Archive for August, 2011

Earlier today, the Cowboys officially restructured the contracts of Miles Austin and DeMarcus Ware, allowing them to clear another $11 million of cap space.  They are now in compliance with the 2011 cap with room to spare — roughly $6 million — if they want to sign a few more players.  Hopefully, they have some more moves planned, but that’s far from a guarantee.  Jerry keeps saying that they aren’t done.  However, I remain skeptical. Also they will probably restructure some more players, but they had to get the deals for Miles and Ware done now because they had to [...]

The Eagles have been labeled the “Dream Team”.  They’ve added multiple big name stars this off-season and are the overwhelming favorite to win the NFC this year.  Meanwhile, the Cowboys, coming off a disappointing 6-10 season, are said to be rebuilding.  They are uncharacteristically flying under the radar this preseason.  Very few think they’ll make the playoffs, much less push the Miami Heat, excuse me, Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East crown. However, the Eagles can’t stop talking about the lowly Cowboys and it’s because Big D’s defensive coordinator made a somewhat vague reference to a certain “all-hype” team.  Today, [...]

According to Jerry, the Cowboys are not looking for another guard. Considering their situation, that’s pretty inexplicable and might end up being an enormous mistake. While many are freaking out over the problems caused by Terence Newman’s injury, the ‘Boys might be even more thin at another spot — right guard.  With the release of Leonard Davis, they put their faith in Montrae Holland.  Unfortunately, Holland should probably never be anything more than a backup.  Arguably, he is their biggest weakness heading into the season and needs to have a good camp as much as anyone on the team.  So, [...]

Yesterday, in order to include the players that have signed new contracts this year, the Cowboys had an evening practice.  Aside from the late time, the practice was unique for another reason.  Pee-Wee made an appearance.  Pee-Wee spent time chatting up Jason Garrett and posing for pictures.  Seeing Pee-Wee side by side with Jerry and Stephen was interesting to say the least, but it also brought to mind more than a few questions. Certainly, it was unexpected to see Pee-Wee at Cowboys’ training camp, but, even more so, it was just surprising to see Pee-Wee Herman in general.  After all, [...]

For all intents and purposes, the Cowboys are done with free agency.  Due to a difficult cap situation, the team wasn’t particularly active.  The Nnamdi situation aside, the ‘Boys took a cautious approach that has many questioning the owner’s fiscal health.  However, they did quietly address their needs.  In the end, they added or kept three defensive ends, two safeties, a guard, and a tackle, among others.  While it would’ve been nice to see them make some impact additions, there weren’t a lot of smart moves to be made. As a general rule, free agents were grossly overpaid during this [...]

Terence Newman is hurt…again.  It’s a groin strain and it sounds like it is probably relatively severe.  If it weren’t, the Cowboys would list him as day to day, but, since they’re saying it’s at least a four week long injury, it’s a safe bet that T-New did a number on himself. The best thing the Cowboys and Newman can do is to give this thing time.  There is no sense in having him come back too early and playing at 75% as he battles his groin for the rest of the year.  I’d rather him miss the first two [...]

Defensive tackle Mike Patterson of the Philadelphia Eagles left the August 3rd practice after a four minute seizure.  The Eagle’s practice resumed while Patterson was placed into an ambulance.  It has subsequently been determined that Patterson suffered an Arterio Venous Malformation, or AVM. The Mayo Clinic describes an AVM as a “an abnormal connection between arteries and veins.” An AVM is typically congenital, meaning it dates to birth. An AVM can develop anywhere in your body but occurs most often in the brain or spine. A brain AVM, which appears as a tangle of abnormal arteries and veins, can occur in any [...]

The Cowboys and Abram Elam have been close to a deal for over a week now. But, even if they had signed him he wouldn’t have been able to practice until tomorrow. So the harm in signing him this late into training camp is minimal. According to sources, it’s a one-year deal. That means Dallas will enter the season with its two starters at safety under one-year contracts. Here’s the problem with that. They have a lot of dead weight on the cap next year and this means they will have to sign two safeties again in the off-season. Regardless, [...]

A pair of young Cowboys’ linebackers are having eye opening camps so far. Sean Lee and Victor Butler have both struggled to get on the field for different reasons, but each player may get their chance to make a significant contribution this year. Lee, who showed flashes of becoming an impact player during his rookie season, has battled injuries dating back to his time at Penn State. If he can stay on the field, he might push Brooking for his starting job. Even if he doesn’t start, Lee will see a significant amount of playing time this year. Ultimately, Lee [...]

Reportedly, Newman has a groin strain and is out 4-6 weeks. Of course, it will probably be a long time after that before he is himself again. Obviously, this is a bad injury, but they’ll have to adjust. Don’t expect much from Newman until at least a few games into the season. Well it didn’t take long for Terence Newman to suffer a leg injury. Hopefully it isn’t serious, but he reportedly was forced to leave practice today, limping off the field with the team trainer. This is hardly uncharted territory for Newman, who seems to suffer the same type [...]