Jerry Jones calls Felix Jones "integral part" of offense

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones refers to (backup) running back Felix Jones as an integral part of the Cowboys' offensive "firepower."

"I think he's an integral part of our firepower," Jerry Jones said, according to Josh Ellis of DallasCowboys.com. "And he will always give defenses something that they've got to be ready for, and he adds a dimension to what we can do in the entire offensive scheme, whether it be the passing game or the (running game). He is a savvy and good blocker, but he gives a lot of options when he's in there.

"I even like the idea of both of them (Jones and Murray) being in there . . . You put both of them in there, that gives us some options."

While Murray is clearly the team's featured back, as Ellis notes, Jones has the potential to deliver big plays for the Cowboys' offense as a receiver out of the backfield and as a change-of-pace back.

Jones' worst season, on a per-carry basis, was 2010 when he was the featured back and averaged a career-low 4.3 yards per carry.

Dre Kirkpatrick falls to the Cowboys ... in our 2012 NFL mock draft

With the Cowboys having the 14th pick in the draft, I've mocked a full first round (and set up a new blog for all NFL posts).

The full first round is at the new blog, but here's how I had the top 14 picks up to the Cowboys selection:

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins (trade via St. Louis): Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, USC
4. Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
6. St. Louis Rams (trade via Washington): Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
8. Carolina Panthers: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
9. Miami Dolphins: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
10. Buffalo Bills: Courtney Upshaw, LB, Alabama
11. Kansas City Chiefs: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
12. Seattle Seahawks: Nick Perry, DE, USC
13. Arizona Cardinals: Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State
14. Dallas Cowboys: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

See the rest ...

With the 14th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft ...

The 2012 NFL Draft is more than three months away.

Here are what some mock drafts are projecting for the Cowboys, who have the 14th overall pick this year (including their commentary):

Rob Rang, CBS Sports - Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska: "The Cowboys' defense made gains under Rob Ryan, but inconsistencies in the secondary led to plenty of breakdowns. Sources tell me the Cowboys were very intrigued last year with Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara. Perhaps they'll pull the trigger on a Husker cornerback this time around with the short but physical Dennard, who many scouts are giving a higher grade to this season than they did his former teammate at this same time last year."

WalterFootball.com - David DeCastro, G, Stanford: "The Cowboys have major issues on the interior of their offensive line. Left guard Derrick Dockery is a free agent after missing most of 2011 with a knee injury. Center Phil Costa sucks. Right guard Montrae Holland, meanwhile, can't really be relied upon.

David DeCastro is one of the top interior linemen prospects to come along in years, and he's the highest-ranked prospect on the board. This is a perfect match."

Wes Bunting, National Football Post - David DeCastro, G, Stanford: "The idea of drafting an athlete like DeCastro and potentially playing him next to 2011 first-round pick Tyron Smith at left tackle has to sound mighty intriguing."

Peter Schrager, Fox Sports - Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama: "After seeing opposing offenses torch the Cowboys defensive backfield all season, Dallas fans would be more than fine seeing the 'Boys front office brass take a cornerback in the first round. Jenkins was dismissed from the team by Will Muschamp at Florida a year ago, but had a dominant season for Terry Bowden down at North Alabama in 2011. He’s considered a bit of a gamble because of the off-the-field stuff, but a premier talent at the position. The Cowboys have never been scared of "character" guys and won't shy away from adding Jenkins to their depleted defensive backfield."

Personally, I hope they get go cornerback in the first round. Especially with the Giants and Eagles having elite receivers, the secondary is in need of a serious upgrade.

Staubach to throw out first pitch on Rangers' Opening Day

Even if Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler isn't there, Cowboys Hall-of-Fame quarterback Roger Staubach will be in Arlington for Opening Day.

When the Rangers face the Toronto Blue Jays on April 5th, Staubach will throw out the first pitch, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Considering Staubach was instrumental in bringing the Super Bowl to North Texas, Rangers president Nolan Ryan wanted to honor Staubach.

Now all we need is for Tony Romo to throw the first pass in Super Bowl XLV.

Saturday Links

The Cowboys are going to alternate the starter at the right cornerback position in the regular season between Mike Jenkins, last year's second of two first-round picks.

• Scandrick said: "They told us it was close and we've both played well. We both could've been the starter. It was the most logical thing."

• Mike Jenkins said: "No matter where I'm at, the competition keeps going because there's always somebody behind us trying to take your position.

Today was the deadline for NFL teams to get down to the 53-man roster limit. In doing so, the Cowboys cut three drafted rookies - safety DeAngelo Smith (fifth round), cornerback Mike Mickens (seventh) and receiver Manuel Johnson (seventh). Here's a link to the Cowboys' roster after the cuts. And here's a link to the cuts.

Here's a link to an average fantasy football cheat sheet. Cowboys' players (and their rankings) on the list are as follows: Marion Barber (18), Jason Witten (42), Tony Romo (47), Roy Williams (52), Felix Jones (74) and Patrick Crayton (116).

As Matt Mosley of ESPN points out, the Cowboys will likely look to the waiver wire for help at cornerback.

Sunday Links

Cowboys receiver Roy Williams says of his relationship with QB Tony Romo: "He missed me a couple of times, but I'm not going to complain about that. We're still a work in progress. He's still getting to know me, and I'm still getting to know him."

It seems to be two thumbs up for the new stadium from all surveyed.

The Cowboys have lost rookie OLB Brandon Williams for the season with a torn ACL. The 'Boys have now lost two rookies for the season - Williams and OL Robert Brewster, their third-round pick.

In a consensus fantasy cheat sheet, Cowboys RB Marion Barber ranks 15th. Other NFC East backs rank, as follows: Brian Westbrook 14th, Brandon Jacobs 17th and Clinton Portis 18th.

Even though Titans rookie A.J. Trapasso bounced a ball off the Jerrytron on Friday, Jones says it's staying put.

Patrick Crayton -- not Felix Jones -- will likely be the team's main punt returner this season.

Tuesday Links

Tomorrow morning, Cowboys QB Tony Romo will play golf with Tiger Woods at the Earl Woods Pro-Am. Tonight, Romo is taking a 10-year-old with leukemia to Yankee Stadium.

Second-year cornerback Mike Jenkins says that he has been named the starting right cornerback.

A shopkeeper in Fort Worth was arrested for selling counterfeit Cowboys gear at the Ridgmar Mall.

Should Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Charlie Waters be in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor? The Dallas Cowboys Examiner thinks so. And so do I.

Bradie James helps a fan, who was robbed of his Cowboys' collection, start a new collection.

Donte Gamble is the latest participant to be eliminated from 4th and Long.

Roy Williams is "coachable"

In case you were wondering, Cowboys receiver Roy Williams is "coachable."

"I feel like I can do it all," Williams said after this morning's practice. "If I'm coached to do it the right way, I can do it. Just tell me what to do and I can do it, coach. Because, once again, I am a coachable wide receiver who does what he's coached to do."

In addition to being "coachable," Williams is trying to butter up QB Tony Romo including complementing Romo's girlfriend, according to Tim McMahon of the Dallas Morning News.

"Just catch the ball when he throws it to me, any way I can," Williams said. "And buddy him up -- bring him some food, let him borrow some money if he needs some, just be his best friend.

"I've just got to continue to be his best friend. Put my arm around him and hug him, tell him that his girlfriend looks good, and we'll go from there."

Not sure Romo wants Williams to tell him his girlfriend looks good.

In addition, Williams says he's trying to keep communication open with Romo in the passing game.

"I was frustrated and I let him know," Williams said. "But that's what we're supposed to do. This is our job. His job is to deliver the ball. My job is to catch it and get open. That's how you win, and that's all I want to do."

Regardless of how ready Williams is (or isn't) to be the 'Boys No. 1 receiver, the key to the offense will be adopting a run-first offense with their three-headed rushing attack provided Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice can remain healthy. Now, that would be a "Romo-friendly" offense.

Friday Cowboys Links

The Cowboys are not interested in QB Mike Vick, who just began the final two months of his sentence in home confinement.

And ESPN's Chris Mortensen believes that is only because of the Cowboys' new-found commitment to chemistry and to protect Tony Romo.

The Cowboys are considering cutting or trading Greg Ellis.

Receiver Isaiah Stanback underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee Thursday for an injury he suffered in practice on Tuesday. There isn't a timetable for his return.

Tony Romo on T.O.: "That's not up to any of us players to decide," said Romo, who is distancing himself from Jones' decision to axe Owens. "That's why we're players. The organization and management decides those things. We're all at risk every offseason, depending upon everything. You always want to go out there and try to have all the guys you play with every year. That just doesn't happen. We have to go with the guys we have here now, go forward and keep improving."

Michael Irvin's "4th and Long" was #2 in its timeslot among Men aged 18-34.

DeMarcus Ware did not tweet he's close to an extension

Reports surfaced yesterday that DeMarcus Ware tweeted that he and the Dallas Cowboys were close to a deal.

Per Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News, however, Ware says that he doesn't have a Twitter account. Therefore, he didn't tweet it.

"You don't want anyone on the Internet being an impostor of you," Ware said. "You don't know where it can lead with all that false information."

Ware, who led the NFL with 20 sacks last year, is in the final year of his contract. In his last 36 games, Ware has 39 1/2 sacks.

Joe DeCamillis has broken back after practice facility collapses

Mother Nature has cut the Dallas Cowboys' three-day rookie mini-camp short this weekend. A thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon collapsed the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.

None of the injuries (to the 12 injured) appear to be life-threatening according to Dr. Paul Pepe, chairman of the emergency department at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

None of the Cowboys' players suffered any serious injuries, but special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who is the son-in-law of Dan Reeves, suffered a broken vertebrae.

"It's just lucky and fortunate and a miracle really he's not paralyzed," Reeves told Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News.

DeCamillis will likely need back surgery.

Sunday's practice has been canceled.

2009 NFL Draft Results

Here are the complete Dallas Cowboys draft results:

3rd-round - #5 (69): Jason Williams, OLB, Western Illinois
3rd-round - #11 (75): Robert Brewster, OT, Ball State

4th-round - #1 (101): Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M
4th-round - #10 (110): Victor Butler, OLB, Oregon State
4th-round - #20 (120): Brandon Williams, DE, Texas Tech

5th-round - #7 (143): DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati
5th-round - #30 (166): Michael Hamlin, S, Clemson
5th-round - #36 (172): David Buehler, K, USC

6th-round - #24 (197): Stephen Hodge, OLB, TCU
6th-round - #35 (208): John Phillips, TE, Virginia

7th-round - #18 (227): Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati
7th-round - #20 (229): Manuel Johnson, WR, Oklahoma

Does Jerry Jones need a "straightjacket"?

For the first time, the NFL draft won't start at noon (ET) on Saturday. Instead, the first day of the draft, which includes the first and second round, will kick off at 4 p.m.

And for the first time since 2004, the Cowboys don't have a pick in the first round of the draft. (See Cowboys full draft history here.)

With the 51st overall pick being the Cowboys' first pick in 2009, will Jerry Jones be patient enough to wait until perhaps 10:30 PM (ET)?

"We're going to put him in a straitjacket," executive vice president Stephen Jones joked.

"You're right," [Jerry Jones] said. "Put me in a straitjacket."

As the Dallas Morning News points out, the Cowboys, who made five draft-day trades last year, have made a total of 51 draft-day trades in the past 20 drafts.

In addition to their second-round pick, the Cowboys have 10 picks from the third round on.

2009 Dallas Cowboys Schedule

Earlier this week, the NFL announced their 2009 schedule. Here is the Cowboys schedule, which features six prime-time games:

9/13: Dallas at Tampa Bay
9/20: Giants at Dallas (SNF)
9/28: Carolina at Dallas (MNF)
10/4: Dallas at Denver
10/11: Dallas at Kansas City
10/25: Atlanta at Dallas
11/1: Seattle at Dallas
11/9: Dallas at Philadelphia (SNF)
11/15: Dallas at Green Bay
11/22: Washington at Dallas
11/26: Oakland at Dallas (T-Day)
12/6: Dallas at Giants
12/13: San Diego at Dallas
12/19: Dallas at New Orleans (Sat.)
12/27: Dallas at Washington (SNF)
1/3: Philadelphia at Dallas

The Cowboys bye week is week 6.

The most challenging part of the schedule will be the final five games in December and January. Of course, that's been the most challenging part of the Cowboys schedule yearly regardless of who they play.

MBIII and Felix healthy again

All reports out Valley Ranch are that running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones are healthy again.

Both suffered toe injuries that affected the end of their seasons.

Jones is "running and cutting normally." Barber is back to his challenging workouts that have induced vomiting for Vikings WR Sidney Rice, who is working out with Barber.

Coach Wade Phillips plans on using a three-headed running attack in 2009 with Barber, Jones and Tashard Choice, who played well while Barber was limited and Jones was on IR.