The high five: Hard not to be hopeful after Dallas Cowboys' opening win

Always knew Kevin Ogletree had it in him. Just needed a chance. Jason Witten was always going to play. And Tony Romo is the best quarterback in the game. 

Nailed it. Every one.

That and other observations in the first of many editions of the Dallas Cowboys "high five" after their season-opening 24-17 win against the Giants in New Jersey on Wednesday night.

1. It would be hard to find a better game Tony Romo has played in his pro career. He bought time with his feet. He checked out of many plays and consistently made the right read. He went to the open receiver, even if he was Kevin Ogletree. Romo was good when the running game was not.

Romo finished 22 of 29 for 307 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

2. Kevin Ogletree. The "veteran" made like Laurent Robinson and fell from the sky with a game-high eight receptions for 114 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career. As long as he is a threat and not a liability, as was feared, the Cowboys are OK.

3. DeMarco Murray. The highlight was his second-half run where he bounced off a Giants defender and escaped another to break free for a 48-yard gain. He should have stayed down the sidelines and he would have had a bigger gain, but it's hard to complain about a thing this guy did. He finished with 131 yards on 20 carries.

3.5 Shy Anderson. This is a good dude, but he has become a national punchline after the NBC cameras caught him wiping Jerry Jones' eye glasses in the suite during the game. Anderson is Jerry's son in law.

4. Brandon Carr. The free agent signee from KC made a solid first impession. Both he and Morris Claiborne obviously give d-coordinator Rob Ryan the confidence to play a more aggressive style in the front seven.

4.5 Victor Cruz. The Giants wide receiver had a bad case of the drops.

5. Tyron Smith. It will get better, but his first game at left tackle was not what we call "pretty". Jason Pierre-Paul makes a lot of people look ugly.

Check back tomorrow on The Big Mac Blog for more interactive commentary and thoughts about the most valuable team in the NFL - your Dallas Cowboys.

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This VH1 Mob Wife is a big Dallas Cowboys fan & loves Jason Hatcher

Having grown up in the greater NYC area Renee Graziano is likely the very last person to be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, or a close personal friend of Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher. Yet the star of the VH1 tv show "Mob Wives" parties with Hatcher.

Graziano is currently filming the third season of the show, and she stopped by The Big Mac Blog to talk about her show, plastic surgery gone wrong, the mob, and the Dallas Cowboys.

The Big Mac Blog: How did you get to be buddies with Jason Hatcher?
Renee Graziano: I met Jason at Miles Austin's family foundation function in New Jersey. I met Miles, Jason Witten, Anthony Spencer, Stephen Bowen, Felix Jones and Jason. A lot of them. They are all such gentlemen. We were sitting a table and I asked, 'Who is a Cancer?' Jason said his birthday, and it's one day next to mine, and we joked we should celebrate our next birthday together.
So he invited me and my son to celebrate our birthday at his home in Dallas. I went down last month and he was first-class all the way. I celebrated his birthday at his house, got in a bathing suit and was playing with his kids. It was great laughs.

The Big Mac Blog: Are you a Cowboys fan now?
Renee Graziano: My house was a Cowboys house. When my son and I play the Madden game he always picks the Cowboys. I am really excited about their season now after getting to know them. Stephen Bowen still calls my son all the time, I'd say once a week. The same with Jason. 

The Big Mac Blog: On a different line, when as a kid were you aware that your family was not like a typical family?
Renee Graziano: I remember when I was 7 receiving gifts like coats and diamonds. My dad said, 'If you work hard you get these things.' I thought, OK. I was 16 at a club and I can remember people talking about my dad using the word, 'captain.' I thought, 'My father doesn't sail a ship.' They looked at me like, 'Uhh .... " My friend said, 'You need to call your father.'
"I asked him about it and he said, 'Go do your homework', and that was it.

The Big Mac Blog: Do you get any backlash for this show from those who have mob ties?
Renee Graziano: It's not that bad because this is my life. There are unfortunate situations that happen to many woman who live behind a man's life. It doesn't have to be the mafia. I know I'm not a bad person. This show has been the best therapy I could have given myself. 

The Big Mac Blog: How would you characterize how the mafia today?
Renee Graziano: It breathes but it doesn't have a lot of options. There is no breathing left. The ties have been completely broken down. I am embarrassed to say the mob that is left is not what I know as a child. What I knew as a child people saw on TV like on Goodfellas. That’s what I remember.
Over the last 10 years I have seen an absolute demise of it from my world. The FEDs came in and took the most important players. I don’t believe there is much of an existing one 

The Big Mac Blog: Your experience with plastic surgery wasn't great; would you do it again?
Renee Graziano: I have a scar that is from the screwup from the first one. That’s a nickel thick scar. The hole on my back is closed. That was really bad. That was the size of a line and it went straight down to my spine. The second doctor I went to and he closed it up and healed the plastic
surgery nightmare.
Would I do it again? I would advise women if that if you want to lose weight properly, don't do it the way I did but get off your ass and go to the gym. If you have excess skin, do (surgery). Don't do what I did because I was lazy.

The Big Mac Blog: Season 3 of the show is filming; are you used to having a crew following you around?
Renee Graziano: In season 1 it was really weird. Come season 2 with all of the hospital drama, and my ex-husband cooperating, it was actually really natural. I just said, 'I'm going to be who I am.'

The Big Mac Blog: Would you advise people to do a reality show?
Renee Graziano: I would really say you have to research it and figure out what they want, because what they want is what hidden. What is reality TV if you don't have some secrets?

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Albert Breer of NFL Network talks RGIII, Tebow & D-E-Z

It has been said that Albert Breer of the NFL Network not only doesn't sleep, but he already has more airline miles than George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air". 

A forever friend to The Big Mac Blog, Breer has already visited the training camps of the Ravens, Patriots, Falcons, Bengals, Colts, Bears and will hit the Jets and Giants before Saturday.

You can follow him on Twitter @AlbertBreer.

He stopped by to chat about a handful of NFL storylines.

The Big Mac Blog: What do you make of Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant.
Albert Breer: It's a reminder how important it is to develop guys and stay on the right track. But I can't stop thinking about before he was drafted how many people were saying, 'The last place he can go is Dallas.' It's hard not wonder if he had gone to Seattle or a zillion other places if this would be different. Dallas was the one place he couldn't go. I know the Cowboys didn't ignore it, but ... you don't know.

The Big Mac Blog: Do you see the Cowboys improving or remaining in the middle? 
Albert Breer: I think you see a lot of guys that were 26 and 27 and they are now 30 and 31 - guys like Ware, Witten, Ratliff. They have done a nice job of building a good young core. There is a player development there that will be crucial for them going forward. Getting Sean Lee into the position of taking the next step. Getting Dez Bryant right. Developing those two tackles. Developing Morris Claiborne. They have a developing core.

The Big Mac Blog: How ugly will the Colts' season be? 
Albert Breer: You can't compare Andrew Luck to Payton Manning's first year. If you are going to compare him to anybody it has to be Robert Griffin. Griffin is going into a situation where it will be the third year of the Redskins building that. The Colts are a total rebuild. I think they can protect Luck. Right now it's a four or five win team.

The Big Mac Blog: A lot of ookie QBs come into the NFL put on their new jersey and immediately look small compared to their new teammates; how does Andrew Luck look physically as an NFL player? 
Albert Breer: He looks enormous. Right now he and Reggie Wayne are attached at the hip, and Wayne is not a small receiver, and Luck dwarfs Wayne. Luck looks like a tight end. He could be a tight end.

The Big Mac Blog: How and where does Tim Tebow really fit with the Jets?
Albert Breer: I don't think this was a gimmick, but I do think part of the thinking was this is a way to put heat on Mark Sanchez. There is a perception that Sanchez has been coddled. I don’t think he’s been forced to answer for his failures. The Jets have treated it like we’re going to make sure that everything has been positive with him.

The Big Mac Blog: Can Tebow be an accurate NFL passer?
Albert Breer: Well I don't think the option thing is a gimmick. If someone installed that offense he ran at Florida it would work. I don’t think he’s a conventional QB. There are a lot of people who scout college football who believe that. Chan Gailey said what the Broncos were doing wasn’t a gimmick but you need three of those guys to run it because they're going to get hurt. The injury thing is a huge thing. You can’t find three Tim Tebows or three Cam Newtons. Those guys are usually a defensive end.

The Big Mac Blog: How much longer of the Bounty Gate stuff will endure?
Albert Breer: It depends on what happens with Jonathan Vilma’s injucniton. The guys are worried about their names being cleared. The thing is starting to shrink from the headlines. The guys who really want to see their names cleared will see this thing go through the courts and it will take forever then. If you are serious about clearing your name you will take the time and spend a lot of money to do it. 

The Big Mac Blog: How much longer can we expect the Patriots hold up?
Albert Breer: Just depends on how much Tom Brady and Bill Belichik are there. For years the Patriots have been getting good players on the cheap because of those two. You get players who want to go there. For years I thought Bill would walk away when Brady was done. I am convinced now as it stand right now he’s going to outlast Brady in New England. He's in a very comfortable spot there from the way he lives to the way he can coach and run the team.

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Martellus Bennett failed to get the memo that he's not very good

The unofficial line on former Dallas Cowboys tight end and new New York Giant Martellus Bennett saying something stupid was one day. I had the under.

On the first day of training camp with the NY Giants in Albany, New York, Martellus did as Martellus does: Said something dumb. He apparently couldn't flourish playing behind Witten, and he hates the Cowboys.

Bennett told reporters, ""I mean we are cool, but we ain't that cool, know what I am saying? I kind of got some ill feelings toward them overall. It is a game. I kind of hate everybody, honestly, in the NFL."

Funny, because there are a lot of people at Valley Ranch who aren't fond of you. Not because you're a bad guy, but because since the time you the Cowboys burned a second round pick on you all you did was not take your job very seriously, screw around, and waste your considerable athletic gifts.

And for a guy who supposedly hates everybody in the NFL, he sure is nice to them on the field. Few Cowboys embodied apathy the way Marty B did when it came to football, which drove people crazy. This guy has the tools to be great, but it's so much easier to be -ish because, in this case, it pays six figures.

He also said he wants to kick "(The Cowboys) asses". 

Now he also said some nice things about former teammate, tight end Jason Witten, but then sounded like a dope when he added "plants can't really grow when they are out-shaded by the tall tree."

Marty B wasn't a tree; he was a weed with the Cowboys. And that is definitely the proper greenery comparison.

The Giants are going to find out what the Cowboys already know: Martellus isn't a bad guy, he's just an indifferent pro.

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The Texas Rangers to interleague play returns; does it do it for you any more?

The lead for the Texas Rangers in the AL West is down to four games. They now begin a series in San Francisco against the Giants in a "re-match" of the World Series from two years ago.

This is the first of five consecutive inter-league series for your Rangers.

June 8 - 10: at SF
June 12 - 14: v. Arizona
June 15 - 17: v. Houston
June 18 - 20: at SD
June 22 - 24: Colorado

Do any of these series do anything for you?

Inter-league play was created to inject some interest into the game, and put some extra butts in seats in the hot months. What was first a cute novelty has now become an accepted portion of the schedule. The novelty is gone, and the purists who once complained about this break from tradition are no more.

Your interest level goes up based on the proximity of the opponent - LA v. Ana; SF vs. Oak.; Balt vs. Wash; Chi v. Chi; NY vs. NY; Houston v. Texas; Stl. vs. KC - or if the team has a bonafide star that never visits your town.

The interest level is a series by series, and team by team. 

It's no longer a question of whether it works because it's not going away. 

 

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NFL to Cowboys WR Dez Bryant: Wear thigh pads

This won't affect the concussion crisis the NFL is dealing with these days, but the league has announced that its players no longer can keep going with this sleek, light look that could be leading to other injuries.

At the NFL owners meeting today, the league is mandating players must wear thigh and knee pads. The rule, which likely will have to be agreed to by the union, would go into effect for the 2013 season.

Click here for more.

This is notable for your local professional Dallas Cowboys football club because one of its starting wide receivers, Dez Bryant, doesn't do thigh pads. A lot of players don't because they want to feel lighter.

Bryant suffered a thigh bruise in Week 1 of the 2011 season that may have been prevented had he been wearing pads. Bryant missed the second game of the season with that injury.

 

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Unreality has infected the Dallas Cowboys

IRVING - Most people who have followed the Dallas Cowboys in the Jerry Jones' years understand his optimism, and his hyperbole. Every year is a Super Bowl year. Every coach is one of the very best.

Now, however, it appears as if such language has become the standard at Valley Ranch.

On Wednesday at the Cowboys' pre-draft presser, team directory of scouting Tom Ciskowski was asked if he had a lot of holes to fill.
"No," he said.

Oh, Bubba, no. 

The Dallas Cowboys finished 8-8 last season, missed the playoffs, and despite a handful of free agent additions they don't have any holes to fill?

"I look at our team; we're going to draft over the next three days to upgrade," he said. "We've got some depth at some positions. I think if we weren't drafting today we could go play tomorrow."

Technically, Tom is right. The team has a 53-man roster that could play a game today, if needed. But last season demonstrated that 53-man roster was not good enough. Hence, it has holes. Every team has holes, even the New York Giants or the New England Patriots.

We should not expect Tom to sit next to his boss and say: "Holes? My God, man. They are everywhere. Did you not watch us last year?"

But to suggest this team does not have holes is something that should be left for Jerry to say.

 

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The Dallas Cowboys 2012 schedule: The search for 10 wins

OK, so maybe that headline is a bit of a stretch. Can the Cowboys find 10 wins (*) on this schedule? Because I am not only a winner but also an optimist I think they can. Here they are.

9/5 at NY Giants. This is crack-pipe dumb, but the Cowboys are going to win this. 1-0

9/16 at Seattle. They should win this, but they won't. 1-1

9/23 v. Tampa Bay. Tampa's not ready yet, and its QB is never going to get it. 2-1

10/1 v. Chicago. A swing game. A game the Cowboys should lose but will win. 3-1

10/13 at Baltimore. Uh ... no. 3-2

10/21 at Carolina. The Panthers are better, but this is a must-have for the Cowboys. 4-2.

10/28 vs. NY Giants. Eli owns JerryWorld. 4-3

11/4 at Atlanta. Time to go out on a limb and say Cowboys win. 5-3

11/11 at Philly. Up there? Are you kidding? No. 5-4

11/18 vs. Cleveland. Another have-to win. 6-4

11/22 vs. Washington. RGIII or no, doesn't matter. 7-4

12/2 vs. Philly. Nope. 7-5

12/9 at Cincy. A should win, but who knows where the Bengals will be? Have to win. 8-5

12/16 v. Pittsburgh. No way. 8-6

12/23 vs. New Orleans. At home, the Cowboys can do this. 9-6

12/30 at Washington. It's the Redskins so the Cowboys can actually do this. 10-6

As you can see, finding 10 wins on this schedule takes some creative thinking ... and a lot of Jerry-like optimism.

* It should be noted that before the start of the 2011 season I predicted the Cowboys would finish the season 10-6 to make the playoffs. During the season I said Jason Garrett should be coach of the year. Playing the law of averages, I will forever stick with the first prediction until my passing.

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The Dallas Cowboys always seem to win the NFL's schedule championship

The NFL is moving its preferred season-opening time on Thursday to Wednesday to accomodate the President, but the league obviously has zero intention of giving in to the idea that the Dallas Cowboys do not merit anything other than a prime time slot.

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Football Giants will host the defending 8-8 playoff-less champion Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, Sept. 5 in New Jersey to be televised on NBC.

How cute. The Cowboys 2011 season begin with a loss in New Jersey against the Jets on NBC, and ended with a loss to the Giants in the same stadium, on the same network.

The league normally begins the season on Thursday, but it does not want to interfere with President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention scheduled for that evening.

The NFL could have put the Giants against any of the following:
- Washington Redskins, and QB RGIII
- Philadelphia Eagles, and that train wreck
- SF 49ers, whom they beat in the NFC title game
- Baltimore Ravens, a team that nearly went to the Super Bowl
- Carolina Panthers, and QB Cam Newton
- Atlanta Falcons, which made the playoffs last season and lost to the Giants in the first round
- Green Bay Packers, whom the Giants beat in NFC divisional round
- New Orleans Saints, who potentially may be coached by former Giants coach Bill Parcells and this season will be one of the most interesting teams to watch as a result of the Bounty Gate fallout.

Instead the NFL went with the .500 Dallas Cowboys. 

The Cowboys may never again do well in January and early February, but no team rocks an offseason schedule like this team.

 

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Dallas Cowboys moves: The fine line between lipstick on an 8-8 pig, or the path to 11-5

Happy St. Patrick's Day ... Did you know the next Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) is actually Irish? Yeah, me neither. And I really don't care, either.

... ... ... ... ...

Brandon Carr vs. Terence Newman. PLUS
T-New was finished as a top corner. Carr has to be better than T-New, but at least Orlando Scandrick and he has to stay healthier than Mike Jenkins. This is an upgrade, but Brandon Carr is not Prime Time.

Kevin Ogletree/TBD vs. Laurent Robinson. MINUS
Robinson was the team's most reliable route runner and had quickly become a go-to for Tony Romo. He got stupid money from Jacksonville, and he had to take it but this is a loss. Unless Dez Braynt starts to developing into a reliable producer, Robinson's departure creates a serious void that no one on this roster can fill. 

Dan Connor/Bruce Carter vs. Bradie James/Keith Brooking. PLUS
Both James and Brooking had fallen off dramatically, and the Cowboys had to go younger here. Don't expect Connor to make plays. Expect him to just be there and not screw up.
This position is about Sean Lee and the development of second-year player Carter, who basically did nothing his rookie year because he was recovering from an injury.

Brodney Pool vs. Abe Elam. WASH
Elam was signed one season ago to a one-year deal to play safety, and really didn't produce much. Pool (left) was signed to a one-year deal, and his previous numbers suggests he will produce more than Elam. Either way, the safety spot for the Cowboys remains a serious issue.
 
TBD vs. Martellus Bennett. PLUS
Bennett is a nice, fun, jovial guy and someone whose physical skills suggests he could have been so, so much more. I don't expect him to do much with his new team, the New York Giants.

FB Lawrence Vickers vs. Tony Fiammetta MINUS
Fiametta had developed into a solid lead blocker, and was a nice receiver for Romo out of the backfield. Vickers is a good lead blocker, as Arian Foster knows from running behind him in Houston, but he's not as versatile as Fiammetta.

QB Kyle Orton vs. Jon Kitna WASH
Orton is a solid backup, as was Kitna, who retired. Both were able to make positive plays and win a game or two, but if you are counting on either to win a lot of games you're screwed.

OG Mackenzy Bernadeau vs. TBD  WASH
Depends on whom Bernadeau replaces. The interior of this offensive line is in a major need of an upgrade, and this has the look of trading this OK guy for that OK guy.

OVERALL IMPACT: There appear to upgrades in a lot of these moves, but there remain serious issues: The interior of the offensive line, the development of Dez Bryant, a defensive front seven that is overrated in terms of applying quality pressure, and a secondary that remains suspect.

Are these the types of moves that can make them 11-5, or leave them looking at 8-8 again?

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