DC.COM Blog: Phillips Encouraged On Injury Front

[WoodysGirl]

Posted by mickshot at 12/3/2008 11:02 AM CST on truebluefanclub.com

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips sounded pretty skeptical on Monday about the chances of DeMarcus Ware (knee) and Marion Barber (toe) being ready to play in Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. But by Wednesday morning he sounded a little more optimistic his two Pro Bowl players would be available to play at Heinz Field.

Phillips, on his Wednesday morning segment on TheTicket (1310-AM), said he thought both guys "would play," but wasn't sure how much they will be able to practice this week or if they would practice Wednesday afternoon. Neither participated in the light workout on Monday. Ware is trying to recover from the hyper-extended left knee he suffered on Thanksgiving Day and Barber is trying to see what he can do on the dislocated right little toe that knocked him out of the Seattle game.

To me, if the Cowboys don't sign another running back to the 53-man roster by the end of the week then that's a pretty good indication Barber should be able to at least share the running back responsibilities with Tashard Choice. The Cowboys did not work out any running backs on Tuesday, traditionally a workout day for most teams in the NFL looking to fill a roster spot.

Mickey Spagnola

Comments (14) | Permanent Link

 

[Smith22]

Great news. I'm sure the extra rest is helping TNew and Witten as well.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Awesome......go Cowboys

 

[jobberone]

What I'm scared of is Barber and Choice getting knocked out or real dinged up. Who's going to pound the rock then?

 

[jazzcat22]

What I'm scared of is Barber and Choice getting knocked out or real dinged up. Who's going to pound the rock then?

Troy Hambrick?...oh wait..that will be us pounding our heads if that happens....:bang2: :bang2: :bang2:

 

[JonJon]

If the situation arose, I am sure Anderson would take over the RB spot, but the majority of the plays would be passes. Garrett proved already that he isn't afraid to go pass heavy.

 

[PJDallasfan]

I don't know about you guys, but I just don't see Barber not playing in this game, knowing how big a game it is. I mean he has played basically all year with the rib injury and hasn't said anything about it. This guy is an animal and will be there in the back field on sunday. I also feel comfortable with Choice, being from the east coast I got to see a lot of him when he was in college and I think he is more than capable.

Cowboy for life.

 

[DCBoysfan]

we need them both, in uniform

 

[WoodysGirl]

What I'm scared of is Barber and Choice getting knocked out or real dinged up. Who's going to pound the rock then?

Deon Anderson

 

[WoodysGirl]

MySA Blog

Jerry says Ware, Barber will play Sunday
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expects both linebacker DeMarcus Ware and running back Marion Barber to play Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Speaking Tuesday on his weekly radio show in Dallas, Jones said the fact neither player sustained structural damage when they got injured on Thanksgiving Day is a good sign.

Ware hyperextended his left knee against the Seahawks. Barber dislocated his right pinkie toe.

MRIs for both were negative.

"You have to be relieved that structurally nothing was there with ligament damage with Ware," Jones said. "And he'll be sore this week, but it's a bone bruise there in the knee, and he can play through that and should be ready to go."

Ware will wear a brace on his knee. Barber is expected to be fitted with a shoe that has a plate.

"Barber, it's a support thing underneath that small toe on his foot, and visiting with doctors, they've told me that should be very doable, to support that underneath," Jones said. "With just the type of player he is, he should be able to really get out there and execute with that support."

Comments [0 Posted]: Read - Post

 

[TonyS]

Sorry guys and girls, but I don't think, "cross your fingers and hope Marion plays" is the best idea. I would think that it would appear to any rational coach that you need 2-3 healthy HALFBACKS active on any given Sunday. Deon Anderson doesn't count as he's a FB.

To go into a grind-it-out game like Pitt with a "hopefully" healthy Marion Barber, a promising rookie RB and an injury-prone FB does not sound like a good plan to me. But hey, if we need to go 1 dimensional and pass a lot, I'm sure TO will be wide open.

But what would I know, I don't coach or manage the team so my opinion means nothing.

 

[Pick6TerenceNewman]

Great news. I'm sure the extra rest is helping TNew and Witten as well.

No doubt!

 

[speedkilz88]

Sorry guys and girls, but I don't think, "cross your fingers and hope Marion plays" is the best idea. I would think that it would appear to any rational coach that you need 2-3 healthy HALFBACKS active on any given Sunday. Deon Anderson doesn't count as he's a FB.

To go into a grind-it-out game like Pitt with a "hopefully" healthy Marion Barber, a promising rookie RB and an injury-prone FB does not sound like a good plan to me. But hey, if we need to go 1 dimensional and pass a lot, I'm sure TO will be wide open.

But what would I know, I don't coach or manage the team so my opinion means nothing.

A FB type rb should actually be a good fit for a grind it out game in inclimate weather.