respective positions are Romo, Marion Barber and Ken Hamlin. The other Top-10er is Zach Thomas, the eighth inside linebacker.
And the other guys listed, but not among the Top 10 at their positions, are Greg Ellis (17), Roy Williams (17) and Chris Canty (31), and versatile nose tackle Jay Ratliff is in the category of Top Veteran Players, basically meaning those with experience who have a good chance of emerging.
Pretty impressive, and really, not sure, other than Witten, anyone was really slighted. Although, and I know they list only five punters, a case could be made for Mat McBriar, especially since four of the five punters are from the AFC. Nick Folk will have to prove he's no flash-in-the-pan before he receives any recognition.
Now I'm not saying the best players automatically make you one of the best teams, or a sure Super Bowl winner. I mean last year San Diego checked in No. 1 with five players in the Top 50, followed by Indianapolis with four and the three each from New England, Cincinnati, Seattle, Philadelphia and Arizona. And yet the Giants win the Bowl.
But look at it this way, going back to like 2002 when Larry Allen was the only Cowboys player in the Top 50: Where once there was Carter, there now is Romo. Where once there was Antonio Bryant and Joey Galloway, there now is Owens and maybe Terry Glenn. Where once there was an aging Emmitt Smith and Troy Hambrick, there now is Barber and first-round pick Felix Jones, not to mention Tashard Choice. Where once the right side of the offensive line was a combination of Solomon Page, Kelvin Garmon and Javier Collins, there now is Davis and Colombo.
Where once there was an aging Tony McGee, there now is Witten. Where once there was a Duane Hawthorne and Mario Edwards, backed up by a Derek Ross and Dwayne Goodrich, there now is Newman, Anthony Henry, Mike Jenkins and potentially Adam Jones. And where once there was Dexter Coakley and Kevin Hardy, there now is Ware, Ellis and Anthony Spencer
Amazing.
Your Cowboys have been remade.
Just a little sumpin', sumpin' to cherish this time of year.
