The disappointing 2011 National Football League (NFL) Season is finally over for the Dallas Cowboys. There were some high moments and some very low ones. Here are five areas that need fixing on the Cowboys.

Primary Running Back?

Who will be the primary running back for the Dallas Cowboys next season? DeMarco Murray should be the guy. However, Murray suffered a fractured ankle in Week 14 that ended his season. That is cause for concern because the Cowboys are thin at running back. Felix Jones continues to be plagued by injuries. Even when healthy, Jones is not the power back the Cowboys need.

Defense When it Counts

New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan implemented a new scheme that promised aggressiveness. The defense played well at times but failed in the most crucial moments. Poor defense resulted in two late-season losses to the New York Giants. Are the players still learning the new system? Do the Cowboys simply lack enough talent on defense?

Dr. Tony and Mr. Romo

Will the real Tony Romo please stand up? Sometimes you get a gutsy performance like the Week 2 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Other times you get the Romo who literally threw the game away against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. How many more chances does Romo get? He is still not an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Is Garrett the Guy?

Why is owner Jerry Jones convinced that Jason Garrett is the right coach for the Cowboys? Jones criticized Garrett for being too conservative in Week 6 against the New England Patriots. Garrett goofed in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. His clock management effectively iced his own kicker and lost the game. The Cowboys were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. They failed to clinch the playoffs in Week 17 against the Giants. Garrett is supposed to know these teams. Aside from the Washington Redskins, his division rivals got the best of him this season.

Involved Owner

Jones is one of the most involved owners in the NFL. But his control on the team may be part of the problem. Jones is the owner, president and general manager of the Cowboys. He is not the head coach. Jones needs to step back and let the coach be the coach. He needs to give his coach the power to make all coaching decisions and fully support those decisions. Until that happens, this team will not move forward.

These are five areas that need fixing on the Cowboys. They have a lot of work ahead of them. The offseason starts now.

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Edwin Torres has been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since the days of Tony Dorsett and Roger Staubach. He enjoyed watching the Dallas teams of the 90s dominate opponents on both sides of the ball. As a longtime fan of the National Football League, Edwin follows many interesting games and stories each week. For more articles, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

Sources:

NFL – Statistics – Yahoo! Sports

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December 15, 2011 – United Football League (UFL)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Thursday, December 15, 2011 – Quarterback CHRIS GREISEN, who led the Virginia Destroyers to victory in the 2011 United Football League Championship Game, has rejoined the Dallas Cowboys.

Greisen, who also reached the 2010 UFL Championship Game as the starting quarterback for the Florida Tuskers, spent time on the Cowboys roster during the 2010 season and has signed to the NFL club’s practice squad following a season-ending injury to Jon Kitna.

“It’s always cool when an NFL team calls you up and says we want you to play for our team,” Greisen told his hometown Green Bay Press Gazette. “It’s the highest level of football, and one of the marquee franchises in the league.”

Greisen completed 61 of 87 pass attempts for 695 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in four games for the Virginia Destroyers in 2011. In the 17-3 Championship Game victory over the Las Vegas Locos he completed 21 of 31 passes for 154 yards.

“Chris Greisen has all the qualities that are important to a team, especially leadership,” said Destroyers head coach MARTY SCHOTTENHEIMER. “Chris has an instinct for the game that jumped right out at me.”

Prior to signing with the Cowboys on December 27, 2010, he connected on 58 of 84 pass attempts for 664 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions for the Florida Tuskers. Having won the starting job under center, he passed for 346 yards and rushed for two touchdowns in a 23-20 defeat to the Las Vegas Locos in the 2010 UFL Championship Game.

Greisen joins JOSH MCCOWN (Chicago Bears / Hartford Colonials 2010), RICHARD BARTEL (Arizona Cardinals / Sacramento Mountain Lions 2010), JEFF GARCIA (Houston Texans / Omaha Nighthawks 2010) and 2009 UFL Championship Game winner J.P. LOSMAN (Miami Dolphins / Las Vegas Locos 2009) among former UFL quarterbacks currently with NFL clubs.

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Sunday night provided an amazing game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys that featured multiple lead changes, a heart-stopping finish, and a huge collapse by the Cowboys as the Giants prevailed, 37-34.

The two teams combined for over 950 yards of offense and 71 points, and each side gave up an embarrassing touchdown on completely blown pass coverage. What struck me, though, as I watched the last 5:41 of the game was how the Cowboys repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.

After an incredible interception and return by linebacker Sean Lee, Dallas took a 34-22 lead with 5:41 left when Tony Romo hit a wide open—and I mean wide open—Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown strike on a play in which the nearest Giants defender was somewhere in Fort Worth. The Cowboys appeared to be on the verge of taking a two-game lead in the NFC East with three weeks to go.

But then something went terribly wrong. The Cowboys couldn’t get out of their own way.

Lousy Pass Defense

Eli Manning kept hitting Victor Cruz for considerable chunks of yardage, including a 23-yard gain on 3rd and 1. When the Cowboys finally contained Cruz, Hakeem Nicks caught one over his head and tiptoed out of bounds at the 8-yard-line for a gain of 23 yards. With 3:14 left, Manning found Jake Ballard for the touchdown.

You could see it in the Cowboys’ faces and body language. Having blown large leads twice previously this season, Dallas players and fans feared the worst, and it turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

On the ensuing drive, Dallas ran a couple of clock-killing plays on the legs of Felix Jones, and then on 3rd down, Romo missed a wide open Miles Austin on a play that would likely have sealed the game. Austin had beaten his defender and had no one between him and the end zone, but Romo overthrew him. Not only did it become 4th down, but the incompletion also stopped the clock and saved the Giants a timeout.

Back-Breaking Penalties

After a less-than-impressive punt by Mat McBriar, the Giants set up on their own 42-yard-line with 2:12 left. Manning immediately found Ballard for a 21-yard gain, but on the next play, Manning was not on the same page as his center, and the snap came too early and too high. The ball bounced around the field before it was finally recovered by the Giants, but for a huge loss.

Except that there was a flag on the play. DeMarcus Ware had lined up in the neutral zone. Instead of a big loss, the Giants had the ball 1st-and-5 on the Cowboys’ 32-yard-line.

After Mario Manningham dropped a perfectly placed throw by Manning in the end zone, the Cowboys forced an incompletion that set up a 3rd-and-10 for the Giants.

Except that there was another flag. Defensive holding. Automatic first down.

Another big pass to Ballard took the ball to the 1-yard-line where Brandon Jacobs pounded it in for a touchdown. D.J. Ware weaved his way through Dallas defenders for a two-point conversion, and the Giants had suddenly taken a three-point lead with :46 left to play.

Mind Games and Poor Blocking

When Dallas got the ball back, Romo found Austin on a couple of long passes and set rookie kicker Dan Bailey up for a 47-yard field goal attempt to send the game into overtime. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin played it perfectly, though, calling timeout a fraction of a second before Dallas snapped the ball.

Bailey’s kick was true, but it didn’t count. Just like in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Bailey was iced—only this time, by the opposing coach instead of his own.

After the timeout, the Cowboys lined up to try the field goal again, but Jason Pierre-Paul burst through the center of the line, got his arm up, and blocked the kick. Game over. Cowboys choke again.

Don’t Blame Romo

It may be tempting for Cowboys fans to blame Romo for another 4th quarter collapse, but this one isn’t on him.

True, he missed a wide open Austin on one play. But he also got the Cowboys into field goal range to force overtime. Romo wasn’t out there getting torched on defense, nor was he the one committing two back-breaking penalties at the worst possible time. It wasn’t Romo who failed to block Pierre-Paul on the second field goal attempt. In fact, Romo went 21-of-31 for 321 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s normally a game-winning performance.

For the defensive wizard that Rob Ryan is supposed to be, that unit is not very good. The Giants had 510 yards of offense and scored 37 points, and at the worst possible time, the Dallas D imploded.

If fans want to direct their wrath at someone, aim it at the defense.

The author is a Featured Contributor in Sports for Yahoo! Contributor Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.

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Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Jon Kitna (QB – DAL), Kyle Kosier (G – DAL), DeMarcus Ware (LB – DAL), Danny McCray (S – DAL), Josh Brent (DT – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware returned to practice on a limited basis after siting out Tuesday’s practice due to a neck injury he suffered last week against the Arizona Cardinals. It is expected that Ware will be in the lineup in Sunday night’s NFC East showdown against the New York Giants. 

Wide receiver Laurent Robinson was expected to practice on Thursday, but he ultimately did not participate and missed his second straight practice with a shoulder injury. In positive wide receiver news, the Cowboys are expected to get back Miles Austin who is back at practice after missing the past month with a hamstring injury.

DALLAS COWBOYS
PLAYER	INJURY	WED	THU	FRI	GAME STATUS
Miles Austin, WR	Hamstring	LP	LP
Martellus Bennett, TE	Ribs	DNP	DNP
Josh Brent, NT	Knee	DNP	DNP
Abram Elam, S	Not Injury Related/ Personal		DNP
Tony Fiammetta, FB	Illness	LP	LP
Jon Kitna, QB	Back	DNP	DNP
Kyle Kosier, G	Foot	DNP	LP
Sean Lee, LB	Wrist	FP	FP
Mat McBriar, P	Foot (Left)	FP	FP
Danny McCray, S	Ankle	DNP	DNP
Laurent Robinson, WR	Shoulder	DNP	DNP
Phillip Tanner, RB	Hamstring	DNP	DNP
DeMarcus Ware, LB	Neck	DNP	LP

For more insights on the Dallas Cowboys, check out SB Nation blog Blogging The Boys.

Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Miles Austin (WR – DAL), Tony Romo (QB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Laurent Robinson didn’t practice Wednesday because of a slightly separated right shoulder suffered in the first half of the 19-13 overtime loss versus the Arizona Cardinals. In four games since Miles Austin went down, Robinson has scored five touchdowns for Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys offense. Austin himself was limited in practice as he prepares for the showdown with the New York Giants.

Here is the full practice report on Wednesday for the Cowboys as they prepare for the Giants:

Did Not Participate in Practice

TE Martellus Bennett (Ribs)
NT Josh Brent (Knee)
QB Jon Kitna (Back)
G Kyle Kosier (Foot)
S Danny McCray (Ankle)
WR Laurent Robinson (Shoulder)
RB Phillip Tanner (Hamstring)
LB DeMarcus Ware (Neck)

Limited Participation in Practice

WR Miles Austin Hamstring
FB Tony Fiammetta (Illness)

Full Participation in Practice

LB Sean Lee Wrist
P Mat McBriar (Left foot)

For more insights on the Dallas Cowboys, check out SB Nation blog Blogging The Boys. For more on the New York Giants, check out SB Nation blog Big Blue View.