon.

So I emailed the Pulse guys to tell them they should be podcasting their shows for us ESPN Insiders. They were listing the day time shows for podcasts so why not list the night time shows also?

Well what do you know. Today I go on to check my rounds for ESPN Radio stuff involving the Cowboys and I see they have now added podcasts for the Pulse and Gamenight shows.

Yeeaaahhhhh! OK, I will shut up now and let you hear Newman on The Pulse from last Thursday..

Newman on The Pulse

If you didn't click that link it's because you think you heard it all from Newman on the various other appearances he did on ESPN last week.

But then don't blame me when you realize you missed out on Newman's Dick Vitale impersonation.

        

All over the place we see articles about the Cowboys still needing to add another WR through a trade. Then the very next day we see articles about the Cowboys trio of young WR's (Austin, Hurd, Stanback) looking pretty good in OTA's/Minicamp and that maybe this is the season one of them finally breaks through.
 
So which one is it? What's the Cowboys plan on this issue? Or do they even see the issue as that big of a deal? 

If you throw in the 'Will Terry Glenn be back and if so will he stay healthy?' talk and a man can go absolutely bananas just thinking about the possibilities.

We won't have the answers to those questions for a while, at least until we get a few weeks into training camp in my opinion.

In the meantime the Cowboys passing attack consists of the following weapons: Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, Marion Barber and Felix Jones.

You know, there are at least 25 other NFL teams who would give their left foot to have that posse wearing their uniforms this season.

So as far as acquiring another WR or having one of the young guys step up in '08, the only time I start worrying that either is a necessity is when the 'I' word starts getting thrown around. 

Norm Hitzges did just that today on The Ticket..

Norm talks WR concerns

Yeah, I guess the injury thing scares me a little bit, but it scares every team at every position every year. There really isn't much you can do about it and you certainly aren't going to have 2 or 3 All Pro's backing up every spot on the roster.

Would I like to get a Boldin or Williams? Of course, those are guys that will help immediately and they will be here for years to come. But I really hope Jerry doesn't go after a 'Joe Horn type' if this Terry Glenn deal doesn't work itself out in time.

If it was up to me I say let's see what the young guys and Terry Glenn (if he's here) do in Training Camp and then if they are not satisfied go after a free agent WR. I am sure that a decent WR will be cut come August and I am also guessing that this player would love an opportunity to play with the Cowboys who are looked at as a Super Bowl contender.

        

The entire world knows the Dallas Cowboys are stocked at just about every position so it's easy to understand why expectations are so high heading into the 2008 season, but Terrell Owens says he isn't worried about the pressure and that he's happy about the team adding so many good players over the last two seasons. 

T.O. was on The Ticket today talking about those two subjects as well as some new insight into the 'Star Incident'..

T.O. on the Ticket

Well now I have to get some tape of that game and see if T.O. did in fact 'pancake' George Teague a few plays prior to the incident. It's so long ago that I really don't get mad anymore about T.O. running to the star, but I can tell you that at the time I was ecstatic seeing Teague run down there and knock him off of it.

What really made me more mad was that the Cowboys lost the game.
 

        

Seems like Terry Glenn is finally realizing that he doesn't have any leverage in this injury waiver battle with the Cowboys, read here.

Wide receiver Terry Glenn is speaking with Dallas Cowboys officials again in the hopes of returning.

Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones said he's spoken to Glenn and his agent, James Gould.

"Terry is someone I have a lot of interest in," Jones said Friday night. "We worked well together last year. We will sit down here and look at how he fits and what we can do with him as a player this year."

Glenn has refused to sign an injury waiver that would give him $500,000 if he re-injures his right knee, so Glenn has missed all mandatory and voluntary on-field practices this off-season. The Cowboys told him he could not practice with the team without the waiver.

If he does work this thing out with Jerry does that guarantee he will be out there as the #2 Wide Receiver opposite Terrell Owens in 2008? No, the guy still has that same knee which could go at any minute.
 
Of course it would be nice if he could come back and play like he did a few seasons ago and I will keep my fingers crossed that that's exactly what happens. But I am not flying to Vegas to put any money on it happening just yet.  

        

From Jerry's mouth to our ears, read here.

On top of that, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, being interviewed by ESPN during the Dallas Desperados playoff game Friday night, said when asked if the club might have interest in Horn, "That's not correct. I haven't experessed any interest there and haven't evaluated him, and that's just not correct."

Sounds good to me Jerry!
 
Now back to work on finding some money for Hamlin and Canty.

        

Terence Newman was awesome these last two days all over ESPN and it's clear that one day he will move onto a nice successful career in broadcasting.

Here's Newman from NFL Live today - Part One w/Tank calling in to the show.



Great stuff with Tank! You have to give it up to the big guy for coming in and becoming a team leader in such a short amount of time. Now Wade just has to realize that Tank needs to be on the field as the starting NT while Ratliff goes back to DE as a starter. Yes, that means Spears goes to the bench.

Newman was keeping it real for the most part with his comments about the team seemingly 'over confident' heading into that game against the Giants. But maybe it will be a great lesson for them and from now on these guys won't take any team lightly in the future.

Here's part two with Newman talking about the personalities on this team..



I would like to hear more stories about Wade getting mad. From where I stand he's too lenient with the players, but it's not like I want him to be as abrasive as Parcells was. Give me something in between and I could be happy.

Newman knows this team is crazy and I think he likes it that way. You can't say that it's ever boring being a player, coach or employee of the Dallas Cowboys.
 
As for the fan aspect of them being such a high profile team? I love it because if they weren't I don't think I would be as 'fanatical' as I am about them.

Super Bowl or bust in 2008 baby!

        

This newest rumor about the Cowboys being interested in going after Joe Horn really had me bummed out, read here. 

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has initiated some internal discussion about whether acquiring wide receiver Joe Horn from the Atlanta Falcons is an option they should pursue to have a veteran starter opposite Terrell Owens, a team source confirmed.

Those within the organization opposed worry that Horn's volatile personality makes him incompatible with Owens and could cause other conflict in a locker room that already includes Adam Jones and Tank Johnson.

I completely agree with 'those within the organization'. Horn is a big mouth and his best days are certainly long behind him. Maybe this is just Jerry trying to put a little bit of a scare into Terry Glenn is what I was initially thinking.

But then I heard Ed Werder on Galloway and Company this afternoon..

Werder on GAC

So now after listening to that what am I thinking? I think Jerry started talking about looking into Joe Horn with some front office people and then his offensive staff got word of it and they immediately told him it was a bad idea.

Think about it.
 
Why would Jason Garrett want Horn when he already knows what he has in Crayton? And then throw in the fact that I would put money down that 90% of NFL Scouts think Crayton is the better player at this point in time.

So I don't even think Jerry even went that far into the thinking along the lines of scaring Terry Glenn because Glenn probably has his contacts on the offensive staff that are telling him that none of them are on board with going after Horn.

One guy who I know isn't on board with trading for or signing Horn at any point in time is Nate Newton. Here's big Nate on GAC talking about the idea..

Nate Newton on GAC

Nate is pretty funny sometimes. Him saying he would rather run over Horn before he got to sign with the Cowboys is just funny in my opinion.
 
Let's hope Jerry listens to Nate and about 98% of Cowboys Nation and leaves the idea of Joe Horn alone. 

        

Who knew Terence Newman was getting into art collecting? What I do know is that the loss to the Giants was not a fun time and Newman agrees..

Newman on Tirico

Every interview he has done on ESPN in the last day and a half has tried to get him to clarify his 'deer in the headlights' comments about Roy Williams. Newman has done an excellent job in making sure not to say anything which can be used to add more to that story than what it was. I am also glad these two are on good terms.

By the way, here's the 'Cribs' video about Newman's pad..