Jerry Jones wants better protection of Tony Romo

September, 11, 2012
9/11/12
2:10
PM CT
The Cowboys' offensive line made a sudden change three plays in against the New York Giants.

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Out went center Phil Costa and in went newly acquired Ryan Cook in the Week 1 game. Cook had just two full practices with the Cowboys and was asked to play with the first team when Costa re-injured his back after three snaps.

Overall, Cook was given praise for his efforts, but the offensive line struggled against the Giants. Quarterback Tony Romo was sacked twice, left tackle Tyron Smith was called for three false starts and right tackle Doug Free was called for one false start. Some of the penalties were attributed to Cook struggling with the cadence of a new quarterback. The running game struggled despite DeMarco Murray's 131-yard effort. He picked up 48 yards on one scrambling carry where he was almost tackled in the backfield.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones wants the line to protect Romo better. It has to against a Seattle defense that held its Week 1 opponent, Arizona, to 43 yards rushing and was credited with five quarterback hits.

"The protection is very important to us, especially the interior of the offensive line, that we protect (Romo)," Jones said after Monday's practice at Valley Ranch. "As it turned out, we got a lot of pressure outside against the Giants, which doesn't surprise me at all. My point is the protection was not as good as we want but still not a negative thing for me."

Costa most likely won't play Sunday at Seattle, and Cook will get the start. David Arkin, who backed up Costa for most of training camp, wasn't active in Week 1. He will get activated for Week 2 to back up Cook.
Calvin Watkins joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He's covered the Cowboys since 2006 and also has covered colleges, boxing and high school sports.

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