http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1187 Recent articles about Akin Ayodele en-us According to ESPN's Scouts, Inc., the Cowboys have the strongest linebacking corps in the NFL.  It would be hard to argue with that assessment with people like DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and Zach Thomas in the ranks.  Consider the year Bradie James and Akin Ayodele had last year, the Cowboys certainly do have wealth at the position. Ayodele left during the offseason due to one of the many trades with Miami, but with other potential starters available such as Anthony Spencer, Bobby Carpenter and Kevin Burnett, he will hardly be missed.  What do you think, fans, do we have the best LB's in the league?  The Chargers came in second on this deal with the two Shawns, Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips, but other than these two, they aren't nearly as deep as Dallas at the position.  Not many teams are for that matter, except maybe last year's Patriots, but they're getting a little long-in-the-tooth, especially Bruschi and Vrable, which is why they drafted three very good college LB's.  I'm also willing to bet that the secondary will get high rankings, possibly the highest, this year.  Combine that with a veteran defensive line and you have all the makings for a great defensive team.  Isn't it said that defense is what wins championships,  just ask the Giants or Bears.  The Cowboys should, and I emphasise the word SHOULD, have one of the best defenses in the league this year, which could take them farther than they've been in the last decade or so. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:08:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291760 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291760 The Dallas Cowboys may be revving up for another stab at a Super Bowl, at least in the eyes of their fans, but they may need to get better safeties.  If Miami Dolphins officials can say that the Dolphins have better safeties than the Cowboys, well, I guess the safeties in Dallas suck. While the "officials" [...] Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:35:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281274 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281274 It has been reported that the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys have made a trade. Miami has sent their 4th round pick (#100 overall), to Dallas for LB Akin Ayodele and TE Anthony Fasano. When I first heard this, I was perplexed and didn't believe the report. It seems like the Cowboys were giving them away for practically nothing. From the Dolphins perspective, it's a great trade. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:50:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/259416 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/259416 Are the Cowboys having a fire sale? LB Akin Ayodele and TE Anthony Fasano have been virtually gift wrapped for Miami for a 4th round pick. Read the analysis here. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:35:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/259046 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/259046 The Dallas Cowboys traded linebacker Akin Ayodele and tight end Anthony Fasano to the Miami Dolphins for a fourth-round draft pick, a person familiar with the deal said Friday. The person didn't want to be identified because the Dolphins and Cowboys hadn't confirmed the trade. The Dolphins have repeatedly tapped the Dallas pipeline since the arrival of former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells in December to run Miami's football operations. The draft pick is No. 100 overall Saturday. The Dolphins have eight other picks and will use the No. 1 overall choice to take tackle Jake Long, who has already signed a five-year contract worth $57.75 million, $30 million of it guaranteed. Ayodele has been a starter for the past five seasons and made 55 tackles last year. His spot with the Cowboys may be filled by Zach Thomas, acquired after the Dolphins released him in February. Fasano, a second-round pick in 2006, has made 14 receptions in each of his first two NFL seasons and is expected to contend for a starting job with the Dolphins. Miami will still be looking to upgrade in the draft at quarterback, cornerback, defensive end, guard and receiver. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:32:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/258988 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/258988 Word floating around those close to the Owner and General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones and Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys Wade Phillips is that Marion will be gone by the draft. A lot of people in Valey Ranch are talking about the Pro Bowl running back and the conversations are not good. According to Wade Phillips it was Jerry Jones and Jason Garret that wanted Marion to start in the playoff game against the Giants to see if he was a workhorse or just a Very Good change of pace back. Phillips says if he had it his way Marion would have stayed the number two back where he excels. So if the head coach is telling the truth and the playoff game was a test then Marion has failed. Sources close to Jerry and his son have said that the fans would be in an uproar if they traded Barber so they had to seek another way to get rid of him at a hefty price. Dallas is going to tender Barber before Thursday night but interestingly enough it will not be the highest tender but rather the 1st round tender. This means if Barber signs with another team the Dallas Cowboys will receive a first round pick in return. It is said that Jerry's son and not Jerry himself who wants Darren McFadden the most. Will Dallas let Barber go? Will he use three first round picks to pick McFadden up? Sources in Atlanta tell us that Aurthur Blank has been speaking a lot to Jerry as of late trying to construct a deal that would give Dallas a draft pick and Deangelo Hall. It is unknown at this time what pick Dallas would receive but it is easy to put one and one together since Atlanta holds the number three overall pick. Atlanta is expected to receive three first round picks and a player. The player is speculated to be LB Akin Ayodele. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:20:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/170491 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/170491 The Dallas Cowboys logjam at linebacker just got even sticker. The team recently signed LB Zach Thomas of the Miami Dolphins to a 1-year $3 million deal and at the time it was believed that Thomas was told he would not be guaranteed a starting job. All of that might be changing already. Thomas' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Thomas will be the starter Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:01:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/164535 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/164535 Good in depth look at what went wrong for the Cowboys yesterday. Looks at QB, Running backs, Linebackers, D-line, TE's, wR'S, special team and the like. "Not that I keep up with this type of stuff, but I'm pretty sure I could break a word count record on Uwe Blog today. The Dallas Cowboys lost 21-17 today against the New York Giants. There were so many fuck-ups and dumb moves and decisions to stun a mastadon." Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:07:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/71879 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/71879