Looking at the Schedule

September and December: brutal. October and November: manageable. Dallas opens at Cleveland, Philly at home, at Green Bay, Washington at home. The Cowboys finish at Pittsburgh, Giants at home (in prime time), Ravens at home (in prime time), at Philly. The only edge I see is a favorable bye -- Nov. 9, between road tests at the Giants and 'Skins -- and the 10-day breather after the Thanksgiving Day game to prepare for the tough December slate.

Memorable Image from Camp

Felix Jones is going to be good. Maybe really good. He runs smoothly and with a fluid determination. You aren't going to see many backs cut with the quickness and decisiveness Jones runs with. Friday afternoon, in an 11-on-11 drill, Jones cut to the right, shot forward through a hole around right end, and, just as a safety came up to wrap him up, Jones planted his left foot, zigged to the right and shot forward, the defender left to grab air. I'm not saying he's Barry Sanders, but Jones is a talent.

"I haven't played that much,'' Jones told me while walking off the field afterward. "But I've been able to become a student of the game. I've watched a lot of film. I know how defenses want to play me.''

Remember this number: 129. Jones played three years in Darren McFadden's shadow at Arkansas, and that's how many carries he averaged per year. But the Cowboys all along loved the 6-foot, 212-pound Jones, and it could well turn out to be a big advantage that he carried it so sparingly. Maybe he'll have more tread on his tire when he's called on late in the fourth quarter at the Meadowlands if Marion Barber gets dinged.

"We did a study before the draft on carries,'' said Cowboy scouting czar Tom Ciskowski. "That back at Central Florida [Kevin Smith] carried the ball more last year [450 times] than Felix did his entire career [386]. I think if [Jones} had been the feature back at someplace like Memphis State or Oklahoma State, he'd never have been there for us.'' Dallas got him with the 22nd pick of the first round.

Parting Shots

• Terrell Owens might be the most media-friendly guy in camp.

• In the worst-kept secret in the history of pro football, Adam Jones will be reinstated by the commissioner as long as he has an uneventful August.

• "I haven't thought about left tackle in years,'' Jerry Jones said after Friday's second practice, and he can sleep at night for good reason. Flozell Adams is one of the top three left tackles in the NFC, and at 33, he seems to be in terrific shape.

• Patrick Crayton will be the second starting wide receiver -- with Sam Hurd and Miles Austin likely winning the third and fourth slots -- but I don't think he'll catch more than 50 balls. I think Owens and Jason Witten will both exceed 90. I asked Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News what the odds were that the Cowboys will make a trade for a receiver before opening day, and he said: "10 percent.''

• Over-under on Felix Jones carries: 145.

• Don't know why exactly, but rookie TE Martellus Bennett does not impress me. He seems to sulk, and he's not particularly energetic.