Cowboys Corner

Arkin plays center and guard against Dolphins, says he's 'in a good spot right now'

David Arkin said he has come a long way from where he was last year, even last month.

“I think I’ve really taken a step forward,” he said after Wednesday night’s preseason game against the Dolphins, when he played in relief of starting center Phil Costa. “It feels good. It’s been hard, but I feel like I’m in a good spot right now.”

Last year, Arkin didn’t make it on the field for a single game, despite being a fourth-round pick. He was inactive all 16 games as the Cowboys worked to make him stronger.

This year, they had to use him in training camp as their No. 1 center while Costa missed time with a back injury. But Arkin also worked as a third-team guard, and played guard in the second half against the Dolphins.

“I’m feeling better about everything, so that’s good,” he said.

In all four games, Arkin and the quarterbacks had clean exchanges. They had trouble with that throughout training camp, but the problems disappeared in practice after the team left Oxnard.

“That was good,” Arkin said. “That was something I was worried about. But it’s a credit to the quarterbacks and working with them. We got everything down and didn’t have any mishandled snaps. That was good.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Tanner said he wasn't out to prove anything, but he showed the form that helped him make team last year

Running back Phillip Tanner said he wasn’t out to prove anything in the fourth and final preseason game Wednesday night. But he did show the ability that helped him stick last year.

He carried nine times for 48 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins in the first half before giving way to Lance Dunbar and Jamize Olawale in the second half. The other backs were brought in to give him competition for the third running back spot, and Olawale gained an edge on the others when Tanner was out with a broken hand and Dunbar missed time with a hamstring injury.

 “It wasn’t like me going out here and proving anything,” Tanner said. “Like we’ve talked before, it was just going out, having fun, playing football – something I’ve been doing since I was 8 years old. Just going out, gelling with the team.”

Tanner gave credit to center Phil Costa and fullback Shaun Chapas for creating running room for him. His first seven carries gained 45 yards. And he said he felt sharp.

“I made sure I stayed in mentally when I was out with the hand,” he said. “I stayed in my playbook, stayed watching film, just going out and gelling with the guys. That’s the biggest thing.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Have we seen the last of Stephen McGee?

By the time the locker room opened to the media Wednesday night, Stephen McGee was gone. Whether his locker is cleared out for good remains to be seen.

McGee completed only 9 of 20 passes for 124 yards and a 65.4 passer rating in a first half of work. The Cowboys scored on three of five first-half possessions, but the Dallas defense scored as many touchdowns as the offense in the first 30 minutes. Linebacker Orie Lemon had the play of the game, intercepting a Matt Moore pass and returning it 26 yards for a touchdown.

The Cowboys will make the decision whether to keep three quarterbacks or whether to keep only two on the 53-player roster with Rudy Carpenter, assuming he clears waivers, on the practice squad.

“I think we saw some things out of McGee tonight that were really encouraging,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on the Channel 21 halftime show. “It's been vintage McGee. Other teams have shown interest in Stephen McGee. We know somebody thinks he’s a pretty good ballplayer. We do, too. It really depends on our 53rd guy, without McGee. If we think we can live with him, or do we think we need a third quarterback? That will be something we’ll go through tomorrow after the game, and we’ll make a decision tomorrow."

The Cowboys drafted McGee in the fourth round in 2009 knowing he would take some time to develop. He has one career regular-season start. He went 11-for-27 for 127 yards and a touchdown in a 14-13 victory over the Eagles to end the 2010 season after Romo and Jon Kitna were injured.

-- Charean Williams

 

 

Mike Jenkins passes his physical, could practice as early as Saturday

Cornerback Mike Jenkins passed his physical Wednesday night. He is off the physically unable to perform list, starting the clock on his three-day waiting period. He could practice as soon as Saturday.

Jenkins had his right shoulder surgically repaired by Dr. James Andrews in January. He was scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday to meet with Andrews, but the trip now is unnecessary since his shoulder obviously has regained strength.

It would seem unlikely Jenkins would play in the season opener against the Giants on Sept. 5, considering he has done nothing football-wise since the 2011 season ended. But the Cowboys have not ruled him out of the first game.

Jenkins, a one-time Pro Bowler, made 22 tackles, with 10 pass breakups and one interception last season while battling through injuries. The Cowboys could have traded Jenkins after signing free agent Brandon Carr to a five-year, $50.1 million deal and trading up in the draft to take Morris Claiborne. Instead, Jenkins remains in the Cowboys' plans and provides depth for a secondary that was the worst in team history over a two-season stretch.

-- Charean Williams

 

Cowboys close preseason with 30-13 win

BY CHAREAN WILLIAMS

ARLINGTON -- 

Rookie Lance Dunbar rushed for 105 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, and Dan Bailey made three field goals in a 30-13 win over Miami in the preseason finale Wednesday night at Cowboys Stadium.

The final roster cutdown is Friday. Dallas opens the regular season at the New York Giants next Wednesday.

 "A lot of guys got a chance to play in the early part of the ballgame," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. "I think for most part they did a good job. Dunbar ran the ball really well. He showed his lateral quickness and burst through a hole and obviously made big runs. He's a tough guy, not afraid to stick it up in there.

 "There were a lot of good things. Those are just initial impression from the sidelines. I feel good about how those guys played. We have a lot of cleanup. The execution, we've got to get better and clean up obviously. They're playing with the right spirit and mentality."

 In the battle for a backup running back job, Dunbar, second-year man Phillip Tanner and rookie fullback Jamize Olawale had strong games. Dunbar and Olawale played at North Texas.

 Dunbar had a 27-yard punt return to go along with his 105 yards. Tanner had nine carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. Olawale had seven carries for 53 yards with a long of 24 yards.

 Stephen McGee completed nine of 18 passes for 124 yards.

 "He did a good job once we got going a little bit on offense. We were trying to be balanced early on. Once we started throwing, he started making some plays. You could see him getting a little rhythm," Garrett said. "He can make some plays with his feet. That's a good trait for a quarterback to have. He had a pretty solid first half."

 The Dolphins opened the scoring when Dan Carpenter made a 21-yard field goal after a flag-filled 73-yard drive for a 3-0 lead.

 Teddy Williams fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Dolphins recovered at the Cowboys’ 33.

 Four plays later, Carpenter made a 53-yard field goal to make it 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

 Dallas countered with Dan Bailey’s 30-yard field goal and followed with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Orie Lemon to take a 10-6 lead with 11:27 left in the half.

 "Orie Lemon made a huge play in the game," Garrett said.

 After forcing a Miami punt, the Cowboys marched 80 yards for a touchdown. Phillip Tanner scored on a 1-yard run to make it 17-6 with 4:43 left.

 On the final play of the half, Bailey made a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-6.

 The scoring continued in the third period when rookie Lance Dunbar scored on a 58 yard run to push the lead to 27-6.

 Miami rookie Lamar Miller scored on a 1-yard run.

 Dallas closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter with another Bailey field goal, this from 27 yards, to make it 30-13.

 "We'll go back and watch the tape as quickly as we can tomorrow and continue to make those evaluations," Garrett said. "We'll see how all this plays out."

Jerry Jones said McGee's performance in first half encouraging, that other teams have shown interest in him

 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was impressed by Stephen McGee’s performance in the first half against the Dolphins.

“I think we have some things out of McGee tonight that are really encouraging,” he said in a television interview. “It's been vintage McGee. Other teams have shown interest in Stephen McGee. We know somebody thinks he's a pretty good ball player. We do, too.”

McGee completed eight of 15 passes for 119 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half. He led the Cowboys to a 20-6 lead and had a 79.6 passer rating.

Jones said the Cowboys have to think about McGee versus the 53rd player on the roster when cut-downs are made this week.

“If we think we can live with him or we do we think we need a third quarterback,” Jones said. “That will be something we'll go through tonight after the game, and we'll make a decision tomorrow."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Starter releases "Romo Responds" campaign

Starter today released a print and digital campaign featuring Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. The "Romo Responds" campaign addresses the pressure he and his Cowboys' teammates are under to win a championship.

Romo, 32, has one playoff victory since taking over as the team’s starter during the 2006 season. He has said on multiple occasions he needs to win a Super Bowl to be considered a "great" quarterback.

  

 

 

 

SI picks Cowboys to win NFC East but fall to Packers in wild-card round of playoffs

For better or worse, the Dallas Cowboys have made believers of the folks at Sports Illustrated. The magazine picks the Cowboys to win the NFC East this season, with senior writer Peter King targeting the team for a 10-6 finish. He also predicts the Cowboys to lose in the wild-card round of the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers.

The Cowboys are coming off an 8-8 season in which two late-season losses to the New York Giants helped the Giants claim the division title with a 9-7 record. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys play their final pre-season game tonight against Miami (7:30 p.m., Cowboys Stadium), then open the season Sept. 5 at the Giants.

_ Jimmy Burch

Witten will get some on-field work soon, though he has not been cleared for contact

Jason Witten's lacerated spleen is healing, but apparently, he still does not know when he will be cleared to play a game. Witten had a scan of his injured spleen Tuesday and learned that he can get some on-field work, with no contact, in the next few days, according to Stephen Jones.

Jones told 105.3 The Fan that Witten still hasn't been ruled out of the Giants' game. It seems more likely, though, that the Pro Bowl tight end will return for the Sept. 16 game at Seattle given that he has another doctor's appointment next week.

"He had a good [doctor's] appointment [Tuesday]," Jones, the team's executive vice president, told the radio station. "Things are progressing.  …It’s certainly starting to look [like surgery will not be needed]. He’ll go back for another appointment next week and see where it sits."

Witten, who has missed only one regular-season game in his career, lacerated his spleen in the exhibition opener against the Raiders on a hit by Oakland linebacker Rolando McClain. He worked on resistance cords during Monday's practice as part of his rehab.

John Phillips, who has 22 career catches, or 674 fewer than Witten, for 163 yards and a touchdown in three seasons, has taken first-team reps in Witten's absence. Rookies James Hanna and Andrew Szczerba both could make the roster initially, with Witten's status for the opener in doubt. 

"You’ve got to be ready to go," Phillips said. "Step in. Next-man-up mentality. Ready to get out there and go."

-- Charean Williams

Ware won't promise five sacks of Eli, but vows he and his hamstring are ready

Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware will get a chance to do what the woman on the NFL's "Back to Football" commercial wants him to do: Sack Eli Manning five times.

Ware said he practiced Monday and "a little bit" Tuesday and vowed himself ready to go for the season opener against the Giants on Sept. 5. Ware hurt his left hamstring in practice Aug. 16 and missed the past two preseason games. He and most of the team's other starters will not play Wednesday night against the Dolphins.

"It's good," Ware said of his hamstring. "...We practiced [for] New York today, did some things, so I'll be good." 

Ware said he shot the NFL commercial at MetLife Stadium and didn't know how it was going to turn out until he saw the finished product. He called the exchange with Manning and a couple -- the man a Giants fan and the woman a Cowboys fan -- "funny." The woman tries to make Ware promise to get five sacks of Manning.

"They can expect what they want to expect," Ware said, with a smile, when asked if fans should expect five sacks from him. "We have to be able to get some pressure on the quarterback to win that game."

Ware has sacked Manning more than any other quarterback, with 10.5 of his career 99.5 sacks coming against the Giants quarterback. He has never had more than four sacks in a game, though.

During his acceptance speech Tuesday for team defensive MVP honors, Ware said he was "up here shaking" because he is so excited for the Giants game. The Cowboys have anticipated the rematch with the Giants since the schedule was released. They lost the regular-season finale at MetLife Stadium on New Year's Day, an elimination game that propelled the Giants into the playoffs and onto the Super Bowl title.

"I think the Giants have been on my mind since the end of the season, because you think about how you lost," Ware said of the 31-14 defeat. "That sort of motivates you to get you through the off-season and carry you through training camp and now that's our first game. We've been preparing for it the whole time, and we want to make a statement the first game. ...I think everybody's ready it."

-- Charean Williams