Brian Martin, Author at Inside The Star Archives

Dallas Cowboys Need Daryl Johnston Type Fullback

Who is your favorite all-time Dallas Cowboys football player? I know the answers will vary depending on how long you’ve been a Cowboys fan or what decade you may have grown up in, but to me fullback Daryl Johnston is probably my all-time favorite. I was just six years old when the Dallas Cowboys decided to select Daryl Johnston in the 1989 NFL Draft, with their second round selection (39th overall). I was just beginning to get a really good grasp on the game of football and started paying closer attention to what was going on when I was watching the games on TV. I remember distinctively how my attention continued to gravitate towards #48 as the years progressed and the Cowboys began their journey to becoming one of the most dominant organizations during the early 1990s.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 28, 2016

Is Cole Beasley Looking At A Lesser Role In 2016?

I hate to keep bringing up the 2015 season, but it is the last reference point that we have to judge the production of the Dallas Cowboys and their players. In all honesty, I would like to wipe it from memory in hopes of forgetting all about the disastrous season last year, but since that’s not possible we just have to take comfort in the fact that a new season kicks off in the not so distant future. There has been one area of the Cowboys offense that has continued to haunt me ever since Dez Bryant went down with an injury early in the 2015 season against the division rival New York Giants. I knew then that the Cowboys wide receivers would struggle without Bryant in the lineup. There really isn’t another receiver on the roster that could step up and become that #1 WR, but there was one player that I thought might be able to take on a larger role.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 25, 2016

Dallas Cowboys: Churning The Bottom Of The Roster

The Dallas Cowboys starting of organized team activities (OTA’s) on Tuesday wasn’t the only exciting news. They also decided to make a roster move and signed the former SMU Mustang defensive end, Zach Wood. Of course, in order to add Wood to the roster the Cowboys had to release defensive end Jason Neill. Neill was signed as an undrafted free agent after the completion of the 2016 NFL Draft. Under the tutelage of head coach Jason Garrett, the Cowboys have not been afraid to churn the bottom of the roster in hopes of finding players that can contribute on game days.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 25, 2016

First Look At Ezekiel Elliott’s Touchdown Celebration

Quickly, how many total rushing touchdowns did the Dallas Cowboys have in 2015? Did you know that it was just eight? Joseph Randle accumulated four rushing touchdowns before he was ultimately cut. Darren McFadden may have run for over 1000 rushing yards, but only found the end zone three times. Robert Turbin in his short time with the team finished with one touchdown.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 24, 2016

2018 NFL Draft Coming To Dallas?

We all know that as owner/general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones will do just about anything to help publicize the organization. Jones loves the brand he has been able to build since taking control of the Cowboys, and he relishes any opportunity to put his team in the limelight. Well, he may just get his wish if the league accepts his bid to host the 2018 NFL Draft. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys organization is no stranger to hosting big time events at AT&T Stadium. They continuously have all kinds of different sporting events, concerts, and you may have forgotten but they also hosted the Super Bowl a few years ago.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 23, 2016

Lucky Whitehead: Is An Expanded Role With Cowboys Ahead?

Earning a roster spot in the NFL isn’t easy, and keeping that roster spot is even harder. Year in and year out, players are fighting for their NFL lives and they all know that their job security is teetering, knowing that the slightest tip of the scale can end their professional careers. Rookies are just hoping to begin their careers, while some veterans are coming to the end of theirs. For those players that enter the league as undrafted free agents, this is especially true. They have to fight harder than anybody to prove themselves and hope they get a chance to catch the attention of the coaches.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 20, 2016

Cowboys Defense: Orlando Scandrick Is Key To Success

The Dallas Cowboys finished with a losing record of 4-12 in 2015, and I think we can all agree that the main reason the season ended so badly was because of the rash of injuries that befell some of the key contributors on both offense and defense. The injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant received most of the publicity, and rightfully so, but there are other members in the Cowboys roster that impacted the overall performance as well. Did you know that cornerback Brandon Carr played the majority of the season with a shoulder injury? How about the fact that defensive end Jeremy Mincey had an elbow injury that kept him from being able to fully straighten his arm? Also, did you know defensive end Tyrone Crawford battled through a shoulder injury the majority of the season that impacted his effectiveness?

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 19, 2016

Will Byron Jones Have A Sophomore Slump?

Around the NFL, players are preparing for the upcoming 2016 season, but not all of them are at the same stage in their careers as others. Rookies will be entering their first year in the league not quite knowing what to expect, while seasoned veterans more than likely already have a routine they have followed for a while now. It’s the players entering their second year in the league that seem to struggle and go through some kind of regression, often referred to as their sophomore slump. Have you ever wondered why that is? My theory is that as rookies, the players are kept so busy after their final college game finding an agent, training, interviews, and different workouts with teams, that they don’t have time to become complacent.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 18, 2016

The Dallas Cowboys & Their Own Three Musketeers

Aramis, Porthos, and Athos; all names that should sound somewhat familiar to the majority of you, but really have absolutely zero connection to the Dallas Cowboys, or do they? If you’re not quite sure where you’ve heard those names before, that’s okay. They were first popularized in the novel The Three Musketeers, written by Alexandre Dumas that was published way back in 1844. Since the publication of Dumas’ novel we have seen numerous movies, TV series, and even cartoons depicting the Musketeer’s adventures. For those unaware, I’ll try to familiarize you with the story The Musketeers (the King’s guard) has been disbanded and the three most famous Musketeers (Aramis, Porthos, and Athos) are somewhat muddling around in their lives until they meet a young want to be Musketeer in D’Artagnan.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 17, 2016

Dallas Cowboys: A New Role For Geoff Swaim?

Like all the other teams that make up the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys use the off-season to analyze their current players in hopes of putting together the best 53 man roster possible for the upcoming season. It has already been rumored that the Cowboys plan to use a couple of the current players on the roster at a different position in order to find a bigger role for them or determine their fate to make the final cuts. Keith Smith (6’0″, 232) is moving from the defensive side of the ball to offense, and trying to make the conversion from linebacker to fullback. Rod Smith (6’3″, 226) is also being looked at as a fullback after joining the team as a tailback in 2015 after initially being cut by the Seattle Seahawks. Actually, I wrote an article not too long ago on this topic about the Cowboys exploring all options at the fullback position, but I think there might just be another option that I didn’t even consider until now.

Written by: Brian Martin

Published on: May 16, 2016