The Original Doomsday Defense Front Four- George Andrie, Bob Lilly, Jethro Pugh and Larry Cole.

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I had the pleasure of recently meeting Larry Cole at a luncheon in Decatur, Texas. Cole played defensive end and defensive tackle for the Cowboys from 1968 through 1980. He played in five Super Bowls, winning two of them. He was drafted in the 16th-round and wore the star his entire career. He played for one coach, Tom Landry.

Today, Larry is a very successful real estate developer in the DFW area and the CEO of Larry Cole Communities. He's tall, thinner than his playing days, but I can imagine how big and imposing he was with pads and at his playing weight.

He's a very gracious man and still is a big Cowboys fan. When I introduced myself and asked him if he still followed the Cowboys, his passion for the team and the game was evident. I wondered if he would be willing to give me some insights into his days as an original member of the Doomsday Defense and share his perspective on the current Dallas Cowboys. I asked if he would answer 10 questions, (I snuck in an extra) he agreed, and the Q&A results follow the jump.

Larry, thank you for taking time to speak with BTB and thanks for the great Cowboy memories!

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More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Keith Brooking is bringing leadership to the Dallas Cowboys locker room.

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You want leadership? I'm hearing some bits and pieces from the local media that veteran players are stepping up.

After the Oakland game was over, Steve Dennis later reported on Babe Laufenberg's show that Keith Brooking, DeMarcus Ware and Patrick Crayton challenged everyone to step up their effort and improve their play when the team was in the locker room. They challenged rookies to study harder and learn quicker. They challenged experienced backups to tighten up their game and compete for a starting role.

Folks, this is leadership. Leadership is not screaming and yelling on the field in public, it's players exhorting their mates to do better in a closed locker room, man to man. You can't be interrupted by going onto the field, you can't walk away down the sideline because you don't like what is being said - you're all right there together.

This is face to face, in front of the whole team - family style.

Here's the best part - this meeting is taking place right after the first preseason game. That tells me that internal expectations are much higher this year.

These vets are saying to the rookies, "You're here because you are a football player, now play, no excuses."

They are saying to the back ups, "You play like you practice. Act like each snap is your last."

Hallelujah!

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Dallas Cowboys running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones - two warriors.

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I'm sure you've seen the old military movie scenes showing a parade of bright, shiny, smiling soldiers marching down Main Street lined with cheering crowds, ready to ship out for battle. Beautiful women throwing garlands, bands playing, and the troops confident in a triumph that they knew would be theirs.

That was last year's camp.

That camp, highlighted by Hard Knocks, gave the impression that the Cowboys were Super Bowl bound and everybody just needed to  "..come on in for the big win."  (To borrow a line from another military movie).  Apparently the other teams in the league didn't get the memo. The Cowboys were bloodied and beaten during the regular season, at times appearing shell-shocked, before the eventual December collapse.

Did that early swagger contribute in some way to the swoon in December?

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More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Rowdy gives Tony Romo the official news - you're our QB, baby!

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What Cowboy QB controversy? Exactly, there is no controversy and Cowboy fans can be thankful for that. (Sorry for the sucker headline, like Parcells once said, consider yourself sucked!)

Think about the drama some teams are facing as they head into camp this year. There are teams going to training camp wondering who their QB will be. Will that QB have the physical skills, the leadership skills, the mental and emotional strength necessary to take their team through the regular season and deep into the playoffs?

Consider the Washington Redskins and their QB Jason Campbell. Campbell knows that the team must not have full confidence in his ability based on their pursuit of Jay Cutler during the off season. How does this public vote of ‘no confidence' affect the mind and play of a young quarterback?

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Who are the Bubble Boys this year? Who are the Cowboy players standing on the proverbial bubble this training camp? Almost all rookies are somewhat on the bubble unless they are top-round draft picks. I'm defining a Bubble Boy as a veteran player, who has not broken into the starting lineup and has yet to show themselves to be a reliable backup. At some point the team has to make a change if a player doesn't develop. That change can mean being traded for another player or future draft choice, or being cut outright. For some of the Bubble Boys, the clock is ticking.

Make the jump.

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams (4) is poised to have a very productive year in 2009.

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I know there are doubters out there, and that's your prerogative. However, I'm thinking that Roy Williams is going to have a great year in 2009.

Last year was not a stellar year and his low production gave fuel to those who doubt that Williams was worth what the Cowboys gave up for him. There were three contributing factors to his lack of production last year (19 receptions/198 yards/ 1 TD) that need to be taken into consideration.

He came to the Cowboys with the season well underway and he had to adjust to a new QB and new teammates almost overnight.  To illustrate how familiarity can impact a player's performance, consider that he had more yards in the first five games with Detroit than he had the rest of the season in Dallas.

More after the jump.

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More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips complains that everyone is on his back. Here is photographic proof that his suspicions are correct.

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Wade Phillips has had four chances to win a playoff game as a head coach. He's 0 for 4.  Is he cursed or is he lacking as a coach? To win a playoff game you have to make it to the post-season first and that means you have to win more games than you lose. I want to compare Wade's record against past Cowboy coaches to see if he is the right guy to even get us into the show.

Cowboys coaches have included the notorious hard case Duane Charles Parcells, the mercurial James William Johnson, the stoic Thomas Wade Landry and now the soft and cuddly Harold Wade Phillips. Which coach has been the most successful over the span of the coach's careers during the NFL regular season?

I took a look at the winning percentages of the four coaches over the span of their years as a head coach. A partial season will count as a full season in regards to winning percentage as a head coach. For example, Phillips was with the Saints  for four games 1985, his one win gives him a .250 winning percentage as a head coach that season.  I will include every team the coach represented, in Phillips' case, New Orleans, Buffalo, Denver, Atlanta and Dallas.

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 Ok, I do love the game of pro football, but there are certain aspects I could do without. Here are some annoying things about the pro game. I would like to ask Roger Goodell to intercede on my behalf and correct these blemishes on an otherwise great past time. Commish, are you listening?

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Jason Garrett will be facing some new foes this year.

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General Patton tried to learn everything he could about his enemy. There is a great scene in the movie Patton after the general anticipates and counters Field Marshal Rommel's offensive attack; Patton exclaims, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"

We know that coaches study game film and will review the same play over and over again, looking to gain an advantage by noticing tendencies or tip-offs from their counterparts. You can bet that Jason Garrett is pouring over game film now but he's going to have difficulty finding any game film on two of his division opponents.

The Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache is the only returning DC in the East. (If you count Wade as a change for Brian Stewart). He's in his second year as the defensive coordinator for the ‘Skins and he has another five years in charge of the Bears defense from 1999 to 2003. The Redskins have had solid defenses since Blache took the helm. The year before he took over (2006) the Redskins defense ranked 31^st, in Blache's first year (2007)  they climbed  to 8^th and then to 4^th in overall defense in 2008. With his leadership and some offseason acquisitions the ‘Skins defense will be a challenge for Garrett this season.

The other two coordinators in the East won't have any actual game film as coordinators for Garrett to work off.

Make the jump.

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Could Mike Mickens be an impact rookie for the Cowboys this year?

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When I have some intriguing tidbits to share with you, but those tidbits are not enough to warrant a full post, I save them up and then I throw them into the pot, stir it up and serve you some Cowboy Stew. These bits and bites don't have much in common other than that they are Cowboy related and got stuck in my brain for a while. So, dig into the stew, and share your thoughts.

Will our rookies be able to make an impact? That requires pure speculation and we won't know until the season is fully under way. Now, if we had a powerful computer that could run multiple scenarios and model future behaviors in the NFL based on past behaviors in college we might get some interesting data. Oh wait, there is a computer website that does just that. It's called Whatifsports.com. A few of the Cowboy rookies made the top 100.

Rookies present the biggest challenge. To come up with statistical inputs for rookies, we run a very complex set of algorithms that factors collegiate performance, role in college, strength of collegiate competition, "measurables," likely NFL role, previous performance of a similar player in that NFL role for this coaching staff and trends of similar rookies in the past. This gives us the player's projected ratio stats (expected yards per carry, completion percentage, etc.), as well as his forecasted usage for the upcoming season. From there, we can compare all rookies based on who we think will make the biggest positive impact for his new NFL team in his first year. The Top 100 from this ranking are listed below.

74. Mike Mickens, CB, Dallas
55. Victor Butler, LB, Dallas
52. DeAngelo Smith, CB/S, Dallas

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