1, T.O.'S NUTTINESS
Terrell Owens' first year with the Cowboys was eventful, to say the least. Whether he gets a second year is up for debate. He is due a $3 million roster bonus in June and has a salary-cap figure of around $9 million.
Owens' regular-season numbers: 85 catches, 1,180 yards, 13 touchdowns – suggest he was a success, but he also led the league with 17 drops and created headaches. A hamstring injury in training camp, a broken hand, a missed treatment session, falling asleep in meetings, cursing coaches, demanding the ball and alleging he was "kind of faking it" when he wasn't getting the ball added up to a season-long drama.
Bill Parcells and his teammates largely ignored the antics, but there was a weariness that arose out of all things T.O. that make him vulnerable for an '07 return.
2, SAFETY ISSUES
Since Darren Woodson suffered an off-season back injury in 2004, the Cowboys have not been able to find a reliable running mate for Roy Williams. Lynn Scott, Tony Dixon, Willie Pile, Keith Davis and Patrick Watkins all started games without much success.
Williams' coverage skills continued to be dissected by opposing teams, but the Cowboys knew he was not a cover safety when they handed him an $11.1 million signing bonus in August. Yet his five interceptions led the team and were the most by a safety in the league.
3, GREG ELLIS' INJURY
Who knew Greg Ellis was so valuable to the defense? When he tore his Achilles' tendon vs. Arizona, the dynamic of the defense changed. No longer were teams worried about the Cowboys' pass rush, which affected the secondary in a bad way. Ellis smoothly made the transition to outside linebacker, but now he wonders if he will be able to come back fully from the injury.
4, MIKE VANDERJAGT
After losing at least three games because of the kicking game in 2005, the Cowboys wanted to make sure that didn't happen again in 2006 by signing Mike Vanderjagt, the NFL's most accurate kicker in history, to a three-year deal that included a $2.5 million signing bonus.
But Vanderjagt was inconsistent from the first day of training camp and never gained Bill Parcells' trust, leading to his release. Owner Jerry Jones said the team will not make that kind of financial commitment to a kicker again.
5, HOME-FIELD DISADVANTAGE
Texas Stadium was not a haven for the Cowboys this season. They finished 4-4 at home and still made the playoffs, thanks to a 5-3 record away from Texas Stadium.
They thought they entered December with an advantage of playing three of their final four games at home, but lost them all, to New Orleans, Philadelphia and Detroit, by an average of 16.3 points.
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
