The Cowboys have signed 28-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner played in 8 games for the Lions last year and he connected on 13 of 16 field goals (81.3%).  He also made all 16 of his extra point attempts as he finished up last year with 55 points.  Rayner played in 51 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he connected on 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%).  He also has made 64 of 65 extra points as he has 229 points so far in his NFL career.  Rayner will get a legit shot to win the starting job with David Buehler out of action due to injury.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Cowboys have released Dave Rayner.

The Cowboys have released 32-year old center Andre Gurode.  Gurode played in 16 games (all starts) for the Cowboys last year.  He played in 138 games (122 starts) in his 9 years with the Cowboys.  Gurode made it to five Pro Bowls as a member of the Cowboys, so he’s not going to be easily replaced.  The essentially cut him because he wouldn’t restructure his contract.  Only time will tell if this was a mistake or not.

The Dallas Cowboys have lost 24-year old TE Martellus Bennett for the next 2-4 weeks due to a right high ankle sprain.  Bennett played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he caught 33 passes for 260 yards (7.9 avg).  He has now played in 46 games (25 starts) for the Cowboys in his first three years with the team and he has caught 68 passes for 702 yards (10.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Cowboys are going to miss Bennett while he is out of action as he is a pretty good backup TE.

The Cowboys just played good enough to pull this win out of a hat last night.  Tony Romo completed 15 of 20 passes for 141 yards without a TD pass or interception.  Jon Kitna followed him into the game as he has sharp in completing 4 of 6 passes for 59 yards with 0 TD passes or INTs.  Stephen McGee made a brief appearance in this game as he completed 1 of 3 passes for 12 yards.  Tom Brandstater completed his only pass attempt and it was good for 31 yards.  Rookie RB DeMarco Murray led the way on the ground for the Cowboys last night with 32 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.6 ypc).  Phillip Tanner pitched in with 25 yards rushing on 5 carries (5.0 ypc) last night.  Felix Jones pitched in with 20 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD grab and he also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg).  WRs Dez Bryant (5 rec, 67 yards) and Jesse Holley (3 rec, 51 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Cowboys last night.  The Cowboys finished up with 117 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 227 yards last night.

The Cowboys were bending a lot on defense last night without breaking much, as the Vikings moved the ball well.  LB Anthony Spencer (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit), LB Kenwin Cummings (4 tackles) and safety Gerald Sensabaugh (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Cowboys’ D last night.  CB Alan Ball only had 1 tackle last night but he also returned a blocked Shayne Graham field goal 20 yards for a TD.  The Vikings finished up with 175 yards rushing on 27 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 33 passes (57.6%) for 267 yards last night.  The Cowboys are now 2-1 on the preseason.

The Cowboys know that backup QB Jon Kitna isn’t going to play forever.  So they are using the pre-season to get 25-year old QB Stephen McGee a lot of work.  He has responded well so far.  McGee has played in both of the pre-season games for the Cowboys and he has completed 30 of 53 passes (56.6%) for 365 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (89.0 QB Rating).  McGee also has carried the ball 5 times for 32 yards (6.4 ypc) so far in the pre-season.  The Cowboys have to be very happy with what they have seen out of McGee so far in the pre-season.

Rookie 6th round pick Dwayne Harris is looking sharp so far in the pre-season.  Harris has caught 5 passes for 127 yards (25.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs in the Cowboys’ first two pre-season games.  Harris is starting to push veteran Kevin Ogletree for the #3 WR job in 2011.  I think he will be the #4 WR and a special teams ace when the dust settles before the season opener on 9/11/2011 vs. the New York Jets.  He has a bright future in Dallas.

24-year old Felix Jones will finally be a true #1 back in 2011.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 185 times for 800 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 48 passes for 450 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Jones has homerun speed to take the ball to the house any time he gets his hands on it.  He could have a breakout season for the Cowboys if he can handle the increased workload in 2011.  Jones has played in 36 games (8 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 331 times for 1,751 yards (5.3 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 69 passes for 579 yards (8.4 avg) with 1 TD grab so far in his NFL career.

26-year old Tashard Choice will also likely see an increased workload in 2011 with Marion Barber on the Bears now.  Choice played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 66 times for 243 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 109 yards (6.4 avg) last year.  Choice has always been a solid back, so he should be able to handle an increased workload in 2011.  Choice has now played in 48 games (3 starts) in his first three years with the Cowboys and he has carried the ball 222 times for 1,064 yards (4.8 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also has caught 53 passes for 426 yards (8.0 avg) so far in his NFL career.

23-year old rookie DeMarco Murray will have a shot to compete with Tashard Choice for the #2 RB job in training camp.  Murray was a 3rd round pick out of Oklahoma last April in the NFL Draft.  He was a good RB in college so Choice better bring his A-game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE COWBOYS RBS IN 2011:  B

The Cowboys have signed 33-year old kicker Shayne Graham.  Graham played in 9 games for the Patriots & Giants in which he nailed all 12 of his field goal attempts last year.  He also made 39 of 41 extra points to finish up with 75 points last year.  Graham has now played in 136 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has connected on 208 of 242 field goals (86%).  He also has made 315 of 320 extra points as he has scored 939 points so far in his NFL career.  Graham was signed because Cowboys’ starting kicker David Buehler has a problem with his hip.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Cowboys have released Shayne Graham.

The Cowboys looked sloppy offensively last night and it cost them this game.  Tony Romo started at QB and he completed 8 of 12 passes for 58 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Jon Kitna made a brief appearance as he completed his only pass attempt, good for 2 yards.  Stephen McGee finished up this game at QB and he completed 16 of 29 passes for 157 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards last night.  Felix Jones led the way for the Cowboys on the ground last night with 7 carries for 56 yards (8.0 ypc).  Phillip Tanner pitched in with 31 yards rushing on 4 carries (7.8 ypc) last night for the Cowboys.  TE Martellus Bennett (3 rec, 33 yards), WR Kevin Ogletree (3 rec, 27 yards) and TE Jason Witten (3 rec, 17 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Cowboys last night.  The Cowboys finished up with 109 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 42 passes (59.5%) for 204 yards in this game.

The Cowboys’ D looked pretty solid last night, especially against the run.  LBs Kevin Cummings (6 tackles), Orie Lemon (5 tackles) and DeMarcus Ware (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Cowboys’ D in this game.  The Chargers finished up with 92 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 28 passes (71.4%) for 147 yards last night.  The Cowboys are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

Stephen McGee was one of the big heroes for the Cowboys last night.  He completed 14 of 24 passes (58.3%) for 208 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  McGee’s last TD pass went to rookie WR Dwayne Harris (more about him later) for 13 yards with 15 seconds left in the game!  McGee also carried the ball 4 times for 25 yards (6.3 ypc) last night.  Tony Romo started the game at QB and he connected on 3 of 5 passes for 33 yards.  Jon Kitna made a brief appearance to in which he completed 3 of 4 passes for 23 yards.  RB Phillip Tanner led the way on the ground for the Cowboys last night with 44 yards on 9 carries (4.9 ypc).  Felix Jones was also sharp last night with 3 carries for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 16 yards.  Rookie 6th round pick Dwayne Harris made a great first impression for the Cowboys last night.  He caught 5 passes for 127 yards (25.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  His first TD reception went for 76 yards and his second one was the game winning 13 yard catch.  He also returned a kickoff for 32 yards as he was showing off his blazing speed last night.  TE John Phillips (4 rec, 25 yards) and WR Raymond Radway (1 rec, 6 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Cowboys in the passing game.  Radway also returned 2 kickoffs for 62 yards (31.0 avg) last night.  The Cowboys finished up with 103 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6%) for 242 yards.

The defense didn’t look too good for the Cowboys last night.  LBs Victor Butler (5 tackles) and Bradie James (5 tackles) led the way on D for the Cowboys last night.  The Broncos finished up with 119 yards on 30 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes (59.3%) for 238 yards last night.  The Cowboys have a lot of work to do on defense.  That being said, this was still a very exciting win for the Cowboys.