Training and Terry

Training Camp is now underway. The players are excited, the coaches are coaching, the HBO cameras are capturing every move and Terry Glenn has finally been released.

After a long winded battle back and forth about his position on the team in terms of injury and contract, Terry Glenn had finally decided to sign a pricey injury clause almost at the same time Jerry Jones had finally decided to release Glenn to waivers. Jerry Jones won. He announced that it was a tough decision and that they may look toward Glenn in the future if he's still available. Doubtful.

Now with Glenn gone, Patrick Crayton will fill the # 2 spot, while Sam Hurd, Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback will fill the remaining wide receiver positions. It is not clear if Jerry Jones and Wade Philips are attempting to aquire any other wideout to insure the position in case of injury, but St. Louis' Anquan Boldin has expressed desire to leave the Cardinals at first opportunity. Hmm...

In other news, our two first round draft picks, RB Felix Jones and CB Mike Jenkins have agreed to terms for a 5 year contract, and should appear in training camp late today or tomorrow. It's reassuring that all the 't's' have been crossed and the 'i's' have been dotted, now it seems they can all focus at the task at hand.

What a great time to be a Cowboys fan. It has all the feelings of a 'Storybook Season' to be. If all goes well, we should make it to the playoffs, and that's where the real test will come into play. 2 years in a row saw Dallas being inches away from playoff victory, and they just couldn't clinch it.

Playoff wins are now the objective, but getting there is no piece of pie. I truly don't expect to see another 13-3 season... that is rare. I do, however, have high hopes of leading the division, which I guess is a pretty bold statement figuring The Giants just won the Super Bowl, The Eagles have acquired some well-needed talent and experience, and The Redsins have also restructured themselves in positive ways. It will not be easy in the least.

Holy Off-Season, Pac Man!

As the minutes and hours tick, we get closer and closer to the upcoming NFL Season and the news has been plenty abundant. Unfortunately, I have been absent from posting on my "Incredible Dallas Cowboys," Blog, but it's now time to catch up.

Where to begin? Let's start with the 'paparazzi magnet' quarterback, Tony Romo. When he wasn't rumored to have broken up and gotten back together with celebrity sweetheart, Jessica Simpson, he was playing golf, lots and lots of golf. After just missing a spot in the U.S. Open by 4 strokes, he did manage to beat Justin Timberlake, Matt Lauer and others in a Golf Digest US Open Challenge game. But regardless of Romo's off field antics, a lot of stuff happened in the world of Football too.

Deals were made left and right in the last 3 months. Terrance Newman and Marion Barber both received 7 year deals for $51 and $45 million respectively. Terrell Owens got a 4 year $34 million deal. Chris Canty got a 1 year $2 million deal while Ken Hamlin locked in a 6 year $39 million deal. Whew.

True talent is oozing from this organization. The coaching staff is filled with greats and potential greats. The players themselves are some of the greatest in the game today, so it's only right that cameras should follow their every move. That's why HBO has chosen the Dallas Cowboys as the team they follow in their upcoming reality/documentary show 'Hard Knocks,' which will air August 6th at 9 p.m. The show will follow The Cowboys as they begin training camp and stay with them up until the first game of the season in September.

So, we got Romo running wild, deals all around, and a reality show, anything else? Well, Pacman was partially reinstated by Commissioner Goddell, and in early practice drills he intercepted the ball twice. It was against backup QB Richard Bartel, but still.

Pacman also is making a call to publicly end the nickname 'Pacman.' He is Adam Jones, no more no less, but I'm hoping Adam Jones still plays football like Pacman. He hasn't been fully reinstated yet, but he is apparently ready.

The next thing to look forward to is training camp, which will begin this Thursday, July 24th. Besides that, we're only 2 weeks away from the Pre-Season, and then September will be here before you know it.

There is much to look forward to, and the smell of football is wafting in the air like a morning dew at dawn. Things look good for The Boys, but while it does look great on paper, it's all about execution, so we shall see what the coming weeks bring. Hasta La Vista.

P.S.

Miami Dolphins' six-time Pro-Bowler defensive end Jason Taylor was recently traded to the Washington Redskins and will now be a problem at least twice a year for Dallas.

On a more positive note, tough-to-bring-down tight end Jeremy Shockey was traded from the Giants to the New Orleans Saints, which will get him out of our hair for a while, at least.