First, the Cowboys and Chargers agreed to a deal which sends wide receiver Patrick Crayton to the Chargers for a  seventh round pick in 2011.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the Chargers are in a contract dispute with wide receiver Vincent Jackson , who has threatened to sit out the season, and wanted an experienced wide-out which they certainly get in Crayton.

A seventh round pick in 2004, Crayton caught 196 passes for 2,888 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Cowboys. His best year came in 2007 in which he caught 50 passes for 697 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 starts. He also averaged 9.6 yards per punt return and had two touchdowns last season.

Then in another move, the Miami Dolphins acquired offensive tackle Pat McQuistan from Dallas.

It is still uncertain what the Cowboys got in return, but the trade has been confirmed. It could end up being another late round pick as they got for Crayton.

Looks like it was a busy day for the Jones’ gang.

However, McCray jumped onto our radar after his breakthrough performance last week with a spectacular performance on special teams.

Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has been impressed with his play on Special Teams and it now appears he may have secured himself a spot on the roster.

“We were looking at him because he was in the mix of possible draft choices, and this other guy, No. 44, kept showing up, making a lot of plays on special teams,” DeCamillis said. “He was in on a lot of tackles. He was a good blocker.”

No. 44 was Danny McCray, Jones’ backup.

The Cowboys signed the Spring Westfield graduate as an undrafted free agent, thinking he could be a special teams ace. Now wearing No. 40, McCray leads the team in preseason special team tackles with five, including an eye-opening three in last week’s 16-14 win over San Diego.

“Man, that might have been my best special teams game in my whole career,” said McCray, 22. “I don’t know what happened, man. The ball was just everywhere, and I just seemed (to be) right where it was.”

McCray also drew a block-in-the-back penalty, pinning the Chargers inside their 10. And when fourth-round draft pick and fellow safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah fumbled returning a kickoff, McCray was there to pounce on it.

“McCray played outstanding,” Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. “They couldn’t block him. He was making plays on all of their guys.”

As I said earlier in the post, McCray’s special teams play likely will land him a spot on the 53-man roster, especially if he plays well in the final two preseason games, including tonight’s matchup with the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium.

Williams begins by suggesting that Roy Williams can’t do anything right in the eyes of most Dallas Cowboys fans. He can’t run the right route. He can’t catch the tough pass. He can’t get on the same page with Tony Romo. He drops too many balls.

But is this the result of the fans being unfairly judgmental, or just the product of less than average performance by a receiver who arrived with very high expectations?

Maybe owner Jerry Jones is partly to blame.

The Cowboys gave up three draft picks, including first- and third-rounders, to the Detroit Lions at the 2008 trade deadline. They signed him to a five-year extension worth $45 million, with $20 million guaranteed. Whenever a team gives up that much guaranteed money, that many team resources, that many high draft picks, and makes that long of a commitment on any player, the player’s overall performance must be on the same level as what was sacrificed to get him.

Roy Williams is the third highest paid player on the team, and yet it would be hard to include him among the Cowboy’s top 15 most valuable players. This isn’t simply a perception or my opinion, it speaks to the reality of the situation.

Cowboys Receivers Coach, Ray Sherman, understands it as well:

“When you give up that much, you’re expected to come in and be this superstar. Then, it didn’t happen. That’s why you come in, keep your mouth shut and just work and let everything else take care of itself. When you go out and perform at a high level, make plays, then you win people over.”

I couldn’t have said it any better.

There’s an old saying in baseball that works just as well in football, “you’re only as good as your last five games.”

If Roy Williams wants to win the praise and admiration of Cowboys fans, it’s well within his power to make it happen.

When the season begins in September, go out there and take our breaths away. Go out there and give it your all. Go out there and make things happen.

For nearly two years you’ve been telling us how great a receiver you are. All we are saying is, prove it. If you can do that, not only will you win the fans back, but you may even get a Super Bowl ring out of it.

When you take the field on September 12th against the Washington Redskins, unleash hell.

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Many great players have worn the Dallas Cowboys uniform with pride and distinction during the teams glorious 50 year history. None however, can lay claim to the ultimate team nickname, “Mr. Cowboy” save one, the great Bob Lilly.

Though there are many current and former Cowboys who deserve their due recognition for helping the Dallas Cowboys become and maintain the title of “America’s Team”. However, a strong case can be made that if not for Bob Lilly, it may have never happened.

Many of the newer and younger Cowboy fans have all heard of the great  Bob Lilly at one time or another. They may have even heard that he is considered by most to be the best Defensive Tackle in Cowboy history. A fact that cannot be disputed.

That said, it’s only a small part of Lilly’s amazing legacy and the impact he made on a young franchise that would soon become one of the juggernauts of the NFL.

Bob Lilly was born in 1939 and went to Texas Christian University where he became a star defensive end and was named to the All-America team. As part of this honor he received a camera as one of his awards, a gift that would surely impact the rest of his life.

In 1961 Bob was drafted with first overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys, thus becoming the first ever draft pick in franchise history. He would not disappoint.

Though he was originally drafted as a defensive end, in his third year with the Cowboys, coach Tom Landry switched his position to defensive tackle where he would become one of the best at his position in the NFL for many years to come.

Lilly was a punishing defender and his tough demeanor and sheer determination made him the undisputed leader of the Cowboys famous “Doomsday Defense’. Lilly was so unstoppable, that he was regularly double and triple teamed for the majority of his career.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl a then record 11 times between 1962 and 1973, and Lilly was also a seven time first team All Pro selection.

During his long 14 year Hall of Fame career he was as durable as they came missing only one game to a leg injury.

Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility, and was the first player who spent his entire career with the Cowboys to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He is a member of the All Century Team and in 1999 was ranked number 10 on the “100 Greatest Football Players” by the Sporting News. Sports Illustrated calls him the greatest Defensive Tackle in NFL history.

In addition to being the Cowboys’ first ever draft pick, when all was said and done, “Mr. Cowboy” would also become the first player ever to be inducted into the “Ring of Honor”. He is the only Dallas Cowboy to wear the #74, and is the only number unofficially retired by the team.

Aside from football, Bob Lilly went on to become a noted photographer, a career that stemmed back to the day he began using the camera he won as an All-American. His interests included photographs of magnificent sunsets, majestic mountain ranges and scenic landscapes that captured all the natural beauty of the Midwest. He has launched a successful business where people can buy some of his most famous photographs.

www.boblilly.com

Apparently, the media  is trumpeting the fact that Emmitt failed to thank or acknowledge his Alma Mater, the University of Florida.

The way I see it, Hall of Famers earn the right to thank whoever they damn well please when they give their induction speech. It’s one of many rights they earned by being a Hall of Famer.

One thing that is hardly mentioned, is the glaring fact that this was an NFL Hall Of Fame speech, and Emmitt went ahead and thanked all those who made his NFL Hall of Fame career possible.

Upon being drafted by the Cowboys and beginning his NFL career, I don’t believe that anyone from the University of Florida had a hand in shaping the next 15 years of his life. However, his family did… And Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson did… And of course Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin did… And as America now knows, Daryl Johnston did too.

Those were the people who helped get Emmitt Smith to the Hall of Fame, and all of them received plenty of heartfelt recognition on Saturday. 

When Emmitt was drafted in 1990 by the Cowboys with pick number 17, he thanked the University of Florida for getting him to that point in his life. His college journey was over, and new and more glorious journey was about to begin.

To hell with all the haters.

Tonight’s Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony begins at 6:00 PM (CST), and Emmitt Smith will be the evening’s final speaker.

He will be presented by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who I’m sure will deliver a heartfelt introduction.

Emmitt Smith will then officially re-join his former teammates Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin for eternity in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Triplets Reunited Forever!

“I’m going home. I’m going home with the rest of the Cowboys, and I feel like it’s a place I belong,” Smith said Friday. “I saw some greats, a lot of greats [Friday]. For me even to be considered to be in that class is a wonderful thing. You’re talking about a kid that had so many odds against him.”

Smith officially will join the Hall of Fame Saturday night at the induction ceremony. He will be the last of the seven players to deliver his speech, the Pro Football Hall of Fame confirmed Friday.

Congratulations to you Emmitt on this glorious occasion celebrating your spectacular career.

Until today, your legendary and remarkable achievements belonged to the Dallas Cowboys and millions of adoring Cowboys fans. We always knew just how special you were.

But after tonight, the world will honor you and your name will become etched in the stars.

Your brilliant career will speak to football fans everywhere about your greatness and your thirst for excellence and perfection.

Your records and achievements as a player, will symbolize what all future NFL running backs will strive for and reach for in their own careers. You are the unreachable star and the mark you left on football will never be erased. You are now one for the ages.

 Highlights Of Emmitt Smith’s Remarkable and Stellar Career

Selected NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1990

Selected to 8 Pro Bowls (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999)

Four time First-Team All-Pro (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)

Named to the NFL 1990′s All-Decade Team

Three time Super Bowl Champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)

Super Bowl MVP (XXVIII)

NFL record for career rushing yards (18,355)

NFL record for career rushing touchdowns (164)

NFL record for career 100+ yards rushing games (78)

NFL record for consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (11)

Enjoy this video of Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton’s NFL Rushing Record!

Today is a big day for us at Lone Star Struck as we honor and celebrate the enshrinement of our beloved Cowboy, Emmitt Smith.

Today we will be treating you to a day dedicated to one of the greatest players ever to wear the Dallas Cowboys uniform. Emmitt wore the Number 22 with pride and in doing so he elevated the team and us fans to the ultimate experience for over a decade.

Let’s start the morning off with this well produced video that highlights some of the key moments in Emmitt’s stellar and storied career.

I don’t know where this is coming from and how much of it just overblown, but I came across an article on ESPN.com that took a swipe at Kevin Ogletree’s character.

Tim MacMahon believes that the Kevin Ogletree, who kept making plays a year ago in the Alamodome when he was fighting for a roster spot, no longer has that same sense of urgency in this training camp.

The Cowboys still like Ogletree’s potential and believe he was a steal as an undrafted free agent. He showed his promise by making plays in a limited role as a rookie. Other than Dez Bryant, there might not be a more explosive receiver on the roster. He will be on the 53-man roster.

However, if Ogletree wants a significant role this season, he better flip the switch soon.

Ogletree has dropped too many balls this camp. He has failed to fight for the ball too many times. An example came on a crossing route during Thursday morning’s practice, when he allowed undrafted rookie cornerback Bryan McCann to knock the ball out of his hands.

MacMahon also says that he has Cowboys sources that are saying Ogletree has a sense of entitlement. That may or may not be true, but sometimes confidence in one’s abilities can be mistaken for a sense of urgency.

I don’t mind seeing a little swagger on the team, and would especially love to see that among some of the veterans.

The article concludes by saying that Ogletree doesn’t appear to have the right attitude. Really? One week into training camp and we’re already making judgment calls?

Needless to say, I disagree with MacMahon on this one, and I’d advise him to let the rest of training camp play out before calling someone out.