Projo Pats Blog

NEEDED: AN ENFORCER: Many of us suspected all season that there was plenty of chaos in the locker room of the Dallas Cowboys, so it is kind of an eye-opener to read in the Dallas Morning News that, according to team sources, there was behind-the-scenes turmoil "far greater than originally thought" in Big D.

The report says that the team charter had to leave late for road games on five occasions because players didn't show up for the flight on time, and that the trip for the Cowboys' fateful season finale at Philadelphia went off more than an hour late for that reason. Terrell Owens was habitually late for team meetings, according to the story, even failing to show up on time for a session just before the must-win game against the Eagles. The newspaper's sources also charge that the punishments levied upon players who broke the rules were not sufficient to prevent them from breaking the same rules over and over again.

In search of someone who can come in and forcefully solve some of the locker-room issues (head coach Wade Phillips is apparently not the man for the job), the Cowboys are now reported to be "very interested" in obtaining potential free-agent linebacker Ray Lewis from the Ravens. The Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston reports that Jerry Jones wants to offer Lewis a three-year deal worth between $27 million and $30 million, with $25 million guaranteed. Such a move would be right down Jones' alley: It would generate tons of publicity for the Cowboys, which seems to be the owner's true priority. But will it really change anything? Lewis will be 34 by the start of next season, and while his numbers were not down at all this year -- he played the full 16 games for Baltimore and picked up 117 tackles (ranking him 16th in the league) to go with 3.5 sacks and three interceptions -- you have to wonder if he has enough left to justify $25 million in salary guarantees.

Since the Cowboys last won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season, 10 different NFC teams have won the conference championship -- and none of them have been Jerry Jones' Cowboys. Maybe Lewis will come in and help change that. But it might be hard even for Lewis to change the focus of a team that long ago became more like a traveling circus than a Super Bowl contender.

NO FINE FOR CLARK: As was the case following his big hit on Wes Welker in the regular season, Steelers safety Ryan Clark won't be fined for the AFC Championship Game play that sent Baltimore's Willis McGahee to a Baltimore hospital. A league spokesman explained it this way, according to The Boston Globe: "[McGahee] had completed the catch and was a runner. Helmet-to-helmet contact is legal in that situation as it is for any ball carrier (running back, quarterback, or receiver). Helmet-to-helmet contact is prohibited against defenseless players (defined as a receiver in the process of making a catch or a quarterback in the act of passing)."

IT'S WHAT THEY DO: John Molori, writing for Boston Sports Media, makes no friends in Pittsburgh when he calls the Steelers incurable cheap-shot artists, and gives a brief history of their postseason transgressions.

TOUGH TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION: Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington says that his teammates resented Mike Tomlin for a long time after he replaced Bill Cowher as head coach (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette): "I think the major thing he did differently from coach Cowher is he instilled in us that it was going to be his way. Coach Cowher kind of had a tendency sometimes to sit back and look at us and he could tell in our face ... he would go off that."

YES THEY CAN: Patriots fans may be ticked off that the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl while their team didn't even make the playoffs, but Ron Borges looks at Arizona's improbable achievement and sees a team that proves Barack Obama's adage that in America anything is possible (Boston Herald).

OVER-THE-TOP LOYALTY: Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports reports that misguided Arizona Cardinals fans last week apparently burned "Go Cards" and other messages on the front lawn of the house that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb owns in Chandler, Ariz.

ANOTHER NINE-WIN TEAM: After the 1979 season, the Los Angeles Rams, who went 9-7 in the regular season, managed to sneak into the Super Bowl, where they faced the defending champion, 12-4 Steelers. It was the last time before this season that a team with fewer than 10 wins made it to the Super Bowl. If the Cardinals play the current Steelers as tough as those '79 Rams played Chuck Noll's team, then we'll be in for a pretty good show on Feb. 1 (Wikipedia).

ONE IS NOT ENOUGH: The nation's second-largest city has zero professional football teams, and now comes word that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, chief executive of the third-largest city, wants a second team to share the local stage with the Bears (Chicago Tribune).

MORE CHANGE COMING: ProFootballTalk.com reported last night that the Colts are going to fire defensive coordinator Ron Meeks.

 Tags  Dallas Cowboys Football Today Ray Lewis

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