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Introduction

While the Cowboys have been relatively quiet this off season the media channels make it seem like they are the most active team. Every day there is a new rumor or expansion of a rumor associated with them. It seems every NFL player that is unhappy where they are seems ready to jump to Dallas.

Even though they often name other teams Dallas is always focused on for three years. One, they are the Cowboys,  America’s Team. Everybody loves or hates them so they are sure to draw ratings just by virtue of who they are. Second, they are competitive. An impact player here or there could make them the Super Bowl favorites. Third, Jerry Jones is willing to take risks to get his team to the top.

So, I’ve been thinking about all these rumors and the upcoming draft and about what the Cowboys could feasibly do over the next couple months.

No McFadden

There’s been a lot of speculation about the Cowboys jumping up the draft to get Darren McFadden. Besides not needing a top-five back the money they would have to pay him is simply too great. The Cowboys will sit pat towards the tail end of the draft and, if anything, move out of the first round.

Unfortunately for those who love McFadden and the Cowboys he will not have a star on his helmet come next year.

Pacman Jones and Chad Johnson

These are the two prominent rumors regarding the Cowboys right now. “Pacman” Jones has made it clear that he wants to play for the Cowboys. If he’s willing to suck it up and take 90% of the risk then he will. He’s good enough for the Cowboys to take a little chance on but he won’t be commanding huge money or a high draft pick.

Chad Johnson has made it clear he wants to play anywhere but Cincinnati. He mentioned the Cowboys and suggested that with his addition the Super Bowl is guaranteed. While that’s certainly a stretch an throwing game combining the likes of Owens, Johnson, and Witten would be formidable to say the least.

While I originally thought the Adam Jones trade was much more likely I’m beginning to think there’s a real possibility with Chad Johnson. This is solely based on some comments by Jerry Jones. He stated that the Cowboys are assuming Terry Glenn won’t be back and their number one priority is getting some firepower opposite Terrell Owens. When pressed about whether he thought that firepower would come from the draft Jerry Jones said it wasn’t likely.

The Draft

Well, the Cowboys have two first round picks this year. That gives them an edge in this year’s draft. Combine that with the fact that they have no glaring needs and they have many options. They will not trade one of these picks to get Chad Johnson or Jones directly but could use them to maneuver.

For the purposes of this piece that’s what I will assume the thinking is. These first two choices will be looked at as pieces to build towards these trades.

Pick 22: From the Cleveland Browns for QB Brady Quinn

There is much speculation about what the Cowboys will do with this pick. In this scenario they are going to trade this bad boy to either the Falcons or the Dolphins (who ever offers more). I’m going to assume the Falcons will in order to #### up a QB the Dolphins otherwise would have. So…

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 22 to Atlanta Falcons for 2009 First Round Pick and pick 34 (Second Round, pick 3)***

Atlanta Falcons select Quarterback Brian Brohm from Louisville.

This is a repeat of what happened last year when the Browns traded from early in the second round up into the first to insure they got Brady Quinn. Here, I’m betting the Falcons fear the Dolphins scooping up Brohm enough to want to jump up.

Pick 28: Antoine Cason CB/S (Arizona)

This is called hedging your bet. The Cowboys select a good young DB just in case “Pacman” doesn’t shake out. They also give themselves someone to groom behind Henry and Newman. If Newman’s price is too steep after next season then they will have his replacement waiting. Cason also gives them some depth at Safety and could be moved there if necessary.

This pick gives them lots of options moving forward. They have fulfilled a serious need and set themselves up for the future. They also protect themselves against Jones if they manage to get him and he tanks.

Pick 34: From the Atlanta Falcons for QB Brian Brohm

The Cowboys now have two picks in the second round. They also have two first round selections in 2009. One of which is from a team that seems destined to struggle for years to come (but isn’t that what they thought about Cleveland too?).

I think this is where they make their big move. ..

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 34 (Second Round, pick 3), pick 61 (Second Round, pick 30), and LB Bobby Carpenter to Cincinnati for WR Chad Johnson***

This is about as close to market value as the Browns can hope to get for Chad Johnson. It gives them a lot of options are where to go. They will have three picks in the second round to help bolster their defense and add a talented receiver or whatever they want.

For the Cowboys, it removes a few things. First, Bobby Carpenter hasn’t really found a place in this defense. He’s out of favor with the coaching staff and seems to need a fresh start. He’s young and talented and with the right team could become a stud Line Backer.

Second, they don’t have to worry about busting on a WR selection. This will give them the ability to continue to wait on two promising young Wide Receivers (Sam Hurd and Isaiah Stanback) while assuring they are competitive on the field.

Third, they will have some leeway with Terry Glenn. He won’t be called on to step immediately back in and will be given some time to heal. If he’s anything like what he once was then a one-two-three punch of Owens-Johnson-Glenn will be nearly unstoppable (not to mention the continued presence of Barber, Romo, and Witten).

…and the Rest

The rest of the draft is relatively uneventful (though I’m not sure anything could compete with what they did above). The Cowboys use the later rounds to shore up their Defensive and Offensive lines. With the final few picks they may pick up a DB or two just to keep the churning going on there.

The real story of the rest of the Cowboys draft is this…

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 157 (Round Five, pick 30) to the Tennessee Titans for Adam “Pacman” Jones***

Jones and the Titans get their wishes. Those are, respectively, to play for the Cowboys and to be rid of Jones.

As the Cowboys demonstrated by using their first round pick on Cason they are not playing games with Jones. He will either come in to compete for a job and stay on the straight and narrow or will be dismissed without hesitation.

With this scenario the Cowboys would be stupid not to at least pick him up. He’s a proven talent and a dynamic return man. If he really has learned then the Cowboys have their DB’s for the future in Cason and Jones. Henry would be moved to Free Safety and Hamlin to Strong Safety (if the Cowboys so desired) and Williams released after the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season.

Summary

Cowboys acquire WR Chad Johnson from the Bengals, draft CB/S Antoine Cason with the 28th overall pick, and acquire Adam “Pacman” Jones from the Tennessee Titans

WR’s: Terrell Owens (81), Chad Johnson (85), Terry Glenn (83), Patrick Crayton (84),Sam Hurd (17),  Isaiah Stanback (86)

CB’s: Terrance Newman (41), Anthony Henry (42), Antoine Cason (43), Adam “Pacman” Jones (32), Alan Ball (20)

Conclusion

So after being fairly quiet the Cowboys absolutely take over the hype of the offseason. Their two trades dominate headlines and promise to make them better on both sides of the ball.

By being crafty the Cowboys assure they have two picks in 2009 and many more options then and shore up their Defensive Backfield. The only obvious missed opportunity was a RB but the Cowboys have one more trick up their sleeve when they trade for Ricky Williams…

…just kidding. The Cowboys use a later pick (or two) on a Running Back their willing to take a chance on. It could be a committee of three to at least begin the season but Marion Barber is clearly the starter.

Keep in mind this is a hypothetically and purely for fun. There’s no way this would go down but it would be a lot of fun if it did. It would also significantly improve the Cowboys on both sides of the ball and give them plenty of options for the future.

Wow. The first tragedy of the New Year has all ready struck.

Twenty-four year old Broncos' corner Darrent Williams was shot in a drive-by shooting around 2 am.

Unbelievable. This is terrible. A twenty-four year old in his second season in Pro Football, future looking bright. And he's gone because some slob felt the need. No details yet but the only thing that I think could make this worse would be to find out this was some disgruntled Broncos fan.

This should remind us of the humanity of the men we put on pedestals. This is tragic and my thoughts and prayers are with the Williams' family. I encourage you to consider everyone who has lost a father or brother, mother or daughter. And then look at your own family and resolve in this New Year to love them more and hold them close because we never know when they'll be taken away.

Here's the story from FoxSports.

Everyone was talking about the three Heisman candidates leading up to the Rose Bowl. Two of those candidates were winners of the coveted award. The third would go onto to have possibly the greatest individual performance in College Football history. At least two of them are turning pro this up coming season, the third probably will. But now the quetion is who will go where? Further, will the Heisman finalists go with the first three picks?

1-Houston Texans:
They will not take Vince Young, period. David Carr is still their star QB and they have no intention of giving up on him. As good as Vince is the front office still has plenty of confidence in Carr and seeks to rebuild their offensive line to protect him. This applies to Leinart as well. Reggie Bush's case is a bit different. What a backfield Bush and Davis would make but I think the Texans would have trouble building their team and keeping both of them. I foresee the Texans trading the pick to get some pieces on both lines.
Of the Three: Reggie Bush

2-New Orleans Saints:
Of the top 5 they're the most likely to pick a QB. Why? Cause they've basically told Brooks they're moving on without him. I think Young would be the best fit here. A scrambling QB would be a good thing for the Sainst as Brooks was the fourth most sacked QB in the league last year. However, a big reason for that was their lack of a run game. If Duece stays healthy next year it will open things up for the Quarterback. If the Saints are confident about this they may want to take Leinart who seems slightly more NFL ready. While not a problem in college I do think Vince will have to adjust his throwing motion in the NFL. Still, if it was me, I'd take Vince Young on upside alone.
Of the Three: Vince Young

3-Tennessee Titans:
Another team that may well take a QB. They probably will let McNair go and may well decide to let go of Volleck as well. If they don't feel Volleck is the key to their franchise then they'll probably take which ever QB the Saints don't. The Titans don't have the same need for a QB that avoid the pressure and may opt to take Leinart. Again though, maybe it's just spite, I'd still take Vince Young.
Of the Three: Matt Leinart

4-New York Jets:
This is a team that may surprise everybody and take a QB. I'm by no means a Jets fan but if I was I'd be sick of waiting for Pennington to get healthy. If his line is the problem then maybe Vince would be a could fit to aviod the sack. But they also have a need for a running back and Reggie Bush would be a great fit for the Jets. This may even be the team that trades with the Texans but I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed right here hoping for Bush but "settling" for Lendale White or even Adrian Peterson (remeber him?).
Of the Three: Reggie Bush

5-Green Bay Packers
Ahman Green should be healthy again next season and Aaron Rodgers was at times considered the number one pick last year. Therefore, I highly doubt if some how either Leinart or Young fell this far they would take either of them. Reggie Bush would be welcome but I think they'd do better to trade down to fix their own O-Line problems. Unlike the Texans, however, the Packers D may be enough to enable the Pack to take Reggie and let him make a few plays here and there and keep games low-scoring and close.
Of the Thee: Reggie Bush

And so those are the prospects for the top five teams. While I still think the Texans will trade the pick the lure of Reggie Bush may be too great. Or maybe they're pulling the wool over everyone's eyes and will take the home town hero, Vince Young. I picked Leinart to the Titans simply because of the USC presence there and his familiarity with the system. The other teams have their QB situation more or less figured out and I think would be more likely to take a running back. Ideally, of course, Vince Young will fall to the number 19 spot and be picked up by the Dallas Cowboys but something tells me that just won't happen. Your thoughts?

....but there is in "Champion" (it's situated nicely between the short "p" and long "o" as sort of a transsion letter) and that's exactly what Vince Young is. Come on, admit it, you liked watching Texas win. Why? For a couple of reasons...


1) They were the Underdogs and we all like underdogs. We love the image of David beating Goliath. Texas was this one man team while USC had two Heisman winners and a series of supports from the Hollywood elite (well except for Matthew Mcconaughey). It looked like an impossible task to beat the duo of Leinart and Bush. ESPN had been running like "24 Hours of USC" and asking who could beat USC? In our hearts we hoped Texas could.

2) USC felt too elite. They felt like the rich kids. You remember the rich kids in school. The ones who walked around like the world was theres and you were just in it. The ones that seemed to ignore their peers because they were "better" then them. That's what USC was. So many celeberities hung out with them it was like a movie and/or music video was being made at the USC practice facility. And the USC players seemingly reveled in the celebrity. When Texas was number one for one week secretly USC players were asking "are you serious?" (when I first heard that I pictured Matt Leinart getting a pedicure, sipping Cristol, and laughing with a couple blondes) Texas felt like the team for "the rest of us." They felt blue collar while USC felt pompous. Don't get me wrong USC worked hard too but it felt like they thought so much of themselves they forgot other teams. They seemed like they felt entitled to fame, fortune, and victory.

After the game Matt Leinart only added to that. He said he felt they were still the better team even though the lost. He sounded like that a priveledged rich kid complaining because you got something he wanted. I think most of the nation cracked a collective smile when the Longhorns were celebrating cause it felt like we had won. Like for a moment the ivory tower had collapsed and the "rest of us" were finally on top.

I don't really watch college football. So many of the broadcast games are lopsided. I'll tune in occasionally but rarely do I sit through an entire game. I have watched some USC and Texas games cause of Reggie Bush and Vince Young and I'll certainly tune in Wednesday night.

Vince Young is what Mike Vick should have been. The big question going into this year for the Falcons was, "can Mike Vick learn to pass in the pocket?" Answer: No. The guy has a gun but just prefers to run. He looks at his receivers real quick and then bolts. The Texans were asking the same thing about Vince Young. Answer: Yes. He looks to throw first and gives his recievers a chance before he runs (unless there's a just too, tempting hole). He has one of the best completion percentages in the country and can bomb it out when he needs to.

Reggie Bush is just amazing. I watched USC games just to see him run (I bet I'm not the only one). USC has a good offense but normally the games were only fun till halftime. After that USC would just dominate and that would be the game. Fresno State and Norte Dame both looked like they might pull off the upset but Reggie Bush saved the Trojan men both times (pushing Leinart into the endzone against the Irish and breaking off a simply amazing run against Fresno State).

Normally, I'd "check in" on this game but I'm watching the whole thing this year. The championship game finally has the two best teams, two truly awesome teams and looks to be fun. This may well be the last game for Leinart, Bush, and Young and should be a great one. But does the BCS get any props? No. No one has metioned that they got it right this year. So I will.

Bravo, BCS, bravo.