It’s a common story: disgruntled and/or troubled star player linked with team, the rumor mill swirls, the rumor picks up steam, the star player comes into town for a radio interview with a former player, and then the announcement comes that he has been signed.

Okay, perhaps it isn’t a common story, but I get the feeling that is how this story is going to end. I can’t say that I am looking forward to it either. No doubt, Pacman is a terrific player. But the chances are good that he won’t be able to make it through a whole season without getting into trouble.

But, before I harp too much on Pacman, let’s give the guy some credit. He’s pretty good. I wouldn’t trade Newman for him, but Pacman is pretty close on that list. He’s a playmaker, and he can contribute as a punt returner as well as a cornerback.

In a league where lining up with three or four wide receivers is becoming more and more popular, being able to defend it with Newman, Pacman and Henry is a pretty good deal.

But here’s where the other shoe drops: You go into the season depending on Pacman, and he gets into a fight at a strip club in week one, then BOOM, who do you have as that third cornerback? That’s an important position in this league. You don’t want a second year 7th round draft choice being forced into that position unless he’s really ready.

The only way I see this deal being good for the Cowboys is if (1) they don’t give up much to the Titans to get him — certainly not a day one draft pick — and (2) they go ahead and draft a cornerback on that first day just in case the Pacman deal implodes.

In other words: The Cowboys better cover their butt.

I’ve put up a new poll about draft needs.   You can only choose one answer in this poll, so you need to go with what you think the most pressing need for the Cowboys is.

Also, I didn’t include every position group.  I think we’re pretty set at linebacker and tight end, but if you really think that is where we should target our first pick for then go ahead and choose ‘other’.

Somehow, I think most of you agree that we don’t need yet another linebacker. 

Earlier this week, I was talking to my friend who was letting me know about Chad Johnson’s rant on becoming a Cowboy. Hey, if there wasn’t such a thing as the salary cap, I’d bee all for it. I’d love for them to work it out in such a way that we could sign him, sign Barber up to a long term deal, sign two first round draft choices, and still not be setting ourselves up for cap hell in the future. No doubt, T.O. and Eighty-Five could be a dynamic duo to rival any in the NFL.

And then, there’s all the news about Pacman. Let me see if I get this straight: Pacman’s agent lets loose that Dallas might be in talks with Tennessee, starting a nice snowball of a rumor that Pacman will be a Cowboy. Dunno about all that. I wouldn’t put it past an agent to start a rumor just to try and get something going for his client.

As for Pacman, I suppose I’d be willing to risk the veteran minimum on him on a one year deal. But I’d hate to see the Cowboys throw anything more at a player that might not make it a full season before he’s suspended again. And I don’t trust that Pacman has learned to stay away from the titty bars quite yet.

All is still quiet on the Cowboys front, but they’ve let slip why they’ve been so quiet: They are looking to the near future when they’ll need to secure new deals for Terence Newman and DeMarcus Ware. Both guys are going to command a healthy sum of cash-dollars, and both are quite worth it.

But, back to guys that could be in a Cowboys uniform next season. I’m with the Dallas Morning News on this one: Draft Chris Johnson.

This guy gives a new meaning to the word ’speed’. And, it’s not all just running really fast. He makes cuts on a dime and keeps at full speed. He’s also a kick returner, so can make an immediate impact, and would be a great change-of-pace compliment to Barber. A risk? Sure. But a good risk to take in my opinion.

Here’s the clip in case you haven’t seen it yet:

The Cowboys have been quiet this offseason.  Thus far, they have lost three players — Julius Jones, Jacques Reeves and Keith Davis — and signed only one — Zack Thomas.

Of the three players signing with other teams, two were predominantly special teams players.  And while Jones was the starter for the entire regular season, his playing time gave way to Marion Barber III, and it was unlikely he would have still been the starter next year.

What they have done is resign players — Flozell Adams being the big signing, with the franchise tag given to Ken Hamlin and high tender offers to restricted free agents Marion Barber and Chris Canty.

This is the right strategy for a team that went 13-3 last year and holds two first round picks in the draft.   There have been two things that have become extremely overpriced in the NFL: High-first-round draft choices and free agents taken in the first couple of weeks of free agency.   In those cases, the dollar figures are just out of whack with what you get.

As a team that posted the best record in their conference last year, the main order of business has to be resigning your own players.  In other words — bring back that 13-3 team. With two first rounders, the Cowboys should be able to find the help they need to shore up depth at a couple of positions — and find that back to spell Marion — in the draft or later in free agency.

But the main thing is brining back that core team that did so well last year.  That’s our best shot at success this coming year.

As a side note, Micky Spagnola has a nice writeup on Julius Jones.   It’s worth checking out.

With Julius’s departure to Seattle, the way is cleared for Marion “the Barbarian” to be the feature back for the Cowboys. And as much as I liked Julius, the Cowboys should be better off without him so long as that means more carries for Marion.

Certainly, we’ll be looking for an other back in free agency or the draft. You definitely need two solid backs in the NFL these days. And while Marion may not be as explosive of a back in terms of raw speed, he does provide his own type of explosion. Put simply, Marion plays running back like a linebacker — he’s always looking to blow someone up.

So, to give him his due, enjoy this video:

Which makes sense considering how much he burned Seattle during his career. As much as he seemed like a dud the last two seasons, he was a real stud during his first two. I hope he turns it around with the Seahawks.

Those are two teams I am keeping an eye on for the next couple of days.

For the Titans, it is because of talks with Julius Jones.  I already like watching the Titans because of Vince Young.   Heck, I liked them before V.Y. — I was a Houston Oilers fan growing up.   And, I’ve always like Julius.  I think it is the right decision for the Cowboys to feature The Barbarian next year, but I wish Julius all the luck in finding a prominent role on a new team.

And, if he should sign with the Titans — and I think that it would be a great fit for him — it gives me all the reason to catch Titans games when I can.

As for the Cardinals, I am simply keeping an eye on the Larry Fitzgerald situation.  As you can tell, the Cowboys haven’t exactly made a splash in free agency.  And that’s been a good thing for the most part — we’ve seen some mid-tier level players getting way overpaid.   But that doesn’t mean the Cowboys can’t make some moves, and wide receiver is one of the position we need.

The Cardinals will be hard-pressed to keep Fitzgerald on the roster without a new contract to lessen his salary cap hit, and thus far, contract talks have stalled.   With the Cowboys having two first round picks, this gives them a little flexibility.

Remember, Fitzgerald is only twenty-four.   He’s got a lot of years left.  And the Cowboys might not have to use two number ones to get him.  They could package up another pick, or perhaps a player like Bobby Carpenter who may have become expendable with the signing of Zack Thomas.

Anyway, it is a long shot, of course, but not completely out of the ballpark.   And, you have to admit, a Larry Fitzgerald running routes opposite of Terrell Owens does have some Wow factor to it.

It’s still pretty quiet over at Valley Ranch. The calm before the storm? Probably not. This was a lackluster free agency to begin with, and most of the big names have already signed. About the only big splash the Cowboys could make at this point was arranging a trade to move up in the draft, and that’s probably something that would happen on draft day — if at all.

There are a few interesting free agents still available, Warrick Dunn being one of them. And the Dallas Morning News reports he is interested. Personally, I’d rather have Tatum Bell or Julius Jones, but if the price is right, Dunn could be a good pick up as an insurance policy. Though, if we did go with Dunn, we’d better be planning on spending one of those day one picks on a running back. At age 33, he is old by running back standards, and his 3.2 yards per carry average last year wasn’t exactly impressive — though Atlanta did stink it up pretty bad in all phases of the game.

Those hoping to see a Terrell Owens/Randy Moss combo here in Dallas were no doubt disappointed yesterday when Moss re-signed with the Pats. Previous to last year, I would have been horrified at the notion of Moss and Owens on the Cowboys — both are known for distractions and big egos — but the combination of Wade Phillips at head coach and Tony Romo at quarterback have been enough to make Owens look like a choir boy, so the Moss/Owens combo almost seemed doable.

In the end, I think it’s good that he resigned with the Pats. For one, if the Cowboys weren’t going to get him, I didn’t want any other NFC team to have him. For two, I think it will be interesting to see what the Pats can do next year with their two star receivers still on the team. Will they be just as dominant? Or have teams finally figured out that you have to knock Brady on his butt even if it means not leaving as many people to cover Moss?

Last, but not least, the original Tony Romo is retiring. Or, at least Yahoo is reporting Favre’s retirement. It wouldn’t be the first premature announcement of a retirement, but I think this one will stick.

As much as I rooted against him in the 90’s when the Packers tried to stand in the Cowboys way of a few Super Bowls, Favre has been very fun to watch throughout his career.

Outside of a little whispering, the Cowboys have been pretty quiet thus far in free agency. They are getting a few mentions as one of the teams that might be interested in Randy Moss, and their interest in Javon Walker is well known, but other than that, it’s pretty quiet.

They seem to be making more noise with Cowboys that sign with other teams than their own signings. Jacques Reeves signed a big deal with the Houston Texans. I have to agree with Trip over at Bleeding Blue and Silver, this is just way too much money for a cornerback who will be an iffy starter in the league and is probably more of a backup or nickle guy.

Now I can see why the Cowboys let him go. I’d have liked to have kept him — at a far lower cost — just as an insurance policy. You need three solid corners in this league, and the Cowboys only have two proven corners on their roster right now.

Perhaps there is a Ty Law in their future?

We need some type of insurance policy. Obviously, drafting a corner on the first day would be on my list of priorities, but it’s best to cover your bases with a veteran just in case the rookie needs a year before he’s ready.

It didn’t take long for the Eagles to improve their team through free agency. No sooner had the first day arrived than they snatched up what many consider the best free agent out of a lackluster group: Asante Samuel.

Samuel has been one of the best cornerbacks in the league for the past few years, recording an NFL high 16 interceptions in the last two years. But he should have his hands full next year trying to cover Terrell Owens for two games.

As for the Cowboys, they made their splash the day before free agency started by resigning Flozell Adams. Adams’ resigning will ensure that Dallas’s offensive line will remain consistent.