IRVING, Texas - After starting left guard Kyle Kosier was lost for possibly six weeks with a foot injury, the Cowboys began looking for his replacement, intending to rotate backups Pat McQuistan, Cory Procter and Joe Berger at the position in Thursday's preseason game against the Vikings.
But by time the Cowboys defeated Minnesota, 16-10, at Texas Stadium, the left guard situation may have become even more complex.
McQuistan, who was moved from right tackle after Kosier's injury, still seems to be the favorite since he played at the position well into the fourth quarter and seemed to hold his own. The Cowboys pulled him midway through the fourth and replaced him with Procter, who started the game at center. Not only did Procter receive less time at guard, but he was already worn out when he was switched there after playing up until that point at center. Berger didn't budge from the right guard position all game.
Procter doesn't know why the coaching staff waited so long to give him a look at left guard, even though he is more experienced at the position than McQuistan, who spent all of last year and this year's training camp at tackle.
Perhaps, he suggested, it was because new offensive line coach Hudson Houck hasn't really seen him play guard since he joined the Cowboys.
"Shoot, I've been playing center all camp," Procter said. "Coach Houck came in, and he may have just assumed I was a center because all last year, I think I had one game with a couple reps at guard. All the rest were center. He's not going to look at film other than last year's."
That argument doesn't really hold in the case of McQuistan, whom Houck would have only seen at tackle. Despite McQuistan seeing the lion's share of the reps during the game, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said it's impossible to evaluate all candidates until he reviews the game tape.
"It's hard to evaluate the inside blockers until we look at the tape," Phillips said. "Once we get the tape, I think we'll have a better feel how each of those guys played."
There is one player in the running for the starting job who won't show up against the Vikings, because he wasn't there - guard Montrae Holland, whom the Cowboys acquired in a trade with Denver earlier on Thursday. But Phillips did get a good look at Denver's 16-game starter from last season during the week of practices the Cowboys had against Denver before the second preseason game.
"We worked against him in Denver," Phillips said. "We were impressed with the guy. He's more our type than (the Broncos') type. They are a sideways finesse team. He's more of a power guy."
Holland has much more starting experience than McQuistan or Procter, having started every game last season in Denver, and will join the team tomorrow pending a physical, according to owner and general manager Jerry Jones.
Still, he'll have a lot of catch-up to do, so the Cowboys will count on either McQuistan, Procter or Berger to fill the void before they decide if Holland can be of use.
"I think he can get ready quickly," Phillips said of Holland. "What we'll do depends on how quickly he can get ready and what our other guys look like."
Logjam At Linebacker
The Cowboys are down two key reserve linebackers in Kevin Burnett and Anthony Spencer, who both had knee scopes and will likely be out for the season opener at Cleveland on Sept. 7.
As a result, the Cowboys may have to go long at the linebacker position when it comes to trimming down the roster. In Thursday's game, a few roster hopefuls did their best to show why they deserve to be one of the 53 players who will make the team, particularly linebackers Tearrius George and Tyson Smith.
Smith nabbed an interception in the first quarter, and finished the game with two pass deflections and five tackles, tied for the team lead. George did his best DeMarcus Ware impression, sacking quarterback Brooks Bollinger twice and pressuring him numerous other times, including a spree where he sacked Bollinger and then hit him while throwing on the next two plays.
Neither player has really shown up in the three other preseason games, but the recent injury situation may have been extra motivation, although both players downplayed its role in their performances.
"Just playing for the Cowboys is motivation enough, regardless of who's hurt or not, but it does add to it," George said. "You've got to think of all those x-factors."
After being quiet all preseason, no one may be more surprised at Smith's performance than Smith himself, who is still getting used to playing on the inside.
"This is something totally new to me," Smith said. "I've never really played middle before. I've come a long way, and I give credit to (assistant linebackers) coach Dat (Nguyen) and (linebackers) Coach (Reggie) Herring. I haven't looked this good ever, but it paid off tonight."
If the Cowboys do keep an extra linebacker, they will have to decide which they need more, an outside 'backer or an inside one. With Spencer out, there is no proven backup who was on last year's roster to spell Ware and veteran Greg Ellis, while on the inside, both starters Zach Thomas and Bradie James can fill Burnett's role in the nickel defense, along with Bobby Carpenter.
For Smith and George, they just hope they showed enough to sway the coaches' decision.
"It's one of those games where you just had to put it out there and do what you can do," George said.
Kickoff By Committee
The entire preseason, the Cowboys have left arguably their most potent kickoff-return weapon, first round draft pick Felix Jones, on the sideline in those situations, hoping to preserve him for the regular season. Meanwhile, several different players received reps returning kicks - wide receivers Isaiah Stanback and Danny Amendola, corners Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick, and running back Alonzo Coleman.
Of those players, Scandrick and Stanback had the most returns, each running back five kickoffs, followed by Amendola with three, and then Jenkins and Coleman with two. Stanback had the best average by far, with 29.6 yards per return, with Jenkins and Scandrick a distant second and third with 21.6 and 22.0 averages, respectively. Amendola and Coleman only mustered 17 yards a return.
So if Jones were to get hurt, who would fill in? The likely answer to that would be either Stanback or receiver Miles Austin, who handled return duties capably last season. But as of now, both are injured. The Cowboys would therefore likely go with Jenkins or Scandrick, both of whom are expected to make the team.
Peterson's Approval
Vikings Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson might not have played a snap Thursday night, but he had plenty to cheer about.
And it wasn't just when his Vikings teammates were making plays.
Peterson said he was "pumped up" to see former college teammate Tashard Choice, a rookie tailback for the Cowboys, find the end zone for the second time this preseason.
Choice had a nifty run to the corner for an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
"Man, that was a great run," said Peterson, who played with Choice at Oklahoma during the 2004 season. "I always knew he could play. You can just tell by the way he runs. He runs so hard. I knew once he transferred and got an opportunity like he did (at Georgia Tech), that he would play like this."
The reason Choice didn't have much of an opportunity at Oklahoma was because of Peterson, who had a glorious three-year career for the Sooners before getting drafted seventh overall by the Vikings in 2007. Peterson was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, Pro Bowl MVP and set the NFL single-game rushing record last year by rushing for 296 yards against the Chargers.
Peterson and Choice shared a hug after the game and have remained friends for the last four years.
"He's my boy," Peterson said. "I'm excited about his opportunity here in Dallas. I think he's going to do great."
- Nick Eatman
Cowboys Will Discuss Davis
The Cowboys are quite aware their former special teams captain Keith Davis has been released by the Miami Dolphins, but likely will wait until Friday to decide if they will attempt to re-sign the five-year veteran.
Davis, who signed a free-agent contract with the Dolphins and his former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, now Miami's director of football operations, was surprisingly released on Wednesday. Sources say Davis got off to a slow start in training camp after reinjuring the pectoral muscle he had repaired in the off-season. Also, Davis supposedly was somewhat disenchanted with the Dolphins, who in his mind were not giving him a chance to compete for the starting strong safety job. Davis had been listed as Miami's second-team strong safety.
When asked if the Cowboys would be interested in making an effort to re-sign Davis, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, "We haven't - we'll get into that tomorrow and see. It has everything to do with the kind of pressure we have on our 53-man roster."
Jones means the Cowboys might have to go long at other positions because of injuries, and will not have the luxury of keeping possibly a special teams player.
The Cowboys did put a phone call into his agent, Curtis Stephens. Davis, a five-year veteran, does not have to go through waivers before signing with a new team.
-Mickey Spagnola
Dixon Debuts
Undrafted rookie defensive end Marcus Dixon got his first action of the preseason Thursday after battling through a back injury for much of training camp. While the long time off makes Dixon an unlikely candidate to make the Cowboys final 53-man roster, he may have at least earned himself a spot on the practice squad with what was actually a pretty good effort.
The 6-4, 285-pounder entered the game early in the second half, and batted down a pass at the 8:25 mark in the third quarter. He got heavy pressure on Vikings quarterback Brooks Bollinger on Minnesota's first offensive snap of the fourth quarter.
Wade Phillips said this week he didn't think Dixon would be able to play too much against Minnesota because he might not be in football shape after missing practice since Aug. 5. For Dixon, who overcame off-the-field issues before getting to play college football, the chance to play in an NFL game is a dream come true.
"It was definitely a battle," Dixon said. "I think tonight was well worth it. I got to play a football game with the Cowboys. When I knocked that ball down, I just went crazy."
-Josh Ellis
First of the Lasts
In the final year of Texas Stadium, something will happen for the last time in every game. Thursday marked the last preseason game in the 37-year-old venue. And while these games don't count and there's no point in keeping records, the open-roofed stadium has always been rather kind to the Cowboys in exhibitions.
In fact, the Cowboys' home preseason record is 58-34-1 since 1972. Texas Stadium first hosted the Cowboys in 1971, but it didn't open until the sixth game of the season, so the Cowboys didn't play a preseason game there until Aug. 5, 1972, a 26-24 win against Houston. The Cowboys won the last preseason game here as well.
"I did tell this group that I was proud of them," Wade Phillips said. "They won the last preseason game ever at Texas Stadium. They can always hold that memory. It was important to them."
-Josh Ellis
Short Shots
Fourteen different Cowboys players had at least one reception Thursday night with Mike Jefferson, Rodney Hannah, Martellus Bennett and Keon Lattimore each having three catches. . . Smith's interception in the first quarter was the first turnover the Cowboys got in the preseason. Smith's pick led to the only touchdown of the game for Dallas . . . The Cowboys ended up sitting 28 players in this game. So what do players not playing do at halftime? Raid the halftime food spread in the interview room for media and game personnel on the sidelines.
Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
