Cowboys Corner

Hurd goes to IR

The Cowboys moved receiver Sam Hurd (migraines) to injured reserve and promoted quarterback Chris Greisen to the 53-player roster Friday. It leaves the Cowboys thin at receiver. Dez Bryant and Kevin Ogletree both went on injured reserve earlier this month, and Roy Williams has been slowed by a groin injury.

Miles Austin, Manny Johnson and Teddy Williams are the team's only healthy receivers. Johnson and Williams recently were promoted from the practice squad. Johnson has played in one game in his career, and Williams has never been active for a game.

Hurd also is one of the team's best special teams players. He is second in special teams tackles with 21, and he has 14 catches for 120 yards. He is an unrestricted free agent after the season and could go elsewhere to try to get more playing time at receiver.

-- Charean Williams 

Former Arena League quarterback studying hard

Chris Greisen has had the ultimate cramming course this week and he said Friday he has been putting in about 13 hours daily. Greisen, who was signed as an emergency quarterback Monday, has been activated for the Eagles game on Sunday.

The Cowboys put Sam Hurd, who has been bothered by headaches, on injured reserve to make room for Greisen on the active roster.

Jon Kitna missed practice Friday but is still hopefully he can be healthy enough to play. But he has pain in his throwing motion, so it seems likely that he will be sidelined. That would mean Stephen McGee would be the starter and the 34-year-old Greisen would be the backup.

Greisen said he has taken about 15 snaps from starting center Andre Gurode during the week, but he has yet to throw a pass to a Cowboys’ regular wide receiver or tight end.

“I don’t have a rapport with any of the starters,” Greisen said. “ I have a rapport with some of the backups and the scout team guys.”

One of those is Troy Bergeron, who was signed as practice squad wide receiver two weeks ago. Bergeron and Greisen were teammates on the Arena Football League Georgia Force in 2007.

“He was my guy,” Greisen said.

Records from the Arena league are difficult to come by, but one web site had Greisen throwing for 117 TDs in 2007 and Bergeron catching 41 TDs. Of course, the Arena Football League field is 50 yards long, but still, that is good rapport.

Barring injuries, however, neither Greisen nor Bergeron will see action Sunday.

Greisen said he is comfortable with about 75 percent of the game plan but said, “I’ve had plenty of experience in different systems. Everybody runs the same plays, it’s just different verbiage and that’s been the hardest thing for me.”

-- Jan Hubbard

Good Guy Kitna

Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna has been voted the Good Guy Award winner for the 2010 season.  The Good Guy Award is given annually to a player for his cooperation with the media and for the way he carries himself in the community and with his teammates. Receiver Roy Williams won the first award in 2009.

 The local chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) was nearly unanimous in its choice of Kitna, though linebacker Keith Brooking did receive votes and special mention from many of those who voted for Kitna.

-- Charean Williams

Kitna still hurting and is questionable for Sunday

Jon Kitna threw before practice, but he said he is feeling no better than he did since he strained a left oblique muscle in the second quarter of last week’s game.

“Quite a bit of pain when I was throwing,” said Kitna, who wore street clothes out to practice. “It just didn’t feel good, didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like I would give us the best chance to win today. That’s the way I look at it.”

But Kitna isn’t ruling himself out. He is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Eagles and will make the trip to Philadelphia, interim coach Jason Garrett said.

“Forty-eight hours is a long time really, so we’ll see,” Kitna said.

Stephen McGee is expected to make his first career start, while Chris Greisen likely will be his backup. The Cowboys have until 3 p.m. today to make a roster move, and with receiver Sam Hurd (headaches) ruled out of Sunday’s game, the team could move Hurd to injured reserve.

-- Charean Williams

Southlake's Brown returns home

The Cowboys were obviously sending a message to kicker David Buehler by signing veteran Kris Brown -- who went to Southlake Carroll -- to a two-year contract.

Brown, 34, is a 12-year veteran who has kicked for three teams. He has made 77.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, but his worst season came in 2009 when he made only 21 of 32 tries (65.6) for the Texans. That’s when his eight-year career in Houston ended.

Brown played in only three games this season, making 4-of-5 attempts for the Chargers when Nate Kaeding was injured.

Brown has been working out at Rice while waiting for a call.

“I’m excited,” Brown said. “I’m from this area. Growing up here most of my life and following the team and this organization. I’m excited as you can be.”

-- Jan Hubbard

Hurd gets courage award

Cowboys players selected wide receiver Sam Hurd as the 2010 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award. Hurd was honored after coming back from surgery on his right thumb in the offseason.

Hurd is currently second on the team with a single-season career-high 21 special teams tackles and has 14 receptions for 120 yards.

 Previous Ed Block recipients were:

2009 – Kyle Kosier, G

2008 – Keith Davis, S

2007 – Jay Ratliff, NT

2006 – Flozell Adams, T

2005 – Dan Campbell, TE

The Special Courage Award was awarded in 2009 to special teams coach Joe DeCamillis.

-- Jan Hubbard

Ace causes Bradie James to miss practice

Wide receiver Sam Hurd (headaches) and linebacker Bradie James (knee/personal) did not practice Friday and are listed as probable for the Eagles game on Sunday.

Linebackers Keith Brooking and Sean Lee and wide receivers Roy Williams practiced but are also listed as probable.

Quarterback Jon Kitna (abdominal) did not practice and is listed as questionable. And linebacker Leon Williams (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve.

James had a good excuse for not being at practice. His wife, whose name is Star, had a baby boy. The couple named him Bradie Jr. and will call him Ace.

-- Jan Hubbard

Kolb offers different challenge than Vick for Cowboys

Michael Vick is the NFL's 35th-leading rusher with 613 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Kevin Kolb has only 55 rushing yards in his career.

With Kolb starting in place of Vick on Sunday, the Cowboys will have much less concern about Kolb beating them with his feet.

"You do prepare for the system, because they run the same kinds of plays," interim coach Jason Garrett said. "Obviously, Michael Vick is one of the most dangerous escape quarterbacks who's ever played in this league and there has been evidence of that on tape throughout his career, and certainly this year. Kevin Kolb is a guy who is more of a pocket passer. He certainly can move around. He makes a lot of plays with his feet as well, but just not quite those dynamic 70-yard run plays that the other guy makes. He's a good football player. You certainly like the way he throws the ball, how he moves around, how he moves that football team."

Vick bruised his thigh in Tuesday night's loss to the Vikings, which locked the Eagles into the third seed. Philadelphia cannot improve its playoff position Sunday.

-- Charean Williams

Kitna still out

Quarterback Jon Kitna (abdominal) was "walking around pretty good," but he was not practicing Friday. Stephen McGee likely will make his first career start Sunday, with former Dallas Desperados quarterback Chris Greisen as his backup. The Cowboys will have to make a roster move by Saturday afternoon to get Griesen on the 53-player roster. Kitna or receiver Sam Hurd (headaches) could go on injured reserve. Hurd was not at practice Friday.

Linebacker Bradie James was not at practice, because his wife Star delivered the couple's first child.

-- Charean Williams

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Garrett on Kitna: Your guess is as good as mine

During his six-year NFL career as a backup quarterback, Jason Garrett played in 25 games and started nine. During that time, he gained a grand total of 11 yards rushing, so he was not exactly a classic scrambler.

As the interim coach, however, Garrett is quite the dancer. A player could have a hangnail and if asked how the player was doing, Garrett would likely say, “We’ll just have to see. We’ll continue to evaluate it and make a decision before the game.”

Anyone expecting an update from Garrett on quarterback Jon Kitna should be ready for a long wait. Kitna’s left oblique was injured on Christmas Day in Arizona and he has not practiced this week. When asked about Kitna’s condition, Garrett said:

“Still walking around pretty good. So we’ll see. A day to day thing. We’ll take it up to the game.”

The Cowboys must decide on Saturday whether to activate new quarterback Chris Griesen from the practice squad. Griesen, who once played for the Dallas Desperados in the Arena League, was signed earlier in the week as a backup.

Garrett noted that there are “a lot of hours” between Friday and Saturday, “so we’ll continue to evaluate Jon and just see where he is. . . . We’re not going to put a player out there who is not healthy  enough to play. He has to move around and throw and he has to be able to show some evidence of that prior to the game.”

Whether healthy or not, Kitna will travel to Philadelphia for the game. So will regular starter Tony Romo, who has been out since late October with a broken left collarbone.

-- Jan Hubbard