Waivers

[Topes 0]

Round 1: Horsemen

dropped Hambrick, Troy FA RB

acquired Pinkston, Todd PHI WR

 

Round 1: Springfield Isotopes

acquired Thompson, Tyson DAL RB

Topes cuts Walter Reyes RB Tennessee

 

Round 2: Horsemen

dropped McMullen, Billy PHI WR

acquired Peterson, Adrian CHI RB

 

Round 2: Springfield Isotopes

acquired Graham, Earnest TBB RB

Topes cut Jarret Payton RB Tennessee

 

Round 3: Horsemen

dropped Mangum, Kris CAR TE

acquired Crayton, Patrick DAL WR

[Topes 0]

Tyson Thompson Roolz!!!

 

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VERSUS ARIZONA

10 Carries - 64 Yards

 

VERSUS SEATTLE

3 KRs - 19.3 Yard Average

 

VERSUS HOUSTON

13 Carries - 52 Yards - 1 TD

 

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Tyson Thompson: Now here is a rookie who has already played a few games at Texas Stadium. Not that it improves chances of making the team.

 

Tyson Thompson is just trying to make it home.

 

The Irving, Texas product, who once rushed for an amazing 525 yards in a high school game for Irving High School, dreamed of one day playing for the Cowboys, the team he idolized growing up.

And after three weeks of training camp, Thompson is closer than ever. The speedy tailback might just be "uncuttable."

 

Ok, that's not even a word, but can they really cut this guy? Sure, Parcells would answer an emphatic "yes" right now. He certainly doesn't want to see any regression from Thompson.

 

This rookie does have a somewhat sketchy past that includes an arrest in 1999 for allegedly stealing weights from his high school, a charge that was later dropped. And after he failed to qualify into TCU, Thompson's collegiate road included stops at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and then San Jose State, where he played only one year before coming out after his junior season.

 

While he's only played one game so far with the Cowboys, he rushed for 64 yards on 10 carries, using nothing more than pure speed to the outside. You can bet he'll get a few more inside runs this week against the Seahawks to see if he's not a one-dimensional runner.

 

The Cowboys have some depth at tailback with Julius Jones, Anthony Thomas and Marion Barber all figuring to make the team. But if Thompson can keep progressing, and maybe show a little more on kickoff returns, the Cowboys might just have to make some room for him, too.

 

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Cowboys' backup running back role has special needs

 

Tom Orsborn

San Antonio Express-News

 

Julius Jones is the headliner among the Dallas Cowboys' running backs.

 

His understudy is anyone's guess.

 

"The main question I have to answer is, who is going in if Julius Jones can't play," coach Bill Parcells said Monday in Irving.

 

With the season opener less than two weeks away, Parcells doesn't appear to be any closer to naming a No. 2 back than he was at the end of training camp nine days ago.

 

The candidates are fifth-year player Anthony Thomas, undrafted rookie Tyson Thompson and fourth-round draft choice Marion Barber.

 

Thomas, who has rushed for 3,332 yards and 21 touchdowns in his NFL career, was favored to win the spot when camp started in late July. But Parcells said his decision has been made tougher by Thompson's emergence as something more than a practice-squad player and Barber's weeklong absence from practice after surgery to repair an infection on his left foot.

 

"I'm trying to figure it out," Parcells said. "We have some moving parts, particularly with Thompson being a surprise."

 

This much is certain: Running backs not named Jones will be heavily involved with special teams.

 

"If you are a backup running back, you've got to do something (on special teams)," Parcells said. "You can't just stand over there as an insurance policy. I've had that here the last couple of years with the running backs not being able to do anything (on special teams), and I don't like it. I want it to change. That's why I've got young backs now. For a lot of the teams we play, (young running backs) are key special-teams players. That's how we've got to be."

 

That's fine with Thompson, who has returned kicks and covered punts in the exhibition season.

 

"I want to make the roster and help the team any way I can," said Thompson, a former Irving High School standout. "If it's as a role player, then that's what I want to be. I'll play special teams, whatever."

 

Thompson's speed helped him make a splash at training camp. He solidified his standing by rushing for 64 yards on 10 carries in the exhibition opener at Arizona and contributing 52 yards and one touchdown on 13 attempts in the 21-9 victory over Houston on Saturday.

 

"It was a great experience playing in front of my family and hometown people," Thompson said.

 

Thompson might enjoy more such moments if he can continue to improve on special teams.

 

Asked if Thompson might get as many as six to 10 carries a game, Parcells said: "If it was just about running the ball, that might be the case. But unless he can do some other things in addition to those six to 10 carries, he won't go to the game. ... I thought he did a better job as a kick returner the other night, but it has to be more than that."

 

The same goes for Thomas, a former 1,000-yard rusher with Chicago who has been working on the kickoff return unit.

 

"He's got to do something else, too," Parcells said. "But I think he'll do whatever he has to do to play. That is one advantage Anthony Thomas has over some of these young kids. He knows he has to do something. He knows he is not going to be some insurance policy."

 

======================================================

 

Irving native Thompson may be part of Cowboys' deep backfield

 

JAIME ARON

 

Associated Press

 

IRVING, Texas - Julius Jones knew right away what Bill Parcells was doing. And he thought it was hilarious.

 

A year after he got the carry-the-ball-til-you-drop treatment, Jones saw Tyson Thompson going through the same initiation ritual in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans.

 

Thompson already had been the Dallas Cowboys' featured back since the quarter started, taking handoffs on five out of seven snaps over two drives. One of the other plays was a pass to him, too. He'd even already scored a touchdown, diving in from the 1.

 

Then came the undrafted rookie's version of The Drive: A kickoff return followed by eight carries in nine snaps, the last six in a row. Add in how hot it was and the bruises already on his ribs, and it's understandable why Thompson kept looking to the bench between plays to see if he was going to get a break.

 

"I didn't tap my helmet, but I was hurting," Thompson said Monday. "The offense was like, `If you're feeling that way, then maybe you should step out.' But we fought through it together. ...

 

"I talked to (Jones) about that and he said he did the same thing to him last year. He told me when I got to the sidelines it was like a deja vu thing for him. The same thing happened to him last year. It was funny."

 

By toughing it out, Thompson proved to Parcells he's mentally and physically tough enough to play in the NFL. Now he has to hope the combination can help him earn a spot on his hometown team.

 

"I want to make the roster and help the team out in any way I can," Thompson said. "If that's a role player, then that's what I want to be - special teams, whatever."

 

That's the attitude he's going to need to be part of what Parcells is calling his deepest stable of running backs in his three seasons in Dallas.

 

Jones is locked in as the starter, then there's an interesting battle for backup spots - basically because of Thompson's emergence.

 

If he makes the 53-man roster, someone who was projected to be a few weeks ago won't.

 

But will it be Anthony Thomas, who was signed to be a veteran backup to Jones? Or fourth-round draft pick Marion Barber III? Or Parcells could choose to keep them all and not have a fullback. Or he could keep all the tailbacks and a fullback, but go light on tight ends.

 

There's also the option of cutting Thompson in hopes of getting him back on the practice squad, although he may not clear waivers because of how well he's played this preseason.

 

"The whole deal is tough," Parcells said. "I don't know the answer right now. I don't want to say it's a dilemma, but it is one of the points of consideration."

 

Thomas is averaging 4.2 yards on 18 carries. And while he'd be a nice insurance policy, the veteran will need a more substantial role to take away a younger player's roster spot. Parcells said he's already penciled in to be on the kickoff return unit.

 

"I think he'll do whatever he has to do to play," Parcells said. "That is one advantage Anthony Thomas has over some of these young kids. He knows he has to do something."

 

Barber endured Parcells' rookie initiation against Seattle, carrying 17 of the final 24 plays plus getting a ball thrown to him in that span. He lost a fumble along the way, then was diagnosed with an infected foot the next day. Surgery cleared that problem, but now he's trying to recover from the incision.

 

Parcells indicated he better suit up soon. Not only does Parcells need to be able to rely on Barber being active, he said he also needs "confidence in the player that he's ready to perform in an NFL game without really having seen enough evidence that's true."

 

Thompson's last chance to build evidence in his favor comes in the preseason finale Thursday night against Jacksonville. Parcells probably will scrutinize his performance on kickoff returns and kickoff and punt coverage more than what he does out of the backfield.

 

Thompson has handled kickoffs before. It's the tackling that is new to him.

 

"But it's coming along," he said.

 

======================================================

 

Earnest Graham Roolz!!!

 

VERSUS TENNESSEE

10 Carries - 62 Yards - 1 TD

1 Catch - 5 Yards - 1 TD

 

VERSUS JACKSONVILLE

7 Carries - 20 Yards

 

VERSUS MIAMI

14 Carries - 60 Yards - 1 TD

 

======================================================

[Topes 0]

VERSUS JACKSONVILLE

14 Carries 57 Yards 2 TDs

2 Catches 14 Yards

 

Cowboys rookie Tyson Thompson has coach Parcells gushing with praise

 

Jaime Aron

Canadian Press

 

Friday, September 02, 2005

 

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Bill Parcells is tough to impress. That's what makes his gushing over Tyson Thompson almost as spectacular as the undrafted rookie's performance this summer.

 

Thompson capped his bid to make the Dallas Cowboys by running for 57 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning points in a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the pre-season finale Thursday night. The hometown kid was returning to the bench when Parcells called him over, tapped him on the head and told him he'll be suiting up next weekend for the opener in San Diego.

 

"I was just overwhelmed," Thompson said. "I felt like I was floating a little bit."

 

Thompson will become the first player raised in Irving to make the club. The team brought him in for a visit on its "Dallas day" scouting event and he wound up distinguishing himself despite a crop of runners that also featured starter Julius Jones, veteran acquisition Anthony Thomas and fourth-round pick Marion Barber III, whose roster spot may now be in jeopardy.

 

"He's a threat, so we're going to take him," Parcells said. "Quite a story. I'm proud of him."

 

The Cowboys (3-1) jumped ahead 10-0 with Drew Bledsoe, Jones and the rest of the first-string offense having their way with Jacksonville's second-team defence.

 

The Jaguars (2-2) got a 14-yard touchdown pass from Byron Leftwich to Reggie Williams - only the second TD in four preseason games by their starters - then things got tight once the game became a battle of backups.

 

Jacksonville went ahead 17-13, then Thompson scored from the 1 to put Dallas back in front late in the third quarter. After the Jags tied it at 20 on a field goal, Thompson gained 43 of 61 yards on the winning drive. He had runs of three3 and 20 yards and 15-yard reception, followed by a five-yard touchdown in which he kept churning his legs after running into a pile of blockers.

[Topes 0]

Thompson is awesome.

[Topes 0]

NFL.com voters select Tyson Thompson as Week 5 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week

 

First week running... Looking for an encore...

[DrJ 0]

NFL.com voters select Tyson Thompson as Week 5 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week

 

First week running... Looking for an encore...

Hey, ya never know. Not too many rookies did anything this week.

[Topes 0]

Well, at least I won.

 

Ty's masterful rebuilding job is not looking so masterful anymore. Time will tell.