Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Physical Cowboys Know "It's Time To Raise The Bar."

Pass rushers know they have to raise the bar - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
"Raising the bar" is a phrase that has been making the rounds in the locker room recently, and Jeremy Mincey used it when talking about himself and the other pass rushers.

"I'm raising my bar and my standards these last six games because we're going to need it," Mincey said. "It's time to raise the bar, start putting quarterbacks on the ground and making the plays we know we can make and are capable of."

Cowboys' Physicality Could Be Key Down Homestretch | Scott Crisp, NBC 5 DFW
Crisp writes that the Cowboys hope their new-found physicality will make them weather-proof down the homestretch of 2014.

“You do want to have a team that can handle any conditions--playing on the road, dealing with weather, all the different things that come with being away from your home,” Garrett told the team’s website. “Those are adverse circumstances and you want to be able to embrace those as a team.”

“If your team is set up the right way, you might be able to do that,” Garrett said. “Being a physical team, being a team that can run the football, certainly makes you more weather-proof or away-proof than you would be otherwise.”

Good news, Cowboys! Eli Manning is an interception machine | Tim Cowlishaw, DMN
Cowlishaw writes that it's now or never for the secondary to increase their interception totals:

Given the chances that are likely to present themselves over the next five days between Manning, the king of interceptions, and Mark Sanchez, who has thrown four in 2 1/2 games since replacing Nick Foles, it’s time for this secondary to step up.

Cowboys @ Giants Friday Injury Report: Cowboys Healthy, Giants Shifting Along Offensive Line - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys are looking very healthy for their matchup with the Giants but New York is having to shuffle some players along the offensive line.

Jerry Jones: Give Cowboys’ Joseph Randle 20 carries, he could average 100 yards per game | Jon Machota
Not quite sure what Jerry's intention is here, praise Randle or lessen DeMarco Murray's accomplishments. Pehaps a little of both?

"We’ve got one that if he carried that ball 20 times a game, I think he would have outstanding numbers in the 100-yard up area. That is Joseph Randle," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. "We’re really proud of his progress, what he’s doing. When he’s gotten the ball, he’s been impressive. He’s been impressive away from the ball. Then, of course, we can’t seem to get for anybody’s satisfaction, mainly [Scott] Linehan or Jason [Garrett] or anybody involved, we can’t seem to get the ball in Dunbar’s hands enough. When you look at that, and then we’ve got a back on our practice squad, Williams that just absolutely is ready to go if called upon. So we’re in pretty good shape at running back."

Can DeMarco Murray survive 400 carries? - NFL.com
DeMarco Murray is having the best season of his NFL career. He leads the league in rushing and is on pace for 390 carries, just 26 shy of Larry Johnson's record. But is such a workload sustainable?

Coming off his bye and heading into a Sunday night matchup against the New York Giants, Murray said he's not going to hesitate down the stretch. Though a myriad of factors are working against him, he intends to keep up the breakneck pace of a league-high 123.3 yards per game.

"I'm ready," Murray said earlier this week, via ESPN Dallas. "Like I've said before, whatever they ask me to do I'm going to do it times 10. It's going to be an exciting next couple of weeks for us."

Jerry Jones: Jason Garrett’s contract hasn’t been a concern for me or the Dallas Cowboys | Jon Machota, DMN
Jones sounds like Garrett’s contract extension is a foregone conclusion.

Jones said in an interview with 105.3-FM The Fan that he hasn’t even been thinking about Garrett’s contract status, which ends at year’s end.

“It’s really a non event for me, whether there is concern [from the outside] about it or not,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “I don’t mean to sound that way, but it hasn’t been a concern of mine and we haven’t made it a concern for the club this year. This talk about these contracts, no matter who it is that has a pending contract or one that’s coming up, that’s all for [media and fans] to talk about. That really has no impact on my day.”

CB Micah Pellerin called up | Jon Machota, DMN
The Cowboys are down to three healthy corners, so they called up Pellerin from the practice squad. They'll have to make a roster move to clear space for Pellerin.

Dez: "We Want It More" Than We Did During 8-8 Seasons | David Helman, DMN
A quote from Dez Bryant offers lesson number 242 on how headlines are manufactured. The difference in headlines may appear small, but they are there. This is what Dez Bryant said:

"The years that we did go 8-8, I think -- me, because this is just how I am -- I don't think we worked hard enough," he said. "I'm not saying we didn't work, like, I mean the offseason, during the OTAs -- not the coaches. That's on us."

"It feels different, it’s a lot different – it’s a lot different from last year," Bryant said. "We’re more together, we want it more, we’ve got the same vision, and that’s kind of hard to stop when you’ve got a team like that."

These are the resulting headlines:

Dez Bryant says Dallas Cowboys working harder - Sports Mole

Cowboys WR Dez Bryant: This year is different from past 8-8 seasons | FOX Sports

Jerry Jones glad Dez Bryant says past Cowboys teams haven’t worked hard enough | DMN

Dez Bryant on 8-8 seasons: 'I don't think we worked hard enough' - ESPN Dallas

Dez Bryant: Cowboys didn't work hard enough in past - NFL.com

Jason Pierre-Paul: 'Don't count us out yet' - ESPN New York
JPP is always good for a headline. After the loss to the Cowboys in Week 7, he said the Giants could win their remaining nine games. They lost every game since.

Now he says the Giants can "run the table." Funny guy.

Kevin Gilbride: Eli Manning 'loathe' to take sacks, will 'invite disaster' - Big Blue View
Former Giants offensive coordinator says Manning's biggest flaw is lack of willingness to admit that some plays just aren't going to be successful.

Gilbride also calls Manning, a career 58.7% passer, "an accurate passer." That's funny right there.

Week 12 Critical Match-Up: Good Eli vs. Bad Eli - Big Blue View
If the Giants want to win their game against the Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning is going to have to defeat his mortal enemy: Bad Eli