Lone Star Struck

Since this off-season began I was predicting my home town player Gerald Sensabaugh to join my other home town player Jason Witten in Dallas my friends were saying theres no way Gerald would be a Dallas Cowboy. I debated and argued all the way until that faithful day when the Cowboys signed him. I though my arguments were over but no everywhere I looked it seemed like every Cowboys fan I talked to was doubting what Gerald could do, so I just said wait and see.

Now according to dallascowboys.com writer Mickey Spagnola Sensabaugh is one of Secondary Coach Dave Campo’s favorites. Here is what Mickey’s article said.

You might say for the majority of his years with the Cowboys, Dave Campo, first secondary coach, then defensive coordinator and then head coach before returning as secondary coach in 2008, was spoiled at the safety position. During his previous 14 seasons, he mostly had the likes of Ray Horton, James Washington, Thomas Everett, Darren Woodson, Brock Marion and George Teague back there. He even enjoyed a rather nice rookie season out of Roy Williams.

So last season probably was a little bit of a shellshock for Camps, who returned for a 15^th season. Heck, even over his three years as head coach, when Woodson remained healthy, he had Woodson and Teague back there. Injuries and performance made last year somewhat of a crap shoot.

That’s why I said to him, with the addition of Gerald Sensabaugh and all the young guys brought in, this might be the best the safety position has looked since, well, Woodson was playing.

He laughed, saying it was funny I’d bring up Woodson, “because when I got to Jacksonville (2005) I remember saying Sensabaugh (a rookie then) had the kind of burst Woodson had. Now I’m not saying he’s Woodson.”

Of course not, and he’s probably 10 to 15 pounds lighter. But Campo was trying to make a point about Sensabaugh’s ability to cover, not only from the deep safety spot, but also going inside to the weak linebacker spot on the nickel, where Woodson spoiled the Cowboys his entire career with an ability to cover even receivers in the slot.

It seems anymore this off-season as I scour the NFL website, the Cowboys website and due to a recent news drought even ESPN’s website I have noticed a question that a few people seem to be asking alot and it’s one that I’ve been asked at my job a couple of times before. That question can be asked many ways but the most common is “What makes someone a true fan?”.

The way I see it is that if you must ask that question then I can almost say that you are not a “True Fan”. I have seen various answers for this question but the one answer that bugs me the most is a simple answer that I hear too much is that you watch all 16+ games they play.

Well, that’s not the way I see it, and im sure for some people that may suffice, but not for me and hopefully not for any True Blue fan and any True NFL fan.

Here is the way I see it, a ” True Fan” is someone that when they wake up one of the first things to hit their mind is whats going on with my team today and closely followed by whats going on in the NFL as a whole today.

Number 2 on my description of a “True Fan” is that you watch the pre-game, game, and post-game and that you watch every other game you can of other teams to scope out who’s playing well for their teams so you can make predictions for when your team plays them.

Number 3 is that there is never such a thing as talking to much about your team and the first thing you think of for a conversation is your favorite team.

Number 4 is that the off-season is not viewed as just another time of the year and you do not stop talking about your team just because its not the season. It should be viewed as more time to talk about them and review how your season went.

Number 5 there is no such other thing as liking another team, you may respect them but NEVER like them because then in my eyes your viewed as a traitor.

Number 6 last but not least there is NO such  thing as too much apparel and collectibles of your team.

It has been awhile since my last post and that has mostly been due to me registering for school and making 3 youtube videos which 2 of them i am proud to say have broken 100 views and 1 has broken 150 views. So I hope that this post will do for my first one in a while so be sure to comment and let me know your outlook on a “True Fan”.

Nfl.com has reported that the Bengals and Roy Williams have agreed on a contract. I bid you good luck Superman.

The Bengals have agreed to terms with former Cowboys free safety Roy Williams.

The Cowboys released Williams, once regarded as one of the fiercest safeties in the NFL, after last season.

In Cincinnati, Williams will be reunited with Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who coached the Cowboys’ defense when the safety had some of his best production.

Well nfl.com has reported that the Vikings and Brett Farve are meeting later in the week. If this deal happens then the nightmare that Green Bay tried to avoid last year is on the verge of striking and will strike hard.

Here is the video that was on the nfl website.

Brett Farve Meeting With Vikings.

So what do all of you think about the possible return of Brett Farve let me know I’m interested in hearing everyones outlook on this and for me personally I would like to see him back for one more year and show Green Bay why they shoulda let him do his thing for one or two more years, because only he knows when he needs to retire.

I dont know about everyone else but I do play fantasy football during the season, and with it as popular as it is I figured I’d break down nfl.com’s top 10 players and my top 10players.

          NFL Ranking 

1. Adrian Peterson-RB- Minnesota Vikings
2. Matt Forte-RB- Chicago Bears
3. Michael Turner-RB- Atlanta Falcons
4. Maurice Jones-Drew-RB- Jacksonville Jaguars
5. DeAngelo Williams- RB- Carolina Panthers
6. Chris Johnson- RB- Tennessee Titans
7. Drew Brees- QB- New Orleans Saints
8. Steven Jackson- RB- St.Louis Rams
9. Brian Westbrook- RB- Philadelphia Eagles
10. Frank Gore- RB- San Francisco 49ers

           My Ranking

1. Larry Fitzgerald- WR- Arizona Cardinals
2. Adrian Peterson- RB- Minnesota Vikings
3. Chris Johnson- RB- Tennessee Titans
4. Drew Brees- QB- New Orleans Saints
5. Marion Barber- RB- Dallas Cowboys
6. Calvin Johnson- WR- Detroit Lions
7. DeAngelo Williams- RB- Carolina Panthers
8. Peyton Manning- QB- Indianapolis Colts
9. Steve Slaton- RB- Houston Texans
10. Andre Johnson- WR- Houston Texans

Miles Austin was born on June 30, 1984 in Summit, New Jersey. Miles attended Garfield High School in Garfield, New Jersey, and was a letterman in football,basketball, and track and field. In football he played wide reciever and defensive back, and as a senior he won All-Bergen County honors and All-State honors. In basketball, Austin garnered All-Bergen County honors as well. In track and field, Austin participated in the 100 meter dash, long jump, triple jump, and javelin throw. He recorded the second-longest javelin throw in Bergen County history with a throw of 214 feet, 8 inches. Austin finished third in the long jump and the triple jump at the New Jersey Meet of Champions. Miles Austin graduated from Garfield High School in 2002.

Miles college career took home at Monmouth. In his college career he caught 150 passes for 2,867 yards and 33 touchdowns. He is the school record-holder in recieving yards. He rushed 15 times for 140 yards and 1 touchdown. In 2003 Miles Set a Monmouth single-season record for touchdown catches with 12.

His NFL career started when the Dallas Cowboys signed him as a undrafted rookie free agent. In his rookie year he returned 29 kickoffs for 753 yards and recorded 5 tackles. His main highlight of the year was in the Cowboys playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. He returned 3 kickoffs for 136 yards in the game, including a 93 yard touchdown return. In the 55 postseason games in franchise history, it was the Cowboys’ first ever kickoff return touchdown in the playoffs. Miles caught his first career touchdown pass against the Green Bay Packers. In 2008 he had 13 catches for 278 and 3 touchdowns with an average of 21.4 yards per catch.

With the release of Terrell Owens, Miles is expected to start as the No. 2 receiver across from Roy Williams.

Gerald Sensabaugh was born on June 13, 1983 in Oakland,California but was raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. Where he attended Dobyns-Bennett High School where he was a standout in football and track. In football, he helped lead his team to two consecutive Class 5A Semifinals, and during his senior year he also played offense recording 42 receptions for 420 yards and 7 touchdowns and was an All-Big Nine Selection. In track he won a state championship in the long jump.

Gerald started his college career at East Tennessee State University but transferred to the University of North Carolina as a senior when ETSU disbanned their football program. He finished his one-year UNC career with four interceptions, five fumble recoveries and three touchdowns. He also tied an NCAA single-game record after blocking three punts in one game.

Gerald recorded a 46″ vertical at the NFL Combine, the highest for an NFL player on record(this is also why I here-by give him the nickname The Jolly Jumper). He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round(157th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Gerald started every game of his rookie season, one of few to do so. After perfoming well on special teams he got a chance to start the remainder of the season at Strong Safety when Pro-Bowler Donovin Darius got injured. In 2006 he continued to play well on special teams and, then halfway through the season, he yet again became a starter when Darius suffered a season ending knee injury. On March 10,2009 the Dallas Cowboys and Gerald Sensabaugh agreed to terms on a one-year contract after he had the best season of his career in 2008 recording 70 tackles 8 pass deflections and 4 interceptions.

Gerald has been invited to be a teacher almost every year at Jason Wittens football camp, which is held in Jasons home town of Elizabethon, Tennessee just a mere 30 minutes from Geralds hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee.

Gerald has had three arrest since 2007. The first being for doing a wheelie on his bike. The second for having a gun with an expired permit in his possesion. The third for driving on a suspended license.

Tashard “Duece” Choice was born on November 20, 1984 in Thomasville,Georgia. Tashard attended Lovejoy Highschool where he wore #2, thats where he got his nickname “Duece”. Choice was a finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman and graduated in the top 20 of his class with a 3.9 gpa.

Tashard attended Georgia Tech where he earned Second Team All ACC and ESPN All Bowl Team honors in 2006 and ACC All Academic Team, First Team All ACC and Honorable Mention All America by Sports Illustrated 2007.Tashard Started his College football career in 2003 at Oklahoma where he redshirted his freshman year.

In 2004 Tashard served as a back up for true freshman Adrian Peterson. Peterson went on to be a Heisman Trophy finalist and Oklahoma found itself in the BCS title game once again. Tashard Choice only took 22 carries and gained 100 yards the entire year (all in two games). His best game at Oklahoma saw him garner 71 yards on 16 carries against Texas Tech. At the end of the season, his mother fell ill and Tashard Choice applied for a medical hardship to return home and play for Georgia Tech. His hardship was granted and he transferred to Tech by Spring 2005.

In 2005 Tashard arrived at Georgia Tech as a Sophomore and found himself behind P.J. Daniels on the depth chart, Daniels and Choice combined for over 150 all purpose yards per game and 11 touchdowns. Tashard Choice’s most notable appearance occurred in the upset of then #3 Miami Hurricanes. P. J. Daniels was injured in practice so Tashard Choice was announced the starter for the game. He carried the football 29 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. The victory guaranteed Tech a bowl appearance and solidified Tashard Choice’s role as a competent starter for the 2006 season.

In 2006 Tashard lead the Yellow Jacket rushing attack. becoming the first Yellow Jacket to rush for 1,000 yards since P.J. Daniels in 2003. Tashard Choice set several Tech records in 2006. He rushed for over 100 yards per game 9 times and had 7 straight 100 yard efforts, both Tech records. Tashard Choice accounted for 12 of Tech’s 42 offensive touchdowns. Tashard Choice along with All-American Calvin Johnson and senior quarterback Reggie Ball took Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference Title Game as the Coastal Division Champions. Choice would also lead Tech to its tenth straight bowl game against West Virginia in the 2007 Gator Bowl. Choice sliced and diced his way through opponents in 2006 and is a preseason pick for several 2007 Heisman Trophy lists.

In 2007 Tashard lead the Yellow Jackets powerful ground game behind four returning starters on the offensive line and veteran fullback Mike Cox. As the reigning ACC Rushing Champion, Tashard Choice was looking to improve upon 2006’s 9 win season with new offensive coordinator John Bond featuring the single back formation. Tashard Choice currently had 1,310 yards rushing on 249 attempts and 10 touchdowns even with injuries to his hamstring and to his knee. Tashard Choice concluded his NCAA career on the “Smurf Turf” of Boise against the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Humanitarian Bowl. He was used in a limited role in Georgia Tech’s 40-28 defeat. Tashard Choice best statistical game was against the University of Miami, posting 204 yards rushing with a sore hamstring. he also recorded his first passing touchdown of his career to Taylor Bennett.

Tashard’s Pro Career started in 2008 when he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the NFL Draft made his first touchdown during the first 2008 pre-season game against San Diego. Choice made his first start agaist the Pittsburgh Steelers running for 88 yards against the then #1 rushing defense in the league. Tashard finished the season with 472 yards off of 92 attempts, He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. Tashard has plenty more seasons to contribute to the Dallas Cowboys like he did in his 3 game starting span with Marion Barber going down with a toe injury and Felix Jones being out all season and with the performances Tashard had he has grasped his role in the Dallas Cowboys offense for 2009.

Nfl.com released its report card grading all 32 teams on their draft so I am listing their ratings and my rating for the teams. This list is listed by overall grade not by alphabetical order.

1. Clevland Browns- A,  I Give them an A as well for trading back to make a good financial decision and still picking up the best Center in the draft and still making great pick-ups at WR and CB.
2. Green Bay Packers-A, I Give them an A as well for the pick-up of the NT Raji,OLB Matthews and two of the top offensive tackles in the draft which was their main area of concern.
3. New York Giants-A, I Give them a B+ for grabbing two great recievers to solve a huge hole that was left after the Plaxico incident, and then they pretty much just added depth across the board.
4. Philadelphia Eagles-A,I Give them an A as well for adding two veteran tackles that allowed them to tackle other areas when the draft got here, like taking Jeremy Maclin, RB LeSean McCoy, TE Cornelius Ingram, so the Eagles are going to be very tough this year.
5. Houston Texans-B+ , I Give them an A for the fact that they put some depth to the OLB/DE positions and picked up two tight ends in the middle rounds, with the depth on the defensive edge they have look for the Texans to be playoff contenders.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars-B+, I will give them a B for this draft, they put massive depth at the o-line and got a DT that can step right in and also addresed their WR issues with two out of the middle rounds and one in the 7th,they are hoping at least the two middle round WR’s they picked can step up and be contributors this year.
7. Seattle Seahawks-B+, I will give them a B becasue they drafted OLB Aaron Curry when they really should of drafted QB Mark Sanchez wtih Hasslebeck becoming as injury prone as he has been.
8. Baltimore Ravens- B, I will give them a B+ because they were tempted to go for a reciever but they moved up and picked OL Oher for depth and his ability to play any position on the line is one of the reasons that made the Ravens do this.
9. Cincinatti Bengals-B, I will give them a C becasue almost every player they picked will either make a boom or will be a bust.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers-B I will give them a I will give them a B+ personally considering they hit their only need by upgrading their offensive line with their second pick and continued with their philopshy of developing talent by making picks who will be ready in a year or two.
11. Arizona Cardinals-B- I will personally give them a B because they added RB Beanie Wells to pair with 2nd yr back Tim Hightower, and also added massive depth to their defense.
12. Carolina Panthers-B- I will give them a B- also because their draft was nothing spectacular lacking a first round pick but was a very solid draft as is it was.
13. Detroit Lions-B- I will give them a B- as well, they drafted Matthew Stafford which should solve their QB issue but the one pick that didnt make any sense to me was TE Brandon Pettigrew at pick #20 when they should have pursued a OT.
14. Indianapolis Colts-B- I will give them a B for picking up RB Donald Brown and also picking USC DT Moala filled a gaping need look for the Colts to be once again playoff contenders.
15. Miami Dolphins-B- I will give them a B- as well for having the most athletic draft class this year and the most intersting player to watch this year from their draft is QB/WR Pat White.
16. New England Patriots-B- I will give them a B+ for having possibly the most solid 2nd round out of any team with the picks of SS Patrick Chung,CB Darius Butler,DT Ron Brace. Then there is the addition of QB Julian Edelman in the 7th round out of Kent, he could possibly be a Tom Brady type player for the Patriots again but look for that to be a tougher issue with their QB guru Josh McDaniels now being the Head Coach in Denver.
17. New Orleans Saints-B- I will give them a B- as well for a solid draft that stacked up their defense.
18. New York Jets-B- I will give them a B for the well thought out trade up for QB Mark Sanchez at pick #5 after Seattle passed him up to take Aaron Curry at #4
19. San Diego Chargers-B- I will give them a B for a draft that filled in the line on both sides of the ball evenly with their first four picks and the pick of RB Gartell Johnson gives them the Pile Mover they currently lack at RB.
20. Atlanta Falcons-C+ I will give them a C for a draft that patched up some holes on defense but there are still some holes there, but they can be filled in through trades and free agency.
21. Buffalo Bills-C+  I will give them a C- for the lack of drafting a OT after trading Jason Peters to the Eagles and the fact that these players they drafted will have to be contributors right away considering that coach Dick Jauron needs to win this season.
22. Chicago Bears-C+ I will give them a C for a moderate draft with no picks until the 3rd round caused by the Stellar Jay Cutler trade with Denver.
23. Kansas City Chiefs-C+ I will give them a C- for a decent draft that padded their defense really well, but i am very worried about how well this offense can perform, I guess we will have to wait and see what Todd Haley can do.
24. Minnesota Vikings-C+ I will give them a B- for the simple addition of Percy Harvin at pick 27 which could turn out to give them the two most explosive offensive players in the league with of course the other being Adrian Peterson. Look for the Vikings to have a strong rushing attack out of the Wildcat formation With Adrian Peterson,Percy Harvin and Tavarius Jackson who happens to be a Vince Young type QB but has a better arm and better accuracy than Young has at this point.
25. St Louis Rams-C+ I will give them a C+ as well for a draft that landed them a excellent pick in OT Jason Smith.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-C+ I will give them a C for drafting for the future by trading up two spots to pick QB Josh Freeman who may or may not be ready to take the field this year, only time will tell.
27. Tennessee Titans-C+ I will give them a C+ as well for this draft, They took Rutgers WR Kenny Britt to give them an explosive reciever that they currently lack and hope his addition will lead them to another playoff run that will hopefully take them to the Super Bowl this year.
28. Denver Broncos-C I will give them a D for a draft where only one pick made sense and that was RB Knowshon Moreno who better score alot of touchdowns becasue the defense is still suspect they only upgraded their troubled defensive line with one pick and was not addresed anymore, and I wonder do they really have all that much confidence in Kyle Orton not to draft a QB to offer some competion.
29. San Fancisco 49ers-C I will give them a C+ for the addition of WR Michael Crabtree who no one thought would even be on the board at pick 10 for the 49ers to take, and their draft was more for depth than impact after the Crabtree pick.
30. Washington Redskins-C I will give them a C as well for a solid defensive draft in which they now have plenty of depth on defense but on the offensive side of the ball players need to stay healthy because they didnt get much help on depth this off season so far.
31. Dallas Cowboys-C- I will give them a B- for a very solid middle round draft that fixed alot of special teams issues and the pick of QB Stephen McGee was a great pick because I think he will make a stellar back up for Romo when Kitna is done here in Dallas if he does not win that spot from Kitna this year.
32. Oakland Raiders-D I will give them a D as well for a draft that just didnt make sense starting with picking WR Darrius Hayward-Bey over WR Michael Crabtree. This was another fine example of Al Davis’ butchering his teams winning chances.

Nfl.com has reported that the NFL has confirmed this, here is what the article said.

The NFL confirmed reports that the league is considering the idea of starting the 2010 draft in prime time on a Thursday night and making it a three-day event but added that no decision has been made.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the NFL was considering holding the first round of the draft on a Thursday night, the second and third rounds on a Friday night and rounds 4 through 7 on a Saturday. “We think it can be very appealing from a fan’s standpoint and an audience standpoint,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in the story.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy posted the same details on his Twitter channel, asking his “followers” to let him know what they thought.

Last year, the NFL shortened the time between first-round picks from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, and this year’s first round took 3:23 — making it the fastest first round since 1990 (when there were four fewer teams in the league).

So what do yall think of this idea, leave a comment below and let me know.

After seeing that we only drafted one WR and only have 2 coming in as undrafted rookie free agents. I figured I would take a look and see who was still out there that could serve as a # 3 or #4 reciever if they come in and earn the job should Dallas sign one of them. This List only Contains WR’s that have been Released or are UFA’s, let me know which of these WR’s if any of them could help us this year at the #3 or #4 slot if they earn it.

1. Drew Bennett-8 yrs in NFL
2. Shaun Bodiford-3 yrs in NFL
3. Marty Booker-10 yrs in NFL
4. Drew Carter-5 yrs in NFL
5. Jason Carter-2 yrs in NFL
6. Keary Colbert-5 yrs in NFL
7. William Franklin-2 yrs in NFL
8. Mike Furrey-5 yrs in NFL
9. D.J. Hackett-5 yrs in NFL
10. Dante Hall-9 yrs in NFL
11. Marvin Harrison-13 yrs in NFL
12. Ike Hillard-12 yrs in NFL
13. Darrell Jackson-9 yrs in NFL
14. Matt Jones-4 yrs in NFL
15. Joe Jurevicius-11 yrs in NFL
16. Ashley Lelie-7 yrs in NFL
17. Brandon Lloyd-6 yrs in NFL
18. Dane Looker-8 yrs in NFL
19. Shaun McDonald-6 yrs in NFL
20. Tab Perry-4 yrs in NFL
21. Jerry Porter-9 yrs in NFL
22. Koren Robinson-7 yrs in NFL
23. Edell Shepherd-5 yrs in NFL
24. Amani Toomer-13 yrs in NFL
25. Reggie Williams-5 yrs in NFL

Well after a very interesting draft weekend I figured I would list our CB/Safety Depth Chart for everyone to our depth at the positions now.

 Please note that the only the starters listed are guaranteed depth chart positions as of right now numbers 2+ are my predicted spots.

So with this depth at secondary we are set for some interesting training camp battles to stay on the roster. I personally see Jerome Carter, Michael Hawkins, Pat Watkins, and Stephen Hodge to be cut before the 53 man roster is due in.

Nfl.com had announced that Matthew Stafford has signed with the Detroit Lions. Though the website had very little details and no specific page here is what the Breaking News box said.

Georgia QB Matthew Stafford will be the No. 1 draft pick after agreeing to a six-year deal with the Detroit Lions, NFL.com’s Steve Wyche reports. The contract has $41.7 million guaranteed but can be worth up to $78 million.

As reported by dallascowboys.com, The Kansas City Chiefs have signed Tony Curtis to fill in a roster spot left open when they traded Tony Gonzales to Atlanta.

The Kansas City Chiefs announced the signing of former Cowboys tight end Tony Curtis today. Curtis was one of five restricted free agents for the Cowboys this season, but the team did not submit a tender offer for the former undrafted free agent.

Curtis came to the Cowboys after the 2005 draft and spent more than a year on the team’s practice squad. He had a short stint on the active roster in 2006, then went to NFL Europe in 2007.

A 6-5, 251-pound project out of Portland State, Curtis may best be remembered for his three catches in 2007, all of which went for touchdowns. He proved versatile as a blocker this season, filling in for injured fullback Deon Anderson against Green Bay in Week 3.

It was Curtis who blew his assignment on the blocked punt against Arizona that not only cost the Cowboys the game, but put Mat McBriar out for the season. He began the season as the usual No. 2 tight end, but eventually saw his playing time decreased as rookie Martellus Bennett matured in the offense.

The Chiefs had previously met with Cowboys unrestricted free agent safety Keith Davis this off-season, but the special teams captain left without an offer.