I respect Sturm a lot because in addition to being a media type, his writing also has the perspective of a fan. Here, he strongly advocates for Cox at #14:

When you watch all of the defensive line prospects year after year, you quickly are able to eliminate players who do not seem to back up their workouts with game tape. For instance, it is great to hear you can bench press 225 25 or 30 times, but how come you don't look that strong on the field when you are playing? Your quickness is intriguing, but where was it when your team needed it last fall?

That is not the problem with Fletcher Cox. I think of all of the defensive line prospects in this draft, Cox's game film is the most impressive. He demands double teams, and he often splits them. He is a destructive force against the run, seldom being pushed back, but often working his way into the backfield. He beats most single-team match ups. He anchors well against the run and yet gets to the Quarterback with sacks and pressures. 5.5 sacks may not sound like much, but if you watch him on film, there are plenty of plays where he is running at the QB and forcing him into the waiting arms of a team-mate.

Read the whole thing, and tell me you won't be psyched if Cox dons the Star on draft day.

The link goes to Tim McMahon's plan to fix the Cowboys by signing Nicks and drafting Kirkpatrick. I say both unlikely, but whatever.

Anyway, the interesting part was the following quote --

That would eat up a major chunk of the estimated $17 million the Cowboys are expected to have under the salary cap after they take care of housekeeping issues such as cutting Newman.

Does anyone have more information on that particular figure?

From that other fanpost recently (here), a number of folks were convinced the team had $30m to play with.

Fantastic post-game interview of Romo from the NFLN with Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk.

Very candid and open on both sides, and tons of great little details.

Also, interesting to see how Romo and Cowboys value their offensive possessions.

A glimpse into the mind of DeMarcus Ware in the 3 seconds it takes him to get to the QB.

After seeing Romo play at all-world level on Sunday, I thought back to the Thanksgiving game vs the Bucs in 2006.

Romo's 5 TDs

(Edit: link is to NFL videos)

Ok, maybe I overstate, but we had zero fun in free agency. You cannot deny this!

And now, an excerpt:

Is this a quieter, less-spending version of Jerry Jones?

This is a Jerry Jones that has to get his salary cap fixed. I mean, this team has been a financial mess. Like I said, next year they already have $20 million in dead money on the books and the cap doesn’t figure to go over the $120 million it is right now. I wouldn’t expect him to be very active next year either. I think this team has to get younger and has to get it’s cap fixed. And I think you’re going to see a year and a half of rebuilding. I think 2013 is the year you’ll see the Cowboys make their run. Those older guys in Philadelphia will have lost a step. They have to get younger. I think they have to overhaul this offensive line. Next year you could see four guys under the age of 28 on the offensive line. This team has got a salary cap issue and they have to get younger as a result.

Two years of rebuilding! Say it ain't so, Goose, say it ain't so...

Just an A through Z chronicling of the rare kind of scumbag that is Dan Snyder.

There really is no other way to say it -- what a d!ck. Enjoy a small sample...

Market Segments: How Snyder viewed cancer patients and diabetics during his marketing days. In a 2000 interview for a PBS show called CEO Exchange, Snyder told host Jeff Greenfield that his business depended on coming up with "$5 million niches" that he could sell goods and services to. Asked for examples of his methodology, Snyder said, "We were looking at trend lines. We saw that the aging baby boomer demographics were coming on strong. That meant there’s going to be a lot more diabetic patients, a lot more cancer patients, etc. How do we capture those market segments?"

I'm going to let Bob Sturm speak for himself:

COWBOYS ----------------------------------

One thing that will be extremely interesting to see this season is how the Cowboys decide to spend most of their snaps on offense based on personnel groupings. I absolutely think the Cowboys had an effective offense in 2009, but there were certain things it did far better than others.

For instance, there is no question that they were a better power running team than they were a wide open "Shotgun 3-wide" passing attack. And they knew it. Take those final 2 games against Philadelphia in consecutive weeks – 1 to win the division title, and 1 more to advance in the playoffs. In those 2 games to finish the season where the Cowboys offense looked wonderful in 2 blowout victories over the hated Eagles, the Cowboys went 3-wide on exactly 37 of 138 plays (26%). That may sound like quite a bit to you, unless you consider that 101 of 138 plays (74%), the Cowboys had only 1 or 2 WR on the field at the same time.

So, with all of this conjecture in the off season about which WR is #2 (Bryant or Williams?) and which is #3 (Bryant or Williams or Crayton?) you can understand a small amount of consternation from the players involved. They know that last year, when the game was in great doubt, aside from the 2-minute offense, Jason Garrett and the offense preferred power-run looks that had both Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett on the field plowing run paths and setting up play-action passes.

And that simply means that many times, WRs were standing on the sideline watching. Based on the numbers from ProFootballFocus.com we see that of the 1247 snaps that the Cowboys took last season, Jason Witten took 99% of the snaps. Roy Williams 73%, Miles Austin 69% (remember his limited role in the first 4 weeks), Patrick Crayton 50%, Sam Hurd 9%, and Kevin Ogletree 5% of the snaps. Martellus Bennett, whose numbers are very important – because when he is on the field, a WR must step off it – was on the field 46% of the time last year because of his ability to run block (Obviously not his ability to make catches last season). And young blocking TE was out there 19% of the time, demonstrating their love for power football.

Where do you go in 2010? Dez Bryant has everyone so excited with the options and the possibilities. But, in 2009, the bread and butter of the team in base down and distance situations was to only have 2 Wideouts on the field at the same time. Remember, in 2008, the Cowboys had so many weapons and so many possibilities that during the week, we all wondered what aerial attack was going to have the opponent begging for mercy on Sunday. But, when the game arrived, Garrett, Tony Romo, and the gang could not figure out how to use Terrell Owens, Williams, Witten, Crayton, and the gang all together. It just didn’t compute to moving the ball.

So, slowly, the transition to "Romo-Friendly" began. That was code for "more run plays out of more run-based formations". And, it worked. The Cowboys had a progress-filled 2009. They showed that simplifying was the key to their success. Create confusion for the defense about whether the play was a run or a pass. This will allow more room in the secondary.

With Dez Bryant, it appears the idea is to go back to 2008. More WRs on the field. More pass declarations before the snap. More aerial attack! Will it work? They have plenty of work to do.

And now, you can understand why the Cowboys take work in May and June so seriously. I suspect the offense is attempting to figure this riddle out now so it makes sense in September.

Matt Mosely with a generally positive review of the 'Boys. I like this part:

"How dynamic is Felix Jones? I think he's on the verge of becoming one of the most elusive running backs in the league. He almost broke a 94-yard touchdown in the first half. He eluded a defender at the line of scrimmage and then he froze another player before darting into a clearing. (Shades of Tony D. in Minneapolis). The safety made a shoestring tackle on Jones, but it was still an exciting run. He's one of those rare players who can make a run of any distance seem entertaining."