May 2007 - Posts
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 This T.O. stuff is beyond me. It’s a year later, no Bill, but here we go again. Are you guys not worn out by the media’s continued blatant exploitation of every thing he says? Sorry, listening to him on Monday, and all those highly-probing questions being tossed at him just gave me tired head – again. I mean, enough. Read one wire story basically claiming because Bill Parcells was gone “he couldn’t wait to get back on the field.” He never said that. He said his finger was feeling good and that the doctors cleared him to practice, that’s why he participated in the three-day mini-camp.
Remember my big guy before the draft, ol Walter Thomas, the, 6-5, 375-pound nose tackle from Galveston, Texas, who supposedly ran like a 4.7 40 and could do a standing front flip? Remember I told you the Saints took a chance on him, signing him to a free-agent contract after the draft? Well, seems as though Walter forgot one really big thing: Getting in shape. Like 12 minutes into his fist mini-camp practice, he was deemed unfit to participate. Dehydrated just that fast. Oops. But then New Orleans has brought many a good man to his knees.
Everyone wants Sam Adams, right, just because he’s a 340-pound veteran nose tackle? But guess what, Cincinnati didn’t, not even as a backup, and not even if the guy was going to cost the Bengals an $800,000 salary-cap hit for his accelerated signing bonus. And his $1.5 million base salary was not an issue, since the Bengals had plenty of cap space. Evidently his ability to play was, especially following off-season arthroscopic knee surgery. To me, he’d be nothing more than an emergency guy closer to the start of the season if none of the young guys pan out.
Hear the Seahawks have a TV commercial running up in Seattle encouraging season ticket sales. Guess which play is being used in the TV spot? Yep, you got it, Tony Romo dropping the snap at the end of the playoff game, and then getting tackled a half-yard short of the first down. Oh well, guess they wouldn’t use Romo’s pass to Jason Witten initially rule a first down at the one, then backed up to the two thanks to a replay review.
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Let’s qualify this from the start. This is only mini-camp, no pads, no hitting, no scheming. But maybe Wade Phillips has figured out how to keep Roy Williams out of deep coverage in passing situations on the nickel. In Sunday’s lone practice, the Cowboys worked on their nickel defense for the first time, and they lined up with Kevin Burnett and Williams as the linebackers on the nickel defense. That left Ken Hamlin and Pat Watkins at safety, with the usual rotation of corners: Terence Newman in the slot, along with Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn on the outside. You know, Bill Parcells experimented with Williams at this up position on the nickel last summer at training camp. He called it at the time only a special package. But not until late in the season, like maybe the final game or two, did he actually go to the “special package.” We’ll keep an eye on this.
At first, couldn’t figure out why Bradie James looked so different. Cut his hair? Cut his beard? No, cut his weight, losing like 15 pounds, he said. Could see it in his face. James said this defense will ask him to be more active, and he felt he needed to get back to where he was when he came to the Cowboys as a 240-pound rookie in 2003. He’s right, the 2003 media guide lists him at 243.
Bunch of you keep asking if punter Mat McBriar has worked on kicking off this off-season. McBriar says he tinkered with it, but came to the conclusion he just doesn’t have what it takes to master the art. But he said he’d keep working at it so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself if an emergency arose. But when it comes to holding, the Pro Bowl punter says he’s got his hand in the air for the chore Tony Romo is being relieved of this season.
To help keep teams from scheming against DeMarcus Ware, Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense will utilize weak- and strong-side linebackers. So no more the standard left and right of the past two years. In Saturday’s practice, if the tight end lined up to the defense’s right, or Ware’s side, he and Anthony Spencer flipped sides. Evidently, Phillips wants Spencer (and Greg Ellis when he returns) on the strong side and Ware on the weak side, which only makes too much sense.
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Well, our 370-pound draft find, ol’ Walter Thomas of Galveston, Texas, by way of Northwest Mississippi Community College, finally got signed to a rookie free-agent contract. New Orleans did the honor. My gosh, if the nose tackle who spent one season at Oklahoma State before grades – or lack thereof – sent him to juco rips off one of his standing front flips, he might sink the entire city into Lake Pontchartrain.
Now I’m not saying this is the same thing, all this talk about the Cowboys being interested in San Diego’s restricted free-agent running back Michael Turner, but do you remember when there supposedly was Cowboys interest in San Francisco restricted free-agent running back Kevan Barlow a few years back? Well, let’s see, like three years later, Barlow just signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh for $595,000 (the sixth-year minimum) along with a $40,000 roster bonus. Sometimes it’s not smart to bet a lot on a small body of work.
Speaking of restricted free agents, wonder if Atlanta is not having second thoughts about trading their restricted quarterback Matt Schaub for two second-round draft choices in light of the hot water starter Michael Vick seems to be in with the pit bulls being raised on property he owns in Virginia? The Falcons seem to be squirming, especially owner Arthur Blank, fearing the heavy hand of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell coming down if his quarterback is connected to this dog fighting affair. This just echoes what I’ve been saying about the character of your quarterback, no matter how talented. That’s the one position you can’t live in constant fear of waking up the next morning to a suspension.
Saw where if you compared the salary of last year’s third spot in the draft to the 22nd spot, as in the case of Cleveland deciding to take Brady Quinn at 22 instead of third, it basically cost the Notre Dame quarterback $20 million in guaranteed money. And Joe Theismann wonders why Quinn looked so glum when he came on stage to accept his Browns jersey after sitting so long on draft day.
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After all the abuse I took for my A-minus draft grade for the Cowboys, I can’t believe I missed this one from Pro Football Weekly: “Grade A – Jerry Jones was at his best wheeling and dealing. Not only did he come away with the Browns’ first-rounder next year, he also landed rush LB Anthony Spencer and improved the offensive line.” The publication went on to say on its website version, “Jerry Jones was at his best, wheeling and dealing, and being able to land what could be a high first-round pick next year from the Browns and moving back up to secure the pass rusher they coveted. That was impressive. Anthony Spencer could be paired with DeMarcus Ware to bring a ton of pressure off the edges. Investing in their offensive line was wise, and landing James Marten in the third round and Doug Free in the fourth could improve the athleticism on their offensive line and provide much-needed depth. Washington QB Isaiah Stanback is a Jerry Jones type of quarterback, and he should be able to contribute as a receiver and provide depth under center.” Now here are some folks who know what they’re talking about – too.
Here’s a pretty interesting note on Anthony Spencer, the Cowboys’ first-round pick out of Purdue. He is the first Boilermaker to get drafted in the first round since 1987 – one Rod Woodson. Being half as successful as that guy would be something.
Oh man, can’t believe I left this out of last week’s column on Isaiah Stanback, the Washington quarterback the Cowboys selected in the fourth round with the intentions of turning into a receiver/rerturner/emergency quarterback/two-point converter. “Hey, this Stanback, get your popcorn ready,” compliments of scouting director Jeff Ireland.
Everyone seemingly wants to fit Bobby Carpenter into a neat little box: He’s an outside linebacker, he’s an inside linebacker, he’s a nickel linebacker. Said Ireland, “He was really coming on as a player last year. You’ll see Bobby lined up in a lot of different spots.”
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The Cowboys will have a 2007 rookie pool allocation of $3.54 million for their eight draft choices and so far, 15 rookie free agents. With the salary cap rising to $109 million, this total of first-year salaries and prorated signing bonuses for the draft choices, along with any mount more than minimum for the rookie free agents, will represent just more than three percent of their entire cap amount. The $3.54 million ranks 23rd in the NFL, with the Oakland Raiders, of course, leading the way with $6.913 million thanks mostly to having the first pick in the draft. The average rookie pool allotment is $4.275 million, and based on a formula which takes into account the number of draft choices and their places in the draft. The Cowboys’ total is relatively low since the 26th pick in the draft won’t command a high signing bonus and they don’t have a second-round pick.
Man, better not be a fringe player and get yourself in legal trouble these days in the NFL. Jacksonville corner Ahmad Carroll was released from jail on Saturday on a $7,000 bond and then released by the Jaguars on Monday, likely costing himself considerably more than that if another team does not claim him off waivers or sign him as a free agent. Carroll, signed by the Jaguars last October after the 2004 first-round pick was waived by Green Bay, was only active for two games with Jacksonville. But once learning of his arrest on Saturday for carrying a weapon without a license, possession of drugs (11 pink tablets believed to be ecstasy) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the Jaguars didn’t mess around in light of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s recent emphasis on player behavior. Gone. He had been identified as someone involved in a disturbance in an Atlanta restaurant. The Jaguars might not be the only party having a problem with Carroll’s behavior. Since he was charged last February with third-degree assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and refusal to submit to arrest after an incident in Fayetteville, Ark., I’m guessing the league will have a problem with him, too, if claimed or signed by another team.
A week later than usual, the Cowboys will hold their first – and only mandatory – mini-camp this coming weekend, which will include the veterans, draft choices and rookie free agents. The players must report on Friday for meetings and the club will hold two workouts on Saturday, one on Sunday and two more on Monday. The workouts are not open to the public. Then the rookie off-season workouts for those players whose schools have concluded their spring semesters will begin on Wednesday. New head coach Wade Phillips will hold two mini-camps this off-season and two sessions of OTA’s.
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