Brian Martin, Author at Inside The Star Archives

Are Any Of The Cowboys Defensive Players Irreplaceable?

The Dallas Cowboys, much like other teams around the NFL have players that are more important to the organization than others. That is simply the sad truth of the National Football League. I like to think of these players as being irreplaceable. These are the types of players that can pretty much ruin a season if they have to miss any length of time due to an injury. Unfortunately, this is something that we as Cowboys fans have recently had to deal with and something that can hopefully be avoided in the upcoming 2016 season.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 11, 2016

Dallas Cowboys: 5 Players That Are Irreplaceable

The Dallas Cowboys battled through their fair share of injuries in 2015 and if they want to have any kind of success in the upcoming 2016 season, they have to avoid the injury bug. The unfortunate thing about injuries is that they are unpredictable and they can really have a major impact on a teams performance depending on which players are the ones to go down. The sad truth for the Cowboys in 2015 was that the injuries that the team endured was to key members and was a major reason why they finished with a 4-12 losing record. I decided to try and identify a few of the Dallas Cowboys players that are simply irreplaceable and would be devastating to the entire team if anyone of them where to go down with an injury and miss an extended period of time. Tony Romo Tony Romo obviously makes this list because we all witnessed firsthand how this team functions without him at the helm leading the offense.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 9, 2016

Can Morris Claiborne Put Past Injuries Behind Him?

The game of football is a physically demanding sport and this is especially true at the NFL level. NFL players are the best of the best and they train their bodies using the latest up-to-date scientific methods to prepare themselves to take on the abuse they will endure throughout any given season. In today’s NFL players are bigger, stronger, and faster than they were a decade ago and because of this there has been an importance placed on player safety to help prevent against injuries. We all know that injuries are a part of the game, but it seems like some players are more prone to getting injured than others. The Dallas Cowboys have a few of these types of players and unfortunately they both play on the defensive side of the ball.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 8, 2016

Gil Brandt Predicting Bounce Back Year For The Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have entered their third week of organized team activities (OTA’s) and minicamp practices are just around the corner. If you believe the talk by those people who have been fortunate enough to watch some of these OTA’s, then you probably already know that it looks as if the Cowboys players are practicing with a greater sense of urgency and a renewed energy. Former Vice President of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, Gil Brandt, was on hand to watch two different OTA practices last week and shared a lot of interesting observations based on what he saw from the team as a whole and from individual players. Brandt was a key part of the Cowboys organization from 1960 up until 1989 when the Jerry Jones era began. At age 83, Brandt is still a well-recognized voice of opinion around the NFL and currently contributes as a senior analyst for NFL.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 7, 2016

Is Terrance Williams Ready To Fight For His Job?

The Dallas Cowboys will have a lot of position battles that will be interesting to keep track of throughout the remainder of the off-season. One position battle that I know I will be keeping a close eye on will be at wide receiver. There is a lot of speculation that Terrance Williams might get demoted if Brice Butler steps up his game the way a lot of people are expecting. Butler showed quite a few flashes in 2015 that he can be a valued member on offense, but he also struggled with reoccurring injuries throughout the season. I’m actually looking forward to see what Butler can do with a full off-season with the Cowboys organization and hopefully a better chance to develop a bond with quarterback Tony Romo.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 6, 2016

Dez Bryant: Cowboys Emotional And Inspirational Leader

Dez Bryant has received a lot of media attention since joining the league in 2010 after being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round with their 24th pick. Whether it is really warranted or not is another question. The Dallas Cowboys are arguably the most recognizable sports franchise in the entire world and they are no strangers to the media attention that it attracts. This is both a good and bad thing in regards to Dez Bryant. Bryant’s personality makes him stand out and often times his passion for the game can be misconstrued to the point where a lot of people believe he is a detriment to the team.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 4, 2016

Ezekiel Elliott And Cowboys OL Make Deadly Combination

Stating that the Dallas Cowboys have the best offensive line in the entire NFL may sound a bit redundant, but I honestly believe that they will look even more dominant in 2016 now that they have a running back that truly fits the zone blocking scheme. The Cowboys gave their offensive line an early Christmas present when they decided to draft Ezekiel Elliott #4 overall in this years draft. They could have chosen to go with a dominant defensive player with that selection, but they chose to add a player that can make the strongest position on the team (OL) even stronger. If you add all of that up, it equals a deadly combination. Right?

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 2, 2016

New Technology Helping Cowboys RBs With Ball Security

The Dallas Cowboys aren’t shy about trying out new technology if they believe that it will possibly help them gain a competitive advantage or help them improve in the way they go about preparing for the season. You may remember that the Cowboys coaching staff started using drones to help get a different vantage point while filming practices last year before the 2015 season kicked off. Well, fast-forward a year and the Cowboys organization is now trying out a new piece of technology to help put an emphasis on the correct way for running backs to carry the ball. If you’ve ever played the game of football, then you know how important ball security is and how there is probably no other aspect of the game that infuriates coaches more than fumbling away the football. Well, thanks to inventor Tom Creguer, ball security has become much more coachable with his new invention the HighandTight training football.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: June 1, 2016

Is Rolando McClain Key To Cowboys Defensive Success?

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys defense for the upcoming 2016. Who will be the starting defensive ends with Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence missing the first four games due to violating the substance abuse policy? How will the cornerback situation shake itself out? Who will be the starting outside linebacker? These are just a few questions that surround the Cowboys defense that should answer themselves once the off-season practices really start getting underway.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 31, 2016

6 Cowboys Players That Could Be Traded

This past week, news broke that the Dallas Cowboys turned down trade opportunities during the NFL Draft for a couple of their running backs. Also, former starting left guard, Ronald Leary, decided to skip OTAs and have his agent request a trade from the Cowboys. Players requesting a trade isn’t uncommon, but teams aren’t going to just give away their players. They want to get as much compensation as possible, but it often comes down to finding a trade partner that is willing to meet your asking price. Trades aren’t quite as commonplace in the NFL as they are in the NBA and MLB, but they still happen.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 30, 2016