I’m not the biggest fan of giving out draft grades right after the draft since it will take several years to really know how good the draft was and no one ever seems to give out grades for drafts three years ago, but if I was forced to I’d have to give the Cowboys a solid B, perhaps a B+.

It was definitely an A for the first day. The Cowboys were ready to choose Anthony Spencer with their 22nd pick, but they chose to do a little wheeling and dealing. They ended up getting Spencer with the 26th selection which translates to getting Cleveland’s number one pick for the discount rate of their 3rd round and 5th round picks. You don’t get much better than that.

After Spencer, they took James Martin in the third round after moving out of the second with another draft-day trade. The Cowboys definitely needed to bolster their offensive line after suffering through lackluster line play the last two years, but Martin does have some issues associated with him. Many scouts believe he is simply too slow in his play to ever become a left tackle. He does have some experience at guard, though, and that versatility can become an asset if it transfers to the pros. Any time you can get a player that can play two positions on the line you have more wiggle room when picking out the active roster.

The second day is a bit harder to judge. They took a flyer with their first pick in the fourth round choosing to gamble on Isaiah Stanback who played both quarterback and wide receiver for Washington. He was also a track star and was even drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 45th round even though he did not play baseball in college. He will likely be moved back to wide receiver for the Cowboys and has the athletic ability to become a solid receiver if he can reach his potential.

With their second pick in the fourth round the Cowboys chose Doug Free, another offensive tackle who can also play guard. Free is more agile than Martin, but doesn’t have as much strength. He is also bright, earning academic honors, and is a high-character player.

The Cowboys did not have a fifth round pick, and in the sixth round they shocked the football world by choosing a kicker. Well, perhaps not the football world as a whole, but definitely us Cowboy fans who have grown used to Dallas finding free agent kickers. Nick Folk lacked accuracy in college, but he has a boom leg and could be used as a kickoff specialist. And, with the emergence of players like Hester the NFL might be moving more towards having kick off specialists to neutralize return specialists.

Their second pick in the sixth round gives some indication on how the offense might be different under the new regime. The Cowboys chose Deon Anderson, a fullback. Under Parcells, the Cowboys were moving away from the fullback position and even pondered not having one on the roster last year, but this draft pick indicates they might utilize the position more in their new offense. Anderson is a solid blocker with decent run and catch skills for the position. He was also a standout on special teams.

In the seventh round the Cowboys chose two cornerbacks, Courtney Brown and Alan Ball. Brown is a speedster who ran a 4.32 in the 40 on his campus track and has good size. Coming from Cal Poly, he is bound to have a bit of a shock transitioning into the NFL. Ball is not as fast or as strong as Brown, but he was a starter at Illinois and the experience playing at a bigger school should give him an edge in the learning curve.

On the whole, I wasn’t too surprised that the Cowboys did not pick up a free safety seeing as how they acquired Ken Hamlin in free agency and are still quite high on Pat Watkins. But, I was surprised that they did not pick up a defensive tackle. They only have three on the active roster and will want to look for some big bodies from those players not drafted to, at least, provide some competition at the position.

In the long run it will be the extra first round pick they got from the Browns that will be the true measure of the draft. Having two picks, and one of them likely a top 10 or top 15 pick, will give them the ability to pick up two playmakers next year or move into the top five and pick up a standout player. It also gives Cowboys fans a reason to root for Quinn in the preseason with hopes that he wins the starting job and then root against the Brown during the regular season.

Remember the 2004 draft? The Cowboys are on the clock, they need a running back, and Steven Jackson is available. The commissioner walks up to the podium and… “The Cowboys have traded…”

I think almost every fan was thinking “Oh no! what did they just do?” But, after the shock wore off a few minutes later, I thought it was a good trade. I still think it was a good trade. A number one pick for a number one and a number two is usually a good trade.

Now, I am not saying I would take Julius Jones and Marcus Spears over Steven Jackson, which could be debated and there would be, I’m sure, many different opinions, but the trade itself was solid. Remember, no one knew how good Steven Jackson would be, and everyone expected the Bills pick in 2005 to be higher than the Cowboys pick in 2004 (and it was – but just by two spots).

A trade down in the first round can be a very good thing. Remember trading down and still picking up Roy Williams? And trading out of the first round completely can often be a good thing because it usually means an extra first round pick the next year.

I say this as a word of warning: Don’t fall out of your seats if the commissioner steps up to the podium when Dallas is on the clock and announces a trade. Even if ‘your guy’ is still on the clock. A trade down can be a good thing.

And, I say this because it may very well happen. Jerry Jones has not dismissed the possibility of trading down, or even trading up. He even mentioned there were a couple of deals on the table for the Cowboys trading out of the first round and picking up a first round next year – hinting that the teams had high draft picks this year so the trade might end up as a high draft pick next year.

It can be a good thing. Not only have the Cowboys covered most of their bases in terms of team needs, but I don’t think this draft class is one of the better ones – at least as far as first round talent goes. Last year it looked like there were a dozen superstars waiting to happen. Think about this: JaMarcus Russell may very well go number one over all and, personally, I would have had him ranked behind Young, Leinart, and Cutler last year.

Here is another thing to consider: The Cowboys might be thinking about getting a receiver. There’s no way they are going to get Calvin Johnson – who I think it would be crazy for the Raiders to pass on no matter what their need at quarterback is – but there are a lot of other talented guys out there. In fact, while I am not altogether impressed with the top talent in this draft, wide receiver is one of the positions where I think a good player can be found all the way through the second round. It is one of the stronger positions in the draft.

So, if the Cowboys are thinking receiver, trading out of the first round, getting an extra first round pick next year, and still getting a solid receiver… that would be very tempting and probably the best move.

Remember, in the draft you are always weighing talent with position. The last thing you want to do is overreach for a position and pass on more talented players. But that doesn’t mean you don’t target a position – it simply means you try to trade down and match the position with the talent at the top of the board.

The Cowboys have also followed a philosophy of not trading up in the first round, but Jerry Jones has mentioned he has reversed his thinking on that. If a top draft choice slips, especially if they slip into the late teens, the Cowboys might use their leverage of having ten draft picks and no glaring needs to scoop the player up. He has all but ruled out trading away a first round pick next year (so don’t expect the Cowboys to trade into the top ten) but there definitely could be some movement in either direction in that first round so don’t just turn on the television when the number twenty-two pick comes around!

And, if you are like me and actually enjoy watching the draft, it should, at least, be interesting.

Jean Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News has aired an opinion that he thinks Dallas may be looking to trade Julius Jones saying, “Anything Dallas does regarding Julius Jones has nothing to do with salary-cap space. They have plenty of cap room to do whatever they want. They don’t think he’s an elite runner. They’re likely going to ship him off on draft day.”

Similar rumors surfaced during the lead up to last years draft and some say Dallas even had a trade on the table involving Jones.

In 2006, Julius Jones rushed for 1,084 yards with a 4.1 yards per carry average and 4 rushing touchdowns while sharing time with Marion Barber III. The two of them combined for over 1,700 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns providing a solid one-two punch.

The rumors could be a product of Dallas not being as high on Julius as an elite back, as Jean Jacques Taylor says, or it could be the team is impressed with Marion Barber, or they could be complete fantasy. There will be plenty of draft day wheeling and dealing and no doubt Jones could become a part of some discussions but the vacancy of Jones would leave a vacancy at running back. Even if the Cowboys are high on Marion Barber they will need an insurance plan beyond just Tyson Thompson who is coming off a season-ending injury.

Dallas might be thinking that, with Jones becoming a free agent after this year, getting anything in a trade would be a bonus, but that also means Dallas would not have the use of his services for 2007. It is unlikely they would want to go into the season with just Barber and Thompson, so they might need to draft a running back. It’s a big gamble to rely on picking up a rookie to fill those shoes when Julius Jones has already proven to be a solid running back.

One more thing to throw into the mix is Michael Turner. There were rumors of Dallas being interested in the Chargers running back earlier in the free agency and with Wade Phillips having intimate knowledge of Turner there might be something to that. I dislike placing too much value on a backup that has been given only limited time, but Turner’s 6.3 yards per carry average in 80 attempts could be tempting.

Personally, I’m of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mindset. Dallas posted one of the best offenses in the league last year with a solid running game to accompany their passing attack. Two running backs has become the league standard with even elite backs like LaDainian Tomlinson sharing some time with Michael Turner. And it makes since to have two solid backs. It gives a team a fresher set of legs at the end of the game as well as an insurance policy should the starting back go down with an injury. And, with Jones being on the last year of his contract, his trade value would be decreased with any team knowing they’ll either need to give him a new contract now or after the season is over. Which means I’m not sure the Cowboys would get enough bang for their buck.

But, if the Cowboys have their eyes on one of the running backs in the draft, or if they are convinced Turner might be a long time solution, they may think of Marion Barber as their insurance policy and make a gamble using Julius Jones.

And now, with the 22nd pick in the draft…

Many of us marked April 28th on our calendar after that difficult playoff loss to Seattle. Free Agency is fine, but the draft is where the hopes for the new season really begin in earnest. Every year there are studs and busts and that diamond in the rough that comes out of the late rounds to astound fans.

The Cowboys are in the perfect position heading into the draft. They have needs at several positions, but no urgent needs. They might be able to find an upgrade at free safety or a defensive tackle to put in the rotation but in many areas such as quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line, running back they will likely be picking up someone to bolster their depth and, perhaps, emerge as a star in years to come.

This is a good position because it gives them not just the flexibility to draft the best player on the board but also to move up or down in the draft to get the most out of their pick. And I wouldn’t be surprised with a move either up or down. If a talented player were to drop down into the low teens it might be a be too good to pass on the chance of moving up and snatching them. On the other hand, there could be enough good players on the board that a move back a few spots to pick up an extra draft pick might be a good deal.

No matter how you slice it the draft is hard to predict for the Cowboys. They have the flexibility to do a lot of things with their picks, and it should be interesting to watch unfold a couple of weeks from now.

To give an idea of what players we might be seeing on the board when the Cowboys are on the clock I headed over to www.nfl.com and www.sportsline.com and grabbed two mock drafts from each site. With the Cowboys having the 22nd pick I decided to take those players picked from the 20th spot to the 24th spot and make this list:

Jon Beason, LB, MIA

Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU

Levi Brown, T, Penn State

Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska

Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Ohio State

Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC

Charles Johnson, DE, Georgia

Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida

Reggie Nelson, S, Florida

Greg Olsen, TE, Miami

Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State

Aaron Ross, CB, Texas

Anthony Spencer, DE, Purdue

Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State

The one thing that stands out from this list is that out of minimum of five players and a maximum of twenty possible players the list contains a whopping fifteen different players. There were only five players that were picked on two different mock drafts within that range of picks and none that were picked on more than two of those mock drafts.

That is just how unscientific mock drafts really are. For those of you who have done your own mock drafts you probably know just like I do that the first missed pick throws a major wrench into the mock draft and by the third missed pick the entire thing is likely skewed.

Another thing I noticed when looking at the list was that only one of those players are at a position we would probably avoid for a round one pick: Greg Olsen, the tight end from Miami. With Witten and Fasano on the roster, it is unlikely Dallas would pull the trigger on another round one tight end.

For those curious, the players being picked by Dallas in the various mock drafts were: Jarvis Moss (DE), Dwayne Jarrett (WR), Reggie Nelson (S), and Adam Carriker (DE).

Out of the players in the list, those that I think are the best fit as far as their position are Dwayne Bowe (WR), Ted Ginn Jr. (WR), Dwayne Jarrett (WR), Levi Brown (T), Justin Harrell (DT), Reggie Nelson (S), Aaron Ross (CB). I would definitely prefer we stick with talent over position, but oftentimes the talent difference is so small that position has to come into play, and in those cases I don’t see us going for a defensive end, tight end, or linebacker considering the number of day one picks we’ve used at those positions in the last few years. Defensive tackle is probably our biggest need in terms of needing to get a couple of bodies in there, but wide receiver (as insurance against having two 30+ year old receivers), tackle, safety and cornerback would all be positions I can see using a round one pick on.

Putting the list aside, here are some players I have my eyes on:

Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Ohio State

I am pretty high on Sam Hurd and I think Patrick Crayton could easily fill the number two spot at receiver, but I can also see us spending a day one pick on a receiver. Out of those that might be available for that first pick Ted Ginn Jr stands out because of his ability to return kicks. This means he would likely have an immediate impact even if he couldn’t crack the top three wide-receiver spots and, because we do have Owens and Glenn, we can take the time to develop Ginn Jr.

Aaron Ross, CB, Texas

Ross will probably be the top cornerback on the board, though it is possible that Darrelle Revis of Pittsburgh could fall enough to still be on the board. Ross, like Ginn Jr., would likely be sitting behind cornerbacks Newman, Henry and Glenn, but having a year to develop can be very good and having a talented athlete on the depth chart is a great insurance policy against injury.

Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami / Michael Griffin, S, Texas

Both of these safeties have the talent and speed to be great ball hawks allowing Roy Williams to roam closer to the line. If I had to choose between them I would have to go with Griffin simply because of some character issues with Meriweather, but then again, if I had to choose between them I’d be thinking about moving down a couple of spots where I could pick up one of them and also get another pick out of the deal.

Justin Blalock, OG, Texas

Blalock would be a bit of a reach at number twenty-two, but the Cowboys could drop back a few spots and pick him up. I like him because of his ability to play both tackle and guard which is a real boon. I’m still not completely happy with our depth at offensive line and am looking for us to pick up at least one more big guy to guard against injuries.

Alan Brach, DT, Michigan

It is very doubtful that Brach will fall all the way to number twenty-two and he could very well go in the top ten as some teams might have him rated higher than Amobi Okoye out of Louisville. Brach is huge at 6′6 and 330 lbs and is relatively quick for a guy his size. He’d be a great fit for clogging up the middle which is so important for a defensive tackle in the 3-4 defense. If, for some reason, he falls to the late teens he might be too good not to trade up and snag.

The Cowboys may be one of America’s most loved teams, but they are also, without a doubt, one of the most hated teams in professional sports. And this year’s schedule is an excellent example of why. With the Cowboys having backed into the playoffs last year and immediately lost to an injury-riddled Seattle Seahawks the Cowboys will be rewarded with six prime-time games for the 2007 season.

Is it any wonder why they are the most hated team in sports?

Any other team that barely makes the playoffs might be glad at getting two or three prime-time games. The Colts won the Super Bowl and they aren’t getting as many games in prime-time as the Cowboys.

Sure, a new coach helped. Teams with new coaches usually win, at least, a nationally-televised game if not a prime-time appearance — usually against the coach’s previous team if possible. And the emergence of Tony Romo — who was an immediate hit with the media — certainly helped. But only the Cowboys can finish a season losing four of their last five games and be rewarded with more prime-time appearances than any other team.

Not that Cowboys fans are crying about being the most hated team. They will also be the most watched team, as well as the most scrutinized team — especially with ‘the player.’ They should also enter the season with high expectations — from the media as well as fans.

So, to steal a line from ‘the player’, the only thing left to say is: Get your popcorn ready.

In November and December of last year it seemed that at least once in every game one of the announcers would remark on Marion Barber’s higher yards-per-carry average and mention that he should be starting ahead of Julius Jones. No doubt, we’ll hear much of the same come training camp and pre-season.

The numbers do favor Marion Barber. His 654 yards on 135 carries amounts to a 4.8 average while Julius ran for 1,084 yards on 267 carries for a 4.1 average. Barber also had 14 touchdowns compared to Jones’ 4 touchdowns.

But numbers do not tell the whole story.

What the numbers don’t tell you is that Barber came into the game on third downs, in goal line situations and, most importantly, was frequently used as the every down back late in the game. He received twice as many carries in the second half than he did in the first half. This means that he got the bulk of his carries when the defense was tired, and his numbers show this. His yards per carry average in the first half was 3.8 while his yards per carry average in the second half was 5.3.

The whole story is that, while Marion Barber had a higher average, he got that average by running against a defense already tired from chasing Julius Jones around for two or three quarters and thus reaped the benefits in much the same way as he reaped the benefits by coming into the game in goal line situations and carrying the ball for that last ten yards.

It was a good system. Dallas produced over 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns between the two of them. By way of comparison, only LaDainian Tomlinson (1,815 yards) and Larry Johnson (1,789 yards) rushed for more yards than the Jones-Barber tandem. (Noting, of course, that Tomlinson and Johnson were both spelled by backups as well — though both of them are considered all-purpose backs and not part of a tandem.)

And, don’t get me wrong, Marion Barber is a good back that deserves credit for his hard-nosed running style. What is sometimes forgotten — especially by those announcers — is that Julius Jones’ job in the offense was to be completely unselfish. He did the bulk of the work running against a fresh defense and when he helped get the Cowboys into scoring position someone else came in to get the touchdown, and when he had ran enough to wear down the defense someone else got to come in and run against the tired defenders.

In short, Julius Jones deserves a lot of credit — not just for having a solid 1,000+ yard season — but for fulfilling an extremely unselfish role in the offense without complaint, without distracting ‘just give me the damn balls’ rants on the sidelines, without causing division within the team. He was bound to have felt sorely used at times — no competitor likes to be taken out of the game, especially at crunch time — but he did his job, and he did it well.

Had Julius Jones received Marion Barber’s carries and simply kept up with his 4.1 yards per carry average he would have had over 1,600 yards (good enough for fifth in the NFL just ahead of Steven Jackson and right behind Tiki Barber). And, no doubt, had he ran for over 1,600 yards no one would be talking about whether or not he should be the starting running back.

Again, this is not to say that Marion Barber doesn’t deserve his fair share of credit. He did a great job of finding the end zone in goal line situations and ran with power late in the game. No, this is simply to say that Marion Barber *did* get his fair share of the credit, and he got a slice of credit from Julius’s plate as well. The announcers that were giving him that slice from Julius’s plate were simply looking at the numbers and not looking at the game — something that isn’t really that uncommon coming from announcers and the media in general.

Does Marion Barber deserve a shot at the starting running back position? Sure. He did a great job last year and, really, everyone deserves a shot at the starting position in training camp and preseason. Competition is good.

Should the Cowboys change up a running scheme that produced 1,700+ yards last season? I would think twice about it. I would think three and four times before making any major changes. Overall, I would prefer the guy with the speed and the elusiveness going against the fresh defense and the guy with the power and the fresh legs going against the tired defense. Certainly, there are a lot of ways to slice up the pie, and I could see trying to even out the carries throughout the game, but I do have a preference to not fix what isn’t broken, and I don’t think the Cowboys running game last year was broken.

DallasCowboys.Com reports that Patrick Crayton signed a one year offer sheet for $1.3 million. This means any interested team would have to give up a second round pick if they signed Crayton.

Personally, I would like to see him locked up to at least a two year contract. Crayton is a good role-player with great hands, but it is difficult to see what he might become with Owens and Glenn on the roster. He’s shown flashes of playmaking ability in the last two seasons, but Owens and Glenn make up one of the better receiving tandems in the NFL and with a pro-bowl tight end on the roster as well there are only so many balls that will go Crayton’s way.

Still, he was able to pick up over five hundred yards receiving last year, and I would like at least two more years with him for evaluation at which time it is quite possible that either Owens or Glenn or possibly both won’t be on the roster.

Luckily, this draft is considered deep on receiver talent making it even more unlikely that a team will sign Crayton.

The Bill Parcells era may have been a disappointment in terms of playoff wins but he was successful in rebuilding a team that suffered through three 5-11 seasons before he came to Dallas into a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The Cowboys entered the free-agency period with still a few holes on their roster, but they have deftly filled the most pressing needs before stepping into the draft room with the signings of Leonard Davis to bolster the line, Ken Hamlin to help the secondary, and Brad Johnson as an insurance policy at quarterback.

These signings will give the Cowboys the freedom to draft the best available player regardless of position and the room to maneuver if a trade catches their eye. While drafting the best player available are words heard from most teams, many of them do not have the luxury to employ that philosophy on game day. Glaring needs must be filled one way or the other and that can easily lead to reaching for position rather than talent.

The Cowboys may not have glaring needs, but they could still improve themselves through the draft. Here is a look at the different position groups and how the draft might improve them:

QB: The emergence of Tony Romo and the signing of Brad Johnson makes quarterback appear to be, strangely enough, one of the stronger positions but the Cowboys will be keeping their eyes open for a second day quarterback to fill the third slot.

RB: Julius Jones and Marion Barber III combined for a solid one-two punch last year racking up over 1,700 yards rushing and Tyson Thompson was a threat on kick returns before his season was ended with an injury. Unless a player too good to be true falls in their laps or something unforeseen happens the Cowboys won’t be looking too hard at running backs.

WR/TE: Owens and Glenn make one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL and Witten is a pro-bowl tight end. The Cowboys also have talented young receivers in Crayton and Hurd, but with both Owens and Glenn in their thirties a wide receiver would be a good pick-up.

OFFENSIVE LINE: The signing of Davis and re-signings of Gurode and Columbo give the Cowboys some breathing room in one of their weak spots in 2006, but depth is a concern. The Cowboys could easily pick up a couple more big guys to provide that depth.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Defensive end seems set with Canty and Spears as well as good depth behind them, but the Cowboys only have two defensive tackles listed on their roster. While only one tackle plays in the 3-4, two of them play in nickel and dime situations and the Cowboys like to rotate their line throughout the game. The Cowboys will be looking to bolster the defensive tackle position somewhere in the draft.

LB: With Carpenter coming on strong towards the end of last year and Ellis recovering from the injury that ended his season, line backer is one of the strong spots on the Cowboys roster, but they certainly wouldn’t pass over a talented player should he be at the top of their chart.

DEFENSIVE BACK: Even with the signing of Hamlin, free safety will be a popular choice early on during the draft. But the Cowboys are intrigued by the raw talent of Watkins and likely won’t assign it as much priority as the fans think it deserves. They will certainly keep their eyes open considering how poorly the secondary played at the end of last year, but they won’t reach. A cornerback is a strong possibility. Newman is perhaps the most underrated cornerback in the league, and Henry is solid, but Glenn is getting up there in the age department and one injury might put Nate Jones or Jacques Reeves into the game in nickel situations.

The Cowboys could end up drafting a player from any position on the team, after all, if there is a time to be totally blind to position it is when you already have a solid lineup. Even so, it is a rare team that goes completely by talent, so expect them to not look so hard at quarterback on the first day and, barring some unforeseen circumstance, do the same with running back. And both positions could see a player picked in the second day as a developmental pick. All of the other positions could be improved if just by adding depth behind the starters, and a couple of positions like free safety are ripe for a rookie to compete for the starting job.

The only downside is that it is the type of draft that might not be as fun for the fan with the Cowboys not needing to bring in a highly touted player. And that is the type of downside that I, for one, am willing to take.

For the Dallas Cowboys, 2006 started in controversy, hobbled into the season, wilted under the pressure of opposing defenses, sprang into life like a shooting star, faded into the playoffs and finally ended, almost appropriately, with a fumbled snap.

The controversy started early with the free agency signing of Terrell Owens. Undoubtedly one of the best wide receivers in the league, T.O., or “the player” as he was often called by head coach Bill Parcells, brings as much controversy as talent to any team. His signing put the Cowboys under the microscope throughout the off season, the preseason, and well into the season until a quarterback change finally took the glare off of T.O. and put the spotlight on Tony Romo.

The signing also put high expectations on the Cowboys for the 2006 season. With a big-name players like Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn and Jason Witten, opposing defenses would find it tough to keep the Cowboys receivers covered. Unfortunately, what the Cowboys did not do in free agency or the draft was fix an offensive line that had struggled down the stretch in 2005 and lost perhaps the best offensive linemen in Cowboys history, Larry Allen, in free agency.

Drew Bledsoe is a solid quarterback with the intelligence and accuracy to find and deliver to the open man, and with the Cowboys receivers some of the most talented in the league there was usually a receiver open. Unfortunately, Bledsoe is the type of quarterback that relies heavily on protection, and the Dallas line proved early on in the season that they could not provide that protection.

Thus entered Tony Romo, an undrafted free agent who had somehow stuck around for three years doing something that Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, and Drew Henson could not do: stay on the roster. Romo provided an immediate spark to the offense with his ability to avoid the blitz and uncanny ability to make plays. Under Romo’s guidance, the Cowboys were able to beat the then-unbeaten Indianapolis Colts and thrash the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game where Romo threw five touchdown passes in the annual Thanksgiving Day game.

But even the emergence of Tony Romo was not enough to save the season. The Cowboys defense suffered a blow when Greg Ellis suffered a season-ending injury while the secondary couldn’t seem to cover a deep pass throughout much of December. After ending the season with a loss to the lowly Detroit Lions, the Cowboys sealed their fate in the wildcard game when Tony Romo fumbled the hold on a field goal that would have put the Cowboys ahead with less than two minutes left in the game.

The season may not have lived up to the high hopes of Cowboys fans, but it did ensure that those high hopes would hold up for the upcoming 2007 season. The emergence of Tony Romo gives Dallas fans more hope of having found the ‘quarterback of the future’ than any quarterback since Troy Aikman retired. Young defensive stars like DeMarcus Ware continued to grow, and rookie Bobby Carpenter started coming on strong late in the season.

The Cowboys ended the season ranked fifth in total offense with two 1,000 yard receivers in Owens and Glenn and a 1,000 yard rusher in Julius Jones. Marion Barber III ran for over 600 yards while scoring 14 rushing touchdowns and giving the Cowboys over 1,700 yards rushing with their duel rushing attack. This firepower should remain in tact going into the 2007 season and, if the defense can return to form, the Cowboys can be serious contenders next season.