[Underdog]

NFC Pro Bowl Squad Has Definite Cowboys Flavor


IRVING, Texas - For about three-fourths of last year's final roster, the season has been over the day the Giants knelt down the ball to secure the shocking playoff upset at Texas Stadium.

But for the rest, one game remains.

No, it won't be met with the same intensity or excitement, but 13 Cowboys players will get one more game this season: Sunday's Pro Bowl in Hawaii. For some it will be a chance to relax and enjoy the camaraderie with the other players. For others, it could be a chance to possibly to try and erase, or even suppress, the bitter disappointment that probably still exists from the final loss to the Giants.

No team in NFL history had ever sent more than 11 players to the Pro Bowl, much less 13. So the Cowboys will be making history this Sunday when the NFC squad takes the field.

While seven of these players have been before, it will be a new experience for six Cowboys, including 10-year veteran Greg Ellis, who was added to the roster due to an injury to Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs.

"I'm going to have to ask these young guys what you talk about over there at the Pro Bowl," Ellis said the day he learned he would be making his first appearance. "It's a great feeling to be honored to be going to the Pro Bowl. You can't put too much on it. A lot of guys like myself that have never been and they should've gone, in my opinion. But when your number is called to go, it's a tremendous honor."

Other veterans making their first trip to the game include guard Leonard Davis and safety Ken Hamlin - both of whom will be starting. Other first-time Pro Bowlers are cornerback Terence Newman, kicker Nick Folk and running back Marion Barber.

Here's a closer look at the 13 players expected to play in Sunday's Pro Bowl, with a glance at their season and what their future might hold with the Cowboys:

Terrell Owens - No current Cowboys player has been to more Pro Bowls than T.O., who makes his sixth trip to the game. Owens is also going with his third different team. Owens led the Cowboys with 1,355 receiving yards and 15 touchdown catches, setting a new franchise record. Owens will be starting the game alongside Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald. The NFC backup receivers are Green Bay's Donald Driver and the Rams' Torry Holt. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said two weeks ago that he plans to pick up the $3 million roster bonus due to Owens on June 3. Owens is entering the last year of the three-year contract he signed in March of 2006.

Roy Williams - Headed to Hawaii for the fifth straight year, Williams certainly isn't coming off a banner season for the Cowboys. Not only did his production slip, but his season was marred by yet another horse-collar infraction, prompting the NFL to suspend him for one game late in the season. Williams was added to the Pro Bowl roster as a reserve in place of the Sean Taylor, an honorary selection for the late Redskins safety who was tragically killed in November. Williams was second on the team with 115 tackles but failed to record a sack or a tackle for loss.

Jason Witten - After enjoying the most decorated season by a tight end in franchise history, Witten will be starting his first Pro Bowl, although he's going for the fourth straight year. Witten finished second in NFL history in single-season catches by a tight end with 96, a career-high. He also added another personal-best with 1,145 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Witten is now one of two tight ends in club history with at least four Pro Bowl selections, trailing only Jay Novacek (five). Witten will be playing in front of Redskins tight end Chris Cooley in Sunday's game.

Flozell Adams - The Cowboys left tackle is making his fourth Pro Bowl selection in the last five years. Since suffering a torn ACL in the middle of the 2005 season, Adams has returned for two straight Pro Bowl trips. Adams is an unrestricted free agent but has hinted he wants to return to the Cowboys to possibly finish his career. The question will be how long of a contract offer the club extends to Adams, who will turn 33 in May.

Tony Romo - The Cowboys quarterback was selected for a second straight appearance, initially as a backup to Green Bay's Brett Favre, who has since opted out of the game. Romo is expected make his first Pro Bowl start following last year's exciting debut. Romo engineered a pair of game-tying scoring drives in the final minutes, although the AFC prevailed with a last-second field goal. Romo enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a quarterback in Cowboys history, setting single-season records for completions (335), passing yards (4,211) and touchdown passes (36). The other NFC quarterbacks are Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia.

DeMarcus Ware - Another repeat selection, Ware now has two Pro Bowl trips in his three-year career. Ware finished second in the NFL and first among linebackers with 14 sacks. Ware has three of the franchise's five-highest season sack totals by a linebacker, with eight as a rookie in 2005, 11 ½ in 2006 and then 14 this past season, to go along with his team-high 27 quarterback pressures. Last year, the NFC squad played mostly a 4-3 scheme and Ware played the game as an outside linebacker, but did get the opportunity to rush the quarterback in passing situations.

Andre Gurode - The Cowboys center is going back for his second Pro Bowl trip. But after being added as a last-second alternate last year, Gurode will be starting for the NFC this season. Gurode is one of four Pro Bowl centers in Cowboys history along with Mark Stepnoski (three), Ray Donaldson (two) and Dave Manders (once).

Leonard Davis - One of six first-time selections, Davis has been criticized over the years for failing to make the Pro Bowl as a former No. 2 overall pick of the Cardinals. But Davis had been playing both guard and tackle during his six years in Arizona, and in Dallas he showed that guard is likely his best position. Davis started all 16 games and has never missed a start in 107 career games. He'll get the chance to start again Sunday in Hawaii.

Greg Ellis - Finally, the veteran pass-rusher is going to the Pro Bowl. Playing defensive end in a 4-3 scheme for eight years, Ellis had never recorded more than nine sacks in a season. He had 4 ½ before suffering a torn Achilles injury in 2006. But a career-high 12 ½ sacks this past season despite missing three games not only earned Ellis the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award, but a trip to the Pro Bowl as well. Like Ware, Ellis will probably play some outside linebacker, but should get a decent amount of reps at defensive end.

Ken Hamlin - While it's hard to argue with the Davis acquisition, signing Ken Hamlin might have been the best off-season move by the Cowboys in 2007. Hamlin was the quarterback of the defense. He set career-highs in tackles with 103 and five interceptions, second-most on the team. Hamlin was initially a backup in the Pro Bowl but moved into the starting spot for Sean Taylor. Hamlin is one unrestricted free agent the Cowboys are likely targeting to re-sign. He signed a one-year deal last March with the hope he could play his way into a bigger contract. He has certainly done that, and now the Cowboys have to make sure he will remain in Dallas.

Terence Newman - Another first-time selection that is probably long overdue. Newman was hobbled some by nagging injuries to his foot and knee, but he was able to play 13 games and prove once again that he's one of the NFL's top cover corners. Newman finished the season with four interceptions and tied for the team lead with 15 pass deflections. Newman is the NFC's third cornerback behind starters Marcus Trufant of Seattle and Green Bay's Al Harris.

Marion Barber - Could be the only position player in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl without starting a regular-season game. But Barber was the primary tailback all season long and just missed a 1,000-yard season, finishing with a career-best 975 yards. He had 10 rushing touchdowns and added two more receiving scores as well. Barber is a restricted free agent and his name has been tossed around in potential trade talks, although Jones has said publicly he has no intention to trade Barber. So when he takes the field Sunday, backing up Minnesota's Adrian Peterson and Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook, don't expect it to be the final time Barber wears a Cowboys helmet.

Nick Folk - He becomes the first Cowboys kicker since 1981 to make the Pro Bowl and first rookie since Emmitt Smith in 1990. Folk finished fourth in the NFL and second in the NFC in scoring with 131 points. He also set a Cowboys scoring record for place-kickers. Folk became a household name in an October win over the Bills, when he not only had a perfect onside kick in the final seconds to give the Cowboys possession, but then nailed a 53-yard field goal that was nullified when Buffalo called a timeout just before the play. But the rookie calmly drilled another 53-yard kick again with no time remaining, giving the Cowboys an improbable 25-24 win that kept them undefeated at 5-0. Folk made 26 of 31 field goals this season and all 53 extra-point tries.