SPORTSDAY

Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman had surgery today on his groin and will be out at least a month. Doctors thought Newman would be out six-to-eight weeks, but discovered his groin muscle wasn't as badly damaged.

Newman will come home at some point tomorrow.

The Cowboys made cornerback their top off-season priority. The upgrades they made -- trading for Adam "Pacman" Jones and drafting first-rounder Mike Jenkins and fifth-rounder Orlando Scandrick -- gave Dallas arguably the best CB crop in the league.

All of a sudden, Jacques Reeves would come in handy around these parts.

Newman, the group's resident Pro Bowler, might be out until November with a sports hernia. Pacman, perhaps the most talented player of the bunch, made it five whole weeks before getting in hot water with the commish again. Even if Sheriff Goodell doesn't consider the late-night/early-morning hotel scrap an NFL parole violation, can the Cowboys have an ounce of confidence that they can count on Pacman?

If Goodell decides Pacman needs to sit out for an extended period of time, a secondary that has been inconsistent has major problems.

Jenkins hasn't done anything to show that he's ready to start opposite Anthony Henry, but the Cowboys will have little choice. Scandrick has actually played pretty well as Newman's nickel replacement, but it's pretty scary to rely on two rookies every time you go to three corners. Is anybody comfortable with Alan Ball playing in the dime package? He'd have to, unless the coaches decide they'd rather scrap the successful experiment of moving Henry inside to cover tight ends.

Jerry Jones called this CB crop the Cowboys' strongest since he bought the franchise. Now, it's become their biggest positional concern.

The league told me this morning it still has no comment regarding the Adam Jones incident on Wednesday morning.

However, this is not the first time Jones has been at this hotel.

He attended the grand opening of the hotel and hosted a private birthday party there almost two weeks ago that was attended by several of his teammates.

The fact that Jones is out late at night is a concern. Can he go out at night? Yeah, of course he can. But he can't go out at night and get into it with his own people.

Here's a quote from Jerry Jones prior to the start of the season opener at Cleveland regarding Adam Jones.

"He can't be in a car and get shot," Jerry Jones said of the player he traded for on draft day. "In my mind, the perception keeps him from playing in the NFL. He can't be someplace where somebody spills some coffee on him. He can't be someplace at night. That's in the future, but he can't be there."

Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor says Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff is having a better season than Greg Ellis. Even better than DeMarcus Ware. And it's not even close.

Cowboys interception leader Greg Ellis joked on his way out of Texas Stadium the other night that the coaches might ask him to lose 20 more pounds during the off-season and move to safety. (Insert snide Roy Williams comment here.)

Ellis, who wasn't fond of moving from DE to OLB but has flourished since doing so, makes no secret that he'd much rather rush the passer than drop back into coverage. DeMarcus Ware is the same way, although he's interviewed less often.

But the Cowboys had significantly more success against Carson Palmer's Bengals when they rushed four men instead of five. Here's the pass-rush breakdown vs. Cincy:

3-man rush (1): 1-of-1, 15 yards
4-man rush (24): 11-of-21, 95 yards, 1 INT, two sacks, one pass interference
5-man rush (16): 10-of-16, 98 yards, 2 TD
6-man rush (1): 1-of-1, 9 yards

Ok, time to let everybody know who played well and who didn't.

Stock up

1. Marion Barber. They discovered that Barber can run the ball a little bit. He rushed 23 times for 84 yards.

2. Adam Jones. Seems to be the only corner getting his hands on some balls. He was credited with two pass defensed.

3. DeMarcus Ware. Played well again and picked up another sack.

4. Jay Ratliff. The Cowboys are glad they took care of Ratliff last season by giving him a long-term contract.

5. Kevin Burnett. A strong performance on special teams.

(Photo: G.J. McCarthy/DMN)

Terence Newman is a pregame scratch with a groin injury he suffered in Friday's practice.
Expect Adam Jones and Anthony Henry to start at cornerback for the Cowboys.

Just saw Chad Johnson hug Adam Jones and Terrell Owens down on the field a few moments ago. Owens is wearing all black and Johnson is wearing all white.

There was a report that Adam Jones wants to leave his home in Prosper and move closer to the city life.

While Jones wants to get out more, who doesn't in their mid-20s, the Cowboys cornerback is staying in Prosper and not moving closer to Dallas from what I've been told today.

Jones lives about a half-mile from Deion Sanders' house in Prosper and has a security crew that travels with him to most places.

Last week, Jones attended a Nelly concert in downtown Dallas then attended a private birthday bash at a new hotel. Security crew was there and no problems were reported.

Is Jones frustrated by the security team, I'm sure he is, and that would be natural. But Jones understands the situation and is staying put in Prosper and not moving closer to Dallas.

For now.

By the way, Jones left the Valley Ranch complex to get a double-cheese burger meal. He drove himself.

No big deal.

He had a full security team with him. No problems.

The most exciting thing that happened during today's media access period was Ken Hamlin slamming a domino down on a table in the players' cafeteria and celebrating his win with a funky dance.

Steve Dennis was doing a survey for T.O.'s Inside the Huddle Show on whether T.O. or Hamlin is a better domino player. Hamlin won that vote in a landslide and then provided some evidence.

There were a lot more players in the cafeteria, where the media isn't allowed, than the locker room, where we are. That's why backup safeties Courtney Brown and Keith Davis got full-fledged media hordes around them when they stood in front of their lockers.

Speaking of the safeties, expect Davis to play on first and second downs and Brown to come in with the substitution packages with Pat Watkins out this week.

After all the talk about the Cowboys' phenomenal depth and talent at cornerback, we're still waiting on one of them to pick off a pass this season. We're actually still waiting on any Cowboy to get an interception.

The Cowboys and the Lions are the only team in the league without a pick this season. Not exactly the kind of company you want to keep.

How the heck can a team with so much talent in the secondary and a pair of Pro Bowl pass rushers go four games without a pick?

"That's a good question," Adam "Pacman" Jones said. "I've had my hand on the ball a couple of times and actually dropped one pick. We gotta get around the ball a little bit more. That's what we have to do."

The Cowboys ought to have plenty of opportunities to end their pick drought Sunday. Carson Palmer plans on playing, but his throwing arm certainly won't be full strength. Plus, he tied for the lead league with 20 interceptions last season. Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick was intercepted three times in last week's loss to the Browns.

Linebacker Bobby Carpenter was on the ESPN show First Take this morning. No, he didn't cut the pony tail.

Carpenter was asked what did his teammates think about Terrell Owens' comments regarding needing the ball more following the Cowboys' loss to the Redskins.

"Everybody is upset and frustrated about it," Carpenter said. "I think he said it and guys view it and say, 'maybe that was a little bit out of line.' But at the same time everybody [knows] he's out there practicing everyday. Not many guys, 13 years in this league are putting the effort on the field every day in practice and that's something everyone in that locker room respects."

Carson Palmer said he'll be ready for the Cowboys game on Sunday.

Palmer missed the Bengals loss to the Browns yesterday due to an elbow injury.

The return of Palmer should be looked at as a positive for the Bengals because backup Ryan Fitzpatrick was 21-35 for 156 yards with three picks and one touchdown.

With a secondary that features Terence Newman, Anthony Henry and Adam Jones, you would think the Cowboys would have one interception after four games.

At least one.

But they don't.

Care to guess the only other team in the NFL without an interception in the first month of the season? Detroit. That's winless Detroit.

Entering Sunday the Cowboys were one of five teams to not have at least one pick in the first three weeks. Care to guess those? And we know one is Detroit.
(Dallas Morning News photo by Vernon Bryant)

The first loss of the season and there is plenty of finger pointing. We look at who's up and who's down.

Stock Up

Patrick Crayton. Had a nice game, seven catches for 87 yards.

Zach Thomas. Was very active on defense and had 12 total tackles.

Bradie James. Best game of the season, with 10 tackles.

Jay Ratliff. Had one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry.

Mat McBriar. Busy day with six punts for a 39 net average.

DeMarcus Ware. Good performance. Had another sack.
(Dallas Morning News photo by Vernon Bryant)

And I'm not talking about Clinton Portis as a running back. I'm talking Portis the pass protector. Seriously.

We'll let Greg Ellis explain.

"Chip blocks," Ellis said. "He lays all he has to get in there and block."

Some running backs will simple give a little shove to help their linemen out with a pass rusher. Portis is looking for blood. In preparing for Sunday's game, Ellis saw Portis knock Giants defensive end/linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka off his feet.

"De-cleated him," Ellis said. "It was bad. I'm trying to avoid that one."

Sorry that we're late on this.

But, Deon Anderson (knee), Roy Williams (forearm) and Kyle Kosier (foot) are not at practice today due to health issues. Anderson said he's not sure when he'll get his staples removed from his knee and Kosier was seen going to a meeting with a walking boot.

We have not seen Williams since his injury.

Tank Johnson didn't practice and had his right ankle taped. Johnson was talking to Wade Phillips and Britt Brown before team drills.

The players are in shoulder pads and helmets, which is custom for this time of the week.

Wade Phillips said during training camp that he'd find ways to get guys on the field if he thought they deserved playing time. He's done so with a couple guys at the bottom of the defensive depth chart.

LB Bobby Carpenter was the guy Phillips was being asked about when he declared that he'd get deserving guys on the field. Carpenter had a heck of a training camp, but he's not good enough to bump starting ILBs Zach Thomas and Bradie James or passing-down LB Kevin Burnett from their roles. But the Cowboys are occasionally using a dime package that includes two LBs (three, in a couple instances against Green Bay), giving Carpenter a role in the defense.

NT Jay Ratliff has quietly developed into one of the NFC's elite interior defensive linemen.

According to the stats compiled by the Cowboys coaches after watching film, he's tied for fourth on the team with 18 tackles and leads Dallas with eight QB pressures to go along with two sacks. That's extremely active for a nose tackle and awfully impressive for a seventh-round pick whose name won't ring a bell to casual NFL fans.

Ratliff's name was one of the first mentioned by Redskins QB Jason Campbell, who played with Ratliff at Auburn, while he was discussing the Dallas defense on a conference call with the Valley Ranch media.

"He has the right attitude," Campbell said when asked why Ratliff has enjoyed NFL success. "Jay was always a hard worker when we were at Auburn. What he's doing right now is not a surprise, because I know how hard he worked when he was in college. He was one of the leaders on that side of the ball. Everything that's happening for him is happening for good reason."

The Packers gained 334 total yards Sunday night, only three fewer than the Cowboys allowed against the Eagles the previous week. But ILB Bradie James, one of the Cowboys' defensive captains, is much prouder of the performance in Green Bay.

The Packers never got a chance to do the Lambeau Leap, since their only touchdown came during garbage time when it would have looked silly to celebrate. That's because the Cowboys' defense accomplished its goal of improving in the red zone.

Philadelphia, which put up 30 points against the Cowboys' defense, got into the end zone three of the five times the Eagles got inside the Dallas 20. The Packers only had one TD (which came with 2:11 to go) in three red-zone possessions.

The Packers got inside the 20 twice when the game was still competitive. They moved back seven yards on the ensuing set of downs both times, settling for field goals.

"We just buckled down," James said. "We just took it upon ourselves not to let those guys score. That's really what it was."

CB Anthony Henry went 104 games in the NFL without a sack. Terence Newman doesn't think it'll take nearly that long for Henry to get to the quarterback again.

Henry had two sacks tonight -- both coming on third downs in the red zone -- prompting Newman to playfully taunt OLB DeMarcus Ware. Newman pointed out that Henry had as many sacks this season as Ware, which was true until Ware got to Aaron Rodgers late in the game.

I wouldn't bet on Henry keeping pace with Ware, but you can count on the Cowboys continuing to use him as a blitzer.

"He was excited about blitzing, and he was good at it," Newman said. "You'd have to expect us to let him keep doing that and let him use his talent that way."

It makes sense that Henry would be used as a blitzer much more than other cornerbacks, since he moves inside to play over tight ends in the nickel and dime defenses. He established that he can cover elite TEs during the season-opening win against Kellen Winslow and the Browns. Now foes know they have to beware of Henry coming off the edge, too.

The accusation isn't coming from an opponent. It's from the keyboard of Washington Times columnist Dan Daly, who is all worked up after watching the Cowboys yank Eagles RB Brian Westbrook's facemask a few times Monday night.

And make no mistake, there was nothing inadvertent about any of the episodes, nothing incidental; if there had been, the defenders (Jason Hatcher, Pat Watkins, Jay Ratliff) would have released the mask sooner. No, this was just good, old fashioned Street Ball - Oakland Raiders, circa 1976.

My initial reaction is that if the Eagles thought the plays were intentional, they would have done something about it during the game and said something about it afterwards.

And to say call Ratliff's facemask penalty intentional is absolutely ridiculous. Consider the circumstances. It came on a third-and-1 run just before the two-minute warning, when the Eagles were trailing by four. There's no way the Cowboys would be willing to give up 15 yards at that point of the game.

Deon Anderson (knee surgery) and Roy Williams (forearm) missed the walkthrough today. Sam Hurd (ankle) and Kyle Kosier (foot) were limited in the practice.

But Miles Austin, Terence Newman, Anthony Spencer, Isaiah Stanback and Jason Witten practiced with no problems.

The Packers report says safety Atari Bigby (hamstring), running back Korey Hall (knee), tight end Tory Humphrey (knee) and cornerback Charles Woodson (toe) missed practice.

There was limited participation in practice by tackle Chad Clifton, running back Ryan Grant, guard Josh Sitton and center Scott Wells.

The knee problem of defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila didn't hamper him or wide receiver Ruvell Martin (finger) from fully participating from practice.