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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo fractured a finger on his throwing hand against the Arizona Cardinals yesterday and could be out for up to four weeks. Tony broke his right pinkie on the first play of a disastrous overtime for the Cowboys. They won the toss, then proceeded to go three-and-out and had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown to lose the game. Tony had difficulty gripping the ball and throwing since the injury, but he won’t need surgery. Head coach Wade Phillips was nevertheless optimistic:

“Brad Johnson is going to be playing quarterback for us this week and we have complete confidence in him. Our team, I think, will rally around him, along with the rest of the guys playing, and everybody is going to do their job and they’re going to do it the best they can do it, and we’re going to demand they do that, and that’s what’s going to happen.”

Fantasy owners will cry the blues about Tony’s injury, but I don’t think this is the biggest problem for the Dallas Cowboys right now. Brad Johnson is a very capable backup QB and while he won’t offer Tony’s big play ability and gun-slinging mentality, he should give the Cowboys a more balanced attack. Let’s face it, the running game has been inconsistent this season and with Brad at the helm, I expect the Cowboys to recommit themselves to a ground attack. Brad’s a smart, experienced and talented backup quarterback who will perform very well. Despite what some people will want you to believe, there’s really not a lot of drop-off here — just different styles.

There’s more injury news to go around, though. Felix Jones’ strained hamstring will cause him to miss a couple games. Plus, cornerback Terence Newman is out for at least three more weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia last week. Those are both potentially nagging, ongoing injuries. Safeties Roy Williams (broken arm) and Pat Watkins (neck) could return this week against the Rams but probably won’t be 100%. Receiver/special teamer Sam Hurd needs ankle surgery. And punter Mat McBriar fractured his right foot on the aforementioned blocked punt and is out 6-8 weeks. Throw in the potential Adam Jones punishment/suspension/banishment and whatever Terrell Owens wants to add to the mix and you’ve got a team in disarray.

Source: DallasCowboys.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Tony Romo Out For One Month

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

The Dallas Cowboys placed a league-high 12 players on the NFC All-Star team. Among the players selected to the NFC squad was Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died last month. Sean received the most votes at his position and was chosen as the starting free safety for the NFC team. A replacement will be announced at a later date. Eleven NFC players will participate in their first Pro Bowl, including Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson, who leads the NFC in rushing yards with 1,278.

Five of the Cowboys’ Pro Bowl players – running back Marion Barber, guard Leonard Davis, rookie kicker Nick Folk, safety Ken Hamlin and cornerback Terence Newman – are also first-time All-Stars. They join tackle Flozell Adams (fourth Pro Bowl), center Andre Gurode (second), wide receiver Terrell Owens (sixth), quarterback Tony Romo (second), linebacker DeMarcus Ware (second) and tight end Jason Witten (fourth) to equal the largest Dallas Pro Bowl contingent ever. Dallas also had 11 players named to the All-Star team in 1993 and 1994.

The starting quarterback for the NFC is nine-time All-Star Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers. Brett, also the leading vote-getter among fans, ties Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway, Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Norm Van Brocklin for the second-most Pro Bowl selections by a quarterback behind Johnny Unitas with 10. Joining Brett at QB are Dallas’ Tony Romo and Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck. Tony is the first Cowboys QB to be chosen for back-to-back Pro Bowls since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman (1992-97). Matt joins Dave Krieg as the only Seahawks quarterbacks to be named to three Pro Bowls.

Starting at running back for the NFC is AD, who seeks to become the first rookie to lead the NFC in rushing since Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (1989). He is joined by Dallas’ Marion Barber and two-time Philadelphia Eagles All-Star Brian Westbrook, who has an NFL-best 1,896 yards from scrimmage. I kind of scratched my head at Marion’s selection, but he is the first Cowboys RB to be chosen since the 2000 Pro Bowl (Emmitt Smith) and Brian is the sixth Eagles running back with multiple All-Star selections. Filling out the backfield is Minnesota fullback Tony Richardson, who makes his third Pro Bowl appearance (Kansas City, 2004-05) and first for the NFC.

Along with Dallas’ TO, now chosen as an All-Star with three teams (San Francisco, Philadelphia), the NFC’s other starting wide receiver is Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, who played in the 2006 Pro Bowl. Rounding out the position are a pair of Pro Bowl veterans in seven-time All-Star Torry Holt of the St. Louis Rams and three-time All-Star Donald Driver of Green Bay.

The starting tight end for the NFC is Jason Witten, making his fourth consecutive appearance in Hawaii. He is joined by Washington’s Chris Cooley, who deservedly will make his Pro Bowl debut.

Minnesota’s Steve Hutchinson will make his fifth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl and start at guard along with the Cowboys’ Leonard Davis. Philadelphia’s Shawn Andrews was named an All-Star for the second year in a row and fills out the position.

Starting at center is Dallas’ Andre Gurode, joined by Minnesota’s Matt Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl selection.

The starting tackles are Seattle’s Walter Jones, an eight-time All-Star, and the Cowboys’ Flozell Adams. Washington’s Chris Samuels, making his fifth Pro Bowl appearance, is the NFC’s third tackle.

A pair of two-time All-Stars will start at defensive end for the NFC in Green Bay’s Aaron Kampman and Seattle’s Patrick Kerney. New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, making his second trip to Hawaii, also was chosen to represent the NFC.

Two Vikings will start on the interior defensive line in three-time All-Star Kevin Williams and two-time Pro Bowl selection Pat Williams. These two combine to make the Vikings the best in the league against the run. Chicago’s Tommie Harris was chosen for the third time in his career.

Seattle’s Lofa Tatupu makes his third Pro Bowl trip and will start at inside linebacker. He will be joined at the position by rookie Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, the No. 11 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft. The outside linebackers are Chicago’s Lance Briggs (third Pro Bowl), Seattle’s Julian Peterson (fourth) and Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. Julian and DeMarcus were chosen as the starters.

All three cornerbacks on the NFC team are Pro Bowl newcomers. Green Bay’s Al Harris and Seattle’s Marcus Trufant will start with Dallas’ Terence Newman coming off the bench.

At free safety, the late Sean Taylor was selected as the starter. Dallas’ Ken Hamlin also was chosen at free safety and four-time All-Star Darren Sharper of the Minnesota Vikings will be the starting strong safety.

Two Bears are among the quartet of players who will handle special teams duties for the NFC. For the second consecutive year, Chicago’s Devin Hester will be the return specialist and Brandon Ayanbadejo will be the coverage specialist. Dallas’ rookie Nick Folk is the kicker and San Francisco punter Andy Lee was selected for the first time in his career.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Dallas Cowboys Lead NFL With 12 All-Stars, 11 First-Time Selections For NFC

This Sunday the Dallas Cowboys play the Detroit Lions. Big deal? Well, it kind of is. The Lions have lost four straight to even their record at 6-6 and desperately need a win to stay in the Wild Card race. The Cowboys are 11-1. I guess that means things don’t look so good for the Lions. Anyway, last year (in the ‘06 season finale) the Lions, who were out of the playoff race at the time, spanked the playoff-bound Cowboys 39-31. Lions QB Jon Kitna torched the Dallas defense for 306 yards and four TDs. And let’s just say it wasn’t Cowboys CB Terence Newman’s best day. Afterwards, on a Seattle radio show, Jon (who is from Seattle) said:

“We definitely felt like Terence Newman was the best corner that they had, so we knew we needed to be careful with him. But even with him, I mean, he’s not Marcus Trufant in my opinion. He doesn’t have that kind of ability. It wasn’t like you were scared to throw at him, I guess.”

I really didn’t think that was very offensive, but it prompted much angst and Terence made the following comment on Sirius NFL Radio yesterday:

“Basically, what it boils down to is, you’ve got to watch what you say. Your mouth can’t write checks that your (backside) can’t cash. That’s what it comes down to. Everybody’s going to see those quotes. He better just hope I don’t blitz off the edge because I’ve got 15, 25, 30 – however much it would be for a fine. I’ve got that much for one fine. Revenge will be sweet definitely.”

I’ll be blunt. What a dumb thing to say. First of all, Terence needs to let his play do the talking. If he doesn’t like what Jon said, he needs to go out and prove him wrong with exceptional play. Secondly, the officials will be all over Terence Sunday. He won’t be able to look at Jon the wrong way without getting flagged. Plus, he’ll get his own (backside) suspended if he does anything.

I think Terence Newman is a great DB — one of the best in the NFL right now. But to talk like that is both stupid and a bad example. I may be taking this too far, but I think it’s really part of the problem with violence in our society. Physical revenge for a simple comment? If I’m Terence Newman, I’m spending my time preparing to knock down or intercept everything Jon Kitna throws at me Sunday. Then I look him in the eye and smile. He’ll get the message.

Photo by Louis DeLuca, Dallas Morning News

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cowboys CB Terence Newman Threatens Revenge Against Lions QB Jon Kitna