Cowboys Sign QB Brooks Bollinger
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IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys on Monday signed former Jets and Vikings quarterback Brooks Bollinger to a one-year $605,000 deal, waiving wide receiver Mike Jefferson to make room on the 53-man roster.
The move gives the Cowboys a third quarterback on their depth chart for the first time since 2005.
"I think seven or eight teams only had two quarterbacks, and we were one of those teams," head coach Wade Phillips said. "We had the same case last year, but we feel better about having a third quarterback and a guy that can come in and also learn our system. We think he's talented and does a lot of good things."
Bollinger came in for a visit with the team's staff last Tuesday, but didn't sign his minimum salary contract until today, a move that keeps the Cowboys from having to guarantee his base salary for the entire 2008 season. A five-year veteran, he started nine games for the Jets in 2005, the last of his three years in New York. He started one game last season, a Nov. 11 contest in Green Bay, as a fill-in for injured Minnesota starter Tarvaris Jackson.
He was cut by the Vikings on the final roster reduction date this year, ceding the No. 3 quarterback job in Minnesota to rookie John David Booty. A Rose Bowl winner at Wisconsin, Bollinger has started 10 NFL games with 201 completions on 343 passing attempts for 2,155 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. His career passing rating is 75.2.
"It's for this year and for the future," Wade Phillips said. "If you have a young one you think is going be there you want to keep him, I think. In his case, we've got a fairly young guy who's got some experience."
The team moved Jefferson up from the practice squad on Saturday and Phillips said the club would like to get him back there if he clears waivers. Sunday's win was the first game Jefferson was active as a professional, but he didn't actually get to play, instead serving as an insurance policy in case of injury.
To sign Jefferson, the Cowboys had to release last year's third-round pick, right guard James Marten, who was claimed off waivers by Oakland Monday. Marten was inactive for every game in 2007.
Bollinger's name and No. 5 were taped atop his new locker, sandwiched between DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears.
Signing him allowed the Cowboys to drop quarterback Richard Bartel from the practice squad. With Bollinger now likely to assume scout team quarterback reps in practice, Bartel didn't have a role.
While Phillips said the team would like to retain Jefferson, they also might want to add an offensive linemen to the group, which doesn't currently have one. Ryan Gibbons, a veteran of practice squads in Chicago, Tampa and Jacksonville could return to the Ranch. He was released by the Cowboys on the final cut date, Aug. 30.
Phillips Takes Blame For T.O. Celebration Penalty
It wasn't Wade Phillips shaking out his hamstrings and kneeling into the blocks to show off his sprinter's speed that earned the Cowboys a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Sunday, but the coach is taking the blame anyway.
After the coach told his players there was no excuse for post-play penalties in 2007, he's giving Terrell Owens a break for the first one of 2008, saying neither he nor the Pro Bowl receiver knew the move would be a penalty.
"I had no idea that touching the ground would be a penalty," Phillips said. "All I knew that was a penalty was using a prop - using the football as a prop or the goalpost or something. I talked to the official about it and he said 'That's the rule,' and I said 'Well, tell us about it.'"
Owens didn't run the celebration by him before the game, but the coach didn't really have a problem with it. Following the 2006 season, the NFL's Competition Committee voted to penalize celebrations involving props, or players going to the ground.
"He didn't know," Phillips said. "And it's my fault he didn't know, because I didn't know, and it's my fault I didn't know."
Cowboys Defense Had Help
It's hard to find much fault with the Cowboys defense in Sunday's win. They allowed just 205 total yards, including only 39 passing yards in the second half with Cleveland trying to stage a comeback.
It helps that the Browns only got 14 offensive snaps in the second half. The Cowboys dominated the time of possession battle, holding the ball 37 minutes and 29 seconds. They chewed up the clock in the fourth quarter, keeping the ball from the 10:13 mark on, with rookie running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice continually moving the chains.
Browns Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson had just 114 passing yards, and his favorite target, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, also a Pro-Bowler, only caught two balls for 14 yards.
Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis did a nice job in bump coverage on Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., so the team's pass rush was limited. DeMarcus Ware registered the team's only sack, and also stripped Anderson on the play after getting around left tackle Joe Thomas, who allowed just one sack in 2007.
"Defensively we played really well," Wade Phillips said. "Part of it was our offense held the ball for 37-and-a-half minutes, but part of that holding the ball is the defense getting it back for them."
Line Shuffling Continues
Part of the credit for Sunday's successful defensive effort must go to the Cowboys defensive line, which helped limit Browns running back Jamal Lewis to just 62 yards. The unit also notched three hits on Derek Anderson.
Jay Ratliff had two of the quarterback hits, and Tank Johnson added another. Ratliff batted down a pass and defensive end Marcus Spears had a tackle for loss.
While the Cowboys defensive coaches will credit their players with far more tackles than the official game scorers, five linemen combined for nine tackles according to the official numbers. The Cowboys use a six-man rotation along the usual three-man front, also throwing in Jason Hatcher and Stephen Bowen.
In one lineup, Ratliff slides left, opposite starting right end Chris Canty, and Tank Johnson comes in as the nose tackle. After a successful 2007 season playing the nose exclusively, Ratliff began to work some at end this training camp, and Spears got work in the middle. Ratliff said he got about 10 snaps at end Sunday, though Spears didn't get time at the nose. While Ratliff was initially hesitant to the part-time move, he's warming up to it now.
"I feel a little bit better," Ratliff said. "I still have a lot of work to do, little things with my stance, and as far as playing technique, it's a little different out there. Everything's a little slower and my moves are a little bit fast. But I'll adjust."
Short Shots
Adam Jones said his second quarter pass interference penalty in the end zone was intentional. He tackled Braylon Edwards after the Browns receiver got inside positioning on a short post route . . . Wade Phillips said the coaching staff credited linebacker Zach Thomas with a team-high 12 tackles . . . Roy Williams played as the safety valve on the kickoff team . . . Phillips said the Cowboys were pleased with Cory Procter at left guard, but traded for Montrae Holland to compete for a chance to start.