"The emotional roller coaster, the last few weeks, is over," Utecht said. "It's finally good to be graduated and know where I'll be."
Obviously this has been an emotional roller coaster for all of us. We needed closure on the Utecht story, and now we can all move on.
- Mike Chappell of the Indy Star says the Colts may have to address the loss of Utecht in April's draft. What, Gijon Robinson's not the answer? We'll try to monitor this situation pretty closely. I've heard the Colts like Texas A&M tight end Martellus Bennett, but I'm not sure he'll be around late in the second round.
"They dug holes in the thick Texas soil, dirt so thick and so exhausting to penetrate they call it "soft cement." Demorrio dug hundreds of holes in a day, or climbed inside huge oil tanks to scrub debris from the walls, or helped build the massive machines that pull oil from the ground. Then he would drive home, grab a bite and fall into bed for a few hours before it was time to do it all again."
- Bernie Lincicome is worried about life after Jason Elam. He said Elam's penchant for game-winning kicks is what kept the Broncos from having a top-five pick in the draft.
- Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei has secured a list of Wonderlic scores from the NFL combine. Before reading this story, remember that Wonderlic scores are used as markers, and don't always accurately predict how a player will perform. Drew Henson had one of the highest Wonderlics in the history of the Cowboys (42), but it obviously didn't translate to success on the field. Tony Romo had a 37. And if you want to try your hand at a few sample questions, have at it.
"At quarterback, none of the top prospects laid a Wonderlic egg. Boston College's Matt Ryan, he of the off-the-charts intangibles, scored an impressive 32. And his score was matched by Louisville's Brian Brohm, the second-highest-rated quarterback after Ryan on most boards. Joe Flacco of Delaware scored a 27 and Chad Henne of Michigan scored a 22. Both are considered second-round prospects."
"Now this is where some of you might strongly disagree, but I don't think it's the Cowboys' obligation to produce choir boys. It's just not. Never has been. It's not the obligation for any team in any sport.
Let me be clear about that. I'm not saying you go out and recreate The Longest Yard for your football team. But at the same time, your goal is to win football games. And you do that by surrounding yourself with good football players.
If our judicial system says this guy is free to walk around in our society, and if the NFL, at some point, allows him to play football once again, then why should the Cowboys, or any team for that matter, not try to better themselves with his services?"
"I'm not sure anybody is interested in the pick," Parcells told Myers. "The economics of the pick are a little more devastating if it doesn't work out. You have to have some willing partners of the trade-down thing. We're in position where we are assuming we are going to make the pick."
- Stay tuned for wall-to-wall coverage of Pacman's trip to Dallas tomorrow. Not sure what he's going to talk about for three hours, but you can listen here.
