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Greg Ellis No Longer A Dallas Cowboy

So long Greg Ellis. The Dallas Cowboys announced they released DE/OLB Greg Ellis. Both parties wished each other well and good luck in the future. I hope Ellis truly feels blessed to have played for the Cowboys. I honestly say he was a top 10 Defensive end for about his first 6-7 years in the league. His play began to deteriorate the past few years. The switch to outside linebacker probably extended his career. Recently there has been rumor the New England Patriots are interested in signing him to bolster their weak and aging pass rush. 

Mike Zimmer, Cincinnati Bengal's defensive coordinator,  might also want to sign Ellis since Zimmer was Ellis defensive coordinator in Dallas in early part of his career. Former Cowboy's safety Roy Williams signed with the Bengals last month. Lastly, former Cowboy Tank Johnson is a Bengal now as well. Ellis has 1 or 2 more seasons left in him as he is already 34 years old. He can be an effective if not steady pass rusher if used sparingly. 

Anthony Spencer's time has come and coaches feel this is boom or bust for the 3rd year player who rotated time with Ellis last year at the outside linebacker spot opposite DeMarcus Ware. Coach Wade Phillips has been praising Spencer's play recently and also during the last season. Rookies Brandon Williams and Victor Butler now have a good chance of making the team with Ellis' departure. If the Cowboys kept Ellis for one more season then only one of the rookies would have made it. Let's hope this youth movement pans out for the best.

2009 DALLAS COWBOYS DRAFT PICKS

I am giving Jerry Jones the scouting department and coaching staff a " C " for the 2009 draft. It is a very mediocre draft. After waiting almost 6 hours for Jerry Jones to make the first pick, # 51 overall in the second round, Jerry traded out of the 2nd round for extra 3rd and 4th  round picks from the Buffalo Bills. Jerry reasoned they made the trade due to no quality players were available for that spot on their draft board.

Most of the draft  picks Jerry made the second day were  "meh" selections. I haven't heard much about the 12 picks  this offseason, and I know the majority of players who are drafted in the 3rd rounds and beyond are not impact/starting type quality. These players are special teamers or backups for the most part. Jerry mentioned he did not think there were many players in this year's draft who could start immediately for the team. Time and time again he spoke how the Roy Williams trade with Detroit was our first round draft pick. Agreed with him none of the Wide Receivers in this draft would be able to contribute as much as Roy could now. Wide receivers in general have to have a few years under their belts to be successful in the NFL. With that being said, even though I believe in  Roy Williams, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, and Sam Hurd, I would have liked Jerry to pick  Juan Iglesias from Oklahoma  or even Louis Murphy from Florida to develop. 

Here is the newest Dallas Cowboys draft crop : 

l  Jason Williams (OLB) 

Round: 3
Pick (Overall): 5 (69)

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 241

College: Western Illinois

Conference: Gateway

Hometown: Chicago, IL

High School: DuSable 

My take : Jason Williams might play ILB  and has good speed and a Kevin Burnett type of player.  Most pundits said this pick was a reach and Williams was projected as a free agent. 

 

Round: 3
Pick (Overall): 11 (75)

Robert Brewster (OT) Height: 6'4" Weight: 325 College: Ball State Conference: Mid-American Hometown: Cincinnati, OH High School: Wyoming View Combine Page >> Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 5.24 seconds Bench Press : 23.0 reps Vertical Jump : 30.5 inches Broad Jump : 98.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.68 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.75 seconds My take : a decent pick as we need solid back ups for offensive line he can play guard or tackle. Montrae Holland may be on his way out. Stephen McGee (QB) Selected  Round: 4 Pick (Overall): 1 (101) Height: 6'3" Weight: 225 College: Texas A&M Conference: Big 12 Hometown: Burnet, TX High School: Burnet Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 4.66 seconds Vertical Jump : 33.0 inches Broad Jump : 112.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.34 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.49 seconds My take : Mcgee was a reach as well. Decent arm strength but appears to be a career back up. Round: 4 Pick (Overall): 10 (110)Victor Butler (DE) Height: 6'2" Weight: 248 College: Oregon State Conference: Pac 10 Hometown: Rialto, CA High School: Eisenhower Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 4.84 seconds Bench Press : 24.0 reps Vertical Jump : 33.0 inches Broad Jump : 113.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.21 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.4 seconds My take : will be an average NFL linebacker, a career special teams player.  Brandon Williams (DE) Height: 6'5" Weight: 252 College: Texas Tech Conference: Big 12 Hometown: Fort Worth, TX High School: South Hills Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 5.0 seconds Vertical Jump : 33.0 inches Broad Jump : 112.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.23 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.49 seconds My take : This is the only pick that makes me happy. Williams led the Big 12 with 13 sacks and forsee him in the defensive line rotation. Excellent upside. DeAngelo Smith (CB)   Round: 5 Pick (Overall): 7 (143) Height: 5'11" Weight: 194 College: Cincinnati Conference: Big East Hometown: Columbus, OH High School: Independence Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 4.57 seconds Bench Press : 17.0 reps Vertical Jump : 31.5 inches Broad Jump : 109.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.29 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.36 seconds My take : most likely will play safety for us. Wait and see type of player. Michael Hamlin (FS) Height: 6'2" Weight: 214 College: Clemson Conference: ACC Hometown: Lamar, SC High School: Lamar View Combine Page >> Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 4.62 seconds Bench Press : 17.0 reps Vertical Jump : 37.5 inches Broad Jump : 117.0 inches 3 Cone Drill : 7.17 seconds 20 Yard Shuttle : 4.42 seconds Round: 5 Pick (Overall): 30 (166) My take : an average Free Safety. Round: 5 David Buehler (K) Height: 6'2" Weight: 227 College: Southern Cal Conference: Pac 10 Hometown: Anaheim, CA High School: Canyon View Combine Page >> Combine Results: 40 Yard Dash : 4.62 seconds Bench Press : 25.0 reps My take : Why take a kicker this high? Current kicker Nick Folk is one of the best in the league as he made 91% of his field goal attempts. Wasted a pick. The next few picks might not make the 2009 Roster : Round 6, Pick 24 (197) (From Dolphins) Stephen Hodge SS 6'0" 234 TCU Pick Analysis:Hodge is a special teams ace. He played safety at TCU and he will be a backup on defense. Still, he helps Dallas in the kicking game and continues the trend of the team trying to fortify what was a weakness last year in special teams. Round 6, Pick 35 (208) (Compensatory selection) John Phillips TE 6'5" 251 Virginia Pick Analysis:Phillips is a good blocking tight end, who has had some injuries. He'll always be a third tight end, but he'll be good there. He won't get a lot of reps as the backup, but he's smart and will make the team as a solid role player. He will replace Tony Curtis, who left the Cowboys and signed with the Chiefs.* via nfl.com

Jerry Jones : Lord of 3 Rings

    

How I wish I had a time machine and could swap the 1989 version of Jerry Jones with the current day one. I remember how the kind of fresh faced  brand spanking new Arkansas Billionaire Oilman, Jerry Jones, acted as THE owner of THE DALLAS COWBOYS. He was in hog heaven so to speak. He was an eager rookie owner still naive about the National Football League.  Don't get me wrong, Jerry Jones did not become the man he is today being naive. His sales, marketing, and overall business management acumen is second to none in the NFL. He has furthered the Dallas Cowboys' lore as America's team more than any other past owner. At times I suppose  executives at ESPN   should have considered renaming  the network to "The Dallas Cowboys Network". During this soap opera of a season, the lead- in news story 10 times out of 10 would revolve around the daily goings on at Valley Ranch in Dallas no matter how mundane the "news" actually was. 

Back in the good old days Jerry let Jimmy Johnson make the important personnel decisions such as trading the Cowboys' lone commodity, Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings for some  serviceable players and a gazillion  draft picks. Of course those players who Jimmy drafted like Emmitt Smith and Strong Safety Darren Woodson helped put 3 Super Bowl rings on Jerry Jones' fingers. Sadly, I propose the current version of Jerry Jones would not even consider relinquishing his duties as General Manager. Albeit, Jerry does not possess the skills Jimmy Johnson has a talent evaluator.  3 Super Bowl victories in 4 years  came so soon and so easy to Jerry his ego told him he could be just as good as Jimmy and most likely caused Jerry to jettison Jimmy. Jerry's draft picks such as Quincy Carter or Kareem Lattimore et al were complete busts and are no longer playing  in the NFL ( I do not include Terrence Newman, Demarcus Ware, Tony Romo, Marion Barber as these players were chosen with Bill Parcells). Contrarily, Jimmy's picks like Emmitt, Darren, and Larry Allen are headed to the NFL Hall of Fame.  

For The Dallas Cowboys to be Super Bowl Champions again, Jerry Jones and his Texas sized ego need to step aside and bring in a proven General Manager, perhaps Scott Pioli of the New England Patriots, and sit back relax and decide what fingers to wear the next Super Bowl rings on. Until that miraculous day comes,  and Jerry continues to be hands on and greedy, he just might end up like the creepy creature Gollum from the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy. I can envision Jerry standing in empty bowels of his enormous new stadium all alone looking up thru the hole in the roof dreaming of his precious rings.

Top 10 Dallas Cowboys New Year's Resolutions For 2009

10. Flozell Adams restructures his contract so we can sign a top notch OL Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) like Jordan Gross from the Carolina Panthers.

9. Find a trade partner for Roy Williams (safety) - possibly a trade with the Oakland Raiders for Nmandi Ashoumaga or Oakland Safety Michael Huff

8. Make a play for  possible  UFA WR TJ Houshmanzadeh he's 31 years old but will be 4 years younger than T.O next season

7. Offer Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton in trade for Arizona WR Anquan Boldin

6. Sign UFA QBs Kyle Boller, Chris Simms, or Vince Young to back up Tony Romo

5. Draft a solid Offensive lineman early rounds. Guards Kyle Kosier and Montrae Holland are injury prone

and we have mediocre depth.

4. Say goodbye to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and bring in Bill Billick. Also ditto with Def Coordinator Brian Stewart bring in possibly Dick Jauron from Buffalo if he is available.

3. Light a bonfire under Wade Phillips' ass to get rid of his "aw-shucks" personality and make the players accountable for their actions.

2. Tony Romo dumps Jessica Simpson or vice versa

1. Do whatever it takes ( Offer the Dallas  Cowboys Cheerleaders ) to bring Bill Cowher to lead this Team!

Its Do or Die Time for Dallas Cowboys, Romo

December 26, 2008

Head Coach on the Hot Seat? Check.

Top flight Wide Receivers? Check.

Elite Tight End? Check.

Change - up style Running Backs? Check.

Big Offensive Line ? Check.

Aggressive, Pressure Defense ? Check.

Confident QB? Jury's still out.

  

Almost all of the pieces are in place for the Dallas Cowboys to make a deep run in the playoffs, but in order for America's team to thrill fans across the nation, they need to take care of business in Philly. I mean Romo and the Boys not only need to prove they belong in the playoffs to all the naysayers out there, but they need to prove it to themselves most of all. They truly need to do  a beat down on the Eagles. They need to get their minds right and enter " The Link" frothing at the mouth and view their opponent as one big fat and juicy rotisserie chicken whilst imagining themselves as just having returned from a deserted island hungry as hell.

We have heard some players saying " We got our swagger back," soon after they defeated their most hated rivals the Washington Redskins on the road. Me, I don't subscribe to their opinions of themselves not quite yet anyway. Sure, the Defense has played superbly for the most part against top teams Steelers, Giants, and Ravens but not for a full 60 minutes. Oh how the tired cliche of "playing for 60 minutes" gets played to death but it does ring true. If the Dallas Cowboys defense could have tackled better the last few minutes of last Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, perhaps Tony Romo could have kept the momentum in Dallas' favor to lead them to a come from behind win reminiscent of Roger Staubach. Romo, T.O, Witten, Barber et al must know that points are going to be few and far between against the NFL's 3rd ranked Defense. Thankfully already having gone through the gauntlet of Giants, Steelers, and Ravens, Romo and the  offense will be supremely prepared to play better.

Tony Romo  will either be vilifyied by diehard Cowboys fans as the quarterback who " couldn't win the big one,"  if he fails to lead the Cowboys to a victory  or as "America's QB" and be hoisted upon his teammates shoulders on the way to the playoffs. Everyone knows too much credit and attention goes to quarterbacks not mater if they win or loose. Quarterback is the most scrutizined position in all of sport and with Tony Romo being the Quarterback of Americas' Team all eyes will be on him like laser beams watching his every throw- touchdown, incompletion, or god forbid interception.Romo can either be remembered with the greats like Staubach and Troy Aikman or the not so greats like Danny White or Clint Longley. 

Prediction Cowboys 13- Eagles -6. Next Stop Playoffs.