Dallas Cowboys News: "Silly Stats", Hypotheticals And A Little Schadenfreude

Romo: Overanalyzing December record is "just silly" - Dallas Morning News
It's officially December and that means it's time to dig up one of the oldest and most tired storylines about the Cowboys out there.

Yes, it's December. Yes, the Cowboys don't have the best record in that particular part of the season. No, I don't really care. And Romo doesn't either.

Cowboys preparing for Rob Ryan's potential exit - ProFootballWeekly.com
I'm not sure that this is anything more than a half-baked hypothetical that applies to all coordinators on teams with a winning record, but PFW writes that behind closed doors at Valley Ranch, the Cowboys' powers-that-be already are canvassing potential defensive coordinator candidates to replace Rob Ryan, should he leave. That's good to know, but I'm also pretty certain that they're doing this for every coach on staff on a year-round basis.

The Eagles are losers - NFC East Blog - ESPN
In his game summary, Dan Graziano spells out all the reasons why the Eagles lost last night's game and seven other games so far this season: "These are the careless, lazy, undisciplined acts of losing players and losing teams, and whatever the Eagles might have been or should have been, this is what they are. They are 4-8. They are the most disappointing flop of a team in the entire league."

I'm not disappointed. At all. I'm ecstatic. Positively thrilled. Downright giddy with excitement. This is why my forefathers invented the word "Schadenfreude".

Cowboys struggle to stop big passes - San Antonio Express-News
Over the last two games, the defense has yielded 11 pass plays of 20-plus yards. The worrying part: those numbers were produced by what Tom Orsborn describes as "pedestrian passers", Washington's Rex Grossman and Miami's Matt Moore. Orsborn then asks the question whether Dallas has a tendency to let its guard down against mediocre quarterbacks.

How Can Rob Ryan Fix the Dallas Cowboys' Secondary? - The Landry Hat
The Landry Hat has some suggestions on how to fix the secondary. It's a long list and includes more blitzing, more cover 2 schemes, more jamming at the line, less penalties, more Jenkins, utilizing "strange" formations and adding an inch or two to the height of each defensive back.

Cowboys have a touch number in mind for Murray, but it's flexible - Star Telegram
Over the last six games as a starter, Murray has averaged 20.3 carries per game. But eyebrows were raised last week when Felix Jones didn't get a single carry against the Dolphins. Running backs coach Skip Peete said the Cowboys do have a number in mind for DeMarco Murray’s carries, but they don’t stick to it if it’s not necessary.

In Peete's full interview (which you can watch on the mothership), Pete explains that the Cowboys wanted to "ease [Felix Jones] back into the offense", but playcalling and defensive schemes just went against Jones.

Cowboys’ draft disasters aren’t keeping Garrett up at night - mySA.com
Only six players of the 18 players selected in the 2009 and 2010 drafts remain on the Cowboys active roster, but Jason Garrett remains unfazed:

"There are a lot of different ways to put your team together and to acquire talent," Garrett told reporters Wednesday in Irving. "The draft is certainly a very important way to do that, but you can get guys out of college free agency, you can get guys out of pro free agency. If you look at the best teams around this league, a lot of them have done it strictly through the draft, a lot of them have done it other ways."

"We believe in acquiring the talent the best way we know how and putting our team together with the right kind of guys who can help us win, and it really doesn’t matter what the source is."

Welcome back, Kevin Kolb, meet DeMarcus Ware - ArizonaSports.com

Whoever lines up under center for the Cardinals Sunday will have their work cut out for them. The Cowboys are rolling right now and feature one of the game's best defensive lines, one that includes Anthony Spencer and one of the game's best sack artists, DeMarcus Ware, who has 14 sacks on the season. In 11 games.

Good luck, Levi Brown. Look out, whomever is at quarterback.

Cardinals QB Kolb expect to make return to field vs. Cowboys - NFL.com
Kolb practiced with the first-team offense for a second consecutive day Thursday, and all signs continue to point toward Kolb making his return against the Cowboys this weekend.

Austin misses practice again, owner Jerry Jones says it doesn't look good for Cardinals game - Star Telegram
Austin has not practiced with the team the entire week, and it looks like the Cowboys will be extra cautious with Austin to ensure that this time he is healed properly before going back in.

Owusu-Ansah not claimed on waivers - ESPN Dallas
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah was not claimed on waivers, but the Cowboys do not plan on re-signing him to the practice squad this week. They'll probably sign him to the practice squad again once a spot opens up, but overall, it doesn't look good for AOA's NFL career right now.