CowboysBlog.Net

What’s up everyone, sorry for the hiatus, I’ve been extremely busy at work and outside of work; but, I have been reading the latest news on the Cowboys. The hot topic at the moment and probably through training camp will be the fragility at the wide receiver position. I’m reading the mini camp reports and saw nothing but receivers dinged up and not practicing. Could this be because of lack of conditioning during the offseason or are we looking at something worst here like a complete stable of injury prone receivers?

No one is pushing the panic button yet, but we all know it definitely in the back of our minds, and if you aren’t concerned then you’re just living in a dream world. We’ll be fine in the receiving game since we have the best tight end in the league with Jason Witten, and Martellus Bennett will provide another spark for us…right? Well I’m not sold on that idea. Yes Witten is the real deal, and Bennett could very well be a good contributing factor, but you still need receivers, you still need a complete team to make a championship run, that’s what fans want after all isn’t it?

The wide receivers will be under the gun, and so will Jerry’s decision to trade for Williams and drop Owens the rest of the entire season. This whole situation is a whole “let’s see what happens” attitude, and its going to go one of two ways:  shear brilliance or very stupid.

Let’s get through July, and see what training camp and the preseason brings us.

This was two years in the making, but the time has finally arrived. The Cowboys have finally cut ties with OLB/DE Greg Ellis. The roster purge has been completed on both sides of the ball. Ellis was a good player, pretty solid, but in following the theme of change and locker room chemistry, Ellis is out in Dallas.

Anthony Spencer and the rookies will now shoulder the full load at getting after the QB. Its make or break here, and with this move the Cowboys will also see if Spencer is going to be the longterm answer or a bust…we will know during this season. The rookies should also take this opportunity and make their case too.

Looks like Isaiah Stanback is set to have knee surgery to repair damaged meniscus in his knee, in which he suffered in practice. Its official, this is a wasted pick, a complete and utter failure.

Stanback suffered the injury in Tuesday’s workout at Standridge Stadium but attempted to practice Wednesday without much success.

He is expected to be ready for training camp that starts on July 28. (DMNBlog)

The only thing Stanback is ready to make is the injury report.

These latest injury should knock open the door for the winner of Irvin’s 4 and Long competition, especially if the winner ends up being a wide receiver.

Stanback’s days in Dallas are numbered, anymore wasted time in this guy and I’ll be wondering what is wrong with the braintrust. Jerry, Stephen, please make the cut now, and bring in another body  to camp. What a waste.

The Cowboys began their OTA’s today, and guess who was on the field barking out orders? Special Teams Coach DeCamillis was on hand in full force. Witness report DeCamillis was in full control and cussing out players and getting players going. Equipped with his neck brace, DeCamillis looked like a terminator in his own right.

We all know special teams put us in trouble several times over the past few season, but DeCamillis’ record should get this squad in check and performing each game. If showing up today was any standard, then he has already set the bar high for these guys. Watch out! Gutsy professionalism here.

Tony Romo is a nominee for the second annual Tecate Premios Deportes (Tecate Sports Awards).  This award recognizes about 60 hispanic athletes that excel in their respective sport.

The American Football Nominees are:

1. Robert Garza, Chicago Bears
2. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
4. Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Tony Casillas will be one of the voters, lets get some love from Casillas and get Romo that award.

Winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of current and former professional athletes and sports personalities including, famed boxer Oscar de la Hoya; retired NFL player Tony Casillas; NFL Hall of Fame recipient Anthony Munoz; former Mexican soccer coach and Univision soccer announcer Jesus Bracamontes; and Enrique Borja, legendary Mexican forward and team president of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL) Tigres. (PRNewswire)

Based on the players nominated with Romo, I think Romo has a good chance to earn this award, we’ll see how it goes.

Jerry Jones has just announced the new Cowboys stadium will be called Cowboys Stadium; furthermore, there will not be any naming rights. That will work for me. Personally, this makes it better. Have you heard of some of the other stadium names around the league. I’m sure the stadium will gain a sponsorship somewhere down the line. For now, Cowboys Stadium will be the name.

After the debacle in Philadelphia to end the season Jerry Jones had promised changes that would help the Cowboys focus on a successful 2009 run; however, the question is,  have there been enough changes this offseason? We all remember how Jerry answered whether or not the Cowboys would make coaching changes if the Cowboys failed to make the playoffs.

“The coaches are in place. I’ve said that. How can I be any clearer?” Jones said. “Look, I’ve said that our coaching staff, as far as I’m concerned, is in place. I just want to make the statement rather than answer questions, because your questions imply certain things that I don’t want to imply.

“I’m saying that when I look at where we are coaching staff-wise and when I look at where we are personnel-wise, I see a team that is in place to compete for several years.”

Well, for the most part the coaching staff has stayed in place, and we’re going to find out if the minimal changes will help out.

We all knew Defensive Coordinator,  Brian Stewart was going to get canned, he wasn’t calling the defensive calls, and was the clear scapegoat for the defensive meltdowns earlier in the season. Phillips took over the calls and will continue to do so going into the 2009 season. Next to get the boot was Special Teams coach, Bruce Read.  Cutting Read was probably the best coaching change the Cowboys did this offseason.

Joe DeCamillis was brought in to replace Read, and this could be the perfect fit for Dallas. DeCamillis has history with Phillips in stops in Denver and Atlanta. DeCamillis fielded  solid special teams during his tenure with Jacksonville. Anybody coming in as the new special teamers coach will be an instant upgrade to the horrible units Read put on the field.

What about the other coaches?

Many would say the offensive line took a huge leap backwards under Hudson Houck. The season’s before the offensive line was under command of Tony Sparano, and pretty solid. Last year the line returned back to its old ways with plenty of penalties and just shoddy blocking in the running and passing game. Should Houck have been canned? probably, but his history with Dallas probably saved his hyde for at least one more season. If the line under achieves we’ll see it early on, at which point the non-firing of Houck would be seen as mistake.

Reggie Herring is another coach that fielded a questionable unit last season. Outside of superstar sack master, DeMarcus Ware, the rest of the linebackers were ok. Bradie James may have been a Pro Bowler, but the media spotlight on a sputtering Cowboys team lead to some players getting over looked. The main beef with Herring was the technique and lack of tackling. Many times we saw players bust through half assed tackling, leaving the secondary to make the tackle. There was a lot of yardage gained by missed tackles, nothing more verified this than the horrible game against the Ravens in which McGahee and McClain busted through tackles.

The quarterback coaches don’t get a pass either, Wade Wilson is listed as the Quarterback coach, but he clearly did not corral Romo when he needed to. Wilson and Garrett pretty much let Romo play with his carte blanche decision making and all. Romo, needs someone to keep him in check, the season’s before he had Sparano and Parcells. I’m not saying Wilson or Garrett should have been fired, but during this whole process of doing things different for the 2009 season, this should be one area to get more attention.

We’re about to find out whether or not the few coaching changes are enough to make the team play better. If you feel Phillips taking over the defensive play calling all year and DeCamillis on special teams is enough, then we should be fine. If you don’t then get ready for another interesting year for Cowboys Nation.

NFL fans have hit the lull that occurs after the NFL Draft and before training camp. Teams news in slowly trickling out to fans, but I have noticed something interesting over at the Official Cowboys site in regards to the depth chart. If you visit it right now, the depth chart is simply in alphabetical order. Could this be an indirect sign to ALL players that every roster spot is up for grabs, or perhaps something to motivate under achieving status-quo veterans? Maybe its just a coincidence.

Realistically, which roster spots would you say are the most up for grabs? Here’s the spots I see open:

LOLB - to me this is wide open considering everything that has happened to date. Spencer is bordering on disappointment status, Ellis yearly complaining could finally reach a flashpoint leading to an immenent release, and the Cowboys drafted Victor Butler and Brandon Williams. Obviously, the Cowboys won’t give up on Spencer being his 3rd year, but he had better some consistent play or he’ll be watching from the sidelines.

WR - outside of Roy Williams the battle for the #2 WR begins during the first mini camp and onwards. The battle for #2 WR could come down to durability. If you look at the receivers, the common denomintor would be injuries. Crayton, Austin, Hurd, and Stanback have yet to complete a season without some sort of injury that keeps them out for several games if not most of the season. Crayton is probably the front runner, but can Austin’s speed and deep threat be what Garrett wants opposite Williams.  To me Hurd could be the dark horse, and Stanback is the longshot, he’ll be lucky to make the team especially if he gets another injury during camp, he’ll be gone.

LG - in all likelihood Kosier probably gets the starting spot here, but let’s not count out Holland, Free, or Brewster. At the minimum the competition will be fierce for the right to backup Kosier this season, and possibly be his successor next season if everything goes well. The Cowboys have thrown everything at the position with a 4th on Free, and a 3rd rounder on Brewster this season, who is going to step up and be a legitimate player this year and beyond?

RCB - after last season, I believe this will be up for grabs as well. There was not enough from either player to outright say who the leading player is going into camp. Sure you could say Jenkins since he was a 1st rounder, but injury staggered his development early on. Scandrick is scrappy and was effective in the nickel, but showed he could cover and tackle. We’ll see how this one turns out, either way this competition is going to benefit the secondary, Jenkins and Scandrick will both see alot of playing time regardless.

ROLB - barring some freak injury Brooking is the starter; beyond that, expect Carpenter and Jason Williams to duke it out and the best player will be left standing. Supposedly Carpenter will get a legitimate chance to get on the field more than he has, but we’ll see if this comes to fruition come training camp. The winner gets time in the nickel and probably successor to Brooking. May the best LB win us over!

The Cowboys 2009 draft class is a rather unique group of players because these group of guys have to know they have to bring their a-game to unseat some status-quo veterans. We have not had other draft classes like this recently, so expect competition to be fierce and constanst from mini camp to the last pre-season game. Its on!

Today we received some surprising news in regards to 2-time Pro Bowl Kicker, Nick Folk. Surgery was performed on Folk’s right hip which also happens to be his kicking leg. Folk had surgery to repair a labral tear in his hip and recovery will be at least 8 weeks. Ok, so he’s a kicker, so what right? Wrong. We all know how long it took us to find an adequate kicker. I’m hoping for a great recovery. To me this is should be something to be somewhat concerned. A labral tear is not something to shrug to the side, plus this is on his kicking leg.

What is a labral tear?

A hip labral tear involves the ring of soft tissue that follows the outside rim of the socket of your hip joint. This ridge of cartilage, called a labrum, works a little like a suction cup to help hold your hip joint together.

Athletes who participate in such sports as ice hockey, soccer, football, golfing and ballet are at higher risk of developing a hip labral tear. Structural abnormalities of the hip can also lead to a hip labral tear. (Mayo Clinic)

In the meantime, the Cowboys appear to have had an inside track on Folks injury which made the Beuhler pick that much more brilliant. Good move all the way around. We’ll keep an eye on this.

In other news, the Bengals added Roy Williams to their defense. Good luck to Roy, all the best. Reuniting with former Cowboys Defensive Coordinator, Mike Zimmer could be exactly what he needs to resurrect his career.

The NFL has announced 16 Legacy games for this upcoming season. Teams will be pitted against 8 of the original AFL lineup. This year the Cowboys have been tapped for two of these games.

Sun., Oct. 11: @ Kansas City (FOX), Noon

Thurs., Nov. 26: OAKLAND (CBS), 3:15 p.m.

During these Legacy games, teams will be wearing their throwback jerseys. The Legacy games celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the original 8 AFL teams.