In a disappointing turn of events, the Dallas Cowboys placed punter Mat McBriar on the IR heading into the final game of the 2011 regular season. This is a damaging loss, as McBriar has been one of the NFL's most reliable punters.
McBriar has 58 punts on the season, knocking 21 of them inside the 20 (34-percent) and averages 43.8 yards-per-punt this season. However, in 2011, McBriar's average dropped 4.1 yards per punt from his 2010 numbers. Part of the problem for McBriar this season has been an injury to his left plant foot.
Replacing McBriar in the Dallas lineup is rookie Chris Jones, who has moved from the practice squad to the regular lineup. Jones punted for the Cowboys earlier in the season when McBriar was injured, with four punts for a 43.0 yard average, and two inside the 20.
Jones, a rookie from Carson Newman, has been with the Cowboys for two months now.
Dallas also released guard Daniel Loper, who joined the team in 2011. This move was made to add another quarterback to the roster, Chris Greisen. The four-year quarterback from Northwest Missouri State had been out of the NFL since 2001 until Dallas added him to their squad in 2010. He has only played five games in the NFL and Dallas added him as insurance to give them an emergency quarterback.
While Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett say that Tony Romo is fine to play, adding a third quarterback makes me wonder how much faith they have in his durability.
The two roster changes the day before they face the New York Giants for the NFC East crown might cause concern. The biggest question concerns McBriar. An unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, it might mark the end of his career in Dallas.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
