Cowboys Make Roster Moves To Supplement Offensive Line

Not sure whether or not LG Derrick Dockery will be medically cleared to resume practice, the Dallas Cowboys made a couple moves in lieu of their tentative situation along the line. Bill Nagy suffered a broken ankle in the Cowboys 20-16 loss to the Patriots on Sunday, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve today.

To fill his roster spot, Dallas resigned guard Montrae Holland, whom the team had released during training camp after he had reported overweight and suffered a back injury. The progress of his replacement, seventh-round pick Bill Nagy, while Holland was injured led to his dismissal despite the team already shelling out a half million dollar roster bonus. Now, the team will get a return on that investment.

In a somewhat surprise move, the team also released WR/KR Dwayne Harris, a sixth round pick from this past April's draft. Harris made big noise during the team's first preseason game, when he amassed 127 yards and two touchdowns. This report I filed for Blogging The Boys at the time ended up being the most fame that Harris would receive, as his playing time was drastically reduced after that game. He has been serving as the team's primary punt returner this season, and recently as their kick returner.

Harris returned 11 punts for only a 6.6 yard average, and has brought back three kickoffs over the last two games for a 24.7 average. Return duties may fall back to receivers Kevin Ogletree (kickoffs) and Jesse Holley (punts), with return man DeMarco Murray expected to take on a bigger role while Felix Jones is sidelined with a high ankle sprain.

Harris' dismissal allowed Dallas to bring in another veteran guard, Daniel Loper, who most recently spent time in camp with the Oakland Raiders.

For more on the comings and goings of the Dallas Cowboys, check out the SB Nation blog, Blogging The Boys.

Note To Cowboys Phil Costa: Play Well, Then Talk

Story updated at 14:39ET

Before the New England game, little known (nationally) Dallas Cowboys center Phil Costa made a bit of noise in the Twittersphere. Well, at least we think thought he did.

When asked on twitter by @DCFanaticsBlog about his upcoming matchup with the imposing Vince Wilfork of New England, Costa quipped with a bit of bravado.

@dcfanaticsblog: You ready for Wolfork big guy? He's a mountain. Good luck on Sunday Phil,"

@philcosta67: appreciate it...of course im ready hes more like a speed bump than a mtn...#cowboys are ready to roll!

Wilfork laughed it off when told about the tweet, basically saying the game was on the field.

Well Phil went out and had the worst day of any Cowboys lineman this entire season.That includes Bill Nagy's scary performance Week One against the Jets, and Doug Free's matador 49ers game that cost Tony Romo a piece of his lung.

ProFootballFocus.com released their individual player grades for the Cowboys-Patriots tilt, and it wasn't pretty for the offense. The only player that received an above average grade from the unit was quarterback Tony Romo. Costa was the worst of the bunch, grading out as a -6.3 for the game; -2.4 in pass protection and -3.6 in run blocking. If you're wondering why they don't add up, he also scored a -0.5 in screen blocking,but did manage a +0.2 on his penalty grade.

For those unfamiliar with the PFF grading system, they basically track each player on every play, assign a grade for how they performed their job and tally them up. They have a litany of categories they score in, and while no advanced metric is perfect, it does serve as a good measuring tool beyond the simple stats that can often be misleading. For more on their methods, go here.

Costa surrendered three quarterback pressures and one hit on Romo, as well as playing the speed bump for a blitzing Gary Guyton on first down as the Cowboys tried to run out the clock. Guyton stopped Murray in the backfield for a loss of two.

I performed an analysis of the Cowboys offensive line performance against the Patriots for SB Nation's Dallas Cowboys blog, Blogging The Boys. It was horrible. Their play, not the written piece (I think). They accounted for 23 mistakes on the Cowboys 74 offensive snaps.

On the other side of the line, Wilfork went out and scored his best grade of the season, a +2.9 that included a +3.3 run defense grade.

Now, Costa's twitter account was introduced by a young lady named Leigh Costa, whom we can only assume is related in some way to Phil. whom we've found out actually has no relation to Phil!

After his trash talk, Costa's account was subsequently deleted, before the game, and hasn't been seen from since. It would be safe to assume that the second-year player learned his lesson the hard way. Maybe Coach Garrett caught wind and put down a "Cowboys Way" mandate. Let your play do the talking for you big guy.

[UPDATE]It has been pointed out that Costa (Phil) is saying that he did not tweet those words. He had hired a publicist named Leigh Costa who was manning the account and laid the smack down. Now, I'll leave it up to you to decide whom to believe by going to the page of the blogger that was interacting with Costa's twitter account. The whole, 'it wasn't me who said it' thing has been played before but it could be true.[/UPDATE]

For more Cowboys daily news, analysis and conjecture, join me and the rest of the staff over at Blogging The Boys.

Dallas Cowboys Trade Rumors: Could Tashard Choice Be Gone Tomorrow?

With Felix Jones locked into the RB1 position in the depth chart and rookie tailback Demarco Murray playing well in spots, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be looking to move fourth-year running back Tashard Choice by tomorrow's trade deadline.

Jones told NFL Network's Alex Flanagan on NBC Sunday that he has received numerous calls on the availability of  Choice and will consider dealing the running back back before Tuesday's trade deadline. Choice, has carried the ball 26 times for 67 yards through five games this season. In Sunday's game he carried the ball five times for 14 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Patriots.

Could Jones be legitimately fielding offers for Choice, or is this letting teams now that Choice is actually available?

Choice was drafted by the Cowboys in the 4th-round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Georgia Tech and in his fourth-season he's carried the ball 248 times for 1,131 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Jerry Jones Questions Playcalling After Loss.

Well, you knew this was coming. After blowing another late lead, Jerry Jones questioned the playcalling after the game. He suggested that the Cowboys went “conservative” down the stretch and wondered aloud why Garrett did not “run a little offense down there” with the game on the line.

Michael Smith has the full quotes.

“This game was decided right down there at the end, and I am so proud of these players, the way they competed tonight,” Jones said. “We rolled the dice at the end and went conservative rather than try to get some points and it bit us.”

Whenever you get the ball into the hands of a player like Brady at home, you’ve got problems,” Jones said. “We are up here on their field and we knew what the odds were, so we flipped a coin and it came up against us. We know what [the Patriots] are about and we knew what our challenge was here. If you were in a playoff game, you’d probably drive it home. You always second guess whether or not we should have tried to run a little offense down there instead of running it three times.”

The playcalling could certainly be called into question as Brett Perryman pointed out, but it’s never good when it’s your owner doing the questioning.

But we should be used to it by now. It’s just Jerry being Jerry.

Jerry Jones: Bill Nagy Out For Season, Felix Jones Could Miss Next Week

If another close loss wasn’t enough, Jerry Jones disclosed to media after the Cowboys’ 20-16 loss to the Patriots that Bill Nagy did fracture his ankle late in the game and will miss the rest of the season. Nagy injured himself on the Cowboys’ 1st-goal screen pass to Martellus Bennett late in the fourth quarter. The play gained five yards, but Dallas was unable to score from there, and Tom Brady led the New England on a late TD drive to win the game.

Nagy surprisingly won a starting job as a 7th round draft pick after barely playing at Wisconsin. Leonard Davis was released at the start of training camp, and Andre Gurode was let go just after the club’s final preseason game. That left Phil Costa as the starter at center and Nagy fighting with fellow rookie David Arkin and newly signed Derrick Dockery for the starting job at left guard. Nagy won the battle and had been the starter.

Jones also said that Felix Jones’ high ankle sprain, suffered in the first half, could keep him from playing next week at home against the Rams. Tashard Choice and DeMarco Murray filled in for Jones the rest of the way today.

Cowboys Fall To Patriots: Jason Garrett Asked For That Loss

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Final: Tom Brady Leads Game Winning Comeback Drive, New England Wins 20-16

Tom Brady captured his 115th regular season win with a vintage comeback drive, down three points with under three minutes to play, to lead New England to a 20-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Tony Romo had an All-Pro afternoon, finishing 27 of 41 for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but couldn’t respond to Brady’s game winning drive down four with 22 seconds left. The Cowboys would settle for field goals instead of touchdowns in the red zone on three drives Sunday – twice after intercepting Brady.

The Cowboys managed only 87 yards rushing after starting running back Felix Jones went down with a sprained left ankle before halftime. DeMarco Murray finished with 32 yards on ten carries.

The Dallas defense held New England scoreless until Brady’s final drive, an 80-yard effort that followed a Cowboys field goal.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Score: Dallas Takes Its First Lead Of The Game, 16-13

Since throwing an interception on the game’s first drive, Tony Romo has been on fire for the Cowboys – he just can’t find the end zone. Dallas settled for another field after another red zone stall killed a long drive started by a Tom Brady interception, and now lead the Patriots 16-13.

Romo has hit ten different receivers for 286 yards, including 152 combined yards for Dez Bryant (four for 78) and Miles Austin (seven for 74).

Dallas’ defense held New England to a three-and-out following the field goal, and now have possession at their own 28-yard-line with 3:36 remaining in the game.

Felix Jones Injury: Cowboys RB Suffers Ankle Injury, Won't Return

ESPN Dallas is reporting that Cowboys running back Felix Jones has suffered a sprained left ankle and won’t return to today’s game against the Patriots. Jones was playing in today’s game after suffering a dislocated shoulder against the 49ers two weeks ago.

Jones appeared to injure his ankle on a seven-yard reception during the Cowboys’ last drive before the half. In his absence DeMarco Murray has received the bulk of the carries for Dallas, assisted by Tashard Choice.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots: Cowboys Tie Game 13-13, Felix Jones Out

Andre Carter sacked Tony Romo on 2nd and goal to stall the Cowboys in the red zone, and Dallas would settle for another Dan Bailey field goal to tie the game at 13.

Running back Felix Jones has not officially been removed from the game, but was not present on the Cowboys’ 12 play, 77-yard drive and was seen jogging on the sidelines. Jones has two rushes for 19 yards. DeMarco Murray has become Dallas’ primary back, and has 25 yards on six carries to lead the team in rushing.

Neither team has run the ball effectively. The Patriots’ leading rusher, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, has 26 total yards through the third quarter.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Halftime Score: Jason Witten TD Catch Cuts New England Lead To 13-10

Tony Romo hit Jason Witten for the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the day, answering the Patriots’ 10-point run in the second quarter. New England leads 13-10 at the half.

Tony Romo is 13 of 19 passing for 138 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Dez Bryant leads all receivers with 78 yards on four catches. Between DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones, Dallas has managed only 35 yards rushing.

The Cowboys’ last drive of the half was by far their most complete, taking seven minutes, 11 plays and 93 yards with a balanced combination of Bryant receptions and Murray rushing.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots: Brady-To-Welker Breaks FG Fest, New England Leads 13-3

New England hit the game’s first touchdown drive on a series of Tom Brady passes to four different receivers. Brady hit Wes Welker on a four yard touchdown pass just edging the near side pylon that went to a booth review after a New England challenge.

Aside from one interception the Cowboys failed to score a touchdown from, Brady has been effortless so far, hitting 10 of 14 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Four New England receivers have catches of 13 or more yards.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Score: New England Stalls In Red Zone Again, Lead 6-3

The Patriots have been able to move the ball with little resistance outside of the red zone, but Rob Ryan’s defense has held New England to a pair of field goals after long drives.

Stephen Gostowski’s second kick, a 26-yarder, capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive that began when Cowboys’ running back Tashard Choice fumbled on the New England 21-yard line. The Patriots’ Vince Wilfork recovered, and New England moved down the field on a 45-yard pass from Tom Brady to Deion Branch.

Dallas has managed only nine yards rushing so far.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Score: Cowboys Return Fire On Pats INT, Tied 3-3 After 1 Quarter

The Cowboys and Pats ended the first quarter with four combined turnovers and a field goal apiece.

Dallas responded to the Patriots’ field goal from a Tony Romo interception with their own three points from a turnover. Tom Brady was picked off by the Cowboys’ Terrance Newman to set up a 48-yard field goal after Dallas couldn’t advance the ball following the INT.

Both teams then traded turnovers: New England fumbling the kickoff return following the Dallas field goal, and then the Cowboys’ Tashard Choice fumbling on the New England 21-yard-line.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Score: Patriots Capitalize On Romo INT, Lead 3-0

The New England Patriots turned a Dallas turnover into 3 points early, as a 31-yard Steven Gostowski field goal capped a nine play, 34 yard drive. The Pats started at midfield after a Tony Romo interception on the game’s opening drive.

Romo’s pass was intended for Dez Bryant, and came just as Dallas had crossed into New England territory. The Cowboys were able to limit the Pats to a field goal after a Demarcus Ware sack of Tom Brady on 3rd and six.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots: Cowboys Inactives

Here are your Cowboys inactives today: Stephen McGee, David Buehler, Tony Fiammetta, David Arkin, Derrick Dockery, Clifton Geathers, Jason Hatcher.

Hatcher is the one that hurts, as there was some hope after his injury that he could return this week. That had become increasingly unlikely, though, and he was listed as Out this week. Buehler still isn’t around to help with kickoffs, and Arkin and Dockery are your inactive offensive linemen.

Miles Austin and Orlando Scandrick are both back, and Kyle Kosier is healthy enough to leave the two guard inactives.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Injury Update

We’ve gotten a few tidbits from the Patriots so far. Jerod Mayo is out for New England, but Aaron Hernandez, Ben Jarvus-Green Ellis and Danny Woodhead are active.

Kyle Kosier will play for Dallas.

Cowboys Vs. Patriots Week 6 Injury Report

Cowboys Vs. Patriots: Time, TV Schedule, Radio Streaming And More

The Dallas Cowboys travel to take on the New England Patriots and will be facing one of the leagues most potent offenses that is No. 1 in total yards, No. 1 in passing yards and No. 2 in points at 33 per game. The Cowboys will need to try to slow down the Tom Brady to Wes Welker combination in Sunday afternoons game.

The Cowboys offense is no slouch either and can put up points against a Patriot defense that is middle of the pack so far this year as they are averaging 24.8 per game. Expect the Cowboys offense to more potent this week as they are expected to get wide receiver Austin Miles back and be at full strength for the first time since the season opener.

Game Date/Time: Sunday, October 16; 3:15 p.m. CT

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.

TV Schedule: Fox

Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver

TV Distribution Map: The506.com

Radio Schedule:105.3 The Fan, Affiliates

For more on the Dallas Cowboys go check out Blogging the Boys and for more on the New England Patriots go over to Pats Pulpit.

NFL Week 6 Picks

The staff at SB Nation Dallas picks each game in Week 6, including this week's marquee matchup between the Cowboys and the Patriots.

Vince Wilfork Responds To Phil Costa, As You'd Expect A Patriot To

NFL Week 6 Injury Report: Dallas Cowboys Update

The latest injury report is out for the Dallas Cowboys, who are as healthy as they have been all season coming off a bye week and headed into a big road game against the New England Patriots.

After battling through injuries over the last few weeks, the Cowboys offensive playmakers -- QB Tony Romo, RB Felix Jones, WR Miles Austin and WR Dez Bryant -- are all listed as "probable". Perhaps just as important is the health of CB Orlando Scandrick, also listed as probable after missing three weeks with an ankle sprain, who will be vital to stopping the Patriots air attack.

Four players -- K David Buehler (groin), G Derrick Dockery (knee), FB Tony Fiametta (hamstring) and DE Jason Hatcher (calf) -- have been ruled out for Sunday's game. Hatcher's absence will affect the Cowboys' pass rush, as Marcus Spears is his likely replacement in the starting line-up.

Rob Ryan 'Afraid To Comment' On Wes Welker

Putting one of the outspoken Ryan twins in the media fishbowl surrounding the Dallas Cowboys is a recipe for headlines, as Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has the ability to make news even when giving the most innocuous of statements.

After the brouhaha in Detroit two weeks ago, when Ryan claimed that his defense saw two better WR's than Calvin Johnson every week in practice, he's trying to be more circumspect when discussing New England Patriots star WR Wes Welker:

"I'm afraid to comment on wideouts," Ryan told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Apparently, I don't anything. All I know is [Welker] is great. He catches every pass there is. I'll leave it at that." 

Cowboys fans will have to hope that the return of CB Orlando Scandrick, who was injured in their Week 1 loss to the New York Jets, will give Dallas a better chance against Welker than they had against Calvin Johnson two weeks ago.

Cowboys May Have Trouble Stopping New England's... Running Backs

Patriots Jerod Mayo Return To Practice, Might Suit Up Against Dallas

Surprise news just flashed across my twitter feed. Linebacker, captain and signal caller for the New England defense, Jerod Mayo, returned to practice after suffereing a sprained MCL two weeks ago. SB Nation's Pats Pulpit is following up initial reports of the sighting with some cautious optimism that Mayo will be able to play against Dallas; but is wary of a possible reinjury.

Participating in practice on a wet field would have to be a good sign for his playing Sunday.

WEEI.com is also reporting that BenJarvis Green-Ellis returned to practice on Friday after sustaining a toe injury earlier in the week. Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork participated as well after missing time due to personal reasons.

For what it's worth, and in the trash talking department this and one dollar can buy you a 99 cent cup of coffee with a penny left over, Phil Costa isn't concerned with Wilfork being in the game.

Earlier in the week on twitter, Costa responded to a question about facing the Patriots big lineman that has two interceptions on the season. Well, at least we think it was Costa.

When asked "@dcfanaticsblog: You ready for Wolfork big guy? He's a mountain. Good luck on Sunday Phil," the Cowboys' starting center responded with the following:

@philcosta67: appreciate it...of course im ready hes more like a speed bump than a mtn...#cowboys are ready to roll!

Confidence is great Phil, but what happens if Vince starts yelling out the snap counts on you?

Of course, it might not even have been Costa. After being welcomed to the twitter universe by the Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) official account and making that reply, the user suddenly 'Doesn't Exist' according to the website.

Did Wilfork eat Costa's account?

Trying To Set The Record Straight On The Cowboys

I had the opportunity to visit with ESPN Radio-Fayetteville's The Red Zone with JB earlier this week to talk a little professional pigskin. We covered a couple topics, notably the Cowboys reliance on an unpredictable Tony Romo due to a still-gelling running game. We also covered the bonus that the Cowboys will receive from being as healthy as they've been over the last couple seasons. We also discussed a few of the other games on this Sunday's NFL slate, including my dismissing Mark Sanchez and the Jets, who happen to be Josh's team.

If you can spare 15 minutes out your life, take a listen.

This was recorded on Wednesday, so we do have a little more information on the injury front.

Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick have all participated fully in practice this week and appear to have no limitations heading into Sunday. This is the first time the team has been completely healthy outside the hashmarks this season. Up the middle, RB Felix Jones (shoulder) S Danny McCray and S Barry Church also suited up and went full speed.

On the list of lingering injury concerns, LG Derrick Dockery (knee) FB Tony Fiammetta (hamstring) and DE Jason Hatcher (calf) did not participate in practice this week. RG Kyle Kosier (foot) and K David Buehler (groin) were limited participants but are expected to be available.

For more on the Cowboys and Patriots Sunday matchup, make sure you check us out at Blogging The Boys.

Week 6 NFL Lines And Odds: Dallas Cowboys Vs. New England Patriots

Dez Bryant Was Almost A New England Patriot

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was almost drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2010 draft. The Patriots worked out Bryant twice and according to NESN's Jeff Howe head coach Bill Bellichick did a lot of homework on Bryant:

"We definitely did our work on Bryant," Belichick said. "I think the things that we see -- he's a big receiver, a strong guy, hard to match up on outside, hard guy to tackle after the catch. He's got, like a lot of these receivers, it seems like we see one every week that have outstanding size or they're very strong. They have great reach, and even if you have them covered, you really don't have them covered because of their length, and their ability to either body up the defender, or just out-jump them or out-reach them for the ball. He's definitely in that category and a hard guy to tackle when he gets the ball in his hands."

The Patriots had the 24th pick in the draft but swapped picks with the Cowboys to acquire, and that allowed the Cowboys to take Bryant with the 24th pick. The Patriots ended up selecting cornerback Devin McCourty with the 27th pick. Had the Patriots drafted Bryant, it would be scary to think of how good Bryant could be by catching passes from Tom Brady.

For more on the Dallas Cowboys head over to Blogging the Boys, and for more on the New England Patriots go check out Pats Pulpit.

Dez Bryant Misses Second Hearing Regarding $600,000 Debt

Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant missed his second hearing to attempt to resolve an alleged $600,000 debt Bryant owes a local jeweler and ticket broker.

Dez Bryant Healthy, But Calls In Sick (Or Didn't Call) To Court Appearance

The Cowboys practice session today was as healthy as it has been at any point in 2011. Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Orlando Scandrick are all practicing without restrictions for the first time all season.

Only five players were missing from Thursday's practice; DE Jason Hatcher (calf), OG Derrick Dockery (leg), FB Tony Fiammetta (hamstring), K David Buehler (groin) and LB Bruce Carter. Carter has been on the PUP list since training camp and will be eligible to begin practicing with the team after the New England game. The second-round pick will start off on special teams, but could be the coverage catalyst needed to compliment Sean Lee's run stopping prowess at the middle linebacker positions.

For the Patriots, Ben-Jarvis Four-Names-One-Game Green-Ellis was held out of practice today with a toe injury, according to Rotoworld.com. BGE has scored five rushing touchdowns already this season, and would be replaced by interesting rookie Stevan Ridley. Danny Woodhead is expected to suit up, as is Aaron Hernandez who made his return last week against the Jets. Albert Haynesworth is also planning on joining the Patriots buffet defensive line. LB Jerod Mayo is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Sunday is fast approaching and the Cowboys-Patriots tilt highlights an interesting slate of NFL games. Dallas is going to be the healthiest they've been all year, maybe even as far back as the 2009 season. It would be great if the water cooler talk was about this fact, or the X's and O's for this game. But here comes Dez Bryant and his financial dealings to discuss.

I am all for giving player's passes for whatever transgressions they make in life outside of felonies, because I follow what happens with on-the-field incidents. What a man does outside of the football field isn't my concern. Do I care if Dez Bryant isn't paying his bills? But people love their off-field storylines, and I wish that Dez would stop giving them this ammunition.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant failed to show up for a scheduled Tuesday hearing to settle a $600,000 debt with a jeweler/ticket broker.

Beth Ann Blackwood, the attorney for Colleyville resident Eleow Hunt, filed a motion in Tarrant County court Wednesday afternoon seeking an immediate hearing to settle the debt.

How much does this affect me? None, not in the least bit. However, this country lives vicariously through it's actors, musicians and athletes, and as such, this becomes newsworthy. Instances of immaturity or financial hardship, rarely tell you everything you need to know about a player, but that doesn't mean people won't talk. As such, Dez needs to handle this situation already.

NFL Week 6: Dallas Cowboys Vs. New England Patriots

Coming out of their bye week, the Cowboys head to Foxboro to take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.