Tony Romo may be able to throw touchdown passes but can he sing? I will let you decide.

Apparently the Dallas Cowboys coaches read the scoop on safety Roy Williams and he was brought into the office for a meeting Friday, reports the Star-Telegram. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart and safeties coach Brett Maxie wanted to know how committed Williams is to the team.

“The communication was not there last year,” Williams said. “We recognized the problem, and we talked about it. And we’re going to move forward now. We have a better understanding.”

In the article, Williams explains that he prefers to work out alone because he concentrates better. What gets me is he is commenting about what Greg Ellis said earlier, on how Williams seemed to be isolating himself more from the team. What I don’t understand is, if Williams prefers to work out alone, did he always do it this way? If so, why is Ellis making it seem like this is a change of attitude for Williams? It’s confusing.

“I appreciate what Greg did, but at the same time, I’m a grown man, too, and I can speak for myself,” said Williams, who still considers Ellis a friend. “If I want to be heard, I will be heard.”

Williams also made a few sharp comments toward the fans.

“I’m tired about worrying about the fans,” Williams said. “The fans are only around when things are good. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, too. Everything can’t be perfect, and you can’t let your emotions rule over you being a human being. It gets to a point where you are abusing who you really are as a fan.”

Yikes, Williams. I was around before you were, kid. I went through the 1-15 season, my friend. I remember it well. I’ve been a fan for the good times and the bad. I take some offense to what he says here, if he is quoted in context. I don’t think us, the fans, asking you to learn how to cover a receiver or tight end is abusing our fanship. We are tired of getting burned in the secondary, Roy. Just because we are fans doesn’t mean we cannot be critical of players when they’re not playing up to par. To say we don’t have the right means we’re just supposed to love losing. We don’t.

We learned a hard lesson last year, how the regular season’s only importance is ensuring a playoff spot. Once you’re in, it’s a whole new game. Going 13-3 was nice. But winning a Super Bowl is better. Heck, we just want to win a playoff game, Roy. And we can do that if our secondary plays better.

Apparently, Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams is not feeling very comfortable in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense. How do I know this? Well, Greg Ellis was on Sirius Radio today (If you don’t have Sirius, you should for the NFL talk radio) and he exposed Williams’ concerns live in an interview. Ellis said Williams talked to him at mini-camp in San Antonio.

“He said, ‘I don’t fit in well with this defense at all,’” “So when he told me that, I was like, ‘Well, man, it’s still new. Get used to it and it’ll probably be fine for you.’” And obviously I think it came to be true. Just like he said, he doesn’t fit what’s going on here in Dallas right now.”

“Now maybe this year, if they decide to keep him for this season, Wade and them will kind of adjust some things to fit him better.”

I’m not the only one who caught the interview and blogged about it. Check here and here. I wonder of Williams was confiding in him and didn’t want this made public. But now that it is, I think it really shows how fearful Williams is for his job. However, I don’t think he can blame it on the defensive scheme. His play has declined each year over a three-year span.  His cover skills are so bad that there isn’t a defense in the league that could save him. I’m not sure what will save Williams’ career in Dallas right now.

Ellis, who has had his fair share of whine-fests in blue and silver, wasn’t trying to throw Williams under the bus. He also protected the Pro Bowl safety.

“As a teammate, I feel bad that people are saying Dallas needs to do something to Roy,” Ellis said. “Is some of this stuff getting back to Roy? I don’t know. My job is to defend him. I want Roy on this team. I know he wants to be on this team.”

Earlier, Williams was quoted as saying he has at times wished that quarterbacks would not throw his way in one-on-one coverage, something you never want to hear a guy in the secondary say. But there is something else that Ellis pointed out that is odd about Williams lately. He’s working out alone.

“I hate the fact he’s isolated himself from the team,” Ellis said. “I get there at 7:30 in the morning and Roy is leaving, man. It could be scheduling, something I don’t know about. I want him with the rest of the guys because I know he wants to be with us.”

Is this weird, or what? Who is alienating who here? Is this another sign that RW’s days in Dallas are getting shorter?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sure has been praising first-round pick Felix Jones a lot. He has even commented on his rear end, showing just how close the ubiquitous owner is to the new guy.

Most recently, he’s called Felix “smooth.”

But he also is high on Tashard Choice, the Cowboys fourth round draft pick. In an article here, Jones says Choice is quickly adapting to the Cowboys offense.

“He’s able to do anything you ask a running back to do,” Jerry Jones said of Choice. “He’s exceptionally smart. He’s got a chance to have a role here. We know that he’s been a very productive back and hopefully he can bring that with him to the NFL.”

So how will these two rookies do competing for a job they both want?

“We have a good relationship,” Felix Jones said. “We met at the [NFL scouting] combine and clicked. He’s somebody I can talk to and relate to. We’re going through the same thing. We’re going to compete out there on the field but in the locker room, we’re friends and we’ll communicate. We talk about things.”

By Staubach

A lot of us while watching the draft went “huh?” when Martellus Bennett was drafted in the second round. I was among that list as well. Weren’t the wide receiver and Safety positions more of a critical need at this time? Didn’t we have a tight end in Anthony Fasano whom we gave away for a fourth rounder only to use a second rounder this year to get another one? Most of us were scratching our collective heads.

So after the initial emotion, we tried to do the internal mental spins in our mind to make ourselves feel better about the pick. He may be better than Fasano, he is tall and a red-zone threat, he can be depth to play the two tight end sets, or he could be the next Bill Joe Dupree.

Most online draft boards I saw had him as the 3rd or 4th best tight end. Nfldraftscout.com for example had him behind Dustin Keller, John Carlson and Fred “I need an alarm clock” Davis. His junior class credentials look good. He is listed at 6’-6”, had 49 catches and four touchdowns, up from his sophomore season of 38 catches and three touchdowns. The scouting reports state that he is a bit slow with a 40 time of 4.71. I have seen conflicting reports of his blocking ability but most say he adapt in this area. The reports praise his hands and ability to adjust to poorly thrown balls.

But maybe the biggest surprise would be the character behind the name. He started things right off the bat with a memorable quote. But also, he did not start off on a good foot with the coach for making a Jessica Simpson comment. For those who have not heard it already it was, “”Any quarterback that can get Jessica Simpson I’ve got to play with him.”

Another quote associated with him is: “Football is my wife and basketball is my mistress,” when referring to his dual sport interests. In one film clip I saw from him at mini-camp he was genuinely enjoying himself during the interview questions.

No doubt he will be a media favorite this season, and seasons to come. He will probably become a fan favorite and make us forget the initial shock of picking him when he scores his first touchdown over a shorter defender.

The Dallas Cowboys apparently have a weapon like no other in the NFL. His name is Martellus Bennett and he was the third overall pick for the Cowboys. He’s a tight end and a former Aggie. Consider him the David Blaine of the NFL.  Just listen to this interview here.

Bennett, who can play basketball, has claimed he has the vertical leap of Vince Carter, which may not be a farce.  He’s not sure of his wingspan but  “I believe I can fly.”

His greatest strength?

“I have X-ray vision.“

He has the willingness to do “whatever it takes.”

Oh and…

 “They forgot to put, I can teleport, too.”

Why didn’t the other NFL scouts know this about Bennett? Imagine a receiver who could teleport to the other side of the field in a split second. That trick is going to be unstoppable. Bennett is a character, and the press already love him. HBO is going to have an orgasm over this kid when Hard Knocks starts.

Bennett is playing behind one of the best tight ends in the game, so it is unlikely he is going to get a whole lot of playing time there. But his athleticism may allow the Cowboys to push the envelope a little bit and spread him out with Terrell Owens, providing a double corner end zone threat. I like the sound of that, even if he teleports there.

Troubled wide receiver Chris Henry apparently has his eyes set on two teams: The Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints.

This news has spread around for the last couple of days, and I tried hard to ignore it. But I shouldn’t. In my opinion, Henry is not an upgrade from Patrick Crayton. The biggest difference is Crayton has a clean criminal record–and that is a big difference the two players have right now.

The Cowboys have brought in Adam “Pacman” Jones for his second chance. There’s no reason the Cowboys have to be the halfway house for all criminally charged NFL players. Chris Henry ought to spend his energy in trying to get a spot on the Saints roster. We don’t need him.

I know one can argue he’ll come cheaply, but enough is enough.

I have no idea how to quantify the headline, but the thought came to me as the Dallas Cowboys prepare to release prices for non-premium seating at the new stadium opening in 2009. Personal seat licenses cost between $16,000 and $150,000. Obviously, no blue-collar average Cowboys fan is getting a hold of those seats unless they have a trust fund handed to them at age 18.

Club seats are $340 a game plus the fees for the seat licenses.  Wow. NFL games are the most expensive games to attend. I doubt I will ever see a Cowboys game up close. I have seen baseball games in the front rows.

I understand that it’s a business, and if fans are willing to pay such a high premium, then the market will allow it. But it’s hard to stomach the realization that I may not be able to afford to see the Cowboys in the near future. I love what I do for a living and I don’t get paid very much.

It’s not just the Cowboys who charge a lot of money for tickets. All NFL teams do. Heck, the Washington Redskins charge more for parking at a game ($75) than my two tickets to a recent baseball game cost.

It seems like my best bet to see a Cowboys game is when I spend $10,000 more on my Mastercard Cowboys credit card and reach that $25,000 level for two free tickets. Then, I still have to pay for a damn flight.

And I’ll probably be broke anyway.

I didn’t find out about this until today, but one of our brother sites in the fansided network, StripeHype, has been threatened by the big, bad Cincinnati Bengals brass.

The threats ring hollow, but of course there is not enough money to fight the threat in court. You can read about the disappointing situation here.  This might mark the second time a member of this brotherhood has been threatened. I was threatened earlier this year by the Dallas Morning News for using a horrible picture of Tony Romo’s thumb wrapped in a cast. I credited the Dallas Morning News, but the photo chief, David Woo, felt it was necessary to call me and threaten me.

I promptly took the photo down and I rarely ever use pictures of players now, even with the credit. I’ve learned a lot about photo use since then, and in all honestly, there is a fair-use law, but you really aren’t supposed to take photographs found off the internet and re-use them without permission. If you change the photo at all, then it could be big problems. It’s not quite the same what happened over at StripeHype–it seemed even MORE petty.

I know the blogger at StripeHype, and he is a huge Bengals fan. He rarely ever attacked, even criticized, his team that has stunk it up for nearly 20 years. He has interviewed several of the players, and was about to give away a jersey signed by a player, but the Bengals brass said he could not do that because it is copyright infringement. Dave, the blogger, says he has tried to get the Bengals to allow him to get photos of the team, but he has been denied access because he is not a member of the traditional media.

This could lead to a widespread attack from the NFL or the teams, with StripeHype starting the rolling ball toward our team of blogs. In fact, there is an all-out war the big-time media is waging against bloggers in general. It’s disappointing, too. I am a professional journalist, and although blogging is NOT traditional journalism where accuracy and ethics trump rumors and haste, they serve a purpose and must be accepted. One of these days a threat is going to come to one rich blogger, and the fight will be over in court. Bloggers will prevail.

May I suggest we all write to Mike Brown, the Bengals brass, and tell him how immature and petty his threat is:

Cincinnati Bengals
One Paul Brown Stadium
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Guest Post By Staubach

A lot has been said about receiver being a weakness of the Dallas Cowboys. Many were upset that they did not draft one. It is an area of concern, mostly because of uncertainty. We do not know if Terry Glenn will play and the backups are mostly untried except for Patrick Crayton. We know Crayton’s strengths and his weaknesses. He is a decent third receiver but is not someone most would want to depend on as the number one in case Terrell Owens gets hurt.

Assuming TO and Glenn play, who can we depend one after these three?  Sam Hurd and Miles Austin  are mostly untested, although Hurd played more minutes last year and had 19 catches. Some in the organization are high on him. I have never been overly impressed with Austin and would not be surprised to see him lose his roster spot to a young player.

Hurd has had some nice plays, but he does not have the necessary speed to replace TO or stretch the defense.   He should be mostly a third WR like Crayton.

Isaiah Stanback was our 4th rounder last year and he was injured all last season. He gets raves for his athleticism and might have the speed to be a number one guy one day. He is getting kudos’ for his catching and route running and looks healthy. Maybe he will make these WR worries moot. But until you get into a game situation it is all just a matter of speculation (and hope).

A surprise weapon at WR may be none other than Felix Jones, the guy Dallas got to play running back. He played some receiver in college, has the speed, and has impressed early at camp with his ability in this area. I would not be surprised to see him put there a couple of times a game to upset the defensive schemes. Try covering him with a linebacker on a deep route. Right!

And maybe a player or two will come out in camp? Jerry Jones likes Danny Amendola and he has beat our rookie corners in camp. Daniel Polk is trying to take the Crayton route and has some good plays in camp. Mark Bradford has had some plays too, but they are realistically just hoping to make a practice squad for this year before they can contribute. But maybe one will take Austin’s place.

So an area of concern? Yes. An area of panic? I do not think so. But someone will need to step-up. Worse case is Felix Jones can provide the speed at WR in a pinch, and someone serviceable will drop or look to be traded before the season begins.