COWBOYS NOTES
Jones concerned with offensive line
By MAC ENGEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
STAR-TELEGRAM/RALPH LAUER
Terrell Owens wore a Discovery Channel cycling jersey and bike helmet as he watched practice Thursday.
OXNARD, Calif. -- The offensive line is what Jerry Jones calls a "challenge."
The Cowboys owner/general manager is excited about the prospects of seeing backup quarterback Tony Romo start, which is all but a certainty when the Cowboys start their preseason Saturday night in Seattle.
Jones isn't worried about Terrell Owens, or the circus that follows him.
But he is concerned about his O-line.
"That is our biggest challenge," Jones said. "[Flozell Adams] has got to improve, and will, coming off his knee surgery.
"I look across there [and] we have a lot of ifs there, got a lot of promises there. But that doesn't surprise me because we haven't competed that much against a situation to really evaluate it. But we haven't found out a lot at right tackle, either. That's the challenge."
Jones sounds cautiously optimistic that the Cowboys may have a quarterback of the future on their team. And they have one despite not going to the top of the draft and making the financial risk of acquiring a quarterback.
Whether that quarterback of the future is Romo or Drew Henson, he's not sure. But at least there is the chance.
"I can't help, at any position, to like to see a young player," Jones said. "It's something about knowing it's not just this game, but there is a lot in the future there.
"But I don't want my enthusiasm for the future to really, in any way, color the fact that with my expectations for this year it's going to be hard to get there with a rookie quarterback. In my mind, having never taken a snap in the NFL, that's a rookie quarterback."
Jones also said the team continues to discuss a contract extension with linebacker Bradie James. James' agent, Jimmy Sexton, has been at Cowboys camp the past few days.
But a Cowboys source said no deal is imminent and might not happen at all.
Spears close
Defensive tackle Marcus Spears, who has been out since the second day of camp with a cartilage tear in his knee, said he's close to returning. And unlike last season, when he missed a great deal of training camp as a rookie because of a sprained knee, this time is different.
"Physically, I'm there. I know the playbook now," Spears said. "Last year, I got so far behind; I didn't know what defense we were in."
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he expects fellow second-year lineman Jay Ratliff to push Spears for the job. Spears welcomes the challenge.
"It's all competition. At the end of the day you are teammates, but everybody wants to play, and I respect a guy that comes in and plays well," Spears said. "Nothing bad to say; Jay is playing great. When I come back I'll put my résumé on the table, and we'll see what happens."
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