Every year there's a question about Tony Romo. In 2006, it was how long it'd take for him to replace Drew Bledsoe. In 2007, the question centered around his ability to bounce back from the playoff debacle in Seattle and him taking over as the full-time starter. In 2008, we wondered if he could win a playoff game.
In 2009, some wondered if he was really committed to being the face of this franchise, and if he could win big games down the stretch.
So this year, Romo has shown his commitment. He's shown he can win games in December and January - something that hadn't been done since 1996 around here. So now what's the question? Obviously, people want to know if he can win the big one. Yeah, one playoff game was nice, but now it's time for more. And no one knows that more than Romo.
Will he look focused in camp? Definitely. Will he be sharp? Probably. Romo loves to compete and he views training camp as a daily way to improve. So yeah, he'll look good.
But will it be good enough to make a January run? There's no way of knowing that in August.
And one more, let's go to Dez Bryant, who has obviously captured the attention of so many fans here in the last few months. The first question with him is if he'll even be at the first practice in training camp. The Cowboys are hoping to get him signed before that July 24 practice in San Antonio.
But after that, obviously there is some doubt that he can stay away from the off-the-field distractions that have followed him his entire football life. With Dez, it's never anything huge, but always something.
Now we might be able to figure that out during training camp, but even if we have a smooth month of camp without many hiccups from Dez, we still won't know for sure how he's going to handle the everyday life of being a superstar for the Dallas Cowboys. At camp, they've got bed checks, curfew, people watching his every move.
We really won't know how he deals with the situation until we get back to Dallas after training camp.
Don't get me wrong; training camp is far from pointless. In fact, it's a great way to find out those answers to questions we've had all summer. But just remember, there are still a few things that can't, and won't be answered until September.
Brewster Most Intriguing Of "Redshirt" Class
We've been talking about this group of redshirts - last year's drafted players who hardly got playing time last year - if any at all.
In that group, it includes Brandon Williams, Robert Brewster and Stephen Hodge, you could throw in Jason Williams, Stephen McGee and Manuel Johnson as well.
To me, the most intriguing of those guys is Robert Brewster because he seems to be more of a mystery than the others. Here's a guy picked in the third round out of Ball State - you're thinking the Cowboys have obviously seen something to get this guy, which many draft analysts thought was a reach.
But Brewster never got the chance to show us anything because of a torn pectoral muscle just before training camp that wiped out his rookie season.
Now he comes back and he didn't exactly wow anyone this summer with his physique, which still has him listed as 320 pounds. Hopefully he'll stay healthy for camp and give us a daily showing of what he can do.
What makes him intriguing to me is the wide range of expectations that follows him. He could be a really good prospect that could emerge as a backup that has a role on this year's team. Or he could just really flop and be cut at the end of camp. No one really knows about this guy.
Personally, he looks like he might be better suited as a guard. At 6-4, 320, Brewster obviously has good enough feet to be a tackle, but he's so wide that you wonder if that might be his downfall - having to stop the speed rushers. I think if he played inside he might be a better fit, but that's probably down the road.
But for now, I think there will be a lot of eyes fixed on him.
