Nov. 27, 2008; Irving, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver (81) Terrell Owens celebrates after scoring a third quarter touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks at Texas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Terrell Owens was rumored to be talking to Jerry Jones about coming back as the teams number three receiver. He was the most negative influence on the team at that time but most of us fans didn’t care as long as he showed up on Friday. I think T.O. might just be a little crazy though and eventually that became too much of a distraction to the teams chemistry and he was let go. I imagine a team that has some injuries will grab him this season, but for now he is unemployed.

Pacman Jones didn’t really make much of a splash after being reinstated into the NFL. He is an okay CB but he really didn’t get a chance to take off in Dallas. I am glad this was the case because he is always surrounded by drama. He was recently ordered to pay 11.6 million dollars for his involvement in a Vegas shooting. He signed a one year deal with the Bengals for $950,000 which basically means he is in big trouble very soon.

Tank Johnson had some legal troubles relating to guns before his time with the Cowboys. He went to the Bengals but in 2011 they terminated his contract.

Sam Hurd is a name fans are glad to not see associated with the Cowboys. He left the Cowboys to head to the Bears but it wasn’t long before he was trying to setup a lucrative deal to take delivery on as many as 10 kilos of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week. The problem was this conversation was with a federal agent.

Zach Thomas was just getting a little old and slow for the game. Good player with heart but was replaced with more speed.

Brad Johnson retired from the NFL after 17 seasons.

Marion Barber had a style that fans loved but just wasn’t destined to last. His punishing style put a hurting on his body. He left the Cowboys for the Bears and only lasted one season before shocking everyone by retiring early.

Roy Williams (Safety) was unable to maintain his punishing hits across the middle and started to slow with his age. He became a liability and tight ends made him look foolish weekly. He eventually went to the Bengals and then left the NFL all together. He is now a sideline reporter for Oklahoma football games.

Sep 19, 2010; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett (80) dives against the Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terrance Newman (41) at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Terrance Newman is a player I really liked for a long time. His injury problems and slowing with age caused the Cowboys to move on without him. He went to the Bengals after being released by the Cowboys. I wish him well but hopefully we will not be getting burned on every deep passing play this year.

Anthony Henry was another player I liked because he always seemed to make turnovers happen. He was traded to the Lions for Jon Kitna and he was not resigned beyond the 2009 season.

Bobby Carpenter was traded with the Rams for Alex Barron. To this day it is still hard to figure out who got the best end of that deal. Bobby now plays for the Patriots and Alex is playing for the Seahawks so I guess neither team really got anything from that trade.

Leonard Davis got his giant contract and failed to live up to it so he was shown the door too. After a short stint with the Lions it seems his time may now be spent doing thing with his band Free Reign instead of the NFL.

Martellus Bennett just always seemed to have his head anywhere but in the game. I like Martellus, he is a clown like me but it just didn’t work out. He was a good blocker but appeared to have hands of stone. That coupled with him not taking the game seriously paved the way for John Phillips. Apparently the Cowboys dodged a bullet with him now that he showed up to Giants OTA’s weighing 291 lbs.

Dec. 25, 2010; Glendale, AZ, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Patrick Crayton was also a player I liked. I lost a little bit of respect for him after his negative attitude towards the Cowboys after they got rid of him. He will not go through an entire season a free agent in my opinion but I think the Cowboys are done with that page of their history.

Isaiah Stanback was around for a while but that project ended up a complete failure. He has since been on the Patriots, Seahawks, and is now a member of the Giants practice squad.

Greg Ellis ended up being a successful draft pick at the end position for the Cowboys. People will always debate that Randy Moss was the better selection but we will never know. Though he was still a decent player he was released in 2009 to save 4.15 Million in cap space. The Raiders signed him to a 3 year deal but released him in March of 2010.

Chris Canty really upset me when he left the Cowboys for the Giants. Not because he was an elite player but because he took the time to surprise me with a call the night of my wedding to congratulate me. I was totally shocked! But he just wasn’t living up to that contract so off to the Giants he went. I suppose he will get the last laugh now that he is sporting two shiny super bowl rings.

Deon Anderson was nicknamed “cricket” Anderson because he was dared to eat a cricket in the locker room and did. Drafted in 2007 he had a few years to show his value and he failed to do so. He was released in 2010 and signed by the Dolphins a month later. He was waived by them the following year.

Flozell Adams did his job pretty well when with the Cowboys. He was put in the same category as Larry Allen by some fans. It was the fact that he was getting older and consistently leading the NFL in false starts was why he was  sent packing. Like many of these positions it is just better sometimes to take a younger approach. He was eventually dropped because of the salary cap in 2010. The Steelers picked him up and he played pretty well with them too, he was eventually dropped in 2011 after the Steelers lost to the Packers in the Super bowl.

Wade Phillips was a good guy and an ok coach. He is better suited for a Defensive coordinator position and that is where he is now for The Texans. I really like “Accountability” in a coach. He lacked that as well as a lot of his staff. (Dave Campo)

Nov 7, 2010; Green Bay, WI, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Cowboys 45-7. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

There are probably people I am forgetting in this list but the main reason for this article was that Jason Garrett has managed to rid the locker room of all the negative influences and is keeping player at their best by offering competition at every position. I think Garrett is a very good coach and will win the Cowboys a Super Bowl if those Jones folks allow him to keep the reigns long enough.

It’s December, and with Old Man Winter come the familiar criticisms of the Dallas Cowboys and the tradition of predicting their imminent breakdown.

Tony Romo can’t win the big games. Wade Phillips isn’t a strong enough coach to keep the Cowboys focused late in the year. The team is all glitz and glamor and the team folds in cold weather. Why should anyone think that this team should be any different?

It’s an easy prediction to make. Too bad it won’t come true.

This team is different enough-and good enough-to possibly run the table in their last few games and end their decade-long playoff drought.

At this point in the seasons, defenses start to take over. The Cowboys defense started planning for a late season run long before the season started. With the signing of Keith Brooking, the Cowboys gained a defensive leader with postseason experience. With the signing of Gerald Sensabaugh, the Cowboys filled a spot that had seen Roy Williams and other strong safeties become huge defensive liabilities. And with the trade of Anthony Henry, the Cowboys opened up a spot for Mike Jenkins, who is a much more physical cornerback than his predecessor. This defense, the second-rated scoring defense in the NFL, can keep opposing teams scores low in tight games. They’re also producing turnovers, which was hugely lacking last year.

On offense, the success of the team falls on the shoulders of the quarterback. Take a look at Romo’s stats. Through 11 games, he’s thrown seven interceptions, which is on pace for a new low mark in his career as a starter. He’s also taken 25 sacks, the most in his career as a starter. What Romo has learned in his fourth season as a starter is that taking a sack or throwing the ball out of bounds is a much better option than trying to force passes when coverage breaks down. The run game has also been much better than past years. The trio of Cowboys running backs-Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice-sits second in the NFL in yards per carry and sixth in total rush yardage. Because we’re deep at the running back spot, and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has shown a commitment to the run, the Cowboys will be able to grind out tough yardage in poor conditions. As a whole, the Cowboys offense is much more balanced and productive, averaging over 392.1 yards per game, good enough for fourth in the NFL.

With such improvements on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys stand a good chance at winning four of the five games (@NYG, SD, @WASH, PHI) remaining on their schedule.

The one hurdle-and a high hurdle at that-comes on the Dec. 19, when the Cowboys travel to New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and former Cowboys offensive coordinator Sean Payton (did any of you watch their game against the Patriots and say ‘Gee, I really wish we hadn’t let Payton go?’)

This game is win-able. It’s the NFL, and no matter what commentators may have you believe, the Saints have shown signs of vulnerability.

They’re weak against the run, especially in the middle, and the defense has been known to give up plenty of points. The Rams (yes, the 1-10 St. Louis Rams who average just under 12 points per game) put up 23 points against the Saints. There are plenty of games on their schedule where the Saints defense allowed more points than they probably should have (DET-27, MIA-34, ATL-27).

If you should choose to take a look at their schedule, ask yourself this question: what good defense have the Saints played? I can’t find one defense on their schedule that really scares me. The Patriots don’t count anymore, having shipped out too much talent on defense over the past few seasons. The Giants started off well, but the Saints played them without safety Kenny Phillips, who is out for the year due to injury. The Eagles have a respectable defense, but who else impresses you on that schedule? The Dolphins? The Jets?

Winning against the Saints won’t be easy, and it’ll take a good game plan along with a big effort from the Cowboys. That being said, I’m sure that analysts will predict another win for the Saints on the 19th and the Cowboys will be underdogs in the Superdome.

The analysts should pick another Cowboys loss here. The Saints are a great football team, and ’tis the season for picking against Dallas.

That doesn’t mean that the Cowboys can’t spoil the Saints’ shot at perfection and save their reputation in the month of December.

Part of any team’s offseason revolves around trades.

In Dallas, the biggest trade was cornerback Anthony Henry to Detroit for backup quarterback Jon Kitna.

From this trade comes a new competition for the cornerback spot opposite Terence Newman, a premier cornerback in the NFL.

But this position seems to already have been whittled down to two players: former first-rounder Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick, a fifth-round pick.

Favorite: Mike Jenkins

The draft pedigree does speak for something. Jenkins is fast, but he had some difficulty adjusting to certain aspects of the pro game. Anybody remember his tackle on Brandon Jacobs? Well, his non-tackle.

Jenkins should be a year stronger, a year smarter and a year better. He even vowed to keep the starting job via his blog.

Long Shot: Orlando Scandrick

Scandrick had the better rookie season of the two, no question about it. According to Football Outsider, he was 11th best in success rate and 17th lowest in yards per attempt. Granted, that’s as a nickel back, but that’s still impressive. Still, he came as a low-round pick and that should hurt his cause.

Prediction: Orlando Scandrick

Scandrick might not come out of camp as the winner, but I think the job will eventually be his. He’ll have a chip on his shoulder, and that could put him over the top.

Either way, this tough competition for this position will benefit our defense and will make both players better in the end. We’ll also have one hell of a nickel back when all is said and done.

Coming Tomorrow: Wide Receiver