After four seasons in Dallas, the 32-year-old Davis will be released with hopes that Montrae Holland and/or Phil Costa can step in and take his place in the starting lineup. The Cowboys already agreed to terms with free agent left tackle Doug Free, so anchoring the offensive line will be complete once first-round draft pick Tyron Smith is signed.

Williams has been treading on thin ice in Dallas ever since he was brought in through a trade with the Detroit Lions. Now that Miles Austin has emerged as an elite NFL receiver and second-year pro Dez Bryant showed flashes of brilliance in 2010, Williams’ services and his hefty contract are no longer needed in Dallas.

Barber was once the workhorse of the Dallas backfield, but injuries and his hard running style slowed him in recent seasons. With the emergence of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice and the Cowboys’ drafting of DeMarco Murray in April, Barber knew his time in Dallas was up.

The release of Kris Brown proves Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is confident in David Buehler to handle the field goal kicking duties alone in 2011. Buehler was very inconsistent in his first season as an NFL field goal kicker, but made enough difficult attempts that Garrett believes he has the potential to become a reliable special teams weapon. However, Buehler will now have to compete with undrafted rookie kicker Dan Bailey, whom the Cowboys signed on Tuesday.

“We really don’t think in terms of who’s the No. 1 back on our team,” Garrett said. “We have a lot of good backs; we’ve had good backs for the last few years. Each of them has a role on our team; each of them does a good job fulfilling that role.”

That’s exactly the right thing for Garrett to say. In 2010, the Cowboys proved the ground game is their bread and butter under Garrett. The Cowboys were 4-0 in 2010 when Barber, Tashard Choice and Felix Jones rushed more times than Jon Kitna passed. Using all the backs, whether that be three or four of them, will serve Dallas well in 2011. Obviously, four seems like too many, but Garrett welcomes the idea.

“We did draft DeMarco Murray in the third round so he’ll add to that group and create competition at that position as well as other positions on our team and hopefully we’ll get better as a team and they’ll get better individually as a result of that,” Garrett said.

Garrett got a little trigger happy while serving as offensive coordinator under Wade Phillips for the beginning of the 2010 season as the Cowboys passed the ball 326 times as opposed to 169 rushing attempts. When Garrett took over at the midway point of the season, the Cowboys finished the year with 259 rushing attempts and only 250 passes. That was partially due to quarterback Tony Romo’s absence due to a broken collarbone, but Garrett is on to something.

I harped on this all season in 2010, ranting after every loss about not running enough and rejoicing after every victory about running out of the stadium and the numbers don’t lie. The Cowboys were 4-0 in 2010 when the team recorded more rushing attempts than passing.

The Cowboys need to run, run and run some more in 2011 and maybe, just maybe the team will finally live up to its potential. Let’s be honest; this is a team capable of contending for a championship. The only thing holding Dallas back is self-discipline. That’s not an easy fix, but it’s not an impossible one, either.

With the addition of DeMarco Murray, the Cowboys have a new three-man rotation in the backfield assuming Barber is indeed gone. Choice has proved over the last two seasons that he can handle short-yardage and goal line duties as well as spelling Felix Jones at various times throughout the game. Murray did it all at Oklahoma and will likely serve as a secondary goal line back and a traditional backup for Choice and Jones.

Neither Choice, Jones nor Murray can handle 20 carries per game like the old-school featured NFL running back. Sadly for fantasy football players, that is something of the past. Some call it a problem and if that’s the case, the Cowboys have the best problem in the business.

Choice, Jones, and Murray have the potential to be the best backfield in the NFL. Yep, you read it right. Jones and Choice haven’t gotten anywhere close to their respective potentials and that’s scary for teams that face the Cowboys in the next five or six seasons.

The Cowboys don’t need one running back to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards to be successful; Dallas can win the NFC East easily if all three running backs combine for 1,500 rushing yards. Garrett should give Jones and Choice 10 carries each per game and then throw in five or six for Murray and the Cowboys will ride deep into the NFL playoffs.

The Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s was based on running the football. Troy Aikman never got close to 4,000 passing yards or 30 passing touchdowns during those legendary Super Bowl runs. The Cowboys eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards in each of those three Super Bowl-winning seasons with Emmitt Smith not gaining over 1,700 in either season. That’s called a balanced rushing attack. The Cowboys had that then and they have that now. Run the ball, Dallas.

Over the past three seasons, the Cowboys have failed to produce a dominant three-headed monster in the backfield with Jones, Choice and Marion Barber. Sure, injuries and coaching changes contributed slightly to that letdown, but Barber’s decline was imminent the entire time.

Barber has been known as arguably the hardest working running back in the NFL since he entered the league. You can’t argue he runs the ball with more passion than anyone else in the game. However, passion alone does not produce victories. Barber has come up short in the clutch countless times over the past three seasons for the Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones says his time with the team is drawing to a close, especially following Dallas’ drafting of DeMarco Murray in April.

With Barber likely out, the stage is now set for a dynamic duo in Dallas’ backfield. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has said repeatedly this off-season he expects Felix Jones to take on a heavier work load in 2011 with Choice providing the change of pace necessary to keep opposing defenses honest.

As mentioned, I certainly don’t plan on seeing Jones coming from the outside and taking a sweep from Choice out of the Wildcat. However, I do think Garrett will occasionally have Jones and Choice on the field at the same time.

As the offensive coordinator in Week 1 of 2010, Garrett had Barber, Jones and Choice all line up together in the traditional wishbone formation. With Barber in the fullback position directly behind quarterback Tony Romo, Choice and Jones took their stances behind either guard with Choice on the left and Jones on the right.

At the snap, Romo turned and tossed the ball to Choice going right. Barber was out front lead blocking and Jones worked as Choice’s pitchman just like the college option. Choice made the corner and met Washington safety LaRon Landry at the Redskins’ 16-yard line. For whatever reason, Choice did not pitch the ball to Jones, who had a clear 15 yards ahead of him for a score. The play gained six yards but should have gained 22 and resulted in a touchdown.

I wouldn’t be surprised and I hope we see more of that kind of play-calling from Garrett in 2011. With just a few of those types of plays sprinkled into every game, Choice and Jones could be the next big thing in Big D. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

Cowboys running back Marion Barber is arguably the hardest-working professional athlete in America. The guy runs with more passion than Roger Bannister did. However, that admirable style of play has made him quite injury-prone in recent years, thus declining his production over the course of his career.

With the additions of running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, Barber has found his role in the Cowboys’ backfield rotation quite unclear. For the past few seasons, many impatient fans have called for Barber’s release and it looks like Jerry Jones is now heeding. With the Cowboys’ selection of Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, Barber’s career in Dallas is all but over.

As mentioned, many fans see this as a sign the Cowboys are moving forward with three running backs age 26 or younger. Murray was drafted to replace Barber in the rotation and eliminate his $4.25 million salary in 2011. Murray was drafted to spell Felix Jones and Choice now, not become the back of the future.

Likewise, the Cowboys passed on Miami cornerback Brandon Harris and UCLA safety Rahim Moore early in the second round, proving the team is confident in the secondary. That doesn’t mean Jerry Jones won’t try to sign a quality free agent safety or cornerback once the NFL lockout is lifted, but it does mean he’s not drafting young guns to prepare for a title run three years from now.

Instead, Jones took North Carolina linebacker Bruce Carter to add depth to the Cowboys’ line backing corps. Carter was taken to spell Keith Brooking and Bradie James now and maybe become a full-time starter later in his career after one or both of those guys retire.

Finally, the Cowboys took USC offensive tackle Tyron Smith ninth overall to start at right tackle right now. Jerry Jones stated on the opening night of the NFL Draft that Smith was already penciled in at the top of the depth chart. In the same statement, Jones said that meant the end of right tackle Marc Colombo’s career in Dallas.

If the Cowboys had drafted these guys solely for the future, then Colombo and Barber would be sticking around for awhile. I do think these guys will help big time in the future and the Cowboys are starting to plan for the future with them, but they were drafted to add depth to this team and help Dallas win now.

During the 2009-2010 offseason, Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones put on a few extra pounds of muscle. When he entered the league as a rookie in 2008, Jones weighed just a tad over 200 pounds. He bulked up as high as 225 in 2009 and enjoyed a relatively injury-free season for the first time in his NFL career. However, the extra muscle may have slowed him down, so the Cowboys want their star running back to shed those extra pounds and return to his original playing weight for the 2011 season.

During the first three games of his rookie season, Jones was a touchdown machine, scoring on kickoff returns, rushes, and any other way you can think of. Dallas used Jones’ extraordinary speed to get him the ball in open space and let him run. However, his speedy style of play disappeared in 2010 when he was supposedly more durable.

“Last year is in the past,” Jones said. “I take that as a learning process, and it was something that I wanted to do. I learned that if I wanted to be myself, I’d have to be at a weight that I prefer. Last year, that was what I preferred, and now I’m back to doing something different.”

Like Jones, everyone in Cowboys Nation thought the extra weight would make him the ideal back, but obviously that wasn’t the case. Of course, now everyone thinks Jones will be injury-plagued again without his extra weight. In addition, there’s speculation if he’ll be as quick as he once was. I guess there’s only one way to find out.

The Dallas Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia for the 2010 season finale and came away with a victory in second-year quarterback Stephen McGee’s first NFL start. Originally the third quarterback on the Cowboys’ depth chart this season, McGee started in place of the injured Jon Kitna, who had replaced the injured Tony Romo back in Week 7. With both teams coming into the game with nothing to lose, many reserve players saw extra playing time, but for different reasons. Entering the game at 5-10, the Cowboys were already out of the playoffs and guaranteed a top 10 draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The Eagles had already clinched the NFC East title and were locked into the No. 3 seed of the NFC playoffs, players like Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick did not play. However, it proved to be quite the ball game, which is typical for an NFC East rivalry game.

The first quarter saw no scoring as Dallas’ Mat McBriar and Philadelphia’s Sav Rocca traded punts. The second quarter began with Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb connecting with rookie receiver Chad Hall for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Other than that play, Kolb had a pretty rough day against a seemingly revitalized Dallas secondary. Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman picked off Kolb twice in the contest and safety Gerald Sensabaugh intercepted one as well.  Granted, neither of Philly’s top wideouts, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, played long enough to get sweaty. Dallas’ starting unit was up against rookies like Hall and Riley Cooper.

Still, plenty of credit has to be attributed to the Dallas pass rush, as the Boys registered 6 sacks on Kolb. Defensive end Jason Hatcher recorded one sack while outside linebacker Anthony Spencer added two, the first of which resulted in a Kolb fumble that was scooped up by fellow outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and returned 17 yards for a touchdown. That wasn’t the only time Kolb had Ware to worry about. The Troy product sacked the Eagles quarterback 3 times in addition to his first touchdown of the season. With his hat trick, Ware jumped from 7th in the NFL to 1st, taking the 2010 sack crown with 15.5 on the season.

Offensively, McGee’s performance can be described as fearless as well as off. The former portrays McGee’s 55 rushing yards on 9 carries, 3 of which went for first downs. Two of those scrambles for first downs resulted in McGee diving head first across the marker. The former Texas A&M Aggie ran with heart and inspired his teammates to do the same. However, McGee completed only 11 of his 27 passes for 127 yards. On at least 4 of McGee’s incompletions, he picked out an open receiver but threw the ball high and behind him. Tight end Jason Witten was the victim of 2 of those off-target passes, but hauled in a 4-yard touchdown from McGee that was right on the money. It was a classic not-my-best-game-ever-but-I-came-through-in-the-end performance by McGee, who gets my game ball.

McGee’s 55 rushing yards were over a third of the Cowboys’ 159 total yards on the ground. Running backs Felix Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice combined for 104 yards on 21 carries, proving my theory once again. In case you’re not familiar with it, I’ve predicted all season that if those three backs combine for over 100 rushing yards, the Cowboys will win. That has been true in all six of Dallas’ victories this season.

Other breaking news on game day was the announcement that interim head coach Jason Garrett had been named the permanent head coach for the 2011 season. The way team owner Jerry Jones contradicted himself into telling us is priceless. Click the link here to read it.

The Arizona defense intercepted Kitna twice in the first quarter, returning both for touchdowns to give the Cardinals an early 14-0 lead. Austin caught six passes for 115 yards from Kitna and McGee combined, including the late score. I have no idea how Dallas running backs Felix Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice combined for over 150 rushing yards and the Cowboys did not come away with a victory. Kitna’s pick sixes obviously didn’t help things, but for Tom Landry’s sake, it’s the Cardinals! The Cowboys are now 5-10 on the season and staring down a top 10 draft pick. There’s your silver lining, Boys fans.

Despite all the injuries on the Cowboys’ offense, the team still boasts the 4th-best passing offense in the NFL. That works out and actually coordinates well with the Redskins’ 4th-worst pass defense. When these two teams met in the season opener at Washington, starting quarterback Tony Romo found receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant a combined 18 times for 202 yards. Even though neither Romo nor Bryant will be suiting up for this contest, quarterback Jon Kitna and Austin will suffice for another aerial attack on this weak Redskins pass defense.

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Washington’s run defense isn’t much better than its pass defense, ranking a lowly 28th in the league. Dallas running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice have been on a hot streak lately against good teams, so I definitely don’t expect them to cool down this week. In addition, Marion Barber returns to the backfield rotation, so that’s only all the more firepower for this Cowboys offense.

Defensively, the Cowboys have played much better in recent weeks than the beginning of the season. The Redskins rank a surprisingly 10th in the NFL in passing offenses, but those 241 yards per game are all McNabb. If Shanahan is dumb enough to insert Grossman, you can throw that stat out the window. Redskins receiver Santana Moss has a pretty good track record against the Cowboys, but he can’t catch the ball if Grossman can’t throw it to him. If McNabb gets the nod, he’ll be under so much pressure from the Cowboys pass defense that he won’t be able to throw the ball, either. Expect lots of hard hits from Dallas outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer. My prediction: Cowboys 27, Redskins 13.

I have no idea how or why Garrett’s play calling was so bad under Phillips and then so good in three of five games as head coach. There is my sarcastic, but still inquisitive article suggesting Garrett might have called bad plays to sabotage Phillips and claim the head coaching job for himself. That’s most likely untrue, but it’s not out of the question. In any case, Garrett is now calling the plays in a manner that leads to Cowboys victories for the most part. He’s three for five since taking over America’s Team, which is not quite good enough to earn the permanent head coaching job just yet. Notice, I said “yet.”

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The Cowboys’ two losses under Garrett have come by a combined six points, three in each game. In both of those games, Garrett referred back to his pass happy strategy that never works. When he has remained disciplined and stuck to the running game, the Cowboys have won. In fact, the Cowboys have won all four games this season when running backs Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice combine for over 100 rushing yards. You need to follow a different sport if you think that’s a coincidence.

Finally, I guess what I’m trying to say is that Garrett has almost earned my respect. I don’t know what’s gotten into him or why he’s suddenly become a great offensive coordinator again like he was in 2007, but I like it. I think he’ll need to finish the year 2-1 to have a legitimate shot at earning the permanent head coaching job. If he finishes the year 3-0 and beats the Eagles on the road, then team owner Jerry Jones will get all giddy like he does and rashly name Garrett the head coach before seriously considering it. As for me, I think he has to finish the year 3-0. Losses against Washington or Arizona are unacceptable at this point. Those two have to be not only wins, but convincing wins. In addition, I think Dallas has to beat Philadelphia in the season finale. We came so close on Sunday night and did not stick to the running game. It’s all on Garrett to earn the job. But at least he’s almost earned some respect around here, at least from me.