The Cowboys want 24-year old RB Felix Jones to carry the load for them in the running game this year.  If they are going to keep giving him the ball, he’s going to need to do a lot better than he did last week against the Jets.  Jones carried the ball 17 times for 44 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) last week.  Rookie RB DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice are laying in the weeds, waiting to tote the rock if Jones can handle his new full-time gig.

Using a three-headed running back is like using a closer by committee in baseball…..it’s just doesn’t work.  The Cowboys need to decide on building the offense around one of the three guys that finished last season on the roster, or they need to draft a RB or sign a free agent that can handle most of the load.  23-year old Felix Jones is Jerry Jones’ boy because they both went to Arkansas.  He has the highest upside of any back on the roster but he gets dinged up a lot.  Jones played in 16 games for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 185 times for 800 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Jones also caught 48 passes for 450 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab as he does have a nice set of hands to go with his game breaking speed.  Jones has now played in 36 games in his first three years with the Cowboys 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.  Jones has the highest upside of the backs on the roster, but can he handle the pounding of a full workload?  I’m not so sure about that.

27-year old Marion Barber looked punch drunk last season from the pounding he has taken in his first six years in the NFL.  Barber played in 13 games for the Cowboys last year in which he carried the ball 113 times for 374 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD carries.  He also caught 11 passes for 49 yards (4.5 avg) last year.  Barber has now played in 88 games in his first six years with the Cowboys and he has carried the ball 1,042 times for 4,358 yards (4.2 ypc) with 47 TD runs.  He also has caught 174 passes for 1,280 yards (7.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs with the Cowboys.  I have a feeling that his time is coming near an end for the Cowboys.

26-year old Tashard Choice might be the best overall back on the Cowboys but he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to prove it.  Choice played in 16 games for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 66 times for 243 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has also caught 17 passes for 109 yards (6.4 avg).  Choice has played in 48 games 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 carries.  He also has caught 53 passes for 426 yards (8.0 avg) in his first three years with the Cowboys.  He needs to have a bigger role with the Cowboys in 2011.

The Cowboys have signed 34-year old kicker Kris Brown.  Brown played in 3 games for the Chargers earlier this season and he was 4 of 5 on field goals and 8 of 8 on extra points good for 20 points.  He has now played in 179 games in his NFL career and he is 256 of 331 (77.3%) on field goals and he has connected on 355 of 362 extra points good for 1,123 points.  This will put a lot of pressure on 23-year old kicker David Buehler who is going to start against the Eagles this weekend.  Buehler has made 24 of 31 (77.4%) field goals so far this year and he has also made 40 of 42 extra points good for 112 points.  Buehler is on the hot seat now.

25-year old QB Stephen McGee will be starting under center for the Cowboys this coming up weekend in Philly against the Eagles.  McGee was a 4th round pick in April of 2009 (#101 overall) out of Texas A&M by the Cowboys but he didn’t get into his first regular season game until last Saturday when Jon Kitna got injured.  McGee looked sharp as he completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7%) for 111 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (102.8 QB Rating).  McGee also carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 avg) against the Cardinals.  The Eagles have a much better D than the Cardinals so McGee is going to have a real challenge on his hands plus it might be a tad cold.

For some reason the Cowboys have not been throwing too much to Miles Austin lately.  Austin has caught only 9 passes for 116 yards (12.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his last four games.  Austin has now played in 11 games for the Cowboys this year and he has 52 catches for 757 yards (14.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  The Cowboys need to start getting the ball more to Austin who is the best WR they got right now.

The Dallas Cowboys will be without 27-year old RB Marion Barber for a couple of weeks due to a calf injury.  Barber has played in 11 games for the Cowboys so far this year and he has carried the ball 102 times for 313 yards (3.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 11 passes for 49 yards (4.5 avg) so far this year.  26-year old Tashard Choice will be getting the carries that were going to Marion Barber.  Choice has played in 11 games so far this year and he has carried the ball 14 times for 38 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 9 passes for 45 yards (5.0 avg) so far this year.  Choice is a pretty darn good back and he will be motivated to step up after being buried on the bench most of the year.

26-year old RB Tashard Choice has been the forgotten man of the Cowboys despite Marion Barber & Felix Jones’ play slipping this year.  Choice has played in 5 games for the Cowboys this year and he has carried the ball 5 times for 11 yards (2.2 ypc) and he has also caught 7 passes for 31 yards (4.4 avg).  In his first two seasons with the Cowboys, Choice played in all 32 games and he carried the ball 156 times for 821 yards (5.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 36 passes for 317 yards (8.8 avg) during his first two years.  Hopefully the Cowboys will be smart and give Choice some touches the rest of this season.

The Cowboys have played rookie KR/S Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on the Injured Reserve List with a high ankle sprain.  Owusu-Ansah played in 7 games for the Cowboys this year and he returned 25 kickoffs for 543 yards (21.7 avg).  He also made 1 tackle this year.  He was a 4th round pick last April for the Cowboys.  23-year old CB Bryan McCann will replace Owusu-Ansah as the kickoff returner.  McCann has played in 1 game for the Cowboys so far this year and he has returned 5 kickoffs for 139 yards (27.8 avg) and he has 1 tackle. 

Due to the injury to Tony Romo, 38-year old QB Jon Kitna will be the starter for at least the next 6-8 weeks.  Kitna relieved Romo last night and he completed 16 of 33 passes for 187 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  At least Kitna has a lot of experience so I expect the Cowboys’ offense to be o.k. while Romo is out of action.  Kitna has played in 129 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,478 of 4,147 (59.8%) for 27,480 yards with 154 TD passes and 151 INTs (76.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 279 times for 811 yards (2.9 ypc) with 10 TD carries in his career.  The Cowboys’ season is now in the hands of Jon Kitna as they are 1-5 and desperate to start winning some ballgames.

Tony Romo’s overall stats look pretty good but sometimes numbers are a little deceiving.  Despite averaging 421.5 yards on offense (326.3 yards passing) per game the Cowboys are still only averaging 20.3 points per game.  The Cowboys do need to start running the ball a little more which would take some of the pressure off of Romo.  But, he needs to quit making the big mistake which helped cause his team to lose last week against the Titans.  Romo has played in all 4 games for the Cowboys this year and he has completed 119 of 174 passes (68.4%) for 1,346 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 INTs (92.7 QB Rating).  He would be better served to tuck the ball in and run it than keep trying to force the ball into coverage.  He has only carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc) so far this year which leads me to think that he might be scared to take a hit.  Regardless, the Cowboys can’t be a winning team until Romo starts to be more careful with the football.