ESPN clearly out of ideas in mid-summer

Zach Thomas was clearly smarter than Jason Witten on this play

Three Dallas Cowboys (or those associated with the franchise) were featured prominently in a ESPN feature today.



In it, the World Wide Leader polled all the NFL coaches (with anonymity) asking them who the dirtiest and smartest players were. And who the most likeable owner is.



Jerry Jones with four votes (a half vote less than Denver's Pat Bowlen) as having the best reputation around the league.



Frankly, this is not surprising and, really, only surprising that he didn't win.



In fact, it's not surprising at all that Jones, Bowlen and Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney rounded out the top 3. I would consider all three franchises several of the most stable in the league.



But Jones is a pretty likeable guy. He treats his employees well and wants to win. Period. He does whatever he can to have the best record and to get as close as possible to the Super Bowl. Maybe a head coach would not like him on the sideline during games or meddling in player personnel, but there isn't a coach in the league that wouldn't want him as owner.



Furthermore, new Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas was named the smartest defensive player in the league. This, too, is easy to see. It's clear, physically, he's not cut out for the NFL. Then again, if you're smarter than everyone on the field, it doesn't matter.



Finally, safety Roy Williams got two votes as the dirtiest player in the NFL. He finished second behind fellow safety Rodney Harrison.



Kind of the opposite of Thomas, Williams has to be a chump because he's not as good as everyone else.