Before their abbreviated hibernation prior to training camp, the Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog caught up with owner Jerry Jones and unearthed this nugget:

A few weeks ago you said you would be open to getting a backup QB. You still trying to do that? "All the confidence. A lot of confidence in Brad. Had real good camps and real good work."

That's Brad Johnson. All 39 years of him. Blogging the Boys asks if "is anybody else as confident about Brad Johnson as Jerry is?" and the answer, obviously, is hell to da naw.

The Cowboys have two things in their favor, however: first, Tony Romo is resilient (bangs on wood). He's started 26 consecutive games since taking over for Drew Bledsoe midway through the 2006 season. In that time he's been sacked 45 times (or just two times fewer than Ben Roethlisberger ... in 2007), and had to play with various nicks and bruises.

Second, yes, Johnson's a fossil, but that's just a pejorative; the half-glass-full set would call him experienced. Sure, he had a rough go of it in Minnesota in '06, but that had just as much to do with those around him as his inability to complete a pass of more than seven yards.

The Cowboys feature a few more offensive weapons than that Vikings team, so there's that. Still, if Dallas is without Romo for any extended period, their odds of losing in the postseason get substantially longer. That said, given the names currently floating around free agency, I'm not sure the Cowboys could do much better than Johnson.

More proof that the Cowboys are among the favorites heading into 2008, even though '07 ended on such a downer: BetUs.com has America's Team! at 16-1 odds to go undefeated during the regular season. In case you're wondering, the Patriots are 15-1 odds to run the table without Matthew Estrella (those odds fall to 1-1 if New England figures out a way to beat the system, however).

DMN's Cowboys Blog runs down some of the regular-season contests that could trip up the team's march to perfection. They've identified the season opener at Cleveland, the Week 3 Sunday nighter in Green Bay, the Week 5 showdown against the Bengals (in Dallas), the Nov. 2 game in New York, the Week 14 get-together in Pittsburgh, and the season finale at Philly.

The thing is, a seemingly daunting schedule in July could turn into a cakewalk by late October. That said, I don't think the Cowboys will have any problem with the Browns or the Packers (unless Favre returns, of course). And the Bengals franchise could be dissolved by Week 2.

The Giants, Steelers and Eagles are all quite capable of winning (especially since they're home games), but it's curious that DMN's Calvin Watkins thinks so much of the other NFC East team, the Redskins, to not include them here, even though they annually give Dallas fits. Dr. Do Itch Big is not impressed.

By the way, the Cowboys' odds of finally winning a playoff game? That's off the board.

When commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally reinstated Adam Dig Dug Jones last month, it was the first step of many for the former Titans first-round pick, who's trying to make it in the NFL after serving a one-year suspension for various off-field incidents.

Jones successfully navigated his way through OTAs, and even got some first-team reps at cornerback, but the most difficult part of the NFL calendar could be the three weeks of down time between the end of mandatory offseason workouts and the start of training camp later this month. So far, so good.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Clarence Hill writes that while Terrell Owens and Tank Johnson are taking advantage of the short vacation, Jones is doing his best to avoid the social scene. "[Jones] has remained in Dallas. He was spotted in the equipment room Tuesday and exchanged pleasantries with a reporter on his way to the locker room."

Owner Jerry Jones ... acknowledges there are no guarantees. But he said he likes what he has seen from Adam Jones so far.

"Yes," Jerry Jones said emphatically when asked if Adam Jones has done everything right up to this point. "He is very committed. He is very committed physically and mentally. He is smart. He recognizes his challenge and he is really doing well."

For all the talk that Adam Jones didn't deserve another chance because he'd just screw it up, he sure seems to be embracing the whole "hard-working, law-abiding citizen" role. If he's truly changed, that's great news for the Cowboys, their fans, and, well, everybody but Willie Andrews, who probably played his last NFL game in February.

High School: Huge Hit and Tough Catch - Watch more free videos

Like kickboxing, pro-athlete-blogging is the sport of the future. Cowboys linebacker Kevin Burnett recently started a blog and he's covered all sorts of interesting topics, from the nuances of the Cover-2 to explaining why Roy Williams isn't as bad as he looks.

Yesterday, he wondered if high school athletes should be allowed to enter the NFL draft, what with kids "getting bigger, stronger, and faster and constantly raising the bar of performance."

Do you think the high school football players should have to wait three years before entering into the NFL draft? Yes I do believe that high school kids are not ready for the NFL although I do think some freshmen would have been better off leaving.

That's not a completely insane argument, although, unfortunately, Burnett ends up straddling the fence on the issue.

Personally there are very few teenage bodies that can handle the NFL. On top of the physical try someone like Bill for your first coach. To me that would just be too much to handle for most but I do believe it can be done. With that being said I am not for or against the rule I just believe the option should be there.

My two cents: I'd say the gentleman in the video above is probably ready for the NFL draft. And the fellow in the after-the-jump footage, well, he's not even close, although I'd love to see him in a preseason game.

(By the way, I applaud Burnett for making his blog HATER PROOF. FanHouse could definitely use some of that.)

Joe Horn's cell phone won't ring, which is weird given that's sorta his shtick (although, to be fair, I don't really think he was making a call during that touchdown celebration). Recent speculation had the Cowboys interested in trading for the current Falcons wideout, but Jerry Jones shot down those rumors, and Horn pretty much agreed to as much during an interview with ESPN radio.

He also made a plea for the Cowboys -- anybody, really -- to save him from the NFL Siberia that has become the Atlanta Falcons, while also admitting that he understands why it might not happen.

"To come there and be on the other side of T.O. would be fabulous, but right now, that hasn't happened. No conversations have been made and all that is speculation."

Horn was realistic and said "asking for a draft pick for a 36-year-old at my salary is kind of hard." But Horn also knows the Falcons want to go with younger players. He said he'd rather go somewhere else because Horn believes he can still start in the NFL.

I mentioned it last week, but the Cowboys don't have much need for Horn. He may still be a fine No. 2 receiver, but so too are Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, and, hell, Jason Witten. I certainly understand why Horn might want to play somewhere other than Atlanta; I just don't see the Cowboys being the team to help him out of that predicament.

I just figured ESPN.com's Mike Sando got a few head coaches on the horn, asked them some questions about why Rodney Harrison is such a dirty player, and then wrote up a nifty column about the findings. Turns out, the entire Hashmarks crew got in on the action, which is why I'm happy to announce that soulja boy aficionado Zach Thomas has been named the NFL's brainiest player! Unfortunately, there won't be any trips to the Playboy Mansion for the winner; instead, Thomas will be rocking a set of new encyclopedias. Nerd.

The smartest defensive player in the NFL is ... linebacker Zach Thomas, according to ESPN.com's survey of head coaches. ... With votes from six head coaches, Thomas beat out Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis for the top spot. Lewis was the second-leading vote-getter with four nominations. ...

In addition to Thomas and Lewis, five defenders earned multiple nominations. That list included Ravens safety Ed Reed (three votes), Denver Broncos safety John Lynch (three), St. Louis Rams safety Corey Chavous (two) and two recently retired defensive linemen in Michael Strahan (two) and Warren Sapp (two).

I can't argue with the findings -- Thomas, a fifth-round pick, was considered too small to handle the rigors of the position in the NFL. I'd say he's done a little more than that.

I don't think anybody would argue that personal seat licenses (PSLs) are a racket perpetrated by NFL organizations to make some money.

A team announces plans to build a stadium, the region is excited by the prospect of a shiny, new venue and "a boost to the local economy", and then, after everyone's on board, the sordid details emerge: to complete the project, public financing will be slightly more than expected, and, oh, yeah, there will be PSLs for every seat in the house to help offset the costs. High-fives for everyone.

In today's Dallas Morning News, Rich Gosselin writes about two storied franchises building new stadiums, and the different approaches they're taking to gouging their fans.

The Giants will move into their new digs in 2010, and every one of the 82,500 seats will be tied to PSLs. These PSLs will range from $1,000 to $20,000. The Cowboys plan to relocate to their state-of-the-art space station next year, and to finance the Jerry Jones Mothership, PSLs will range from $2,000-$150,000. But it gets better:

Mention Bill Parcells' name and you'll get any number of responses, from reverence to disgust, depending on the audience. The Dolphins, his latest reclamation project, are undoubtedly glad to have Parcells; Patriots owner Bob Kraft probably wasn't all that jazzed at how Parcells abruptly ended things in New England.

And when Jerry Jones hired Parcells in 2003, the fans were no doubt ecstatic at the thought of the Cowboys again being relevant. The team made the playoffs in that first season, but, ultimately, never got close to the success (or a postseason victory), that many people envisioned.

Now, two years after Parcells "retired," DallasCowboys.com's Nick Eatman writes that much of the team's recent success is attributable to some very savvy personnel moves made early in Parcells' tenure. And it all started inauspiciously enough.

As fellow FanHouse-r Ryan Wilson told you earlier, the Dallas Cowboys and receiver Terry Glenn are reportedly back talking again and trying to mend some fences. Glenn and the team have been at odds for most of the offseason.

Glenn is now saying all the right things, including wanting to stay a Cowboy:

"I want [Cowboys owner] Jerry [Jones] to understand that I know he has the ultimate power in everything that goes on with the Cowboys, and I'm not trying to challenge him in any way, shape or form," Glenn told Werder earlier this month. "He can -- and will -- determine the outcome of this because it's ultimately his decision. But what I want is to remain a Cowboy. I've been here for five years and I've made Dallas my home, and I would love nothing more than to be a Dallas Cowboy."

Being humble to the owner is always a great start and stroking Jones ego is always advisable. This is a long way since the two sides were bickering about an alleged injury settlement. Even Jones thinks the notion that Glenn is challenging him is wrong.

"It isn't my will against Terry's," Jones said. "That's ridiculous."

So we could have this thing wrapped up in the next month, just in time for training camp, eh?

Yesterday, the word on the street was that the Cowboys might be interested Falcons' wideout Joe Horn. One of the story lines this offseason has been about Dallas finding a legit No. 2 receiver opposite Terrell Owens (might I suggest this guy), although I'm not sure how Horn, all 36 years of him, would upgrade the position.

Jerry Jones agrees, evidently; talking to ESPN, the Cowboys owner offered this: "Yeah, that's not correct ... I haven't expressed any interest there and haven't evaluated him. That's just not correct." Doesn't leave much room for confusion.

And now, Terry Glenn, the No. 2 receiver already on the Cowboys roster who has been at odds with the organization over money, is looking to mend some fences.

Wide receiver Terry Glenn is speaking with Dallas Cowboys officials again in the hopes of returning. ... "Terry is someone I have a lot of interest in," Jones said Friday night. "We worked well together last year. We will sit down here and look at how he fits and what we can do with him as a player this year."

The backstory: Glenn refused to sign an injury wavier that would pay him $500,000 should he re-injure his knee, and the Cowboys wouldn't let him practice without the waiver. The threat of Joe Horn has changed all that, apparently. Or maybe common sense prevailed. Either way, Dallas is closer to getting that veteran wideout to play with T.O. And this one has cat-like quickness, which is a nice little bonus.