Cowboys football blog

Jerry regrets TO release?

One last confession before summer vacation:

All you lovers of Eldorado Owens were right. The Cowboys, you said, would deeply regret the ouster of this lugnut.

And already, it’s obvious, even long before the first official snap of the ’09 NFL season. Eldo is missed.

Not by a majority. Maybe not even by 10 percent. But I do think it’s a strong opinion of one.

The one is Jerry.

The Valley Ranch voice of Jerry Jones has rambled on and on for weeks about the whats-and-whys involving the ouster of the receiver formerly known as No. 81.

Yes, you can blame the media for this "Owens issue" continuing to surface. Questions are asked, of course. But, and I swear, it has happened more than once that Jerry just launched into an explanation, bringing it up himself, as if he were answering voices in his head. Continue

Romo to play with Tiger

 Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has no problem getting tee times. At next week's AT&T National, he will be playing in the Wednesday pro-am with tournament host Tiger Woods. Then he'll compete in the American Century Championship celebrity tournament, which also includes former Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith, on July 17-19 at South Lake Tahoe, Nev. Continue

T.O. was too big for Romo

Wide receiver Terrell Owens’ release was at least partly because the Dallas Cowboys wanted to allow quarterback Tony Romo to take over leadership of the team, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones says in an online report by Yahoo! Sports.

"It’s hard to take over leadership when you’ve got a strong personality like Terrell," Jones said. "If you look back at our old teams [from the 1990s], a lot of people would say maybe Michael [Irvin] was the leader.

"Then you might say, 'He was a receiver. What about Troy [Aikman]? He was the quarterback. Wasn’t he the leader?’ And the answer is, yeah, Troy was a leader. But if Michael wasn’t supportive of him, Troy would’ve had problems. Continue

Dallas probably won't sign Vick

Although quarterback Michael Vick is not yet a free man, he is free to sign with any NFL team after being released by the Atlanta Falcons on Friday.

Vick, who will not complete his 23-month prison sentence for running a dogfighting operation until July 20, remains suspended by the NFL. He is serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in Virginia.

Internet message boards are heating up with talk of the free-agent quarterback joining the Dallas Cowboys because of the team’s history of taking chances on controversial players, but don’t look for owner Jerry Jones to get involved with this project. Continue

Cowboys gear up for "Razorback"

The Dallas Cowboys unveiled the "Wildcat" offense during organized team activities Thursday at Standridge Stadium.

Except for one thing: They don’t call it the "Wildcat," they call it the "Razorback" to pay homage to running back Felix Jones, who helped make the offense famous in college as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Wildcat or Razorback is a variation of the single-wing offense that features an unbalanced line.

Receiver Patrick Crayton served as the quarterback in the Cowboys’ version of the Razorback, recalling his roots as an option quarterback at Northwestern Oklahoma State. Continue

Ellis released

The Cowboys have officially cut ties with Greg Ellis.

The move comes a week after owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Ellis likely would not be back in 2009 and gave the player permission to seek a trade.

A deal was not likely because of Ellis' salary and other teams' belief the Cowboys would eventually release Ellis.

With Ellis out, Anthony Spencer, the team’s first-round pick in 2007, will be the starter with rookies Victor Butler and Brandon Williams competing as the third outside linebacker working with the first team.

The move saves the Cowboys $4.15 million because Ellis has a $1.5 million guarantee that was added to his contract in 2007. If Ellis signs with another team, the Cowboys would have to make up the difference should he earn less than $1.5 million from his new team. Continue

Garrett must show improvement in O

By the end of last season, the Cowboys' offense was a mess.

A private meeting at which wide receivers Terrell Owens, Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton aired grievances to assistant head coach Jason Garrett became public. Opponents, such as Baltimore's Ed Reed, said the offense was simplistic. Moments after the season-ending loss to Philadelphia, Tony Romo seemed to agree.

The Cowboys' major offensive numbers were down across the board from 2007. The luster seemed to have worn off Garrett's reputation as an offensive genius.

But executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team still has faith in Garrett, the NFL's highest-paid assistant head coach.

"No one wants excuses," Jones said, "but we played some top defenses. And if you look at the overall performance of the offense, especially look at the injuries we had, we were still very productive." Continue

Ellis all but done with Boys

Linebacker Greg Ellis’ days in Dallas are numbered.

The Cowboys will trade or release him soon.

The Cowboys say they are still deciding what to do. But there is little chance they can bring him back into the locker room now that he is on the trading block.

An often unhappy camper in the past, what will Ellis do this summer?

After an off-season in which the Cowboys have gotten rid of every negative force — Terrell Owens, Tank Johnson and Adam "Pacman" Jones — they have no choice but to get rid of Ellis.

It most likely will be a release. Continue

Cowboys OTAs start Monday

Although the Dallas Cowboys are trying to move past the collapse of their indoor practice facility and get back to the business of football, they do not plan on forgetting those who were injured.

As they begin the first of four weeks of on-field team activities Monday, they will use the tragedy as a bonding experience and a source of motivation for the season.

Despite moving practices from Valley Ranch to Carrollton’s Standridge Stadium because of the ongoing investigation and cleanup after the May 2 collapse, the Cowboys see the move as a positive experience. Continue

S Williams joins Bengals

Former Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams has finally found a new home.

Williams has agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals, his agent Jordan Woy confirmed Wednesday. Terms were not announced.

According to Woy, Williams will sign a one-year deal with incentives and a signing bonus. He said they decided against signing a long-term deal and they turned down more money from other teams, although the Bengals were the only team Williams reportedly visited.

Williams was released in March after sevens seasons with the Cowboys.