Dallas Cowboys

Back in the 2007 NFL Draft, I wanted Mason Crosby from Colorado. Instead, the Cowboys took Nick Folk from Arizona, whoever he was. Now, I’m not a big draft person. I know people obsess over their mock drafts like little kids with their Pokemon cards, but, for me, there are too many teams to follow in college football. I just preferred Crosby over Folk from what I’d heard leading up to the draft. Well, we all know how that one turned out. Crosby is a world champion while Nick Folked up more than a few kicks for Dallas in 2009 to salvage his career with the Jets. Dallas kicked off 2010 with Dave Buehler only for the project to doink off the crossbar. Der Buehler went 24/32 and 42/44 on extra points. Yes, Dave Buehler missed two extra points. I mean, who does that? Not Dan Bailey – that’s for dang sure. In only two seasons, this undrafted free agent from Oklahoma State has already tied the franchise record for game-winning field goals with seven set by Rafael Septien. It’s undoubted that Bailey has already surpassed Septien in being a human being. Since Monday’s tornadoes ravaged Moore, Oklahoma, Bailey has donated what little time he has during OTA’s to raise relief funds for a community near to his Mustang, Oklahoma stomping grounds. In the near future, he plans to “spearhead” more relief efforts. For now, the accomplished kicker, along with past and present Cowboys, has raised over $45,000 for Moore, Oklahoma. For Cowboys fans, this salvation performance from Bailey shouldn’t surprise us, since he’s done it seven times since Week 2 of 2011. In his rookie season, Bailey set the franchise record for most game-winning field goals at 4. I know I gave the 2011-12 Cowboys defenses a lot of grief for blowing Romo’s fourth quarter heroics, but the flip side is nearly 90% of those comebacks wouldn’t have been possible without Dan Bailey’s clutch kicks. Except for last season’s home contest against Philadelphia, 8/9 of the Cowboys’ comebacks since 2011 have hinged on Dan Bailey’s boot. Nov 24, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey (5) celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal against the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving day at Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Dolphins 20-19. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports It makes you wonder about the games Bailey missed game-winning field goals. Thankfully, it’s only been once a season, and it’s chiefly been due to the head coach’s faulty game management. Bailey is so consistent even in his misses. From 49 yards and further, he’s 5/10 compared to his 56/58 from 49 yards on in. If you have a timeout and 20 seconds while hovering at about the 49-55 range, better to risk getting more yards for Bailey than have him try to win the game from that range. Hopefully, Garrett learns the third time after failing to learn this lesson in Arizona in 2011 and Baltimore in 2012. Kickers are fragile players. In recent times, we saw Nick Folk turn to garbage in his third season, but that was somewhat attributed to a groin injury. At this stage of their careers, Dan Bailey is already three percentage points ahead of Folk: 89.7% to 86.8%. He’s even better than his kicking coach, Chris Boniol, who set the franchise record for highest field goal percentage at 96.4% in 1995. With a team like Dallas, who leads the league in 32 close games since 2010, they need Dan Bailey to stay consistent. They need Dan Bailey to keep being a hero For us fans, we can be heroes for Bailey’s nearby community of Moore, Oklahoma through the Salvation Army. Text “STORM” to 80888 to donate $10 through your mobile phone; respond with the word “Yes” to confirm donation. For more information, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or visit www.SalvationArmyUSA.org

Brian Urlacher retired earlier this week, but it wasn’t on his own terms. He wanted to play this year, and had one team in mind: The Dallas Cowboys. “If I could have picked a spot, it would have been Dallas,” Urlacher told the Chicago Tribune, (via NFL.com).  ”(The Cowboys) run our defense. They took our D-coordinator (Rod Marinelli). That would have … [visit site to read more]

Cowboys first and then everything else!dallas cowboys | dez bryant | tony romo | demarcus ware | jerry jones

Anthony Hargrove hopes to put injuries and Bountygate behind him.

Brian Urlacher told "The Rich Eisen Podcast" he retired because he realized he just wasn't the same player anymore. Would he have continued his career if the Dallas Cowboys were interested?

When the Cowboys 2012 season reached its conclusion this past winter, there were numerous issues that contributed to another 8-8 finish and missing out on the playoffs.  Some of the issues that were causing problems have at least been addressed (premium draft pick on the offensive line and a durable running back prospect) while others as we are coming up on Memorial Day Weekend still have not been.  Over the next few weeks, I will produce a series that will list some of these items, and dig a little into each of them. (more…)

On the same day it was reported that Tony Romo will miss the Dallas Cowboys’ organized team activities because of a minor procedure to remove a cyst from his back, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning gave his thoughts on Jerry Jones saying Romo will be putting in “Peyton Manning-type time on the job.” “I … [visit site to read more]

In a couple of recent reports from the Cowboys' OTAs, the mothership's superscout, Bryan Broaddus, claims that the new 4-3 defensive scheme will be awesome sauce for a couple of Dallas' holdover defensive players. Yesterday, in a recap post, he wrote that former inside linebacker Bruce Carter is a perfect fit for the OLB position Derrick Brooks handled in Kiffin's defense in Tampa Bay: I believe this 4-3 defense will make Bruce Carter a star in this league. It's a perfect fit for his ability to make plays from the backside...you see a player that once he sees what is happening to him scheme wise, he is gone to the ball. Where Carter is going to surprise people will be his ability to rush off the edge and cause problems...There have been times where Carter has been a terrible matchup for a back to have to deal with because of his size and power... This was, of course, music to Cowboys fans' ears. Doubly so, given Broaddus' "Scout's Notebook" from Tuesday's practice, in which he gushed over OLB-DE convert Anthony Spencer: I thought he was the best defensive player on the field when they went against the first offense...There is explosiveness there that these coaches are going to take advantage of. He has a real understand of how to use pass rush moves as he is going up the field. No defensive linemen showed the quickness that he showed today. He is the type of rusher that leaves blockers reaching for him. He gives them no hitting surface and when a tackle can’t get his hands on the rusher, he is going to allow pressure and that happened several times today. Again, good news for those of us who have been waiting to see whether actual events would correlate to the whirrings of our imaginations that began the moment we first heard of the intended schematic switch. Indeed, I believe there are several players who will benefit tremendously from this scheme. Not only Carter and Spencer, but their running mates Sean Lee and DeMarcus Ware are built to succeed dominate in this system. But there are several other players who I think will benefit. Both of the Cowboys' starting corners boast the physicality, coverage skills, and playmaking ability (read: turnovers) that Kiffin's defense requires. In addition, the team has several quick, undersized defensive linemen in Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher, Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass who, when asked to jet upfield at the snap, might find that to their liking. In short, I think the great majority of the team's former 3-4 defenders have the kind of game that will flourish in the new system. This begs the question: which former stalwarts aren't built to succeed? Looking at the roster here in late May, I see two: Sean Lissemore: Lissy has the right size (6'3", 303) to play defensive tackle in this scheme, and has been a versatile guy in the past, playing both the five technique and nose tackle in the previous scheme. Moreover, he's a high-motor guy who plays with a great deal of tenacity, working to the ball until the whistle. That said, I wonder whether he has the requisite skillset to succeed in this system. When he subbed in for an injured Jay Ratliff last year, Lissemore fialed to demonstrate the requisite strength to take on double teams, as the one technique must do. On the other hand, I don't believe he has the necessary quickness to play the three (or the one, for that matter). Alex Albright: When Monte Kiffin somewhat cryptically proclaimed, in his first presser with local Dallas scribes, that there were a couple of players who stood up who would now be playing with their hands on the ground, my mind immediately went to two former college-defensive-ends-cum-NFL-linebackers: Albright and Kyle Wilber. My thinking was that neither can get into pass drops and close on the ball as quickly as this scheme requires. As a consequence, I assumed both would return to their collegiate positions. Indeed, Wilber has done just that; he'll serve as Ware's backup at RDE end thi

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones said Thursday that head coach Jason Garrett’s job will not be on the line this upcoming season, despite back-to-back 8-8 seasons for the Cowboys. It is a classic example of the control Jones wants as owner. Don’t get me wrong, Jones is a great owner. He has made the Cowboys maybe the most recognizable franchise in all the NFL and in sports altogether, and also made them the most valuable sports franchise in the United States — the second most valuable in the world only to Manchester United, according to Forbes.com. But being a quality GM is a different story. Jones doesn’t have the greatest eye for talent, and loves to have control. Only twice in his tenure as Cowboys owner, president, and GM has Jones worked with a coach with just as big of an ego as his. The first was Jimmy Johnson, who coached the team from 1989-1993, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993. Johnson had control over personnel decisions, and was responsible for the Herschel Walker trade to the Minnesota Vikings that brought back to the Cowboys an abundance of draft picks (18 players were involved total in the deal for the Cowboys’ star; it is the biggest trade in league history) that turned into running back Emmitt Smith, franchise lynchpin safety Darren Woodson and defensive tackle Russell Maryland. Smith would, of course, end up as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, and Woodson became a career starter for the Cowboys, as one of the league’s best safeties and is arguably a Hall of Famer. Maryland would be the anchor of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl-winning defensive lines. But Johnson’s tenure ended abruptly with the Cowboys prior to 1994, as he stated that he and Jones “mutually decided” that Johnson would no longer be the head coach. It is now no secret that Jones’ ego got in the way of Johnson staying and possibly winning three straight championships. There was no other reason to let go of a coach that brought the team from 1-15 in his first year in 1989 to 12-4 and 13-3 in ’92 and ’93 other than personal disagreements and different philosophies on how to manage the team. Johnson, as the smarter football mind, wanted to maintain control of roster decisions. The owner didn’t approve. Then there was Bill Parcells – a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the New York Giants in 1986 and 1990 and soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee this August – who was hired in 2003. Like Johnson, he wanted his share of input on roster decisions. While it worked for a while, Jones wasn’t having it long-term, and Parcells left after the 2006 season. Then Wade Phillips was brought in in 2007, and Garrett, a former Cowboys’ backup quarterback in the 90s, was the offensive coordinator. Phillips took a backseat to Jones on the personnel front, allowing the owner to have full general manager duties. Jerry got what he wanted and was content — up until the middle of the 2010 season that is, when he fired Phillips and promoted Garrett to head coach. And as Cowboy fans can attest, Garrett is no different than Phillips. Not having a strong personality, he won’t demand things and won’t challenge Jones on personnel moves. Instead, he’ll say yes to Jerry, agreeing with him in order to avoid conflict and possibly losing his job. Phillips and Garrett, though no fault of their own as it is their personal makeup, are not the confrontational type. Unlike Johnson and Parcells, who, with their superior knowledge of the game, challenged Jones’ thinking, they sit back and let the owner – the ultimate figure in the Cowboys organization – call the shots. It’s exactly what Jones wants, maybe perhaps more than winning. Because if he truly cared about winning and getting the Cowboys back to being one of the most respected and successful franchises around the league, he would strike an ultimatum with Garrett. He would say that this season is do or die — that Garrett either maximizes the talent on a super-talented Cowboys

IRVING — In examining why he had reoccurring hamstring injuries last year, Dallas Cowboys second-year safety Matt Johnson said he realized it could have had something to do with his weight room routine. Johnson said he cut back this off-season on the amount of weight he was squatting. “We’ve done more hamstring work instead of putting on 400 pounds and squatting,” Johnson said Tuesday after the Cowboys’ first organized team activity practice. “When I was in college, I did that some. … [visit site to read more]