Oh It's On

I guarantee this'll get the blood pumping for ya:

Rookie first-round pick Mike Jenkins, a cornerback, waxed emphatic when asked about prospects for the Dallas defense.

"I feel like it can be one of the best defenses that ever played the game," he said. "We're filled with talent at each position, starters and backups."

Jenkins said he's sure Browns fans remember Bobby Carpenter, a former Ohio State star who for now is behind veteran Zach Thomas at one of the inside linebacker spots.

Carpenter, a No. 18 overall draft pick in 2006, a backup? That's depth...

Jerry Jones makes sure the world acknowledges his Cowboys, who sent 13 players to this year's Pro Bowl.

We'll let Calvin Hill tell us what 13 stuffed-ballot-box Pro Bowlers buys you in January:

"We thought we were ready to take that step last year," Hill said. "Hopefully the frustration of what happened in that playoff loss to the Giants will keep us focused all year.

Eagles Getting Some Love

Eagletarian lists some encouraging Vegas numbers for the Eagles.  There's plenty more of that out there.  Like this site with the Eagles having the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl.  And a couple of meaningless power rankings that have the Eagles in the league's top ten.

Obviously, we all have our eyes on something a lot bigger than "top ten," but this isn't shaping up to be a no-respect kind of offseason.

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Speaking of preseason odds, the NFC team with the best chance of winning it all right now is the Dallas Cowboys.  A few interesting articles here for people doing their opposition research:

• Terence Newman is old (but it doesn't matter)
• Roy Williams has pretty much worn out his welcome
• Zach Thomas is a consummate pro (but how's his head?)

Wait, Dallas Did What?

Somehow I missed this in all the excitement over the Eagles the last couple days.  Check out this trade between the Cowboys and the Dolphins:

Looking to get back into the fourth round of this weekend's NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys on Friday traded linebacker Akin Ayodele and tight end Anthony Fasano to the Miami Dolphins for a fourth-round pick, reports NFL Network's Adam Schefter.

Ayodele, who was Dallas' starting weakside inside linebacker for the past two years, lost his job when the Cowboys acquired seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Zack Thomas in free agency...

Fasano, a backup to Jason Witten, caught 14 passes in each of his two NFL seasons. He had shoulder surgery in January.

The Cowboys gave up both Ayodele AND Fasano for a measly fourth-round pick?  And this is because they expect Zach Thomas -- he of the many, many concussions -- to hold down the WIL position for years?

That must have been one hell of a player the Cowboys were targeting in the fourth round.  Possibly at a position of great need.  Let's see who they picked:

Tashard Choice
RB, Georgia Tech
5'11" 215

Pick Analysis: Choice was a little bigger than originally believed. He plays the game with intensity and will run with power like Lamont Jordan. He was better as a junior than a senior, but still ran for 1,356 yards. Considering the Cowboys took Felix Jones in the first round, Dallas likely viewed Choice as the best player available at this point.

And from SI.com:

ANALYSIS: Choice made the most of his opportunities at Georgia Tech and gets a lot out of his abilities. He may never be a starter at the next level, but he has enough skill to be a productive backup.

So Jerry Jones gave up two (reasonably) productive players for a single draft choice in the fourth round that they ended up turning into a running back, which would be understandable except that they already have Marion Barber and they had just drafted Arkansas speed merchant Felix Jones in the first round.

And people think the Eagles' front office doesn't know what it's doing...

Fun Read on Dallas

Folks in the Big D aren't too happy about that Felix Jones pick:

You don't draft a complementary player in the first round when you have an opportunity to select a franchise back.

Ever.

But that's what the Cowboys did Saturday.

It's a decision Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and whoever else helped make it will regret.

...

Jerry doesn't care about any of that. Jerry said the Cowboys had Jones and Mendenhall rated virtually even.

"I don't want to get into which was the highest rated," Jerry said. "I don't want to do that."

Trust me, that means Mendenhall was rated higher, which is one more reason Jerry should've trusted the draft board and taken Mendenhall.

"We did not look at our decision to get a running back as a backup decision," Jerry said. "We looked at the position as though we needed two backs to do the job at running back. We don't view that as getting a backup."

It just looks that way.

MUST WATCH

And not just for the Osama bin Laden line.  You have to watch this:

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=239208&shu=1

Mark It Down Now

This is the moment Jerry Jones went too far.

I love it.

Uneasy About This

Although it doesn't seem like things are all that "imminent" -- there's a world of difference between a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick -- I'm not thrilled about the prospect of this kind of talent entering the division:

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that a trade that would send suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones to the Dallas Cowboys is imminent. According to Schefter, the Cowboys and Titans spent Thursday discussing the trade and should be able to work out a deal soon.

Although Schefter reports that the teams are still a few rounds apart in discussing compensation — the Titans have asked for a third-round pick and the Cowboys have offered a sixth-round pick — the deal could get done within the next couple of days.

The kid's an idiot, but he's a solid corner and a great return man.  If the deal happens, we'd have to root for one of three things:

1. He remains an idiot and can't stay out of trouble.
2. Goodell doesn't let him back in.
3. He and TO get into a massive training camp smack talk fest that progresses to a brawl giving both players season-ending injuries.

It certainly would be awesome if the Cowboys traded their third-round pick for a guy who never got reinstated, though.

Cowboys YouTube Hits Keep Coming

I don't think I'll ever be tired of these.  This one is really clever:

(via KSK)

Eight-Second Cowboys

Not to go all anti-Dallas all the time here, but this is funny (and only eight seconds long):

(via Deadspin)

Note to a Cowboys Fan

I, like you, know lots of Cowboys fans.  The difference is that I went to college in Texas, so my "LOTS" pretty much beats the crap out of your "lots."

Contrary to popular opinion, these people aren't all Johnny-Come-Lately's who wouldn't know Dallas from Houston if you stuck 'em downtown on I-45.  Some of these guys are in fact good fans, who love their team, aren't sure about Tony Romo, and have spent the past few weeks worrying about whether or not their guys peaked too early.

I thought about emailing a couple of them this morning with the following note... but given what Eagles fans have gone through the last few years, I'm not all that big on the "talking crap to someone whose team just ripped his heart out of his chest and took it to Cabo to get drunk with Jessica Simpson."

So I'll just post it here.

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Hey man, tough loss yesterday. 

I'd talk a lot of shit now, but as an Eagles fan, I know exactly how you must feel.  Well not "exactly," since our guys always won a game or two before choking in the conference championship.  But pretty close, only I guess not as bad since that really was a historic loss, given that you'd beaten the Giants twice this year and the game broke a 17 27-year trend of NFC #1 seeds winning that first playoff game.

(At least you'll never forget this team, since Fox will be sticking them on playoff graphics for years.)

How 'bout that Tony Romo, too?  He sure seems to be committed to his craft.  My favorite line came from the Dallas Morning News:  "He defended his trip to Mexico by saying he thought it was better than going to Vegas and drinking for a few days.  Didn't realize those were the only two options."

It's tough rooting for those guys who play well during the season and then just bonk in the playoffs, isn't it?  I mean, they could go 16-0 next year with Romo winning the MVP and you'd still have to be wondering whether or not he'd show up in January.

Of course, Eli turned it around eventually (as you well know) so anything's possible I guess. 

Hope TO doesn't get all crazy again and try to burn the house down.  I'm sure with Jerry running the draft and Wade Phillips (career postseason record 0-4) dreaming up new schemes, you won't have any problems with the league catching up to you this offseason -- unlike, say, New Orleans.

See you next year.