Back in Action

After an extremely busy summer for me I am officially back in action on Defending the Star.  It has been a busy last couple of weeks for the Cowboys so I'll jump right into it.

Let's start with Dez Bryant.  He is obviously the biggest lightning rod for criticism these days after the alleged incident with his mother.  Jerry Jones claims that if Dez doesn't clean up his act then the Cowboys will cut the cord with him.  I hope he gave that same message to Dez when he met with him face to face about the incident that took place a few weeks ago.  Dez has a tough family background.  While that might be sad, it is time for Dez to man up and take responsibility for his actions.  This is the first time the police have actually arrested Dez but there seems to be a pattern of behavior that indicates that he has trouble controlling his temper.  It is as simple as this...do you like making millions of dollars to play a game?  Then grow up, be a man, and act like a professional!  Dez's background doesn't excuse his behavior, it only explains it.  It is up to Dez to change himself.

Jerry Jones caused a bit of a ruckus by trying to whip a crowd of Cowboys fans into a frenzy at a rally.  He said the Cowboys are going to kick the Giant's asses.  And?  I don't understand why this is such a big deal.  Just look at the situation where this took place.  End of story.  Too bad ESPN and the NFL Network need to misconstrue Jerry's comments for ratings.  I hope the real fans can see through the typical media BS here.

The early rash of injuries on the offensive line in training camp are concerning.  The Cowboys went out of their way to solidify the interior of the line this offseason.  Unfortunately, Mackenzy Bernadeau injured his hip this offseason and needed surgery, Bill Nagy sprained his MCL on Monday, and Kevin Kowalski hurt his ankle this offseason and is still recovering.  I would like to see Phil Costa get pushed to improve during camp with some competition.  It doesn't look like that will happen.  And I had high hopes for Bill Nagy at guard but it looks like his injury is going to make it tough for him to have any chance at earning a starting role.

 

Three players failed their conditioning test on the first day of camp and finally passed on their second attempt today.  All I can say is that it is completely inexcusable for Felix Jones to fail his conditioning test.  I know he had offseason shoulder surgery.  He has been running for several months.  The Cowboys are expecting him to return kicks this season and be the change of pace back for DeMarco Murray.  Not coming to camp with the proper conditioning should be a big embarrassment for him and a big concern for the team.  I hope Jason Garrett pushes him to get back in shape. 

All signs are pointing towards Barry Church taking the early lead to start at safety opposite Gerald Sensabaugh.  I would love to see Church win the job so the Cowboys can simply cut Brodney Pool a few weeks from now.  Matt Johnson was drafted in the 4th round and has received rave reviews.  I would like to see Church starting and Matt Johnson getting onto the field occasionally this season.

Let's discuss the debate about whether the window is closing for this team.  I think it is pretty obvious that the window is definitely starting to close.  The key top players are all in the second half of the prime of their careers.  Jason Witten, Tony Romo, Demarcus Ward, and Jay Ratliff aren't getting any younger.  I think the Cowboys have 2-4 years left with this core group of players.  There is still time for these guys to get it done, but the clock is ticking.