Blogging The 'Boys

Parcells Press Conference Today (11/30)

I was unable to listen to the press conference today so I stole this recap from another board.

Signed Corey Procter off Detroit's PS, OG from U of Montana. Waived Ben Noll. Listing A. Johnson and Henry as questionable. They missed part of practice today. Shanle is probable. Questions?

Why did you release Noll??
Well, we been in, in Noll's case had 2 years invested in him and we just didn't see enough. Had good hopes for him. Tried to get him a job in camp, but he just couldn't get it. Thought it was time to move on. Tackle situation is one necessitated by the loss of Flozell we hafta keep trying to uh, take a look at guys and make sure we have somebody if something else happens. I'm sure one of these guys will have to play, or be dressed this week. Don't know if A. Johnson will practice tomorrow, think he will, we'll see. If he doesn't we'll have to make another move.

Another C besides Gurode?
I think we do.

On the roster or bring in?
We have him here. Tarullo (practice squad).

Gurode all game, or rotate?
Depends if Johnson is capable of playing or not. I would probably rotate it. If not, I'll play Gurode as much as I could.

Bledsoe said teams are blitzing more? And as a result the offense is struggling?
Well, I think the uh, no i dont think that's a problem. Actually I think we do a pretty good job against that. Now, converting that into big plays, has not been something we've done well. But handling blitz assignments i think we've done pretty well but as we go down the road here that we're gonna have to make some plays on these blitzes or we're gonna be in trouble

Giants a blitzing team?
They do some things. Giants are a bit of a multiple defense. They uh, run a few different fronts and they'll pressure from time to time, they definitely will .Good thing they been doing consistently throughout the year, I think that's helped their record is the turnovers theyve created. Their defensive statistics aren't outstanding, but they get turnovers. That's been a big benefit.

Not getting big plays down the field, no time?
No. I don't think thats been that big of a problem as what we're trying to talk about. Some of the blitzing has hurt our running game from time to time. Definitely tried to put more time on that recently

Offense not clicking as well as earlier?
Nah, I dont really go into the game feeling that way. I think we're playing...ya know, some of these teams, We played Philly on Monday night there, Denver was a tough game. There's reasons why things aren't perfect so we'll see. Giants been playing pretty good on defense as well... so we'll see what we can do.

Is this game the reason why you got Bledsoe?
No, I mean, this is an important game. You only acquire players that you think can help you win whatever the game is. Not just for games like this or that. All the games.

NFC East threat, between who has the best play at QB? Fair to say for this game?
This is an important game, but this, for the winner, this will be just one of several important games. For the loser itll put the pressure on them to pick it up the rest of the way, or the loser could be in jeopardy, but theres still a month to go. I've been in situations before, with a month to go, team didn't even have a winning record, and they been able to make it to the playoffs, so I think it's an improtant game, a divison game on the road. I thought the second half these division games on the road would be the primary thing we had to contend with. But besides that we have a good offensive team coming here in 2 weeks, Kansas City and we gotta go to Carloina. those are not easy games. and the Rams you know had a great comeback last week. I don't see any easy games.

How much advantage do you feel you should have with a 13 year veteran at QB?
Well if you put it like that you would think you should have an advantage, but you can't put it like that because they're more experienced than us in alot of positions. They have alot of experience on their offense. Look at Toomer, Burress, Tiki Barber. Now Shockey isn't a rookie anymore, he's been playing for awhile. Petitgout, their two tackles. veterans across the board. Only guy thats really young is their Guard Snee and he's a 2nd year player. So you can put it like that if you want to, but the experience at other positions can offset that.

Crayton ready?
I don't list him on the injury report because I think it'll be our choice whether he plays or not. He practiced today.

Decision on Noll at this point in the season? What is it?
Thats a good question.. it really is. After awhile, we invested alot of time there. And it wasn't like we paid a big price for the player. In other words, We acquired him on claiming at a time when we're just looking to maybe try and develop a guy. In this particular player's case we gave him every chance, every chance a player could want. Started him in a game last year, we tried to put him in a position where he could be successful this year, but for some reason..he's a very intelligent player, adequate size, and so those are the things that appeal to you initially. Good kid, but for some reason it just wasn't happenin. Now we get back to that Coach Landry deal. Hate to keep referring to that but you know, you gotta see something, and we just weren't seeing it. Now I have another young player that we took off the PS and I'm gonna see if we can't do it with him. These players aren't prohibitive in their costs. We may well try to do some more of that.

Like what you see of Columbo in practice?
I think there's a chance Columbo will dress this week.

Farther down the road then you thought he'd be at this point?
Hard worker, and he's tough. He's had some circumstances physically that haven't allowed him to do things hes now able to do. That wasn't his own choice, just something that occurred his rookie year that's been prohibitive for certain types of training. Now he's been able to do that type of training, he's been doing it for a month and he already sees a substantial difference. I think if we can get 6 months with him, and we don't have that luxury now, but when we do we'll see what happens

If Gurode starts at C, who is backup Guard?
The next guys I have are PS players or Peterman.

Peterman ready?
I dont see why he wouldnt be. Hasnt missed a practice all year

There's more, click the link below to read the rest.

Roster Churns; Injury Report

The Cowboys waived G Ben Noll and signed offensive lineman Cory Procter off of Detroit's practice squad. Procter is a 6-4, 295-pound rookie free agent from Montana, where he was a three-year starter. Procter was a first-team Division I-AA All-American and an All-Big Sky Conference performer in 2004.

Patrick Crayton is off the injury list and is expected to play.

Anthony Henry and Al Johnson are listed as questionable on the injury list while Scott Shanle is listed as probable.

One Scary Giant

His name is kind of strange but you better get to know it. I can guarantee you Torrin Tucker has his named fixed in his brain, he's probably been dreaming about him for days. When you talk about the Giants defense you almost always talk about Michael Strahan. He's still good, but this year he's been surpassed by the other defensive end.

Get ready for Osi Umenyiora.

Osi, as I like to call him, leads the NFC with 10 sacks. If you were watching the Giants/Seattle game like I was, you saw him abuse Seahawks super-stud tackle Walter Jones for two sacks. My friends, Torrin Tucker is no Walter Jones.

Dallas is going to have to spend a lot of time worrying about Osi, chipping him with running backs, double teaming him with tight ends. Sounds like a plan, until you remember that Rob Petitti will be lining up on the other side trying to handle Strahan. How do you double team both? Well, you can't, unless you run two receiver patterns all day.

How's this for a coincidence, Osi was drafted out of Troy, the college of our very own DeMarcus Ware. In fact, they both attended the same high school in Alabama and actually rode the bus together to school one year.

Anyway, the game will turn on how well Dallas handles Osi and Strahan. Frankly, this does not give me confidence. But you've got to have trust that Parcells will come up with something. I'm thinking the old "12 men on offense" formation will work nicely here. You guys got any ideas?

If you have a subscription to the Dallas Morning News premium content, you can read more about Osi here.

Most Important Game

Every game that an NFL team plays, especially teams with winning records, is invariably referred to as the most important game a team will play. Until the next week when the same old lines are trotted out to explain the next game. So without further ado, let me add my voice to the masses, this game against the New York Giants is the most important game of the season.

To prove the point, we turn to no other authority than the very serious coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin. Not waiting to get back to New York after their overtime loss to Seattle, Coughlin got straight to the point.

"I walked around the plane (Sunday) night and explained to everybody how important this upcoming game was," he said. "We had to move past this very disappointing loss. It's not easy. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Let's get on with the next one."

The Giants and Cowboys both enter Sunday's game with identical 7-4 records and tied for first place in the NFC East. After Sunday, one team is going to be in control of the division and their playoff chances, the other will be fighting for survival week to week.

The New York Giants are having a good season. They have a winning record and are tied for first place in the division. Sounds fine and dandy, right? Sure does, until you think about what happens if they lose on Sunday. Not only will they fall out of first place, they will essentially be two games behind Dallas because the tie-breaker goes to the Cowboys by virtue of a season sweep. Not only that, but the Giants have three of their last four games on the road, and the one home game is against a resurgent Kansas City. You think this game might be important to the Giants? You bet. Jeremy Shockey thinks so, too.

“This is a huge game,” Shockey told the Post. “This is The Game of the Year for the New York Giants and we’re ready for it.”

Dallas has some of the same issues to face. If they lose to New York they fall one game off the pace. They have two road games left after the Giants game, including one against the 8-3 Carolina Panthers. They also will have two home games left, including one with the aforementioned Kansas City Chiefs.

Both teams are sitting in the middle of a pack of teams fighting for NFC playoff births. While Seattle and Chicago are virtual locks for their division crowns, the NFC East and South have five teams battling for four playoff spots. You could even toss Minnesota (6-5) into the mix meaning six teams are shooting for the four remaining playoff spots.

If you don't win your division, then you are counting on help from others to get into the post-season party. Sunday's game against the Giants will go a long, long way towards deciding the eventual NFC East winner.

This is the most important game of the season. Until the game after it.

Cowboys Article Roundup

All the news that's fit to print.

An ESPN columnist puts the smack-down on the Eagles "tampering" charges.

Michael Irvin and the Hall Of Fame.

Maybe the Giants weren't that close to beating the Seahawks.

The Cowboys and the Giants is a big-time game on Sunday.

The Giants try to put a sloppy game behind them.

Parcells Press Conference Today (11/28)

The big news from the press conference today was already posted, that being the end of the season and possible retirement of MLB Dat Nguyen. Corollary to that news was the signing of veteran LB Michael Barrow to fill his spot on the roster. If Scott Shanle returns to health (he practiced today), he and Bradie James will start with Barrow and Ryan Fowler as backups. Here are some other highlights from the press conference.

On Mike Barrow - Parcells first starting thinking about him when Dat approached him a month ago and talked about his injuries and not being able to play up to form. Parcells liked Barrow's experience, thinks he'll pick up the system pretty quickly, he may play him on Sunday.

On Anthony Henry - He's going to rest him today (no practice for Henry today) and hopes that he'll be OK to play.

On Al Johnson - Same report as Henry above. He had a cartilage issue that caused his knee to lock up in warmups but the trainers were able to dislodge the cartilage and he played against Denver. The next day they performed a short surgery to clean it up. The trainers and doctors feel positive about his chances of recovering quickly.

On Patrick Crayton - He hopes he'll play. Thinks he can help the team if he comes back. Doesn't know if he will resume punt return duties yet. Thinks he's a good, strong inside receiver and a good blocker in the running game.

On kickers - Mentioned that a lot of games this weekend in the NFL were decided by kickers, especially kickers missing. Staying with Cundiff, said its only one kick. Still not 100% confident with him though.

On new tackle Marcus Price - He got in shape over the last month after the first tryout, thinks he's a very smart player, will be playing him at left tackle.

On the running game - Would like to do better, has confidence they can because they have before. The Giants play a lot of 8-man fronts so it will be tough. JJ is at 100%, the line needs to block better.

Dat Nguyen Placed On IR

Bill Parcells announced today that LB Dat Nguyen is going on IR and might retire.

This is a sad day for Cowboys fans. Personally I always liked Dat Nguyen, I always felt he gave maximum effort and that he was a quality LB. Yes, he was small but he was fast and was a sure tackler when he got his hands on the opponent. So I am sorry to hear he is going on IR and may be contemplating retirement.

This explains the Michael Barrow signing, we needed help in the middle. Scott Shanle is supposed to return to practice today so that is very good news in the wake of Dat's injuries. Parcells is trying to hold this thing together, but the injuries are starting to mount. Patrick Crayton and Anthony Henry, we need you guys back on the field.

Cleaning Up After The Weekend

News was coming fast and furious on Sunday after a slow couple of days. So let's sort out what happened.

First, on the field news.

The New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys all lost over the holiday weekend in overtime. That's pretty crazy, and the Giants lost by the same score we did, 24-21. What it means is Dallas goes to New York next Sunday still tied for first in the NFC East, and can take a big leap forward by winning and giving themselves the tie-breaker over the Giants. In other words, our destiny is still in our hands.

The Seattle Seahawks lead the conference at 9-2. The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers are next with 8-3 records. Behind them are Dallas, New York, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Bucs at 7-4. The Minnesota Vikings are still hanging around at 6-5.

In sort-of on the field news.

Over the weekend Dallas signed T Marcus Price and released T Ethan Brooks. Fox Sports reported that we also signed veteran LB Michael Barrow, but I haven't seen this confirmed anywhere else.

Now the off-the-field news.

The Philadelphia Eagles asked the NFL to investigate tampering charges against the Cowboys for Jerry Jones' statements on radio last week concerning Terrell Owens. Click here to read about it.

And finally the Michael Irvin saga. Mike gave a statement and it sure sounds a little fishy. I'm not one to assume guilt before hearing all the facts, but Irvin's story is weak. Here is the gist of it:

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin said Sunday night that a drug pipe police found in his car belonged to a longtime friend whom he's trying to help recover from an addiction. Irvin told The Associated Press late Sunday the pipe belonged to a friend of 17 years who left a Houston rehab center and came to Irvin's house in Carrollton for Thanksgiving. Irvin wouldn't reveal his friend's name.

Irvin said he put the pipe in his car because he didn't want it in his house where his children might find it. He said he planned to drive somewhere the next day, like a grocery trash bin, and throw the pipe away but forgot.

Sorry, but unless some other evidence surfaces or the other person comes forward, this doesn't sound plausible. With Mike's past, if he was now clean, there is no way he goes riding around in his car with a pipe in it, and there is no way he forgets he just put one in his car the day before. Wouldn't the logical way to handle this be to put the pipe in a garbage bag, take it out to the trash can and bury it at the bottom of the trash. Or drive down the road and throw it in a lake or pond or something? Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am, but Mike's excuse is weak and without some kind of corroborating evidence, I don't think I will be the only one not buying it.

You can read the whole thing here.

Did The Cowboys Sign Barrow?

Foxsports.com reported earlier today that the Cowboys had signed LB Michael Barrow to a one-year contract.

Well, seems like Mickey Spagnola doesn't agree that they have signed him yet. From dallascowboys.com:

Parcells, still somewhat uneasy with his depth at offensive tackle and linebacker, got busy on Saturday, signing seven-year veteran tackle Marcus Price and working out 12-year veteran linebacker Mike Barrow.

Interesting, he doesn't say the Cowboys signed him. It would seem like Mickey would know if we signed him, guess we'll have to wait and see.

Michael Irvin Arrested

Oh man, Michael Irvin is back in trouble. He was stopped for speeding and drug paraphernalia was found in his car. If this turns out to be true, then his career at ESPN is in jeopardy and his entry into the Hall Of Fame may be delayed for some time. From the article:

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his vehicle during a traffic stop, Plano police said Sunday.

Irvin, a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for speeding in Irving after being pulled over Friday afternoon for speeding in Plano, the Plano Police Department said. Police spokesman Mike Johnson said he didn't know what kind of paraphernalia was found.

Irvin paid a fine on the speeding ticket and posted bond on the drug paraphernalia possession charge. He was released about an hour after he was pulled over.