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This is the fourth installment of a 12-part series breaking down the Cowboys roster. Today we look at tight ends.


Players: Jason Witten (signed through 2017), Martellus Bennett (free agent), John Phillips (signed through 2012)

Top free agents: Martellus Bennett, Dallas Cowboys; John Carlson, Seattle Seahawks; Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers; Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars; Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota Vikings

Top draft prospects: Coby Fleener, Stanford; Dwayne Allen, Clemson; Orson Charles, Georgia; Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Layayette; Michael Egnew, Missouri

2011 review: First the good news: Bennett will not return. He didn't like how he was being used in the offense and his locker room and off-the-field antics rubbed some in the organization the wrong way. Now the bad news: Bennett was the Cowboys' best blocking tight end and most athletic. He will find a home. More good news: Witten returns for his 10th season and is in line to have the longest tenure on the team if Bradie James and Terence Newman don't return. He's a professional and despite not making the Pro Bowl last season, led the team in catches (79) and receiving yards (942). Phillips was average last season, after coming off knee surgery.

Offseason preview: Free agency isn't the way to go here because the class is top heavy with world-class talent. The draft is a possibility and a mid-to-late round pick could be the answer. Green might be around on the third day and he's worth looking at. The Cowboys want tight ends who can block well and are not afraid to mix it up. Witten is the perfect example of how to do that.

Bryan Broaddus' Scout's Eye: It's hard to believe that Witten will be playing in his 10th season for the Cowboys. The Cowboys need to work on finding the next tight end who will be reliable and productive like Witten has been. I am not saying that Witten is done, but it would be a nice time to start finding a replacement. It's a shame that Bennett played at a higher level toward the end of the season so other teams would have decent film to watch when he becomes a free agent. Don't fool yourself into thinking that Bennett was this great run blocker because he wasn't. There were times he was good but not as good as he could have been. His career in Dallas will always have me wondering "what if." Phillips should be better than he was in 2011 coming off knee surgery. He is a productive player run or pass. Shaun Chapas was drafted last season, but I don't see the necessary skills. If the Cowboys get an extra pick in the middle of the draft, it could be a good time to look at tight ends.

Need meter (0-5): 4

IRVING, Texas -- Keith Brooking might be considered a “little baby” in Minnesota, but he’s not crying this week about the Vikings’ rub-it-in-and-run-it-up touchdown from last season’s playoff game.

Brooking’s eyebrows went up when informed that Minnesota nose tackle Pat Williams referred to him as a “little baby.” But Brooking, who called the late touchdown classless and disrespectful after that loss, declined to engage in a trash-talk war between 1-3 teams.

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“Good for Pat and his feelings about me,” Brooking said. “You would think Pat would have this figured out by now, but I’m worried about this year. Pat’s been in this league for a long time. You’d think he’d have it figured out by now, but I’m worried about this year and getting our team on track.

“Last year and what happened last year after the game it’s over with, it’s done. Obviously they ended our season and it hurt like hell for that to take place. Still don’t agree there was a time to do what they did. At the end of the day, we get paid to stop them. That’s all.

“It’s probably somewhere right in the middle as far as what’s right and wrong if that makes any sense. I’m over that now.”

Brooking ranted to Brett Favre on the field after the touchdown pass to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe with two minutes remaining. He ripped the Vikings after the game, leading a lot of people to believe that play would serve as motivational fodder this week.

But it’s not like the Cowboys need extra incentive to want to win after dropping three of their first four games. And Brooking didn’t dwell on that play for too long, saying he’d moved on by the time he reported to Valley Ranch for offseason workouts in March.

“If we were 4-0 right now, it wouldn’t,” Brooking said. “This is a totally different year and different circumstances. We’re going back there and playing again and hopefully we can perform better and make plays to help our team win.

“When toe meets leather Sunday, the last thing that’s going to be going through my mind when I’m running out there with our defense is we’ve got to get them back because they ran up the score.”

The Minnesota defense dominated the last time the Cowboys and Vikings met.

The Vikings sacked Tony Romo six times while cruising to a 34-3 rout in the NFC divisional playoffs, the seventh postseason meeting between the teams. It was also a Vikings’ record for the fewest points allowed in their playoff history.

As the teams prepare for their Week 6 matchup in the Metrodome, there are plenty of questions that both teams will need to address in order not to fall to 1-4.

Against the Titans last week, the Cowboys had a 400-yard passer, a 100-yard receiver and a 100-yard rusher but managed to lose the game by committing 12 penalties, three turnovers, missing a field goal and allowing a kickoff return of 73 yards.

For the Vikings, wide receiver Randy Moss returned to the club that originally drafted him in 1998 and with three days of practice, tried to be a factor in a Monday night contest against the New York Jets. Moss did manage to catch Brett Favre’s 500th career touchdown pass but did not do much else.

When studying Moss in that game, you could still see the ability to get vertical in route. That is something the Cowboys corner back Mike Jenkins and safety Alan Ball really had problems carrying not only in the Titans game but the Bears game as well.

In my preparation for this week’s game, I went back and studied the playoff game from that January day. There were two areas that really stood out for me on defense for the Cowboys. One was their ability to get decent hits on Favre in the passing game and two, their inability to play the ball down the field. On the big plays that the Vikings were able to get in the passing game, wide receiver Sidney Rice was a major factor, but Rice is recovering from hip surgery and will not play until December at the earliest.

With Rice out of the lineup, the thought was to try and go with Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Greg Lewis and Javon Walker until Rice was ready. As the preseason wore on, it was evident that this group would not be good enough and a trade was made for the productive Greg Camarillo from the Dolphins, who played like Favre’s best option in the season opener against the Saints.

With Moss now back in Minnesota, Favre now has a vertical threat down the field which will open up more options for Harvin from the slot and the athletic tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Harvin is a threat from anywhere on the field. He will line up in the backfield, in the slot and out wide. He is a true weapon with the ball in his hands and Brad Childress creates opportunities for him to play a role in the offense.

For the second time this season, the Cowboys defense will face an elite running back. Adrian Peterson really needs no description. He is explosive, powerful and difficult to bring down one-on-one in the open field. Peterson can run the ball inside but is at his very best when he gets the ball on the edge.

This is not the most athletic line and they really try and lean and push on you more than run with you and cut you off. Peterson’s running style and ability makes his own opportunities.

The Cowboys are going to have to deal with Peterson in the passing game. The closer they get to the red zone, the more they like to get the ball in his hands on the screen or swinging out of the backfield.

If there is an advantage for the Cowboys, it will be against this group of tackles. Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt do not have the best feet and really struggle with rushers with quickness. If the Cowboys are going to have some success against this Vikings offense, it’s going to have to be off the edges.

*This will be the best defensive front seven that the Cowboys have faced so far this season. As productive as the Titans line was, this defensive line and linebacker corps are much more talented.

It really starts inside with tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. Both will be a handful inside, but I should also include Jimmy Kennedy, who played well in the playoff game the last time these two clubs met.

Last week, the Cowboys played against an undersized front inside, but this group is powerful and difficult to move. The Cowboys had more success running the ball on the edges and again, that is where they are going to have to try and go.

Ray Edwards and Jared Allen are very good pass rushers. Edwards plays the run better than Allen, but where Allen gets you is rushing the passer. Since 2004, he has 73 sacks. The Cowboys need to be efficient staying ahead of the chains. The Vikings feed off offenses that struggle to keep up with down and distances.

Playing in the Metrodome is a huge advantage for the Vikings. When you studied the game last season, you could see Marc Colombo struggling to hear the snap count in passing situations, which gave Edwards a jump on the snap count.

The linebackers for the Vikings are a solid group. Chad Greenway, Ben Leber and E.J. Henderson are always around the football. Greenway has led the team in tackles in the last two seasons. Leber has accounted for 11 turnovers in his career and Henderson has 12.5 sacks for a career, which ranks fourth all-time among Vikings linebackers.

In the secondary, the Cowboys need to stay away from Antoine Winfield. He is an aggressive, ball-hawking corner that is a dependable tackler and a leader of the group. Winfield is a smart player that understands how to read routes. He will make a quarterback feel his receiver is open, then drive on the football when thrown. He doesn’t have good height but he can go vertical to play the ball in the air. When the Vikings go to the nickel, he will play the slot.

After studying the game tape, I believe the Cowboys will attack second-year pro Asher Allen. Allen had to come into the game against the Jets last week when Cedric Griffin was lost to a knee injury. Allen is not as physical of a player as Griffin and he will struggle with receivers that are physical. Don’t be one bit surprised if Jason Garrett finds a way to match up Miles Austin with Allen as much as he can. There are plays to be made there.

Veteran Lito Shepherd will also see action when the Vikings go to their nickel package.

This will be a huge test for the Cowboys on both sides of the ball. Moss gives the Vikings a whole new dynamic. But how healthy is Favre’s elbow? Can the Cowboys put behind them what happened in the playoffs in 2009?

If not, a 1-4 start is staring them in the face.

IRVING, Texas -- Jerry Jones declared at the beginning of training camp that his $1.2 billion palace would provide motivation for the Cowboys.

The Vikings apparently feel the same way about the Metrodome, which isn't exactly considered a modern architectural marvel.

"They got their big, old stadium," Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe told reporters in Minnesota. "But now they're coming to the 'hood. We don't have all that crap. We're old school. We crank our windows by hand. That's how old school we are. You want the windows down, you do it by hand.

"It doesn't matter how many people are on your bandwagon. You still got to play the next game. It ain't going to be no walk in the park for them, I'll tell you that.

"That's the suburbs down there. This is the 'hood."

The Vikings are 8-0 in "the 'hood" this season, winning their last five home games by double figures.

Of course, the Superdome was a pretty tough place to play this season before the Cowboys arrived in New Orleans.