Mosley: Players worth looks and summer books
01:37 AM CDT on Friday, June 30, 2006
In case you haven’t noticed, the NFL is taking a little downtime.
This explains why I found myself writing about an Italian man named Andrea Bargnani earlier this week.
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells has instructed his coaches to stay away from Valley Ranch, and from what I can tell, most of them have complied.
Thanks to some great reporting from our Idaho bureau, though, we know Parcells was in the Boise Airport earlier this week.
I realize this is a popular hub for folks needing easy access to Walla Walla, Wash., but it’s a weird place for a coaching icon to show up.
Since Parcells was out of the picture, I thought it would be safe to join two high-ranking members of the Cowboys organization at Carrollton’s Indian Creek Golf Club on Tuesday.
For those of you not familiar with this course, it’s the perfect spot to lose several sleeves of golf balls.
Between wayward tee shots, I asked my playing partners which player might surprise us the most in training camp.
Would it shock you to find out that second-year right tackle Rob Petitti was the first name mentioned? When last seen, Petitti was waving defensive ends through like an eager traffic cop.
The Cowboys responded by bringing in former Jets offensive tackle Jason Fabini, who some of you (not me) already handed the starting job. It turns out Petitti has made huge strides in the weight room this off-season and might look like a new man in training camp.
In fact, former Chicago first-round draft pick Marc Colombo may also be ahead of Fabini on the depth chart. I had one member of the organization tell me that Colombo was the toughest player on the team and that he'd also made tremendous progress in the weight room.
Add the fact that center Al Johnson has added 17 pounds of muscle and you start to think the offensive line situation might not be as dire as some of us made it out to be.
And now that we’ve solved that, let’s see what you guys have to say in this week’s special summer edition of Matt’s Mail Call, which includes my highly anticipated Anti-Oprah Summer Reading List:
After questioning my summer work habits, Clint Williamson of Springfield, Mo., asked, “What are you hearing from coaches or players about this Pat Watkins kid? I‘ve read that many see that pick as a steal. Is there much excitement about him?”
Clint, let’s be honest here. There’s no cure for the Pat Watkins fever that is sweeping this community. He may be the skinniest and tallest safety this franchise has ever known, but the folks I’ve talked to are pretty high on him. He can cover a lot of ground with that 6-5 frame, and his large wingspan should allow him to make plays on the ball.
This is a Florida State kid who will come into training camp with a chip on his shoulder because of his second-day draft position. I think that could be a good thing.
As long as he demonstrates his value on special teams, there’s no reason this guy can’t stick around. I’m also anxious to see what Justin Beriault looks like after the long layoff.
One of our charter members, Mark from Saginaw, Mich., writes: “Will Roy Williams get a six-year extension for $40 million and $15 million up front? That’s what Baltimore safety Ed Reed received from the Ravens.”
Mark, my friend and colleague Todd Archer just wrote a column on this very subject . He pointed out that the Cowboys could wait and simply use the franchise tag on Williams when he becomes a free agent after this season, but players never seem to enjoy that option.
I’d look for them to try to lock him up before the end of the season, but it’s not a given that he’ll get Reed’s contract. After all, Reed has a Defensive Player of the Year title in the bag, and he has better statistics.
Williams has become one of the most feared players in the game, but he’s not as versatile as Reed. We’ll keep a close on this one for you.
A man who’s e-mail address includes “Billy Bubba Bob” had this to say:
“All controversy is good for the Cowboys brand. I've heard the opposing forces musing about the possibility of a split between Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells over Terrell Owens. One angle, of course, brings Owens back to the beloved star that he trashed. It is all good, because Owens can't be any worse than Sean Taylor for the Redskins. This doesn't work as well for the Redskins, because they are much like the Washington Generals were to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Terrell Owens has never had this type of criminal problem. He just seems to be the hyper version of the typical wide receiver, most of which have loud mouths. Of all the organizations in the NFC East, the Eagles seem to have the worst reputation when it comes to dealing with players. Remember how they treated a superstar like Brian Westbrook? I think the venting by Owens wasn't just the feelings of one Eagle player, but the feelings of that whole team.
The Giants don't need any controversy as a team because they represent the center of the universe – New York City. Because the Cowboys are in less of a major market, they must have full-time writers employed by the team to concoct conspiracy theories. Because of this fabulous marketing, the net result is that the Cowboys have once again become the center of attention in the NFL universe.”
And you should’ve seen all the stuff I left out. Folks, you need to remember the 750-word limit we imposed last season and let us know who you are.
Regarding the Owens situation, you bet the Cowboys understood how much talk this move would generate. But I don’t believe that’s the reason the move was made. Love him or hate him, Owens is still among the top two or three receivers in the game. Unless you shoot someone, which happens from time to time in this league, you’re going to keep getting chances.
Has Owens changed? Probably not. But then, maybe he’s found the right environment.
And on one of your other points, I’ve never thought the Eagles were particularly bad to their players. I just know they had a pretty good run.
And when did Westbrook become a superstar?
In case you haven’t noticed, the NFL is taking a little downtime.
This explains why I found myself writing about an Italian man named Andrea Bargnani earlier this week.
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells has instructed his coaches to stay away from Valley Ranch, and from what I can tell, most of them have complied.
Thanks to some great reporting from our Idaho bureau, though, we know Parcells was in the Boise Airport earlier this week.
I realize this is a popular hub for folks needing easy access to Walla Walla, Wash., but it’s a weird place for a coaching icon to show up.
Since Parcells was out of the picture, I thought it would be safe to join two high-ranking members of the Cowboys organization at Carrollton’s Indian Creek Golf Club on Tuesday.
For those of you not familiar with this course, it’s the perfect spot to lose several sleeves of golf balls.
Between wayward tee shots, I asked my playing partners which player might surprise us the most in training camp.
Would it shock you to find out that second-year right tackle Rob Petitti was the first name mentioned? When last seen, Petitti was waving defensive ends through like an eager traffic cop.
The Cowboys responded by bringing in former Jets offensive tackle Jason Fabini, who some of you (not me) already handed the starting job. It turns out Petitti has made huge strides in the weight room this off-season and might look like a new man in training camp.
In fact, former Chicago first-round draft pick Marc Colombo may also be ahead of Fabini on the depth chart. I had one member of the organization tell me that Colombo was the toughest player on the team and that he'd also made tremendous progress in the weight room.
Add the fact that center Al Johnson has added 17 pounds of muscle and you start to think the offensive line situation might not be as dire as some of us made it out to be.
And now that we’ve solved that, let’s see what you guys have to say in this week’s special summer edition of Matt’s Mail Call, which includes my highly anticipated Anti-Oprah Summer Reading List:
After questioning my summer work habits, Clint Williamson of Springfield, Mo., asked, “What are you hearing from coaches or players about this Pat Watkins kid? I‘ve read that many see that pick as a steal. Is there much excitement about him?”
Clint, let’s be honest here. There’s no cure for the Pat Watkins fever that is sweeping this community. He may be the skinniest and tallest safety this franchise has ever known, but the folks I’ve talked to are pretty high on him. He can cover a lot of ground with that 6-5 frame, and his large wingspan should allow him to make plays on the ball.
This is a Florida State kid who will come into training camp with a chip on his shoulder because of his second-day draft position. I think that could be a good thing.
As long as he demonstrates his value on special teams, there’s no reason this guy can’t stick around. I’m also anxious to see what Justin Beriault looks like after the long layoff.
One of our charter members, Mark from Saginaw, Mich., writes: “Will Roy Williams get a six-year extension for $40 million and $15 million up front? That’s what Baltimore safety Ed Reed received from the Ravens.”
Mark, my friend and colleague Todd Archer just wrote a column on this very subject . He pointed out that the Cowboys could wait and simply use the franchise tag on Williams when he becomes a free agent after this season, but players never seem to enjoy that option.
I’d look for them to try to lock him up before the end of the season, but it’s not a given that he’ll get Reed’s contract. After all, Reed has a Defensive Player of the Year title in the bag, and he has better statistics.
Williams has become one of the most feared players in the game, but he’s not as versatile as Reed. We’ll keep a close on this one for you.
A man who’s e-mail address includes “Billy Bubba Bob” had this to say:
“All controversy is good for the Cowboys brand. I've heard the opposing forces musing about the possibility of a split between Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells over Terrell Owens. One angle, of course, brings Owens back to the beloved star that he trashed. It is all good, because Owens can't be any worse than Sean Taylor for the Redskins. This doesn't work as well for the Redskins, because they are much like the Washington Generals were to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Terrell Owens has never had this type of criminal problem. He just seems to be the hyper version of the typical wide receiver, most of which have loud mouths. Of all the organizations in the NFC East, the Eagles seem to have the worst reputation when it comes to dealing with players. Remember how they treated a superstar like Brian Westbrook? I think the venting by Owens wasn't just the feelings of one Eagle player, but the feelings of that whole team.
The Giants don't need any controversy as a team because they represent the center of the universe – New York City. Because the Cowboys are in less of a major market, they must have full-time writers employed by the team to concoct conspiracy theories. Because of this fabulous marketing, the net result is that the Cowboys have once again become the center of attention in the NFL universe.”
And you should’ve seen all the stuff I left out. Folks, you need to remember the 750-word limit we imposed last season and let us know who you are.
Regarding the Owens situation, you bet the Cowboys understood how much talk this move would generate. But I don’t believe that’s the reason the move was made. Love him or hate him, Owens is still among the top two or three receivers in the game. Unless you shoot someone, which happens from time to time in this league, you’re going to keep getting chances.
Has Owens changed? Probably not. But then, maybe he’s found the right environment.
And on one of your other points, I’ve never thought the Eagles were particularly bad to their players. I just know they had a pretty good run.
And when did Westbrook become a superstar?
posted by The Gryphon at 8:08 AM
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