Dallas Cowboys Stadium / Image: Zuma Press

Mr. Jones seemed pretty defiant, claiming the punters were going out of their way to hit it:

“You gotta be trying to do it. The rule is very clear. You just kick it over.”

Titans head coach Jeff Fisher disagrees. He had to throw his red hanky because the officiating crew didn’t see the ball hit the board during the game. Coach Fisher co-chairs the NFL’s competition committee and they are planning a conference call this week to talk about the situation.

I think the thing is ridiculously big for this venue. Sure, it’s really cool. In outer space. And what guy doesn’t want to watch the Cowboys cheerleaders through 30 million light bulbs. But it interferes with the game. And this won’t be the last time a punter hits it. It will probably happen every week. Clearly Mr. Jones went a little overboard with the world’s largest HDTV scoreboard.

Sources: ESPN.com, stadium.dallascowboys.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cowboys Stadium Scoreboard Too Big?

In a recent interview with Toronto’s Rogers Sportsnet (he’s with North America’s team now, don’t forget), Terrell said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reneged on a personal commitment to keep him under contract:

“You hear all the speculation, and you talk to the owner of the team, and he reassures you, you’re not going anywhere and then, out of left-field — you get blindsided. I know whole-heartedly he (Jerry Jones) wanted me there. There were some people I know who got in his ear that pressured him to make that decision. For that, it’s sad. You let two or three people conspire to get me out of the situation.”

I believe that to be true. I think Mr. Jones was under a fair amount of recommendation (not pressure — it’s his team, he can do what he wants) to release T.O. because he didn’t add to the team chemistry — something the Cowboys have been sorely lacking. Some people would most likely start with Mr. Jones’ son Stephen, the Cowboys’ executive VP. And you can figure out the rest based on last season’s circus atmosphere in Dallas.

You know, on one hand, I credit T.O. for speaking his mind. But sometimes it’s better to say nothing than to dredge up the past or reopen old wounds. I think the best thing for Terrell is to look to the future and forget the past. All of the criticisms about Terrell are based on his previous actions. He would do himself a favor by not adding any fuel to the fire.

Source: GlobeandMail.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Terrell Owens Says He Was ‘Blindsided’

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The Buffalo Bills held an introductory press conference for newly acquired receiver Terrell Owens yesterday. Terrell was all smiles (six and a half million will do that to you) — he was polite, funny, and very convincing that he has put his questionable past behind him and is ready to move on to a new chapter in his life. He seemed genuinely excited to be with the Bills and to help them get back to the playoffs — from which they have been absent for a decade. On the surface — on paper, if you will — it all sounds very nice.

So, I want to believe T.O. I want to give him the benefit of so many doubts. Yet watching him today I had to wonder if this guy does, in fact, have a split personality? Because I’ve seen this side of him before, when things are going well and there are six and a half million reasons to smile. But as we all know, you can’t really figure out the character of a man until you see how he reacts under adversity. And Terrell’s boorish behavior during times of difficulty throughout his career speaks volumes.

T.O. is not a monster. He’s not out pillaging the community and breaking the law. He seems like a genuinely good guy when things are going well (i.e. signing big money contracts, catching a lot of passes, scoring touchdowns). But I will be watching closely if the Bills are losing games and quarterback Trent Edwards is struggling to get T.O. the ball. How will T.O. react then? Will he behave like the mature veteran he should be or will he fuss and complain and create turmoil like he always has in the past? Anyway, I will be shocked if this whole Buffalo Bills/Terrell Owens experiment works, but you know what? I hope it does. I will be very happy to see Terrell Owens prove me wrong.

Opening statement:

“Thanks for having me and I’m very excited to be here, but first I want to thank God for the opportunity. God is good. I know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. I want to thank the Buffalo Bills organization, Mr. Ralph Wilson, I just got off of the phone with him, talked with him briefly, and this is an opportunity for me to kind of, the story will kind of write itself. I don’t really have a whole lot to say. It’s been a pretty interesting couple of days for myself. I know a lot of my teammates back in Dallas, I’ve had a lot of support from those guys. It’s very unfortunate, but now, I must move on. This is another new beginning for me, so I’m just looking forward to this opportunity. I know I’ll help this organization out, and I’m looking forward to getting with Trent (Edwards), Lee (Evans), and the guys, putting some points on the board, that’s what I’ve done everywhere I’ve been and it’s going to continue. I’m looking forward to the opportunities.”

On when the deal came together:

“You’ll have to talk to Drew (Rosenhaus). I’ve just kind of been at home, relaxing and once he and I met with Jerry Jones and Steven Jones, and we parted ways, the next day, he got busy, so once he told me that these guys were interested, I was looking for a home.”

On what made him decide to sign with the Bills:

“You never know. God has a place for me. He has a plan for me. This may not be the most ideal place for a lot of people, but I’m the guy. I beat to my own beat sometimes, my own thinking, my own intuition. Well, for me, this is an opportunity. It’s an interesting situation, no matter what uniform, I put on, I perform, so it’s not a matter of what tipped the scale. It could be money, it could be this, you never know. I will say that it’s an opportunity. I saw how the Bills started last year and they made some eyes open last year, so if I can be that extra added piece to the puzzle to get them to the playoffs and make something happen, then that’s what I’m here for. At this point in time in the league you can’t really just sit and say, ‘ok, this team is going to get to the Super Bowl.’ When I was in Dallas, we were picked to be in the Super Bowl and we didn’t make the playoffs. Nobody would have thought that the Arizona Cardinals would have been in the playoffs. At this point of time in my career, it doesn’t really matter about the team that you think is going to make it to the playoffs and go to the Super Bowl. It’s all about X’s and O’s, going out and making plays and I looked at the defensive side of the ball, and I looked at the offensive side of the ball. These guys have all of those pieces, you know? If I can add to that we’ll get where we need to be.”

On his previous divisiveness and selfishness with his former teams:

“That’s all hearsay. If you look at all of the comments that have come from all of my teammates with the Cowboys, it’s all been positive. Prior to that, I can’t really… I don’t really want to get into it. I’ll let my teammates speak highly and I think they have done that. They’ve spoken and they speak loudly as to what transpired.”

On what role he hopes to play in the locker room:

“I’m going to be the same person that I was the last three years with the Cowboys. When I’m on the football field, I’m a passionate guy. I demand a lot from myself and from the guys around me. I’m sure those guys and some of the guys around the league and in the locker room that I was with for three years all know that whatever is being said out there, it’s not accurate.”

On Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards:

“Trent has tremendous upside. As I said earlier, as a player, you kind of watch games, you watch highlights, and I think Buffalo gave themselves a buzz. They were hot at the beginning of the season, they didn’t finish well, but with someone like myself, I can come in, I can add that extra piece, and we can get over the hump. With Trent, I saw tremendous upside. I saw he was an accurate passer, one of the things I asked my receiving coach was how many times has he been sacked last year? And with that being said, that means he’s getting protection, and if he’s getting protection, we’re going to get open.”

On how much longer he would like to play:

“Right now, I’m focusing on the 2009 season, that’s about it. I feel like I can still play. I can still run and as long as I’m healthy, I’ll continue to play. People have asked me that the past couple of years and I’ve always told them, as long as God keeps me healthy and I’m able to be productive, I’ll play.”

On if there were other teams interested in signing him:

“There was interest. To get into it doesn’t make any sense right now. I’m here with the Buffalo Bills. I’m a Buffalo Bill right now and right now I’m just going to start with that.”

On meshing with WR Lee Evans:

“I haven’t talked to Lee personally, but he was on the phone with Coach (Tyke) Tolbert. He was very excited about it, excited about the opportunity to have a threat on the other side. I’m sure he’ll be excited as well. That’s what we tried to do in Dallas with bringing Roy (Williams) there. For whatever reason, midway during the season, that didn’t work out. That doesn’t bother me. I feel like my play kind of speaks for itself. The opportunity kind of presents itself. I make those plays, we make things happen, and as I know, and as everyone knows, Lee’s been doing that since he’s been here. I think we’ll compliment each other.”

Larger market to smaller market adjustment:

“No, not at all. I just have to create my own following up here in North America. I’m leaving America’s team to come to North America’s team. I’m looking forward to the opportunity, and I’m excited about it.”

On switching to a more wide-open conference:

“Being a wide receiver, that’s music to my ears. The thing is we’re going to get to work real soon, as soon as we can get on the field. I’m going to get myself from Coach Tolbert the plays down, get the system down, the routes, the system, all of that stuff. The sooner we can get that done, the better we’ll be. It’s all about communication when you’re out there on the football field, anyway. I’m looking forward to the opportunity. Get ready.”

Source: BuffaloBills.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Terrell Owens Presser Quotes

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see the Dallas Cowboys release receiver Terrell Owens today. The first two jobs I had for the Cowboys this offseason were to dump Adam Jones and Terrell Owens. Now that they’ve done both, I think they can get serious about finding the right players to build a winning team chemistry. With this move (which will cost the team over $9 million against the salary cap), owner Jerry Jones — who seems to favor the flamboyant — now appears to be serious about doing the right things to win a championship again. He explained his decision:

“Terrell Owens was a very productive player who performed at a very high level for all three of his years here in Dallas. But we have made a decision to move forward without him. …In the aftermath of the season, we talked about change. Some of what is changing involves the process and some of it involves people. This is a decision that was made based upon consideration for an entire team. We will move on now with a new team, a new attitude, and into a new stadium. The evaluation process and the prospect for change will continue at every level of the organization.”

I think they key word Mr. Jones used there is attitude. T.O. didn’t bring the kind of attitude an organization needs to field a winning team. It has been, was, and probably always will be about T.O. He continually puts himself before whatever team he is playing for. The Cowboys were arguably the most talented team in the National Football League last season, but they didn’t even make the playoffs. What’s wrong with that picture? I’m not saying T.O. is a bad guy or anything. He just doesn’t seem to understand how to be a team player and that will never work in this sport.

Source: DallasCowboys.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cowboys Release Terrell Owens

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

In an effort to eliminate confusion by having two players with the same name on one team, the Dallas Cowboys released five-time Pro Bowl safety Roy L. Williams today. Receiver Roy E. Williams remains. The move was completely overshadowed by the same-day release of receiver Terrell Owens, but it was Roy who had a far greater impact on the organization over the years. During one stretch of his career (2002-2007), Roy started 92 consecutive games for the Cowboys. He had 506 career tackles, 10 forced fumbles and 19 interceptions during his seven seasons in Dallas. But Roy’s coverage skills began to diminish and he became disgruntled with his role on the team (or lack of a role on the team). Then he missed most of last season with a broken arm. Owner Jerry Jones had a busy day making statements about his now former players. Regarding Roy’s release, he said:

“Roy has been a wonderful representative of this organization since coming to Dallas. Unfortunately, we have reached a crossroad with his time here in Dallas, and the difficult decision was made to allow him to explore other opportunities in the NFL.”

Roy can still play in this league and plans to do so with another team. But he’ll need to find the right fit where his focus can be stopping the run, not the pass. That being said, I don’t see more than a backup role for Roy unless he suddenly finds a fountain of youth to keep up in the defensive secondary.

Source: DallasCowboys.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cowboys Release Roy Williams

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he hasn’t decided whether he’s going to keep receiver Terrell Owens on the team’s roster in 2009 — in so many words. Mr. Jones said the team was in the process of evaluating their entire roster, but that now wasn’t the time to talk about it:

“There are several decisions on our roster we have to look at. This is the time of year we do that. I’m not trying to be trite, but as you all know, we’re evaluating players in college, we’re evaluating free agents and we’re evaluating our own roster. This is an ongoing thing, not any different than this time last year ….. Our roster is our roster. Changes to that are pure, pure speculation ….. We’ve got a lot of things we want to look at. Not just to Terrell, but several positions on the team — backup quarterback and some other areas. So, again, it’s not that it’s easy or hard. It’s just that I’m not doing it.”

Of course, my feeling has been that the Cowboys should send Terrell Owens packing and find a receiver who understands the team concept over individual accolades and notoriety. T.O. craves the spotlight and the attention over the team’s success. And that can’t be a good thing.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Jerry Jones Won’t Commit to T.O.

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The Dallas Cowboys officially waived oft-troubled cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones today (because it was the first day teams could start “waiving” goodbye to players for the 2009 season). So, I’m wondering if receiver Terrell Owens is next? I seriously doubt it. On paper, it seems like a ridiculous notion anyway. Terrell just had the ninth 1,000 yard season of his career. For the eighth time in his career he had double-digit touchdown receptions. And since 2006 he has more touchdowns than any other active receiver — more than Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald. But he’s never going to change his tune as a whiner and a complainer when things don’t go his way. He’s all about what’s best for him and not the team. And that makes him a big distraction. Of course, word is that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t interested in parting ways with T.O. anyway, which doesn’t surprise me because Mr. Jones enjoys the drama he has created in Dallas. But I don’t believe the Cowboys will ever win a championship with Terrell Owens — or Tony Romo for that matter.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Is Terrell Owens Done in Dallas?

Didn’t Jerry Jones make it perfectly clear a few weeks ago that there would be no changes to the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching staff this offseason? I believe his words were:

“The coaches are in place. I’ve said that. How can I be any clearer? Look, I’ve said that our coaching staff, as far as I’m concerned, is in place. I just want to make the statement rather than answer questions, because your questions imply certain things that I don’t want to imply. I’m saying that when I look at where we are coaching staff-wise and when I look at where we are personnel-wise, I see a team that is in place to compete for several years.”

Wrong! Special teams coordinator Bruce Read was fired last week. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart was fired today. And offensive coordinator Jason Garrett went back to St. Louis for a second meeting (interview) for their head coaching vacancy today, so my guess is he will be on his way out in the very near future. Of course, Pacman Jones was released last week and if I had anything to say about it, Terrell Owens would be next in line to pack his bags. T.O.’s agent Drew Rosenhaus insists his client isn’t going anywhere, but what do you expect him to say — other than “no comment,” that is? If coach Garrett leaves and T.O. is traded, I believe that qualifies as a pretty thorough housecleaning. At that point, I would love to hear Mr. Jones’ current thoughts about his previous comments.

Sources: DallasCowboys.com, NFL.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Dallas Cowboys Cleaning House?

After being lambasted by the Philadelphia Eagles 44-6 yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from postseason contention with a finishing 9-7 record. It was one of the bigger surprises of the 2008 season considering the Cowboys were preseason favorites (by many fellow sports writers and general football folk alike) to go to Super Bowl XLIII. With arguably more talent than any other team in the NFL, it was almost unfathomable that Dallas played as poorly as they did in the month of December. But this has become the norm for the Cowboys. As much publicity as they get for being “America’s Team,” the fact remains they haven’t had a winning record during the month of December in 12 seasons. The team is still living off the past glories of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Nevertheless, change is necessary if Dallas is going to turn back the clock and Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is all for it:

“We have to (make) changes as far as overall the team. But there are other things, including off-seasons, mini-camps and practices that I have to look at and alter some things and modify some things. But to get to the standard we want and our fans want, I don’t see any other way.”

If the coaching staff is not going to change (and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that it will not), I believe the necessary change begins with personnel. Job one should be to get rid of receiver Terrell Owens. NFL Network analyst Terrell Davis was in a bit of an argument with NFL.com’s Michael Lombardi on this very subject on Total Access this evening and I completely agreed with T.D. — get rid of Terrell Owens. He’s a cancer to this team. As far as T.O. is concerned, it’s always going to be about him first and foremost. He’s proven that time and time again. He’s a very talented but spoiled diva athlete. His stats and his catches and his involvement as a highlight in an offense will always be more important than the team and I would recommend trading him this offseason because there is a team out there stupid enough to take a chance on his talent in exchange for what will absolutely be a distraction at some point in their season. Plus, the Cowboys stand to cash-in on valuable Draft picks or a proven, team-oriented talent as part of a deal for T.O.

Still, I wonder if the Cowboys are smart enough and truly committed to the kind of change they desperately need? As long as Jerry Jones is in charge of the organization, I have my doubts. Mr. Jones likes big name athletes and a lot of drama. That’s why he’s spending over a billion dollars on his new stadium. He’s all about image and making a grand presentation. Unfortunately for him, this does not usually equal success in terms of wins and losses — which is really all that matters when you get right down to it.

Other than dealing T.O., I think releasing Adam Jones is a no-brainer. Enough said. And I’m still not sold on quarterback Tony Romo. I never was. When it seemed the rest of the world was going crazy over Tony and whatever celebrity female he was dating at the time, I was left wondering what was so great about him. Let’s face it. He’s an average QB with below-average performances in games that count the most. He may still come around and prove to be one of the league’s better signal callers, but he’s going to need to be put in a position to succeed and right now he’s not even close.

Source: DallasCowboys.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Dallas Cowboys Need to Change Their Ways

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Even though the Dallas Cowboys are in danger of missing the playoffs in a season they were favored (by many) to go to the Super Bowl, team owner Jerry Jones said today his coaching staff has job security. And he was obviously tired of answering questions about it:

“The coaches are in place. I’ve said that. How can I be any clearer? Look, I’ve said that our coaching staff, as far as I’m concerned, is in place. I just want to make the statement rather than answer questions, because your questions imply certain things that I don’t want to imply. I’m saying that when I look at where we are coaching staff-wise and when I look at where we are personnel-wise, I see a team that is in place to compete for several years.”

I think the key word here is compete. Of course they’re in a position to compete. Just about every NFL team is in a position to compete. Jerry is moving his team into a $1.1 billion, 100,000-seat stadium next season. He needs to do a bit more than field a competitive team. With the amount of money spent on salaries and a new stadium, I think Jerry Jones needs to consider some new leadership and give up some of his own power (yeah, like that’s going to happen) to get the job done correctly.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Jerry Jones Says Coaching Staff is Safe