The Dallas Cowboys’ season ended with a heartbreaking loss to the New York Giants in the final game of the 2011 NFL regular season. Here is a look at how the offensive stars finished the game for the Cowboys.

Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
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Tony Romo

Tony Romo came into the Week 17 game with the New York Giants with a bruised hand and seemed like the biggest question mark on the field. However, out of all the players in the game, Romo was the one who came to play. He completed 29-of-37 of his passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception and fumbled the ball, but a lot of his problems had to do with bad offensive line play.

Laurent Robinson

Out of all the stars on the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, it is newcomer Laurent Robinson who leads the team in touchdowns with 11. In the final game of the season, while Dallas had few stars step up, it was Robinson who caught both touchdown passes from Romo. Robinson was the Cowboys’ best offensive weapon this season.

Felix Jones

When DeMarco Murray went down with a season ending injury, Felix Jones got his chance to prove he could help the team win. He did fine but it is obvious that the Cowboys need Murray back next year bad. Jones ran for 30 yards and caught seven passes for 47 yards in Week 17. It wasn’t horrible but Dallas needs a better rushing attack in 2012.

Dez Bryant / Miles Austin

Dez Bryant led the team with 70 receiving yards in the game on six receptions in the game. Miles Austin did not do anything of note, with two receptions for 20 yards. Neither man was a solid weapon in this game because Romo had little time to wait for routes to develop before the pass rush reached him.

Jason Witten

Jason Witten finally had a decent game but fell short of the 1000 yard mark for the first time since 2008. He finished the game with seven receptions for 69 yards.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: dallascowboys.com

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Dallas Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten missed the Pro Bowl in 2011, his first time to miss the big game in eight years. Witten played in the Pro Bowl from 2004-2010, but in 2011, it is Tony Gonzalez and Jimmy Graham getting the call instead.

Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
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While Dallas fans might complain about his omission, the fact is that Witten, once the best tight end in the NFL, is now realistically not even the third best in the NFC.

Jimmy Graham has given the New Orleans Saints something they have not had, a tight end who can contribute major stats for the team’s offense. Heading into the final week of the season, Graham has 91 receptions for 1,213 yards and ten touchdowns. Graham is also only 25 and looks to be the next generation’s Jason Witten.

Tony Gonzalez is at the other end of the spectrum, 35 years old but enjoying his best season since he played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008. Heading into the final game of 2011, Gonzalez has 79 receptions for 867 yards and seven touchdowns. The Pro-Bowl loves rewarding legendary comeback players.

Unless Jason Witten has his best game of the 2011 season, he will miss out on 1,000 yards for the first time since 2008. He has 72 receptions for 873 yards and five touchdowns. There is a chance he will have his lowest yardage totals and receptions since 2006.

In the first two games of the season, it looked like Witten was going to have another great season. He had 13 receptions for 113 yards in those first two games. He has not gained 100 yards in a game since. Since pulling down eight receptions in Week 4, he has not caught more than five balls in a game. Over the past three weeks, heading into the season finale, Witten has two games with under 25 receiving yards.

This is not the same Jason Witten that Dallas Cowboys’ fans are used to. He is still a solid player but is a step below what he once was. In 2011, he definitely wasn’t a Pro Bowl tight end.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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The 2011 NFL Pro Bowl teams were released and there were only two Dallas Cowboys’ players in the lineups. Despite being one win away from making the playoffs, only two defensive stars were deemed worthy of the Pro Bowl. That is not my main problem with the NFC choices in 2011.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
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I already said awhile back that I thought Tony Romo should not make the lineup. There are three quarterbacks in the NFC who deserve this spot over Romo. The problem is that only two of those players made the Pro Bowl. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees deserve the honors more than any other quarterback in the NFC.

However, there is no way Eli Manning should be in the Pro Bowl over someone like the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford. The Detroit Lions are back in the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and it is all because of Stafford. The Giants are one loss away from sitting at home during the playoffs, and Manning gets in. What is wrong with this picture?

On the season, Stafford has 4,518 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Detroit is 10-5. Manning has 4,587 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Giants are 8-7. Look at those numbers and tell me that Manning is better than Stafford. Romo has 3,895 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions with an 8-7 record. Touchdowns and turnovers are more important than yards, so I say Romo deserves the spot over Manning.

But, as a Dallas fan, I will say that Matthew Stafford deserves the spot over both of them.

Other than that, I don’t have many problems with the choices. Matt Forte won’t play, so I assume they replace him with Marshawn Lynch. Michael Turner might get the call but Lynch deserves it.

There is also talk that Jason Witten was snubbed but I don’t see it. Jimmy Graham is heads and shoulder above everyone else and Witten is struggling to get his stats this season.

As a Dallas fan, I have little interest in the Pro Bowl this year because of the absence of any offensive Cowboys’ stars, but honestly, no one I see really deserves it. That is, unless you believe Eli Manning deserves his spot and then I will argue Romo all day long.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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Read More: Tony Romo (QB – DAL), Jason Witten (TE – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

While Cowboys fans await the status of their quarterback Tony Romo has he battles through a swollen hand, there are some encouraging signs out of Valley Ranch that their signal caller will be able to play on Sunday.

Courtesy of Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News, thoughts from Pro-Bowl tight end Jason Witten on his injury-riddled friend and quarterback is that he’s “pretty confident” he’ll play.

Tony did good,” Witten said. “I thought he was throwing the ball well. I couldn’t tell any difference. You’d probably have to ask him about the details, but I thought from the receiving end of it, he was as good as he always is.”

More from Witten:

“I would be hard pressed to see him not playing,” Witten said. “Anyone who knows what he is about, knows he’s going to play. I don’t want to speak for him by any means, but I feel pretty confident he will.”

Here is the practice report for the Cowboys on Wednesday:

DID NOT PRACTICE

Outside Linebacker DeMarcus Ware (neck)

Defensive Tackle Jay Ratliff (ribs)

Inside Linebacker Sean Lee (hamstring)

Defensive Back Danny McCray (ankle)

LIMITED IN PRACTICE

Quarterback Tony Romo (hand)

FULL PRACTICE

Running Back Felix Jones (hamstring)

Nose Tackle Josh Brent (knee)

For more on the Cowboys head over to Blogging the Boys, SB Nation’s Dallas Cowboys blog. For more on the Giants head over to Big Blue View, SB Nation’s New York Giants blog. For more on the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

Note: The opinions expressed here are my takes on each player’s individual matchup. As always, use your best judgment and conduct your own research on who to start or bench each week. You know your individual team and/or league situation better than anyone else.

Tony Romo, QB

Averaging 21.80 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, Romo is a solid fantasy quarterback to carry in the playoffs. He scored 25.86 fantasy points last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but has a tough matchup this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. He scored just 12.02 fantasy points against Philadelphia in week eight but should have a better performance this time around at home.

Felix Jones, RB

Jones had a solid game last week against the Buccaneers scoring 13.10 fantasy points after putting up 11.70 fantasy points the week prior against the New York Giants. He has a very favorable matchup this week against the Eagles who are giving up 20.75 fantasy points per game to running backs this season. Expect a strong week this week.

Dez Bryant, WR

Averaging 10.40 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, Bryant is a solid fantasy receiver to carry into the playoffs. He scored 10.00 fantasy points last week against the Buccaneers and has a decent matchup this week against the Eagles. Philadelphia is giving up 22.01 fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season so expect Bryant to get his fair share this week.

Laurent Robinson, WR

Averaging 13.00 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, Robinson has proven to be a reliable receiver to carry in the fantasy playoffs. He scored 8.90 fantasy points last week against the Buccaneers and shares the decent matchup with the rest of the Dallas Cowboys’ receivers. Expect a similar performance this week against the Eagles as he had last week.

Miles Austin, WR

Austin put up a solid 11.30 fantasy point performance last week against the Buccaneers to follow up his 12.80 fantasy point performance against the Giants the week prior. He has looked good since returning from injury so expect a similar performance this week.

Jason Witten, TE

Averaging just 6.50 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, Witten’s performance has dropped as the wide receivers have stepped up their game. He scored 7.70 fantasy points last week against the Buccaneers and should have a similar game this week against the Eagles. I would recommend seeing if other options are available first, but if not, feel confident in starting him this week.

Dan Bailey, K

Averaging 9.00 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, Bailey is still a solid fantasy kicking option to start in the playoffs. He scored 7.00 fantasy points last week against the Buccaneers but should show some improvement this week against the Eagles.

Defense

Averaging just 5.40 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, it would appear the Cowboys’ team defense would not be the best option. However, they did score 9.00 fantasy points last week against the Buccaneers and have a very favorable matchup this week against the Eagles. It is a risky move given their recent history but I am confident they will continue to do well this week.

Sources:

All data provided by Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football

Paul Rados is an avid fantasy football participant and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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