2015 Dallas Cowboys Off-Season News and Notes

[eagle eye]

I'm tired of the Dez contract talk. Two things I believe in my heart; 1) Dez will be on the field in Week 1 against the Giants and 2) Dez will get a long term deal done right up against the July 15th deadline for signing his franchise tag tender offer. I have found out that if Dez doesn't sign the tender offer by the deadline then he automatically plays the 2015 season for franchise amount AND he cannot negotiate a new deal until after the end of the 2015 season. So, the posturing he did by saying he would sit out Week 1 to make a statement will only make the statement that he will gladly cut off his nose to spite his face. In other words he doesn't just cost himself around $800K (1/17th of his salary) for missing a game it cannot under league rules motivate any contract talks because they aren't allowed anyway. I also costs his team in terms of denying its best receiver and by proxy screws over his teammates, coaches and an owner he loves for no good reason. Dez is not stupid unless he actually misses training camp and sits out Week 1 then maybe I will have reassess my opinion of Dez's intelligence. See you at the end of July in Oxnard, Dez.

 

Speaking of Dez, he was at the final mini camp practice today. Chatting with teammates and coaches and tossing around some footballs. Dez can't stay away.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/18/despite-contract-unresolved-dez-surprise-spectator-final-minicamp-practice

 

S JJ Wilcox is out until training camp as he undergoes treatment for plantar fascia which has been a chronic problem since he came into the NFL. The treatment he is trying is have some blood drawn and treated like with stem cells and reinjected into his bad right foot to help it heal. He said it's worse after practice or when he first wakes up and he's decided to try to treat the problem instead of just dealing with it.

 

Here's some final mini camp thoughts from DallasCowboys.com's Bryan Broaddus.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/17/scout%E2%80%99s-eye-mcclain%E2%80%99s-return-byron-jones%E2%80%99-versatility-10-other-minicamp-thoughts

 

Mini camp is over and now about 5 weeks of nothing unless I start being a practice rat around Lamar. I have only one request and I made the same one of the Houston Texans, don't do something stupid or get in some freaking trouble. This is the worst time for coaches who have no control over where and what the players do. This is likely a worse time for them than for the fans. Do not become a member of the NFL knuckleheads club, please!

[eagle eye]

In what is going to be a long, long 5 weeks Mickey Spagnola gives Cowboys fans a little tidbit to look forward to when training camp starts next month that may make fans who miss DeMarco Murray feel a little bit better.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/19/spagnola-under-radar-d-mac-certainly-raising-eyebrows-and-hopes

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys have sent their own version of a Father's Day card in the way of a video. For me, Happy Dad's Day to all of you.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2014/06/19/happy-fathers-day

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys official website staff writers give us their top candidates for having a big breakout season this fall.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/23/progress-report-staff-writers-predict-players-ready-break-out

 

A new feature on DallasCowboys.com is called "Rookie Watch" which takes a look at the rookies who may have a positive impact for Dallas this season. This first installment talks about WR George Farmer.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/23/progress-report-staff-writers-predict-players-ready-break-out

[eagle eye]

There kudos keep being heeped on the Cowboys 2nd round draft pick, Randy Gregory, as he prepares for his first NFL training camp the hopes are high in Dallas for Gregory to become even half as good as some of the people he's being compared with in the following article by NFL.com's Kevin Petra. The article includes a video of an interview with NFL.com's Tiffany Blackmon.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498860/article/cowboys-randy-gregory-watching-film-of-simeon-rice

 

The Dallas Star-Telegram has this newspaper article I picked up via the Bleacher Report about how Gregory has added 12 lbs of "good weight" as the Cowboys have asked him to do so he can better compete at the defensive end position.

 

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-corner-blog/article24919696.html

 

This off season among the items for the Dallas Cowboys talk shows is the $50MM contract Brandon Carr had signed when he came to Dallas in 2012 from Kansas City. Speculation was either Carr would have to take a pay cut or get shown the door. Unfortunately some of the writers didn't take into account of the dead money releasing Carr would account for. The fact is nothing has happened in the way of a Carr release or a demand by the Cowboys that he take a pay cut or at least restructure his deal to lessen his cap hit. The main reason is likely twofold. 1) The CB position is not what you'd call stable. You've got Orlando Scandrick and you've got Carr as the projected starters. Behind them you have a rookie in Byron Jones who, by all accounts is pretty darn good but might play safety if......Morris Claiborne, who is rehabbing from knee surgery on both knees and free agent signee this spring from New Orleans, Corey White and a returning Tyler Patmon who has shown promise. The link to the Cowboys web site article shows that Jerry Jones and company have faith in Carr based on his strong showing the second half of the season. Fans don't seem to remember anything but the circus catch made by the Giants Odell Beckham Jr. Carr couldn't have covered Beckham much better than he did and Beckham's catch was one for the ages. That one wasn't Carr's fault but his up and down play and big contract gives Cowboys critics and fans alike to heap blame on him anyway.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/24/carr-confident-he-can-build-strong-finish-tumultuous-2014-season

 

In this link from CBSSports.com writer Joey Correy, a former NFL agent, gives a pretty in depth look at the Cowboys and Dez Bryant's situation regarding a long term deal for Bryant. It make pretty good sense and would surely please Bryant and the Cowboys as long as Dez doesn't expect to get paid Calvin Johnson money. (Thanks again, Bleacher Report for the link) The countdown to the July 15th deadline to sign franchise tender offers is now at T minus 19 days.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25222640/agents-take-a-fair-contract-solution-for-dez-bryant-cowboys

[eagle eye]

We got some encouraging news from ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer. He reported that Dez Bryant's agent, Tom Condon, met with Jerry Jones for the 1st time in over 4 months presumably to discuss a long term deal for Bryant. It's roughly 2 weeks until the July 15th deadline for Bryant to sign the franchise tender offer. If a long term deal isn't done by then AND he doesn't sign the tender offer he will play the 2015 season for the $12.83MM franchise sum AND he won't be able to negotiate a long term deal until after the last game of the regular season this coming January. If Dez does sign the tender off by the deadline he and his agents can negotiate a long term deal. It really is no advantage for Dez to hold out a game as he's threatened if he doesn't sign a long term deal or his tender offer because he is just forfeiting nearly $800K for one week's salary for nothing. This is why I have maintaining for a long time that something will get done by July 15 even if it's just signing the tender offer.

There is also a report that the Cowboys front office feels it has some extra leverage in negotiations with Bryant because of some reported "financial difficulties" that Dez is experiencing. I can't find anything to prove this is so but it's a blurb on Bleacher Report with no other info to explain what those troubles may be.

As for right now? Dez and several teammates played in a celebrity baseball game in the Dallas area in support of Dirk Nowitzky's Foundation and Heroes Foundation.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/28/dez-teammates-charity-baseball-game-contract-deadline-draws-closer

 

The DallasCowboys.com staff writers put their heads together and came up with a list of the Top 10 position battles when training camp starts in roughly one month.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/26/top-10-writers-rank-biggest-position-battles-cowboys%E2%80%99-roster

 

Finally, we get a glimmer of hope from senior writer for DC.com Mickey Spagnola that talks about how the Cowboys much maligned defense may actually turn a corner this summer and become a much better than average unit and it all could hinge on one Morris Claiborne.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/06/26/spagnola-mo-better-improving-defense-just-might-turn-corner

[eagle eye]

Middle LB Rolando McClain will be suspended the first 4 games of the 2015 season the NFL announced today. The reason is because of a violation of the NFL Substance Abuse Policy. It is actually the second time this year McClain has failed a drug test. He was due to be fined for 4 games after failing a drug test in February and apparently he's failed another drug test resulting in this suspension. This explains why Dallas got such a team friendly deal for McClain this off season when he tested the free agent market and found no takers. Here's the article about the suspension from DallasCowboys.com but it doesn't explain when he failed the 2nd test or what the substance was. Dallas had given McClain a second chance at the NFL after he retired twice in a one year span because of family problems. It's a shame a player of his talent is such an irresponsible tool bag. There just seems to be a screw loose in his cranial area. McClain seemed to go through an epiphany of sorts that renewed his interest in football that was centered around resolution of personal issues and the birth of his son. It seemed like the guy "got it" at last and was beginning to mature but apparently not. Even his apology to everyone involved seemed lame.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/02/r-mcclain-suspended-4-games-violating-substance-abuse-policy

[eagle eye]

Okay, it is now 7 days, one week, before the July 15th deadline for Dez Bryant to sign his franchise tender offer. If he doesn't sign it then he will play the 2015 season as the Cowboys franchise player and make a guaranteed $12.83MM which is more money than he made in the first 5 years of his pro career. He also sacrifices any ability to negotiate a long term deal with the Cowboys until the conclusion of the 2015 season around January 6th. Of course we could go all through this again next year because Dallas could franchise Bryant again. The notion that Bryant would let the deadline pass and then boycott a game or games is ludicrous because it will literally serve no purpose other than cost him 1/17 of his salary or about $780K per game he misses which is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If nothing else happens Dez should sign the tender offer if, for no other reason, it leaves the door open for his agent to continue to talk long term deal with the Cowboys after the deadline passes. Dez might be a proud man willing to stand on principle but 3/4 MM bucks per game is over kill on principle. So, as of today it's ...............

 

.................. T-minus 7 days and counting til the signing deadline.

 

With Rolando McClain suspended for the first 4 games there has been talk around the Dallas media about whether or not it's time to cut bait on him. He's giving the impression he's not committed to helping Dallas win football games. When OTA's began is the time when McClain decided to have knee surgery. He was not even rehabbing in Dallas, he stayed in Alabama for that. He did show up at the mandatory mini camp so he wouldn't lose money by being fined for missing. Now this suspension. Speculation is that he failing a drug test is why other teams showed no interest in him during free agency and that's why Dallas got such a team friendly deal when Dallas resigned him. He swore last summer he turned his life around and was then going to dedicate himself to football and the Cowboys. It looks like that commitment lasted about 8 months before it petered out. McClain is a beast as a player but his head is not on straight and frankly I'm tired of these knuckleheads that get 10 chances and still mess up. If McClain had been in New England he would already be gone. I know Jerry is loyal to a fault and is willing to go the extra mile for his players but maybe it is really time to bail on this deadhead. If Jason Garrett is truly interested in building a system that will last in Dallas he won't put up with players like this.

[eagle eye]

T-minus 6 days to Dez deadline!

 

Greg Hardy wants to play football and the NFL league office is dicking around ruling on his 10 game suspension for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy which in reference to his domestic abuse case from last summer. I have heard conflicting reports over Hardy's willingness to pursue further action. One video report on Bleacher Report stated that Hardy is tired of dealing with NFL over this issue and if they reduce the suspension to 2-4 games he'll run with that. This morning on ESPN they reported if the NFL doesn't cancel the suspension all together he's going to take them to court. It's all a very nasty business with the NFL treading a fine line between protecting the shield and practicing unfair labor practices. Denying an employee the right to make a living over a case that was dismissed could become very nasty in a hurry. People are going to point out that Hardy was convicted by a judge in his domestic violence case but if you look at the sentence levied on Hardy, no jail and 18 months probation that ultimately set aside when Hardy requested a jury trial. Why? Because the female in the case was not available for the second trial and her testimony in the first trial was very inconsistent to begin with. North Carolina prosecutors could have pursued the trial without the victim's testimony but they felt the original testimony of the lady in question was so shaky they felt they didn't have a case. Hell, the 911 call for the incident came from Hardy who told the operator his girlfriend was beating him with a shoe! While something happened that night last summer the authorities, including the judge in the bench trial, didn't find anything worth levying any serious penalties on Hardy. The NFL league office came down on Hardy extra hard and I, and many others, believe it is because of the negative backlash the NFL had to deal with over the Ray Rice issue. The NFL has spent the last year trying to put out fires from various incidents they have mishandled so the thinking was they come down hard on Hardy to begin with and when appealed the suspension would be reduced to a more sensible number. Hardy had his appeal hearing with Roger Goodell in May. That's two months ago and still nothing from the NFL ruling on the appeal. Hardy has been saying all along he will take the NFL to court if he even has one game suspension. I believe he is not bluffing and that Hardy and Tom Brady both will drag the NFL into court and I think both have a really good chance to win their cases. Roger Goodell, IMO, started his regime out well taking a hard line on drug and PED use but there have been inconsistencies in the application of fines and suspensions but when the domestic violence issue and deflate-gate came up Goodell and the NFL league office just didn't handle any of it well at all. And whatever deal Goodell made with Patriots owner Robert Craft to just accept the NFL's punishment of the Patriots which included a million dollar fine and the loss of their 2016 draft pick had to be a doozy. Rich people don't like to be humbled or call cheaters and as mad as Craft was in the beginning it is inconceivable to me what Goodell said to him to make Craft roll over and play dead. Hell Craft left the country and sent a lame ass letter to the Brady suspension appeal hearing saying he believed in Brady's honesty. He believed it so passionately that he couldn't be bothered to even stay in the country to support his 4 time Super Bowl champion, future Hall of Fame QB. Another lame move by Craft. Obviously another concession Craft made to Goodell no doubt. Tom Brady was thrown to the wolves to save his own skin. I have sort of gotten fed up with Roger Goodell and I wish someone with some real balls would step into the role of commissioner. But, unless he makes the other 31 owners mad I don't see him leaving the office of the commissioner any time soon. Where is Peter Ueberroth when you need him (other than he's 77 years old and retired)?

[eagle eye]

The most interesting discussion I've seen on the Cowboys web site was today when, as part of their "20 Questions" feature the question is asked 'How should the Cowboys handle Rolando McClain's suspension?'. This means how much practice time should the Cowboys devote to McClain who will miss the first 4 games of the season due to a suspension for failing a drug test. The answers given by the staff writers is an interesting view of different ideas on McClain's value to the Cowboys.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/09/20-questions-how-should-cowboys-handle-rolando-mcclain%E2%80%99s-suspension

 

T-minus 5 days to the Dez Deadline!

[eagle eye]

Well, shoot the cattle and call me uncle! The NFL finally, finally came down with a ruling on the Greg Hardy case. Just 24 minutes ago Bleacher Report posted that the NFL league office has reduced Hardy's suspension from 10 to just 4 games! Arbitrator Harold Henderson, who many figured would take a hard line on the appeal and uphold the 10 game suspension, ruled that the NFL had overstepped it's bounds and reduced the suspension to what people thought it should have been in the first place. Hardy's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said he would confer with Hardy, the NFLPA and his lawyers on further legal action. Hardy has said previously that he would take the NFL to court if he was suspended even 1 game. It must be noted that Henderson's ruling is against the ruling he made against Adrian Peterson attempting to get off the NFL exempt list that he was put on as a result of Peterson's child abuse case. At the time Henderson ruled Peterson could not resume playing games until the case was resolved. It remains to be seen if Hardy will accept the 4 game suspension and move on but the Cowboys and Hardy have to be happier now than they were.

[eagle eye]

With the Greg Hardy case somewhat settled the old, Dez plans to hold out of training camp and games if he doesn't get a long term deal done. Again he's got -

T-minus 2 days - to sign his franchise tag tender offer. If he doesn't any such holdout is like cutting off your nose to spike your face because league rules prohibit any contract negotiations unit after the regular season ends. Now, late last week the NFLPA is saying they are looking into a claim that Dallas and the Denver Broncos are guilty of collusion in dealing with the contracts of Dez and the Broncos Demaryius Thomas who, like Dez, has been franchised and has held out for a long term deal. He hasn't threatened any holdouts that I'm aware of but there is some question over whether the Cowboys and Broncos front offices are making a behind closed doors deal to low ball both players. I think this is preposterous because the word has been that teams were waiting on the first deal done for one of these players to set the market value for them. Once one deal is done any other deal will be easily made. Neither franchise wants to pay Calvin Johnson-Larry Fitzgerald money because they are overblown deals that were made before the current collective bargaining agreement was struck. I think the accusation of collusion is just smoke to force teams to the bargaining table with a more liberal wage attitude. Not going to happen in a salary cap league. I think that while both receivers deserve a long term deal both of their teams could still be successful without them. Don't get me wrong, I want Dez on the field but I wonder if I want him if he's stubborn enough to actually hurt himself on a matter of principle.

 

Here's a link from DallasCowboys.com's Bryan Broaddus who is republishing his scouting report of Greg Hardy now that it looks like he will be able to play most of the season after all.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/10/broaddus-re-visiting-scouting-report-greg-hardy

[eagle eye]

T-minus one day until Dez Deal Deadline.

 

In the link below Nick Eatman from DallasCowboys.com gives his opinion of what is going to take place over the next 24 hours. According to Eatman he can't see a scenario where a deal won't get done. Now, Dez threw a little gas on the fire this morning with a tweet saying if he doesn't get a long term deal he will hold out. Unless Dez is way more stupid than I would have thought he has to sign his tender offer by the end of tomorrow. But, in the Eatman article he gives us a darn good reason for the Cowboys to want to get the deal done as well. A wild card here is there are reports out of Denver that there is an offer from the Broncos to DeMaryius Thomas for 5 years for an average of $12MM a year with $30MM guaranteed. That sort of sets a market value. Dez could get more and under the logic of Eatman's article they would actually save money. I think the deal will get done but in an area with heavy union presence we all know about pre-contract posturing by both sides. Dallas has been quiet because they know Dez really hasn't got a leg to stand on so all of Dez' posturing is just hot air. Late tomorrow or early Thursday we will see the reports of both Dez and DeMaryius' deals being done. It's just the smart move all the way around.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/13/eatman-time-running-out-both-sides-should-feel-pressure

[eagle eye]

As of this writing it is T-minus 5 hours and 9 minutes for Dez to sign his franchise tender offer or strike a long term deal with the Cowboys. Here's an 11th hour article from DallasCowboys.com's Rob Phillips. One way or another, hopefully, we can put this story behind us because I've got tired head from this still being an issue. One way or another 3:00 PM CDT whatever will be will be.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/15/it%E2%80%99s-officially-deadline-day-cowboys-franchised-wr-dez-bryant

[eagle eye]

Cooler heads prevailed and I believe I said a long time ago this would happen. What? Dez Bryant with a brand spanking new long term contract. Jerry is notorious for getting deals done when he wants to and this one happened with minutes to spare to the 3:00 PM deadline. The deal is reportedly worth $70MM for 5 years with $45MM guaranteed. This article from NFL.com explains the deal and according to an article from DallasCowboys.com Dez arrived at Valley Ranch to sign his new contract at 2:15.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000501770/article/dez-bryant-cowboys-strike-to-fiveyear-contract

 

Now the only drama left before training camp begins is what the next move by Greg Hardy is going to be. Will he take the NFL to court to try to completely wipe out the remaining 4 games of the original 10 game suspension he received for conduct detrimental to the NFL over a domestic violence incident that occurred last summer. Last week the appeal of the suspension was ruled in favor of Hardy. The arbiter in the case reduced Hardy's 10 game suspension from 10 to 4 but Hardy's agent Scott Boras said that the issue may not be over. So, there is a little something to keep the days before training camp from being totally boring.

[eagle eye]

Not everyone making news is for getting into trouble, sometimes it's just having fun. In this case Cowboys WR Cole Beasley had his double pump reverse dunk posted in instagram. Below is the link to the short article and the video of a pretty impressive dunk from a 5'8" young man.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/17/cowbuzz-cole-beasley-throws-down-double-pump-reverse-dunk

 

Here's a video of the congratulatory phone call from Jerry Jones to Dez Bryant after Dez had signed his $70MM 5 year contract on Wednesday. BTW, the reason Jerry wasn't in Dallas to take pics with Dez at the signing was because he and Stephen Jones were in New York. The Jones' had been up into the wee hours of night before in final negotiations with Roc Nation's Tom Condon and Jay-Z hammering out the deal that Bryant signed and became official just minutes before the 3:00 PM deadline. This reinforces the notion that if Jerry wants a deal done, a deal will get done. Below is a video of Dez with DallasCowboys.com's Nick Eatman minutes after the signing and interesting thing about the interview is that Dez mentioned several times the only thing left for him was a Super Bowl. Dez also said he is confident the Cowboys have a team to be reckoned with this season and you know something? If Dallas can stay healthy, he's right!

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/16/secret-audio-jerry-calls-congratulate-dez

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/15/exclusive-interview-dez-bryant-after-signing-deal

Edited July 17, 2015 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Now that Dez is signed I think I may need to remind you about how important a happy Dez Bryant going into training camp will be. If you remember past training camps you know Dez has that Michael Irvin quality of challenging and motivating his team mates to such an extent that despite how long training camp lasts he is able to keep the whole team engaged. Remember last year when Dez was talking smack to the DBs trying to cover him in practice and he jacked up JJ Wilcox enough to talk a swing at Dez? The whole thing bled over to battles between Terrence Williams and Orlando Scandrick and from rookie WR Devin Street to Tyler Patmon. From DallasCowboys.com in their 20 questions series the staff writers attempt to answer, "Who will benefit most from Dez Bryant's presence in training camp.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/17/20-questions-biggest-beneficiary-having-dez-camp

[eagle eye]

T-minus 11 days until the opening of training camp!

 

Bleacher Report has an article with a slide show of the top available free agents waiting on teams in need to give them a call. Looking at the list I don't see anyone I would want Dallas to pick up. You may disagree. If so lets hear from you.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2525941-nfl-training-camp-2015-best-available-free-agents-waiting-on-camp-injuries-to-s

[eagle eye]

Is he going to play guard, or tackle? Will he start right away? Of course I'm talking about the prize catch of the 2015 draft, La'el Collins. You know the story, stock fell in the draft because he was a person of interest in a double homicide Dallas got him to sign as an undrafted free agent after he went undrafted. The same guy who said that he would be part of the greatest offensive line in history, yeah you remember. DallasCowboys.com's Nick Eatman and Bryan Broaddus give us a look at Collins with an article and a Scout's Report. I think if Dallas had drafted Collins in the 1st or 2nd round he would start right away but considering when the Cowboys got him he get the benefit of sitting a year or so to grow into the job--whichever job the Cowboys want him at. Right now Ron Leary is more than solid at left guard and Doug Free is the same at right tackle. In fact, Free just got a contract extension. Dallas is deep as hell in O-line talent now with Florida's Chaz Greene and Lawrence Gibson both taken in this year's draft and Darion Weems who is looking like a shoe-in at swing tackle not to mention several other candidates including Mackenzie Bernadeau who has been a starter in years past. If the defense was a well heeled as the offense nothing would stop a Cowboys march to Super Bowl 50. That has a nice ring to it doesn't it--Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl 50 Champions. Yessiree, on the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl era and America's Team claiming the title. I like the sound of that!

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/22/rookie-watch-la%E2%80%99el-collins-has-talent-might-have-wait-his-turn

 

It's been 7 months since the NFL ref blew the call on Dez Bryant's catch in Green Bay. Everyone on the planet knows in their heart that was a catch even by the goofy standards set up in the rule book defining a catch. But, this week it came up again. This time COO of the Cowboys Stephen Jones chimed in with his take that, by rule, Dez did not catch the ball. I almost threw up in my mouth when I saw the headline. Turns out that Jones is on the NFL Competition Committee and I really believe he's toeing the "company line" meaning he doesn't want to make waves for the NFL league office. Much in the same way Patriots owner Robert Craft accepted a totally unfair penalty for his team over the deflate-gate debacle despite spewing outrage prior to a meeting with Roger Goodell. Craft rolled over and played dead after that meeting and he has stayed as far away as possible during the Tom Brady appeal. Roger is undoubtedly begging the owners and officers of the 32 NFL teams to please don't make any more waves for the league office. Goodell wants shit to settle down to allow them to put out the fires already burning. Stephen Jones is the latest team bigwig to cowtow to Goodell's wishes. In fact the Dez non-catch issue is one of those fires that needs to be doused. Maybe Stephen told Roger that he would not bitch about the catch any more if he tells the refs to stop screwing over the Cowboys so much. If that deal was made I can live with that. The refereeing needs some review and has needed some oversight for a while now. The NFL refs aren't as bad as baseball umps but they are getting closer all the time. So here is the article with the interview with Jones if you can stand to read it.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/22/months-later-dez%E2%80%99s-infamous-%E2%80%98no-catch%E2%80%99-call-still-discussion-point

 

T-minus 8 days until training camp!

[eagle eye]

ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer gives us his projection of who the starters will be on offense and defense. I think it's interesting that first round pick CB Byron Jones isn't on the list. It's generally an accepted state that first round picks need to play right away but Archer seems to think that Jones will play behind either Scandrick or Carr. It's still not really clear what position Jones may play. A lot is depending on how well Morris Claiborne comes back from knee surgery.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/68803/dallas-cowboys-starting-lineup-projection

 

The Fantasy Football company who was working with Tony Romo to put on a FF convention earlier this summer in Las Vegas is suing the NFL for impeding the convention. There were a number of players already under contract to make appearances at the convention and NFL Network's Michael Fabiano was actually threatened with termination from his job if he showed up as host of the event. There was a loss of revenue by the fantasy promoters, by the Venetian Convention Center and the hotels in the area for the loss of the event. This could've been a massive lawsuit but the actual number on the suit is just $1MM. This looks like just a matter of principle to show the NFL it can't be hypocritical when it comes to events. The NFL is in partnerships with gambling but in subtle ways. For them to have a problem with an event that promised a huge turnout looks like they just got mad because they weren't making money off the event. Just another black eye for the Roger Goodell regime. I wish they would have sued for $100MM and really stuck it to this man and his inept regime.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2527971-nfl-sued-by-company-for-tony-romos-canceled-fantasy-football-event-in-las-vegas

 

It looks like Cowboys 2015 3rd round draft pick Chaz Green will begin the season on PUP as he recovers from hip surgery. This doesn't hurt Dallas too bad because O-line is the one position group that has unbelievable depth. There is speculation that MLB Rolando McClain will also begin the season on PUP. Just before OTA's began he had knee surgery and instead of doing his rehab in Dallas with Cowboys trainers supervision him he chose to rehab in Alabama. He was not even in Dallas during OTA's and only showed up for one day of the mandatory mini camp. The Cowboys are going to be cautious with McClain as he had issues with a knee and a hamstring during the season last year and he missed most of the two playoff games Dallas played because of concussions. McClain also got himself suspended the first four games of the season for violating the league substance abuse policy. Dallas signed former Minnesota LB Jasper Brinkley and he is likely the guy who will play MLB to begin the season.

[eagle eye]

Mickey Spagnola and several of the Cowboys reps are taking a road trip from Arlington to Oxnard in the official Dallas Cowboys team bus. It's supposed to be a 4 day-3 night trip as the luxury bus heads west to training camp which begins next week. The link below is for the first park of the journey, a stop in Abilene for a meet and greet with fans there. Now there are no players on the bus, or Joneses and not even one cheerleader. Just a couple of guys nobody knows, Mickey Spagnola and the team mascot, Rowdy. There are still fans who show up and want to get close to anything Cowboys. There are a couple of videos along with the article featuring a recap of Day 1 of the trip and video of their stop in Abilene.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/content/road-trip-oxnard

 

It's now T-minus 6 days until training camp begins.

[eagle eye]

Now it's getting close--so close--to actual football. No more deflate-gate (well, not as much), no more knuckleheads in trouble (I guess there's still a few days they can misbehave) and no more guessing or annoying top 10 lists. Training camp is just 3 days away, Thursday to be exact. The Cowboys bus on their "Road Trippin" tour from Dallas to Oxnard is complete. (See links below) Players are supposed to report on July 28 (tomorrow) and after the preliminary weigh-ins and physicals are over it's nothing but football from this Thursday until August 28 when they break camp and head back to Dallas. Real news at last.

 

We will find out;

> If Morris Claiborne is really, really back.

> If Byron Jones is going to play corner or safety.

> If Greg Hardy really is all that.

> If Randy Gregory is anything but hype.

> If it's going to be Joe Randall or Darren McFadden.

> If a hundred other things but they are all football and that's a good thing.

 

Road Trippin in Abilene, Tx

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/23/road-trippin-2015-abilene

 

Road Trippin in El Paso, Tx

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/24/road-trippin-2015-el-paso

 

Road Trippin in the bus with the driver, Emory Tyler

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/25/road-trippin-2015-behind-wheel-emory-tyler

 

Road Trippin in Tucson, Arizona

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/25/road-trippin-2015-tucson

 

Road Trippin in Chandler, Arizona

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/26/road-trippin-2015-chandler

 

Road Trippin in Los Angeles, California

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/26/road-trippin-2015-los-angeles-1

 

Road Trippin arrives in Oxnard, California

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/07/27/road-trippin-2015-arriving-oxnard

 

Now, we wait for the Cowboys team charter flight to arrive in Oxnard tomorrow afternoon.

[eagle eye]

The question of the day for the Cowboys website is whether or not a full off season will result in even better play from QB Tony Romo. Let's talk a bit of a look at 2014. First of all Dallas exploded out of the box last season winning six of their first 7 games. The lone loss was on opening day when Romo looked really rusty after he got minimal work in training camp to protect his back. Dallas should have beaten the 49ers but that was all on Romo and it was clear he was showing the result of no real training camp work. All that was a hot topic of discussion as Dallas went into Week 2 against Tennessee. But, after winning on the road in Tennessee and ripping off 5 other games in a row included a huge road win in Seattle it was clear the rust was off. The only bump in the road was a sack that resulted in Romo hurting his ribs again when he got kneed in the back by a blitzing Redskins LB in Week 8 in the first quarter. Romo left the game at that time and Brandon Weeden came in and seemed to have the Cowboys on the road back. Romo came back into the game late much the same way he did a couple of season's earlier when he broke his ribs and had a punctured lung against the 49ers. In that game he led the Cowboys back to an overtime win but on Monday Night Football Romo was not himself and he should have stayed on the sideline in favor of Brandon Weeden who was moving the team well. Romo also missed Week 9 against Arizona and Dallas played well enough to win that game but Weeden totally sucked in that game. So, 6-1 became 6-3 and fans wondered if the wheels were coming off like they had so many times before. That wasn't going to happen because a week later Dallas saw Romo return to the lineup in London vs Jacksonville. It was game that Dallas needed and got. Romo was great and Dez Bryant was great and DeMarco Murray was great. That propelled the Cowboys to a 6-1 record to finish the season at 12-4 and it was excellence by the Cowboys offense and adequate play by the defense. The only hitch in the Cowboys giddayap was a Thanksgiving loss to Philly which was directly attributable to a short week made shorter by the Cowboys returning from a Sunday night game vs the Giants in which the Cowboys did not arrive back in Dallas until about 6 AM on Monday morning which, in essence, gave Dallas just two days to prep for the Eagles. Romo had been getting every Wednesday off termed a "Romo day off" to protect his back which, as you all remember was operated on in the off season, didn't get his time off and the extra short time to prepare was totally unfair and Dallas was clearly not themselves as they fell to the Eagles. After that game Dallas won out and made the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. Romo was excellent all season except where noted and he was clearly one of the top 5 QBs in the NFL. He was only the 14th ranked QB in yards with 3,707 yards but he was No 1 in QB rating for the season. Romo is an excellent deep ball passer and he has always been a QB who could make all the throws and it can be argued that nobody was better than Romo in 2014. Even the loss in Green Bay Romo threw a perfect ball where only Dez Bryant could catch it on that infamous 4th down play where the NFL refs in New York overturned what everyone on the planet said was a catch including the refs on the field. If Dallas had scored there and taken the lead who knows what would have happened the last 4 minutes of the game but it would have been interesting to find out. Dallas had already beaten Seattle during the season and it's for sure Dallas would not have thrown away a 10 point lead the way Green Bay did. The bottom line is Tony Romo arguably had the best season of his career but he didn't have to throw for 5,000 yards because Dallas became a power running team with DeMarco Murray gaining over 1,800 yards to lead all NFL rushers. Back to the original question of whether Romo will be better than 2015. I think he will be ready to play in Week 1 this season whereas he wasn't in 2014. He's healthy and will get his reps in training camp so the first 3 games won't be Romo trying to shake off the rust. So, he should be better in the first quarter of the season this year than he was last year. The trouble Romo had with his post injury games after Week 9 was, for the most part moot. So, all in all, a full off season will make Tony more ready to go into the season but it will be really hard to be better overall because he was accurate, efficient and almost mistake free. What we can hope for is a Tony Romo that will be as good as 2014. If the defense is better I think fans will be quite happy with what they see. Now, as for the Cowboys.com writers and how they answer this question here's the link to the article. Heck I wonder if my take is much different than theirs.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/27/20-questions-will-healthy-offseason-lead-better-season-romo

 

T-minus 2 days until training camp.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys landed in Oxnard to prepare for a month long stay is sunny and COOL California. Camp for Dallas officially begins tomorrow. There was one surprise no-show however. DL Jeremy Mincey, who led the team in sacks last year, did not go to Oxnard with the rest of the team because he wants to re-evaluate his contract. In other words he wants a raise. With Greg Hardy suspended the first 4 games and Randy Gregory just a rookie Mincey was going to be counted on to provide pass rush from the right defensive end spot. He'll probably get a little bump in pay but it's a fine time to chime in with contract talks. Where was he the last couple of weeks. And we all thought all that contract business was settled when Dez Bryant was signed to a long term deal on the 15th. Yeah, right. Appaently, Mincey is looking for a 2 year deal worth about $3MM which isn't asking a heckuva lot and that's why I think it will get done. Mincey will begin accumulating fines for missing training camp beginning today as today is the official reporting day for training camp.

Here's an article from DallasCowboys.com about the Cowboys arrival in Oxnard.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/28/cowboys-land-oxnard-month-long-training-camp-stay

 

Here's another article from the Cowboys website about the history of Cowboys training camps titled, "From Oregon to Oxnard". It's a picture history of the various training camp locations from the first one in 1961 to 2015. It's a pretty cool little piece.

 

http://view.ceros.com/dallas-cowboys/training-camp-history/p/1

 

The Cowboys made some moves yesterday before leaving for Oxnard. First they cut 3 players including former 2nd round pick for Arizona RB Ryan Williams. It was reported that Williams who is still trying come back from a really bad knee injury in Arizona. It has been reported that he has suffered a couple of setbacks in this year's OTA's and mini camp. Dallas also waived/injured LB Cameron Lawrence and OL Ryan Miller. Dallas also signed 3 players. RB Gus Williams from Stephen F Austin who was invited to the Rookie mini camp in May. They also signed LB Justin Anderson who spent some of last season on the Giants practice squad and G/C Ronald Patrick who spent time on the Cowboys practice squad last season.

[eagle eye]

The practices have begun but not without incident. RB Darren McFadden doesn't make the first walk through because the Cowboys were forced to put him on PUP. Spring training PUP is a little different than the regular season PUP in that the player can come back at any time but even if he practices for 30 seconds he can't go back on PUP. The Cowboys are saying that McFadden pulled his hamstring in a workout a week or so ago. They claim the injury isn't a bad one but they want him to be fully healthy for training camp. Obviously this opens the door for Joe Randall to make his claim for the #1 RB spot. In the opening press conference Jerry Jones said that they feel Randall can handle the lead back role. That remains to be seen. What is definite is McFadden's history of injury problems. Last season was the first season McFadden played in all 16 games and this is not the beginning either he or the Cowboys wanted.

 

The Cowboys veteran LB Keith Rivers was signed in the free agency period this past spring. On the eve of the first training camp practice Rivers decided he'd had enough and retired. This left Dallas a little short at linebacker with Rivers retirement and Rolando McClain on PUP still rehabbing from knee surgery. Yesterday Dallas signed LB Keith Smith who spent time on the Cowboys roster last season.

 

Tony Romo missed yesterday's practice due to a sty under his left eye. He will be evaluated today to see if he can participate in the Cowboys first padded practice. Brandon Weeden and Dustin Vaughn got most of the snaps in yesterday's practice.

 

Greg Hardy pulled some cartilage in his rib cage in the Thursday walk through but it wasn't serious. What is serious is the fire and intensity Hardy is bringing to training camp. For details here is an article from DallasCowboys.com about just how much Hardy is doing for the Cowboys defense.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/31/hardy%E2%80%99s-work-ethic-enthusiasm-setting-tone-cowboys-defense

 

It's a nice thing to be talking real football again. Stay tuned for Boomer and I's fantasy football articles beginning soon.