Lone Star Struck

Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware finished second to San Francisco’s Patrick Willis in voting for the Dick Butkus Award, which is awarded each offseason to the NFL’s best linebacker.

Ware won the award last year and narrowly missed repeating after tallying 39 votes and falling short to Willis who had 50.

The Butkus Award has was always been awarded to college and high school football players, but at the suggestion of Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, the NFL began  honoring pro football players as of last year when Ware became the first recipient.

Willis had 154 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions for the Niners last season.

Ware finished with 57 tackles, eleven sacks, five forced fumbled and six pass deflections for the Cowboys.

Even in a season when Ware’s numbers were down across the board, he still ranks with the best of them and as far as outside linebackers go, nobody is better.

By the way, we want to wish all of our friends and readers a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  They say that every year on this day, everybody is Irish including the always magical Jason McWitten and Patrick O’Crayton. Go grab yourselves a fine cold Irish brew and have a wonderful day.

For those of you who are home tonight, you might want to tune into NBC at 7:00 PM CST to watch a new series entitled “Who Do You Think You Are“.

Tonight, the show centers around legendary Cowboys running back Emmit Smith, who discovers his genealogical roots on a journey that takes him beyond his expectations.

In this short video preview, Emmitt Smith discovers that his ancestor, a slave girl named Mariah, was sold in 1826 at the age of 11 years old.

If you do watch, come back and share your thoughts after the show.

It’s been pretty quiet this week as far as Cowboys news goes, but here’s a few things that might interest some of you.

To begin, the Oakland Raiders have released ex-Cowboy Greg Ellis after a dismal injury-plagued season. one-year stint on the West Coast. he still has some money coming to him from the guaranteed $10 million dollars he received from the Raiders. It looks like it might be the end of the road for Ellis who is still battling an arthritic knee.

Martellus Bennett continues to voice displeasure over his role with the Cowboys. In an interview which you could watch here courtesy of the DMN, he said,

“I think I could be one of the all-time greats. Probably the system has to change for me to produce. You’ve got to fit into the system. It’s not just all on the player. It’s different things that have to be done to put me in a position to make those plays.”

This isn’t the first time he has expressed his angst with his role on the team and his future with the organization.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, is not the least bit concerned with the team’s lack of movement in this years free agent market.

“We’re pleased with what we have in place with the Cowboys. But if you look at our past several years, we’ve never jumped right out there in free agency, and really, I don’t ever look at what other teams are doing. I look at what we’re about, and we have some places that we can improve our team in free agency just as we will in the draft, but there’s no angst about getting anxious here. We’re just watching it unfold.”

I really don’t see the Cowboys as major players in free agency this offseason. As a whole the roster is solid and only needs some shoring up depth wise and at the offensive line which they can easily do via the draft.

Today is a big day for the Cowboys as they must tender offers to their 13 restricted free agents by the 11:00 pm CST deadline tonight.

You can be sure that both wide receiver Miles Austin and safety Gerald Sensabaugh will both receive high tenders from the Cowboys and that neither will be going anywhere.

Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram speculates that Austin will receive the highest tender possible — a one-year salary of $3.168 million and compensation of a first- and third-round pick if he signs with another team.

Sensabaugh will likely be tagged with the first-round tender of $2.62 million. If he signs with another team, the Cowboys would get a first-round pick in return.

The other Cowboys restricted free agents include:

DT Stephen Bowen
G Cory Procter
G Duke Preston
DE Jason Hatcher
NT Junior Siavii
WR Sam Hurd
S Pat Watkins
OT Pat McQuistan
DE Marcus Spears
PK Shaun Suisham
CB Cletis Gordon

Of those eleven, I suspect that 3-4 of them may not be returning next season including Suisham and Gordon.

I was very surprised when the Cowboys decided not to place the franchise tag on Miles Austin last week which would have paid him a guaranteed one-year, $9.52 million deal that would’ve required another team to give up two first-round picks as compensation for signing him to a non-matching offer sheet.

I was a little worried that we might be exposing Miles Austin to a slight risk of employment elsewhere if another team should beat the Cowboys tender, but felt more at ease after reading this in the Dallas Morning News.

Not many teams in league history have been willing to relinquish a first- and third-round pick for a restricted free agent. Almost none, in fact. In 1998, Bill Parcells brought restricted running back Curtis Martin with him from the Patriots to the Jets. The Patriots were unwilling to match the Jets’ six-year, $36 million offer sheet and took a first- and third-rounder in return. Eighteen players received the high tender over the next 10 years. None were pried away by a rival’s offer sheet.

Good to know…

One of the things the Cowboys need to do is get some momentum going again. There’s all kinds of momentum and it doesn’t just happen on the field of play. I’d like to see the Cowboys get out there and start making some noise by signing some of their key players and getting that rumor mill churning as they look toward the draft and potential free agents and trades. When the new season begins, I’m looking for the ‘Boys to bust out of camp oozing with confidence and getting off to a fast start.

From fast starts to false starts…

The Dallas Morning News had an interesting take on one of the Cowboy’s big problems last season; the offensive line.

They believe That Marc Colombo is getting a free pass while Flozell Adams catches all the heat regarding the excessive amount of false starts.

Adams has 24 false-start penalties in 48 games during the last three regular seasons. Marc Colombo, who mans the right side, has had the same problem at nearly the same rate. He has 20 false-start penalties in 41 games during the last three regular seasons.

Add one mistake by Doug Free last season, and the Cowboys have 45 false-start penalties by their tackles in the last three regular seasons. Only one team has had more false starts by its tackles in that span: dreadful Oakland, with 47.

Penalties have haunted this team for a few seasons now. Each time training camp opens, we’ll hear how they plan to focus on reducing the penalties, but the fact is nothing really changes. Hopefully this year will be different.

One of the problems is that our O-Line is getting older, and to compensate for the reduced burst in their first step they move too early. Flozell will be 35, Colombo is 31, Gurode is 32, Davis is 32, Kosier 31. That may very well be one of the oldest lines in the NFL.

I wonder if this becomes one of our primary objectives in the NFL Draft?

According to several reports, Addison police have issued an arrest warrant for Dallas Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson on a new charge of deadly conduct for allegedly pulling a gun on a man early yesterday morning.

A Dallas County magistrate issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson after he allegedly brandished a loaded gun at a restaurant valet parking attendant. The warrant cites Anderson for “deadly conduct”.

A statement from Addison police said officers had been told there was a confrontation between several men and a restaurant valet. According to the warrant, the victim was in fear of bodily injury or death when Anderson displayed the firearm after retrieving it from his car. The warrant says police recovered a weapon from some nearby shrubs; it was loaded and a round was chambered. The charge stems from the same early morning incident in which Anderson was arrested for outstanding Irving traffic warrants.

Earlier today ESPN’s Matt Mosley reported that Dallas Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson was arrested early Tuesday morning on traffic warrants after Addison, Texas, police were called to the scene of a disturbance between the player and employees of the Black Finn restaurant. Mosley writes,

I didn’t think an arrest over traffic warrants was worth mentioning last night, but the police report said two weapons were confiscated and Anderson’s car was impounded for further investigation.

No charges have been filed in relation to the weapons at this time, but this investigation bears watching. Anderson told ESPNDallas.com that he exchanged words with a valet attendant and a security guard while attempting to start his car. The traffic warrants were from the city of Irving, so that’s where he was booked into the jail at 5:21 a.m. Tuesday.

The Cowboys have yet to issue a statement, but are fully aware of the situation.

Obviously, this story started out as a small traffic issue, but clearly it has escalated into something much more serious. It’s also worth mentioning that it will be interesting to see how this affects his career with the Cowboys, especially after the team focused on weeding out some of the more problematic players during last offseason’s purge. Stay tuned.

As we approach the biggest football game of the year, there is going to be an awful lot of talk surrounding the Super Bowl spread and who is going to win the big game with the points.

Through the years, we have seen some very uncompetitive Super Bowl matchups, and when it came down to the line maker’s decision, that has been reflected.

In fourteen of the 43 epic games contested so far, the Super Bowl spread has been one of double digits or more. In those games, the favorite has covered seven times, with six wins for the underdog, and one push.

The Super Bowl spread has been a field goal or less on only eight occasions, which would seem highly unusual when you figure that, theoretically anyway, the best two teams are meeting in the game.

In those games with the tight lines, the favorite and underdog have each covered four times in the Superbowl spread.

The first four times the biggest game in the United States has been played, the Super Bowl spread was twelve points or more. In the last seven seasons, however, there has only been one Super Bowl spread of ten points or more, and that was when the New England Patriots, a 12-point favorite, were beaten by the Giants straight-up.

So you never really know what to expect. What is your prediction on the Super Bowl?

Looking ahead to next season, I wondered which of our players had a high probability of not being back with the team next season. It’s not a hate list by any means, just an objective look at who could be on their way out and why I feel that way about them.

1. Marion Barber RB – Many of you might be surprised to see Barber on this list, but the fact of the matter is that with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice on board, it would make sense to explore our options with Barber who still has some great trade value. The fact is that Barber’s 4.3 yards per carry, pales in comparison to Choice 5.5 YPC and Jones 5.9. We could easily get back a 1st and 3rd round pick for Barber and use them to beef up an aging O-Line.

2. Martellus Bennett TE – I don’t believe Bennett can live with the fact that he’s a back up to Jason Witten. He’s frequently crying about playing time on his website and bemoaning the fact that he isn’t a starter. He has the talent to be a starter, but unless disaster strikes and Witten was to miss significant time, will continue to be used in the same reserve role and frown about it. Bennett is just a spare part that can easily be replaced by up and coming John Phillips who is a team first guy and a real gamer. The Cowboys might be able to get a third or fourth round pick for Bennett or maybe even net themselves a number three or four type wide receiver with some upside.

3. Roy Williams WR – My inclusion of Williams on this list is probably more a case of wishful as opposed to a real chance Williams could or would get traded. Obviously, his trade value has taken a huge hit and he is overpaid as well. But at this point, and after waiting almost two seasons for him show profit, wouldn’t you say it’s time to cut our losses and move on? Kevin Ogletree has show the speed, the hands, and the ability to perfectly run his routes, and must be strongly considered for a move up the depth chart. If anyone is crazy enough to take Williams’ off our hands in exchange for a second round pick, I’d do it and never look back.

I just read a interesting article by Matt Mosley of ESPN who got a chance to listen in on Brett Favre’s conference call with the media on Wednesday. He spoke mostly about the upcoming game between the Vikings and the Cowboys as well as some of the Vikings’ issues. Here is a brief recap.

On who is the hottest team…

“From the outside looking in, if you had to look at both teams, us and the Cowboys, you’d go, OK, aside from the fact that the Cowboys are playing at the Vikings, who is the hottest team right now? Well, I mean, no duh. The Cowboys are. In all phases, they are playing great. Their defense is playing outstanding. They are peaking at the right time, if you will.”

On his teams biggest challenge this weekend…

“I mean, this is the playoffs. Rarely can you play badly or average and win. So, we are aware of how we need to play. In the fact that we are playing maybe, in my opinion, the hottest team in football right now. Just from a confidence level, from just watching them play, they are making plays, they know they are making plays, they are confident.”

Final thoughts on the Cowboys…

“You can see it, you can feel it. They just had that air about them that they couldn’t be beaten. So Dallas is playing like that right now. They are feeling it. “

Hey everyone, I thought I would share this with everyone, our site has been mentioned in an article in the Dallas Morning News.

Our own Joe D was interviewed by DMN’s Michael E. Young in a feature about Cowboys fans.

Great job Joe, we are so proud!

Follow the link below for the full story.

Cowboys fans put past behind ahead of Eagles playoff game

Here’s an excerpt that features Joe D:

After 13 years of playoff frustration – and an 0-6 record in those win-or-go-home games – many Dallas Cowboys fans look at tonight’s game against Philadelphia with cautious optimism and a healthy respect for the past.

That’s Joe DeCaro’s take, anyway, and this lifelong Cowboys fan from New York City – a staff blogger for lonestarstruck.com – can’t understand it.

“In our weekly chats, it seems very, very few are taking the plunge and getting excited,” said DeCaro, “JoeD” to his readers. “It’s like they don’t want to jinx it.”

That’s understandable.

Sure, the ‘Boys beat the Eagles twice this year, including Sunday’s thumping in Arlington, the site of tonight’s game. And the Cowboys are on a roll, winners of three straight, two of them shutouts and the third against the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints.

The running game is clicking, Tony Romo seems to have an answer for any defensive scheme and the Cowboys “D” has been lights out. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh yeah, there was that game against the New York Giants on Jan. 13, 2008, their third matchup of the year. The high-flying Cowboys won the first two. They lost the one that really counted.

The fans haven’t forgotten.

To DeCaro, though, that was then and this is now.

Just as spring brings hope to every baseball fan, even in North Texas, DeCaro figures the parity found throughout the NFL means a few off-season changes can lift last year’s losers right into the playoff race.

“I’m very optimistic and have been all year,” he said. “I figured playoffs and believed we’d win the NFC East, no doubt about it.”

But when he saw the enthusiasm of fans in Philadelphia and New York, and then looked at Dallas, “I wondered, ‘Where’s the noise?’ “

This morning I had the pleasure of participating in Dallas Morning News Live Chat with hosts Babe Laufenberg and Barry Horn.

I was fortunate enough to get three of my dozen or so questions answered. Here goes…

Joe D: Will the Cowboys go into tomorrows game with basically the same game plan as last week? Or considering the Eagles have made adjustments, will they toss them a few curves?

Babe Laufenberg: You have to be prepared for the Eagles’ adjustments. But the worst thing you can do is anticipate how they will adjust. So you go in with effectively what worked in the last game but ready to adjust on the fly. If I’m Jason Garrett, I would anticipate Philly run blitzing on early downs. I don’t think Philly can sit in their base 4-3 and stop the Cowboys running game. Cowboys ran for 179 yards last week and they will do it again if Philly plays the same D.

Joe D: Any updates on Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware injuries?

Babe Laufenberg: DeMarcus told me he is playing. Barber hasn’t said anything to anyone since 2004.

Joe D: Will we be seeing Kevin Ogletree get a larger share of playing time at the expense of Roy Williams for the rest of the playoffs?  

Babe Laufenberg: I’d be surprised and disappointed if Ogletree’s playing time didn’t increase.

I was glad to see that Babe is as enthusiastic about more playing time for Ogletree as I am.

Sadly, the one question I really wanted answered never made it.

Who has the better defense, the Cowboys or the Jets?

I’m sick and tired of hearing how the Jets have the best defense in the NFL. The Cowboys handed the Saints their first loss, held the Chargers to a season low 20 points, and pitched consecutive shutouts against the Redskins and the Eagles, who were being heralded as the hottest team in the NFL going into last weekends matchup. 

The Jets won consecutive games against opponents that didn’t even play their starters for more than half the game.  In my opinion, it’s a joke for them to even compare their defense to the Cowboys, let alone proclaiming they are the NFL’s best.

Going into today’s game, the Cowboys had lost their last nine season finales, and they were going up against one of the hottest teams in the NFC in the Eagles who were on a six game winning streak. However, none of those things meant much against a motivated Cowboys team that played some of the best football we’ve seen all season.

Led by Tony Romo, the Cowboys clobbered the Eagles 24-0 in front of a packed Cowboys Stadium crowd. Romo threw a pair of first half touchdown passes with strikes to Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton, to put the Cowboys up 14-0. After a Suisham field goal, the Cowboys ended the first half with a 17-0 advantage and all the momentum on their side.

In the second half, an electrifying touch down run by Felix Jones increased the lead to 27-0, and that would be all the scoring for the rest of the game.

While Romo and company handled things on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defense that delighted 100,621 screaming fans as they completely shutdown and dominated the prolific Eagles offense led by Donovan McNabb. The Eagles tried their best to break through a solid defensive front, but their efforts were futile and all they could muster was a pathetic 37 yards rushing against a relentless Cowboys attack.

The Cowboys defense never even allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to enter the red zone for the entire game! (Revenge is a dish best served cold!)

It was the third straight big win for the Cowboys who have finally exorcised the ghosts of season’s past. Nobody will dare say that the Tony Romo and the Cowboys can’t win a big game anymore.

Next week we do it all over again, as we host these same Philadelphia Eagles once again at Cowboys Stadium.

This Cowboys team is operating at peak performance and is firing on all cylinders. It’s been exciting to see them evolve over this past season from a solid, but inconsistent team, into the juggernaut they have now become. For the first time in a long time there is a remarkable cohesion and a single minded philosophy that is focused and determined to win a Super Bowl trophy.  These are the Dallas Cowboys that we have all been waiting for.

* * * * * Record Breakers * * * * *

Tony Romo completes the most productive season of his career and in franchise history, setting club records for attempts, completions and passing yards.

Today’s Eagles shutout coupled with last weeks blanking of the Redskins, gave the Cowboys their first back to back shutouts in franchise history. It was also the first shutout of the Eagles since a 34-0 trouncing inflicted by the Cowboys in 1998.

Felix Jones ends the season leading the NFL with a 5.9 Yards Per Carry. He beat out Titans’ RB Chris Johnson who incidentally finsihed the seaon with over 2,000 rushing yards, the sixth player in NFL history ever to accomplish the feat.

Tony Romo is just 39 passing yards away from setting a new career high total passing yards per season which he set in 2007 with 4,211 yards. Romo currently has thrown just 8 interceptions. His career best came in 2006 when he threw just 13 interceptions. Another big season from the big guy!

With 1,230 receiving yards going into Sundays finale, Miles Austin has already surpassed Terrell Owens mark of 1,052 receiving yards last season. Remarkably, Austin needs just 126 yards to smash Owens’ best season with the Cowboys in 2007 when he tallied 1,355 yards. Go Miles!

Jason Witten is just 46 yards away from the second 1,000 yard season of his career. He has not fumbled the football since 2007 and has just one fumble in the last five seasons. Wow…

With seven touchdowns this season, Roy Williams needs just one touchdown to match his career high which he set back in his rookie season in 2004.

With two touchdown catches on Sunday, the Miles Austin – Roy Williams combination would have 20 on the season and become just the third Cowboys wide receiver tandem to combine for that many in a season. Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton hold the team record with 22 in 2007. Frank Clarke and Bill Howton combined for 20 in 1962.

Running back Felix Jones currently leads the NFL in rushing yards per attempt with a 5.9 average. He has a small advantage over Tennessee’s Chris Johnson who has a 5.8 average. This one will go down to the wire. Run Felix Run!

Patrick Crayton currently sports an impressive 12.9 yards per return average on punts, easily surpassing his previous high of 9.5 which he set last season. He has also brought two of those returns back for touchdowns, the first and second of his career. He has also been a team player who quietly went about doing his job after being replaced by Miles Austin as the number two receiver. Good Guy Award!

On a side note, do you remember little Danny Amendola? Now with St. Louis, Amendola currently leads the NFL in kick returns with 61 and return yardage with 1,507 yards. I had a feeling we hadn’t heard the last of Amendola.

Bradie James needs just five tackles to set a new career high with 81 tackles to surpass last season’s total of 80. Who loves them some Bradie?

Keith Brooking needs just one more sack to set a new career high with four. The Falcons parted company with Brooking after registering no sacks last season. Their loss, our gain. He also has seven pass deflections this season, more than his previous two seasons combined. With 75 tackles already this season, he has tallied 70 or more tackles for nine straight seasons. Nicely done.

Good luck on Sunday guys!

I’ve been away the last few days and haven’t really had a chance to read up on what I thought would be a mountain of excitement from Cowboys fans in the blogosphere, and man, was I surprised.

Does anybody realize that the Cowboys clinched a playoff berth on Sunday night, or has the reality of that situation not sunk in yet?

Last week, one of my co-writers on this site (Michelle G.) penned an excellent piece on her take on being a fan, and in response there were several supporting and opposing comments from our wonderful readers. That was one thing, but this is strictly another… Where’s all the Silver and Blue?

Why is everyone so quiet?

Is it because your confidence in the team to succeed is so low that you are afraid to embrace the post season?

Are you having nightmares centering around bobbled snaps, overthrown passes, and blown coverages?

It’s bad enough that when compared to the rest of the NFL, we have the most quiet stadium in the game despite crowds numbering over 75,000. Maybe that’s because so many of those who attend are from the corporate side and are there thanks to all the major companies’ who buy blocks of tickets numbering in the thousands to attract clients and keep employees happy. But right now, I’m wondering where the die hard fans are and why they’ve been as quiet as a nest of church mice.

Being from New York, I guess I became so accustomed to the throngs of screaming and cheering fans who make their presence felt in every game. A win is always a good cause for millions to celebrate that night at bars, clubs and living rooms across the entire state. Clinching a playoff spot sends fans into a sheer frenzy with a fever pitch that would leave non sports fans in the street wondering what the hell just happened. There would be dancing in the streets even though nothing has been techinically won yet, and if they do win it all? Then watch out… because all of America can then watch it on their high definition TV’s, as that is all you’ll see for the next few days on ESPN and Fox Sports.

Regardless, I am celebrating this latest Cowboys victory the only way I know how… LOUD and PROUD!

I don’t know about you guys, but I have been on Cloud Nine since the Dallas Cowboys shutdown the Washington! Nothing has been able to wipe away my smile yet. I tell everyone who is willing to listen about our ‘Boys and how freaking proud I am of them!

I am so pumped up for the season finale that only Armageddon could keep me from watching every exciting second of the game. I’m treating it like a holiday… a second New Years celebration… meals, snacks and beverages have to be planned… make sure the noise makers and party hats are in good supply… We’re finally going to get our revenge against those damned forsaken Eagles!

And then after that game, the next stop will be round one of the NFL Playoffs!

As Frank Barone would say… HOLY CRAP!

Lets Go Cowboys! And just as importantly, Lets Go Cowboys Fans!!!