Dallas Sports Fan – Rangers Prepare For Huge Homestand; Cowboys Visit Jets In Season Opener

Even fishing fans are putting down their pole and getting ready for what should be a huge weekend in the Dallas sports area, as the Texas Rangers are preparing to return home for a massive homestand. On the gridiron, the Cowboys head north to take on the New York Jets to kick off the 2011 regular season.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have Thursday off after a six-day road trip through the American League East, and they won two of three in Boston, scoring at least seven runs in all three games and 10 or more in two of them. Then Texas dropped two of three in Tampa Bay, a week after they had done the same thing to the Rays at home, but they’re still 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the West and the MLB betting favorites to come away with the division title. The next week will have a big say in Texas’ fate this season as they return home for six games, welcoming Oakland and Cleveland to town, and two straight sweeps are very possible. Rangers fans should also have a close eye on the Angels’ MLB baseball scores, as they will host the New York Yankees and then head to Oakland for a three-game set. If the Angels slip up, particularly this weekend against the Yankees, Texas should be there to capitalize.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys ended their preseason slate with a 2-2 record after a 17-3 in Miami, but the finale is the least important as head coaches are just trying to get through the last game without their starters being injured, and they’re looking to fill out their depth chart, so a lot of the players who played in that game, are no longer with the team. And with no NBA schedule on the horizon, even Maverick fans will be tuning in this season to follow the Cowboys, starting on Sunday night with a huge primetime matchup on the road against the New York Jets, where defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will go up against brother Rex, who has led the Jets to the past two AFC title games. But more important, the Cowboys have some injuries to worry about, starting with a secondary that wasn’t great to begin with. Starting cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman will both miss this game, so look for the Jets to go after their replacements, Alan Ball and Orlando Scandrick. Offensively, rookie tackle Tyron Smith has a knee injury and will miss 2-4 weeks, while tight end Martellus Bennett has a high ankle sprain, which is usually a six-week injury. The Cowboys are 4.5-point underdogs in this contest, but the line could move a little more towards the Jets before gametime in your sports betting book.

Dallas Cowboys Update – Cowboys Draft Choice Becoming Clearer

The sports betting world is getting more convinced that they know who the Cowboys will choose with the ninth overall pick in the NFL draft. As the online betting for Kentucky Derby favorites continues, Jerry Jones and other top brass in Valley Ranch are hinting towards choosing a much-needed offensive lineman in the first round.

The sportsbook promo experts are speculating that what the Cowboys need is a tackle and not a guard. While Florida’s Mike Pouncey is a talented lineman, and has an impressive pedigree with his brother Maurkice playing center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is also a guard. The pay per head experts all agree that, considering how well offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo has performed in workouts since the combine, that Castonzo could be the pick that the Cowboys make. Cowboys quarterbacks were hammered by rushes from the outside, and the running game was not able to get going like it wanted to. A quality tackle like Castonzo could be the last piece in the offensive puzzle for the Cowboys.

The courts ruled that the owners must lift the lock out and allow players access to the teams’ facilities. The lockout was lifted on Tuesday, but it did little to temper the anger between the two sides. Throughout the NFL, small groups of players were seen reporting for practice Tuesday morning. The players were told that they could enter the facility, but they would not be allowed to work out.

The Dallas Cowboys players are maintaining their confidential schedule of private workouts until the new collective bargaining agreement has been signed. It is unknown if any Cowboys tried to enter the Valley Ranch facility, but it is known that the player-sponsored workouts continue in anticipation of the start of the 2011 season.

In a tradition that started a few years ago, former players will announce the second-round draft picks of their former teams. Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the first round picks, as the commissioner has done since the days of Pete Rozelle. The Cowboys will send former defensive stand-out Charles Haley to the podium to announce their second-round pick. The Cowboys have the 40^th pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.

When Cowboys backup tight end Martellus Bennett announced that he would like to see a quarterback competition between Tony Romo and Jon Kitna, it raised a few eyebrows among Cowboys fans. However, the idea is not being met with much enthusiasm from the Dallas players and front office. Team vice president Stephen Jones made it very clear that Tony Romo is the starter, and that the team will start developing young quarterbacks like Stephen McGee behind Romo to someday take Romo’s place. But, for now, Romo is the starter and he will not have to compete to keep his job.

The Dallas Cowboys received the honor of playing the New York Jets, in New York, to open the season on September 11, 2011. The day would mark the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the Cowboys take great pride in being a part of that weekend. But the recent labor dispute could force the league to forgo games for that weekend and cause the Cowboys to miss their chance to be part of history. Either way, head coach Jason Garrett says that the team is honored to just be considered for the opportunity.

Dallas Cowboys Update: Romo Up, Barber May Be Out

Once the NFL combine was over, the sports betting world was buzzing over the flow of young quarterbacks working out at Valley Ranch in preparation for the draft. The prevailing question was whether or not this sudden interest in young quarterbacks meant that current starting quarterback Tony Romo is on his way out in Dallas. The Cowboys front office did not help the situation by remaining silent on the entire issue.

As the online betting for Kentucky Derby favorites started to appear, Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett made things worse by insisting that the Cowboys allow Jon Kitna to compete with Tony Romo for the starting quarterback job when the new collective bargaining agreement is in place. Throughout all of this sports betting bonus action, Tony Romo kept quiet and tended to his golf game. It was all a very unusual situation.

Now that the lockout is more than a month old and players are missing out on their scheduled workouts, Tony Romo has suddenly come to the forefront again as a team leader by organizing workouts for the players. The locations of the workouts are being kept secret. But Romo is working to organize the gatherings and he is also said to have paid for much of it as well. The players, and Romo, are still not commenting on the possibility that the Cowboys will draft a quarterback with the ninth overall pick in the draft. But many of them are now praising Romo’s leadership and indicating that they feel comfortable with Romo as the starting quarterback.

Marion Barber has been on the bubble as far as a roster spot goes since the 2010 season ended. While the Cowboys are not expected to take a running back with one of their higher NFL picks, there is now a consensus among Cowboys observers that, once the new collective bargaining agreement is in place and the dates for paying roster bonuses are set, that Marion Barber could be released from the Cowboys to avoid having to pay his roster bonus. It could happen this summer, or it could happen as late as the beginning of next season. It all depends on when the new collective bargaining agreement is put in place and what the roster bonus cut-of dates will be. But the general feeling is that Marion Barber’s days in Dallas are numbered.

Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant is slowly trying to climb out of the public relations hole he dug for himself when it was revealed that he has hundreds of thousands of dollars in money owed for jewelry. Bryant recently reached an agreement with A+A Diamonds of New York for a lawsuit that totaled $246,000. It is not clear how much was paid to settle the suit, but it was enough for the owner of the store to indicate that he would welcome Bryant’s business again in the future.

In a show of player solidarity, Dallas defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware donated $60,000 to a fund to help struggling NFL players. Ware also donated $5,000 to help the family of a six-year-old boy and his mother who were injured in a car accident. Ware did not make any comments on his donations, only saying that he wanted to help out his fellow players and the family of the boy.

Dallas Cowboys Update: Players Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

The sports betting world is starting to hear the rumblings of NFL players that want the lockout to end so they can all get back to work. NFL players are not interested in distractions such as MLB betting or Kentucky Derby betting that sports fans are finding comfort in. The players want to get to work, and the Dallas Cowboys players have decided to take matters into their own hands.

The top NFL picks in this year’s draft may have to wait before they can start working out with their new teammates, but the Dallas Cowboys veterans are scheduling a series of workouts to try and get some time in together while the lockout is still going on. Offensive and defensive veterans plan on meeting in undisclosed locations without the supervision of anyone from the Cowboys’ coaching staff. The Cowboys were fined by the NFL early in the lockout for allowing new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to work with his players at the Cowboys’ facility. This time, the players are meeting without the coaches and none of the players will indicate where or when the workouts will be taking place. The only thing anyone has said is that the players intend to start meeting in May.

The NFL draft is fast approaching, and the rumors surrounding how the Cowboys will use the ninth overall pick are swirling around. The notion that the Cowboys will take a quarterback has been all but dismissed by every member of the Cowboys staff, even though the team had been working out quarterbacks after the combine was over. The primary needs for the Cowboys are offensive line, defensive line and defensive safety. It looks like the Cowboys may be heading in the offensive line’s direction in the first round.

Highly-sought Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey could be the Cowboys’ first round pick. Pouncey is listed as a center, but he has shown the ability to play any position on the offensive line with equal ability. Pouncey, who’s brother plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has indicated that he would welcome a pick by the Cowboys and has gone on to insist that he will be a Cowboy when the 2011 season starts.

The chances that the Cowboys may take Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller in the ninth spot started to evaporate when Miller’s stock went up after the combine. The Cowboys further complicated their chances when they moved the date of their Dallas-Fort Worth pro days from April 15 to an earlier date. Miller was scheduled to work out for Dallas on April 15 and cannot make the new date. All of this seems to be pointing to Miller going before the number nine spot and the Cowboys not willing to trade up in the draft to get him.

The buzz from tight end Martellus Bennett’s statement that Jon Kitna should be allowed to compete for the starting quarterback job with Tony Romo will not die down. Bennett indicated that he enjoyed playing with Kitna and was impressed with the 38-year-old quarterback’s abilities. Neither Romo nor Kitna have responded to Bennett’s statement, but the starting job is expected to go to the healthy Tony Romo when the season starts.

The Rise of Felix Jones and Fall of Wade Phillips | Dallas Cowboys 2008

Well another Dallas Cowboys season is here and gone. To be honest I am not quite sure how to feel. I have to admit that I got caught up in the hype that started in August with Hard Knocks. I was not sure about a Super Bowl win, but was convinced that the Cowboys could at least get to the NFC Championship game. However, my hopes were dashed and now I am left dazed and confused.

As I look back on the Dallas Cowboys 2008 season, there are some positives to take away, but sadly, many more negatives. As an homage to the Cowboys season, I will start strong with the positives and taper off to the bitter negatives in the end.

The Positives

Last years draft class exceeded many expectations. Felix Jones, Martellus Bennett, and Tashard Choice were all extremely impressive in their rookie seasons. Felix Jones was and is the perfect complement to Marion Barber’s bruising running style. With a healthy Felix Jones in 2009, the Cowboys will have an extremely potent running game that can and will set the tone for the entire season.

The rise of Tashard Choice further enhances the running game. Now there is a proven back up who can take some of the load off of Marion Barber. This should prove extremely beneficial to the Dallas offense with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice getting enough carries to keep Marion Barber rested until the fourth quarter, when he has proven to be simply devastating to the opposition. Supported by our big offensive line, the Cowboys rushing attack should be one of the best in the NFL next season.

For more proof that Tashard Choice is the real deal, here is a video of Choice before a Georgia Tech game. If this does not inspire you, nothing will.

Martellus Bennett also showed his true colors this season. I will be the first to admit I was wrong about Martellus. Watching Hard Knocks, I thought Bennett would prove to be a major bust, however his on-field contributions more than made up for his attitude during training camp. Martellus Bennett should grow into his role as the back up tight end with ease.

The defense stepped up in the clutch towards the end of the season. While the two long runs given up against Baltimore were a step backwards, and the entire game against Philadelphia should only be mentioned in a hushed whisper, December was a pretty good month for the Dallas D. Demarcus Ware and the defensive line were playing like men possessed. The good news is most, if not all the defensive starters will be back for next season, meaning that, on top of a potent running game, the Cowboys defense will be one of the strongest in the NFL.

There is some upside looking ahead, but now comes the moment of truth…

The Negatives

From Pacman to TO, from passing to coaching, there are numerous problems with the 2008 Dallas Cowboys that simply cannot be ignored by Jerry Jones.

To start slowly, Jerry Jones trading for Roy Williams has proven to be a big mistake for this year. His numbers were basically non-existent. I have heard whispers that Roy Williams was injured and I will hold off on judgement for now, but he has got to step up next year, and quickly. Roy Williams is the future of the receiving corps, but who knows if that is good or bad yet.

Tony Romo is still not good in the clutch. He still has not won “the Big One.” not to say he won’t, but Romo is simply not performing to the level he IS capable of. He needs strong coaching to improve his decision making, and the line needs to improve it’s pass blocking, but Tony Romo has plenty to work on this off-season.

Adam “Pacman” Jones is another mistake. There is no denying his God-given athletic ability, however his decision making, both on the field and off the field, is extremely questionable. His punt returns were average at best. I can only remember one return that went longer than 20 yards. His coverage could be better as well. Combine this with his off the field behavior, Pacman is proving to be more harm than he is worth. Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton both proved to be better returners than Pacman, Pacman needs a strong coach to not only keep him in line with his behavioral issues, but to help him harness his athletic ability and use it to good effect.

Terrell Owens is another controversial figure, and not without good reason. Terrell Owens is a constant whiner and a diva to boot. I am stating the obvious here, but TO needs a wake up call before his ranting and crying prove to be even more of a distraction than they are now. I am not calling into question Terrell Owens’ ability, or his desire to win. He has proven himself to be a competitor of the highest order. What I am saying is that, like with Pacman, a strong leader in the Cowboys organization needs to step up to Terrell from time to time and simply tell him to “Shut up and play.”

Terrell Owens needs to do just that. He has made some great catches this year, but he has also dropped some really easy balls. He has taken plays off. There is a real lack of consistency. He is a competitor. He is not too old to play at a high level. Owens simply needs someone on his back a little bit. Somone to tell him when to pipe down and someone to keep him accountable on every play. Given Terrell Owens personality, this figure cannot be another player, Owens is too much of a diva. A strong coaching staff is needed to keep an ego such as Owens in check. He is a great player, and has plenty to offer this team, but Terrell Owens needs a strong authority figure to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Which brings us to the final negative of the Dallas Cowboys, the authority figures. I use that term lightly because, truth be told, there is no authority figure. There was no real locker room leader, the coaching staff was weak, and Jerry Jones is simply out of his mind.

There was no real leadership within the team. Zack Thomas and Jason Witten both led by example, but that was it. Zack Thomas, as a proven veteran, certainly led the defense in a lot of ways, however, he was new to the team, and did not understand the atmosphere or culture of the Dallas Cowboys enough to be a true locker room presence. Jason Witten is a man-imal who leads by example, but he has been far too quiet. It is time to cash in on his reputation and become an active leader for the Dallas Cowboys. Bradie James is another leader who could step up, but he has been quiet too, except for assaulting a fan a day after the loss to the Eagles.

The coaching staff should not have to encourage a locker room voice. Wade Phillips is simply not a good head coach. He is too nice. He coddles his players too much, and this sets the tone for the rest of the coaching staff. Wade Phillips is a great defensive mind in the game of football, and will make an excellent defensive coordinator, but a head coach needs to keep his team under control.

Wade needed to have a stronger voice this year. He needed to hold his players and coaches more accountable. From the Pacman hotel fight, to TO’s meeting with the wide recievers and Jason Garrett, to a fight between Flozell Adams and Deon Anderson on the plane flight back from Philadelphia, Wade Phillips did not assert his authority, but instead let his players walk all over him. This attitude carried to the field where the Cowboys played many games uninspired.

The Cowboys need a coach who is not too hard on them, like Parcells was, but also not such a pushover, like Wade Phillips. Phillips allowed his coaching staff to be too soft. If Wade wants to be easy going, that’s fine, but a soft head coach needs to be supported by strong, assertive assistants. The same is true for a tough head coach, who needs easier assistants. There has to be an even keel. The coaching staff of the Dallas Cowboys was simply too soft. There is no hard edge to keep the players in line.

Which brings us to our last negative of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones. Jerry is a great owner, but he should not be the GM for another day. Sadly his ego will not allow him to relinquish his control, but if it did, I would guarantee a Cowboys championship within the next 2 years. Jerry Jones is too much of a micro-manager. This was not helped at all by the lack of a backbone suffered by Wade Phillips. It is clear that the Cowboys perform best when Jerry Jones keeps his ego in check and allows a coach to make the decisions.

While it is true that the Dallas Cowboys 2008 season is over and whining and excuses will not help, there are some critical issues that need to be addressed quickly in order to build off of the positives of this year. Otherwise, the Cowboys will continually underperform and we will see more losses like the one to the Eagles.