Experienced or Just Old

Having just returned from Oxnard after nine days, I’m reminded why the Cowboys moved their camp to that location. I remember covering the team in Thousand Oaks during the 70’s and 80’s, and couldn’t believe how perfect the weather was for outdoor activities, especially football.

As for Bill Parcells, who knows what he’s really up to. Will he have a better team than last year? On paper, anything is an improvement over last year. He has certainly added size and speed. No more Dexter Coakley’s. It’s a bigger, more experienced team.

But is this team too old? One thing is obvious, Parcells likes the number 30. Since he arrived, the Cowboys are 13-and-4, when they rush the ball 30-or more times. But there is another 30 that may be more frieghtening, and that's the number of players on the roster who are 30 years of age and older.

Parcells down plays the teams age. "It is a young man's game, there is no doubt. but, thirty doesn't necessarily mean your old. I mean, i don't think, thirty means your old. There's some pretty good thirty year old football players around.”

Ask some of the 30 something guys, like KeyShawn Johnson. "When you look at the position that the old players are in, is there a young guy out there that can take that position. Because if there was, they would be here. Obviously, that's not the case.”

Marco Rivera was 33 in April. “You've got guys of all kind of ages. its how the guys mentally prepare, and physically, and gets ready. Age is just a number in this league, i mean guys are really tough in this league. You've got guys playing into their forties now, so i don't see that being a problem.”

Bill Parcells drafted Jason Ferguson in 1997, and wanted him back to anchor his defense at nose tackle. But he didn't come cheap, signing a 5-year contract, with a 9-million dollar signing bonus. “In college, if I had what I have now, I would have been an all-american,” he laughs. “I would have been a heisman trophy winner. I would have been like a Warren Sapp. That's what everyone says, once they get to the league. If I knew then what i know now, oh yeah, but at the same time, I would not change the road I took at all.”

But how old is too old to play in the NFL. Jerry Jones spend more than 30-million dollars on signing bonuses during the off season. Anthony Henry is the only one that is under 30.

Does age mean anything in this league? “Not at all,” says Henry, “If you saw Aaron Glenn move out there, you would realize, its not a problem.”

Dat Nguyen is part of a group that will be 30 by the end of the year. “Man i don't know. When you first come into the league, you just want to reach the average which is three years.”

Drew Bledsoe was 33 in February. “You know, physically i still feel very, very good," he says. "You know I feel like i'm throwing the ball well. I feel like my arm strength is very, very close to the same as it was when I was young. Father time, no, it hasn't caught up with me yet.”

If you add the number of players who will have their 30th birthday during the season, the over 30-bunch balloons to 15. That's a big number by anyone’s count. The list includes the following.

Player Birthdate

Flozell Adams 5/18/75
Larry Allen 1/27/71
Drew Bledsoe 2/14/72
Gregg Ellis 8/14/75
Jason Ferguson 11/28/74
Aaron Glenn 7/16/72
Terry Glenn 7/23/74
La’Roi Glover 7/4/74
Keyshawn Johnson 7/22/72
Dat Nguyen 9/25/75
Eric Ogbogu 7/18/75
Izell Reese 5/7/74
Marco Rivera 4/26/72
Jeff Robinson 2/20/70
Al Singleton 8/7/75