The Cowboys seem to be as they have been away from the headlines in recent years, with the Rangers in first place and making a splash with their new ace, and the Mavericks in the middle of a big offseason. That will soon change of course, but in the mean time, some are still talking Cowboys.
Rafael Vela has concluded his three part series "To Catch A Copycat" in which he analyzes a play used by the Broncos against the Cowboys and recycled by the Eagles later in the season. Also, check out parts one and two.
You can pick up the Maple Street Press Cowboys 2010 Annual here. I wasn't aware of this publication until I began working on SB Nation DFW, but it looks like there is a lot of good stuff in this thing.
There has also been a lot of discussion on BTB about the seemingly outlandish projection by Football Outsiders of a 7.5 win season for the Cowboys. Among the points made in the comments section, there is a recent history of FBO pretty badly underestimating Dallas on a yearly basis.
ELSEWHERE
ESPN DFW is six parts through a ten part series discussing nonstarters who have a good deal to prove in camp. So far they've looked at:
Kevin Ogletree
Robert Brewster
Michael Hamlin
Jason Hatcher
Brandon Williams
Jason Williams
Michael Lombardi questions whether the Cowboys can really be serious about trusting David Buehler to make big kicks in his Convenient Truths column.
Sam Farmer of the LA TImes offers ten breakout players for 2010 and includes Stephen Bowen.
The smiling, baby-faced Bowen doesn't look the part of defensive menace, at least in the locker room. He can create havoc, though, and good things frequently happen for the Cowboys when he's on the field.
Bowen is a dangerous third-down pass rusher who had three sacks and 33 pressures last season. His role could increase this year, as the Cowboys seem to be phasing out defensive end Marcus Spears. In an ominous sign for Spears, a first-round pick in 2005, his new deal will pay him $1.23 million this season, considerably less than the twin $1.75-million deals just received by backups Bowen (undrafted, 2006) and Jason Hatcher (third round, 2006).
Washington Redskins OL Mike Williams is probably going to miss the season due to blood clots near his heart.
DC.com takes a look back at the roller coaster that was 2006.
ESPN experts ranked the Cowboys at the top of their "Ultimate Power Rankins" and SC had a very high level discussion with Matt Millen about it.
And if you've been completely out of touch with Cowboys stuff since the July 4th holiday, check out Aaron Novinger's most recent Valley Ranch Report last week for BTB.