Cowboys Corner

Recently retired Jon Kitna leaves the game a fan of Cowboys' Tony Romo

Veteran backup quarterback Jon Kitna always felt that this past season would be his last.

However, it ended a little faster than he planned when he suffered a back injury in practice in November.

He didn’t go on injured reserve until Dec. 15 as the Cowboys held out hope that he would improve before other injuries forced them to clear a roster spot.

“We were in practice on Wednesday and I was running scout team,” Kitna recalled. “I twisted the wrong way and herniated the disk. I always had a bulging disk. It finally herniated. I knew once I got put on injured reserve it was over.

"I always felt it was my last year anyway. Now I was sure. Like I told Jason [Garrett] when I hurt my back, ‘I’m no longer someone you can count on health wise.’ I felt it was time.”

Kitna went home to Tacoma, Wash., to be with his family even before he was put on injured reserve. He said it was tough watching the Cowboys go through an up-and-down season from afar. But he said it was right for him and right for third-stringer Stephen McGee, who was now the backup.

“I always felt like you were a distraction or a help,” Kitna said. “I felt the best way for me and the best way for Stephen to grow into that role was for me to not be around, so he could grab a hold of it. I felt it would be selfish to stay around.”

Kitna leaves the game with no regrets, because he actually never thought he’d make it this far after going undrafted out of college at Central Washington in 1997.

But he started in NFL Europe before landing with the Seahawks. He spent 16 years in the NFL with three teams, including the Bengals and the last three years with the Cowboys at Tony Romo’s primary backup.

“I have no regrets,” Kitna said. “Sixteen years, I can’t believe it. I was trying to get one year. I played 16. It’s been a blessing. It lasted longer than I thought it would.”

Regarding the Cowboys, Kitna said fans should not give up hope. He believes there were far more positives than negatives in 2011, and they will get it turned around. He also leaves the game as a big fan of Romo, whom he calls the right guy for the job.

“Tony had a phenomenal year,” Kitna said. “He had the best year since I have been here. Everybody who knows the game would say it was the best of his career and he has had a lot of good ones. He’s continued to get better every year. He is the right guy for the job.”

-- Clarence Hill

Jerry Jones credits son Stephen for getting Cowboys out of salary cap 'Armageddon'

One more tidbit from Jerry Jones’ conversation with reporters at the Senior Bowl this week:

He said executive vice president Stephen Jones maneuvered the Cowboys into a good position on the salary cap for the offseason this year.

“I give Stephen a lot of credit for taking a year we thought would be Armageddon for us, and we were able to do some things last year with the cap that puts us and gives us some viability,” Jones said. “Stephen and a lot of the crew he works with regarding the caps, regarding the contracts, all of that has given us a chance to have some room to improve this team this year.

“And we will use it.”

Jones does not want to waste any of Romo’s remaining years. Jones believes Romo gives the Cowboys a chance to be a Super Bowl team every year.

But for now, the Cowboys should worry about winning the NFC East. They were third last year, despite leading it with five games to go.

“It’s very important we’re highly competitive this year,” he said. “Of course, we see how well the Giants are playing. We saw and do understand how well Philadelphia can play. And Washington probably, without fail, will improve a couple of areas – quarterback – that they did, in my mind, did a good job with. So our division is a lot more competitive, as I see it, than it’s given credit for.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones says Garrett's youth, ambition and Romo's experience are keys to Cowboys' improvement

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the youth of head coach Jason Garrett and the experience of quarterback Tony Romo are advantages as the Cowboys get started on their plan to improve for next season.

“We’ve got a young head coach who’s got a staff that we’ve made a couple of changes on,” Jones said from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week. “And what you’re supposed to do if you’re young, smart and ambitious, you’re supposed to get in and make adjustments. And I expect that in the offseason. And expect it to be positive for our team. I think we’ll coordinate that with what I do, we do, in personnel, and that way we’ve got a chance to get better. But it’ll be a multi-pronged approach.”

Garrett turns 46 in March as he begins his second full season as the Cowboys’ head coach.

Romo will begin his sixth full season as the Cowboys’ starter, although he missed more than half of 2010 because of a broken collarbone. “The good news is we’re not starting out a quarterback,” Jones said. “We’ve got a competitor there. We do like a lot of the skill people that we’ve got around him.”

To Jones, protecting Romo is a prime priority.

“We were like 10th in protecting him relative to the sack stat. We need to be better than that because he helped us protect him a little bit with his ability to move around. We need to do better there.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Cowboys liked Murray's power at Senior Bowl last year, and Jerry says it's what separates him from Felix Jones now

The NFL Network experts are giving DeMarco Murray credit for raising his stock at last year’s Senior Bowl, and to the Cowboys for drafting him.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it was Murray’s strength inside the tackles that made a difference.

“We knew he could be physical. We did not know he could run between the tackles,” Jones said in an interview with the NFL Network this week. “We didn’t see that a lot. But we knew he had the speed, could block, protect, and knew that he could really catch the ball.”

The Cowboys drafted Murray in the third round last year, and he wound up as the team’s leading rusher despite missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury and then missing the final three games because of a broken ankle.

Jones said Murray’s power separates him from Felix Jones.

“He’s just harder to bring down than Felix,” Jones said. “Felix has the quickness, the vision and can get outside. But Murray did bring that dimension of power, and there’s probably not five pounds’ worth of difference between the two. But he finishes. He’s just so powerful into the finish. And there’s no question that he really gave us a lift last year.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones says he dreams of linebackers like 49ers' Willis and Bowman. Will Carter and Lee work?

Jerry Jones laid out his vision of what he wants the Cowboys’ inside linebackers to look like – fast from sideline to sideline, like Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman of the San Francisco 49ers.

“We all watched Bowman and Willis out there, and boy, did those guys make a difference,” Jones said this week in an interview with the NFL Network at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Jones said he’d love to see if Bruce Carter, the Cowboys’ second-round pick a year ago, can bring that kind of speed to the field for the Cowboys to pair with Sean Lee.

“This is my dream,” Jones said. “It’s not exactly the prototype for the makeup of the two guys you’d want in the middle – you might want more of a thumper, a big guy, to go along with Sean Lee. But if we can keep both those guys out there, adjust our defense, we might be going toward Bowman and Willis area like they have in San Francisco.”

Lee played in 15 games for the Cowboys and led the team in tackles, plus tying for the team lead in interceptions with four. Carter played in 10 games, but mainly on special teams, as he came back from knee surgery in December 2010.

“It’s amazing what Bruce Carter was able to do relative to the time you assess when you have that kind of injury,” Jones told Dallas reporters on Monday at the Senior Bowl. “He was outstanding in his rehab.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Garrett looking for smart players, but he allows for 'different degrees' of smart

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett knows what he’s looking for at the Senior Bowl practices, and anywhere he scouts players or talks to them in person.

“In general, you want smart, tough football players who have a passion for playing,” he said Tuesday after watching the North squad practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “That’s something you want from every guy, regardless of what their position is.”

Garrett had a reputation for being a smart player when he was a backup for the Cowboys and New York Giants. But the concept of “smart” is not absolute, he said. One size does not fit all.

“There are different degrees of smart,” he said. “You can factor in instinct, and test scores are certainly part of that. But also a feel for how you play the game is part of that, and that varies from position to position.”

For Garrett, one of the most important qualities a player can have is “approach” – how he goes about practicing and trying to improve. It’s one of the things he no doubt tries to learn when he meets players.

“You want guys who are willing to play football, willing to work at it, willing to be part of a team and who want to get better every day,” he said.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Pro Bowl snub just another sign of dying Romo-mentum and Romo Mania

One day later, I still find it interesting that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, coming off the best season of his career, was passed over as an NFC Pro Bowl replacement for Super Bowl participant Eli Manning by rookie quarterback Cam Newton.

Newton had a great rookie season, no doubt. He was the first rookie to throw for more than 4,000 yards, 4,051 to be exact. He set the single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14. He also threw 21 touchdown passes with 17 interceptions.

Newton did not have a better year than Romo who passed for 4,184 yards. He was also was more efficient and had fewer miscues.

Romo had a career-best touchdown interception ratio of 31-10 to go along with a career-best passer rating of 102.1, which ranked fourth-best in the league among all quarterbacks. Only Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady had a better rating.

Only Brees and Rodgers had a better completion percentage than Romo’s 66.3. Newton 60 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 84.5.

Romo did all this in a season in which he also showed toughness and courage as he played one game with a fractured rib and punctured lung, leading the Cowboys to a comeback victory against the 49ers. He actually played several games with the fractured rib, taking pain-killing shots.

Now you are telling me Romo, a three-time Pro Bowl participant, didn’t have a season worthy of going to Hawaii as a replacement for Manning?

No, this is simply a case of “the chickens coming home to roost.”

Remember in 2006 when Romo burst on the scene and was all the rage? Fans couldn’t get enough of the spunky, upstart quarterback, an undrafted free agent who took over for the aging Drew Bledsoe.

The Cowboys rode a wave of “Romo momentum” to the playoffs in what would be the final genius act in what was Bill Parcells’ final season as coach.

Romo Mania swept the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex as well as the nation. A legion of Romo-sexuals and Romo-sapiens were born.

His soaring popularity was why he made the Pro Bowl despite starting only 10 games, including only eight when the voting was conducted.

The decision then was spurred by hype, not by performance. The case is the same this year.

Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn and the No. 1 pick, is all the rage.

Heck, if it was solely about performance then Detroit’s Matt Stafford would have gotten the nod after passing for 5,038 yards with 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

But Stafford, the third alternate behind Newton and Romo, trails significantly in Q rating.

Nope, this is about buzz.

Romo’s star has simply faded.

Fans and the media are disillusioned with him, if not disenchanted, because of unfulfilled expectations.

He’s no longer the cute, heartwarming hero who came from nowhere to quarterback America’s Team.

He no longer gets the benefit of the doubt.

Romo just gets all the blame for the Cowboys failures.

It’s not fair.

But often times what will make you laugh will make you cry.

-- Clarence E. Hill Jr. 

 

 

Jerry Jones said combination of players, coaching, personnel moves hurt Cowboys down the stretch

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he can’t blame only the players for the way the season ended. He said it was a combination of problems, including the players, coaches and personnel decisions that accounted for the 1-4 finish that left the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

“We may have gotten a little overzealous with some young players in the middle of our offensive line,” Jones said. “We’re going to have to make sure we not only have given them a chance to grow and have progress, but we also have in there the kind of protection we want in the middle for Tony.”

Jones said the Cowboys’ young guards and centers – Phil Costa, Bill Nagy, Kevin Kowalski – earned their chance to play. But he said his prime consideration is protecting Romo.

“We’ve got to look at the whole picture and make sure we don’t compromise things because, again, I’m more into not squandering the prime years of Romo,” Jones said. “And so we want to make sure we’ve given him every opportunity, and protection’s one of those opportunities. and we’ll work hard on that in our offseason.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jones thinking veteran for backup quarterback, but how 'bout those Texans

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’d like to have a backup quarterback with more experience than Stephen McGee. Then again, the Houston Texans made the playoffs and won a game behind a third-string quarterback with no experience.

“So I do know it can happen,” Jones said, giving reporters a wink Monday as he spoke at the Senior Bowl. “An inexperienced one can get you pretty far down the road.”

But turning serious, Jones said it’s important for the Cowboys to get a veteran to replace backup Jon Kitna, who retired. Kitna played the last 10 games in 2010 when Romo was hurt and stepped in during the Week 2 game in San Francisco this season.

“We like the progress of McGee,” Jones said. “Probably if somebody else has to really start taking snaps, we’d like to see some more experience.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jones hints Newman slump might have been combination of injury, skill drop-off

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said if cornerback Terence Newman was playing hurt late in the season, it might have hurt his performance. But if he was hurt, it wasn’t any more than any other “healthy” NFL player at that point in the season.

Newman’s slump was highlighted in the season finale against the New York Giants, when the veteran cornerback was hurdled twice by a tight end, was outrun by receiver Victor Cruz and was an ineffective tackler.

 “I don’t just point to him. I would point to several areas of our team,” Jones said Monday at the Senior Bowl. “But usually there’s combinations of some type of compromise, whether it be drop-off because of injury, because of nicks, which can happen at the end of the season – but everybody has it, that’s the NFL. Every team goes through that. These teams that are in there right now, especially the Giants, are a great example of how to keep competing with that in the face of injury.

“And then we had some skill level drop-off, and that’s part of what, one of our big challenges are, and then we’ve got to also evaluate what we did, how we’re doing it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones calls Giants ‘an inspiration’ for Cowboys, says only Romo was playing at that level

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Monday at the Senior Bowl that the New York Giants did what he wanted the Cowboys to do – get hot and get on a roll in time for the playoffs.

“Just like the Green Bay Packers were last year, in a different way,” Jones said. “They’re a real inspiration of, frankly, what I had hoped that we were going to be, and that is a team that had played, had good days and bad days, but then near the end really took off on a run and then really made improvement. They did it, and we didn’t. We went the other way.”

Jones spoke after the first practice for the all-star game, where he and the Cowboys coaching staff watched the workouts.

Jones said the biggest difference for the Giants down the stretch -- when they caught the Cowboys by beating them twice in the last four weeks -- was the play of Eli Manning and the defense, although he praised his own quarterback, Tony Romo.

“We had good quarterback play,” he said. “But I’d say as a team, they just got better and better near the end. Their depth, that’s how I view us. I had counted – we had counted – on getting better, and we didn’t. We went the other way.”

Even if the Cowboys had made the playoffs, Jones said he wonders if they could have matched the level of play the Giants have shown in their playoff victories against Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco, two of them on the road.

“We didn’t play good enough to compete or play at this level, and I don’t know what we would have been competing, had we gotten in the playoffs, at the level the Giants are,” Jones said. “I thought Romo was competing at a level that would have given us that opportunity, but the rest of us need to play better and get better before we can be really gelling the way the Giants are.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

How close are the Cowboys to the Giants?

The Cowboys could have eliminated the Giants. Not once, but essentially twice. If they could have held their 12-point, fourth-quarter lead on Dec. 11, the Giants would have been 6-7 and two games back of the Cowboys with three to play. Dallas had a chance to put away the Giants again in the regular-season finale in a winner-take-all game, but New York won 31-14.

How close do you think the Cowboys are to being in the Giants' position? Cast your vote, or post in the comments below.

Now, the Cowboys will watch their rivals in the Super Bowl against the Patriots.

The question is: How close are the Cowboys to the Giants?

Clarence E. Hill Jr., beat writer:

So close, yet so far. The games and scores say they are close but don't be deceived: The Giants have a better defense powered by a proven pass rush. More importantly, the Giants have players who have gotten it done on the biggest of stages. 

Charean Williams, beat writer:

They are as far away as two Lombardi Trophies. The Giants are on the verge of winning their second in five years. The Cowboys won their last to wrap up the 1995 season. The Giants have a quarterback who knows how to win big games, and on the road. He has the most road postseason victories in history already and is 7-3 in the postseason overall. In two weeks, he could own more Super Bowl rings than his more-acclaimed older brother. The Giants also have a better receiving corps, a better coach, a better offensive line and a better front seven than the Cowboys. As close as they came to eliminating the Giants this season, the Cowboys have a long way to go to catch up.

Carlos Mendez, beat writer:

Isn't this Jerry Jones' question? It's probably been driving him crazy. But he, and the rest of us, must resist the temptation to fool ourselves. The Giants are in the Super Bowl, because they have a bona fide defense that is capable of pressuring the quarterback with four players. They can run the ball. Their receivers are beasts -- all of them. And their quarterback plays at an elite level when the games matter most. I still think about Eli Manning's performance at Cowboys Stadium on Dec. 11. Laser sharp. The Cowboys played the Giants close, because they are close at quarterback. But they are not close in the front seven, at receiver, at running back or in the offensive line. Even the no-pedigree tight ends of the Giants outperformed the Cowboys' in both games. Maybe when DeMarco Murray comes back. Maybe when Miles Austin is healthy for 16 games. Maybe if the Cowboys draft a top-flight corner. Maybe if the offensive line is better. Maybe the Cowboys are close. Maybe -- no, probably -- it is an illusion.

David Humphrey, editor:

Dallas is close to the Giants in terms of talent. It's their play in December/January where the separation begins and ends. As soon as Dallas learns how to close a season, they'll be a major contender again

What got Callahan to Dallas? Jerry Jones, the stadium, the reputation of the franchise

So what attracted new offensive coordinator Bill Callahan to the Cowboys?

He doesn’t have a personal connection to head coach Jason Garrett or owner Jerry Jones. But he had worked with quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson, and running backs coach Skip Peete is the brother of Skip Peete, who played quarterback for him in Philadelphia.

Callahan laid out the reasons Dallas appealed to him during a press conference Thursday at Valley Ranch:

“The ownership, No. 1,” Callahan said. “You’re looking at a great owner, who all he cares about is winning. All he wants to do is win, and I’m all about that. And the commitment that he makes to winning, I think is second to none, in so many ways. The stadium itself. And over the years, I’ve heard nothing but great things from the coaches and the players who came out of the Dallas franchise. So that was extremely attractive.”

Callahan said the Cowboys offense is tempting for any coach to get his hands on.

 “Obviously, with Tony, you’re looking at one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” he said. “The two young backs, these two guys, the way they complement each other, that was exciting to see.”

Callahan had a chance to keep a close eye on the Cowboys because not only did his former team, the Jets, play the Cowboys in Week 1, the Jets also played many of the Cowboys’ opponents.

“We had a chance to see them throughout the year because of the AFC East and the crossover with the NFC East,” he said. “It was great to see this team roll and see their receivers and Austin and Dez and Witt, all those guys did great. That’s the exciting aspect of this job. All those pieces are in place. You’re always trying to get better. Now it’s just a matter of shoring up the offensive line, continuing to improve that aspect of these young players and their development and again, get in this playoff and try to take a run at it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Steve Young says Romo as good as Brees, Brady at elite plays but struggles with 'game manager' part of QB's job

NFL analyst Steve Young says Tony Romo is as good as any quarterback when it comes to the highest level of quarterback play, but that he struggles with another important part of the job – game management.

Young, speaking on a conference call last week to promote ESPN’s coverage of the NFL’s conference championship games, was talking about Alex Smith’s reputation in previous seasons as a “game manager.”

 “The problem I have with the idea of game manager, it's definitely code for: ‘He can't play championship football.’ It's like calling someone a scrambler. That's code for: ‘He isn't a real quarterback,’ Young said. “The truth is, scrambling is a side light to it. It doesn't really have to define you. And game manager, that's 60 or 70 percent of the job. To my mind, Tony Romo, the 30 percent that's the extra-highest level, point-of-the-spear championship play that Drew and Tom and all those guys do, Tony does really well. But he struggles with more of the commodity, the game manager stuff.”

Romo is coming off what his coach, Jason Garrett, called his best season yet, with a career-best 102.5 passer rating, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Romo's critics won't let him forget the second-half turnovers he had against the Jets and the Lions that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

But ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer doesn’t blame Romo. He blames the team around him.

“Tony has greatness in him,” he said. “I think when you talk to other people that really play the quarterback position, and I see it as well, there's a few guys that really have incredible greatness in them, and Tony is one of them. I think the issue here is he needs more help from his teammates. I think they are not nearly as talented as people say they are, from 1 to 53. I'm talking about the total roster. I don't think there's as much order and structure in the organization as the Giants have and the teams that have the elite quarterbacks have. I think the only thing that's keeping Tony from ascending into the upper echelon of quarterbacks is his team, is the help from his friends and his teammates, and I think once that all comes together, you're going to see the fullness of Tony's greatness come out."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Garrett didn't want to give up play-calling in 2011, but willing to let Callahan's role 'evolve'

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he didn’t consider giving up his play-calling role this year because it would have been disruptive.

“I think it’s important to be consistent through the good times and some of the times where you struggle a little bit,” he said Thursday at Valley Ranch in a press conference to introduce offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Callahan. “And you certainly want to make pointed change when things don’t go well. The way we want to progress going forward is keeping the structure in place as it’s been. I think it’s been good for a lot of people. We’ll just keep going and keep trying to get better.”

Garrett said quarterback Tony Romo had perhaps the best season of his career, and he wants to keep Romo comfortable with the playcalling structure.

But Garrett said he’s open to change, even if it means pulling back on his playcalling and letting Callahan’s responsibilities grow.

“I think that’s something that will evolve, and I think that really probably evolves for a lot of head coaches as they grow into their role more and more and they assemble their staffs around them,” Garrett said. “Again, our starting point will be pretty much how it’s been in the past both in terms of how we set it up in the offseason, each week and during the game. But I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. His role will be significant, and we’ll just see how the role evolves.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Garrett hasn't ruled out switch to 4-3 defense, but says team hasn't talked about it yet

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has not dismissed the idea of a switch to the 4-3 on defense.

But he said the team is not at the point yet where it needs to decide whether to keep the 3-4 that it has played since the arrival of Bill Parcells.

“We played a lot of three-man line, and we also played some four-man line in different situations this past year,” Garrett said Thursday at Valley Ranch. “We haven’t gotten to the point where we’re going to talk about what we’re going to play yet. We’re still evaluating the tape. ... Let us go through the process. You’ll see some of that stuff once we get back on the field.”

The Cowboys expect to begin offseason work in early May, shortly after the draft. The first OTAs are expected the week before Memorial Day.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Callahan says when it comes to clock management, everybody should have input

Like the Cowboys, Jason Garrett had an up-and-down season in his first full year as an NFL head coach. He helped the Cowboys and quarterback Tony Romo produce one of the league’s top offenses, but Garrett flubbed two clock-management situations during a 1-4 stretch to end the year.

New offensive coordinator Bill Callahan said all coaches pride themselves on managing the game and clock well, but every coach can use some help, too.

“My philosophy has always been to help when that clock is rolling and you get in those crucial, critical situations – everybody has input,” he said Thursday at Valley Ranch, asked if part of his new duties will be to help Garrett with game management. “Just to make the playcaller aware, to stay ahead of the clock so he can anticipate a certain situation. That’s always helpful.”

Callahan, who has been a Super Bowl head coach in the NFL with the Raiders and a college head coach at Nebraska, said even for the most experienced coaches, some situations come up that are unpredictable.

“We all pride ourselves on understanding the game, but you know, you practice all those special situations and there are some that will come up at some point in time that you can’t predict,” he said. “They’ll come up, and you’ve got to be able to respond in a heartbeat. I think we all pride ourselves at it because we love the game so much. But you know, it’s different every Sunday, and it’s different in each game.”

Callahan said that when he was with the Raiders, he expected help from his other coaches.

“I had a great staff, so yeah, I relied on them, no doubt about it,” he said. “I certainly relied on their input, their suggestions, their recommendations. No doubt about it. And not only that, from the defensive side of the ball, we had some guys who were pretty savvy in terms of clock management, situational football that could always lend some advice, some thoughts. That’s part of having a great staff, is to draw upon some experiences, their knowledge, their usefulness.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Cowboys expect strength coach Mike Woicik to have a "big" influence this off-season

One of the Cowboys' biggest coaching hires last year was getting back strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik. Woicik has six Super Bowl rings -- three with the Cowboys and three with the Patriots. But the lockout prevented Woicik from having much of an impact in his first season back in Dallas since 1996.

The Cowboys expect him to make a big difference this off-season.

"He is an outstanding football coach," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He might be as good a football coach as there is in the league and his track record speaks to that. Last year, there was a real frustration for all us to not give him a chance to get with these players. I thought he did a really good job in the season trying to get guys acclimated to some of the things he wanted to do. But his time wasn’t the season. His time was the off-season, to lay the foundation for each of these guys physically and in doing that, there’s a shared commitment that you have as a group."

Not all of the Cowboys have taken time away from the facility since the season ended. Many, Garrett said, have been working out already, getting ready for 2012 before the 2011 season is officially done.

"We’ve had a number of guys already, who literally the season ends, and they’re in the weight room," Garrett said. "I walked back there in the middle of a morning and guys are driving steel, trying to get better. We have the kind of guys on our team. It’s nice to have a structure and a forum for them to go do that this off-season."

-- Charean Williams

 

Trent Dilfer: Romo has greatness in him, just needs some help

When Eli Manning was selected to the Pro Bowl over Cam Newton, Tony Romo and Matthew Stafford, it started a great debate. But no one is doubting the choice any longer. He is the only quarterback left standing among the top six selected by the players, coaches and fans for the annual all-star game. (Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were the top-two selections, with Newton the first alternate, Romo the second and Stafford the third.)

For all of Manning's faults, he has won big games with big plays. He is 6-3 in the postseason and has a chance of doing what his older, more polished brother has never been able to do -- win a second Super Bowl. Romo, of course, has never been to a Super Bowl. He has, in fact, won only one playoff game.

But ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback himself, thinks Romo has what it takes. Dilfer just isn't sure the Cowboys do.

"I think Eli has definitely gotten more help from his friends, meaning his teammates, than Tony got this year, but Eli has also done an incredible job of weathering some early‑season storms and playing his best quarterback when the Giants have needed him to," Dilfer said on a conference in reference to a question I asked about Romo. "I think Tony can learn a lot from kind of how Eli handled the early years, and I think Tony has. I think Eli's just steady, calm composure, his not getting caught up in the hype, has really allowed him to ascend into ‑‑ I guess the term we use now is an elite group of quarterbacks. Tony has greatness in him. I think when you talk to other people that really play the quarterback position, and I see it, as well, there's a few guys that really have incredible greatness in them, and Tony is one of them.

"I think the issue here is he needs more help from his teammates. I think they are not nearly as talented as people say they are, from 1 to 53, I'm talking about the total roster. I don't think there's as much order and structure in the organization as the Giants have and the teams that have the elite quarterbacks have. I think the only thing that's keeping Tony from ascending into the upper echelon of quarterbacks is his team, is the help from his friends and his teammates, and I think once that all comes together, you're going to see the fullness of Tony's greatness come out."

Romo had what his coach, Jason Garrett, called his best season yet. Romo had a career-best 102.5 passer rating and threw 31 touchdowns. But Romo's critics won't let him forget the second-half turnovers he had against the Jets and the Lions that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

"Tony Romo is someone who on a week‑to‑week basis you just don't know who you're going to get, and until that consistency establishes itself, you're going to have problems," said ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, a former Patriots linebacker.

But Bruschi said until the Cowboys can improve their defense, they're not going to be a contender.

"I look over on the defensive side of the ball, and Rob Ryan needs more time with these defensive players, because his system is complex, his system is multiple, and for every shift, for every motion, there's going to be an adjustment," Bruschi said. "And this defense just didn't grasp the complexities of his scheme, especially towards the end of the season. 

"I played under Rob. He was a linebackers coach in New England, and I know what this system is, and unless you have players that are ‑‑ you need intelligent players who are ready to make those adjustments, pre‑ and post‑snap, making adjustments on the fly. That defense has to be the strength of that team. That's the way Rob wants it to be, and until those players, especially at the linebacker and secondary level, grasp that scheme and embrace it for what it is, you just can't ‑‑ we do what we do. It's not that type of system, and if you're that type of player, you're not going to succeed in it.  You have to be ready to be multiple, be smart and make adjustments on the fly."

-- Charean Williams

 

 

 

 

 

 

S-T staffers foresee a Giants-Patriots matchup in the Super Bowl

The Cowboys went 1-3 against the teams left in the field. They beat the 49ers with a comeback victory in Week 2. They saw the Patriots and Giants have fourth-quarter comebacks against them. And then, in the regular-season finale, the Giants eliminated Dallas in a winner-take-all affair.

"I think it’s the nature of the NFL," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "There are a lot of close games that all the teams play. The teams that are still playing are the ones that know how to win those games on a more consistent basis."

Which teams do you expect to face off in Super Bowl XLVI? Cast your vote, or post your picks in the comments below.

Here is how the Star-Telegram staff sees this weekend's games playing out:

 

Randy Galloway, columnist:

49ers 20, Giants 17....both teams hot, both teams have rolling QBs (shock me on Alex Smith) so I go with home team in a tight finish.

Patriots 28, Ravens 14...not much excitement here as Pats cruise...Joe Flacco can't expose even a questionable NE secondary.

 

Clarence Hill, beat writer:

Giants 24, 49ers 14...Elite Manning and the Giants are on a super roll.

Patriots 28, Ravens 17...Tom Brady vs. Joe Flacco is a staggering mismatch.

 

Charean Williams, beat writer:

Giants 24, 49ers 20...I picked the Giants to upset the Packers last week. I am not giving up on them now. They are playing like it's 2007 all over again.

Patriots 20, Ravens 17...It goes against conventional wisdom that a team with the 31st-ranked defense can make the Super Bowl. (I picked against the Packers last week because of their 32nd-ranked defense.) But I trust Joe Flacco less than the Patriots defense.

 

Carlos Mendez, beat writer:

Giants 26, 49ers 23...Alex Smith is tougher than we thought. He's going to have find another level of tough against a Giants D that now believes in itself.

Patriots 33, Ravens 23...Tight ends like the NFL has never seen with the best quarterback the NFL has ever seen. Ray Ray and the gang can't keep up.

 

David Humphrey, editor:

Giants 28, 49ers 14...It's been a great run by the Niners and the franchise has turned around. Yet, the old-school Giants are clicking at the right time.

Ravens 21, Patriots 17...Defense and quarterback play are the biggest factors in the NFL. This time defense wins out.

Garrett hasn't ruled out switch to the 4-3 on defense, says team hasn't talked about it yet

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has  not dismissed the idea of a switch to the 4-3 on defense.

But he said the team is not at the point yet where it needs to decide whether to keep the 3-4 that it has played since the arrival of Bill Parcells.

“We played a lot of three-man line, and we also played some four-man line in different situations this past year,” Garrett said Thursday at Valley Ranch. “We haven’t gotten to the point where we’re going to talk about what we’re going to play yet. We’re still evaluating the tape. ... Let us go through the process. You’ll see some of that stuff once we get back on the field.”

The Cowboys expect to begin offseason work in early May, shortly after the draft. The first OTAs are expected the week before Memorial Day.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerome Henderson is happy to reunite with Rob Ryan

Jerome Henderson jumped at a chance to reunite with Rob Ryan in Dallas. Henderson coached under Ryan for two seasons in Cleveland. The Cowboys hired him when his contract with the Browns expired.

“If you know coach Ryan, if he’s gone, you miss him,” Henderson at his introductory news conference. “My experience with coach Ryan is he’s very intelligent; he’s very passionate about this game. He thinks football all the time, and he knows football. He’s very loyal. He’s going to wrap his arm around all his guys, and he’s going to make sure he takes care of his guys. You appreciate that as a coach. You appreciate the way he thinks about you, and he’s not afraid to say, ‘I think you do a hell of a job.’ You appreciate that as well. And you miss that. You do. You miss his fire. You miss everything that he is.”

Jason Garrett said he was swayed on Henderson by the opinions of Ryan, linebackers coach Matt Eberflus and defensive ends coach Ben Bloom, who all worked with him in Cleveland.

“They just spoke so highly of him,” Garrett said.

Henderson played eight seasons (1991-98) in the NFL as a defensive back.

“I think there are pieces in place that excite you here,” he said. “And I just hope to contribute to what’s already being done here.”

-- Charean Williams/Carlos Mendez

 

 

Bill Callahan might call the plays in Dallas one day but not now

The names have changed, as has the title, but the role remains the same. Bill Callahan has replaced Hudson Houck as the Cowboys' offensive line coach. He also arrived with the title of offensive coordinator, but he will have basically the same role that Houck did last season.

Callahan will be the running-game coordinator, and tight ends coach John Garrett will continue to coordinate the passing game.

Jason Garrett said Thursday he could envision a day when he doesn't call the plays, but for now, he wants to retain the chemistry he has with quarterback Tony Romo. Romo had a career-high 102.5 passer rating, while passing for 4,184 yards and 31 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

"Our quarterback played awfully well this year, had probably the best year of his career. so there’s a comfort level that we’ll want to make sure we maintain in that area," Garrett said. "..We had a couple of bumps at different stages of the season, but at the end of the day, you say, 'Boy, he had an outstanding year,' and we want to continue that development, continue his growth in this system and make sure that he and the other guys who have been around here have a certain comfort level with what we’ve been doing.

"When you get a chance to add a guy like Bill Callahan it’s a really, really positive thing for you. so we’ll keep going down the road that we have, and hopefully at some point, there’s a comfort level that we’ll turn it over to somebody else."

Callahan was the offensive line coach for the strong offensive teams of the Philadelphia Eagles in the mid-1990s. He was the offensive line coach for the 2000 Raiders who led the NFL in rushing and the the head coach for the 2002 Raiders who reached the Super Bowl behind the league’s top passing offense.

Callahan has called plays. He can call them again, he said. But he’ll do whatever he can to help Garrett.

“Anything that I can do to lighten the load on Jason, we’ve talked about that,” Callahan said. “And I’ve indicated that to him in so many ways. Anything that I can do, game day, during the week, at practice, with the unit, to take any type of load off of him, I’m there for him. I want to be able to serve the head coach.”

-- Charean Williams/Carlos Mendez

Cowboys to replace Jon Kitna... with who?

Jon Kitna has retired, leaving the Cowboys to figure out who will backup Tony Romo next season. Do they trust Stephen McGee enough to promote him from No. 3? Do they draft a quarterback to compete with McGee? Or do they sign a veteran?

"It’s a very important position, as we all know," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "So, you want to make sure you allocate the resources necessary to that position. Jon Kitna was great for us the last three years, had a chance to play last year and played really, really well for our team and was a real leader for our team. But he’s retired now, and he’s in Seattle and enjoying life after football. So we have to make some decisions there."

McGee, 26, was a fourth-round draft pick in 2009. He enters 2012 in the last year of his rookie contract. He has started one game in his career and played in two others, completing 56.1 percent of his passes for 420 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and an 82.4 passer rating.

Vice president Stephen Jones said recently that the Cowboys would be comfortable with McGee as Romo's backup.

"Stephen McGee has gotten some real good experience the last couple of years, playing in games, and we’ll continue to evaluate his progress going forward," Garrett said. "We like what he’s done. But it’s an important position, and we’ve got to make sure we have enough people if for no other reason than guys get hurt, and you better have a suitable guy who can go in there and play and help your team going forward. We’ll keep evaluating that spot just like all the other spots on our team."

The Cowboys have had veteran backups the past few years, with Brad Johnson in 2007 and '08 and Kitna the past three years. Johnson was 39 when he joined the team. Kitna is 39 now.

Free-agent quarterbacks who could be signed as a backup include Jason Campbell, Kyle Orton, David Carr, Charlie Batch, Shaun Hill, Sage Rosenfels, Vince Young, Derek Anderson, Rex Grossman and Brady Quinn.

-- Charean Williams

Twitter: @NFLCharean

 

 

Cowboys coaching staff complete aside from the addition of an assistant secondary coach

Running backs coach Skip Peete, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the 2011 league year, has signed a new two-year deal. Assistant offensive line coach Wes Phillips and offensive quality control/wide receivers coach Keith O'Quinn also will return with new deals.

The Cowboys introduced their two new coaches -- secondary coach Jerome Henderson and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Callahan -- Thursday. Their staff is complete, Jason Garrett said, aside from an assistant secondary coach to help Henderson.

"Jerome is the secondary coach; he is the head secondary coach so to speak," Garrett said. "In the last few years, we've had kind of dual secondary guys. Jerome is going to coach the secondary, but we are going to look into hiring a secondary assistant. We're starting that process here really in the next few days, and hopefully we'll get it done here in the next couple of weeks."

Brett Maxie and Dave Campo split the secondary duties the past four years. Campo was not retained, and he left to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Kansas. The Cowboys wanted to have Henderson split the duties with Maxie, but Maxie decided to leave for the Tennessee Titans.

-- Charean Williams

Twitter: @NFLCharean

 

Tyron Smith seems likely to switch sides with Doug Free in 2012

Tyron Smith began his college career as a backup left tackle, but he never started a game there at USC. He instead became one of college football's top tackles while starting two years on the right side. Smith started all 16 games at right tackle for the Cowboys in his rookie season, too, but Dallas used the No. 9 overall pick on Smith with the intention of making him their left tackle.

Jason Garrett acknowledged Thursday that the Cowboys are considering swapping Smith and left tackle Doug Free. The move could happen as soon as the players return for their off-season program.

“It’s certainly a possibility,” Garrett said. “That was a possibility when we first drafted Tyron, and one of the many things that was attractive about him was his physical ability to play both right and left tackle in this league.”

Smith made the all-rookie team, and Pro Football Focus rated him the fourth-best tackle in the NFL last season even though he allowed eight sacks and 21 quarterback pressures. New offensive line coach Bill Callahan has liked what he has seen on film of Smith so far.

"He was so athletic, I think he could have played anywhere across the line," Callahan said. "His versatility, no doubt, the ability to go from right to left, I think it’s there. There’s no doubt about that. We saw that in the draft a year ago. It’s just a matter of working all those techniques. I think all the tackles that you coach, the guards, have to be versatile enough to flip sides at some point. So maybe this year’s that point in time."

Free didn't have his best season, and in fact, PFF had Free rated only 51st in the NFL. Free allowed 10 sacks and 33 quarterback pressures, according to the Web site, and he had five false start penalties and five holding penalties.

Free allowed only five sacks and had one hold in 2010, his first full season as a starter. The Cowboys rewarded him with a four-year, $32 million deal, including $17 million guaranteed. But he might have played his best during a seven-game stretch in place of right tackle Marc Colombo in 2009. He allowed only one sack with two holding penalties that season.

“That’s the attractive part of the move,” Garrett said. “Doug is capable of playing both. Tyron is capable of playing both. We’re trying to make the best fit for our football team, and for each of those guys, so they can play at their best.

“If we were to do that, we would try to do that earlier, rather than later, to give them enough opportunity to do it and get better at it.”

-- Charean Williams

Twitter @NFLCharean

Jason Garrett: The Cowboys want Dez Bryant to handle things the right way but they remain supportive all that does

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he hasn’t spoken with receiver Dez Bryant since he got into a fight Sunday at a Miami night club with rapper Lil Wayne and his entourage over an unpaid debt.

But Garrett said people in the Cowboys organization have spoken with Bryant. And while they want him to be careful and handle things the right way off they field, they remain supportive.

“We want to make sure our players do the things the right way 365 days out of the year,” Garrett said. “We understand the nature of the position we are all in. We have to be careful and handle things the right way. We certainly support him in all that he does.”

Garrett is not concerned that the incident in Miami was a precursor of things to come for Bryant during the off season. As unlike last year when Bryant was part of several incidents during the lockout, there is no work stoppage in 2012 and he will soon part of a full off season program to give structure.

Clarence Hill 

 

Mel Kiper says Stanford guard DeCastro is a natural for Cowboys at 14, but other OL options available

Draft expert Mel Kiper said he had a tough time assigning a defensive back to the Cowboys with their 14th pick in the first round. Instead, he called Stanford guard David DeCastro the best value for the Cowboys and likely an immediate starter.

“It’s somewhere they need to upgrade. He makes an immediate impact there,” Kiper said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. “He’s NFL-ready. He’ll immediately project as a starter and maybe a Pro Bowl down the road.”

Kiper said he has the 6-foot-5, 310-pound guard rated as the 12th-best player on his board. He might be gone by the time the Cowboys pick, he said.

“Even though he’s a pure guard, which might knock him down a bit, I think a lot of people are going to be very high on him on draft day,” Kiper said.

If the Cowboys miss on DeCastro, or pass on him, they can still get help for the offensive line. Kiper talked about two other possibilities for the Cowboys in the interior offensive line”

“Cordy Glenn, the kid at Georgia, played at tackle this year and held up very well, but he played guard in the past.”

“Peter Konz, the junior center coming out early from Wisconsin, the only issue with him is durability. He’s missed multiple games the last three seasons. But with his size, you’ll see interest. His best value is probably early in the second round.”

Other possibilities Kiper threw out:

James Brown, a tackle from Troy.

Rishaw Johnson, a guard from Cal-Penn.

Desmond Wynn, a guard from Rutgers.

Chucky Curry, a guard from West Alabama

“There are a lot of guards you can find on Day 3 that are going to be intriguing possibilities to help you on the offensive line,” Kiper said.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Cornerbacks available in free agency if Cowboys opt to go that route

Cornerback is an area that needs improvement. That much is obvious.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mike Jenkins, who played through various injuries all season, was the team's best cornerback. He ranked 40th at the position, having been targeted 54 times while allowing 28 receptions for 340 yards and four touchdowns, with a 51.9 completion percentage against him and an 88.5 passer rating against him. The web site credited him with five pass breakups, and he had an interception.

Alan Ball, who is a free agent, was the Cowboys' second-best cornerback, according to PFF. He ranked 82nd, just ahead of Orlando Scandrick at No. 83. Scandrick signed a five-year, $27 million extension before the season, so he is not going anywhere.

Jenkins will enter 2012 in the final year of his rookie deal and will make $1 million. It will be a big season for him with free agency approaching.

But the Cowboys almost certainly will part ways with cornerback Terence Newman. Dallas paid him $8 million in base salary, and Newman counted $10 million against the salary cap. He is due $6 million in base and is scheduled to count $8 million against the cap in 2012. The Cowboys will save $6 million in salary-cap money if they count him as a post-June 1 cut.

Newman was only the 97th-best cornerback in the NFL in 2011, according to PFF. He was targeted 78 times and gave up 49 catches for 797 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterbacks completed 62.8 percent of their passes against him and had an 88.5 passer rating. Newman, who turns 34 in September, did have four interceptions.

The Cowboys flirted with replacing Newman in free agency this summer by signing Nnamdi Asomugha, who landed in Philadelphia instead. They could have plenty of cornerbacks to choose from if they opt to shop in free agency this off-season.

Several top cornerbacks, including Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan, Baltimore's Lardarius Webb, San Francisco's Carlos Rogers, Kansas City's Brandon Carr and Atlanta's Brent Grimes are scheduled to become free agents in March. Terrell Thomas of the Giants also could hit the market, but he missed all of the 2011 season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason game.

Grimes was the league's second-best cornerback this season, according to PFF, with Finnegan third and Webb fourth. Rogers was 11th and Carr 30th. Any one of them would be an upgrade for the Cowboys.

Grimes, who turns 29 this summer, is likely to re-sign with the Falcons, who have made him a priority. He allowed only 25 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns as quarterbacks completed only 44.6 percent of their passes against him.

Finnegan could hit the market. He made headlines during training camp when he briefly left the team. He had desired a contract extension before the 2011 season. Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray moved Finnegan around, putting him inside on passing downs to cover the slot. Finnegan allowed only 52 catches for 456 yards and two scores. He turns 28 in February.

Rogers has expressed a desire to return to the 49ers, and Webb, two years removed from a torn ACL, will be a restricted free agent who likely will re-sign with the Ravens.

Carr, who turns 26 in May, could receive heavy interest if he hits the market.

-- Charean Williams

 

Terrell Owens announces on Twitter he is joining Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League

By Clarence Hill Jr.

Former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens announced on his Twitter account, @TerrellOwens, that he has agreed to join the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League.

Owens, 38, made the announcement via personal video that he has accepted the team’s offer of part ownership as well as play receiver.

Here were Owens’ words on the 22 second video Wednesday night: “It’s official. It just went down. I’m headed back to Texas. IFL here I come. Allen, Texas, here I come.”

Wranglers general manager Drew Pearson confirmed the aggreement via Twitter, saying Owens is coming as a player and owner.

The Wranglers announced last month that they offered Owens a compensation package worth up to $500,000 for the 2012 season, which starts in February.

Most IFL players earn $225 per game plus a bonus for winning.

The six-time Pro Bowler hasn’t played football since 2010 when he injured his knee while playing with the Cincinnati Bengals. No one offered him a contract in 2011.

 Pearson successfully pitched it as an opportunity for Owens to prove to NFL teams that he is healthy again and can still play while also setting him up for life after football with a business venture.

Here is the link to Owens’ video announcement.

http://www.beeyoo.com/terrellowens/video?vid=476

Dez Bryant altercation in Miami with Lil Wayne and his entourage supposedly stemmed from unpaid debt

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

According a source, the fight involving Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant at a Miami night club Sunday was with rapper Lil Wayne and his entourage.

Bryant, who is now back in Dallas, was detained by police but not arrested or charged.

The altercation at LIV night club on South Beach apparently stemmed from money Bryant reportedly owes to a New York-based investment firm.

According to a source, the firm, which works with athletes and entertainers to help them purchase luxury items such as cars, yachts and vacation homes, is linked to Lil Wayne and his record label Young Money Entertainment.

Wayne and Young Money President Mack Maine and Cash Money Entertainment CEO Brian “Baby” Williams and their entourage were present and involved in the fracas with Bryant, the source said.

The Boston Herald reported last month that Endurance Capital Fund, a New York-based financial company, alleged that Bryant still owed them more than $50,000 on a $100,000 loan that was more than year past due.

ECF was supposedly trying to serve Bryant with a lawsuit.

It’s unknown if he has ever been served.

Bryant was unavailable for comment.

But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said during the season that the debt was paid.

"I've got some familiarity with the details, quite a bit familiarity with the details of this business that he had this week off the field," Jerry Jones said Dec. 30 on his weekly radio show. "I would say that that is the reason you have disagreements. I know firsthand that the bill was paid and accepted, so I can't say and wouldn't say any more about that."

Apparently, Lil Wayne and his entourage had something to say Monday night.

The question is whether that will be their final say on the matter.

 

Cowboys could help their offensive line in free agency if big names hit the market

The Cowboys will be looking to improve in the interior of their offensive line. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan will help, but Dallas could use better players.

Center Phil Costa was the 30th-best center in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Right guard Kyle Kosier, 33, didn't have his best season. He tied for 46th among guards, according to the Web site. The Cowboys started three left guards. Montrae Holland played there for 10 games after being re-signed when rookie Bill Nagy was lost for the season. Pro Football Focus had Holland tied for 16th among guards.

Stanford offensive guard David DeCastro could be available at No. 14 in the draft, but signing a free agent is a possibility, too.

The best guards slated to become free agents are New Orleans' Carl Nicks and Baltimore's Ben Grubbs. Houston's Chris Myers, Green Bay's Scott Wells and San Diego's Nick Hardwick are the top centers whose contracts expire.

Nicks was named to the All-Pro team, and Pro Football Focus said he had the second-best season behind Philadelphia's Evan Mathis by allowing two sacks, two quarterback hits and eight pressures. The Saints are expected to do all they can to keep Nicks.

But he is expected to command more than his teammate, Jahri Evans, who signed the richest contract ever for a guard last offseason. Evans signed a seven-year, $56.7 million contract, with $19 million in the first year and $25.7 million over the first three years. The Saints could franchise Nicks, who turns 27 in May. However, that would entail getting quarterback Drew Brees under contract first. They also have receiver Marques Colston set to become a free agent.

Grubbs was 12th among guards, according to PFF. He allowed four sacks, two quarterback hits and six pressures. Baltimore was 10th in rushing. Grubbs turns 28 in March.

Myers had the best season of any center, according to PFF. He played 1,060 snaps and gave up one sack. He also was a big reason the Texans ranked second in rushing. He turns 31 in September.

Wells was the fourth-best center, and Hardwick was 12th. Both would be upgrades over Costa. Wells just turned 31. Hardwick turns 31 in September.

-- Charean Williams

 

 

 

 

 

Brett Maxie enjoyed his time with Cowboys but couldn’t pass up chance to run his own room

The chance to run his own room as the primary secondary coach was too good to pass up for Brett Maxie, prompting him to choose a job with the Tennessee Titans rather than staying with the Cowboys.

“That was a big key for me,” Maxie said. “They got a lot of young talent. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Maxie had been with the Cowboys since 2008. But he shared the secondary duties with Dave Campo the past four years. The Cowboys hired Jerome Henderson last week to replace Campo.

Maxie was offered a two-year deal to stay with the Cowboys, which was very tempting because of the respect he has for owner Jerry Jones, coach Jason Garrett and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and the fact that he is a Dallas native who went to high school at Madison before playing in college at Texas Southern.

But the situation would have been the same as it was with Campo. Maxie would have worked with the safeties while Henderson would have handled the cornerbacks.

In Tennessee, Maxie will be the lone secondary coach.

It’s unclear if the Cowboys will replace Maxie or let Henderson handle the entire secondary.

Clarence HIll  

 

 

Early mock drafts have Cowboys taking DeCastro, Kuechly, Upshaw, Dennard and Ingram

NFL.com has come out with its first mock draft, and not surprisingly it is "all over the board." Five nfl.com and NFL Network personalities had five different picks for the Cowboys at No. 14.

The five picks were: Stanford offensive guard David DeCastro, Boston College inside linebacker Luke Kuechly, Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram.

http://tinyurl.com/7y5rycv

Alicia Landry gets credit for the fedora, the star and shuttling the QBs

Alicia Landry was like E.F. Hutton: When she spoke, her husband listened.

Tom Landry's widow stole the show at the reunion of the 1971 Cowboys on Monday, which was 40 years to the day that the franchise won its first championship. Alicia Landry married Tom Landry Sr. in 1949. He became head coach of the Cowboys 10 years later, something for which Alicia takes credit.

She was asked Monday night whether she ever offered her husband any advice about the Cowboys. She said three times she had:

1. It was her idea that "Tommy," as she calls Landry, wear a fedora. For a cold-weather game in New York, someone had suggested he don a Stetson. "That's so trite," Alicia said. "But it does look good on Bum [Phillips]." So Alicia had Landry wear a fedora. It became Landry's trademark.

2. She was the one who chose coming to Dallas over staying in New York. Alicia said Landry could have stayed and coached the Giants, but she told Tommy they were moving back to Texas. "It's more like a club than a state," she said. Landry coached the Cowboys until 1989 when Jerry Jones bought the team. They won two Super Bowls under Landry. "That was my gift to you all," she said.

3. She was reluctant to admit it, but Roger Staubach and Craig Morton found out Monday that it was Alicia's idea that the Cowboys shuttle their quarterbacks for a 1971 game against the Bears. Staubach and Morton alternated each play, and the Cowboys gained almost 500 yards. But they turned it over seven times and lost 23-19 to fall to 4-3 on the season. Staubach was given the job for the rest of the season. "I hate to admit it, but shuttling the quarterbacks was my idea," Alicia said. Asked if Staubach and Morton knew that, she answered, "No one ever asked me."

Alicia also said it was her suggestion to put a star on the side of the helmet.

"With Tommy coaching them, they were going to be stars," she said, "and it's the Lone Star State."

The story of the '71 Cowboys has been preserved in a recently released book entitled: Breakthrough 'Boys. It was written by former Associated Press writer Jaime Aron.

-- Charean Williams

 

 

Staubach: North Texas will get another Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLV was marred by bad weather and a seating fiasco. Despite that, the chairman of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee expects the NFL's big game to return to North Texas one day.

Roger Staubach said Monday night it might be a few years, but the Super Bowl will return to Cowboys Stadium.

"I think we'll definitely get another one here," Staubach said at an event honoring the 40th anniversary of the 1971 team's victory in Super Bowl VI. "I don't know when. The NFL is more involved now in telling the cities when they can get in. I'm not sure. The process has changed a little bit, but we'll get another one here. It turned out to be a great venue. We had a little bad luck there with the seats, [but] that wasn't the host committee's [fault]."

Super Bowl XLVI will be held in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. New Orleans will host in 2013 and New York in 2014. It likely will be 2017, at the earliest, before the game returns to North Texas. The 2016 Super Bowl is the 50th anniversary of the game, and Los Angeles, which hosted Super Bowl I, could get that game.

"I think they were going to save [that one] for L.A.," Staubach said. "But I don't know what's going to happen out there [for] 50. I don't know when they're going to bid on 50. I think we'll get one between 50 and 53 or somewhere. We'll be in there, if I had to guess." 

-- Charean Williams

 

DeMarcus Ware named to All-NFL team; Murray, Smith, Bailey earn All-Rookie

Linebacker DeMarcus Ware was the Cowboys' only representative on the All-NFL team voted on by Pro Football Weekly and the Professional Football Writers of America. Ware also was the team's only All-Pro.

The Cowboys did land three rookies on Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie team. Running back DeMarco Murray, right tackle Tyron Smith and kicker Dan Bailey all earned honors.

Murray, a third-round pick, rushed for 897 yards and two touchdowns on 164 carries before being lost for the season with a fractured ankle in the first Giants' game on Dec. 11. Smith, the No. 9 overall choice, played so well at right tackle that he likely will be moved to left tackle in 2012. He had three holding penalties and allowed 9.5 sacks, according to STATS, Inc. Bailey, an undrafted free agent, tied for fifth in the NFL in scoring wtih 135 points. He made 32 of 37 field goals.

-- Charean Williams

 

Brett Maxie takes Tennessee job

The Cowboys won't have either of their secondary coaches back after Brett Maxie accepted a job with the Titans. Maxie had been weighing the offer over the weekend. He was the only candidate.

In Tennessee, Maxie will be the only secondary coach. He shared duties with Dave Campo last season and would have split the job with newly hired Jerome Henderson in 2012. Henderson replaces Campo, whose contract expired and was not re-hired.

Maxie replaces Marcus Robertson in Tennessee after spending the past four seasons with the Cowboys. He has 14 seasons of NFL coaching experience, including stops in Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco and Carolina.

-- Charean Williams

What was the Cowboys' biggest disappointment in 2011? You decide.

The Cowboys didn't make the playoffs -- again -- and now face an off-season of questions. But before we look ahead, let's look back at 2011. This week we pose the question:

What was the Cowboys' biggest disappointment in 2011? Cast your vote, or post in the comments below.

Clarence Hill, Cowboys beat writer: The biggest disappointment was coach Jason Garrett. He was supposed to be detail oriented, prepared, in charge and the leader of men -- the antithesis of the supposed mealy mouth and slouthful Wade Phillips. Well, the Cowboys failed in crucial final game situations starting in the sesason opener and continued throughout much of the season, which is why they blew five fourth-quarter leads. The kicker was the unforgiveable breakdown in game management in the criminal loss to the Cardinals that turned the season.

First, it was the decision not to call a timeout and settling for a 49-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the game. Then, it was the decision to unwittingly ice their kicker. Finally, the Cowboys lost four of their final five games, including a first-half no-show by falling behind 21-0 in the winner-take-all season finale against the Giants. This team worked on getting better every day, but it didn't play inspired football when it mattered most. In the end, what we saw in 2010 when the Cowboys went 5-3 under Garrett after he took over for Phillips was rendered obsolete by the 2011 finish, likely putting his job on notice in 2012.

Carlos Mendez, Cowboys beat writer: The zero impact the defense had on games when the games started to matter. They couldn't get a handle on Rex Grossman. Gimpy Kevin Kolb was making plays on them. There was never any doubt Eli Manning was going to move the ball in the Cowboys Stadium game. And in Week 17, when the Cowboys had to keep the Giants to 21, they couldn't. For all the confidence he expressed in his players and how much he sold himself selling, Rob Ryan never got a statement game from his defense.

Charean Williams, Cowboys beat writer: Miles Austin losing the pass in the lights against the Giants. It was the play that cost the Cowboys a playoff berth. Austin ran by cornerback Aaron Ross and was wide open up the seam on a third-and-five play with 2:25 remaining in the Cowboys' loss to the Giants at Cowboys Stadium. But Austin lost Tony Romo's throw in the lights. The Cowboys punted and the Giants scored to come back from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Dallas would have buried the Giants with a victory, and things would be very, very different this week. Whether the Cowboys could have done what the Giants have done in reaching the title game is questionable, but at least they would have had a chance. (DeMarco Murray getting hurt would be my No. 2 disappointment. They were a different offense with him than without him.)

David Humphrey, assignment editor: Special teams return game. I can't recall anytime in modern-day franchise history that the Cowboys posed no consistent threat in the return game like this season. Only in brief appearances by Dez Bryant on punt returns and Felix Jones on kickoff returns was there any hope for success. While touchdowns obviously were not expected on each return, at least the threat of the big play should be present. It wasn't. The rankings (20th on kickoff returns and 27th on punt returns) don't accurately reflex how weak the units were for the Cowboys.

(Photo of Garrett by Rodger Mallison/Star-Telegram)

Laurent Robinson says he's a good fit with Cowboys, doesn't care if he's No. 1, 2 or 3 receiver

Laurent Robinson, who led the Cowboys in touchdown catches this year after being signed off the street, said he would like to come back and doesn’t care if he’s the No. 1, 2 or 3 receiver.

“I think I fit in good here, you know, getting along good with the guys,” he said Friday in a radio interview on KESN 103.3-FM ESPN. “This is where I want to be. It doesn’t matter if I’m the No. 1, 2 or 3. I feel like I have a good fit here.”

Robinson had a career year with the Cowboys. He caught 54 passes for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 15.9 yards a catch, in 14 games. He was signed to a one-year deal in Week 2 after being released at the end of training camp by San Diego.

Injuries had limited him in his first four years in the NFL, and a hamstring injury sidelined him in his first week with the Cowboys. But once Robinson made his Cowboys debut in Week 3 against Washington, he did not slow down and became quarterback Tony Romo’s most trusted target in the red zone.

Robinson told KESN’s “The Ben & Skin Show” that the Cowboys want him back, too.

“They just said they were proud of what I did for the team and hopefully they can bring me back,” Robinson said. “I’m just waiting for free agency to start. They can’t negotiate with my agent yet. I’m just waiting around to see what happens.”

Robinson has likely earned a multi-year deal, and he may get a chance to listen to other offers. But he said money won’t be his prime consideration.

“Money doesn’t drive me to play this game,” he said. “I play because I like to have fun. I think I have a good fit here with the Cowboys. Got a good group of receivers. Great QB. Witten. The o-line and defense. I think I fit in good here.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

David DeCastro, Mark Barron, Alfonzo Dennard are possibilities for Cowboys in draft

The Cowboys have 17 of 22 starters under contract for next season, but that doesn't mean all 17 will return or return to their starting roles. Cornerback Terence Newman is expected to be jettisoned, and the Cowboys could upgrade their entire interior offensive line.

Dallas will have chances through free agency and the draft to improve itself.

The Cowboys have the 14th overall draft pick. Some of the areas they could look to address are: cornerback, interior offensive line, safety, pass-rushing linebacker and defensive end. Draft analyst Dane Brugler gives an early look at who might be there for the Cowboys at No. 14, with comments. You can find Dane on Twitter @dpbrugler.

OL

David DeCastro, G, Stanford - top guard prospect in this class, mauling puller who can dominate at the point of attack and eliminate defenders - will fit somewhere in that top-20

Peter Konz, G/C, Wisconsin - versatile center/guard who is more of a later first rounder, but could easily sneak into top-20 - no question the top center in this class

 

DB

Mark Barron, S, Alabama - top safety in this class who loves to hit and get physical, better downhill vs the run than back in coverage but has the feet to hold his own against the pass

Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska - short and lacks elite speed, but he's fluid with good instincts, feel and ballskills for the position

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama - would be a definite top-15 prospect if it weren't for the red flags off the field but the skill is there

 

Pass Rushing OLB

Melvin Ingram, South Carolina - do-it-all pass rusher who lacks great measureables but is relentless - in the James Harrison (PIT) mold

Courtney Upshaw, Alabama - lacks great length, but has smooth footwork and hips with the natural burst to win the edge and chase down ballcarriers (Def MVP of Nat'l Championship)

 

5-technique DE

Quinton Coples, North Carolina - had a disappointing senior season and there are some questions about his passion but skill and raw talent is off-the-charts

Devon Still, Penn State - moves very well for a man his size with the strength and explosion to occupy blocks and collapse the pocket - Big Ten Def MVP this season

Maxie has good interview with Titans, receives offer to coach secondary but now must decide to stay or go

Cowboys assistant secondary coach Brett Maxie had a good interview with the Tennessee Titans to coach their secondary, according to sources.

He received an offer to join their staff after interviewing on Thursday and now must decide if he's going to return to the Cowboys or join the staff at Tennessee.

Maxie has an offer to return to the Cowboys where he has served primarily as the safeties coach since 2008 while sharing the defensive back duties with the departed Dave Campo.

The Cowboys have hired Jerome Henderson to replace Campo so Maxie would have to share the job again in he returns to Dallas.

If he goes to Tennessee he will be in charge of the entire secondary.

It's an intriguing decision for Maxie who is a Dallas native and went to college at Texas Southern in Houston. 

-- Clarence Hill 

Jason Garrett will continue to call the plays despite Bill Callahan's title

Jason Garrett has lost his title of offensive coordinator. It is a title he has held with the Cowboys since he arrived as an assistant coach in 2007 and something he kept when he became the full-time head coach last season. But Garrett isn't giving up the play-calling.

Bill Callahan officially was hired by the Cowboys on Thursday. The team created intrigue among fans when its press release said the former Oakland Raiders and Nebraska head coach was hired as offensive coordinator/offensive line coach. Some were hoping it meant Callahan will call the plays with the Cowboys, but that is not the case.

Garrett will continue in his role as play-caller, only without the title of offensive coordinator.

The Cowboys ranked eighth in total offense last season.

-- Charean Williams

 

As expected, backup QB Jon Kitna will retire

Cowboys backup quarterback Jon Kitna has informed the team he will retire, a move that was expected after he went on injured reserve Dec. 14 with a back injury. Kitna did not return phone call or email messages.

Kitna, 39, had considered retirement before the 2011 season. Instead, he returned to Dallas without his family, who stayed at their off-season home in Washington.

He played for four teams in 15 seasons and was 50-74 in 124 career starts. Kitna passed for 29,745 yards and 169 touchdowns with 165 interceptions. He ended the 2010 season injured, too, after an abdominal injury kept him out of the regular-season finale. Kitna was 4-5 in nine starts in place of starter Tony Romo last season after Romo broke his left clavicle.

Kitna's departure leaves Stephen McGee as the team's backup quarterback behind Romo. McGee, a former fourth-round draft pick from Texas A&M, has seen signifcant regular-season action in three games. That includes the Dec. 24 loss to the Eagles when Romo injured his throwing hand on the team's fourth play from scrimmage. McGee is 46-for-82 for 420 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in his career.

The Cowboys could sign a veteran quarterback, or they could draft one. Among the free-agent quarterbacks who could be signed as a backup include: Jason Campbell, Kyle Orton, David Carr, Charlie Batch, Vince Young, Derek Anderson, Rex Grossman and Brady Quinn.

-- Charean Williams

 

Laurent Robinson needs your vote to become Top Value Performer

Cowboys receiver Laurent Robinson is a finalist for Vizio's Top Value Performer Award. This is the fifth year the home electronics company has honored players who exceeded their base salaries based on their "regular-season performances, statistics and the role they played in the success of their team."

Fans will choose the winner by voting online from Jan. 9-Jan. 23 at www.VIZIO.com/tvp.

The other finalists are Giants receiver Victor Cruz, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman and Bears running back Matt Forte.

The Cowboys were Robinson's fourth team in five years. Robinson signed a one-year, $685,000 deal with the Cowboys before the season started, was cut after a hamstring injury and then re-signed. He led the team in touchdowns with 11 and had 54 receptions for 858 yards.

Robinson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.

-- Charean Williams

Cowboys make hirings of Bill Callahan and Jerome Henderson official

The Cowboys made the hirings of their two new assistant coaches official Thursday. Bill Callahan and Jerome Henderson will join Jason Garrett's staff for the 2012 season.

Callahan will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator/offensive line coach, while Henderson is being added as a secondary coach, the Cowboys said in a release.

Callahan spent the past four seasons as the assistant head coach and offensive line coach with the New York Jets and has 14 years of NFL coaching experience. Henderson joins the Cowboys after three years with the Cleveland Browns in the same capacity, and while just in his sixth year of coaching, he played eight seasons (1991-98) in the NFL as a defensive back.

The Cowboys could lose secondary coach Brett Maxie. Maxie interviewed in Tennessee this week.

-- Charean Williams 

Hiring of Jerome Henderson aimed at improving secondary; SS Abe Elam certainly approves of choice

Vice-president Stephen Jones said the addition of Jerome Henderson as secondary coach was aimed a improving the team’s abysmal pass defense.

The Cowboys gave up the second most passing yards in team history in 2011, one year after setting a club record for passing touchdowns allowed.

"I think he is going to be a really nice coach for us," Jones said Thursday during a radio interview on The Ticket (1310-AM). "Fans, anybody could see that we have struggled, in particular on the back end of our defense. We have to improve ourselves. That makes it two years running now we have struggled. We have to get better back there."

Henderson, 42, who coached the Browns secondary the past three seasons, will replace Dave Campo whose contract was not renewed.

It reunites him with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan who led the Browns defense in 2009 and 2010 before coming to the Cowboys in 2011.

The move certainly meets the approval of Cowboys safety Abe Elam who played four seasons under Henderson with the Jets and Browns before signing with the Cowboys in 2011.

Henderson began his coaching career with Jets in 2007 and followed then-coach Eric Mangini to the Browns in 2009.   

“He’s a good coach,” Elam said. “He’s a former player. He’s very smart and knowledgeable. He is a student of the game.”

Elam calls Henderson the most influential coach of his career and acknowledges his presence in Dallas certainly makes him want to return next season if the Cowboys will have him. Elam signed a one-year deal in 2011 and is a free agent.

“I have played under him for four years,” Elam said. “He taught me a lot about the game, how to watch film, how to be a professional. If I had the chance I would love to play for him.”

Clarence Hill

Safety Danieal Manning glad he landed with Texans after being passed over by Cowboys in free agency

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

Houston _ For safety Danieal Manning, the choice was simple when he became an unrestricted free agent last spring.

If he wasn’t going to re-sign with the Chicago Bears, where he spent the first four years of his career, the Corsicana native wanted to come home.

That put the Dallas Cowboys, the team he rooted for as a kid and one in desperate need of safety help, at the top of his wish list.

But after reaching out to the Cowboys through his agent Russell Hicks and getting no response likely because they deemed his asking was too high, Manning turned to option No. 2 _ the Houston Texans.

Clearly, it worked out for the best.

Not only was Manning given a four-year, $20 million contract, including $9 million in guarantees _ compared to the $5 million the Cowboys gave safeties Gerald Sensabaugh and Abe Elam combined in 2011 _ but he joined a franchise that is clearly on the rise.

The Texans (11-6) won their first even AFC South Division title, their first ever postseason game last weekend with a 31-10 blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard playoffs and are playing at the Baltimore Ravens Sunday for a chance to reach the AFC title game for the first time in franchise history.

“We reached out to the (Cowboys),” Manning said. “(Being from Corsicana) that was one of the first teams I was thinking about going to in free agency. But everything worked out for the best.  God knew exactly where I needed to be. I wanted to come home. I’m glad I got the opportunity.”

 

Aikman says Callahan a good fit for Cowboys because of Gruden connection

Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said he is a big fan of Hudson Houck, but that new offensive line coach Bill Callahan looks like a good fit for the Cowboys because of his working history with Jon Gruden.

“I don’t know what his techniques are, how similar or how different they are from what the Cowboys were being taught before, but knowing he was there with Jon Gruden and knowing what Jon Gruden likes to do, I think that’s a pretty good fit, would be my guess, in Dallas,” Aikman said.

Callahan was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Raiders under Gruden in the years before Gruden went to become the head coach at Tampa Bay. The 2000 Raiders under Gruden and Callahan led the NFL in rushing. Gruden and Callahan also worked together in Philadelphia under head coach Ray Rhodes, when Gruden was offensive coordinator and Callahan was offensive line coach.

Aikman was asked about the new Cowboys offensive line coach in a conference call Wednesday to promote FOX’s coverage of the NFC playoffs.

Aikman never played for Callahan, who took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in his first year as a head coach and spent four years as a college head coach at Nebraska. But Aikman said everyone he has been talking to about Callahan has had high praise for him.

“Talking to a number of players and coaches who were part of that staff long ago, before he went on became the head coach in Oakland, from early on in Gruden’s tenure in Oakland, a lot of people I was talking to at that time were raving about Bill Callahan and how good he was as an offensive line coach,” Aikman said.

Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, who brought Houck to Dallas, said his former assistant did a great job as an offensive line coach in two stints in Dallas. But he was also optimistic about Callahan.

“He’s an outstanding football coach,” Johnson said. “I don’t know him. I know his reputation.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Linebacker, safety signed to futures contracts for next year

The Cowboys signed linebacker Baraka Atkins and safety Justin Taplin-Ross to futures contracts for next year.

Atkins, 6-4, 271, will be a fifth-year player out of Miami. He was drafted in the fourth round in 2007 by the Seattle Seahawks and played in 21 games for them in his first two years. He had 18 tackles and two sacks in nine games in 2008.

He was in camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer.

Taplin-Ross signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys last summer, but he failed his physical and was released. He started 13 games at Utah in 2010, recording 62 tackles and two interceptions.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez