The Cowboys have had a ton of amazing personalities on their teams throughout the years. If you could write two books, one about a current player and one about a former player, who would you pick? — DAN TYLER / EDEN PRAIRIE, MN
David: It's a heck of a question and a stressful one to answer, because there are so many good choices. It's hard for me to think of a more interesting personality in Cowboys history than Michael Irvin – his rise to stardom, his importance to those 1990s teams and all of the off-field drama that came with it. And even now, two decades after his playing career, he's one of the most visible and fun personalities in NFL media. As far as a current player, I'd have to go with Dak Prescott. I guess that's a cliché answer, but you can't deny the guy has an incredible story. If he takes the Cowboys back to the mountaintop after starting his career as an overlooked, fourth-round draft pick, it'll be a story worth reading a book about.
Nick: Hey, maybe that's an idea for a new book. But this franchise and its mystique was built off personalities from guys like Don Meredith to Hollywood Henderson and Michael Irvin. But sometimes it seems like people only care about these traits if the player is great on the field. No one mentions the great leaders or locker room guys if they weren't Pro Bowlers. And that's the way it probably should be. But great personalities are great personalities. So to me, I wouldn't want to overlook guys like Kenny "The Shark" Gant, Dale Hellestrae or one of my all-time favorite guys, James Whalen. And recently, guys like Brice Butler, Joe Looney and Jourdan Lewis have some fun personalities, too. Some of them are great players and some of them have a different role.
Every team has the challenge of balancing their roster with respect to each position. Every team also has a position in which they go heavy at or choose to carry an extra guy. Position health, depth and position flexibility seems to have influence with this. What position do you think the Cowboys should carry that extra guy and why? — ERIC MONTGOMERY / CLEMMONS, NC
David: It's got to be the offensive line for me, and the reasoning is obvious. Injuries decimated the unit last year, and that was a big part of the team's struggles. I am optimistic about Tyron Smith and La'el Collins bouncing back this season, but I can't 100% count on it. I think the Cowboys need four tackles on the 53-man roster, along with all the usual interior guys. If I were them, I'd keep at least 10 – maybe even 11, depending on how the young guys play during the preseason.
Nick: Another good question. For me, it has to be on either side of the line - and for different reasons. For the offensive line, it's because you can't overlook the fact that Tyron, La'el and Zack all missed a lot of games last year and then center is still up in the air. So you need not only bodies, but experienced ones. And on the D-line, I need as many guys as possible just to see if some of them are going to pan out. Maybe this is the year Armstrong breaks out or Bradlee Anae. There are a lot of options at tackle, too. I don't think the answers will be figured out by the end of camp and the preseason so I'd keep some extra guys on both lines.
