01-27-2009, 09:09 AM
IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys will spend most of the next several months trying to bring in the best 79 players they can for training camp. The rest of the work, finding the 80th and final prospect, will be left to Michael Irvin.
The team has confirmed its involvement in the ex-receiver's reality show, which will award one of 12 amateur contestants with a roster spot when the Cowboys begin camp at San Antonio's Alamodome near the end of July. For anyone who ever wondered if they could play in the NFL, this is about as close as the Cowboys will ever get to holding an open tryout.
The currently-untitled series will air on Spike TV in the spring. Created by Irvin and his company, Playmaker Productions, the show will feature the Hall-of-Famer as host and mentor to six would-be receivers and six would-be defensive backs. While taking guys off the street and turning them into NFL players sounds like a tough proposition, Irvin doesn't seem to think it's impossible. The show is currently in the casting stage, and will likely feature athletes with at least some football experience.
"We want someone who will have a real opportunity to make the team," Irvin told The Associated Press. "You could've played college ball and had to give up for some reason . . . You know how many stories are out there of players who for some reason or another had to walk away from the game.
"We want to find those guys."
The show will likely include appearances by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Irvin said he also expects cameos by former teammates like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders.
Of course, reality television is nothing new for the Cowboys. Last summer's training camp in Oxnard, Calif. was the team's second appearance on "Hard Knocks," HBO's behind-the-scenes look at an NFL camp and preseason. As the wheels came off the Cowboys down the stretch in 2008, it was easy to point to the team's involvement in the show as an early distraction.
In fact, of the four teams to be featured by HBO since the series began, only the 2001 Baltimore Ravens made the playoffs, losing in the Divisional round after winning the Super Bowl the previous season. After appearing on "Hard Knocks," the 2002 and 2008 Cowboys and 2007 Kansas City Chiefs had just an 18-30 record combined. The failings of those teams aside, Irvin says his show offers the Cowboys little downside.
"I don't see how you can make this a negative for the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "We all talk of doing good things for the community, for people, giving people opportunities. Jerry has stepped up and said, 'OK, let's do it.'"
There are few things Jones values for his franchise more than media buzz. Though Irvin's show might not generate as much attention for the team as having NFL Films cameras on the practice fields and in meetings for six weeks, it should bring interest to an area on the roster few people think twice about. Sometimes referred to as "camp bodies," many bottom of the roster players never have a great shot at making a team, serving essentially as sparring partners for other young players with more talent or rookie draft picks.
The opportunity to practice with the Cowboys alone will be a pretty nice reward for the winner of Irvin's show, and there's also the chance, however slight, to catch the eyes of the coaches.
"I don't know if you can walk upon any group of guys that wouldn't say they dreamed of playing in the NFL when they were playing in their front yard," Irvin said.
"So we're going to take a group of guys from their front yard, dwindle them to one and give that guy the opportunity of a lifetime."
Irvin has appeared on a similar Spike TV show before. "Pros vs. Joes" featured Irvin running routes against guys off the street. The new series should focus on players with more natural ability since there are certain physical requirements a potential NFL player needs. If Irvin's goal is to find a guy capable of competing for a roster spot as either a receiver of defensive back, legitimate speed is a must-have.
In the old days teams routinely held open tryouts, but those times have passed. The NFL has since become a multi-billion dollar enterprise with organizations leaving virtually no stone unturned in their talent search, scouting players-to-be years in advance. With the wealth of knowledge teams have about college players and those in a number of minor leagues, it has become unnecessary to pull long-shot former athletes off their couches, as the Eagles famously did with special-teamer Vince Papale in 1976, the basis for Disney's 2006 movie "Invincible."
But occasionally the league has encouraged promotional roster spots, as teams playing preseason games overseas have been allowed an extra player or two from the host nation.
Irvin's show will be produced by reality TV company 3 Ball Productions, which has created a number of hits, including NBC's "The Biggest Loser." Spike TV is available in almost 98 million homes across the country.
"This is a groundbreaking opportunity for football players and football fans," said Irvin, who retired from the Cowboys in 1999 because of a spinal condition and now hosts a radio show in Dallas. "The unique element is that these men will actually be competing for a training camp roster spot in an NFL camp. There is so much great undiscovered football talent out there, guys that may have missed their shot for one reason or another. This is about hope and a shot at greatness."
The team has confirmed its involvement in the ex-receiver's reality show, which will award one of 12 amateur contestants with a roster spot when the Cowboys begin camp at San Antonio's Alamodome near the end of July. For anyone who ever wondered if they could play in the NFL, this is about as close as the Cowboys will ever get to holding an open tryout.
The currently-untitled series will air on Spike TV in the spring. Created by Irvin and his company, Playmaker Productions, the show will feature the Hall-of-Famer as host and mentor to six would-be receivers and six would-be defensive backs. While taking guys off the street and turning them into NFL players sounds like a tough proposition, Irvin doesn't seem to think it's impossible. The show is currently in the casting stage, and will likely feature athletes with at least some football experience.
"We want someone who will have a real opportunity to make the team," Irvin told The Associated Press. "You could've played college ball and had to give up for some reason . . . You know how many stories are out there of players who for some reason or another had to walk away from the game.
"We want to find those guys."
The show will likely include appearances by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Irvin said he also expects cameos by former teammates like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders.
Of course, reality television is nothing new for the Cowboys. Last summer's training camp in Oxnard, Calif. was the team's second appearance on "Hard Knocks," HBO's behind-the-scenes look at an NFL camp and preseason. As the wheels came off the Cowboys down the stretch in 2008, it was easy to point to the team's involvement in the show as an early distraction.
In fact, of the four teams to be featured by HBO since the series began, only the 2001 Baltimore Ravens made the playoffs, losing in the Divisional round after winning the Super Bowl the previous season. After appearing on "Hard Knocks," the 2002 and 2008 Cowboys and 2007 Kansas City Chiefs had just an 18-30 record combined. The failings of those teams aside, Irvin says his show offers the Cowboys little downside.
"I don't see how you can make this a negative for the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "We all talk of doing good things for the community, for people, giving people opportunities. Jerry has stepped up and said, 'OK, let's do it.'"
There are few things Jones values for his franchise more than media buzz. Though Irvin's show might not generate as much attention for the team as having NFL Films cameras on the practice fields and in meetings for six weeks, it should bring interest to an area on the roster few people think twice about. Sometimes referred to as "camp bodies," many bottom of the roster players never have a great shot at making a team, serving essentially as sparring partners for other young players with more talent or rookie draft picks.
The opportunity to practice with the Cowboys alone will be a pretty nice reward for the winner of Irvin's show, and there's also the chance, however slight, to catch the eyes of the coaches.
"I don't know if you can walk upon any group of guys that wouldn't say they dreamed of playing in the NFL when they were playing in their front yard," Irvin said.
"So we're going to take a group of guys from their front yard, dwindle them to one and give that guy the opportunity of a lifetime."
Irvin has appeared on a similar Spike TV show before. "Pros vs. Joes" featured Irvin running routes against guys off the street. The new series should focus on players with more natural ability since there are certain physical requirements a potential NFL player needs. If Irvin's goal is to find a guy capable of competing for a roster spot as either a receiver of defensive back, legitimate speed is a must-have.
In the old days teams routinely held open tryouts, but those times have passed. The NFL has since become a multi-billion dollar enterprise with organizations leaving virtually no stone unturned in their talent search, scouting players-to-be years in advance. With the wealth of knowledge teams have about college players and those in a number of minor leagues, it has become unnecessary to pull long-shot former athletes off their couches, as the Eagles famously did with special-teamer Vince Papale in 1976, the basis for Disney's 2006 movie "Invincible."
But occasionally the league has encouraged promotional roster spots, as teams playing preseason games overseas have been allowed an extra player or two from the host nation.
Irvin's show will be produced by reality TV company 3 Ball Productions, which has created a number of hits, including NBC's "The Biggest Loser." Spike TV is available in almost 98 million homes across the country.
"This is a groundbreaking opportunity for football players and football fans," said Irvin, who retired from the Cowboys in 1999 because of a spinal condition and now hosts a radio show in Dallas. "The unique element is that these men will actually be competing for a training camp roster spot in an NFL camp. There is so much great undiscovered football talent out there, guys that may have missed their shot for one reason or another. This is about hope and a shot at greatness."
Will it blend? That is the question.