Jean-Jacques Taylor

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SAN ANTONIO – Certain NFL players are so gifted athletically we can only describe them as freaks.

The Cowboys have three: DeMarcus Ware, Felix Jones and Martellus Bennett.

You won't get any arguments from their teammates or coaches. No one in the front office will dispute it either, especially because Jerry Jones thinks their athleticism will translate into more wins.

See, it's one thing for any athlete to impress me or you. That happens all the time because just about every NFL player is athletically superior to 99 percent of the population.

Of all the kids playing high school and college football only 1,440 are good enough to suit up each Sunday.

While the Cowboys have had nine Hall of Fame players, only a few athletic freaks have played in Dallas – and most of them played for Tom Landry.

There have been few freaks in the Jerry Jones era.

Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman were among the greatest players in franchise history, but they didn't dazzle you with their athleticism. Not the way Bob Hayes did. Or Randy White. Or Deion Sanders.

Ware, Jones and Bennett regularly perform feats that leave their teammates speechless.

One of those moments occurred last week in practice.

The Cowboys called a misdirection play in which quarterback Tony Romo fakes a handoff up the middle and then flips the ball to Felix Jones, who's zooming around left end.

"DeMarcus was chasing him, and he couldn't quite catch him – and we know he can run," scouting director Tom Ciskowski said. "If we can run that play against DeMarcus, we can run it against anyone."

Ware couldn't quite catch Jones as he turned up the sideline, in part, because Jones' speed caused Ware to take a bad angle. Jones, nicknamed McNasty by Marion Barber, frequently causes players to do that because they underestimate his speed.

"Felix was talking to him, saying, 'Come get me. Come get me,' " coach Wade Phillips said with a laugh.

Jones, who averaged 8.9 yards on 30 carries, scored on runs of 33 and 60 yards last season. He also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

Now you know why getting Jones the ball in position to make big plays is at the top of Jason Garrett's priority list.

"Felix has told me he has five gears," center Andre Gurode said. "He says I still haven't seen them all yet."

Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson would probably disagree after Jones' 60-yard touchdown run.

"Felix put his foot in the ground to suck Woodson in and then he cut back outside while going full speed," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "Normal people can't do that. Normal people slow down and gather themselves when they make a cut, but a step later he was running full speed again."

Ware, who's as fast as most running backs, wears custom-fitted shirts with a 19-inch neck and a 39-inch sleeve. In his massive hands, a softball resembles a golf ball.

"I eat because of these arms," Ware said laughing.

Remember a couple of years ago against Atlanta when he jumped up at the line of scrimmage to intercept Mike Vick's pass, stiff-armed the quarterback and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown?

Then there was the crossover pass-rush move against Washington tackle Chris Samuels, resulting in a sack.

"It was like an Allen Iverson crossover," linebacker Bradie James said. "He was so quick. It was a move like Reggie Bush would make."

Ware didn't even remember the move. See, athletic freaks make moves instinctively. It's why they're special. It's what makes them worth the overpriced tickets.

"DeMarcus can stop and start like Franco Harris," Phillips said. "Once he gets the tackle to stop moving his feet, DeMarcus blows past them before they get going again. Not many players can do that."

Sometimes, a player's freaky athleticism reveals itself subtly.

Take the 6-6, 265-pound Bennett, who can sink his hips to get in and out of a cut like a slot receiver. Did I mention he can contort his body to grab passes at his shoe laces or behind him with the same ease as a pass that hits him in the numbers?

Bennett's talent is why formations with two tight ends will take up a chunk of the playbook.

Just the other day, he made a diving grab along the sideline with his body parallel to the ground. Earlier in the same practice, Bennett reached behind him and easily corralled a pass.

He's going to create the same types of mismatches Jason Witten does because he's too fast for linebackers and too big for safeties.

Bennett displayed some of his athleticism last season against Washington with a leaping 25-yard touchdown grab over a defender in the 14-10 win, and with a 20-yard catch and run on a screen pass against the Eagles in Week 2.

"When he almost took that screen pass to the house, I was like, 'Wow,' " Crayton said. "He showed his athleticism and power.

"He said the only reason he didn't score is that he didn't see the guy who tackled him. If he had, Martellus said he would've made a move on him."