Been reading a lot of articles lately on what this team needs to get better. Most have been centered around talent infusions, scheme changes and position groups improving. Deep down, I believe we all know that's a bunch of bull.

This team, quite simply, just has to get tougher--mentally, physically, in every conceivable way. The Giants are a prime example of a tough, tough team. What'd they have this year, 7 major injuries to their defense this year? And yet where do they find themselves--in contention yet again. You can't accomplish that without a certain mindset--Coughlin simply, unequivocally, WILL NOT TOLERATE anything else.

The Cowboys, Garrett, the Joneses--they're just soft, period. I don't know how or why they became soft, all I know is they just are. You don't consistently underachieve the way this team has, you don't consistently--comically--find ways to lose games the way we do, without being physically and mentally soft. Sure, Garrett can preach the Jimmy-speak or preach this Jimmy-mindset, but, at the end of the day he's still Jason Garrett--he just doesn't have that certain "it-ness" this team needs to have that toughness instilled in them. Believe me, it PAINS me to admit that, but I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we'd admit the same thing about Garrett. I agree, it'd be stupid to fire him as he just started, but Garrett to me just represents another wasted four years of searching for the right guy to turn this team around.

We don't need a genius because you can't think your way into toughness. We don't need a scheme, as you can't scheme your way to toughness. And we know talent doesn't equal toughness, just look at the two team representing the NFC this weekend--Dallas probably has more "talent" than both of those teams combined. Even if you don't agree with that statement, they at least have as much as either the Giants or 49ers.

We just need to get tougher somehow. I've always thought that started with the head coach, but we don't have that guy. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this--am I way out in left field here?

The 'Boys are supposedly interested in signing Ray Lewis if he makes it to the open market this offseason.

Linkage:  Ray Ray Rumor

Kind of contradicted on this move myself.  I seem to remember Ray complaining about the 3-4 when he last played in the scheme.  On the other hand, I think Ray could do wonders for this team's mental make-up.  The toughness he brings to a unit is much-needed.  I still think he can play at a higher level than most ILBs.

I guess I worry most about him not fitting into our scheme.  That's a lot of dough for a 3-4 ILB.

Thoughts?

Boyz and I were having this debate a few posts ago, and I didn't want this discussion to get lost in the 'Pacman Shuffle,' becuase I think it's a really interesting topic, and one that is sure to stir-up a lot of interesting debate.

I'm of the opinion that disciplinarians make the best head coaches; I think there's overwhelming evidence to support that.

Part of that evidence--I believe--can be found when looking at past Super Bowl-winning head coaches.

Below is my list of Super Bowl-winning head coaches who--in my view--were disciplinarians.

I'd love to hear everyone's input, cuz I'm sure everyone's list/opinion will be different.

So tear it up, add to it, call it the dumbest thing you've ever seen--but at the very least, let's discuss!

My list of “disciplinarians” that have one Super Bowls:

V. Lombardi (2)
H. Stram
T. Landry (2)
D. Shula (2)
C. Noll (4)
B. Walsh (3)
J. Gibbs (3)
M. Ditka
B. Parcells (2)
Jimmy Johnson (2)
M. Holmgren
M. Shannahan (2)
B. Belicheck (3)
J. Gruden
B. Cowher
T. Coughlin

So in my opinion, that’s 31 Super Bowls wins out of 42 Super Bowls--that's the overwhelming evidence I spoke about above.

I’m sure yours will be much different, so let’s see it!

I Really Liked this guy coming out of Florida.  If I remember correctly , he flashed 4.3 speed at the combine.  I believe he's over 6', too. 

I'm stunned he got released.  I realize he's coming off (I believe) an ACL injury, but there's obviously something more I don't know about. 

Coming out of college, he was sort of like a combination of Austin, Stanback & Hurd: very fast, good hands and decent size.

I sure wouldn't mind the Cowboys taking a look at this guy.  What do you guys think?

From the Niner Insider:

ALLEN TO COWBOYS?: I just got an e-mail to from a league source saying that former 49ers guard Larry Allen is about to sign in Dallas. Interesting.

Another NFL source said he might be signing just to retire as a Cowboy.

Hard to believe, cuz I was just wondering about his availability.  Then I quickly dimissed the thought as I thought it was too far-fetched.

What do you guys think?

From Rotoworld.com:

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that the Cowboys are keeping close tabs on Joe Horn's situation in Atlanta.

Schefter says Horn has become "plan 1A" for Dallas if Terry Glenn doesn't sign his injury waiver and the Cowboys could send Atlanta a late-round pick. There's a pretty good chance that Horn won't make the Falcons, but the Cowboys are ready to win now and would probably part with the pick to get him in their offense as soon as possible. A Horn acquisition would cut heavily into Miles Austin or Sam Hurd's chances of being a fantasy sleeper.

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From the DMN:

Instead of ending the three-day minicamp with an hour-long practice, Phillips made it family day at Valley Ranch.

Players reported for meetings at 11:45 a.m., then had a picnic with family members as the Cowboys concluded their organized on-field workouts before training camp begins next month in Oxnard, Calif.

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From Rotoworld.com:

Free agent Lorenzo Neal is hoping to latch on with either the Cowboys, Steelers, or Broncos.

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Well, count me in the camp for liking the Flozell signing.  No matter how long we think Romo will be around, there's no denying our window to win a SB is at hand; these opportunities are rare and fleeting, and need to be seized.  While not impossible, trying to win a SB with an unproven 3rd- or 4th-round draft pick at LT is  both extremely difficult and risky.  To me, the Romo extension demanded Flo be re-signed.  A literal protection of investment by da JJ.  I'm one of his biggest haters as a GM, but I applaud JJ the owner for this shrewd move.  I gotta think Flo gets WAY more than 15 mil guaranteed on the open market.  

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Thought this was interesting, and might provoke some discussion:

FoxSports.com's John Czarnecki writes that Randy Moss and the Patriots aren't really close on a new contract.

The Czar is known for some off the wall stuff, but this makes enough sense. Patriots reportedly believe that Moss will give them a chance to match any offer. It's uncertain who might go after Moss, but Denver and Dallas have been mentioned.

Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7...

Now there's a WR who could stretch the field for us!

This from ESPN.com:

"Dallas head coach Wade Phillips has been informed that Jason Garrett will turn down head coaching opportunities with the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens and remain as the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys, sources told ESPN's Ed Werder."

Link:  http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/s...

HOPE THIS IS TRUE!!!!

I just read over at Bleed Green (ooooh yeah, I'm enjoying this one to the fullest!) that the deadline to re-sign players to extensions that can be partially counted against this year's salary cap passed as of Monday.  Is this true?  Truth be told, I didn't know that a deadline of this sort existed.

If the above is true, should we read much into the fact that JJ wasn't signed to an extension?  I would think that if Jerry wanted to re-sign him, he would've tried his darndest to do so without other teams' bidding driving the price up.  It's not that I think there'll be a ton of teams bidding for JJ's services, but he is a RB, and an RB who's had some moderate success during his career.

Jerry's usually pretty good about locking up players he wants to remain Cowboys the year before they hit Free Agency, so is this a sign that points toward JJ not being a Cowboy next year?

Who do you guys think the Packers's starting RB will be?  Brandon Jackson or DeShawn Wynn?  It appears Morency is firmly entrenched in his 3rd down role, but doesn't it appear the coaches are still wavering a bit between Jackson and Wynn?

Who do you guys think should be starting.  Personally, I thought Jackson looked awful.  Doesn't appear to have any instincts, while Wynn does seem to have that instinct for running the ball.  I thought he showed good patience on his TD run vs Washington.

Your guys' thoughts?

I didn't know JJ suffered a concussion earlier this year.  Yikes, second one in three weeks?  With the League really cracking down on players playing with concussions, will JJ be able to play this Sunday?  Does the League's new emphasis on protecting concussed players have any affect on coaches' decisions?  Or does it have certain criteria, like: "two concussions in less than a month mean the player must sit at least a week" or something like that?

Life with Wade Phillips begins with Nate Jones and Jacque Reeves...

Wade is such a dumbazz he couldn't even argue successfully for Aaron freakin' Glenn.  Any coach worth his salt could've argued successfully for him...

But of course Wade's just too 'happy to be here' to say a damn word contrary to what Jerry thinks...

This diary should be aimed at Jerry's ego, but Wade's country-bumpkin's ass is just too easy a target...this team's going to hell in a handbasket by Week 4...

DAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We had the talent, just no brains.  

I apologize if this article has been posted before.

I found this to be very interesting, as I had never seen nor heard these statistics before. To me, the numbers are pretty compelling.

This article, written by Nate Ravitz, is from ESPN.com's 'Fantasy' section as part of its "32 Questions" series (one fantasy question about each team) and it posed the following question: "Marion Barber or Julius Jones: Who da man?"

In trying to determine who was the better RB, they first looked at the 'raw' data from '06 (TDs, yards), but then 'looked further' into the numbers and came away with some interesting statistics...

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Anybody else think Spears is a natural fit for the NT position?  To me he just doesn't posess the athletic gifts needed to be a consistent pass rusher in this defense.  

It seems apparent that he will not fend off Hatcher or even Ratliff for time at DE.  Ratliff has proven he can get to the QB in the limited time he's had to prove it and Hatcher is a specimen who's shown loads of ability in his short time as well; Spears has never demonstrated an ability to rush the passer.  So why is it that we keep talking about moving Ratliff to NT?  Why not move the guy who can't rush the passer inside?  We already know he's capable of adding bulk (wink), so size shouldn't be an issue.

I realize playing DE is not solely about rushing the passer, but I don't think Spears has distinguished himself as a marvelous run-stopper either.  I think Hatcher & Ratliff have at least shown equal ability to Spears in that area, while proving to be superior pass-rushers.

Your guys' thoughts?

I hear Denver's DT Gerard Warren is on the trading block.  At 6'4", 325lbs, he would seem to be a good space-eater that would be a good fit for our 3-4, if for no other reason than lack of alternative personnel.

Apparently the Broncos are looking for a draft pick in return.  At this point in Warren's career, I can't imagine that draft pick being any higher than a 5-6th, tops.

Your guys' thoughts?

There must be a way to calculate this...obviously we need to set parameters for what qualifies as a bust, yada, yada, but we should give this a shot.  

If we do decide to pursue this noble enterprise, I guarantee we'll be shocked to see just how common the "Bust" is in the NBA.

Sure, there's busts in every league of every sport, but the NBA seems like it has three busts for every one in, say, the NFL or MLB.

Wow, what must it feel like to be a Bills fan?  You just traded away your franchise RB, just let your shutdown CB go, and just let two defensive stalwarts go in Fletcher-Baker & Spikes.  And on top of that, you've got another year of J.P Losman to look forward to!  

YIKES!

Hmmm, I guess the next time I'm ever feelin' blue about the Boys I'll just jump over to the Bills' blog for a reality check...

Ouch, I just saw that they don't even HAVE an SB Nation-supported blog...it just keeps getting worse...

A couple questions:

Who do you guys THINK will start for the Packers in '07?

Vs.

Choosing between Morency and Herron, would do you guys WANT to be starting for the Packers in '07?

I personally think Morency showed some promise in limited reps last year.  He's really quick, but also undersized.  Fumbling is 'correctable,' so I'm not too worried about that.  What do you guys think?

Do you guys think he should start?  Or do you believe Dunn is still the better player?  Do you think they'll split time?  Or do you think with a new sheriff in town, he says "screw the little guy" and goes with Norwood?  

Just wanted your guys' opinion, becuase I think Norwood should get a chance to start myself, based on what I saw last year.

Don't know if any of you are into the fantasy thing--if not, bail now and save 3 minutes of your life--but I was hoping some of you were and that you could help out a fellow Cowboy fan...

I'm in a keeper league, and I'm thinking of trading Ronnie Brown for MBIII and his owner's 5th round draft pick.

I'm a bit thin in the RB dept. right now, with R. Brown, Chester Taylor, J. Norwoood (Falc) and V. Morency (Pack) currently in the stable.  I can only keep 3 players and I usually only keep RBs.

The keeper implications of this trade would be nice for me and I'll keep it at that cuz it's FAR too complicated to explain.

But I'm obviously more interested in hearing your guys' projections for MB3.  

What do you guys think the chances are of MB3 winning the starting job/majority of carries this year for the the Boys?

Personally, as a Cowboy fan I HOPE TO GOD MB3 wins it, cuz to me it he looks pretty darn talented.  Certainly doesn't 'look the part' as he appears just a bit undersized, but dude gets it done almost each and every time he touches the ball.  He shows the ability to break tackles, make people miss and fight for tough yards, all things you love to see out of RBs.  Add to that a good pair of hands and penchant for pass-blocking, and you've got yourself a quality RB in my opinion.

When we first drafted Julius I used to argue with some Boys fans on the DGMS board (Cowboys m.b.) that to me, JJ wasn't anything more than a 3rd down back, and I still believe that.

To me, whoever wins the job (if there is even a 'job' to be won; could already have been decided to be 50/50) is going to be in line for a big year due to 1) solid OL play, especially now with Davis, one of The Best run-blockers in the industry, 2) mucho goalline ops with this very talented offensive unit, and 3) Boys should be a solid team this year, so the RB should get alotta "eat the clock" time.

But I don't want to let my Boys bias influence me into a bad trade here.  Which is why I wanna hear your guys' opinion.

Once again, the trade is Ronnie Brown for MB3 and his owner's 5th round pick.

Keeper implications are good for me, but will I get more producion from MB3?  

Let me know what you guys think.

Put on the GM hat for a second:

During this upcoming offseason, if you could sign five Free Agents (unrestricted) and draft two players (with consideration to where the Boys are drafting--22nd & 54th overall), who would they be?

Here's what I'd like to see:

FREE AGENTS (06 team)

1. Ken Hamlin, FS  (SEA)
2. Leonard Davis, LT/LG  AZ (this Massive road-grader belongs at LG and I'd put him there, move Kosier to RG & CUT Rivera)
3. Josh Brown, K  (SEA)
4. Andre Gurode, C/G  (DAL)
5. Marc Colombo, RT  (DAL)

1st (22nd) Dwayne Jarrett, WR USC (hey, it's a WISHlist...)

2nd (54th) Josh Beekman, C Boston College

That group seems relatively affordable (the Boys are projected to be approx. 15-18M under) and would properly address some PRESSING needs in my opinion!

Anybody else have a Pick Seven they'd like to see?