Call me a maverick among Dallas Cowboys fans, but Tony Romo’s personal life isn’t really any of my business. It really irritated me how many ‘Boys followers were blaming Jessica for some of Dallas’ late-season losses. Sheesh–is Romo not entitled to take a break from football every once in a while?

Now, there are reports the pair might be splitting up. I heard on CARS 108 (a Flint, Mich. radio station) in its “Juice Out of Hollywood” segment that some Dallas reporter–citing two sources–reports that Romo and Simpson have split. I am curious as to whether nor not Romo is a good fit for Simpson, since he seems to like to keep a laid-back and even low profile. Being married to Simpson might make that difficult.

If they have split up, one of the reasons given is that Jessica wanted to get married–sooner rather than later. Or maybe Tony simply caught her wearing a Philadelphia Chickens or Washington Fore–er, Redskins jersey. Or maybe Jess uttered the infamous words: “Brett Favre? Who’s he? A race-car driver?”

Honestly, I wish the two the best. I suspect that Simpson’s airheaded ways are by and large an act.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboy braintrusts can pat themselves on the back for a decent draft of some potentially quality players. Marion Barber fans that hold their breath every time he touches the ball can be assured that number 24 has help that’s not named Julius. In this Jones-happy offseason, the main Jones added another running back named Jones who I hear is a breath of fresh air on a team that needs it. I’m actually proud of what Jerry has done in the draft without the assistance of Bill Parcells. However, this team is still in need of a certain position.  

The Cowboys receiving corps is just like the hair on the top of my head-a little thinning. In fact, the Cowboys starting wide receivers are either aging or inexperienced. With names like Glenn and Owens, the Cowboys are one injury away from a catastrophe on the offensive side of the ball. Wait a minute… that actually happened huh? When the 34 year old Terrell Owens went down against Carolina in December, the offense was never the same. But that’s not saying much especially since the team only played in 2 games after the injury. And don’t tell me that Owens was 100% in the playoff game against the Giants and their defense knew that.

Injuries are a part of the game and I hate it when people use that as an excuse. 

With that being said, I’ve compiled a quick theory to why there was not a receiver picked in the draft over the weekend. 

Reason 1: Trades. Did anyone notice that the Cowboys made a few trades in the championship rounds? Jerry wheeled and dealt himself OUT of a few 4^th and 5^th round picks. There were a lot of trades that went down that didn’t make any sense to me. Why would Jerry not use one of those to draft ANY receiver? And it didn’t matter who that would have been either. Just grab anybody!! But Jerry stood firmly in his boots and stayed away from any WR in the draft and just made trades. I’m willing to bet that money was being freed up. 

Reason 2: Rumors are sometimes true. If you think a rumor is just a rumor, think again. Sometimes the writing could be on the wall in fluorescent colors. Jerry Jones is a gambler and he loves making the big splash. That’s the main reason why his $300 million purchase of the Cowboys turned into a billion-dollar franchise. The man is a risk taker and don’t be surprised if he lands one of these bigtime WRs who are being rumored to be moved from their current teams. Roy Williams, Chad Johnson, and Anquan Boldin are in Jerry’s sites and the gun is loaded. With Williams at the top of the list, the Lions’ idiot GM Matt Millen told the newspapers that no one has approached him with any trade talks. Yeah right Matt. Don’t be surprised to see those two get together over pizza and a sponsored Pepsi. 

The Cardinals said that they have plans on keeping Boldin in Arizona. But as cheap as their owner is and that they’ve already paid Larry Fitzgerald crazy money, look for them to get some money back and/or more picks in next year’s draft. And the stories and hearsay continue to fly. And according to our good friend Matt Mosley at Harshmarks, Boldin is the closest to don a star on his helmet.   

The Chad Johnson sweepstakes have continued in Cincy and he’s made it clear that he wants out. The only thing with him is his mouth. Even though he’s a good player, he scares me a little. Could Dallas use Johnson’s services here?  

Reason 3: Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, and Patrick Crayton. Which one of these receivers do you actually trust on 3^rd and 7? We see that Hurd can be a quality number 3 receiver but is he a Roy Williams? Miles Austin runs back kicks, but what did he do in a game where he was the primary option in Washington last season? And we saw what Crayton did against the Giants in a MUST WIN GAME didn’t we? Don’t tell me that you still trust this guy. Jerry must stay active to pursue another receiver out there because I’m not sure his on-field and off-field gambling wants to go into the 2008 season with these same guys.  

Stay tuned on this wide receiver stuff. I got a feeling that we haven’t heard the last of it. 

I’m Tovash Hatcher

Are you a ‘Boys fan who’s bummed that Dallas didn’t draft any wide receivers? No worries. Dallas has just signed three undrafted wide receivers. Well, to be exact, 2.5.

That’s because one of those signed for the receiver corps is of the mold of Patrick Crayton and Isaiah Stanback.

First, there’s Texas Tech’s Danny Amendola, Stanford’s Mark Bradford and–drum roll–Midwestern State’s Daniel Polk.

Polk, 6′2″, 205, was a quarterback at Midwestern with more of his touchdowns coming from rushing than passing. His size is very nice. According to the Dallas Morning News, Polk chose Dallas over Miami and will begin the transition from quarterback to receiver in training camp. Whether he can follow in the footsteps of former signal callers Crayton and Stanback will have to be seen. Polk passed for over 2,000 yards at the collegiate level while rushing for more than 1,000 yards in 2007. In his college career, he threw for just under 4,700 yards, rushed for almost 3,600 yards and had 82 touchdowns. Forty-four were on the ground and 38 through the air.

Sounds like Jerry Jones is practicing a form of Moneyball. No receivers in the draft impressed Dallas enough to draft them ahead of their cornerback and rushing needs, so they passed and decided to go after the undraftees. Take a look at those undrafted, see which ones have the potential and go for them. Maybe one of them will turn into the next Tony Romo. With Polk, Dallas is implementing an age-old strategy of taking guys who were college quarterbacks and seeing if those signal callers who might not have the skills or size to excel at the NFL can be converted to receiver.

And, of course, the nice thing about dealing with unsigned free agents, the financial risk is low.

To recap for the Cowboys:

Round 1 (22nd overall): Felix Jones, Running Back, Arkansas — Not a bad choice, I suppose, although some wonder why Dallas passed on the higher-rated Rashard Mendenhall to take Jones. Maybe Jerry Jones likes running backs named Jones. Maybe Jerry thought it would be confusing to have a Rashard and Tashard (more on him in a few moments) on the team.

Round 1 (25th overall): Mike Jenkins, Cornerback, South Florida — I realize Dallas likes him, but I would’ve really preferred Antoine Cason. Cason is bigger and has no criminal record.

Round 2 (61st overall): Martellus Bennett, Tight End, Texas A&M (that’s that place you Longhorn fans like to call a “Junior College”) — Report says he’s not much of a blocker, but as the San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn pointed out to me, Dallas needed to replace the departed T.E. Anthony Fasano. Can Bennett be taught how to block better? Orsborn also said Dallas is hoping Bennett turns into the next Antonio Gates (the San Diego Chargers star tight end).

Round 4 (122nd overall): Tashard Choice, Running Back, Georgia Tech — ESPN speculates Choice was the right choice (pun intended) for Dallas out of speculation that they won’t be able to lock up Marion Barber El Tres to a long-term deal. Say…didn’t Choice once play for former GTU (and Cowboys) head coach Chan Gailey?

Round 5 (143rd overall): Orlando Scandrick, Corner Back, Boise State — Again, another cornerback who’s under six feet tall (Scandrick is 5′10″). However, he has 4.32 speed. Not too shabby. I really wish Dallas had gone with a taller cornerback since they’ll need help against the Randy Mosses of the league.

Round 6 (167th overall): Erik Walden, Defensive End, Middle Tennessee State — The pros, according to ESPN’s scouting reports: Walden is excellent at pass rushing and in playing linebacker and end. However, he’s 6′2″, and 243 pounds. For a lineman, this is small. Heck, even for a linebacker this could be considered small. I suspect Dallas will convert him to linebacker. ESPN questions whether he has the range and speed to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

Oh well. At least Dallas didn’t draft former and brief Cowboy Ryan “Cryin’” Leaf’s kid brother, Oregon quarterback Brady Leaf. Maybe it’s the bad bloodline.

As far as receivers go, I suspect Dallas will offer a pick next season to the Detroit Lions for Roy Williams. They may also look at the receivers undrafted and invite a few to camp.

As a quick note, can we PLEASE dispense with calling the final player drafted Mr. Irrelevant? (For the record, the St. Louis Rams hold the 252nd and final pick). To me, the true Mr. Irrelevant are the players who DON’T get drafted. Guys like Tony Romo and Bill Bates.

Cowboys choose Erik Wlden DE/Middle Tennessee on the 6th round 167th pick. Erik  was voted a first team All-Sun Belt selection by the league’s coaches and media. he played in 10 games and earned nine starts, he had 46 stops on the season  with 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception, two pass breakups, and a safety. Sound pretty good, we will have to wait and see how it goes when the season starts. Can’t wait! 

Cowboys select Orlando Scandrick RB/Boise State. He has started every game exept one during his three years in Boise State. He has become a more consistent player this year and  has shown a new skill, blocking a team-high four kicks. His greatest quality is his speed, which has allowed him to run a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and makes him almost unblockable on the Broncos’ field-goal block team. Awesome Pick Cowboys, just awesome!

The Cowboys choose Tashard Choice RB/Georgia Tech for their RD4 122th pick.  One of the toughest players, and one of the top running backs in Georgia Tech history.  He is a  durable player who played through injuries, especially in 2007. He had his high school jersey retired in November, 2007. Great pick by the Cowboys.

Cowboys select Martellus Bennett TE/Texas A&M for their second round 61st pick. I think maybe they should have gotten a wide reciever, that’s just my opinion. Maybe this guy will be good anyway, we’ll have to wait and see.

He’s shorter than Antoine Cason, has had legal issues and has non-field-related asthma…I could be wrong, but I would’ve preferred Cason. Is Jenkins worth Dallas switching picks (and probably giving up a future one) with Seattle?

Felix Jones sounds like a great pick.

Cowboys second first round pick is Mike Jenkins CB/South Florida. He’s a great cover corner and decent tackler. When he intercepts the ball, you can be sure he will take it all the way!