Dallas Cowboys Morning Links: Extra Point Changes, Cornerback Concerns
In this Wednesday edition of Morning Links, the Dallas Cowboys, as well as every other NFL team, must now adjust to the league’s new extra point rules. Plus, we take a look at the concerning cornerback position in Dallas. All that and much, much more as we dive into the best Cowboys news from around the web for this morning.
NFL moves extra point to 15-yard line for 2015 season by Kevin Patra, NFL.com
"“NFL owners approved the Competition Committee’s proposal on extra points for the 2015 season. The NFL announced the extra point will now be kicked from the 15-yard line with two-point conversions remaining at the 2-yard line. The new rule also gives the defense the ability to score two points on returns. According to the rule change, if the defense returns a blocked extra point or failed two-point try for a touchdown (i.e. on an interception), they will be awarded two points. Under the previous rule the ball was dead on a failed try…”"
PATs now a little harder in NFL, but here’s a change that would add real drama by Rick Gosselin, The Dallas Morning News
"“The NFL has taken a step to make that extra point a little more difficult to attain after touchdowns. But I don’t believe the NFL went far enough. NFL owners voted to move those conversion kicks back to the 15-yard line in 2015 – 13 yards farther back than last season when kickers successfully converted all but eight of their 1,230 attempts. And six of the misses were blocked kicks. So the new kicking spot becomes the 23-yard line, which constitutes a 33-yard field goal. There were 41 field-goal tries of 33 yards last season and NFL kickers converted 39 of them. That’s still a 95 percent conversion rate, which is darn near automatic…”"
Garrett: Great To Have Scandrick Back; Clear “He’s Been Working Out” by Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com
"“Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett confirmed that cornerback Orlando Scandrick has joined his teammates at Valley Ranch this week after previously skipping voluntary offseason workouts with the goal of having his contract reworked. It’s great to have him back,” Garrett said Tuesday from the team’s annual home run derby sponsored by Reliant and benefiting The Salvation Army. “Orlando loves playing football, loves playing for the Cowboys. His great strength as a player is his passion for the game, the edge that he plays with…”"
Is Byron Jones a Cowboys’ safety net? by Todd Archer, ESPNDallas.com
"“After the draft, I wrote a post assessing the needs of the Dallas Cowboys’ after the draft. At the time, I mentioned interior offensive line and safety help. The Cowboys then went out and signed La’el Collins as an undrafted free agent to add to the line and added veteran Danny McCray to shore up the secondary. Byron Jones could play safety for the Cowboys, but other pieces will need to fall into place for that to happen. Football Outsiders offered up the biggest weak spots for all of the NFC East teams on Monday and had safety — over running back — at the top of the list for the Cowboys…”"
Greg Hardy vows to reward Jerry Jones for taking a chance on him by Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
"“The Cowboys have taken some criticism for signing defensive end Greg Hardy, who is suspended for the first 10 games of the season for a domestic violence incident. Hardy says he is motivated to play well in part because he wants to reward Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for being willing to take that criticism. “What I am going to do is make sure Jerry’s happy,” Hardy told WFAA. “[Because] he took a chance on me…”"
Cowboys cornerback questions abound by Mike Leslie, USA Today
"“There’s a lot of offseason evaluation that goes into deciding what players to keep, and what players to pay, to comprise an NFL roster. For the Dallas Cowboys, one position that will require as much evaluation as any other is cornerback. The Cowboys drafted UConn product Byron Jones in the first round of the NFL Draft, to help their bargaining position with current players on the roster. But the likelihood is that Dallas will pay Orlando Scandrick more than his current contract dictates…”"