Cowboys Corner

Carter's development as run defender in first full season pleases Garrett

The Cowboys already knew linebacker Bruce Carter’s speed gave them a good chance to match up in coverage.

But he also gave them run defense, a dimension coach Jason Garrett welcomed.

“I think the area where we felt like he really developed was just as a run player, a guy who can play downhill, who can read and react, and just his ability to make plays all over the field,” Garrett said at his Monday press conference.

Of course, now the Cowboys have to do without all of that. The Cowboys put Carter on injured reserve because of a dislocated left elbow. But at least he’ll carry over the momentum of the strong season he was having.

“He was playing really well,” Garrett said. “He was playing really well early on in the season when he was playing on the inside with Sean Lee. Defends the run. Defends the pass. Very athletic. Can be a really good matchup for us in coverage against some really good tight ends or really good backs.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Spencer takes over play-calling for the defense, and the pleasure of Rob Ryan's voice in his helmet

Linebacker Anthony Spencer’s strong season now includes more responsibility.

He’s going to be the play-caller for the defense now that Bruce Carter is lost for the season to injury.

Spencer got his first chance to wear the communication helmet last week in the second half against Washington, when Carter went out with a dislocated elbow that put him on the injured reserve list. Carter himself had taken over that job from Sean Lee, who went on injured reserve last month.

“It went pretty well,” said Spencer, who had two sacks against the Redskins to match his career high for a season, 6.5. “It was louder than I expected. But it went well.”

What was louder than expected?

“His voice,” Spencer said, breaking into a smile.

Rob Ryan’s?

“Yes. Him in my head was louder than I expected,” Spencer said.

Everyone laughed in understanding. Ryan is certainly a vocal defensive coordinator. But Spencer knows what Ryan expects, and relaying the signals to the defense is just one extra step for him.

“I say them to myself in my head after I hear them, so it was just repeating,” Spencer said. “I mean, that was the only different thing, is he’s yelling, “Watch out for this!” and “Check with this!” and all of the other stuff like that.”

Was he ever tempted to say, “Coach, enough!”

Spencer smiled.

“Nah. I mean, I can’t do that on the field,” he said and laughed. “I just throw him the thumbs-up like, ‘I got it! I got it!’ ”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

'Healthier' Jenkins can expect slot duty, where he just has to get comfortable, Garrett says

The Cowboys are going to count on cornerback Mike Jenkins more in the slot to make up for the absence of Orlando Scandrick, who is out with a broken hand.

“He certainly has as much experience as anybody on our roster playing in there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We’ve played him in defensive packages up to this point, when everybody’s been healthy, because of the kind of player we think he is. He’s been out for a couple of weeks. He’s healthier now, so he’ll certainly have a role on our defense.

“He’s a good football player. He just has to get comfortable playing in there.”

It could be a long-term role. In addition to the broken hand, Scandrick also had a wrist injury, Garrett said.

“Don’t anticipate him being available immediately. But we’ll see how he is as the season progresses,” Garrett said.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones says he likes HC being OC because when offense scores, there’s a feeling head coach helped them score

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says one of the advantages to having the head coach also be the offensive coordinator – a setup that he likes – is that when the offense scores, the team feels like the head coach helped get them in the end zone.

“If you get it in the end zone and your head coach is the coordinator, there’s more of a feeling he got it in the end zone and he helped us get it in the end zone like the quarterback did,” Jones said Tuesday on his radio show on KRLD 105.3 FM “The Fan.”

Jones was making a point about the difficulty of an offensive coach’s job. He said because offensive plays are more fragile than defensive plays, offensive coaches gain stature when they accomplish their goal of scoring.

“If a coach is successful on offense as well as being the head coach, that gives him more influence, in my mind,” Jones said. “Joe Gibbs is the one that basically explained that to me a long time ago.”

Jones was answering questions from the show hosts about whether Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is weighed down with his head coach and coordinator responsibilities.

“I thought you were going to ask ... are the defenses throwing enough at you today that it’s more difficult to be an offensive coordinator today?” Jones said. “I don’t know. I really can’t answer that one. You could easily make the case. But I don’t have the statistic or a fact- based answer for you there. I will say this: That if you get it in the end zone and you’re head coach is the coordinator, there’s more of a feeling he got it in the end zone and he helped us get it in the end zone like the quarterback did.”

Jones said the hardest-working person on a team is the offensive coordinator.

“They’ve got more to do in a game week than anyone,” he said. “Consequently, they really have the hardest job as well as having the most to do. They have to coach offense. Your players don’t rely on as much instincts as you do on defense. And coaches don’t rely on it as much. In other words, you’ve got to have discipline, you’ve got to know where you’re going, and frankly, you can have a player mess it up on defense and still make a defensive play. You have a player mess it up on offense, and chances are, you’ve ruined the play. And that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. So it’s tougher, in general, in my mind. Having said that, if a coach is successful on offense and as well as being the head coach, that gives him more influence, in my mind.”

Jones said he does not believe it’s too much for Garrett right now.

“He certainly has the capacity to handle a lot of things,” Jones said. “... I do know that you can cover too much ground and you let detail drop through the cracks when you cover a lot of ground. The advantages are also there. At this particular junction, Jason does not have too much on his plate.”

 Jones also said he won’t rule out Garrett one day being a “walk-around” coach, the kind that supervises the coaching of the team.

“Jason could easily be a walk-around coach,” Jones said. “All you’ve got to do is get him an offensive coordinator. Again, you take away some of the plusses that go with being the coordinator and the head coach.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

On being Batman, busting through doors, Jerry Jones driving the machine -- it's Brady Poppinga's first day as a Cowboy

Former Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga has some things the Cowboys maybe can use – linebacker experience, a Super Bowl ring, and a splash of personality.

He spent his first day in the locker room at Valley Ranch talking about Batman and busting through doors and Jerry Jones driving the machine and ... well, forget trying to describe it – here some of his quotes:

On how hard it was for him to sit out all year after not hooking up with a team out of training camp:

“You kidding me? I don’t know how many times I just wanted to run through the door and blast somebody. But you got to have patience and understand that you’re a regular civilian in this world and you can’t break laws and break doors. You got to hold you aggression inside of you and get it out when you’re lifting weights or what have you, so it’s good to be back.”

On what kind of training he did to stay in shape:

“A lot of training, a lot of fundamental work. It’s my eighth year, so it’s not my first rodeo. I understand the kinds of movements and the kind of feel I want to have. I’ve been taught very well by my position coach, by the strength and conditioning coaches. From them, I’ve been able to formulate a plan customized to how I like to feel. I was in what you would call Batman shape, meaning, when I get the call, boom, I put the mask on and I’m gone. So I got the mask on and here I am.”

On adjusting to a team trying to fit in so many new players:

“I’m still getting a feel for it. I just got here T-minus five hours ago, so I can’t give you the pulse yet. Check back with me on that one.”

 On understanding the nuances of the defense:

“Every defense has the same concept. Mixing and matching those concepts is different from each team to each team and also with what they call it is different. It’s just like learning a new language. I’ve done that before. I spent two years traveling in South America, learned Spanish. In English, you learn apple is a fruit. In Spanish, it’s manzana. They mean the same things. It’s just figuring out what word means what. That’s the learning curve, and that’s what you have to memorize and get down and I’ll be doing that in T-minus 27 minutes.” (It was 27 minutes until the locker room closed to interviews).

On his personality and bringing energy to the locker room:

“This is just who I am. If you want to tap into that, go right ahead. It’s for the taking. I’m not trying to hold it in. I am who I am. I love who I am. I’m not afraid to show it. If people want to embrace that they can. If they don’t like it, I guess that’s great too. I just realize that half the people are going to like you guys and half the people aren’t, so you mine as well just be who you are. It’s always 50-50. It’s easy being who you are, too, by the way.”    

 On whether he’s been around a team that had so many injuries:

“Yeah, Green Bay, 2010, the Super Bowl year, so I’ve seen it done. Basically you have to have guys when they do come in, they’re the next guys up, whatever their role is, they have to commit to learning and they’ve got to be able to become part of the team. That’s what’s most important. That’s what separates championship teams from average teams, chemistry and guys wanting to play for each other. It’s about learning what you have to learn to do your job description and integrating yourself with the team for chemistry.”

On whether he was one of them:

“Yeah, I was one of them.”

On how his workout went with the Cowboys in November:

“This is a machine that keeps rolling, and the man driving this machine – well, his staff is – Jerry Jones and his staff is driving the machine. If you’re a part of this deal, you’re a part of this deal, and if you’re not, you’re not. I didn’t have any control of it, but this is a great organization, obviously. It’s highly followed. It’s a successful organization. They’ve won some Super Bowls with a lot of great players have walked through these halls. To be a part of this team it’s an honor and a privilege.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Cowboys cut Holmes in favor of street free agent, but, 'We still like Andre,' Garrett says

The Cowboys cut Andre Holmes to make room for a receiver off the street.

But coach Jason Garrett said at his Monday press conference, “We still like Andre.”

That’s a little hard to tell. Holmes caught only two balls this year, and he was inactive in four games. The highlight of his year was the onside kick recovery at Baltimore that gave the Cowboys a chance to win.

He got eight snaps last week against the Redskins after an injury to Miles Austin forced the Cowboys to dig deep into their depth and caught one pass on one target for four yards.

Garrett hinted that Holmes isn’t finished with the Cowboys. His locker still had his gear in it Monday.

“A guy that we’d continue to like to develop,” Garrett said. “We feel good about the guy that we’re bringing in here. So we’ll see. We’ll see what the rest of that story is.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Felix Jones ran with 'will and determination' against Redskins despite knee issues, Garrett says

Felix Jones and his banged-up knees got only nine touches – six runs and three catches – against the Redskins last week.

But Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was still impressed by the way the veteran running back competed.

“I really liked how he ran, the will that he had, the determination that he ran with,” Garrett said at his Monday press conference at Valley Ranch. “Made a couple really good plays in the ballgame. That’s who he is. Hopefully he’ll be healed up a little bit more, a little fresher going into this week’s game.”

Jones has been the Cowboys’ starting running back since DeMarco Murray went out with a sprained foot on Oct. 14 against Baltimore. Jones ran for 92 yards in that game, and he had 71 yards against Philadelphia, a game that prompted Garrett to say Jones appeared as healthy as he has been all season.

But against Cleveland in the next game, Jones hurt the other knee, and he was limited in practice in the short week before the Redskins game.

“I thought he really did a good job fighting through the situation he was in,” Garrett said. “I thought he made some real tough competitive runs. He seems healthy coming out of the ballgame. I think the extra few days will certainly help him going forward.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Stephen Jones said Cowboys will rally despite growing injury list with Bruce Carter now sidelined

Cornerback Mike Jenkins described the mounting injuries on the Cowboys defense like a game of "tag, you are it."

That was after impressive second-year linebacker Bruce Carter was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated elbow, joining linebacker Sean Lee (toe), meaning the Cowboys will have to play the rest of the season without their two leading tacklers.

Carter, who is expected to have surgery this week, is the fourth defensive starter to be lost of the season, including Lee, safety Barry Church and defensive end Kenyon Coleman.

Veteran linebacker Brady Poppinga was signed to the roster to replace Carter, although Ernie Sims and Dan Connor will be the starting inside linebackers against the Eagles on Sunday.

Cornerback Orlando Scandrick had surgery last Friday to repair a fractured hand. He will be out for some time and could miss the rest of the season but the Cowboys are yet putting him on the injured list.

"Yeah it's been frustrating when you got a lot of guys go down," said Jenkins who likely replace Scandrick at nickel cornerback. "Its like tag you are it, next guy down. Everybody is falling like flies."

Instead of looking at the negatives, vice-president Stephen Jones said injuries are part of the game and the Cowboys still have great players, including linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer, who might be playing as well as anyone on the team.

 He also pointed out that the Cowboys will get two players back on defense who were sidelined against the Redskins last Thursday. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff missed the game with a groin injury and defensive end Jason Hatcher was sidelined in the second half with a concussion.

"We will rally," Jones said. "We still have great players. We have DeMarcus Ware and Spencer and we are getting Ratliff back. We got Hatcher out there. Those are two of three starters we didn't have for most of the Washington game. Then we got our secondary pretty much intact other than Church. So we got a lot to feel good about. There are teams that are missing their quarterbacks. There are teams that are missing great players. That is part of it. You got to continue to play."

In other roster moves, the Cowboys signed receiver Anthony Armstrong to replace Andre Holmes, who was cut on Saturday. They signed Reggie Jones to the practice squad to replace receiver Danny Coale.

Clarence Hill

Cowboys cornerback Mo Claiborne remembers penalty-filled day, expects Eagles to target him again

It was a day Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne wants to forget, but even he couldn't help but think about it on Monday outside the locker room at Valley Ranch, six days before he faces the Eagles on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium.

It just two weeks ago that Claiborne had the worst game of his life, committing five penalties – two offsides, two holding, one pass interference – and giving up a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 38-23 victory against the Eagles.

If he remembers, he knows the Eagles remember.

“As I was standing outside, I was thinking about it,” Claiborne said. “And I know the penalties I had last time, they have no choice but to come try me. If I was on the opposing team, I would try me. I just have to prepare myself and get ready for it.”

Claiborne hasn't given up a touchdown or committed a penalty in the two games since, against Cleveland and Washington. He was not part of the barrage of points given up by the defense against the Redskins last week when Robert Griffin III tossed four touchdown passes. 

Still he knows the Eagles are going to focus on victimizing him again on Sunday.

Clarence Hill 

Stephen Jones: More hopeful than ever that DeMarco Murray is ready to return for Eagles game

Nothing has been set in stone, as running back DeMarco Murray has yet to return to practice. But the Cowboys are more hopeful than ever than will go against the Eagles after missing the past six games with a sprained foot.

"I don't know yet," Vice-president Stephen Jones said. "But I feel confident, more so that past weeks, absolutely."

The Cowboys clearly missed Murray, rushing for 85, 19, 65, 101, 63 and 35 yards in the six games in since his injury.

Coach Jason Garrett said Murray must pass a few thresholds before he will be cleared to play. They hope to get him in the practice for the first since his injury on Wednesday.

"We knew going in that he had the foot sprain," Garrett said. "What we had to do was be patient with him. A lot of different thresholds he had to get across before we get him out to practicing. He’s champing at the bit to play, and we just have to be patient with him and make sure he’s doing everything necessary before we put him in a situation to practice and then play in a ballgame. So hopefully that can happen this week."

 Clarence E. Hill Jr.