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If you thought the rest of the offseason would be quiet, you didn’t count on this lingering story surronding Roy Williams. First came his interview on the Michael Irvin show where he admitted there were times he wished the ball did not get thrown in his direction, and all that. Roy just seemed dissolutioned, lost, and not confident.

Now this week, we have Greg Ellis coming forth with some more information indicating Roy Williams is not fitting in Wade’s 3-4, and Ellis also stated Roy has began to isolate himself from his team mates. Just sounds like a situation that could end with Roy Williams in another city, either by release or trade.

The DMN Blog laid out the financial impact in letting Roy Williams go:

According to NFLPA figures, Williams is scheduled to count $6.667 million against the cap in 2008. If the Cowboys chose to cut him, they would have to take on $7.387 million of proration from his $11.1 million signing bonus, so the move would cost them $720,000 against the cap.

Now, they could choose to designate Williams a June 1 cap casualty and spread the hit over two years. If they were to do that - and remember this is IF - then they would take a proration hit of $2.947 million this year, saving them $3.7 million against the cap in 2008. Here’s the rub: the remaining $4.4 million of the proration would hit the cap in 2009. (DMN)

I just read another interesting rumor, whether true or not brought up an interesting point. Basically, the rumor says Roy is not playing football for the money, and he (Roy) would make “monetary sacrifices” to stay in Dallas or go elsewhere. If true, this sounds like Roy would be willing to redo his contract to help facilitate a trade to a team with a new cap friendly-type contract. Who knows, we’ll see how this drama turns out. There’s never a dull moment in Cowboys Nation!

Its a boring week with the Cowboys on their Bye Week. Thankfully though, we have some bye week news to keep our minds busy. The latest rumor hitting the net is Chad Johnson. Its believed Chad Johnson will NOT be with the Bengals next season. The Bengals will probably move the receiver in a trade or release him. There will be a market for Chad’s services, and look no further than Dallas for a potential landing ground.

Jerry Jones is seeing what the Patriots are doing on offense, and you can bet that Jerry wants the same, and adding Johnson would make our offense even more devastating than the Cheatriots. The thing about this scenario is money and the cap. We have ALOT of contracts that need to be attending to this offseason, core players like, Marion Barber and Tony Romo to name a few. Then you have players like Patrick Crayton and Keith Davis that play important roles, but could be seeking greener pastures. There’s going to be alot of money being spent this offseason.

The Greg Ellis Effect

The DMN Blog has this to say about the re-emergence of DeMarcus Ware:

Another pressure player emerging — The concern was whether another pass-rusher would emerge to take pressure off DeMarcus Ware. Rookie Anthony Spencer was solid, and Greg Ellis looks almost as good as ever. Ware was quiet the first two weeks, but he’s been a beast since then.

Anthony Spencer will develop this season, he’s shown flashes and still brings the pressure, but its clear that Greg Ellis is a boss at OLB, he’s back, he’s the real deal and has always been solid with the pass rush. DeMarcus Ware can thank his latest successes on the return of dominance, Greg Ellis. We saw it last year, and this year just proves that with Ellis in the lineup, Ware gets more pressure. Ellis is a great asset.

Start Hatcher

That’s all that needs to be said. How much longer is Phillips going to keep Jason Hatcher from starting? Hatcher is clearly the player we need at DE. We need to stop teams on their opening drives, we need more pressure, and that means Hatcher. Hatcher is a playmaker on defense, he brings the heat, and has a high motor. Seriously, start Hatcher already. I’m gonna take a twist from T.O.’s “Getcha popcorn ready” and give Hatcher his one liner he can use in locker room interviews: Getcha gurnies ready

The Rest of the East

While the Cowboys are off this weekend, the rest of the East will be on the road and they will have their hands full. I look forward to watching these losers lose in their games this weekend.

Giants @ Dolphins: The Giants should win this game, but the Dolphins will play them hard, and they will not let them win easily. Should be a decent game. Go ‘Fins!

Eagles @ Vikings: The Eagles have fallen on hard times this year, and will probably play spoiler towards the end of the season, as they are on pace to having a losing season, they could knock out someone in the NFC East race down the line. The Vikings probably win this game at home. They have a good defense, and Peterson should be able to run over the Eagles. After another Eagle’s loss the “start Kevin Kolb” drums will beat louder. I love it.

Redskins @ Patriots: The Patriots are going to destroy the Redskins, we’ll be taking notes, and when we play the Redskins we will destroy them as well. The Redskins don’t have a chance in this game. I hoping both teams get beat up though. I can’t stand the Patriots and Belicheat, and I really hate the Redskins even more.

The Cowboys must make a statement at home, and they must attend to some unfinished business on the field - slow starts. The marquee matchup will be Peterson versus our defense. The Vikings passing game is a joke, they have really bad receivers that can’t catch. We should be able to destroy the Vikings at ease.

Keys to Victory

Penalties have plagued the Cowboys this season, and if the Cowboys plan on winning against the Vikings and beyond, then the penalties must disappear. Concentrate and keep the drives going

Slow Down Peterson

Slowing down Adrian Peterson should be a deal sealer, and give the Cowboys a win; however, if Peterson runs all over the defense, then the Vikings will be in the game. Stop Peterson, Win the game

Concentration

The Cowboys need to do a better job on the offensive side of the ball. There’s been way too many stupid penalties from every position on that side of the ball. Illegal shifts, illegal motion, false starts from the line and receivers. Concentrate, please.

Vikings @ Cowboys
Texas Stadium - Artificial Grass
FOX 3:15 PM CST
Analysts: Kenny Albert, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver
NFL.com Gamecenter

The Rest of the NFC East:
Cardinals @ Redskins 12:00 CST
49ers @ Giants 12:00 CST
Bears @ Eagles 3:15 CST

Browns Watch:
On Bye

Join us for LIVE GAMEDAY discussion on the message boards!

Madden Forecast: Cowboys 24 Vikings 28
My Prediction: Cowboys 34 Vikings 20

The Patriots are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook. We beat ourselves with the penalties, plain and simple. We fall to 5-1, but remain atop the NFC. Let’s regroup and look forward to the Vikings.

Barber looked good, the defense was ok, but just gave up at the end. Sloppy tackling reared its ugly head, and with a team like the Patriots, you will lose that battle everytime.

We need Terry Glenn back to give us the deep threat. That would have helped out in this game. Terry, help us!!

Overall, I’m very disappointed in our lack of concentration. We should have won this game, but we can’t win them all, can we?

BOXSCORE 

The Cowboys have gotten in sync on both sides of the ball, especially the offense. Garrett’s ingame adjustments will carry over into the 2nd half. The defense needs to hunker down, as they are giving up 3rd downs.

Marion Barber has been the man in the first half. Romo is on track for another solid game. Witten was snuffed out in the 1st Quarter, but has gotten open, and punishing the Patriots. On defense, Ellis is making his presence known, and Ware is terrorizing Brady.
The Cowboys have had success in slowing down Randy Moss; however, Wes Welker has been hitting us hard. We need a better showing on defense in the 2nd half.

We are very much in this game, and the Cowboys have seen what the Patriots are doing, and Garrett is figuring it out. Look for the game to stay close, but we need to cut the penalties out completely if we’re going to win this game.

Let’s go Cowboys@

The Cowboys go into Buffalo as the last undefeated team in the NFC. The Packers dropped one to the Bears. It seems like forever since the Cowboys last game, but fans remain pumped over this upcoming game. A win over the Bills will further solidify their supremacy atop the NFC. The Cowboys cannot take the Bills lightly, they do have some strong points in their game despite being banged up. They have a solid running back in Marshawn Lynch and he’ll be the first good back the Cowboys have faced this season and their special teams are also solid with McGee and Parrish.

Keys to Victory

Same as always, limit turnovers, limit stupid penalties, sustain drives, create pressure and earn some take aways. If we do all this, we will win the game. The Bills cannot double team all our offensive weapons. Romo knows this, and his quick throw will punish the Bills defense.

Go for the fast start this week. The Patriots come to town next week, and these guys have been very consistent with the fast start, so the Cowboys need to see if we can execute a fast start in a real game. So, let’s do what we do in the 2nd half, and smother the Bills for 4 quarters.

Pressure Edwards Early

The Cowboys defense is feeling confident, and resurrected with the return of Newman and Ellis. This defense will be looking for blood early and often. Edwards had success against the Jets, but we now know that the Jets are a horrible team on both sides of the ball. The Bills will have their hands full with Ware, Ellis, and Spencer bringing the pressure at any given time. Phillips wants to whip the Bills, and the defensive playbook will drop down on the Bills.

Special Teams

Special teams has also improved over the last few weeks, and this week the Cowboys will have to contain Roscoe Parrish, he’s speedy and elusive. If the Cowboys contain Parrish like we did against Hester, then we should be fine. Mat McBriar should have another great game. We’ll see how Folk does at this stadium. Ralph Wilson Stadium is one of the windiest stadiums in the NFL, so we’ll see how he responds to those variables.

Feed the Quadruplets

Romo will lead the way, as the head of this four-headed beast, but the Cowboys will be looking at a fast start this week, its been talked about all week. We’ll probably see a good dose if it early, and that means feeding the Quadruplets early and often. I think we’ll see TO, Witten, and Barber fully involved on the opening drive.

Cowboys @ Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium - AstroTurf Gameday Grass
ESPN 7:30 PM CST
Analysts: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser
NFL.com Gamecenter

The Rest of the NFC East:
Redskins defeated the Lions (3-1)
Giants defeated the Jets (3-2)
Eagles BYE WEEK

Browns Watch:
Brows lost to Patriots (2-3)

Join us for LIVE GAMEDAY discussion on the message boards!

Madden Forecast: Cowboys 26 Bills 24
My Prediction: Cowboys 30 Bills 20

We recently found out Greg Ellis received a new contract, but more of a tweaking of his original contract. This new contract was initiated by Jerry Jones, and just continues to show his willingness to make his players happy to play for him. With Ellis on the field against the Rams, it kinda makes you wonder if this whole injury thing was being overdone in order to leverage a better contract for Ellis. Whichever it is, I’m glad Ellis is back, he was an immediate impact in his debut. With Ellis back, I expect Ware’s sacks to jump up. Here’s what Jerry said about the redone contract:

“This was not a conventional redo on a contract,” Jones said. “Greg had an insurance policy that had some pretty tight terms in there, that should he come back and play, when he came back and played, he had four games to evaluate and see if his injury was going to be potentially a career-ending injury. If it were, he had potentially quite a settlement coming from his insurance company and if it were not then forever hold your peace. So he had really been very cautious and conservative in coming back. That injury can be a year in healing, but can heal quicker than that, and hopefully in his case it has.

“Bottom line, we were able to do some things to take care of the risk he might have had on the policy and he was able to get out there earlier than he would have - and make no mistake about it, he still has some pain, and it was not easy for him to go back out there Sunday but it really paid off. He’s farther ahead and we’re farther ahead that we have him on the field.” (DC.com)

QB Coach Wade Wilson has one more week, and he’ll be back. Time sure goes by fast when we’re having fun and winning. It’ll be good to have Wilson back.

Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson has one more week to serve on his five-game suspension, and is chomping at the bit to get back to work. And he hasn’t been just wasting away the time the past four weeks, saying he’s been volunteering his time to help coach the junior high team his son plays on in Dallas. (Mick Shots)

Wade Phillips just let everyone know that Ellis has been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. He had been practicing a little, but still has some ways to go. Newman has been practicing too, but his status for the game has not been determined yet.

From DMN:

Terence Newman would be a gametime decision.

Ellis has not had a setback since returning to practice this week. He’s just not far enough along in his rehab from a ruptured Achilles tendon to play yet. He went through individual drills for the first time yesterday. Maybe next week for him.

The other highlight of Phillips’ press conference this morning was him getting out of his chair to demonstrate how quickly the Dolphins’ defense morphs from a 3-4 to 4-3. Pretending to be Jason Taylor, Phillips got in a linebacker’s stance before putting his hand on the ground. His technique looked pretty sloppy, so he did it again, cranking his right foot in the air for emphasis.

Looks like it’ll be the Spencer show again, as Ellis will be out. Spencer is really coming on, and I expect another solid performance from the rookie.

When the schedule came out, I knew week two would be an interesting game. Its not just the Dolphins we’re playing on Sunday; but, in essence it’ll be ourselves we’ll be playing against . Basically, we’re playing against an offensive system the we employ in Dallas as well - Norv Turner offense. Cam Cameron ran it quite effectively in San Diego; however, he now inherits a very average group of guys on offense, and a virtual bust at RB, his bread and butter in San Diego. The Phillips 34 should not be a major surprise to Cameron; moreover, he should know it quite well as he practiced against the best defense in the league while Phillips was the Chargers Defensive Coordinator. This game is going to be a chess match, and every penalty and turnover will ultimately be the deciding factor.

Play calling wise, the teams that will take the field are virtual clones; but, the main difference is the pedigree of  players on the field. The Cowboys clearly have the better offensive unit, the defensive units of the Cowboys and Dolphins are very suspect going into week 2. The Dolphins could not stop the running combo of Portis and Betts; conversely, the Cowboys could not stop the passing attack of Burress and Toomer.

As it was last week, the offensive coordinator that can get past the opposing defense will win this game, so it’ll be on baby. Cam Cameron vs. Jason Garrett

Garrett comes into this matchup as the new young gun on the street, and Cameron has been running the Turner schemes for awhile now, and has had proven success. For this reason, I give the slight edge to Cameron, but I like Garrett’s chances. I kinda see this as the game where Garrett (the student) has the chance to show up Cameron (the master), (not that Garrett coached under Cameron, I’m just giving an example, since they come from the same offensive school of thought)

Or, if you want to look at it another way; defensively, which ever team can stop the opposing offense will win this game, so It’ll be on. Dom Capers vs. Wade Phillips

Looks like a dead heat, its amazing how close these two teams are. Capers is a defensive guru, and so is Phillips; however, at this point, the edge goes to Phillips. His style is more aggressive and has had solid proven success. Ellis and Newman are practicing more, and could bolster up the D for the game, so watch out. Jay Ratliff is very underrated at NT, and will be a menace up the middle, and what’s this?…do the Dolphins have a rookie starting at center? Samson Satele. Our boy Ratliff is gonna tear that up. Ah shhh…

Point is, the Cowboys will be quite prepared against a mirror image of a lesser self. Go Cowboys, Get Pumped!

In an effort to add depth to the nose tackle position, the Cowboys claimed Remi Ayodele from waivers.

From DMN: The Cowboys have signed nose tackle Remi Ayodele to their 53-man roster Tuesday and placed Jason Ferguson on injured reserve.

Ferguson suffered a torn right biceps in Sunday’s season opener vs. the New York Giants and will have surgery on Friday. Ayodele, the younger brother of linebacker Akin, was among the Cowboys’ final cuts coming out of training camp.

The Cowboys hoped to put him on the practice squad, but he was claimed by Atlanta. The Falcons released Ayodele over the weekend, giving the Cowboys a chance to re-sign Ayodele.

Ayodele, 6-2, 300, spent the spring playing in NFL Europa. He spent part of last year on the Cowboys’ practice squad before he was released.

If the Cowboys wanted to add another veteran presence at WR with Reche Caldwell its too late, the loser Redskins snatched him up and will now Redskinize (destroy his career) him.