I know I am tempting fate by acknowledging the unspoken, but the Dallas Cowboys players and management have been incredibly well-behaved this off-season.  While management may have been tempted, they did not sink millions of dollars into mediocre (& often malcontented) talent. 

The players have mostly avoided the police blotter (save for Deon Anderson).  That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been “wrong doing”.  In this society, getting caught doing wrong is often more important than the wrong doing itself. 

Football is a sport played by abnormal people.  They have to have a special warring mentality.  Players tend to have a greater amount of testosterone which translates into a larger frame and debatably more aggressive behavior.  They especially have to embrace the concept that they are indestructible.  This certainly contributes to the number of NFL players who drive while intoxicated (Joey Porter, Ronnie Brown, Spencer Havner, Donte Stallworth, etc.).  Even being an idiot while intoxicated (BIWI) is now prohibited (Ben Rothlisberger).

Some players also have unfair pressure placed upon them.  There are countless stories where a player will enter the bar and not surprisingly will be the biggest guy at the bar.  Drunk guys looking to impress fickle women will pick a fight.  Avoiding a fight isn’t as easy as it sounds, and not nearly as much fun as the alternative. 

Despite all that, the players have been model citizens (save for Deon).  Kudos players; kudos management for bringing in players who are both talented and good character guys (or at least smart enough not to get caught).  The Cowboys reputation as bad boys may not change anytime soon, but even our bad boys weren’t that bad when they were on the team(Owens – zero arrests; Tank Johnson – zero arrests; Adam Jones – a stupid case of friendly fire). 

So Jerry, keep the high character guys coming, and for all of our sakes, avoid Carlos Dunlap, Mike Williams, etc.