Cowboys WR Williams now knows he needs improvement

The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams kept dropping key passes that hit him in the hands for the last two games and eventually got to understand why the ball was not thrown to his way, but to the one in No. 19 Cowboys jersey most of the time.

Williams had been confident and upbeat in interviews every week, despite catching only 38 passes for 596 yards when he was supposed to be Tony Romo’s No. 1 target. But he understood why his quarterback lost confidence in him after he dropped a key pass shortly before halftime of Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins, with no defender anywhere near him.

The Cowboys gave up four draft picks, including first- and third-rounders this year, to get Williams from Detroit midway through last season, and immediately gave him a $45 million, five-year contract extension. But he caught only 19 passes in 10 games last season. His status as the team’s top receiver was completely lost a few weeks into the season when he missed a game with rib injury with Miles Austin to be his replacement. Austin made the Cowboys see what a better receiver they had ignored because of focus on Williams.

Austin set a club record with 250 yards receiving in his first start and then has managed to lead the club with an NFC-best 1,230 yards on 74 catches, with 11 touchdowns, and on Tuesday was voted into the Pro Bowl, while Williams has had totally seven touchdowns.

“I don’t blame them. I blame myself. So I have to get my (act) together and try to right this thing and help this team win some games in the playoffs.” Williams said of having no other ball come his way after he dropped the pass in the rest of last Sunday’s game. But he still has the confidence that he has “the best hands in the league, top three at least.” What in his plan now is to put in more work after practice.

Cowboys LB Ware’s final playing status is Questionable

As the NFL required, the Dallas Cowboys had to provide linebacker DeMarcus Ware’s playing status by Friday, and the team’s final decision was to list him as questionable for this Saturday night’s game against the unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

But it seemed reasonable to be optimistic that Ware will wear back his Cowboys jersey to play the game as he is recovering from a strained neck he sustained in a headfirst collision during last Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers and has been able to work out with his teammates.

Although Ware was listed as not participating on their practice report Thursday, he was indeed on the field during the 90-minute practice without pads that was like a walkthrough.

Ware has started all 77 of his regular-season games since being drafted by the Cowboys as the 11th overall pick in 2005. He himself has said he wants to play against the Saints. It seemed very likely as the three-time Pro Bowl linebacker attended all meetings and participated in walkthrough sessions this week.

Chargers RB Tomlinson broke record of most TDs in decade

Scoring on a 1-yard run in the first quarter of San Diego Chargers win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson matched Emmitt Smith’s record for the most TDs in a decade. And it is just reasonable to believe that he will set new record by having more TDs in the following games.

While Smith had 136 of his 164 career touchdowns from 1990-99, Tomlinson achieved it by having his 136th career rushing TD since 2001 in his second NFL game in Dallas. The last time he was playing in Dallas was in 2001, as a rookie playing his second career game, and Smith was also playing in that game wearing Cowboys jersey.

The 1-yard rushing TD also marked Tomlinson’s 10th rushing TD of this season and his ninth straight 10-touchdown season.

Cowboys LT Adams was fined for the third straight week

After paying $5,000 for an unnecessary roughness penalty in the opener and $12,500 for two plays against the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams received the third fine from the league yesterday, this time for kicking at Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers.

Adams will have to pay $7,500 this time. Another Cowboys was fined $5,000-running back Felix Jones received the penalty for an attempted leg whip. Not sure whether they kicked and whipped intentionally. But Coach Wade Phillips said Wednesday that Adams just wanted to protect the quarterbacks and Jones did not trip opponent players on purpose.

On Wednesday, Cowboys starting running back Marion Barber was limited in practice. Defensive end DeMarcus ware took full part in workout but was still on the team’s injury report because of a neck problem. Jones skipped the whole practice with strained ligament in left knee.

Both WR Williams and CB Newman might be available for Friday opener

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams and cornerback Terence Newman both returned to practice field after missing time for injuries. And coach Wade Phillip expected both to play in the preseason home opener Friday night against the Tennessee Titans.

Williams said that his sprained left wrist still hurt but he still chose to practice instead of working on the side with a trainer, because he did not want to be the guy "that don’t practice because of this or that." He was wearing No.84 jersey rather than his normal No. 11 dallas cowboys jersey that day.

Newman skipped totally nine days of practice and he did not had any coversation with reporters after practice ended. However, Philips said that his performance was good and there seemed no lingering effect from the injury. In fact he thought both Williams and Newman did well and hopefully they will be able to play the game on Friday night.

Cowboys’ Jenkins returned to practice

The Dallas Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins was back with the team on Sunday and took part in the second practice of the day after missing a week of practice.

The reason for Jenkins missing practice was that he sprained his right ankle. The injury prevented him from playing in the preseason opener Thursday night. Another one of the team's top three cornerback, Terence Newman, also missed the opener because he ustained a slight groin strain Aug. 8, the same day Jenkins was hurt.

Linebacker Steve Octavien who hurt groin also came back to the practice field on Sunday. And the coach Wade Philips expects that Newman would be available for practice on Monday afternoon.

Cowboys have sold out 95 percent of their tickets

The Dallas Cowboys has sold out nearly sold out their tickets for 2009 season, according to the team spokesman Brett Daniels. They have sold 95 percent of tickets to watch games in the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

The amount of sold “Party Pass” tickets is more than 22,000, and only a few thousand season tickets remain. The ticket costs $29 apiece and essentially standing-room only. As scheduled, the first game the Cowboys will play in the new stadium will be preseason match up with the Tennessee Titans, on Aug. 21st. It will be no surprise if some fans come in replica tony romo jerseys.

The retractable-roof stadium is about 180,000 square feet and has capacity of about 100,000 for football. So the fans can hang out during games on decks and patios. There are also 300 luxury suites.