It seems like as the 2011 NFL regular season rolls to a conclusion, the person we hear from the most with Dallas Cowboys’ related news is Jerry Jones. He is the owner and general manager, but it almost seems lately he is their chief PR man as well.

Jerry Jones
Wikimedia Commons

This week, Jones has even more news about his team to deliver to the press and the public in general.

The first thing that Jones wanted to make clear is that Jason Garrett will be his head coach in 2012. Jones said that, even if Dallas loses to the New York Giants on Sunday night and misses the playoffs, there is zero-percent chance he fired Garrett.

I agree with this stance. Jason Garrett has been head coach for just over one year. If a team drops a coach without giving them a fair chance, and one full season is not a fair chance, they will end up like the Oakland Raiders.

Garrett, in his head coaching career is 13-9. A lot of people talk about his play calling, but in his first year in Dallas calling the plays, the Cowboys went 13-3, the best record in the NFC. That was four years ago. Now that he is the head coach, a lot more is expected of him.

However, in the 2011 season, his first full season as the head man, he has had to deal with a starting quarterback breaking his ribs, his starting wide receiver missing half the year with a bad hamstring and his explosive new rookie starting running back going down with a season ending injury. That is a lot to deal with. Add in the fact that their leading tackler has been playing with a cast on his hand and the best player on the entire team, DeMarcus Ware, has been playing hurt as well.

It sounds like I am making excuses for the Cowboys’ record but I’m not. I am just stating the facts. Dallas proved this season they can beat any team they play, and all but one loss was due to mental lapses at the end. That is on Garrett but it is something he will grow with as his career wears on.

Jerry Jones says he is not going to fire Garrett if Dallas loses. In my opinion, that is a good thing because it means he is going to let his coach actually try to build something here. Playing hot potato at head coach is no way to develop a franchise.

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: CBSSports.com

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It sounds like Felix Jones will be back in Week 11 as the Dallas Cowboys take on their division rival Washington Redskins. The big question remains how Jason Garrett will utilize the runner when he makes his return.

Don’t let DeMarco Murray’s numbers fool you because Felix Jones will help the Cowboys when he returns to the lineup. However, Jones should not be used as the starter and every down back, healthy or not. Murray is the driving force behind the Cowboys offense. Between his strong running and the changes made in offensive blocking schemes, the Cowboys have the best running attack they have had in years.

Jones can’t do what Murray is doing right now. He just isn’t big enough and strong enough.

Jerry Jones did a recent interview where he said that Murray is better suited to be an every down workhorse running back who gets better as the game goes on. He also said Felix Jones is better used when plugged into certain spots and specifically mentioned Jones getting 12 to 13 touches a game.

I don’t know how the Cowboys organization is ran, and I hate to think this as a Dallas fan, but if Jerry Jones runs the team and Garrett simply follows orders when putting together his game plan, we know exactly what the lineup will look like when Jones returns. As much as I feel a good head coach is one who runs the game plan with his coaching staff, I completely agree with Jones’ decision here and hope it is the one the Cowboys utilize.

Garrett himself has not said what roles Murray and Jones will hold in Week 11 but I expect him to stick with the horse who got him this far. I also expect Jones to give Dallas the same explosive weapon he has provided his entire career. Less touches should also keep him healthy.

If Felix Jones can break one or two plays a game and Murray keeps playing like he has, I believe Dallas could develop the best running attack in the NFL.

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: dallascowboys.com

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Read More: Tashard Choice (RB – DAL), Felix Jones (RB – DAL), DeMarco Murray (RB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys had at least two teams interested in running back Tashard Choice, but Jerry Jones decided against trading the backup running back due to Felix Jones being out 2 to 4 weeks with a high-ankle sprain at the end of the half after he caught a 7-yard catch.

With Jones inured, Choice is set to become the starting running back and will receive the bulk of the carries and rookie DeMarco Murray will be the primary backup and get a chance to prove himself until Jones is healthy and back in the lineup in a few weeks.

In other Cowboys non-trade news, they also were considering trading tight end Martellus Bennett, but there was no interest. Both Choice and Bennett will be unrestricted free agents and it looks like neither will be back with the Cowboys in 2012.

For more on the Dallas Cowboys go check out Blogging The Boys.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Tony Romo put the Dallas Cowboys ahead by 24 points with his third touchdown pass right after halftime. That lead wasn’t enough after he followed that with three interceptions.

Two of the picks were returned for touchdowns, and the third set up Detroit’s game-winning score with 1:39 left as the Cowboys blew their largest lead ever to lose, 34-30 to the undefeated Lions on Sunday.

“It hurts,” Romo said, not even talking about the still-sore ribs that forced to him take another pregame injection. “We were obviously in a position to win this game. … It doesn’t feel good right now.”

Especially knowing the Cowboys (2-2) are going into their bye week and won’t play again for two weeks.

“It’s devastating,” linebacker Sean Lee said.

The Cowboys had won two in a row since a season-opening loss at the New York Jets when Romo had an interception and a fumble at the 3 as Dallas blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead for the first time in franchise history.

A week after that, Romo threw for 201 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime of a win at San Francisco despite suffering a fractured rib and punctured lung early in the game. They Cowboys were coming off a win over NFC East rival Washington six days earlier.

“I view the success we have, I view what he does well and I put the mistakes right in with what he does well and don’t in any way get discouraged about our future with Tony,” owner Jerry Jones said. “There’s no issue about faith in Romo, any place in this organization, period. … If you’re going to try to make plays, then you’ve got a chance to have some bad plays. But however we go, we’ll go with Tony. As Tony goes, we’ll go.”

The Cowboys led 27-3 after Romo hit Jason Witten for a 1-yard touchdown only 2 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Then came the two interceptions in a span of three throws. Bobby Carpenter, the former first-round pick by the Cowboys and one of Romo’s good friends, returned the first one 35 yards for a touchdown and Chris Houston took another one back 56 yards for a 27-17 score.

Jason Hanson kicked a 51-yard field goal to get Detroit within 30-27 soon after Cowboys coach Jason Garrett declined a penalty that would’ve pushed the Lions back 10 yards, but given them an extra down.

On the first snap after Hanson’s second field goal in his 299th career game, Romo threw while trying to avoid pressure and came up short to Witten. Stephen Tulloch intercepted, setting up the Lions at the 40.

“I just didn’t get enough on the throw. … I thought it was going to be a big play for us, honestly,” Romo said. “It’s disappointing because I thought he was coming open past all the linebackers and there’s no safety help to that side. I wish I could have that throw back and just throw it further.”

Instead, Dallas-born Matthew Stafford led the Lions on a seven-play drive that ended with his second touchdown to Calvin Johnson, a 2-yarder with 1:39 left.

This was a bizarre way for the Cowboys to end an NFL-record streak of nine straight games decided by a field goal or less. The final play was wacky, too, with Felix Jones catching a short pass with no one around him on fourth-and-20, then running out of bounds after only gaining 8 yards.

While Stafford has the Lions off to their first 4-0 start since 1980, and they have won an NFL-best eight in a row, Romo and the Cowboys have another bitter loss.

“Nobody’s lost faith in Romo,” said safety Gerald Sensabaugh, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter.

“We believe in him. He’s our guy and we’ll fight through it,” Witten said. “We just need to eliminate this roller coaster of a ride, and that’s the next step for us.”

Dallas’ previous biggest blown lead was 21 against Washington on Nov. 28, 1965, when the Cowboys led 21-0 in the second quarter on the way to a 34-31 loss.

“We must and we will look ahead,” Jerry Jones said. “We’ll take our bye, get well and come back and try to do something very special.”

Stafford had dozens of relatives and friends in the crowd, including his high school coach.

His first pass to Johnson was intercepted, leading to Dallas’ first touchdown and the defense was constantly in his face. He had a tough first half, but finished 21 of 43 for 240 yards and did a better job of finding Johnson after halftime. The game-winner came against tight coverage on a play when the Cowboys had 12 defenders on the field.

Johnson caught eight passes for 96 yards, and tied Cris Carter’s NFL record of catching two TDs in four straight games.

Romo was 34 of 47 for 331 yards, with three touchdowns. Dez Bryant caught two TDs before Johnson even had a single grab, and Laurent Robinson had seven catches for 116 yards.

Romo was on a roll of completing 13 of 14 passes, the only incompletion a clock-stopping spike, when Carpenter made a leaping interception and a weaving 35-yard return.

“I know he’s going to get beaten up by (the media) this week,” Carpenter said of Romo. “He’s the same quarterback he was two weeks ago when he was the hero. He’s a tremendous player and a top-five quarterback, in my opinion.”

Notes: Dallas’ Sean Lissemore, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive lineman, returned the opening kickoff of the second half 38 yards for the Cowboys’ longest return this season. … The Cowboys had fourth-and-goal from the 1 on its second possession, already up 7-0. Garrett opted to go for a touchdown, but Felix Jones was stuff for no loss.

The rib and lung injuries that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered on Sunday have left his availability in question regarding Monday night’s matchup against the Washington Redskins.

According to the man who signs his checks, Romo’s ability to play will depend on his pain threshold.

When asked Tuesday if the Romo will start the team’s home opener, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I really don’t,” Jones told Dallas radio station 105.3 KRLD-FM. “I understand the nature of the injury as much as you can without being in medicine. We’ll just have to see how it goes. It has everything to do with his ability to handle pain. We know he’s got a bunch of it, so we’ll see how it goes. And he’ll be monitored obviously extremely closely regarding it, and we’ll see how it goes. I wouldn’t dare speculate on that.”

The Cowboys said Monday in a statement that Romo suffered a fractured rib and a pneumothorax, which is a collection of air in the space around the lungs.

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