Getting the Hurd mentality in Dallas

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, September 21, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Finally, the reign of Terrell Owens, an era filled with controversy and wacky antics, is over in Dallas Cowboys land and sanity will be restored with the insertion of Sam Hurd into the starting lineup.

Two weeks ago, when final 53-man rosters were announced, head coach Bill Parcells found himself doing something he'd never done as an NFL coach: keeping six wide receivers. Hurd was the sixth and now that T.O. is out, the undrafted free agent has been penciled into the top spot at split end. Earlier this week, the Tuna figured he'd be giving Hurd the work rather than shifting Terry Glenn because the coach is "not going to screw up two positions."

But who in Sam Hill is Sam Hurd?

After reportedly being courted by the Jacksonville Jaguars as early as the fifth round in the 2006 draft, the former Northern Illinois Huskie made it through seven rounds without being chosen, and opted to try out with Dallas immediately afterward.

At Northern Illinois, Hurd ran up 2,322 total receiving yards in four years, peaking with 1,074 and 13 touchdowns in his senior year of 2005. His performance got him a nod on the All-Mid American Conference team and got an All-America honorable mention.

Hurd became something of the feel-good story of Cowboy camp, quietly working hard and, most impressively, adapting to any situation the Dallas brain trust pigeonholed him into. When finally named to the squad just two weeks ago, Parcells mentioned that "He came in here and learned three different positions without a problem."

So Hurd was good enough to convince the Tuna to keep a half-dozen WRs. No matter: He was still listed as inactive for Week 2. Depending on the time required for T.O. to recover, Parcells has no choice but to assume Hurd's playing when the Lone Stars take the field next.

Owens has been noted as a quick healer and, thanks to the miraculous healing powers of his oxygen chamber - a $10,000 high-tech device (or "bag" as Tony Kornheiser would have it) exposed by the hard-hitting investigative team at ESPN's "Monday Night Football" - may well return in time for the Cowboys matchup against the Tennessee Titans.

However, going out on a limb here, a piece of advice for the Tuna (surely he must be reading RealFootball365 daily): Let Hurd play against Tennessee. It's a win without Owens, anyway, and Glenn (Everybody remember him?) is on pace for 1,000 yards this season. Besides, Coach, isn't it about time to end all the controversy and egotism surrounding this team since the arrival of "the player"?

Let the S.H. Era begin!

Keep up with S.H., T.O., and those other Dallas Cowboys not known by their initials at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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