Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager/El Jefe Jerry Jones is certainly one of the more active of the men who count NFL teams among their personal possessions. Jones has never been afraid to speak out about personnel decisions; he would like it to be known that he's not just signing all the checks -- he's also buying a lot of the groceries.

That's why Cowboys fans might have been a bit alarmed by Jones' comments after the team's Tuesday minicamp, when the subject of Terrell Owens came up. T.O., of course, played for the Cowboys from 2006 through 2008, put up the most statistically productive three-year stretch of any receiver in team history, but was booted before the 2009 season. After shorter turns with the Buffalo Bills in 2009 and Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, Owens got himself kicked out of the Indoor Football League for alleged contract violations.

That's why Cowboys fans might have been a bit alarmed by Jones' comments after the team's Tuesday minicamp, when the subject of Terrell Owens came up. T.O., of course, played for the Cowboys from 2006 through 2008, put up the most statistically productive three-year stretch of any receiver in team history, but was booted before the 2009 season. After shorter turns with the Buffalo Bills in 2009 and Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, Owens got himself kicked out of the Indoor Football League for alleged contract violations.

Quarterback Tom Brady tried his best, unsuccessfully, to talk former New England Patriots left tackle Matt Light out of retiring.

The question is how much Light's presence truly mattered.

As the NFL moves further into the era of wide-open passing attacks featuring quarterbacks who either get rid of the ball quickly (like Brady) or create time with their scrambling ability (like the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers), an interesting trend is developing:

The left tackle's importance is decreasing.

A position once known for graceful athletes and a spot Bill Parcells once considered part of his "holy trinity" of building a team (to go with quarterback and left cornerback) has become like lighter fluid at a barbeque. You could use it, but you can get by without it.



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