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Once again the Cowboys started out lethargic in the first half, but thanks to some terrific plays with his legs by QB Tony Romo, they got things going late in the second quarter.  After a snap from the shotgun formation went well over his head on a third and three play, Romo mangaged to pick up the ball on his own 9-yard line and scamper 37-yards to make the first down and keep the drive going.  Then on a third and three from the Rams fifteen, he scrambled in for the touchdown to give the Cowboys a 14-7 half-time lead.

The depleted Rams offense wasn’t able to get much going against the Cowboy defense either, and the biggest play of the game for them came on a Dante Hall 85-yard punt return for a touchdown mid-way through the second quarter.  DeMarcus Ware had a sack on Marc Bulger in the first quarter and put tremendous pressure on the Rams QB all day and Gregg Ellis had his first sack of the year in the third quarter followed by a 1/2 sack along with Marcus Spears.  Bulger was visibly favoring his ribs and shoulder for almost the entire game and left late in the fourth quarter handing over the reigns to Gus Frerotte. 

But the Cowboys exploded for 21 points in the third quarter on two touchdown passes to WR Patrick Crayton and one to TE Jason Witten to seal the victory and once again putting up 35 points.  The resemblances of QB Tony Romo’s play to that of Roger Staubach are going to start mounting up again as he made play after play on the move against an impressive Rams defense.  But the second touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton was nothing but spectacular as he stood in a well-protected pocket and threw a perfect strike to Crayton who had beaten his man down the sideline.   

As usual, the Cowboys were able to control the ball with the running game for most of the fourth quarter as the Rams were unable to mount any type of a comeback.  The 4-0 start is the first one for the Cowboys since they won the Super Bowl in the 95-96 season.  It would be hard to imagine them not playing deep into the playoffs this season if they can continue the momentum they have developed so far this year. 

Greg Ellis practiced on Wednesday more than he has since having surgery to repair his torn Achilles leaving head coach Wade Phillips to say there is at least an outside chance he could play Sunday against St. Louis.   A far cry from last week when Ellis didn’t practice at all and was ruled out for Chicago early in the week. Phillips seemed much more optimistic about Ellis’ return than he has all season since the first day of training camp when Ellis withdrew from practice after experiencing pain in his heel.  He was later diagnosed with bursitis .

“He did quite a bit more,” Phillips said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

Ellis participated in individual drills, some scout team and a little of the pass rush period. The most he had done previously was participate in all the individual drills.  This is certaily a positive step in the right direction for Ellis, a 10-year veteran who hasn’t played any football or fully practiced since suffering the torn Achilles Nov. 12 against Arizona.

“He’s done a lot of rehab stuff and not had a lot of setbacks,” Phillips said of Ellis, who stepped out of the first training camp practice after feeling some pain in his foot following the first set of individual drills.

“He seems to be better and is more confident now. We’ll see how he feels and see how he does tomorrow. He went harder today. He took on blocks and was a blocker some.”

When asked if there was a chance Ellis might play on Sunday, Phillips stated, “What I saw today, there is some outside shot.”

If Ellis were to play as early as this week, it would be similar to how Terrence Newman is making a gradual come-back to action.  Ellis could see some action in the nickel package or as a defensive lineman on obvious passing downs to apply some pressure, but most likely would have limited playing-time.  

Martin Grammatica was released from the injured reserve list on Tuesday officially giving the job to rookie kicker Nick Folk.  He was placed on the list during preseason injuring his hamstring in the game against the Texans.  Grammatica was signed late last year after a disappointing Mike Vanderjagt was released and made six of eight field goals in five games, the most memorable being the winning field goal against the Giants that saved their chances to make the playoffs.

 The veteran kicker was released without an injury settlement and can sign with any other NFL team, however he isn’t eligible to be re-signed by the Cowboys for 10-weeks due to being placed on their injured reserve list. 

In other news, CB Anthony Henry was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts Sunday night against the Bears.  Henry had two interceptions returning the second one 28-yards for a touchdown giving the Cowboys a commanding 27-10 lead they would never relinquish.  Henry also deflected four passes and had four tackles in the game.  He now leads the NFL with four interceptions giving him 26 in his career and six multi-interception games.   He also shares an elite Cowboys record with the great Everson Walls of making two interceptions in back-to-back games.

In all three of Dallas’ victories this season, Marion Barber and the O-line of the Cowboys have provided the final dagger to solidify wins.  In the NFL, that’s the way to win and if they can continue on this path, there’s a lot more victories down the road.

Last night, although early on in the game the running game was struggling, the story was the same.  Barber came in late in the fourth quarter and pounded out 80+ yards on the ground and scored a rushing touchdown that virtually ended the game for the Bears.  He may not be the “starting” running back, but he certainly is the “finishing” one.  Julius Jones was only credited with 26-yards on 7 carries, but had several good gains called back on penalties.  He left the game in the fourth quarter after Brian Urlacher and Abilene’s own Danieal Manning laid crushing hits on him just short of the goal-line after a 22-yard scamper, but the play was called back on yet another Dallas penalty.  He should be fine as reports are Jones was just knocked a little woozy on the play.

The dual-back running game is working, but I believe it could be tweaked somewhat to more of a role-playing style like last season.  Instead of using Jones exclusively for the first series of downs, and then Barber the next, go back to a more liberal substitution that the defense cannot plan for in advance.  If you know that you are going to face a runner like Barber for four downs, you can situate your defensive players and schemes to defend it, likewise if you know it will be Jones for the first four downs of the game.    Mixing it up a bit might just give defenses even more trouble stopping the two. 

As for the offensive line, they must have graded out at close to 100% across the board Sunday night.  Tony Romo was given ample time the majority of the game to make throws downfield and they wore down a tough Bears’ D-line to the point they could run the ball and control the game late in the fourth quarter.  Flozell Adams had only one false start and a questionable holding call against him and protected Romo’s blindside all night.  Newly acquired G Leonard Davis made some great blocks also, as did the entire line. Then there’s the play by OL Pat McQuistan chasing down Chicago’s Adam Archuleta after the blocked field goal when it appeared he might return the ball all the way to the Cowboys’ endzone!

Enough can’t be said for the physical play of the offensive line and the entire team at this point.  In Week 1 against the Giants, several key players for New York were injured during the game.  Week 2 saw not as many game-time injuries to the Dolphins, but tough LB Zach Thomas was unable to practice most of the next week due to a mild concussion suffered sometime against the Cowboys.  I happen to think it occurred when he had a head-on collision with Marion Barber late in the game, I mean let’s face it, Barber runs tough.  Last night was not much different as several Bears’ players were forced to leave the game.  Key players such as Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs were banged up by the physical play of the Cowboys.

I know it’s still early in the season, I also know that the Cowboys last 3-0 start was in 1999 and they failed to make the playoffs that year.  But if they can keep their offensive line healthy and both RB’s in relatively good condition, there’s no telling how far they can go this year.

It’s starting to become the standard for the Dallas Cowboys, playing either poorly or with little motivation in the first halves of games and then exploding for points in the second.  Sunday night in Chicago was no different, after a penalty-laden first half and a dropped touchdown pass, they headed into the locker room tied at 3 with the Bears. 

Opening the second half, the offense and Tony Romo found its rythm and drove 89-yards capped by a 3-yard TD pass to Jason Witten giving them a quick 10-3 lead.  The Bears responded with a long touchdown drive of their own sparked by a nice 12-yard scramble by Rex Grossman on a third and ten from his own 13-yard line.  But after exchanging punts, the Cowboys mounted another long drive which again ended with a touchdown, this time on an 10-yard pass to Marion Barber, who broke a tackle by Chicago’s Adam Archuleta at the five-yard line to go in for the score.  The Cowboys dominated time of possession in the third quarter and scored 14 points. 

The Dallas defense also came up big in the second half, getting three turnovers that all led to points.  The first was just before the start of the fourth quarter when they forced Chicago’s Cedric Benson to fumble while struggling for yardage and recovered the ball deep in Bears’ territory.  They could only manage a field goal, thanks to some untimely penalties but expanded their lead to 20-10.  Anthony Henry then got his second interception of the game on the Bears’ next possession and returned it 28-yards all the way to the endzone for a quick 27-10 advantage.  The Dallas defense was tough on Rex Grossman all night, forcing three interceptions during the game and sacking him three times.  Rookie LB Anthony Spencer recorded his first sack in the fourth quarter and LB DeMarcus Ware had two on Grossman, both in the second quarter.  Roy Williams got the third and final interception late in the fourth that really iced the game for the visiting Cowboys.

Once again, Marion Barber led all rushers with 102 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns as Julius Jones left the game early in the fourth quarter after a long run that got him inside the Bears’ five-yard line, but was called back on a somewhat suspect holding penalty on LT Flozell Adams.  No report was made on his status, but he didn’t return and Barber carried the load of the Dallas rushing attack until late in the game.  Barber busted through the Bears’ defensive line for a 54-yard gain late in the fourth quarter that set up his second touchdown of the game from one yard out.  The punt and kick return teams did a great job also of containing the Bears’ Devin Hester.

Late in the third quarter, after Grossman’s second interception, cries of “Griese, Griese” were eminating from the most of the fans still in Soldier Field. 

When asked after the game of what he thought this game meant for the Cowboys, Terrell Owens stated, “… we made a statement here tonight.”  He also spoke of how great the team performed in the second half and that they just needed to work on doing better in the first half, but overall “…..mission accomplished.”   T. O. was awarded “horse-trailer” player of the game by NBC’s John Madden and Al Michaels for his 145-yard receiving effort on eight tough catches that were mostly over the middle and for critical first downs.

Tony Romo was a little less enthusiastic, only saying that he thought they had a great team and he was ”…lucky to be in such a good situation.”   He finished the game  22-of-35 for 329 yards and two touchdowns with one interception which occurred early in the first quarter on a deflected pass off the hands of Patrick Crayton and into the arms of S Adam Archuleta.  As usual, he made alot of plays with his legs as he scrambled away from Bears’ defenders to make some good throws, mostly to Owens, to extend drives. 

Tony Romo and the high-powered Dallas offense, led by new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, face one of their toughest challenges of the season in Week 3 heading into Soldier Field this Sunday.   If they can manage to crack a little bit of daylight with the running game against the stingiest defense in the league, they should come out with a victory.

The Bears have the best rushing defense in the league, no doubt, and have held two good running teams to basically nothing in the first two weeks.  But they have only come out with one victory as a result, due mostly to a lack of offense in either game.  The key this week for Dallas, and likewise for Chicago, will be if Dallas can at least muster enough of a running game to make the play-action pass effective.  Romo is certainly at his best in situations where he can buy some time after a good fake to either Julius Jones or Marion Barber. 

The Cowboys have the edge in  turnover-ratio so far this season and with the return of CB Terrence Newman, the defense can certainly continue improving against the pass.   Last week against Miami, the defense did get significant pressure on Trent Green, which led to many of their turnovers, and if they can duplicate this against a rather shaky Rex Grossman, turnovers will be key once again.  DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James will be huge players in this aspect as the Cowboys will move Ware around to prevent the constant double-teams which should free-up James or someone else.   It is certainly unfortunate for us fans that recently signed DT Tank Johnson isn’t available for action in this game which would certainly elevate some of the emotional factors. 

One extremely important element of this match-up will be the kicking game.  Rookie K Nick Folk and P Matt McBriar must do their best to keep the ball away from the Bears’ most productive offensive weapon, KR/WR Devin Hester.  He has proven to be the most constant performer in a somewhat lackluster Bears offense.  Then their is the fact that this game will most likely come down to a last-second field goal by either team.  I give this edge to Folk, who has proven he has the leg-strength and nerve to make a long field-goal.  I know that on the other side they have Robbie Gould, who won many a game for the Bears last season, but the difference will be he doesn’t have Martin Grammatica waiting in the wings to take his job.  Of course should Folk prove to be the winning difference this week, Grammatica will more than likely be looking for work elsewhere.

I have to throw in my hat with most of the NFL commentators on this one and predict the Cowboys in a close one, 16-13.  And as a bonus to all my readers, my upset pick of the week is Houston over Indianapolis, 37-27, even without Andre Johnson.

So now that Dallas and Jerry Jones have signed Terry “Tank” Johnson, let’s analyze the possibilites of the agreement, shall we? 

Johnson signed a two-year $860,000 non-guaranteed contract with the Cowboys on Tuesday after passing his physical.  He will only make $255,000 this year, a pro-rated portion of the league’s minimum salary.   Right now he isn’t eligible to play until Nov. 11, however every indication is that he will appeal his 8-game suspension and possibly get it reduced to a lower number, possibly six games, which is the most likely scenario.  This could make him become available as early as Oct. 21 at home against the Vikings. 

That’s one possibility, the other is he gets no reduction to his suspension and has to wait until the bye week to physically practice with the team and then potentially make his debut  versus the Giants.  The salary issue is practically non-existent, at least for this year, so it is very low-risk for the Cowboys.  The undisclosed incentives in the contract make it very high-reward also, should Johnson fulfill his promises and become an elite defensive player again.

The only other possiblility at this point is Johnson somehow getting himself into trouble again before the suspension ends, whether six or eight games, and getting cut again.  As for that contingency, Jerry Jones has already taken steps.  He has contacted the league office for permission to have Johnson visit with Calvin Hill of the team’s player assistance staff and general counselor.  Jones has basically done his homework and researched every aspect of this prior to making any offers, including meetings between Johnson and Coach Wade Phillips.

“I talked to him and he said all the right things,” Phillips stated.  He believes him to be sincere in his desire to get his career back and his life in order.  As for Johnson himself, he unequivocally says, “I know that I’m not a risk.  I’m a highly intelligent person and I take pride in a lot of things I do in life.  Just like any other human being, I’m going to make mistakes and I’ve made mistakes.  As far as the risk goes, I’m coming to Dallas to be a productive defensive lineman and to solidify what Jerry Jones thinks of me.”

Other than the obvious low financial concerns, Johnson is still considered a young talent, at 25, he has a lot of potential ahead of him if he can hurdle some of the early roadblocks he has encountered.  As for the rest of the team, everyone seems more than willing to welcome Johnson into the fold. 

“We’re going to welcome him just like guys welcomed me, regardless of his off-field problems or whatnot,” Terrell Owens said.

“The thing you have to understand is when you come in here, we kind of take you in,” states Tony Romo.  ”Once you’re a part of the team, you’re a part of the team. I’m sure everyone has skeletons in the closet. Some people just find out about some. From everything I hear, Tank is a good guy. His teammates liked him up in Chicago. I’m sure we’ll like him just fine.”

Though the risks appear low for the Cowboys, Johnson must now do what he says and back everything up or he will find little opportunities should he fail in Dallas.  So all the pressure is squarely on his shoulders to turn things around and become the valuable defensive asset he once was in Chicago.

It seems the Cowboys are more concerned with shoring up their defensive line than taking a chance on Tank Johnson getting into more legal trouble.  Johnson was seen in the hotel the Cowboys stay in before home games and talked about serious and lenghty negotiations with Jerry Jones.   Of course the Cowboys can sign him, but he isn’t allowed to practice or have any physical contact with the team until he completes his 8-game NFL suspension. 

“I’m here to work some things out. I’m looking here for a fresh start,” Johnson said of the possible deal with Dallas.  He also stated that he didn’t blame the Bears organization for releasing him.

Johnson was released by the Chicago Bears in June of this year shortly after being arrested in Arizona for speeding and violation of a probated gun sentence for which he served 18 months in jail during the off-season.  

Although not a nose tackle for Chicago, he was part of a very tough defensive front four during his three years in Chicago.  Drafted in ‘04 in the second round by the Bears, he had 9 sacks and 63 career tackles with 52 of them solo.    Dallas lost their starting NT Jason Ferguson to injury in the first game of the season and have been using Jay Ratliff, a reserve DT and recently re-signed NT Remi Ayodele.  Johnson is expected at Valley Ranch sometime today for a physical and could be signed this week, if everything is worked out. 

Miami head coach Cam Cameron, the former offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, will now be looking at his former coaching partner from the other sidelines on Sunday when the Cowboys come to play the Dolphins.  For the last three years, Wade Phillips and he were main elements in a team that went to the AFC Championship game.  Phillips was the defensive coordinator and Cameron the offensive coordinator on a very good Chargers team, of course if you have a player like LaDanian Tomlinson, it wouldn’t be that terribly difficult to be the offensive coordinator.

So the coaching match-up this Sunday will be extremely important for both teams, especially with both having lost key defensive players in Week 1.  To say that both coaches are very familiar with the other’s style of play is to certainly state-the-obvious, but the question will be who is able to game-plan for that better than the other.  This could be a very early indicator of just how good Coach Phillips can be as a head coach in the NFL.  Add to that the fact that Jason Garrett served as the Dophins QB coach for the last 2 seasons, and it certainly seems to give an advantage to the Cowboys.

As for the performances of each team last week, the Dophins allowed the Redskins more yardage in one game than any team all last season with 400, 191 yards of it rushing, but only 16 points.  However they still have some great defensive players in LB Zach Thomas and DE Jason Taylor.   Of course the Cowboys gave up 478 total yards to the Giants and 35 points,  but the offenses don’t compare, and that’s the best chance the Cowboys will have to win for now with such a beat up defense.  If the Cowboys can keep Jason Taylor out of their backfield somewhat and give Romo time to throw, he should have another good game and lead them to victory.

Prediction:  Cowboys 24, Dophins 17. 

Hold on  a minute, I think there’s been another touchdown pass thrown in the Sunday Night game between the Giants and Cowboys.  Not really, but both teams set a new record for points scored in their history of playing each other with a total of 80.  The previous record had been 74, a 38-35 Cowboys victory. 

Both Tony Romo and Eli Manning had career nights, Romo throwing for 345 yards and 4 touchdowns and rushing for a touchdown and Manning accumulating 312 yards and 4 touchdown passes, with 3 to WR Plaxico Burress.  The Giants running game did well also, with Derrick Ward getting 89 yards on 13 carries in relief of an injured Brandon Jacobs.  The Cowboys rushing game, not to be outmatched, acquired 142 yards with Julius Jones having 66 on 16 carries and Marion Barber with 65 on 11 rushes.  Barber scored the only other rushing touchdown on a brilliant 4th-down and one carry for 18 yards that ended with a leap just inside the corner of the endzone. 

Both QB’s had one interception and both led to a touchdown for the opposing team, with Romo’s coming late in the 4th quarter and setting up that last touchdown pass from Manning to Burress.  But he responded with his own touchdown pass of 51-yards to WR Sam Hurd which sealed the victory in what proved to be a shoot-out with the Giants.

“I thought our team answered the question on if they can play under adversity when things aren’t going well,” Coach Phillips stated. “We certainly made too many mistakes, but we overcame those mistakes. So that is what I look for.”  

Injuries played a big part in the game with both teams suffering season-ending losses of key players.  Cowboys nose tackle Jason Ferguson experienced torn biceps early in the game and former DT Jay Ratliff completed the rest of the game in the position.  This will probably require the Cowboys to re-sign NT Remi Ayodele, who was recently released by the Falcons who had picked him up from waivers after the Cowboys released him last week. 

“We know we can’t give up 35 points every game and expect to win,” Phillips also said. “But we scored more than they did. You have to play well enough to win the game and we did that. All I know is that we were up 10 points with two minutes left and we were kneeling the ball.”

As for the play of Tony Romo, he silenced all critics and proved that he is truly one of the key players on an offense that may have to carry the load for this Cowboys team, at least early in the season. 

“We kept putting the ball down the field and (Garrett) kept trusting me with that,” Romo said. “I thought the guys did a good job of making plays. It’s not always going to go smooth. You have to deal with (it), but the great thing was that we came right back.”

Hey Cowboys fans, just a quick lowdown after the game with a more detailed analysis to follow tomorrow.  Tony Romo had a spectacular game with 345 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 TD rushing and was named “horse trailer” player of the game by John Madden.  However, there are some issues with the defense, which allowed a banged-up Giants team to score 35 points.  Some untimely turnovers helped them out, but it appears that the loss of Terrence Newman and Greg Ellis is more of a factor than anticipated.  Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress hooked-up for three touchdowns that were basically “at will” throws-and-catches.  The Cowboys secondary was porous all night, but Jacques Reeves did come up with one interception that led to a Dallas score late in the second quarter.   He gave way too much cushion to Burress all night giving the big receiver any route he wanted and Manning was able to take advantage all night until he got injured and left the game late in the fourth quarter. 

A win is a win, but you have to be concerned about a defense that can give up ten points in less than two minutes at a critical stage of the game.  After playing so well in the preseason and having the expectations that a ”Wade Phillips” defense has, it was a bit of a shocker to most Cowboys fans to have the game end as close as it did.    

Terry Glenn reinjured his recently repaired right knee Wednesday during practice and the swelling was enough to sideline him from Thursday’s workout.  Sources say the injury isn’t related to the surgery he just had to remove a cyst from behind the knee, but is enough to keep him out of the lineup for at least one game.

This leaves WR Patrick Crayton to at least be the starter on Sunday, which will greatly impede upon the deep threat of the Cowboys.  Owens and Glenn has been one of the best receiver tandems in the NFL for the last two years.  Crayton is a good receiver, but not quite the deep threat Glenn has been, going over 1,000 yards in receptions for the last two seasons with 13 touchdowns. 

“We’re preparing for a game, and we’ve got to go forward with that,” Phillips said of the Glenn situation. “I hope all the guys play, but I have to be realistic. If they’re not going to play, we’ve got other guys.”

On the better side of the injury status, it appears Terrence Newman has been elevated to a “gametime decision” for Sunday.  Thursday, Newman did some rehab and worked on his backpedaling and cutting.

“I want to see him go full speed, but I guess you’ve got an hour and 30 minutes before the game,” Phillips said. “If he can go, he can play, but we’ll have to see.”

Newman is trying to recover from a torn planter fascia in his foot which occurred during preseason. 

Terrell Owens finally came out of his shell on Wednesday and gave reporters his opinion on topics from how the Cowboys will fair this season to dogfighting and everything in between.  It’s no secret that T.O. has been in high spirits for a while and has done very little to create a stir either in camp or preseason, but he will inevitably take the opportunity to clear the air at some point.

With the departure of Bill Parcells in the off-season and hiring of Wade Phillips, Owens has been extremely cooperative and openly optimistic with the change.  Of course a $3 millon signing bonus doesn’t hurt matters either, but there is no denying things are looking up in his book. 

“Any time you can go into a season without any legitimate distractions…yeah, you’re going to go out there and play free, you’re just going to have an overall better feeling about yourself,” Owens stated.

This year’s start was a far cry from the drama of last season, when early injuries,  the prescription pill incident, and a broken finger suffered early in the season caused things to go “stale” as Owens put it.  Owens made it a point to also highlight the fact that his problems have never been about illegal actions, even joking with reporters that they don’t give him “enough credit” for that.  He gave most of the reason for this as , “….a credit to the way my family raised me.  I know right from wrong just as well as other guys.  I just tend (to) not put myself in situations where things may come up.” 

Last year, his motto at the start of the season was “get your popcorn ready”, while this year’s is “butter the popcorn.”  So lets get to some of the topics and questions covered in the interview:

Donovan McNabb - ”Donovan is a good guy.  I did what I had to do when I saw Donovan.  I apoligized.  He is a good friend.   I do regret some of the things that happened.  If I could go back and change some things, then I would.  He was very receptive to the apology and we have moved on from that.”

Dogfighting:  “Being from the South, that’s something that’s very prevalent in that area,” he said, and went so far as admitting to attending one when he was younger.  “I don’t condone Michael Vick’s actions with the dogfighting.  I think he’ll learn from this situation and move on from it.”

Bill Parcells:  “Anything regarding Bill Parcells is not a non-issue, it’s a dead issue. D-e-a-d, dead.”

Last Season’s Results:  “I really felt like I let this team down.”

Predictions for this Year:  “I am expecting an explosive year.  I feel very confident in going on record now saying we are going to make the playoffs.  We are going to win some playoff games.”

Not Making the Pro Bowl Last Year:  “I know my statistics should have put me there.  For whatever reason, I didn’t make it. … I get the respect once I get on the football field.  When I step on that field, I know that by the way defenses play me.”

Recent Decline in Making Headlines:  “I haven’t made a point to be more quiet.  I’m more focused because of some of the things that happened last year.  I didn’t want to be a distraction then and I don’t want to be a distraction now.”

More on Dogfighting:  “When I say it’s a cultural situation, I’m not trying to bring a racial barrier into it.  If anyone wants to dig that up, I will dispel that.  I’ve been exposed to it and it’s something that’s very unfortunate for Mike.”

He ended the interview quoting from the plastice wrist band he has been wearing for some time which has the same verse as a plaque at his home for troubled youths, which reads,  Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and be of good courage and do not be afraid nor dismayed.”

This was the first of what will probably be many lengthy locker room interviews for Owens and hopefully, none will turn out to be too much of a distraction from what is actually taking place on the football field.

Terrence Newman still didn’t practice with the team on Monday and the Cowboys picked up defensive back Evan Oglesby off waivers on Sunday.  Oglesby is a two-year veteran of the Baltimore Ravens where he played both cornerback and safety.  Originally an undrafted rookie out of North Alabama, he was signed to the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad in 2005,  then signing with Baltimore later in the season.  He played the entire 2006 season with the Ravens and recorded 10 tackles and one pass defended in the 2007 preseason.

To make room on the roster for him, as well as LB Justin Rogers who was also picked up from waivers on Sunday,  CB Alan Ball and S Abram Elam were released.  Ball was then signed to the practice squad on Monday.

With Newman’s status still uncertain for Sunday’s opener against the Giants, it appears that fourth-year player Jacques Reeves will be the probable starter and the third CB on the roster for the season.  Unless newly acquired Oglesby can prove himself this week as a viable option, the Cowboys will have to go with Reeves as they lost the option of  reacquiring veteran Aaron Glenn who was signed off waivers Sunday by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Other than the glaring question of who will be the starting CB come Sunday, the team did finalize its practice squad with the signings of  TE Rodney Hannah, RB Alonzo Coleman, QB Richard Bartel, CB Quincy Butler, WR Mike Jefferson, LB Khari Long, and DE Marcus Smith, and CB Alan Ball re-signed on Monday.  QB Matt Moore, DT Remi Ayodele and WR Jerheme Urban were all picked up off waivers, Moore by the Panthers, Ayodele by the Falcons and Urban by the Cardinals. 

When questioned on the releasing of Glenn, Phillips said, “It’s not to knock Aaron Glenn, because he’s got value to a team certainly, (but) we felt the guys we kept are value to our team,” Phillips said of Glenn. “We gained a lot from him being here certainly. Because (his teammates) were around him in the meeting. They saw how a real pro acts and how a real pro gets ready to play.

Apparently, the criteria used in evaluating players to keep or to cut were three factors;  the likelihood of starting now, starting in the near future, and value on special teams.  Evidently, Glenn didn’t meet any of these and was released, Oglesby, on the other hand, has potential for at least two of the three, having played on special teams for the Ravens. 

The final cuts have been made and the roster now stands at 53 as the Cowboys made their decision for their 2007 team.  CB Aaron Glenn was one of the released players and Martin Grammatica was placed on IR, probably to be released later.   Somewhat interesting was the release of QB Matt Moore and WR Jerheme Urban, who both had good games in the final preseason game against Minnesota.  As it stands now, the list of players released are:

QB Matt Moore
QB Richard Bartel
WR Mike Jefferson
WR Damarius Bilbo
WR Jerheme Urban
TE Rodney Hannah
TE Adam Bergen
LB Junior Glymph
LB Blair Phillips
LB John Saldi
LB Khari Long
CB Joey Thomas
CB Aaron Glenn
CB Quincy Butler
RB Arliss Beach
DT Remi Ayodele
G Trey Darilek
OL Matt Tarullo
RB Alonzo Coleman
FB Lousaka Polite
DE Marcus Smith

Rookie K Nick Folk stands alone to handle all the kicking duties for now and Coach Phillips seems to have relied heavily on Greg Ellis and Terence Newman returning to the lineup in a hurry. 

Also of special note today, the NFL handed down a five-game suspension to QB’s Coach Wade Wilson for violation of the league’s ban on performance-enhancing drugs. 

“I was never taking the product to enhance performance,” said Wilson, who has also played as backup to Troy Aikman during his 19-year NFL career. “I’m way past that. I was taking it to try to improve my quality of life.

Wilson admitted purchasing and the drugs while serving as quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears last year, but no evidence was found that he brought any to the field or other players.  It was simply an attempt to lessen the effects of diabetes, a condition he has had for the last 20 years.  He was implicated in the same investigation that resulted in New England safety Rodney Harrison’s suspension based on an investigation of an internet pharmaceutical company by the New York District Attorney’s Office. 

Wilson also faces a $100,000 fine and will not be able to return to the team until October 9th, in the interim, Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett and assistant Wes Phillips, a former Baylor quarterbacks coach will take over his responsibilities.  Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips both stand behing their coach yet understand and support the NFL and Commissioner Goodell’s decision. 

“In reviewing the facts, we know that Wade had absolutely no intention of breaking any league rules. He has a long track record of quality service to the NFL and community service to the cities where has played and coached. We recognize and support the importance placed on these matters by the National Football League. We also support Wade Wilson during this time and look forward to his contributions to the future of the Dallas Cowboys,” stated Jerry Jones in his official statement about the ruling.

The Vikings played their starters for the first series of Thursday’s game while the Cowboys rested all but six of theirs.  The highlight of the evening for the Cowboys happened early in the first quarter when WR Jerheme Urban returned a Viking punt 95 yards for a TD giving Dallas an early 7-0 lead, but it went downhill for the Cowboys and Urban from there.   He fumbled a short pass from Matt Moore deep in their own territory on their next offensive possession which led to Minnesota tying the game with a TD of their own.  It was also only the first of 5 turnovers the Cowboys would have, most in the first half and most leading to Minnesota points. 

QB Matt Moore had a good night, although he fumbled the ball twice, once on a snap and the second time during a sack.  But he should still be high on the list to make it as the third-string QB, if Dallas does keep three QB’s.  He also was 14 of 19 for 94-yards and a touchdown, the best numbers of the evening for any QB.  Richard Bartel also got some playing time in the fourth quarter, and although he showed a strong arm, he fumbled once and had one pick late in the game. 

Although not a great performance by the Cowboys as a whole, Coach Phillips did get to witness some players step up and try to make it over the bubble.  TE Tony Curtis had a good night with 5 catches for 44 yards and a TD, and WR’s Jehreme Urban and Miles Austin had some nice receptions to make it interesting as to who will be the number six receiver on the team.  OL Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo and Flozell Adams all got some extra playing time with Davis being named offensive player of the game. 

As for the defense, it didn’t appear that any of the prospective back-up CB’s stood out in an attempt to fill in for the injured Terence Newman.  Aaron Glenn did make a good play early in the game when he jumped an out pattern and knocked the ball away from the receiver, but other than that, nothing of particular merit.  Phillips only stated that he felt they performed better than in the previous game against the Texans.   LB/DE Anthony Spencer had another busy game, playing well into the third quarter and his counterpart Marcus Spears made a few appearances late in the game as well.  

K Nick Folk had limited opportunities to impress anyone, with only 2 extra-points and a couple of kickoffs, none of which resulted in touchbacks. 

 ”It was a game that we really needed to evaluate our personnel, especially some of our backup positions, because they may have to start for us or at least during the season have to fill in,” Coach Phillips said about the performance.  “And some guys did a good job.” 

Brad Johnson’s return to Minnesota was somewhat satisfactory as he got the start and completed 5 of 7 for 44 yards.  There were many purple No. 14 jerseys spotted in the stands in honor of the nine years Johnson had spent in Minnesota.  He was relieved of duty early in the second quarter by Moore. 

Another area of interest was on kick returns, where several players were given chances.  As mentioned, Urban’s return was by far the best of them as Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin, Tyson Thompson, Quincy Butler and Nate Jones also got to return some kicks.

Now the Cowboys have until Saturday when they return to practice to decide on their 53-man roster, and after last night, I wouldn’t be too surprised by any cuts they should make.

Is there a “code” for preseason games as expressed by Denver S John Lynch after Saturday’s game against the Cowboys?  If there is, it’s news to Coach Phillips and the rest of the Dallas team.  After Saturday’s loss, John Lynch reportedly said, “They came out and game-planned us, blitzing every play,” in an article in The Denver Post. “They came after us. It’s no excuse for the way we played. But I think they might have broken the code of ethics for the preseason.”

Phillips was non-chalant upon hearing about the comments.  “I don’t know any defensive player that doesn’t want to be aggresive,” he stated.  Considering the Cowboys are tweaking and making some changes to their 3-4 defense of a year ago, it should have been expected that they would blitz and be more aggressive than before. 

“If you’re putting a new system in, you got to see how things work on live film instead of at practice against your own guys,” said NT Jason Ferguson,who is adapting to a new system, the one gap, instead of the two-gap he played under Bill Parcells.  Ferguson also had the first sack of the season against Denver which ended the Broncos first offensive possession.

Regardless of the existence of some code concerning preseason games, the main thing is that the defense has held the first-team offenses of two very good teams to nothing but field goals.  That’s great news so far for Cowboys fans and that makes preseason worthwhile, practicing a new defensive scheme to prepare for the regular season.

So far the new and improved Dallas defense has lived up to its hype.  Yesterday in their 31-20 victory over the Broncos, the defense set up a score and kept the Broncos out of their endzone after turnovers deep in their own end of the field.  LB Anthony Spencer had an especially good day with a fumble recovery, a tipped pass and put good pressure on Jay Cutler, the Broncos QB.  Unlike the rest of the starting defensive squad, Spencer played the entire second half as the coaching staff felt he needed the experience with veteran LB Greg Ellis still out recovering from injury.  Statistically speaking, the defense held the Broncos to just 78 yards of total offense in the first half when the starting Denver offense was on the field and just two field goals.  The Broncos ended the day with just 35-yards rushing.  However the second team defense allowed the biggest play of the game, a 90-yard pass for a TD by Denver QB Patrick Ramsey to back-up WR Brian Clark in the third quarter.   Starting Denver QB Jay Cutler never got comfortable, thanks to the Cowboy pressure, and ended the game just 7 for 13 for 58 yards and failed to convert on any third-down opportunity. 

“I think we gave another good effort,” stated Wade Phillips in his post-game press conference.  “In the first half, I thought our offensive line and defensive line, at key times, made some good plays. They asserted themselves a little bit. We held a really good running team (to) not much rushing yards. I was a little worried about that.”

The offense picked things up well in their second game, scoring three touchdowns in the first half, all of them rushing.   Marion Barber III was impressive with 11 carries for 57 yards and 2 TD’s while Julius Jones had 9 for 31 yards and 1 TD.  Most of the credit for the offensive display in the first half went to first year Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett.  “Some of the fundamental things that we’re seeing are really impressive,” owner Jerry Jones said. “I’m really going to pat our coaching staff on the back. I think they’re doing an outstanding job. Jason Garrett, I’m really pleased not only with how he’s gotten this offense ready to go but also how he calls the plays in the game.”

QB Tony Romo had an average night of 11 for 18 and 122 yards with 1 interception and no touchdowns.  But his overall play was good enough to get the Cowboys into scoring position on all four scoring drives, one of which ended in a 52-yard field goal by Rookie K Nick Folk.  The kicking game was exceptional all evening with Martin Grammatica missing a 51-yard FG attempt in the first quarter, but kicking the ball deep into the end zone for touchbacks on two of his kickoffs.  Folk also had two touchbacks on his two kickoffs.

Rookie WR Isaiah Stanback had a good game, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson in the fourth quarter and finishing the game with 2 catches for 30 yards.  After missing all of training camp recovering from Lisfranc foot surgery and shin splints, it was time to see what the highly-touted QB-turned-WR could do on the football field.

“Overall, I look at the things we did well tonight,” Coach Phillips said. “I’m looking at the individuals and how they played. But as a team, it’s early in preseason. But as a team, we played well overall.”

With a 2-0 start to this preseason, the Cowboys are looking to fulfill the high expectations held by most fans, including this one, who thinks they are looking like the team to beat in the NFC East.

Entering his fifth season with the Cowboys, CB Terence Newman has become one of the best corners in the NFL, however he has yet to make a Pro Bowl.  During their joint practices this week with the Denver Broncos, Newman got lots of advice and insight from Champ Bailey, who most consider to be the best cornerback in football.  Newman has nothing but respect for Bailey but also wants to supersede him in terms of being the best.  In other words, he wants to be Canton-worthy when he completes his career.

Champ Bailey has nothing but praise for Newman as well, and since he is most likely a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, that’s high praise indeed.  Both corners rarely get passes thrown their way these days, however Bailey always seems to come up with more interceptions than Newman.  Last year, Bailey got a career-best 10 interceptions while Newman had a career-low of only one.   It’s these statistics that seem to hurt Newman more in his bid to become one of the elite corners in the game and continually has him passed over in Pro Bowl voting. 

“That’s really the biggest difference that I see between them,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said. “Newman just doesn’t have the same stats. And that’s what he needs if he wants to be considered one of the best.”

As it stands now, Newman ranks Bailey as the best in the business, but feels he is not far behind.  The last time the two met in a regular season game was in ‘05 on Thanksgiving day.  Newman dropped what would have probably been the game winning interception for a TD and the Broncos went on to win in overtime 24-21. 

Hopefully, this season Newman can meet or exceed his own expectations and make some big plays that ultimately win some games and get him to Hawaii for the first time.   Combined with his punt-return skills and what could be some other opportunities in the offense this year, Terence has his mind set on making a big impact.

The Cowboys and Broncos started workouts against each other yesterday at Valley Ranch near Dallas.  It’s the first time the team has done so against another NFL team since ‘03 and the first of four scheduled practices over a two-day period.  They were met with hot and humid temperatures that most of the Denver players and some of the Dallas rookies had never experienced.  With temperatures reaching 97 degrees and heat indexes of around 107, the practice left most players drenched in sweat and exhausted.  

 Rookie FB Deon Anderson who was drafted from Conneticut and grew in in the northeast was one of the players unaccustomed to the heat.   “Back home it didn’t feel like the devil was dancing on your face,” Anderson said.

The workout facility is not the only thing in common for the teams, it seems that in 2003, Denver coach Mike Shanahan had attempted to sign free agent QB Tony Romo but was turned down.   Shanahan, who is also an Eastern Illinois alumnus, offered Romo a $20,000 one-year contract as opposed to the Cowboys offer of $10,000.  Why did Romo choose Dallas?  “I thought I had a much better chance to make the team”, said Romo.  The Broncos had just signed Jake Plummer to a mulit-year contract and former Cowboy QB Steve Beurelein and Danny Kanell were back-ups, whereas the Cowboys had Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson as QB’s.  In hindsight, a pretty good decision by Romo. 

Not only did the Broncos try to get Romo, they attempted to sign Terrell Owens in ‘06.  In fact, they were the first team Owens visited.  Not sure of how close a deal ever was with Denver, “Yeah, there was an opportunity there.  Denver was the first team that kind of stepped up to the plate to consider me being a part of their organization, ” said Owens. 

Also, before signing this year with Dallas, Brad Johnson was approached by the Broncos and considered signing with them.  Had Shanahan been successful with all three players, consider what a much different Cowboys-Broncos practice and pre-season game this might have been for both teams.