By MICKEY SPAGNOLA

IRVING, Texas – Maybe Jay Ratliff just doesn’t have a short memory, certainly not as short as others these days seem to have when it comes to idle contract chatter.

There has been a case made by several that the Cowboys’ two-time Pro Bowl nose tackle is being grossly underpaid, and that he certainly should have his hand out for a restructured contract since he is now considered one of the best nose tackles in the NFL and one of the top 100 players in the league. And the case is supported by pointing out Ratliff’s base salary for 2010 is “just” $2.015 million.

Here is what’s failing to be mentioned: When Ratliff signed his five-year, $20.5 million extension on Dec. 14, 2007, the deal included an $8 million signing bonus, meaning nearly half of the extension was guaranteed. That’s got to be worth something. Here is the other part, and to me, the key part:

The former 2005 seventh-round pick would have become only a restricted free agent in 2008, meaning the Cowboys could have played the CBA game and tendered him a one-year deal for like $1 million at the time. Had they done so, and Ratliff drew no offer sheets, that’s all he would have made in 2008, and he would not have become an unrestricted free agent until 2009.

Now you say the Cowboys got a great deal since Ratliff was voted to his first Pro Bowl in 2008, and you would be correct, especially since he went to his second this past season. But here is the other side of that pancake: While Ratliff could have held out for a better deal, he would not have gotten that signing bonus until March of 2009.

So you must ask, how much is it worth to your for $8 million to sit in the bank – or have it at your disposal – 15 months sooner than the salary rules dictated? And with the high-rate of injury in the NFL, do you want to gamble as much as $8 million when you were only a seventh-round pick by playing out your contract or on a one-year deal?

Ratliff thinks not.

“I did what I thought was best for me at the time, and I don’t regret it,” Ratliff recently said in an interview with Pro Football Weekly. “That’s what it is. I am happy now where I am at. Everything will work out just fine. I am not worried (about my contract) going forward.

“My goal is to stay focused, not get distracted by all that (contract talk) and try to be a better player.”

One of the true good guys – smart, too – in the league.

Just The Facts

So there are some still suggesting the Cowboys should simply cut wide receiver Roy Williams if Dez Bryant demonstrates in training camp he is worthy of starting. In fact, one site wrote Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “needs to eat a Texas-sized slice of humble pie” and cut Williams if Bryant earns a starting job.

Here is the part that was left out – again: It’s not the humble pie Jones minds eating, it’s the $9 million guarantee Williams has in his 2010 contract Jones finds hard to swallow. Wouldn’t you? For you and me, be like paying cash for a $25,000 vehicle, then finding one you like better in a year, paying $20,000 for it and just abandoning the other car on the side of the road.

Do what?

Short Shots

Supposedly Rams safety O.J. Atogwe was the steal of free agency once he was released by the Rams in June, and most everyone suggested the Cowboys should sign him. But do you find it curious he remained on the open market for several weeks and no team even nibbled? And on top of that, it’s being reported his five-year, $34 million deal isn’t what it appears to be. The Rams are to pay Atogwe $4.1 million in 2010 but included an $8 million poison pill (roster bonus) to be paid in March of 2011. Ha, you think he’s getting that in a salary cap year with the team in the midst of a sale? Not . . . . The Jets sure did the Cowboys a favor by signing second-round pick Vladimir Ducasse to a four-year, $3.25 million deal. Ducasse was the 61st player taken. Cowboys second-round pick Sean Lee was the 55th, which at least gives each side a ballpark figure to work off once they start discussing contracts in two weeks . . . Also helping the Cowboys, who don’t figure to start working on contracts until the week leading up to their July 23 training camp reporting date, is St. Louis signing eight of their 11 picks, excluding, though, top pick Sam Bradford and the first pick in the second round, OL Rodger Safford . . . . And you ask why do the Cowboys wait so long to sign draft choices? Not to be heartless here, but if this was a salary-cap year, the Giants would have been hit for the entire signing bonus in 2010 had rookie Chad Jones, who signed only days earlier than his car accident, suffered career-ending injuries . . . or worse . . . . Training camp can’t be far away if the Cowboys are placing single-game tickets on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. Must be a few seats available, though, if they are only putting an eight-ticket, per-person limit on each game. Better beat the secondary-market dudes if you’re interested . . . . BTW, 16 days and counting until San Antonio.

(Mickey Spagnola will be writing his thoughts on the Cowboys at least once a week (Wednesday) during the off-season for KTBB.com.)

By MICKEY SPAGNOLA

IRVING, Texas – There was a time the Dallas Cowboys were hard-pressed to get a player ranked among the top 50 in the NFL, and really it didn’t matter who was doing the rankings. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago in the first decade of this century the Cowboys had no more than two players ranked in the top 100, if that.

Well, not sure if you saw this or not, but Foxsports.com came out with their top 100 players in the NFL heading into the 2010 season, and that list included six Cowboys: DeMarcus Ware No. 9, Tony Romo No. 24, Jay Ratliff No. 39, Miles Austin No. 75, Anthony Spencer No. 88 and Jason Witten No. 93.

Not bad, although I think the rankings totally missed how good and valuable to the team Witten is. He’s not just a pass-catching tight end. He can block, too. He doesn’t mind getting his nose dirty or jaw broken . . . or continuing to play without his helmet on. Should be ranked ahead of Austin and Spencer for my money, and a top 50 player making his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Flo-ing East

This was predictable, that Cowboys former starting left tackle Flozell Adams would have to wait for the injury bug to strike before a job opened up for the 35-year-old who has played 12 years in the NFL.

So there Adams was on Tuesday, in Pittsburgh for a visit and physical with the Steelers after their starting right tackle Willie Colon went down for the season, scheduled for surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn Achilles. On top of that, the Steelers’ fifth-round draft choice Chris Scott of Tennessee has suffered a broken bone in his foot and is expected to be out at least three months.

So the Steelers have a need, and they came calling on Adams, released by the Cowboys to make way for the younger Doug Free (26) to move into the starting lineup at left tackle. But the Steelers aren’t the only team interested in Flo’s services. Put Denver and Washington on that list, too.

Let’s Go Camping

Training camp is growing closer and closer as the calendar turns to July on Thursday, meaning the Cowboys players will be reporting in 23 days, with the first practice in San Antonio at the Alamodome scheduled for 2:15 p.m., Saturday, July 24. And since the Cowboys will spend the first two weeks of training camp working indoors and the final two weeks in gentle climate of Oxnard, Calif. (Aug. 14-17), they have 12 two-a-day sessions scheduled.

There will be seven of those doubles in San Antonio, the first scheduled for Sunday, July 25. So that opening weekend in San Antonio is scheduled for three practices and the training camp kickoff party on Friday, July 23, with doors opening at 6 and the party starting at 7, which includes the Cowboys players, coaches and Cowboys Cheerleaders making appearances, along with a musical act. And if you happen to be looking for a weekend with a whole lot of practices, that second weekend in San Antonio is your best bet, with two-a-days scheduled for Saturday, July 31, and Sunday, Aug. 1.

And after the Cowboys depart San Antonio Aug. 6 for Dallas, then fly to Canton, Ohio, for the Aug. 8 Pro Football Hall of Fame preseason game against Cincinnati and return to Dallas for a couple of light workouts before playing Oakland at Cowboys Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 12, they won’t waste any time getting busy in Oxnard that first weekend there. Why they have two-a-days scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 14 and Sunday, Aug. 15. In fact, that will be the only weekend of practices in Oxnard since the Cowboys, after a brief walk-through practice, leave for San Diego on Friday, Aug. 20, and then leave for good on Friday, Aug. 27, this time heading to Houston for the preseason game on Aug. 28.

In all, the Cowboys have scheduled 26 practices for San Antonio and Oxnard’s River Ridge Sports Complex.

Almost time to hit the road.

(Mickey Spagnola will be writing his thoughts on the Cowboys at least once a week (Wednesday) during the off-season for KTBB.com.)

By MICKEY SPAGNOLA

IRVING, Texas – To me, that the Cowboys released kicker Connor Hughes, along with four others on Tuesday to trim their roster to 81, does not mean David Buehler automatically becomes the team’s place kicker in 2010.

The move just means he’s still the favorite. Nothing has really changed. Even with Hughes here, Buehler was the prohibitive favorite during the OTA practice sessions and minicamps. In fact, Hughes spent much of the off-season nursing a leg injury and never really was healthy enough to mount a challenge. By time he did get healthy, the Cowboys likely just sent him out there to attempt a few kicks just to show he was healthy enough to be waived.

So Buehler, really, is in the same boat he’s been in: Basically the front-runner, and while there is no serious challenger on the roster, he’s competing against any and every free-agent kicker still out there. Meaning he must kick well enough during training camp and the five preseason games to convince the Cowboys not to bring in another place kicker looking for work. This is one of the most overlooked competitions on the team since Buehler has yet to attempt a field goal in an NFL game.

Now then, so far so good, though, Buehler, under the guidance of former Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol, refining his techniques and showing he does have the physical ability to handle the job. The mental test comes during preseason games when it would behoove the Cowboys to fall short of scoring touchdowns just to give Buehler some game work.

As for alternatives just in case, there really aren’t many, unless, if necessary, the Cowboys could convince John Carney to walk away from his coaching gig in New Orleans or for Jason Elam to un-retire. After that, really the best veteran kicker out of work is 42-year-old Matt Stover, a Dallas native, who was not re-signed by Indianapolis. Stover was an emergency acquisition by the Colts last year after front-line kicker Adam Vinatieri had knee surgery five games into the season.

So, we’ll see.

Roster Reduction

Also released along with Buehler were second-year cornerback Marquis Floyd, rookie free-agent wide receiver Rashaun Greer, rookie free-agent guard Chet Teofilo and rookie free-agent tight end Nick Tow-Arnett, who spent the majority of the off-season recovering from injury.

That brings the Cowboys to 81 players on their roster, and must trim one more player once they sign all six of their draft choices. They likely will stay at 81 until the last of those six guys are signed, and that likely figures to be Dez Bryant, their first-round draft choice. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the club will start working on signing their draft choices the week before the July 23-24 start to training camp.

Minding The Store

Even though there is no salary cap this season, the Cowboys continue to keep an eye on the future and once again have resisted overspending to sign veteran players to big-time contracts while not knowing what the future CBA guidelines will hold.

And that has a lot to do with why the Cowboys didn’t seriously pursue either Saints offensive tackle Jammal Brown or Rams free safety O.J. Atogwe. Both were looking for huge long-term deals, and the Cowboys just weren’t prepared to do that at safety, a position they failed to stabilize with the previous two expensive long-term deals there (see Ken Hamlin and Roy Williams), and offensive tackle, knowing Brown was balking at signing the Saints’ $3.619 restricted tender.

Word out of New Orleans is the Cowboys showed interest, but after seeing all the convoluted conditions of the eventual trade of Brown to the Redskins the interest couldn’t have been that serious. And as for Atogwe, they showed little to no interest, and he has now re-signed with the Rams, inking a five-year deal.

Both non-moves are votes of confidence for Alan Ball at free safety and Doug Free at left tackle.

(Mickey Spagnola will be writing his thoughts on the Cowboys at least once a week (Wednesday) during the off-season for KTBB.com.)