Jesse Holley Joins the Team

Congratulations to Jesse Holley. By winning the 80th spot on the roster on the 4th and Long reality show he has at least given himself a shot at making the team. His chances of making the final roster are very slim but at least he gave himself a chance. You can say what you want about giving a roster spot to the winner of a reality show but he showed me that he really wants to make it in the NFL by battling through the tough drills on the show. It was actually nice to see someone earn a chance to make the team. I'd rather have someone like him who has earned a chance than someone who is full of potential but has no heart or desire.

So what does he bring to the table as a wide receiver? The first thing you notice about him is his size. He is 6'3" and weighs 215 pounds. The next thing I noticed when I first saw him was his physique. His 215 pounds are almost all muscle. He supposedly runs a 4.5 40-yard dash so he has good speed to go with his size. And finally, with his basketball background, he knows how to use his body to make the tough catches in traffic. He'll need some injuries to some of the receivers ahead of him to get a real shot to make the roster. His ability to make the tough catch might get him some attention from the coaches during camp.

As a special teams player it looks like Holley would primarily contribute as a coverage player. He didn't show the quickness during the show that would lead me to believe he could be a good returner, but he was forced to go through a lot of coverage drills that showed he had the ability and desire to excel on special teams. He is going to have to be an unbelievable special teams player in addition to anything he does as a wide receiver to have any realistic chance to even make the practice roster.

I'll definitely be interested to see how Holley looks against NFL-caliber talent during training camp. It will be hard not to pull for him at least a little bit after seeing all he had to go through to get a chance to compete for a job.

4th And Long Is the Real Deal

When I first heard the news that Michael Irvin would be running a reality show to find a player for the Dallas Cowboys my first reaction was that this would be another distraction for the team to deal with. After watching last night's debut of 4th And Long on Spike TV I will admit that I was dead wrong. The show is no joke. The coaches and former players running the drills on the show are no joke. The players trying to get one last shot at an NFL roster are no joke. All I can say after watching the show is...wow!

Obviously the players vying for the 80th roster spot are not first round draft pick material but they are all former college players who didn't make it to the NFL for whatever reason. Some of them seem to have come up with excuses to justify their shortcomings, but some of them seem to have real reasons that derailed their careers. For example, one player tore his MCL the day before his pro day in college and ended up not getting drafted. That seems legitimate. One guy wanted to blame his agent for his failures. That is a bogus excuse to me.

Regardless of all that the former Dallas Cowboy coaches and players are not running the show like you might expect when you hear about a reality TV show. Coach Joe Avezzano, Bill Bates, Michael Irvin, and Nate Newton are making it clear to the 12 players that they are going to have to show that they have the talent and especially the desire to earn the 80th roster spot. Players were throwing up just a few minutes into the first episode. No one had sympathy for them. Drew Pearson showed up to give a short speech about making the most of their last chance. He was an undrafted player out of college and ended up with over 500 career receptions.

Michael Irvin reminded me throughout the show that even if he had off the field issues as a player, there is no doubting that he knows the value of hard work and desire. You can see exactly why he was the inspirational leader for the Super Bowl teams of the 90's. Some of his lines during the show actually gave me chills because I felt ready to strap on a chinstrap and run through the drills with those guys. I didn't expect to be saying this, but I will be watching every episode of this show. You never know...maybe one of these guys can actually help the Dallas Cowboys this season.