Where do we go from here? As much as I want to sit here and say “people do not go into hysterics, this team will be there in the end” I simply cannot!

This team is in trouble! The type of trouble no one wants to be in, the type of trouble that could send this team spiraling out of control, like a speeding car on an icy road.

Our quarterback is trying to play in a way that is uncomfortable and unknown to him. Our coaching staff is so enamored with creating exotic plays that they think can cause other teams to play a style that they are uncomfortable with, that they have stopped trying to do the small things. The things that win championships!

The 2009 Dallas Cowboys are now officially in desperation mode, and it’s only the second week in October!

My associates here with this blog are doing there very best to try to keep everyone’s spirits up, and I am very appreciative of that!

The problem with trying to keep everyone from freaking out is that when we preach allegiance and “staying true to your fandom” we tend to block out what the truth is!

I do and always will Love the Dallas Cowboys, but I cannot sit quietly and not call this team out for failing to do the most elementary of football things. My disgust has nothing to do with winning and losing, but all to do with people simply not putting forth enough effort.

Effort is what will win and lose you football games! This effort thing that I am speaking of is something that this team is missing. To hell with T.O.! To hell with how many times Romo plays golf! To hell with “Roy Williams is not a #1”, To hell with Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett! To hell with “we just gotta keep working and getting better”!

None of those things mean anything! This team has gone thru hundreds “meetings” and “practices” with only a handful of players that actually “get it”! They are soft mentally and physically, and to be honest with you judging by the way they have played so far, I don’t think that bothers them!

Keep in mind now I am not calling one individual out, and I am not just referencing the players. I am talking about the entire staff! The saddest thing about all of this is that I really do like the people on this team.

The coaching staff here is a very intelligent staff, and very good people. The players on this team are some of the most gifted in the league. They simply have no guts!

I have tried my best to keep up with the “rah, rah, go team” stuff, but enough is enough! It is time to call it like I see it!

Jason Garrett continues to refuse to work the middle of the field while having not one, but two very big, athletic tight ends (oh by the way one of them is the best this team has ever had), no instead he decides to use one of them as nothing more than a decoy! He has as sure handed a receiver as you can find in the NFL in Roy Williams, yet cannot seem to understand the concept of the slant route (come on Jason how many times did you sit on the sidelines and watch Troy and Mike hook up on this route?). Hey Jason here is a novel idea, how about you get some receivers in motion to maybe help them create some space? How about you try and help Romo a little bit and play to his strength’s? You know maybe an occasional roll out! No your too f*@# hard headed to do that!

Wade Phillips while I commend you for trying to become what this football team needs in its leader, you just simply cannot do it! Maybe it’s time to meet with Jerry and make it known that you would be willing to step down and become solely the Def. Coordinator?

Notice to all players if your name does not appear on the list I am about to give, then I am talking to you!

Demarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Keith Brooking, Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, Jason Witten, Felix Jones. Tony Romo you will have your own section!

Are you guys tired of hearing the media and fans rip you guys to shreds every week? I am sure you are! Well I have a sure fire way for you to rid yourselves of all of that negative press, if you are interested in hearing it.

This is a very simple and elementary idea. Play the game like it is your last! For many of you this game of football is all you know, and you are smart enough to know that you cannot play forever. So why not go out there each and everyday and play the game like you will never get to suit up again?

The fault does not lay with your ability, it really doesn’t! The problem is with your will! You guys have lost that thing that got you to the “league”. All of you guys in college had a desire to become a professional, and now that you are one you have stopped playing with that killer instinct that got you there! Why? Is it the money? Have you all made so much money now that you are content to just ride it out? Or have you just lost the “want to”?

I and many of your fans have become so accustomed to you playing half heartedly that you no longer have to make excuses for your poor play, we make them for you! I am sick of it! YOU and only YOU are responsible for the effort that you put forth each Sunday, and the one you have been giving SUX!

Tony, Tony, Tony, I can understand the predicament you are in, I really can. We the fans have beat you over the head with wanting you to be more like Troy, that now you do not even know how to be you. Tie that in with Jason Garrett calling the plays and you are in a losing situation.

However you are in control of your destiny, not the coaches and certainly not the fans! My father told me many, many years ago, “Son be yourself and to hell with anyone who does not like who you are”! That stands true with the way you play football too. You were a very confident football player, so confident in your ability that you were willing to take a chance! Now you do not have enough confidence in yourself to find your way to the lunch room? It is gut check time Tony, time for you to step and take control of the situation or fall back to obscurity, the decision is yours.

My allegiance to this team has not wavered, but my patience is wearing thin with the group that is here.

While I still have high hopes for this team, those hopes and dreams are becoming cloudier by the second. Now if only someone would hear me and start the recovery process!

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Four days before the season opening game, the greatest running back to don a Cowboys uniform, has decided that he needed to give his old team a good old fashioned tongue lashing.

Emmitt Smith was the perfect back for the Cowboys, outside of what he did on the field however was less than to be desired.

Known for being egotistical, arrogant, SOB. Maybe you have heard the story about the presents he used to give his O-Line? If you followed the Cowboys in the 90’s then I am sure you heard about them.

There is one story that some of you may have not heard about! As the story goes Emmitt had another spectacular year (won the rushing title) and the present he chose to get his linemen was???? None other than an autographed copy of his autobiography! How freaking nice of him!

Somewhere along the line of his career he has become the greatest (self proclaimed) prognosticator of talent in the NFL! Always having something to say (whether or not you can understand what he is saying is a different story).

Now apparently he has become so well schooled on what it takes to be a Head Coach, Wide Receiver, and Quarterback he has decided to drop some knowledge and let us know why the Cowboys can (via The DMN Blog)

“Realistically, I think that the Cowboys can win seven games,”

Seven Games! Seven games, is Doctor Dipshits win total for the Cowboys in 2009!

At first sight of this I thought “well maybe he has some inside information that none of us have!” but then he drops this as his reasoning behind his prognosis,

“I mean, when I start hearing things are going to change, I keep asking myself as a player, how much are they going to change?” he said. “Are you going to be a hard-nosed coach now since things are going to change? Are you going to be more focused than you were last year? Those kind of things, I’m like, c’mon. This is not a game where you can just turn it on and turn it off.”

Emmitt Smith obviously pays next to zero attention to the goings on of the Dallas Cowboys! Bradie James back in August had this to say about the HC Wade Phillips,

“He’s almost like a new coach,” James said. “He knows what’s at stake, and he knows we need to have a winning season. He’s been different. He said he was going to be different, and I didn’t know how he would pull it off, but I think he has.”

That was not the first time or the last time statements like that were said. We even got to see Ol Wade unleash on Courtney Brown on the sidelines after a stupid pass interference call, all these things were not seen last year! So evidently it is possible for a human being to change the way they do things!

Then as if he had not dropped enough knowledge on the fans of the Dallas Cowboys, he decided to give us an insight on Roy Williams.

“The question is, can Roy step up and be what they need him to be? I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s possible.”

“I do not see him as a No. 1. I never have saw him as a No. 1. Never have. When I say No. 1, I mean your No. 1 go-to guy. He’s not your No. 1 go-to guy.”

Let me say something to those of you who believe this line of thinking, THE COWBOYS DO NOT NEED ROY WILLIAMS TO IMITATE TERRELL OWENS! With the backs and Tight Ends they have this team does not need a pure #1 (ala Fitzgerald, Owens). This team needs Roy Williams to do what he does best, MOVE THE FREAKING CHAINS! SO STOP THE NONSENSE!!!!!!

Then he decides to get a few shots in on every ones punching bag Tony Romo,

“So when you have your off-season and you say things are going to change and you’ve never been that dominant personality or in that leadership position then, as a player, you lose me,” Emmitt said during an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio (via Pro Football Talk). “You lost me. I’m sitting there saying, ‘OK, now you’re going to become a leader?’ What happened when we had all this great talent over here and we had a chance to go, not only in the playoffs, but in the first round of the playoffs when we got knocked out both times?”

Once again in the land of Emmitt people are not allowed the opportunity to grow and possibly change the way they do things!

The Cowboys however have created this monster themselves, and the only way to make this retarded way of thinking go away, along with dipshits like Emmitt is by just shutting up and proving the naysayers wrong!

Emmitt I think maybe you should go back and listen to some of the crap you and your illustrious teammates told the fans of the Dallas Cowboys. It seems to me that I heard you and Michael, Troy, and Deion saying things like “we are just biding our time; we can turn it on whenever we get ready!” Do you remember those days? I sure do, and yet that grand switch you guys talked about in 1996 never got “turned on”, I think you might need to remember that old saying “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones!”

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Got to give props to anyone who attempts a top list for Dallas Cowboys history – I mean whether it’s for the best players, worst players, best plays, or worst plays, you’ve got enough ammo to stretch a top 1,000 on just about any aspect. So here we have the Top Ten Worst Moments in Dallas Cowboys’ History from (Silver and) BlueBlood.

Let’s preface this list with an important qualifying statement: the only moments up for consideration are on-the-field occurrences. In other words, this is a list of the ten most devastating plays in team history. Consequently, we won’t be mentioning moments many may consider catastrophic, like the day Landry was fired or the day Jimmy Johnson walked away or the day Switzer was hired. Nor will we talk about the “white house” or the Michael Irvin trial. We may long debate the impact of such happenings on the team. But that is a different discussion.

In selecting the plays included in this list, several factors were considered:

• Was it a catastrophic moment for the team?
• Do Cowboys fans still remember it?
• Does it still hurt?

You can check out the list and some other good reads from Gene at www.SilverandBlueBlood.com.

Mike Jenkins also has a new blog posted from yesterday. He talks about getting ready for training camp and who he’s working with as he tries to balance his body to start camp next week.

I’m just ready to get into camp. I’m focused and ready to get this season popped off.

I’ve been going out to IMG here in Bradenton every day, working out with guys like Ryan Grant, Fabian Washington, Cliff Avril and a lot of others from Sportstars. But today was my last day as I shut it down and get my body back right, hit the cold tub through the weekend and just focus.

Working out meant speed drills in the morning and power in the afternoon, running hills, pushing sleds, working with medicine balls, just keeping the body moving. You have to have everything equal and balanced out for when you go to camp.

Check out the rest and more insights from the second year cornerback at www.MikeJenkins21.com. Don’t forget, for those of you always on the go, you can check out Mike Jenkins’ Twitter page as well – you can even check out our DCNation Twitter page too while you’re there.

Over at www.DefendingTheStar.net they’ve got a pretty good series going previewing the upcoming training camp.

Defending The Star’s Training Camp Preview Series:

Training Camp Preview – Part 7 – Defensive Line
Training Camp Preview – Part 6 – Special Teams
Training Camp Preview – Part 5 -Offensive Line
Training Camp Preview – Part 4 -Wide Receivers
Training Camp Preview – Part 3 -Tight Ends
Training Camp Preview – Part 2 -Running Backs
Training Camp Preview – Part 1 – Quarterbacks

It’s a pretty extensive list and it’s not even complete yet as they still have the secondary to go. Go check it out.

And while we’re on the subject, Blogging The Boys has also chimed in with an opinion of what’s hot to watch this year in camp with their post – Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Five Things To Watch (Part II).

Okay, if you want to be technical about it, I won’t be at Cowboys training camp so I won’t be watching anything. I guess I will be listening for, or reading up on a few different storylines coming out of Cowboys camp. Considering the abundant media coverage these days, coaching staffs are reluctant to reveal much before the regular season kicks off. Still, if we look closely, we can probably gather a few vital tidbits of information about the Cowboys upcoming season. Here are the things that I will be looking for at Cowboys camp.

So plenty of action to check out this impatient late July Friday afternoon. One fan to another – can’t wait for training camp to start so we can get a look at every player and see how they’re each coming along. I’m even quite curious to see how lucky dog Jesse Holley comes along. Maybe Holley will be a Dallas Cowboy after all.

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Jesse Holley is now the latest member of the Dallas Cowboys. Who you say? That’s right Jesse Holley! Thanks to the Michael Irvin show 4^th and Long The Cowboys now have another man on the roster, the question is though will he stick? or is he just the product of another marketing gimmick?

I will tell you straight up that I watched only the first episode of 4^th and Long! Not because it was a bad show (although it was not a show that made me want to put the DVR to use) but more because it was just too damn gimmicky for me.

So who is Jesse Holley? Well I do not know just a ton about him, but what I do know is not all that glamorous.

Jesse was a two sport player at the University of North Carolina from 2003 – 2006, was a member of the 04’-05’ National Championship basketball team. He was a very solid Wide Receiver for the Tar heels, played all fours years that he was there.

In 2007 Holley was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was then released by the team at the end of Training camp only to be signed to the practice squad. Jesse lasted one month on the practice squad before being released.

In 2008 Jesse signed on to play for the BC Lions of the CFL. After the teams first Pre Season game (one month later) He was released.

Basically Jesse Holley is the same as a million other solid collegiate athletes with dreams of being a Pro, but now his dream is a reality thanks to Spike T.V.?????

I have a question for all of you that I need help answering. Can anybody tell me who was the last player (that went undrafted, unable to stick on a practice squad, and unable to make it in the CFL) that has been talked about this much?

My partner and I had a… well let’s call it a discussion yesterday about this situation, and well… Let’s just say our thoughts were not anywhere near the same!

Bryson watched the series from beginning to end, and had nothing but good to say about Jesse and his abilities. While I respect his opinion on the matter I strongly disagreed with his synopsis. He told me about how he was a big and physical receiver with good hands and the ability to go up and get a jump ball. He also told me how he thought “he may be a good addition for us” and “he may be able to take Stanback’s spot”.

It was about this time that the “discussion” got a little more heated. Not because I think Stanback is such a great receiver, but because I simply cannot comprehend how a guy who cannot make a CFL roster can come in and be a better player than a guy who has stuck on an NFL roster for 3 years!

The argument will always be “NFL scouts do make mistakes and miss on players, just look at Tom Brady” and while that is accurate to an extent, name me a player who has been a contributing player in the NFL that was unable to stay on a practice squad and unable to make a CFL roster.

Every year NFL teams bring in players this time of year that will never play a down in a regular season game, simply to fill roster spots at training camp.

It takes a very special athlete to be able to make and then stay on a NFL roster, Any NFL roster! If you have ever played a sport then you know that there are two kinds of players. (1) Overly Gifted (2) Under Gifted.

For the overly gifted athlete things come easy to them and they are generally stand out players, the great ones have the same work ethic as the guy who has less talent and has to rely on his determination, and hard work.

The under gifted player while he has talent he MUST work harder than everyone else, and he MUST be involved with his sport of choice on a continuous basis (playing on a year in year out basis) as this player simply would fall way behind his competitors if he took a year off.

Jesse Holley falls into the Under Gifted category, while I am sure he has some very nice talents, the fact remains he has not played in almost 2 years and was not very good then! I would like nothing better than to see this kid come into camp and set the world on fire and prove me wrong!

The problem that I have with this show is simple, a guy has become a member of the Dallas Cowboys and thrust into the spotlight for no other reason than because he was on a T.V. show! And better still because he competed against other players who cannot make an NFL roster and shined against them, this show has given Cowboy fans a severely skewed opinion of their talents.

Without this show no one would care about anyone of these guys! Much less believe any of them could “add” anything to this team! Or believe they could take a job away from a veteran NFL player.

Just to put it in perspective, I played Football and Baseball all my life and was never anymore than an average player. When I got into my twenties I started playing in a local Softball Beer league. I was and am a decent player but by no means a “Pro” but every time I have played against people that were not very good I looked like a “Bad Ass” player. The contestants on this show are no different!

These contestants performed against the likes of Semi-Pro players (your Beer League of the Football world) and cast away Arena League players. Frankly these guys should look like superb football players, but many of them did not! The two that did make it to the finals did look the part, but one of those was only 5’7”! And by all accounts if he had not been a midget(pardon me vertically challenged) he would have won the competition.

In the end, I have done nothing but waste your time and mine writing about a guy that more than likely will end up like all the other late invitees to a NFL camp, released and never heard from again!

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I’ve noticed that there are plenty of lists going out lately. Most of which shed no respect to Cowboys players who have rightfully earned it. So to fulfill the appetite of you fans I’ve created a list of the Best Cowboys of the last 15 Years. .. So get ready!

1 Emmitt Smith-The leagues leading rusher. Smith proved to be a “Go to guy” by coupling hard nose, downhill running with incredible durability. With 3 Super Bowl rings, Smith may be the most noticeable player in Dallas Cowboys History.

2 DeMarcus Ware- Perhaps the most naturally talented player to emerge on this defense in years, Ware consistently strikes fears into opposing offensive coordinators. Ware has increased his sack total in each of his 3 seasons ending with 20 last year. There is no signs of slowing down which is good news for this defense!

3 Troy Aikman- Concussion Troy can’t be forgotten for all the marvelous things he did in Dallas. He was a model field general, orchestrating 3 Super Bowl victories and becoming the Cowboys all time leading passer with 32,942 yards.

4 Darren Woodson- The one player that ANY of us would give ANYTHING to have back. Darren Woodson played the secondary perfectly forcing 23 interceptions. He was the backbone in many great defenses and earned a reputation as one of the fiercest safeties in the league.

5 Michael Irvin-A distraction? Sure. However, Michael’s production was unmatched. He averaged over 15 yards per gain and had over 60 touchdowns in his career. He was a consistent target who was reliable and a HOF athlete.

6 Larry Allen- A big strong offensive lineman who was versatile in his play. At 325 lbs he was an immovable force and a good reason for Emmitt’s success.

7 Jason Witten- Witten is a Blue Collar, Smash mouth player who has, in my opinion, defined the future play of tight ends. He blocks well, He’s intelligent, and He’s a bigger threat in the passing game then most receivers, He can shed tackles, and he’s not afraid to throw his body around.

8 Tony Romo- Though under constant scrutiny, he has produced more 300 yard passing games then any quarterback in Dallas history in 3 years. With a 64 percent completion rate, and a ratio or 2 td’s to 1 interception, his regular season play is comparable to some of the greatest quarterbacks of all time (Coming soon: a comparison against Peyton, Aikman, and Young in there first 4 years) I believe that given the opportunity, Romo will thrive in future playoff appearances.

9 Deion Sanders- Prime time, Sanders electrified the field with his wonderful coverage, ability to force interceptions for touchdowns, and punt returning skills. Sanders had abilities that we will forever miss and may not see for years to come.

10 Terrence Newman- Not Deion Sanders, but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily worse. Terrence doesn’t produce stats like some of the other elite DB’s but that’s because he’s never really tested. He is a shut down corner with speed and game breaking ability. He will be the staple in this defense for years to come.

11 Greg Ellis- A bitter end to this story. Greg has given his all to this team and that has to be respected. He was a feared defensive end, but an even more devastating OLB with the ability to get to the passer; he’s registered 77 career sacks with the Cowboys.

12 Daryl Johnston- The moose led the way for Emmitt throughout his career… Enough said.

13 Dat Nguyen- Nguyen solidified the middle linebacker slot in his second year after leading the team in special teams tackles the first. His run stopping ability and hard hitting made him well known throughout the league. If it weren’t for a disc injury, Dat would be along Bradie James, supporting the same number 1 defense he helped solidify in 2003.

14 Marion Barber- A hardnosed runner this team hasn’t seen since Smith. After going through Troy Hambricks stages and a little flash of Cason, Barber was a breath of fresh air. He has become a “Closer” and has the talent to become a franchise back and league leader.

15 Flozell Adams- Though penalty prone, Flozell has provided stability to the offensive line in Larry Allen’s Absence. He is big, strong, and mobile. He also uses his hands well and is also a talented blocker. An excellent round out to this list.

**Notable Mention** George Teague- For his incredibly memorable hit on Terrell Owens, when Owens was boastfully disrespecting the star.

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With all the talk about Terrell Owens and whether he’ll be in a Cowboys uniform next year, the subject of whether or not we can sustain a potent passing game without him has been raised. It’s something that nobody has the answers on, but it makes me wonder, why don’t we?

What is it about Roy Williams that says he can’t handle the load without T.O. across the field? Perhaps the best argument against him is that he played for the Lions until last year, and I know this because I’ve seen it written in so many places, and by so many people. The popular opinion is that he sucks because he was with the Lions.

People like to throw out there that he’s only had one season over 1,000 yards, but what I don’t understand is why the same amount of logic isn’t placed on both sides of the discussion.

He played for the Lions … when is the last time the Lions did anything notable in their passing game? Even I had Mike Furrey on my fantasy team a couple of years ago, but that was also the same year in which Williams got his 1,000 yards, so something was obviously working better that year.

So he comes to Dallas, narrowly escaping a full claim to the worst season in NFL history, and he catches 19 passes for a couple hundred yards. The truth is that Williams, while he caught fewer passes than he could have, was only about 3 yards per catch behind Owens. That means that had our offense not collapsed from mid-season on, he could have ended up with more yards than Owens. Sure, it’s not likely since Owens is the number one wide out, but it’s possible that he could have without him doing anything different.

That has to make you wonder something, how can we be facing such trouble without Owens when Williams was producing at a similar level per catch? Now watch that, I said per catch. A lot went into why Williams had fewer catches, some of it was his fault, some of it wasn’t, so we can’t really make claim to the cause in either direction.

What we do know is, even after Jerry Jones so cryptically told the attending reporters at his press conference yesterday that they weren’t going to get the answer they wanted, that even if he does cut Owens loose, he wasn’t the only guy producing.

T.O. was the only player at a skill position playing in every game of the season.

T.O. did have a blow out game against his former team, nearly breaking his own career record for yards in a game.

None of that says that this team won’t produce over the top should he be gone in 7 months. And to say that we need to pick up another receiver either through the draft or free agency is just idiotic. Why would the Cowboys risk bringing in another player as a project from the draft when we still have Stanback, Austin, and Hurd who have yet to progress past that same status?

Why would we bring in another free agent receiver when we’ve got Williams not playing up to his ability last season; Owens the center of a bigger fuss than Bill Clinton, and the other free agent wide outs we’ve brought in during this decade that have quite literally flopped?

A lot of what’s being said centers around the attention that Owens gets, some off the field, and some on the field. Can this team be any good without Owens occupying double coverage? Well, tell me this, how did Michael Irvin do it all those years? He was never the fastest receiver; he was just a go-up-and-grab-it type of guy. For all accounts, Williams is that type of guy also, he’s just never had a QB worth $60 million throwing it to him.

Give it an off-season, a full training camp and preseason, and you’ll see that Owens is going to get more competition from his right than from the defensive backs facing him.

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There’s something to be said for a player that owns up to his role on a team.

I mean each position has clearly stated duties and responsibilities at all times. A wide receiver has to run routes, break jams at the line, make cuts, get separation, focus on the ball and catch it, keep his timing right etc. etc.

There’s a list like that for every position on the team, some longer than others, but all well defined and fairly standard on a position by position basis.

But these days it seems too common to get players like Owens who says, “give me the ball”. Or players like Ellis who says, “I want to start”. And even a player like Romo that just wants to have fun and enjoy what he does on the field.

All contract issues aside; there are several players on every team in the National Football League that wants particular things for personal reasons. And that should be fine; Owens wants the ball? Well, he makes plays so why not? It makes sense to get the ball to your play makers, and your play makers know it too so what’s the big deal if they say something about it?

Read the rest of this entry »

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Okay, I know it’s rather trifle or petty, but after reading the latest blog entry of Barry Horn at DMN, I just couldn’t help myself.

He throws in a little teaser about a incident Michael Irvin told him about. I’ve seen the reports already and know what happened, so I left a comment telling him we knew all about the incident, and that he should write it anyway. That at least we’d know he was telling the truth. I used the name BTreece.

I know Horn hasn’t been one of the major players in the recent rumor mill in the media, but I’m tired of hearing about a “source” and some outrageous claim from that source about the Cowboys.

We should all demand more from our journalists.

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So the story isn’t quite what we would all hope for right now, especially not after how Hard Knocks turned out last year, but the yet-to-be-named reality show that Michael Irvin is doing this spring might actually be a good thing.

I doubt that any real players will come from it because usually the good ones do make it in other, more traditional ways. Then again, I lived next door a lineman on the practice squad for a few years in some ratty apartments in Arlington, and the practice squad players are usually considered worthy prospects.

I do think, however, that this is a step in the right direction for Jerry Jones and his obvious cravings for national media attention. Last year it was Hard Knocks, and we all know how that turned out having the HBO cameras all in training camp. It was a distraction in many ways, some of which only proved true once Martellus Bennett started catching touchdown passes.

This year though, a show that won’t take place at training camp, it won’t be in the players face, and the coaches currently employed won’t be dealing with it. You’ll have former coaches and players participating, but the only current Cowboys member set to be a part of this production is none other than Jerry Jones, who will make appearances as a judge.

Anyone think it’s a bad idea to get Jerry away from the team a little more?
See Tim MacMahon’s article on the DMN Cowboys Blog for the full story.

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No, seriously. here’s the press release from Spike.com about it.

SPIKE TV TEAMS UP WITH NFL LEGEND
MICHAEL IRVIN TO GIVE AN NFL HOPEFUL A SHOT AT
MAKING THE DALLAS COWBOYS ROSTER

Network Announces New Reality Series

Produced By 3 Ball Productions

New York, NY, — NFL Hall of Famer and Dallas Cowboy icon Michael Irvin has teamed up with 3 Ball Productions, the successful reality television company, to develop an original Spike TV series. This untitled Michael Irvin/Dallas Cowboys project was created by Irvin and his production company, Playmaker Productions, and features twelve amateur hopefuls who will move to Dallas and compete against one another to earn a shot at a coveted spot in Dallas Cowboy training camp next summer and potentially a spot on the team.

This untitled Michael Irvin/ Dallas Cowboys project will premiere in the spring of 2009 and will feature Irvin as on-air talent, keeping a watchful eye over the contestants and helping to mold them into champions as they are put through rigorous competition. The twelve football neophytes, six wide receivers and six defensive backs, will be broken into two teams, overseen by notable former Cowboy coaches and players. Guest judges will appear along the way including other former players, coaches, media personalities and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“This is one of the biggest ideas we have heard and speaks straight to one of our viewers favorite sports, football,” said SVP original series Sharon Levy. “Michael’s passion and 3 Ball’s storytelling ability is sure to make this one of our biggest shows ever.”

“This is a groundbreaking opportunity for football players and football fans,” said Irvin. “The unique element is that these men will actually be competing for a training camp roster spot in an NFL camp. There is so much great undiscovered football talent out there, guys that may have missed their shot for one reason or another. This is about hope and a shot at greatness,” furthered Irvin.

“Sports are all about passion and to tell the true story of someone overcoming the odds to achieve a lifelong dream is reality television at its best,” said executive producer Todd Nelson.

Todd Nelson and JD Roth of 3 Ball Productions serve as executive producers. Sharon Levy and Tim Duffy are executives in charge of production for Spike TV.

Spike TV is available in 97.7 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

I guess some changes from last year aren’t going away this year, i.e. Hard Knocks on HBO.

I’ll tell you one thing though, Michael is certainly not the last person I’d take football advice from, so bring it on.

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