Kyle Kosier has gone from that other guy on the Dallas Cowboys offensive line to the guy we desperately need. There were times over the past few years when Kyle was dismissed as the weak-link, a guy we should replace. I wasn't too down on him, I always thought he did a great job when asked to pull; he can get down the line and find his block with amazing speed and grace for a 300-pound behemoth. Where I've seen him have trouble is on bull-rushes up the middle and he's not the most powerful run-blocking lineman.
He's your typical good lineman in the NFL, the kind of guy every good football team has on the roster. He's not going to the Pro Bowl and most non-Cowboys' fans only have a passing acquaintance with his name (if at all). But if you're thin on the depth chart at his position, you'll find out how important he is if he gets injured. Or in our case, is it fat on the depth chart at his position? Life without Kyle Kosier has led to life with Cory Procter. And that sucks.
So light a candle for Kyle's foot, although with the way injuries have gone this year, I hold no hope that he'll return this season. That's just my reality right now. The same injury keeps recurring for Kyle; unless he takes time away you have to guess it will keep happening. Here's what Wade says:
"Kyle sprained the same foot, so it doesn't look good for him playing this week," said Phillips, who added that putting him on injured reserve and ending his season has been discussed as well. "That is what we're trying to determine. We're going to look at it again since he had the same injury and is trying to come back twice now. My indication is we're going to go to another doctor and look at the situation and see whether he can come back again and whether he should be shut down (for the season)."
Maybe we get a miracle with Kyle's foot, but we probably should prepare for life with Procter. Count on a lot of runs to the right (their better run-side anyway) and Tony Romo having his pass-rush detector tuned directly to Procter's zone, where he can expect to see defensive players running free.
More news after the jump.
The injury news just keeps getting more depressing. Mike Jenkins is most-likely out for this game and could miss even more time. This means the Cowboys will have to turn to Alan Ball or Quincy Butler this week. The safe money is on Ball who has seen some playing time this year and has also been working on special teams.
Jason Witten - the toughest dude on the planet - plans to play, as usual, even though he got jacked-up by Nate Clements and his ribs are hurting. Pat Watkins got another stinger but says he'll play.
After the Seattle game, should Mike Jenkins' injury linger, at least Dallas will have a ready replacement. Adam Jones returned to practice yesterday and can provide help starting with the Pittsburgh game. If Jenkins is still hurting, we'll need to throw AJ into the mix right away. If Jenkins is back, we can let him concentrate on special teams first, he should return the punts and kickoffs, and then work him into the CB rotation as needed.
Terence Newman and Greg Ellis welcomed back Pac.
Speaking of Terence, he's another injury concern but he says don't worry about it, he's playing.
Wade Phillips' press conferences are pretty boring. He never wants to go into detail about anything. Contrast that with Mike Singletary, who practically gives a blow-by-blow account of the defense they played against T.O. and the role of Nate Clements in the debacle. Interesting reading.