I have spent a lot of time the last month trumpeting the arrival of DeMarco Murray(notes) to the Dallas Cowboys’ lineup. With the lackluster running back play since Emmitt Smith left, I have longed for the Cowboys to find a running back who can actually dominate the game.

Now, Dallas has DeMarco Murray and thankfully Jason Garrett knows what he has and did not plug Felix Jones(notes) back into the starting lineup because Dallas needs Murray to win the NFC East.

But, as much as I love the fact that Murray is getting his due, I feel that Jones needs to play as well. In his first game back from injury, Jones finished with five carries for 18 yards. In his second, he got one reception. This is not the proper way to utilize someone of Jones’ capabilities.

Murray needs to get 20 or more carries a game and I am fine with that. But Jones needs to get a few runs as well. Jones also needs to be utilized out of the backfield as a receiver. I know Murray is doing fine in that regard but I was a fan of Murray at the University of Oklahoma and he can get hurt if he is over-utilized. There is no reason that Jones can’t be a weapon like Darren Sproles(notes) is in New Orleans.

The reason they dumped Tashard Choice(notes) was because he was too similar to Murray in size and running abilities. They knew they needed a thunder and lightning combination, to steal a name from the New York Giants. Of course, Choice also fumbles and has already proven to be unwanted when the Redskins dumped him as well. But Dallas knew that Murray and Jones were just different enough to give them two distinct weapons in the lineup.

Murray needs to continue to get his 20 carries a game but let Jones get involved as well. Jones can’t do the goal line, but on a second and long, he might be a good person to throw a screen to or execute a draw up the middle. It is just as I expected when the season began. As much as he wants it, Jones is not an every down back but he is still a dangerous weapon. Dallas just needs to figure out how to use him.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the ’90s and the hard times of the ’80s, Shawn never turned his back on America’s Team.

Source: Dallas Cowboys

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Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Kellerman’s Twitter account has been reactivated, but is now locked, after reports said the team forced her to delete her account after the Cowboys 20-19 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving.

Kellerman was accidentally tackled by Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who ran out of bounds trying to avoid a tackler after catching a pass. The cheerleader tweeted twice about the incident the next day.

“Nothing hurtin’ today, like some of y’all thought I would be! Our TE isn’t as tough as he looks…That or I’m WAY tougher than I look,” said the first tweet.

“I’m not the best at Jason Witten trust falls,” said the other.

That same day, CNBC’s Darren Rovell reported that Kellerman tripled her followers since getting tackled, and the next day, he reported that the Cowboys were not allowing her to answer interview questions.

Then, Rovell reported that the Cowboys forced the 22-year-old to get rid of her account.

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“Shame on the Cowboys for pulling cheerleader @MelissaRae off Twitter,” he tweeted. “Not allowing these girls to capitalize is criminal.”

CBS reported that the team’s Vice President of Public Relations & Communications Rich Dalrymple had nothing to do with deleting Kellerman’s account.

“The Dallas Cowboys Football Club did not [delete],” said Dalrymple. “We don’t get involved in administering twitter accounts.”

CBS also reported that Kellerman’s account reactivated on Monday, in which the cheerleader seemingly validated Dalrymple’s statement.

“Cowboys did not “force” me to deactivate,” Kellerman said. “I chose to spend the Thanksgiving wknd with my family….& not my twitter account.”

Kellerman’s account, which is now locked, now has over 3,300 followers,

Watch the video of the popular tackle below.

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The Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day and find themselves now all alone in first place in the NFC East. With the Arizona Cardinals on the schedule, it looks like they will remain in that position when they host the New York Giants on Dec. 11. With the NFC East suddenly in the Cowboys’ hands, here is a look at their opposition within their own conference.

New York Giants

What has happened to the New York Giants? They began the year on a tear. They started off with a 6-2 record and looked to be coasting to the NFC East title. However, this is the New York Giants we are talking about and have always had the propensity to choke in the NFC East race. It is also interesting that two of their early losses were to Washington and Seattle, two teams that Dallas beat pretty soundly.

People like to talk about how Dallas is playing an easy schedule now and that contributed to them taking this lead. However, during the 6-2 start, New York beat St. Louis, Arizona, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Miami. Does that sound familiar to a certain Cowboys’ franchise? Yes, the Giants beat New England, but since then, they have lost three in a row, including to San Francisco, who Dallas also beat this season. Next up is Green Bay and Dallas should have a two-game lead when the Giants come to town.

Philadelphia Eagles

Remember when the season started and everyone called Philadelphia the 2011 Dream Team? Everyone compared them to the Miami Heat. But then, they beat St. Louis is Week 1 and dropped four in a row. When they beat up Dallas on Oct. 30, it looked like they were about to rebound into the NFC East race. It didn’t happen as they lost three of the next four games.

However, don’t count Philadelphia out yet. They are three games out of the NFC East, and if Dallas chokes down the stretch, the Eagles have a tiebreaker over them right now. Their next three games are against Seattle, Miami and the Jets, so they could easily win those three heading into their next game with Dallas. Could the Eagles race back? Stranger things have happened.

Washington Redskins

Norv Turner. Marty Schottenheimer. Steve Spurrier. Joe Gibbs(notes). Jim Zorn. Mike Shanahan. Three of those names were extremely successful earlier in their career. Another had greatest success after leaving. Another was a college legend. The other used to be a quarterback. None of them have been able to win since Daniel Snyder bought the Washington Redskins. They have been to the playoffs three times since he took over ownership and this will be another disappointing season for the Redskins

Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the ’90s and the hard times of the ’80s, Shawn never turned his back on America’s Team.

Source: Dallas Cowboys

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Kellerman got quite a surprise during the Thanksgiving game against the Miami Dolphins when the Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten collided with her after he caught a pass from Tony Romo.

Later, Kellerman took to her twitter account to reassure Cowboys fans that despite her unexpected moment in the spotlight — her shock was apparent in replays — she was just fine.

“Not hurtin’ today, like some of y’all thought I would be! Our TE isn’t as tough as he looks… That or I’m WAY tougher than I look,” she wrote the next day, adding a winking emoticon. Later, she added, “I’m not the best at Jason Witten trust falls.” With another emoticon for good measure, of course.

That night, Kellerman’s twitter account was deleted.

Which, of course (??) spurred lots of media coverage and an investigation. Because her Twitter is apparently super important to tons of people.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reported that the Dallas Cowboys administration forced Kellerman to delete her Twitter. “Shame on the Cowboys for pulling cheerleader @MelissaRae off Twitter,” he tweeted. “Not allowing these girls to capitalize is criminal.”

Huh? The Cowboys, in turn, denied meddling in Kellerman’s online life. “The Dallas Cowboys Football Club did not.  We don’t get involved in administering twitter accounts,” the team’s VP of PR told CBS.

Kellerman’s Twitter is now back online.

The mystery remains, however, because it’s locked. All we can see now is her bio, which, for the record, states: “22-ish. Wears white cowboy boots and stars to work. Bridesmaid x2. Chapstick addict. Enjoys romantic walks to the fridge.”

Story developing. Obviously. Because it’s very important.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Kellerman found instant internet fame when she was knocked down on the sideline by tight end Jason Witten during the team’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday.

When Kellerman’s Twitter account was suspended soon after she tweeted about the incident, reports spread that it was a move by the Dallas Cowboys. However, Cowboys’ director of public relations Rich Dalrymple said Kellerman was not forced by the team to delete her account.

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“The Cowboys organization does not get involved in the administering of twitter accounts for players or cheerleaders,” Rich Dalrymple told The Hollywood Reporter.

Dalrymple added that “Melissa made her own decisions regarding her account over the weekend.” On Monday, Kellerman’s account was reactivated, but her Tweets are now protected.

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Kellerman also wrote on her Twitter account on Monday, denying the reports that the Cowboys made her suspend her account. “The Dallas Cowboys might accidentally tackle cheerleaders on the sidelines, but they would never tackle a DCC’s twitter account,” she wrote. “Cowboys did not ‘force’ me to deactivate. I chose to spend the Thanksgiving wknd with my family…….& not my twitter account.”

Soon after the now-infamous incident, Kellerman took to her Twitter account and left a couple comments about the incident. “I’m not the best at Jason Witten trust falls ” and “Not hurtin’ today, like some of y’all thought I would be! Our TE isn’t as tough as he looks… That or I’m WAY tougher than I look. ”

The cheerleader’s Twitter account saw a quick increase in followers — to more than 1,000 — as a result of the incident.

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But then, Kellerman’s account went dark, and reports started circulating that it was because the Dallas Cowboys had forced her to suspend her account.

Kellerman, who has been on the team for four years, is from South Carolina. Her profile on the Cowboys website says she is interested in being a child specialist and working in hospitals, an elementary special education teacher or a wedding event planner.

Watch the video of Melissa Kellerman being knocked down during Thursday’s game here.