In 2010, when Tony Romo(notes) went down to injury, Jon Kitna(notes) was there to step in to take over the role. If Romo is injured against the Arizona Cardinals, the man who is there to step in for him is Stephen McGee(notes). Looking at Chicago and Houston, that scares me.

Jon Kitna is out with a back injury and has missed three straight weeks of practice. Before the Miami game, Dallas seemed worried enough about Kitna’s injury to put in a waiver request for Kyle Orton(notes). The Kansas City Chiefs won that waiver request and Dallas stuck with McGee.

After that game, Minnesota waived Donovan McNabb(notes) and Miami waived Sage Rosenfels(notes). The Cowboys chose not to put in a waiver request for either player. Interestingly, Minnesota claimed Rosenfels and McNabb went unclaimed. Yet, Dallas still appears determined to stick with McGee.

McGee has been with Dallas since 2009, when the Cowboys took him in the fourth round. McGee is a home town boy from Burnet, Texas who went on to play for the Texas A&M Aggies. In college, McGee was a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

McGee signed a four year deal with Dallas after they drafted him but never got a start until the 2010 preseason. He moved into the backup role after Romo was lost for the year and played on Christmas Day against Arizona. McGee threw his first touchdown in that game. McGee also got the start in the season finale of 2010, where he threw his second touchdown and beat the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dallas fans have to hope that Romo doesn’t go down, because there is little chance to win the season without him in the starting lineup. It doesn’t matter if it is Kitna, McGee or even McNabb. Without Romo, the team will falter. I feel pretty good about McGee as the backup quarterback and he has done enough in preseason and his two regular season appearance to let me know he can run the offense.

I just don’t want to see him thrown in with the season on the line.

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: Dallas Cowboys

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GLENDALE, Ariz. – The last two times the Dallas Cowboys came to the desert, they lost in excruciating fashion.

A blocked punt in overtime cost them in 2008, and after Arizona converted on fourth-and-19, Jay Feely booted a 48-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to give the Cardinals 27-26 victory last Christmas.

So there should be no looking past the 4-7 Cardinals on Sunday by a Dallas team that, at 7-4, holds a one-game lead over the New York Giants in the NFC East. The Giants are at Dallas next weekend.

“Never do we go into Arizona and not have a tough game,” Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said. “It just continually happens since I’ve been here. It just seems like that’s always taken shape. We’ve got to be prepared for a tough, grind-it-out football game.”

The Cowboys have won four in a row, and a victory Sunday would give them their longest winning streak since they won seven straight in 2007. The streak left Romo 17-2 in November, so the Cardinals must be pleased this one is on Dec. 4.

“He’s a guy that’s scary because he makes plays,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Just in the last game (20-19 over Miami on Thanksgiving), there at the end, he had that last drive. He moved around and made plays and made throws. That’s the thing that you have to be careful with this guy. He’s always looking down the field, even when he has to scramble or move in the pocket. He can make those throws.”

The Cardinals have won three of four, but two were against the St. Louis Rams, now 2-9, and one was at reeling Philadelphia. Arizona is 0-4 against teams that currently have a winning record.

The Cardinals are expected to have quarterback Kevin Kolb in the lineup for the first time in five games. A frustratingly slow-to-heal right turf toe and bruise on the side of the same foot has sidelined him for four games. While Arizona has gone 3-1 in his absence, backup John Skelton struggled mightily the past two games, completing a combined 18 of 42 for 213 yards, with no touchdowns with five interceptions.

Kolb grew up in Texas as a Cowboys fan, specifically a Troy Aikman fan, so he likes the idea of coming back against Dallas.

“It will be fun,” Kolb said. “They are playing well right now on both sides of the ball, leading their division. It will be a true test for us and we know that. We are ready for it. We feel like we are getting better in all phases.”

It won’t be much fun if his mobility is hampered by the injury as he tries to evade Dallas’ powerful pass rush, led by DeMarcus Ware, who leads the NFL with 14 sacks.

“Their front seven is as good as anybody’s,” Kolb said. “Rob Ryan does a good job of mixing a lot of different looks in there, getting mismatches here and there that he wants. That causes a lot of disturbance. When things get like that, you just have to play your own game, focus in on the details of your own offence, and try to simplify things and do them right.”

Arizona running back Beanie Wells said it’s important for him to have some success on the ground to keep the pressure off Kolb. Wells, despite a nagging right knee injury that limits him in practice, set a franchise record with 228 yards rushing in last Sunday’s 23-20 win at St. Louis.

“We don’t want to go out there and say it was a fluke — it happened one time — and we can’t run the ball successfully, we can’t block successfully, like we did that game,” Wells said.

Dallas’ standout punter, Mat McBriar, will face the NFL’s rising punt-return star Patrick Peterson, the rookie whose fourth return for a TD this season came last week against St. Louis and tied a league record.

“It’s easier said than done to say we’re going to punt it out of bounds or we’re going to do this with the ball,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “Those are hard things to do. Every team that faces the Cardinals has this challenge. It’s very important for our coverage teams to play well and keep him contained, and to tackle him well. He’s really exceptional. I think the evidence has been out there over the course of the first 11 games.”

Arizona’s defence has played better lately, growing more comfortable in the scheme of first-year co-ordinator Ray Horton. But against the Cowboys, the Cardinals will be challenged not only by Romo and his receivers but by rookie running back DeMarco Murray, who in his first extensive playing time following an injury to Felix Jones set a single-game franchise rushing record of 253 yards. Like Wells, he did it against the Rams.

Murray has gained 834 yards, averaging 5.7 per carry.

“He was banged up early in training camp and didn’t really play very much in the preseason until the last preseason game,” Garrett said. “He was working his way to getting some more reps as the season started, and then he got a real good opportunity against the Rams a few weeks back and did a really good job for us running the football. He’s certainly helped us a great deal, and we’re hopeful that he’ll continue to play as well as he has.”

The teams have met 86 times and used to face each other twice a season when they belonged to the NFC East. In the old days, before University of Phoenix Stadium was built, about the only time Arizona sold out at home was when the Cowboys came to town and their fans packed Sun Devil Stadium. Even now, a good share of the crowd will be cheering on the Cowboys.

And as for those last two hair-raising matchups, “Don’t mean nothing,” Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. “Different teams, different records, different personnel. Don’t mean nothing.”

IRVING, Texas (AP)—The Dallas Cowboys did everything expected from them in
November. They played four games and won them all.

They didn’t exactly get better as they went along, and they didn’t exactly
face the toughest foes in the toughest circumstances. Yet they always found a
way to win, and there’s something to be said about that.

It remains to be seen whether this group led by Tony Romo(notes), DeMarcus Ware(notes) and
rookie sensations DeMarco Murray(notes) and Dan Bailey(notes) can consistently beat winning
teams in high-stakes games. But the bottom line on this recent surge is that
they’ve put themselves in position to find out.

The Cowboys (7-4) will head into the final five weeks of the season atop the
NFC East. They’ll either be tied with the Giants or a game ahead of them,
depending on what happens when New York plays in New Orleans on Monday night.

“We needed to get going,” Romo said. “We had some tough losses earlier in
the year, and we were in position to win some games. At some point you’ve got to
get on a roll and stack the wins together. Getting these four wins was very
big.”

Dallas and New York still have two meetings left, including the finale on
the road on New Year’s Day. The Cowboys’ other three games are all against teams
with losing records, but none are gimmes. They’ll be on the road against Arizona
and Tampa Bay, and both are .500 at home, and they will play host to
Philadelphia on Christmas Eve.

The Eagles were the last team to beat the Cowboys, and they spanked them
34-7 in the most lopsided loss of coach Jason Garrett’s tenure. Philadelphia
also is coming off a victory over the Giants and could be back in the division
race by then.

Thus, it all comes back to how Dallas plays down the stretch. Do well, and
the Cowboys will make the playoffs. Struggle, and they’ll give Garrett and
owner-GM Jerry Jones a better idea of which players are and aren’t keepers in
2012 and beyond.

“We’re trying not to think of it in the overall big-picture yet,” Romo
said. “It’s strictly about the week-to-week and the process. … At the end of
the year, those things will add up and that’s what will be talked about.”

Romo laughed as he said that, admitting he was parroting some of Garrett’s
pet phrases. He knows that over the three-day weekend—the reward for having
played three times in 12 days—everyone will be analyzing how far they’ve come
and what they have left to return to the playoffs after a bottoming-out season
last year.

“We’ll come back to work on Monday and hopefully everybody gets a chance to
decompress a little bit, take a breath, get refreshed and ready to go and we’ll
get … going again,” Garrett said.

The Cowboys wouldn’t be in such great shape without the emergence of Murray
and Bailey.

Murray was a third-round pick who was expected to help complement Felix
Jones(notes). The lockout and a hamstring injury slowed him so much that when Jones
went out with an injury, Dallas didn’t immediately hand him the job. Then he ran
for 253 yards in a game he didn’t start and there was no doubt they had a
special player.

Dallas is 5-1 since Murray became the featured runner. He’s gained 761 yards
over those six games, which is more than NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith, fellow
Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett or any other Cowboys running back has ever had.

Against Miami on Thursday, he showed he can be a closer, the kind of guy who
grinds out yards and burns the clock even when everyone knows that he’s coming.
On five straight carries, he gained between 3 and 9 yards. He nearly broke one
of those into a longer gain but had the presence of mind to fall down in bounds
rather than risk getting shoved out of bounds and stopping the clock.

“I’m still growing,” Murray said.

Bailey won a preseason kicking competition that included a fellow rookie,
the incumbent and two veterans. But he didn’t exactly win the job outright as
incumbent David Buehler(notes) was kept for kickoffs and rookie Kai Forbath(notes) went on the
non-football injury list, giving Dallas a pair of options just in case.

Buehler is now on injured reserve and Forbath isn’t likely to get a chance
here.

Bailey has made 26 straight field goals, one shy of matching the club record
and 12 more than any rookie in NFL history. The last two games ended with him
making a field goal, and he’s won four games this season with a kick in the
final 2 minutes of regulation or in overtime. No kicker in NFL history had ever
done that more than three times.

“Knock on wood, he’s been pretty automatic,” Garrett said. “He’s a very
consistent guy, both in his personality and his temperament. … He seems to go
out there and kick it through the pipes every time we ask him to do it.”

That’s what the Cowboys have done for the last month. They pulled away from
Seattle in the second half, crushed Buffalo and eeked out wins over Washington
and Miami. The Redskins and Dolphins each have only three wins, so consider that
a potential warning sign.

Or maybe it’s a sign of a team that simply does what it takes to win.

The answer will be revealed over the next five weeks.

When Melissa Morrison tried out to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader in 1995, she didn’t tell anyone about it until she made the team. When her daughter, Maegan, tried out in May, there was no way she could keep it a secret from her friends and classmates. In fact, the whole TV-viewing public knew about it.

When the CMT show “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” debuted in 2006, it brought another level of notoriety to the most iconic cheer team in the world, and Maegan got swept up in it during the sixth season, where she made it to the final round before being eliminated.

“The tryouts are pretty much the same, but the competition is way harder because it’s a television show,” said Melissa, 38, who cheered during the Cowboys last championship season, in a Tuesday interview at Starbucks. “I never had somebody critique me and possibly say mean things just to rattle you. It was testing to see who could handle the pressure. Maegan had a TV crew around her pretty much the entire time, the big pole with the fluffy microphone, and every time something happened they wanted to know her reaction.”

“Now that I think back, I was constantly stressed out with people texting me asking ‘How did it go?,’ ” said Maegan, who at 18 was one of the youngest of the 400-plus cheerleaders to try out. “I didn’t want to let people down.”

When Maegan moves to Arlington, Texas, next spring to try out again, “I think I’m going to deactivate my Facebook during that period of time. I need to focus a lot more.”

Although she didn’t make the team — a feat that would’ve made her only the fourth “legacy” (cheerleaders whose moms had also been on the team) — Maegan went through a lot of trials just to get to the final round of about 60 women. She graduated from Smith-Cotton High School, where she was a member of the High Voltage Dance Team, a semester early in December 2010. She battled a kidney infection during the preliminary round. And she missed her graduation ceremony because she was in the semifinal round.

Never before had Maegan been so scrutinized as during the Cowboys cheerleader tryouts, even though she had grown up in her mom’s dance studio in Sedalia — Melissa’s Dance and Cheer Academy, which closed last year — getting the watchful eye that comes with being the coach’s kid. The new Cowboys stadium, which opened in 2009, features the world’s second-largest high-definition video screen; cheerleaders can’t hide anything.

“In the finals, you go out on the field and do the choreography with the veterans and they watch you on the big screen,” Maegan said. “So let’s say they’re talking about your stomach. Well, the TV crew is all connected, so they’ll zoom in on your stomach while you’re dancing and just talk about it. I was so nerve-racked. You just have to smile.”

Despite not making the team, Maegan — who is thinking about an eventual career in dance therapy — is still a Cowboys fan, as is her mom. Melissa grew up as a Chiefs fan in Huntsville, but when she moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and couldn’t get the Chiefs on TV, she gravitated toward the Cowboys, marveling at the fact that the whole city shut down on game day. Although Maegan — who moved to Sedalia when she was 3 — has performed at Chiefs halftime shows as part of the studio team, being a Cowboys cheerleader has always been her goal.

“The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders started it all,” Maegan said. “They’re America’s sweethearts and the most known cheerleaders in the whole world, and that’s always been my dream. People are like ‘What about Oakland? What about the Chiefs?’ And I’m like, ‘No, they don’t have their own TV show, they don’t have an amazing kick line, they don’t have the best outfits, they don’t have the prettiest girls.’ I just want to be a part of it.”

Still, the Morrisons point out that they don’t actively dislike any NFL team. A bit of controversy surrounded the Cowboys cheerleaders on Sunday when Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson gave his touchdown ball to his girlfriend, Kelsi Reich, a Cowboys cheerleader.

Maegan and Melissa didn’t have any problem with Nelson’s gesture.

“Actually, you can’t date football players from your own team, but I guess dating players from the other team is fine,” Maegan said. “I’d probably blush if somebody were to give me a ball. Kelsi talked about (Nelson) when we were trying out.”

“It was done in a tasteful manner,” Melissa said. “She just stared at the camera and was like, ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’ ”

But Melissa leaves no doubt where her loyalties lie, noting that the Cowboys won 44-7: “It’s not like (the Bills) beat them.”

IRVING, Texas (AP)—The Dallas Cowboys have pulled off quite a midseason
transformation.

No longer are they a team that will only go as far as Tony Romo(notes) throws. No
longer are they trying to pull out victories late in the fourth quarter.

Dallas has turned into a balanced club that can break games open early, then
stay in control, all because of the emergence of a single player: rookie running
back DeMarco Murray(notes).

Since an injury to starter Felix Jones(notes) forced Murray to take on a bigger
role, the third-round pick from Oklahoma has averaged 150 yards per game and the
mere threat of him getting the ball has defenses jumping. Dallas has gone 3-1 in
that span, moving within a game of first place in the NFC East.

“I definitely think I get too much credit,” said Murray, who’s been as
humble as he’s been effective.

Murray’s breakout began with a franchise-record 253 yards against St. Louis.
He’s proven that he was no fluke by gaining 74 yards on just eight carries
against Philadelphia, then racking up 139 yards against Seattle and 135 yards
this past Sunday against Buffalo.

Consider this: he has three 100-yard games in the past month, while
predecessor Jones has two in his 41-game career. NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith
also had three 100-yard games as a rookie, but that was over 16 games; he never
had two in a row.

And this: Murray’s 601 yards rushing over a four-game span is 51 yards
better than Smith ever had over a similar stretch. His outburst has lifted
Dallas from near the bottom of the NFL in rushing to ninth-best. He’s up to No.
11 in the league despite having had only 14 carries the first four games.

“He is and should be inspirational,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I
haven’t seen enough of DeMarco. I’d like to see five more years—at least.”

The Cowboys are 5-4 and play teams with losing records in each of their next
three games, giving them a chance to keep this roll going.

Each of their three Murray-infused victories has gotten more impressive. The
topper came Sunday with a 44-7 rout of the Buffalo Bills, a team that came in
5-3 and tied for the lead in the AFC East.

Dallas jumped ahead 21-0 and was hardly challenged. Romo set a franchise
record by hitting 88.5 percent of his passes, the defense went from solid early
to turnover-gobblers late and kicker Dan Bailey(notes) made three field goals. So why
does Murray get the credit? Because each of those can be traced back to the
running game.

Romo is no longer facing a secondary stacked to stop him. Now teams are
committing the usual front seven to stopping the run and often adding an eighth
man close to the line of scrimmage.

For a quarterback, it’s like the difference between driving on an empty
country road and a downtown highway during rush hour. Receivers benefit, too,
because there’s more room for them to roam.

“When (Murray) is bringing the safety down in the box because he is running
the ball so well, it opens it up for us on the outside,” said receiver Laurent
Robinson(notes), who found enough space to catch two touchdown passes Sunday.

Murray makes it work by finding creases regardless of how many guys are
chasing him. He’s turning plays that look doomed into short gains and getting
first downs out of plays that look like short gains. His season average of 6.7
yards per carry practically laps the field among featured running backs. The
next closest is Buffalo’s Fred Jackson(notes), who is at 5.6.

“When you can run the ball to eight-man fronts, it puts a dent in the
defense,” tight end Jason Witten(notes) said. “And then when you have the weapons we
have on the outside, and at quarterback, it puts a smile on your face. His
expectations have not been a good run here and a good run there. His
expectations and his standard have been high. That’s good to see, because a lot
of rookies aren’t that way.”

Offensive linemen love run-blocking, and having success at it sends their
confidence soaring. It’s no coincidence that this unit, considered a liability
early, has just gone back-to-back games without allowing a single sack.

“You see him every week: powerful runner, his vision is outstanding, he can
stop on a dime,” left guard Montrae Holland(notes) said. “You saw it at the end of
the first half when he reversed field. They had overplayed it. He turned back,
reversed it and picked up (25) yards. That’s a great back. I don’t think we did
anything there to help him out.”

The defense loves a ground game because that keeps the clock running and
helps them rest more on the sideline. The more they rest, the more effective
they can be.

That clearly happened Sunday, especially with Dallas up 28-7 at halftime and
using Murray to grind out the clock in the second half. Cowboys fans remember a
similar halftime lead that was squandered against Detroit earlier this season
because Dallas didn’t run enough to protect it.

This time, Murray got those second-half drives close enough to ask Bailey to
finish them off. He did each time, giving the special teams a piece of the
credit.

As Dallas looks ahead to playing at Washington on Sunday, there’s a chance
Jones’ high-ankle sprain has healed enough to allow him to start practicing.

He might even be active Sunday. He certainly won’t be the featured back. But
he might make a nice complement to Murray. Being a part-time player could
actually bring out his best. He had that role early in his career and in
college, when he split time with Darren McFadden(notes) at Arkansas.

“We just want to get him back into action,” coach Jason Garrett said
Monday. “He’s been a really good football player for us the past few years. A
dynamic player both in the run game and the pass games. We just want to get him
some touches.”

IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys defense is suddenly getting run over.

Rob Ryan’s group was the league’s top rushing defense only two weeks ago. Then LeSean McCoy of Philadelphia ran for a career-high 185 yards against them, and Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch followed with his first 100-yard game in nearly three years.

“When you’re doing well and you don’t give up 100 yards, then you do, you have to pay attention to that,” linebacker Bradie James said. “We have to definitely concentrate on that and try to fix it.”

After allowing only 418 rushing yards the first six games, the Cowboys have allowed 401 the past two – both coming when Dallas lost leading tackler Sean Lee, who dislocated his left wrist at Philadelphia and then missed the Seattle game.

Maybe they just had a couple of bad games.

“Things that are fixable,” linebacker Anthony Spencer said after watching film. “That’s probably the positive thing about it is because the things we are messing up on can be corrected.”

Dallas has gone from allowing only 70 yards rushing per game to 100, now 10th in the NFL.

* Dallas placed kicker David Buehler on injured reserve Thursday because of a right groin injury, ending his season. The move came a day after Buehler re-aggravated the injury in practice. The kickoff specialist had been back for only two games after missing the previous four.

After Buehler was limited in training camp by the injury, rookie Dan Bailey took over kicking field goals. Bailey has made 20 of 21 attempts, including his past 19 for a Cowboys rookie record.

Pass-happy Saints now loaded in backfield

METAIRIE, La. — When rookie running back Mark Ingram went down with a heel injury, the Saints had Chris Ivory ready to step in.

Now, after missing the past two weeks, Ingram is back, giving New Orleans coach Sean Payton a tough decision to make – keep four running backs active Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons or make one inactive.

Payton says a four-running back rotation is tough to maintain, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it happening.

Around the league

* CARDINALS: Kevin Kolb failed to practice again on Thursday, seemingly decreasing the likelihood the Arizona quarterback will be able to start Sunday at Philadelphia. He insisted, though, that there has been “dramatic improvement” in his right turf toe injury.

Story Continues →

View Entire Story

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

IRVING, Texas – There will be plenty of chances for the Dallas Cowboys to recover in the NFC East.

Forget about how bad that last game was and their losing record.

The Cowboys (3-4) are just now reaching the midpoint of their schedule at home against Seattle. They are in a three-way scrum for second place in the NFC East with Washington and Philadelphia, the team that just beat them 34-7.

Dallas still has a game left with each, and plays the division-leading New York Giants (5-2) twice in the final month of the regular season.

“If we do what we have to do, everything will take care of itself,” safety Abram Elam said Wednesday. “We’re only as good as our next game. If we don’t handle our business this Sunday against Seattle, it puts us even further in the hole. All we can do is control what we have in front of us.”

That begins Sunday against the Seahawks (2-5), the first of five games Dallas has before facing the Giants for the first time at home Dec. 11.

In that five-game span, Dallas plays AFC East co-leader Buffalo (5-2) and four teams with a combined record of 6-22.

The Cowboys play the Bills at home before going to Washington, which lost 18-16 in Dallas back in September. Their Thanksgiving Day game at home is against Miami (0-7) before a trip to Arizona (1-6).

“We don’t look ahead too much, we certainly feel like we just have to control our own business,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Again, we live in the day of practicing well on Wednesday, and then hopefully coming back and practicing well on Thursday. Certainly our entire focus is doing our best to get ourselves ready to play Seattle.”

Second-year linebacker Sean Lee, the Cowboys’ leading tackler with 73, didn’t practice Wednesday because of a left wrist injured Sunday night. Garrett described Lee as day to day and refused to rule the linebacker out of Sunday’s game.

“We had some evaluations Monday that we feel really good about, and it got us to the point to say we do not have to do surgery Monday afternoon. We’re going to evaluate him day to day, week by week, and just see how that thing responds,” Garrett said. “Knowing Sean Lee, he’s probably a fairly quick healer. … Trust me, he’s chomping at the bit.”

The Cowboys haven’t been able to get any kind of consistency going this season.

Since blowing a lead in the fourth quarter to lose the season opener at the New York Jets, they have won consecutive games, lost consecutive games, then followed a 34-7 victory over St. Louis with the 34-7 loss at Philadelphia.

But the season is far from a lost cause because of the mess that is the NFC East.

“Right now everybody’s mindset is to make it to the playoffs,” defensive end Marcus Spears said. “We’re still in position to do everything that we wanted to at the beginning of the season, and we just have to do something about it. We can’t talk about it, we have to do something about it.”

Every week, Garrett reinforces to his players to forget what happened in the last game, win or lose. So is that harder to do after a 34-7 victory like two weeks ago, or the 34-7 loss they just had?

“We’ll see,” defensive end Kenyon Coleman said with a hearty laugh.

“At times, I forget what our record is,” Elam said. “It’s easy for us, because we’re on game plan thinking about Seattle, so we’ve just got to focus on that. … That (loss) was last week, definitely. The St. Louis game is even further behind.”

The Cowboys have to wait until Christmas Eve for a rematch against Philadelphia, at Cowboys Stadium. They will finish the season on New Year’s Day at the Giants.

“Honestly, I think the worst thing you can do is look ahead because you can’t do anything about that,” Coleman said. “If you don’t handle your business week by week then it don’t matter what happens in the future.”

Notes: Orlando Scandrick will likely start Sunday in place of cornerback Mike Jenkins, expected to miss three games or more because of a right hamstring problem. … Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar is still dealing with a nerve problem in his left foot that he plants when kicking, an injury that kept him from finishing the Philadelphia game. It has been bothering him for a couple of weeks — “the St. Louis game, I was lucky to get through that,” he said — though he is trying to get through practice and ready for Seattle. “We thought we’d be fine getting through the (Philadelphia) game and obviously it didn’t work out,” McBriar said Wednesday. “It’s pain. I know it hasn’t improved at all.” … McBriar planned to change the brace he wore on his left foot, and said the one he wore in the last game rubbed against the affected nerve and caused more problems. A neurologist told him the foot will eventually get back to normal.

IRVING, Texas (AP)—There will be plenty of chances for the Dallas Cowboys
to recover in the NFC East.

Forget about how bad that last game was and their losing record.

The Cowboys (3-4) are just now reaching the midpoint of their schedule at
home against Seattle. They are in a three-way scrum for second place in the NFC
East with Washington and Philadelphia, the team that just beat them 34-7.

Dallas still has a game left with each, and plays the division-leading New
York Giants (5-2) twice in the final month of the regular season.

“If we do what we have to do, everything will take care of itself,” safety
Abram Elam(notes) said Wednesday. “We’re only as good as our next game. If we don’t
handle our business this Sunday against Seattle, it puts us even further in the
hole. All we can do is control what we have in front of us.”

That begins Sunday against the Seahawks (2-5), the first of five games
Dallas has before facing the Giants for the first time at home Dec. 11.

In that five-game span, Dallas plays AFC East co-leader Buffalo (5-2) and
four teams with a combined record of 6-22.

The Cowboys play the Bills at home before going to Washington, which lost
18-16 in Dallas back in September. Their Thanksgiving Day game at home is
against Miami (0-7) before a trip to Arizona (1-6).

“We don’t look ahead too much, we certainly feel like we just have to
control our own business,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Again, we live in the
day of practicing well on Wednesday, and then hopefully coming back and
practicing well on Thursday. Certainly our entire focus is doing our best to get
ourselves ready to play Seattle.”

Second-year linebacker Sean Lee(notes), the Cowboys’ leading tackler with 73,
didn’t practice Wednesday because of a left wrist injured Sunday night. Garrett
described Lee as day to day and refused to rule the linebacker out of Sunday’s
game.

“We had some evaluations Monday that we feel really good about, and it got
us to the point to say we do not have to do surgery Monday afternoon. We’re
going to evaluate him day to day, week by week, and just see how that thing
responds,” Garrett said. “Knowing Sean Lee, he’s probably a fairly quick
healer. … Trust me, he’s chomping at the bit.”

The Cowboys haven’t been able to get any kind of consistency going this
season.

Since blowing a lead in the fourth quarter to lose the season opener at the
New York Jets, they have won consecutive games, lost consecutive games, then
followed a 34-7 victory over St. Louis with the 34-7 loss at Philadelphia.

But the season is far from a lost cause because of the mess that is the NFC
East.

“Right now everybody’s mindset is to make it to the playoffs,” defensive
end Marcus Spears(notes) said. “We’re still in position to do everything that we
wanted to at the beginning of the season, and we just have to do something about
it. We can’t talk about it, we have to do something about it.”

Every week, Garrett reinforces to his players to forget what happened in the
last game, win or lose. So is that harder to do after a 34-7 victory like two
weeks ago, or the 34-7 loss they just had?

“We’ll see,” defensive end Kenyon Coleman(notes) said with a hearty laugh.

“At times, I forget what our record is,” Elam said. “It’s easy for us,
because we’re on game plan thinking about Seattle, so we’ve just got to focus on
that. … That (loss) was last week, definitely. The St. Louis game is even
further behind.”

The Cowboys have to wait until Christmas Eve for a rematch against
Philadelphia, at Cowboys Stadium. They will finish the season on New Year’s Day
at the Giants.

“Honestly, I think the worst thing you can do is look ahead because you
can’t do anything about that,” Coleman said. “If you don’t handle your
business week by week then it don’t matter what happens in the future.”

Notes: Orlando Scandrick(notes) will likely start Sunday in place of cornerback
Mike Jenkins(notes), expected to miss three games or more because of a right hamstring
problem. … Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar(notes) is still dealing with a nerve problem
in his left foot that he plants when kicking, an injury that kept him from
finishing the Philadelphia game. It has been bothering him for a couple of weeks
— “the St. Louis game, I was lucky to get through that,” he said—though he
is trying to get through practice and ready for Seattle. “We thought we’d be
fine getting through the (Philadelphia) game and obviously it didn’t work out,”
McBriar said Wednesday. “It’s pain. I know it hasn’t improved at all.” …
McBriar planned to change the brace he wore on his left foot, and said the one
he wore in the last game rubbed against the affected nerve and caused more
problems. A neurologist told him the foot will eventually get back to normal.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys will renew their great rivalry on October 30 in a prime time battle. As an Eagles fan, I grew up hating the Cowboys. The rivalry is one of the greatest involving Philadelphia sports teams. Over the years, there have been some amazing moments between the Eagles and Cowboys. Here is a look at the five greatest regular season moments from the perspective of an Eagles fan.

1. The onside kick

In the season opener of the 2000 season, the Eagles traveled to Texas Stadium to play the Cowboys. To the surprise of many, the Eagles opted to try an onside kick to open the game. They recovered the kick and went on to rout the Cowboys 41-14. Duce Staley had 201 rushing yards in the game. This game was also famous because Eagles players drank pickle juice to combat the heat. This would start a long run of success for Andy Reid and the Eagles in the early part of the 2000s.

2. Fourth and one twice

In a late season game in 1995, the Cowboys visited Veterans Stadium with a chance to clinch the NFC East. With the game tied 17-17, Dallas coach Barry Switzer decided to go for it fourth and one. He ran a play to give the ball to Emmitt Smith and the Eagles stuffed him. Somehow, Dallas was given a second chance. The Cowboys called the exact same play and the Eagles stopped it once again. The Eagles would then kick a field goal to win the game.

3. 11 sacks

In 1991, the Eagles had arguably the greatest NFL defense ever. They were the best against the run and the pass. They established their strength early in the season by dominating the Cowboys 24-0. The Eagles had 11 sacks of Troy Aikman in the game. Guys like Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Mike Pitts, and Mike Golic tallied sacks. But Clyde Simmons outshined them all with 4.5 sacks in the game.

4. Troy Vincent’s return

In a huge late season game in Dallas, the Eagles took a 24-21 lead on a field goal. But Dallas was driving down the field late in the game. All of a sudden, James Willis picked off a Troy Aikman pass in the end zone and started to run out. He then pitched the ball to Troy Vincent who galloped the entire field for a touchdown. The play totaled 104 yards and sealed the win for the Eagles.

5. Buddy’s revenge

When the Eagles first played the Cowboys in 1987, it was during the replacement player portion of the season. While Dallas had several players that crossed the line, the Eagles didn’t. The Cowboys crushed the Eagles. Never one to let something go, Buddy Ryan promised revenge. With all of the regular players back, the Eagles crushed the Cowboys. An angry Ryan ran up the score late, even allowing Randall Cunning ham to fake a kneel and lead the team to a final touchdown.

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It’s a fumble! What was he thinking? What a way to lose! All 32 teams run plays that make you scratch your head and want to yell obscenities at the television screen. We all know how it feels to watch our favorite team attempt some plays that would not work in a video game never mind an NFL game. For your agonizing, or celebratory approval I present this list of top five boneheaded, head shaking, and overall idiotic plays in Dallas Cowboys history.

Cowboys Stadium has one of the largest HD video screens in the world.
2010

Embarrassing play # 1

Jason Garret’s play call at the end of the half against the Washington Redskins in 2010 was one of the stupidest decisions by a Dallas Cowboys coach in a long time. With the Cowboys down by three points with a mere four seconds left on the clock before halftime at their own 36 yard line any person with a brain would have taken a knee and regrouped in the locker room. The play they ran made absolutely zero sense. Romo lined up in shotgun, snapped the ball, and tossed a pass out onto the flat towards Tashard Choice(notes). He caught it, was quickly tackled which led to a fumble returned by the Washington Redskins for an easy touchdown. The Redskins went on to win the game. It made my list for the complete and utter idiocy involved in this play call.

Embarrassing play # 2

In Super Bowl XXVII, the Cowboys man handled the Buffalo Bills so granted this moment did not change the outcome one bit, but it bears mentioning due to the fact that one it is still talked about to this day, as well as costing them a NFL record. Leon Lett picked up a fumble in the 4th quarter of the game and went off to the races towards an obvious touchdown. Apparently no one told Bills wide receiver Don Beebe so when Leon slowed down to celebrate before entering the endzone Don caught him from behind knocking the ball loose causing a touchback and giving the ball back to Buffalo. The first sentence says it all as to why it made my list.

Embarrassing play # 3

The 1982 NFC Championship Game between the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers delivered “The Catch”, but there was another moment in there that fits this list. With less than a minute to go in the game, Danny White was sacked and he coughed up the ball giving possession to the 49ers sealing the Cowboys loss. This made my list not because of its idiocy, but because of the fact that the Cowboys could have overcome “The Catch”.

Embarrassing play # 4

The date was October 12, 2008. The place was University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale Arizona. The teams involved were Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. In overtime, the Cowboys failed to move the ball so Matt Mcbriar was called in to punt the ball away, and that is when it happened. Sean Morey(notes) of the Cardinals blocked the punt, and his teammate Monty Biesel recovered and scored the winning touchdown. This made my list because of just how frustrating and aggravating it was that the Cowboys lost because of a blocked punt of all things.

Embarrassing play # 5

Near the end of the 1983 season the Cowboys faced off against the Redskins at Texas Stadium. On a 4th and 1, Dallas head coach Tom Landry told their quarterback Danny White to try to draw the Redskins offsides by using a hard count to prey on the defense’s excitement. Danny White however had other ideas. He decided at the line of scrimmage to call a running play instead. The run lost two yards, and the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs costing them the game. This made my list due to the same reasons as the first one on the list.

Sources:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/lists/Top_10_Super_Bowl_ChokesEmbarrassing_Moments#photo-title=Super%20Bowl%20XXX%20-%20Neil%20in%20agony&photo=9126626

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/sep/12/bc-fbn-galloway-columnft-_-sports-700-words/

http://silverandblueblood.com/top-ten-worst-moments-in-dallas-cowboys-history

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IRVING, Texas — Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware missed Wednesday’s practice to rest a back injury that flared in the last game.

Ware has been battling back spasms. Coach Jason Garrett said his absence was precautionary. He is expected to practice Thursday and to play Sunday against St. Louis.

Ware is tied for third in the NFL with seven sacks. He was the NFL’s sack leader last season and in two of the last three seasons. He’s never missed a game in his career.

Also Wednesday, second-round pick Bruce Carter made his debut on the practice field. The linebacker has been on the non-football injury list since training camp. He’s coming off knee surgery. Dallas still has a few weeks to decide whether to activate him.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I started following the Dallas Cowboys in 1964. The Cowboys were a scrappy team with a classy coach. They won their first NFC title in 1970. During the ’70s the Cowboys rode a tall horse all the way to multiple Super Bowls.

During the ’80s the Cowboys rode a bucking bronco. Due to economic reversals Bum Bright was forced to sell the team. Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. From here I start my list of five worst moments in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, listed in reverse order.

5. Loss to the Detroit Lions in 2011

I’m going with the notion that the latest cut stings the most. A hard fought loss to a good team doesn’t bother me. The Detroit Lions of 2011 are a good team. The problem is that we’re seeing a continuing pattern of blowing games that the Cowboys should win.

In week one, the Cowboys had the Jets down 24 to 10 only to lose 24 to 27.

In week four the Cowboys had the Detroit Lions down 27 to 3 only to lose 30 to 34. The biggest come from ahead loss in the history of the Cowboys.

After the bye, week six, the Cowboys blow another lead in a loss to the New England Patriots.

4. The last game in Texas Stadium and the first game in the new Cowboy Stadium

On Dec. 20, 2008 the Dallas Cowboys lost their last game played in Texas Stadium to the underdog Baltimore Ravens by the score of 24 to 33. The Cowboys did not play well. That put a bad taste in my mouth.

The Cowboys lost the first game in the new Cowboy Stadium to the New York Giants. Signed on a wall outside the visitors locker room: “Eli Manning 9-20-09 First win in the new stadium.” The autograph has since been painted over, but the taste is still there.

3. Jimmy Johnson resigns

On March 29, 1994, Jimmy Johnson resigned from the Dallas Cowboys. Most of us will never know the whole story.

This is another case of Jerry Jones letting his mouth overload his—team. It may be true that any one of 500 coaches could have won a super bowl with the assembled talent. But—maybe not. Jerry Jones likes to talk. He should think first.

Barry Switzer did manage to win Super Bowl XXX . The Cowboys have been looking for a horse to ride since that time. Since Jimmy Johnson resigned 5 coaches have been bucked off. Jason Garret now sits in the saddle.

2. Coach Tom Landry is fired

In 1989 Jerry Jones set up a deal to purchase the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys won one game, lost 15. The record is not the problem.

Jerry Jones installed Jimmy Johnson as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The purchase and coaching change was reported in a press conference. It was two days before Jones had an official meeting with Tom Landry to inform him that he was out of a coaching job. The coaching change was probably inevitable, but it should have been handled with dignity and respect. It was not.

Jerry Jones quickly realized he had made a mistake and tried to do damage control. He never truly succeeded in putting it right.

1. The 2009 Dallas Cowboy’s training facility collapse

The Cowboys training facility collapsed in high wind on May 2, 2009. More than 60 players and coaches were in the facility. 12 were injured. The special teams coach, Joe DeCamillis, suffered a broken neck. Rich Behm, a team scouting assistant, was paralyzed from the waist down.

Human tragedy puts into perspective that there might be more important things than winning football games.

Well, there you go. My list of five worst moments in Dallas Cowboys history. Next week let’s win a game. Go Cowboys!

Sources:

Dallas Cowboys Official Team Site

ESPN: NFL

Dallas News

SI Vault

Personal Experience

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