SAN ANTONIO --Terence Newman waited until Sunday for his first training camp interview, hoping the speculation about free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and his own future in Dallas would subside by then.
"Obviously it didn't," he said, noticing 30 reporters around him. "Backfire."
Asomugha has since signed with division rival Philadelphia, but the Cowboys' failed pursuit of the top free agent leaves questions about the current group: Newman, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Team officials have publicly expressed confidence in all three, but clearly Asomugha was viewed internally as a potential upgrade.
Newman, the longest-tenured Cowboys defensive player, understands all the chatter. The team, the defense and Newman's group – the secondary – struggled last year. Of course change would be considered.
"We did not play good at all," he said. "We didn't do things well technically, we didn't execute well. You talk about the secondary, but I think the secondary is also part of what happened in front of us. As a defense we didn't play up to our standards. I think it was a team effort.
"All I can do is control what I can control. If they brought somebody else in, so be it. When I was a little kid, I always wanted to play in the NFL. It didn't matter what team I got to. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to work and I'm going to stay here. That's just the way I take it day by day."
Jenkins on Saturday echoed Newman's comments, saying "It's a business . . .We're all grown men."
