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IRVING, Texas -- Morris Claiborne, the second-year cornerback for the Cowboys, says he’s not making as many plays as he did before because of a scheme change.

The Cowboys played man coverage in a 3-4 scheme last season and now are playing more zone in the 4-3.

Claiborne says his struggles are tied to that.

It sounds more like excuses.

"Now we're basically a zone team,” he said on his weekly ESPN Dallas radio show on 103.3 FM on Tuesday night. “You have to play within that zone. Everything is new to everybody. When guys come in and hit those big dig routes in between the zones, then of course the corner's there, so they're going to say, 'Oh, yeah, that's the corner.'

"It's still a transition. When we were in press, just faced up man-to-man, they only hit one ball on me. But overall, I think all my big plays come within the zone."

I’m no expert but Claiborne is struggling at corner right now. And I’m not in the minority here.

We’ll use this as a guide, only a guide mind you. Pro Football Focus said Claiborne allowed six receptions for 115 yards in the loss to the San Diego Chargers. On the season, PFF has Claiborne ranked 98th at cornerback allowing 15 catches for 272 yards.

Stats LLC., again, we’ll use this as a guide, has Claiborne getting burned 15 times this season, tied for the 17th most in the NFL. Bruce Carter, the linebacker, is tied for fifth having getting burned 17 times and allowing three touchdowns.

We’re not sure if these people are right in their grades of Claiborne, but it’s clear he’s not playing with the same confidence he had last season.

"I feel like it's high, but it's not where it needs to be to be able to play corner," Claiborne said. "We're not the type of team that we were last year. We're not assigned [receivers] and you go wherever he goes, you follow him wherever he goes, and that's your man. We're not in that. We don't do that anymore.”

Last season when Claiborne played in the 3-4 man-to-man scheme he had just one interception and was credited with eight pass breakups.

What a season!

This season, he’s got zero picks and one pass breakup. He’s playing hard and through a bad shoulder, that limits his ability to jam receivers and make tackles.

Then again this is what Stephen Jones, the executive vice president of the Cowboys, had to say about Claiborne on KRLD-FM on Monday: "I think it's time for the injury thing to leave the scene (with Claiborne). He needs to step up and make plays."

Claiborne has lost the starting job because of his shoulder injury to Orlando Scandrick. Yet, Claiborne’s on-field struggles might prevent him from regaining the gig again.

Coach Jason Garrett noted Claiborne needs to improve his techniques and play with more confidence and the man from LSU agrees.

It’s amazing Claiborne is resorting to these measures regarding his disappointing play. DeMarcus Ware also dealt with a scheme change. He’s got four sacks and 13 quarterback pressures. The scheme change has nothing to do with quarterbacks targeting Claiborne more than fellow corner Brandon Carr. San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers attacked Carr on the first play of the game on Sunday and the pass fell incomplete. Rivers targeted Claiborne more than Carr after that.

Scheme has nothing to do with it.

NFL teams target the weakest links on the field.

“We've got to have him go out there and compete and make plays,” Jones said of Claiborne. “I think no one wants that more than Mo."

IRVING, Texas -- There were plenty of questions during coach Jason Garrett's news conference on Monday about cornerback Morris Claiborne.

In Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers, an unofficial count had Claiborne allowing four receptions for 84 yards. The four times he was targeted in what was thought to be man coverage, were all completed passes.

Claiborne lost the starting job to Orlando Scandrick because of a shoulder injury, but he's continuing to play through the injury on passing downs and when offenses line up with three receivers.

It seems Claiborne is playing with a lack of confidence and is struggling with his techniques when he faces receivers in tight coverage.

"I think it’s probably a combination," Garrett said. "Technically, you go back at each of the completions against him and you say, 'Hey, you should do this. You should do that.' But I also think confidence, playing that position, is critical. And usually those two things work hand in hand. When you’re playing technically sound and you have ability, you tend to have more and more confidence because you’re in the right place. They went to him too much in this ballgame, and they were too effective. He’s just got to play better, and he will play better."

An NFC personnel man had this to say about Claiborne: "He's a good cover guy with top-flight weight, height and speed to cover, but he gets lost trying to find the ball. He disrupts the ball, but he's not a ball hawk."

The same personnel man said chargers receiver Keenan Allen exposed Claiborne. Allen caught three of his five passes for 80 yards against Claiborne. On Allen's second reception of the game, he adjusted to a deep pass faster than Claiborne did to make a 31-yard reception.

The Cowboys expected more from Claiborne as he enters his second season and considering what the team did, move from No. 14 to No. 6 in draft selections to get him, you might say he's been disappointing.

"It’s a challenging position," Garrett said. "The quarterbacks and receivers in this league are very good. Guys at the college level, they don’t face the expertise or just the level of play, the level of skill that these guys have, so sometimes if you’re a more talented player, you can get away with being a little late to the ball because you can come back. The ball’s not really where it’s supposed to be. But guys in this league throw the ball on time. They throw it where they want to throw it. The route running is good. So technically you just have to be really, really sound to give yourself a chance to succeed out there, because you’re by yourself."

SAN DIEGO -- After a 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Cowboys come home in first place in the NFC East, but it doesn't feel like it. We review what we've seen in our weekly Three up and Three Down report.

Three Up

Tony Romo. The quarterback had the ball for seven snaps in the third quarter and three possessions in the fourth quarter. Romo completed 27 of 37 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. It was a solid effort for Romo, who threw one pass away and was victimized by four dropped passes.

George Selvie. In a game where the Chargers needed to play four backup offensive linemen due to injuries, the Cowboys didn't get a good enough pass rush. Selvie had the best game among the pass-rushers with one sack, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss.

DeMarco Murray. The starting running back rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries Sunday. He didn't get enough touches in the second half because the Cowboys were forced to throw the ball, but you can't blame the run game for the Cowboys' struggles on Sunday.

Three Down

Bruce Carter. He allowed two touchdowns, was benched for veteran Ernie Sims and is having questions raised about his ability to make plays in the passing game. Carter is an athletic player but looks lost right now.

Morris Claiborne. The cornerback might never get his starting job back. Like Carter, he's struggling to cover people and doesn't seem to be playing with confidence. Claiborne has a bad shoulder and the Cowboys are forced to use him because B.W. Webb isn't ready yet.

Monte Kiffin. The defensive coordinator sounded confused when talking about the benching of Carter, and while he did admit the defense didn't make enough plays, his Tampa 2 scheme looked bad against the Chargers' hurry-up offense and it's clear the secondary has issues.

SAN DIEGO -- It’s time to tap the brakes on a couple of highly optimistic comparisons.

It’s pretty clear that labeling Bruce Carter as potentially the next Derrick Brooks was premature, at best. And, at this point, Morris Claiborne has no business even being mentioned in the same breath as Deion Sanders.

A couple of young players the Dallas Cowboys are counting on to blossom into defensive superstars simply stunk in Sunday’s 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Carter and Claiborne were picked on repeatedly while the Chargers shredded Monte Kiffin’s defense for 506 total yards.

“We’ve got to correct that, because they’re the kind of players who can make plays,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. “They have the ability to make the plays.”

Carter made a lot of plays in Rob Ryan’s 3-4 scheme last season, and the schematic switch to Monte Kiffin’s 4-3 was expected to benefit the third-year linebacker as much as anybody. Carter's speed and athleticism were thought to be perfect fits for the weakside linebacker spot, where Brooks starred during Kiffin’s Tampa Bay days.

But Carter has struggled in coverage, something San Diego schemed to exploit. Carter twice got beaten by Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for touchdown receptions. On the second one, Carter got torched about as badly as possible on a 13-yard wheel route.

“There are no excuses,” said Carter, who was replaced by Ernie Sims in the nickel package after Woodhead’s second score. “It’s my fault. I take all that, and I’ve just got to play better.”

We’re still waiting on Claiborne to flash the playmaking form that prompted Cowboys scouts to give him a draft grade higher than any cornerback since Sanders. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft has one career interception and has become the preferred target for opposing quarterbacks.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who finished with 401 yards on 35-of-42 passing, seemed to feel like he could attack Claiborne at will. Rookie receiver Keenan Allen (five catches for 80 yards) had the most success against Claiborne, who described his day as “very frustrating.”

“They hit a couple of plays all over the field,” Claiborne said, “but obviously they found more over there on the right side.”

Claiborne has already lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick. That was originally to protect Claiborne’s dislocated shoulder, but Scandrick has clearly outperformed him.

It might be a stretch to think that Carter could be demoted, but he watched almost all of Sunday’s fourth quarter from the sideline.

“I mean, that’s just up to the coaches,” Carter said when asked if his benching was justified. “It’s my job as a player just to go out there and play and just go out there and do the best I can. That’s out of my control.”

Kiffin insists it wasn’t a benching, but that seems like silly semantics.

Pressed on the issue, Kiffin made a strange reference to needing to rotate players due to the San Diego heat. It was a sizzling 77 degrees during the game, and Sean Lee certainly didn’t come off the field.

“It’s not like, ‘Wow, this guy got benched,’ or something like that,” Kiffin said. “I’m just telling you, it wasn’t that. I can’t be more honest than that.”

The painful truth for the Dallas defense is that a couple of players they’re depending on to develop into stars got picked on Sunday.

ARLINGTON, Texas – For a week, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne had to live with getting run over by Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles.

It took him four snaps on Sunday to put that to rest – and worry about his injured left shoulder – when he was able to blow up St. Louis Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin on a quick throw to the flat.

Forget the difference in size between the players, because it did a world of good for Claiborne’s confidence.

“I wanted that opportunity to come back again,” he said. “I had it last week and I failed at it. That’s one of those things all week I wanted that opportunity to present itself again, and I think I handled it well.”

Claiborne, who came off the bench again with Orlando Scandrick starting, was credited with just one more tackle in the game, but he also had a pass breakup in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Coach Jason Garrett was even willing to let a dubious pass-interference penalty in the fourth quarter slide.

“I thought he did a really good job of just playing the guy the right way,” Garrett said. “I mean, that play happens a lot in football. I think he’s getting healthier and healthier, and I think with that he becomes a more and more confident player.”

IRVING, Texas -- Because the Dallas Cowboys traded up to the No. 6 pick in the first round of the 2012 draft, Morris Claiborne will always receive extra attention.

Expectations are naturally high for a player the Cowboys called their highest-rated defensive back since Deion Sanders.

With a critical pass interference penalty in last week’s 17-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Claiborne has come under heat. He has just one interception in his first 17 games, despite all of Jason Garrett’s talk about Claiborne’s ability to play the ball. He has battled through injuries, the latest a dislocated left shoulder that will require him to wear a harness for the foreseeable future.

On ESPNDallas, the Cowboys’ decision to trade up for Claiborne was debated this week.

Claiborne said he is not hearing any of what Garrett calls noise.

"I just do what I can do and do what’s best for my team, and I could [not] care less what somebody else says," Claiborne said. "As long as I’m not hearing nothing from my coaches or the owner or none of that, I don’t really care."

What Claiborne has to get accustomed to is not starting. In order to help limit his work, the Cowboys are expected to continue to start Orlando Scandrick in their base defense, but this week’s foe, the St. Louis Rams, likes to spread the field, requiring defenses to play more cornerbacks.

“As long as I’m on the field, getting snaps, I’m not in a rush,” Claiborne said. “The big thing is just getting healthy, because I don’t want to mess myself up and put bad stuff on film and this and that. I’m just being patient and working as hard as I can until I get healthy.”

After two weeks, the Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 following the 17-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon. With that we review it in our weekly Beat Writers Report.

• There was discussions about moving defensive end DeMarcus Ware from the right defensive end spot to the left side to create mismatches in the 4-3 scheme. The Cowboys moved Ware around the line of scrimmage when he was an outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense. In Sunday's game, Ware unoffically lined up 44 times on the right side and eight times on the left side getting a sack on each side. Ware also stood up as an outside linebacker eight times on the right, and twice on the left side. Ware said moving around the line was by design and expect to see more of it. Ware, as a right end, did drop back into coverage once, to cover running back Jamaal Charles.
• Former tight end coach John Garrett charted contested catches when he was on the Cowboys' staff. A contested catch is pretty simple, a receiver makes a catch with a defender covering him. Sunday, Dez Bryant made seven contested catches and finished the game with nine receptions for 141 yards. It was also interesting to note Miles Austin, Dwayne Harris, Terrance Williams, Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar also made receptions with a defender draped on or close to them. During training camp practices, the Cowboys worked on beating man coverage and coach Jason Garrett talks about receivers winning their routes, not so much beating defenders, but making the catch as well.
• We've always like backup running back Lance Dunbar's speed and his ability to make defenders miss. He made two Chief defenders miss Sunday, but his fumble after a reception doesn't help the Cowboys confidence in giving him the ball more. Dunbar is an excellent change-of-pace back, shifty, speedy, nice anchor on pass protection and good hands. Well, we think he's got good hands. He fumbled once in the preseason and now again in the regular season. With the run game struggles in the opening two weeks, the Cowboys need him to spread defenses out by catching balls out of the backfield and taking screen passes for big yards. He got just three snaps in his season debut and that has to increase, but you can't blame the coaches for that.
• It's very easy to rip running back DeMarco Murray for his carries on Sunday. But let's be honest, the run blocking was inconsistent. The first run play of the game, Murray gets dropped for a loss but right tackle Doug Free appeared to miss a block on linebacker Derrick Johnson, whose penetration of the line of scrimmage forced the running back to run outside. Murray's second run is a combination of Witten possibly not holding the block long enough and Murray running into the back of him. Another run saw Murray miss a hole to the right side and run up the middle, knocking center Travis Frederick into the second level. At one point during the game, Murray was getting his visor taken off, did it give him a glare? Did it fog up? Murray's vision could have been a problem for him on Sunday.
• Notes: Witten received plenty of attention from the Chiefs defense. He was shaded by a linebacker and a safety from the first offensive snap. Witten rarely got one-on-one coverage, something the Cowboys like to take advantage of in the middle of the field. The Chiefs took their chances on stopping Bryant one-on-one and rather not let Witten beat them for big yards down field. ... Cornerback Morris Claiborne played 37 snaps with a busted shoulder and Orlando Scandrick (67 snaps) started in his place. Scandrick might be a better option as a starter until Claiborne can get healthy. ... Guard Brian Waters looked pretty good against the Chiefs, but not good enough to let Mackenzy Bernadeau sit the bench. Waters has a better resume and eventually will take over the starters role. It won't happen in Week 3 against St. Louis.

IRVING, Texas -- For the first time this season, Five Wonders comes after a Dallas Cowboys defeat and these are always a little more troubling because of a how-will-they-ever-win-another-game mindset that follows.

On to the wonders:

1. I wonder if I need to re-visit my claim that DeMarco Murray will rush for more than 1,000 yards this season. I cited Bill Callahan’s involvement as the playcaller and the last time the Cowboys had an offensive line coach as playcaller came in 2006 when Tony Sparano directed the offense and Julius Jones went for more than 1,000 yards. Jones is the last Cowboys back to have a 1,000-yard season. After two games Murray is on pace for 888 yards. For a mini-wonder inside a wonder: I wonder about Murray’s vision sometimes. The easy thing to do is kick the offensive line for a poor running game. I’m not saying the blocking was great against the Kansas City Chiefs, but I believe Murray left a lot of yards on the field.

2. Sticking with the running game in the second wonder. I wonder when the Cowboys will give Joseph Randle some work. The two backup runners, Lance Dunbar and Phillip Tanner, have fumbled in consecutive weeks. Dunbar after a catch versus the Chiefs for the Cowboys’ first takeaway; Tanner on a run versus the New York Giants that tight end Gavin Escobar recovered. Randle was inactive against the Chiefs and didn’t get a snap against the Giants. The Cowboys wonder about his ability to pick up the pass-protection schemes, like they do for all rookies, but his speed and vision might be the best fit for this cut-back scheme. Randle showed the ability in the preseason to gain yards when only creases were there. Maybe his time is coming. I mean if the running game continues this way, don’t they just have to try something new?

3. Jason Garrett always talks about Morris Claiborne's ability to make plays on the ball. I wonder when that manifests itself because we haven’t seen much of it so far in games. He has one interception as a rookie and eight pass deflections. Maybe it happens in practice but even over the summer the number of plays Claiborne made on the ball was not more than a handful. He showed toughness by playing with the shoulder injury against the Chiefs and it will be something he has to deal with for the foreseeable future. It’s one thing to talk about what Claiborne did at LSU when he was the Jim Thorpe Award winner and had six interceptions in his last season but he has to demonstrate that ability with the Cowboys. And soon.

4. I wonder if the sports hernia injury keeping Jay Ratliff on the physically unable to perform list for at least the first six games of the season is the best thing that happened to Jason Hatcher. Hatcher, who has never had more than 4.5 sacks in a season in his career, has two in two games this season, playing the vaunted three-technique in the Cowboys’ new 4-3 scheme. If Ratliff had been healthy, Hatcher would have played the one-technique, which is more of a plugger role in this scheme than a play-making role. Hatcher was excellent throughout training camp, did well in the limited preseason work the starters received and is off to a strong start to the regular season. It’s not a bad start to a contract year for the 31-year-old. If he keeps playing this way, the Cowboys’ price to keep him will only go up and would they pay large dollars to a player of his age?

5. You can rarely go through the Wonders without a special teams’ thought. I wonder what happens if something happens to longs napper L.P. Ladouceur. In recent years the Cowboys had backup tight end John Phillips as Ladouceur’s emergency fill-in. Phillips now plays for the San Diego Chargers and I haven’t seen anybody else work as a snapper in practices. Ladouceur took a shot to the back in the opener against the Giants and was able to continue to play but he was in a fair amount of pain and stayed in constant motion between series. He wasn’t bothered at all against the Chiefs, but it’s something that needs to be watched in the future.

IRVING, Texas -- Late in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Cowboys loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, cornerback Morris Claiborne was called for a pass interference penalty while defending a pass to Donnie Avery.

It was a close play in which Claiborne reached around Avery to knock down the third-down pass. The penalty, with about two and half minutes to play, kept the drive alive for the Chiefs and allowed them to take the clock down to 16 seconds.

After watching the play again, coach Jason Garrett agreed with the call.

"Obviously, we don't want him to be that aggressive," Garrett said. "I think that call was a legitimate one. He grabbed (Avery) a little bit and I think that call was the right one. From a technical standpoint, you just have to have a little more poise in that situation. One of Mo's strengths as a corner is he does have poise. That's why he makes so many plays on the ball. He doesn't panic when the ball's in the air, and has good body control when he's dealing with the receiver and the ball. This particular time, he didn't do that. He just got a little aggressive and really didn't need to do that, and they made the right call."

After the game, Claiborne said he wouldn't change his aggressive play, despite questions about whether or not he should have tackled Avery over going for the ball. In some instances, it's hard to ask a corner to not make plays on the ball when that's what he's trained to do.

"It ain't how we play," Claiborne said when asked about tackling Avery instead of going for the ball. "When you're out there at corner you're not trying to give up on nothing, you want to be aggressive and that was an opportunity I thought to make a play and be aggressive and they just called a PI."

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne is listed as probable despite being limited in practice all week because of a dislocated shoulder.

Claiborne will wear a harness under his shoulder pads Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the same harness he wore after suffering the injury against the Giants in the second half of the season opener, but Claiborne said he isn’t certain how much it will restrict him when he’s trying to tackle or make a play on the ball.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Claiborne said. “I just can’t say. We’ll find out come Sunday.”

Reserve linebacker Ernie Sims (groin) is the only Dallas player who is listed as out.

Defensive end Anthony Spencer (knee) is questionable.

Quarterback Tony Romo (ribs), receiver Dez Bryant (foot), running back Lance Dunbar (foot) and safety Danny McCray (hamstring) are all probable after fully participating in practice this week.

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne will play Sunday at the Kansas City Chiefs despite a shoulder injury, but it is possible he could see an altered role.

Claiborne is wearing a protective harness on his left shoulder and the Cowboys could choose to start Orlando Scandrick and play Claiborne in passing situations.

“I’ve been pretty much (in his) regular role during practice,” said Claiborne, who was limited on Wednesday and Thursday.

Scandrick would continue to play the slot, but it is possible he could open up outside if the Cowboys choose to protect Claiborne some because of the dislocation.

“I’m just ready to play,” Scandrick said. “You’ve got to be ready to do whatever.”

Early on in his career, coaches were reluctant to move him back and forth because of the different qualities needed to play both spots, but coach Jason Garrett said that’s not the case anymore.

“I think he’s gotten better and better at it over the course of his career,” Garrett said. “He’s played mostly inside but that’s never been because he’s been deficient outside. We’ve always thought he was a very good corner as an inside and an outside guy.

“He’s a competitive guy, he’s quick, he’s long and he’s got a good sense for the ball. He understands how to play football and plays it the right way. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and that’s a good thing. He’s always had it and I suspect he always will have it. We have no issues with him playing inside or outside.”

IRVING, Texas -- Cowboys defensive end Anthony Spencer returned to practice Friday morning after missing Thursday's session. On Wednesday, Spencer was limited in practice; it was the first time he participated in practice since having left-knee surgery on July 25.

Cowboys officials said Spencer's day off on Thursday was planned, but it's still a concern that he's practiced just twice since training camp started.

"He hurt his knee early in training camp, and [we tried] to get him back as quickly as possible," coach Jason Garrett said of Spencer, who had 11 sacks in 2012. "He's worked very hard to get himself back, and we feel like this is a good plan for him. He's played a lot of football in his life. He's one of those veteran players who you would give a chance to come back, maybe earlier than maybe a younger player. But we'll just evaluate how he does today. We do think he had a good day on Wednesday. The plan was to rest him Thursday, and we'll see how he does in today's practice."

Quarterback Tony Romo (ribs), wide receiver Dez Bryant (foot), safety Danny McCray (hamstring), running back Lance Dunbar (foot) and Morris Claiborne (shoulder) participated Friday during the portion of practice open to the media.

Linebacker Ernie Sims (groin) missed practice and most likely won't play in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

If Spencer plays, the number of snaps he'll get against the Chiefs is unknown. The team will probably start George Selvie until Spencer is able to convince the coaches he can play a full game without any health issues.

There is also some concern regarding Claiborne. He separated his left shoulder in the fourth quarter of Sunday's victory against the New York Giants. Claiborne is expected to start but will play with a harness, which limits his mobility.

"It's getting looser and looser each and every day," Claiborne said Thursday of his shoulder. "I'm wearing the harness to get a feel for it, so it can help me."

IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys' defense forced six turnovers in the season-opening victory over the New York Giants.

That might be the only good thing that happened.

Eli Manning threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns, and the Giants had three receivers who each posted 100-plus yards receiving. After one week, the Cowboys are ranked 30th in the NFL in defense after allowing 478 yards, and they rank last in average yards allowed per play at 9.94.

Yes, the Cowboys won the game, with their defense making some game-saving plays, including Brandon Carr's interception return for a touchdown with 1:50 remaining. Still, it felt like the team could have done better.

"That game’s over with," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "We’ve got to go play. We had the turnovers and all this and that, but we’ve got to play better on defense too. We didn’t play as well as we should’ve. We won the game and we hung on, but we needed to play better. I think just being in the system and getting to learn what the other guy is doing and understanding the scheme and things like that. We’ve just got to keep getting better."

The Cowboys missed two starting defensive linemen due to injuries: defensive end Anthony Spencer and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. Ratliff is out for five more weeks, at least, recovering from groin and hamstring injuries. Spencer (knee surgery) could return this week after missing the opener.

If Spencer plays, he'll be limited in the number of plays he can log because he missed all of training camp.

Starting cornerback Morris Claiborne, who played in three preseason games last year, missed all of the preseason with a knee injury. But he was ready for the Giants game and suffered a separated left shoulder in the game.

"He’s banged up a little bit," Kiffin said of Claiborne. "He’s trying to tough it out. He really is. You’ve got to respect him for that. There’s no doubt about it. A lot of guys might not have put the pads on, and he put the pads on. That shows us a lot about Mo. He’s trying to do it, but again, he’s definitely banged up."

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Ernie Sims missed practice on Wednesday with a groin injury.

Sims had some conversations with coach Jason Garrett and the medical staff after practice about his health. Sims suffered a groin injury toward the end of training camp, but was able to recover in time to start the regular season.

Defensive end Anthony Spencer (knee) and cornerback Morris Claiborne (shoulder) were limited participants in practice.

Quarterback Tony Romo (ribs), wide receiver Dez Bryant (foot), running back Lance Dunbar (foot) and safety Danny McCray (hamstring) were full participants in practice on Wednesday.

Romo said his ribs felt fine, and Bryant, who walked through the locker room with no limp, said he was good.

IRVING, Texas -- If it’s Tuesday it’s time to wonder about some Dallas Cowboys-related topics.

In this week’s installment of Five Wonders, we wonder about the cornerback play after Sunday’s game, Phil Costa’s gameday future, and Anthony Spencer's involvement on defense.

And away we go:

1. I wonder when Anthony Spencer will be, you know, Anthony Spencer. He was encouraged by some of the running he did late last week, but the defensive end has not done much since July 25 knee surgery. Can the Cowboys realistically expect him to come in and play 60 snaps a game with limited practice time? To me, that’s asking too much. I wonder if they will work him in slowly in passing downs and allow George Selvie to take the run downs, setting up a three-man rotation at defensive end along with DeMarcus Ware. That would be the smart thing to do, especially if Selvie plays as well as he did against the Giants. I was skeptical of Selvie after his two-sack performance against Miami in the Hall of Fame Game, but I might have been wrr ….. wrr … wrong about him.

2. Worry is a word Jason Garrett abhors, but I wonder if at least some people worry about the cornerback play Sunday. The Giants had three receivers go for more than 100 yards, and Eli Manning had 450 yards passing. It was just too easy for Manning to throw slant after slant after slant to Hakeem Nicks or Rueben Randle or Victor Cruz regardless if Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne or Orlando Scandrick were in coverage. The Cowboys kept linebackers Sean Lee and Bruce Carter hugged to the A gap at the snap, and the cornerbacks gave free releases mostly at the line to allow easy completions. With some good, accurate passers coming (Peyton Manning and Denver in a month), the Cowboys will have to tighten that down or live with not just a bending defense, but an entirely too flexible defense that gives up too many big plays.

3. With Brian Waters getting more acclimated to the Cowboy Way, I wonder what happens to Phil Costa. Somewhat surprisingly, the Cowboys dressed eight offensive linemen on the 46-man roster Sunday, with David Arkin joining Costa and Jermey Parnell as the backups. The Cowboys normally like to keep seven linemen active to increase their flexibility in other spots. If they revert to that old form, then Costa would appear to be the odd man out (as well as Arkin) because Mackenzy Bernadeau can play center. The Cowboys would be covered in case of injury at any of the three interior spots, making Costa a little superfluous. But before you start wondering about a trade involving Costa to, say, Pittsburgh, who lost Maurkice Pouncey for the year, I would offer some hesitation that a strength today might be a weakness in the future. Costa is a low-cost insurance policy in case something was to happen to Bernadeau, Travis Frederick or any interior linemen.

4. The Cowboys ran 74 plays against the Giants. They ran that many in a game just four times last season and went 1-3, losing to Baltimore (79), the Giants (83) and Washington (75), and beating Cleveland (78). Much has been made about Chip Kelly’s offense in Philadelphia and how many plays he wants to run per week. I wonder if the Cowboys have a similar philosophy, but just haven’t told anybody. The more plays you run, the more the other team is off the field. The Cowboys had the added benefit of four takeaways by the defense that allowed them to run more snaps and hold the ball for 37:10. The Cowboys had only two games last season in which they held the ball for a longer amount of time (Baltimore, Cleveland).

5. I wonder if the Cowboys will get that conditional seventh-round pick from Chicago in next year’s draft. In order for it to happen, tight end Dante Rosario will have to be on the Bears’ 46-man gameday roster for eight games this season. Rosario was inactive in the Bears’ win against Cincinnati, but the Bears released Kyle Adams on Monday, which would seem to clear a spot for Rosario. A wonder inside the wonder when talking trade: I wonder if the Cowboys will have to fork over their seventh rounder in 2015 to Indianapolis for Caesar Rayford. For that to happen, Rayford will have to be on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster for five weeks. Rayford was inactive against the Giants and will need time, but pass-rushers are hard to find. If I’m a betting man (and I’m not, unless it’s for entertainment purposes only), then I think there is a better chance the Colts pick up that extra selection rather than the Cowboys getting that pick from the Bears.