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GRAPEVINE, Texas – Jerry Jones believes his franchise is well prepared for the first step in the arbitration process for the salary-cap sanctions leveled against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins by the NFL management council.

The first hearing is Thursday in front of arbitrator Stephen Burbank, who will determine whether the NFL and NFLPA had the authority to impose the sanctions against the Cowboys and Redskins. If Burbank rules in favor of the teams, a second hearing would be scheduled to determine how the $10 million stripped from the Cowboys’ salary cap and $36 million stripped from the Redskins’ salary cap over a two-year period should be handled.

“I can’t and won’t address the specifics and certainly wouldn’t dare try to predict what the resolution will be,” Jones said Wednesday at the Cowboys’ annual team golf outing. “I’m glad we’ve got an opportunity to present it under the labor agreement to a mediator, and that’s what tomorrow is all about. … It won’t resolve the issue, but it will help decide whether or not we can go before a mediator.”

The league leveled the sanctions after it ruled that the Cowboys and Redskins violated the spirit of the uncapped 2010 season with front-loaded contracts for Dallas receiver Miles Austin and ex-Washington defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Jones said the Cowboys’ legal team has filed a “very good brief” and pointed out once again that the contracts were approved by the league office.

“I know we followed the rules,” Jones said. “The league has not said that we did not follow the rules. Those were approved contracts, but this is a complicated issue. Again, that’s about all I need to be saying about it and want to say about it.”

The teams opted to have half of the penalties assessed this offseason, costing the Cowboys $5 million and the Redskins $18 million in salary-cap space during this free agency period. Jones, whose team signed seven free agents from other teams, said the penalty did not prevent the Cowboys from making any acquisitions they would have otherwise but could create future complications.

“Certainly, we’ve been able to adjust,” Jones said. “It was a big surprise to us to have that downward adjustment in our cap. It was very meaningful to us because we are usually always looking for room under our cap, so it was very meaningful for us to have to make that adjustment. But I can tell you that as we stand here right now, we didn’t not do anything that we wanted to do.

“What we’ve had to do though, because they’ve reduced the amount of dollars that we had this year, we’ve had to go into the future and get some of those dollars that we wouldn’t have had to do if we had not had to make those adjustments. That’ll just create a challenge for us in the future.”

With the Washington Redskins releasing wide receiver Jabar Gaffney it meant two of the NFC East's leading receivers from 2011 are gone.

The Cowboys lost wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who led them 11 touchdown receptions, when he signed a five-year $32.5 million deal. Paying Robinson that type of money was too much for the Cowboys because they have Miles Austin and Dez Bryant on the roster along with tight end Jason Witten, considered one of the best at his position, to help the passing game.

Gaffney was acquired in a trade last year and excelled for the Redskins. In two games against the Cowboys, Gaffney had 12 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown. But this offseason the Redskins signed Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan in free agency and it became clear Gaffney was expendable.

It's interesting to note just how fast things change in the NFC East with the Redskins and Cowboys, who at the end of the 2011 season were on the bottom half talent wise in the division.

Washington will have a new quarterback and two new starting wideouts to start the season, the Cowboys will have a new starting running back and quite possibly two new starting cornerbacks as well.

The head coaches remained the same, but you have to say the talent level at the top of the division remains with Philadelphia and the New York Giants.

IRVING, Texas – On May 10, the Cowboys will get their chance to make their case before arbitrator Stephen Burbank regarding the $10 million salary-cap sanction imposed on it by the NFL for violating the spirit of the uncapped 2010 season.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones is not allowed to comment on the specifics of the case, but said Wednesday, “We certainly are hopeful that the mediator will see our side of it.”

Jones said the penalty “impacted to some degree” what the Cowboys were able to do in free agency but did not cripple the team’s moves. Washington was hit with a $36 million sanction that it is also appealing with the Cowboys.

ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins looks ahead to the NFL Draft and the needs of their division rivals.

Today he talks with Mike Jones, Redskins insider for the Washington Post.

 

The closest thing to a soft stretch in the Dallas Cowboys' schedule comes right after they finish their third set of back-to-back road trips over the first nine games.

After that, the Cowboys get three consecutive home games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season.

They better beat the Browns, a team that went 4-12 last season and sorely lacks offensive weapons. Whether it’s Colt McCoy or rookie Ryan Tannehill under center, the Dallas defense should be able to rattle an inexperienced quarterback.

They’ll see another rookie four days later, assuming that Robert Griffin III is healthy when the Redskins come to Cowboys Stadium for Thanksgiving. As talented as Griffin is, he’ll be a rookie with no potent playmakers around him. That’s another must-win at home.

That’s followed by a home game against Philadelphia, which was arguably the most disappointing team in the NFL last season. The Eagles have plenty of weapons, but who knows if injury-prone Michael Vick will be healthy this deep into the season. Whether or not they face Vick, the Cowboys need this game if they plan to make the playoffs.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The results of the arbitration hearing on salary cap penalties imposed on the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins by the NFL are not in.

"I have not spoken or heard anything directly to Mr. Burbank about his timetable and time schedule or any other proceedings," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday morning at the end of the owners meetings. The hearing was conducted by University of Pennsylvania professor Stephen Burbank.

Both teams were penalized for overloading contracts in the 2010 uncapped season despite league warnings not to do so. The Cowboys will lose $10 million in cap penalties spread evenly over the next two seasons and the Redskins lose $36 million.

On Tuesday, the NFL owners ratified the agreement between the league and players' union that takes away salary cap space.

Both franchises believe they didn't do anything wrong because all the contracts were approved by the NFL and the NFLPA.

Goodell was asked during his 20-minute news conference just what uncapped meant.

"In 2010, the rules were articulated, and the rules were quite clear," Goodell said.

For the fourth consecutive season, ticket prices at Cowboys Stadium will not increase, according to Brett Daniels, senior director of corporate communications.

The Cowboys have not raised ticket prices since they moved into the $1.3 billion facility in Arlington.

The Cowboys join the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins as teams who won't raise ticket prices in 2012. The Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, will raise their prices.

The Cowboys averaged the second-highest ticket price in the NFL last season at $110.20, according to Team Marketing Report, which measures ticket prices for fans.

The New York Jets averaged the highest ticket in the league at $120.85. NFL average tickets costs $77.36.

We've reviewed the Cowboys-Dolphins game on Thanksgiving Day and provide you with our weekly Beat Writers Recap.

Have fun.

1. The biggest thing we noticed in this game was the tackling of the Miami Dolphins against the run. This team doesn't miss many tackles especially in the open field, which limits the big play abilities of DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones. If you look at Murray's numbers, 22 carries for 87 yards, it looks like a productive day, which it was, but there were no multiple big runs, there was that 18 yard burst but that's it.

2. Anthony Spencer is having a nice season. He's doing a good job of holding up tackles and tight ends at the point of attack on run plays and when he does rush he pushes the pocket. The primary rusher is DeMarcus Ware, as it should be, but we'd like to see him rush with Spencer at the same time more often. Spencer's numbers from Thursday: Eight tackles, three tackles for loss and pass breakup. Very nice.

3. The Cowboys do miss Tony Fiammetta at fullback, but there is nothing wrong with John Phillips in his place. Phillips blocks his guy and prevents him from making tackles. Only once, in the last two weeks has Phillips' man made a tackle on a run play. That's more than 50 snaps at fullback for Phillips. Now Phillips is more of a stationary blocker. He keeps the man in front of him, while Fiammetta moves his man out of the way. It takes Murray longer to make a decision under Phillips because he has to choose which direction to run in comparison to Fiammetta who clears the block out of Murray's vision. Still, Phillips has been very good the last two weeks and isn't a liability there. In fact, the last three runs by Murray to clinch the game occurred with Phillips as fullback.

4. When Felix Jones dodged a defender on a 20-yard kick return in the first quarter, it was something that's been missing in the kick return game. The Cowboys returners whether it's Kevin Ogletree, Dwayne Harris or Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, don't make people miss. They just run to a spot and go down. If Jones continues in the kick return role, his ability to elude defenders is pivotal to the success of this unit.

5. Jay Ratliff is a tough man. The nose tackle gets double and triple-teamed on a regular basis. It was interesting to note how the Miami interior linemen where grabbing him. Instead of getting him near the chest area, they grabbed Ratliff by the outside of his shoulder pads forcing him to waste more energy with his arms to break free because he was getting held. On one pass play, Ratliff was blocked by two defenders, and after the pass was thrown, was knocked to the ground by Richie Incognito.

6.We've talked enough about the running of Murray, but he did a nice job of blitz pickup on a completed pass to Dez Bryant in the third quarter. Sometimes it's not about a hard block on the blitz, it's giving the quarterback some time to complete a pass. Murray did just enough to slow a charging Karlos Dansby to give Tony Romo time to land a 16-yard pass to Bryant.

7. Jerry Jones didn't like the illegal contact call on Abram Elam in the fourth quarter that wiped out a third down sack by Ware. It was a weak call on Elam, who did get his hands on Anthony Fasano briefly. But Frank Walker's penalty, unnecessary roughness, on the same drive, was senseless. Walker has to be mindful of where the sidelines are when he's tackling someone.

8. Should the Cowboys return Mat McBriar as the holder? He's going to take some snaps at it this week. Dan Bailey has done a nice job with Tony Romo there. But Romo and McBriar don't like doing it. That's fine, they're taking one for the team in a sense. The Cowboys should really have backup quarterback Stephen McGee as the holder.

9. Secondary has been inconsistent the last two weeks. Against the Washington Redskins, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said the secondary was too loose and he wanted them to be more physical against the Dolphins. We thought they were, but it didn't work on a consistent basis.

10. Keep this in mind about the last five possessions for the Miami offense: Three field goals, one touchdown and a punt. Not a good way to finish a game for the Cowboys defense going into Sunday's clash vs. Arizona.

When getting ready for this game, there was no doubt in my mind that the Washington Redskins would give the Cowboys their best shot. Defensively, the Redskins were still playing hard despite being put in terrible position by their offense. The Redskins' offense was as bad as any as I've studied this season, and the majority of their struggles had to do with the quarterback play of Rex Grossman and John Beck.

I really felt the Cowboys defense would be able to take advantage of how poorly Grossman had played since being put back into the lineup after Beck proved he couldn't handle the job. But when you struggle to get consistent pressure and you struggle with communication problems, even poorly playing quarterbacks can enjoy success.

Redskins' receivers had too much room to operate

For the previous two weeks, the Cowboys secondary had been outstanding. Against the Redskins, however, there were too many plays where receivers had room to operate. It all really started to fall apart when Orlando Scandrick was flagged for holding after he was beaten off the line because he wasn't in good position and had to grab his man. There was another time where the Redskins spread the Cowboys' defense across the field, forcing Terence Newman to play between two receivers on the outside because Gerald Sensabaugh failed to get over in coverage and replace Abe Elam, who had blitzed. It resulted in an easy pitch and catch for Grossman.

Scandrick also failed to get his hands on David Anderson during an out-and-up route, which resulted in a nice gain for the Redskins. If Scandrick gets his hands on Anderson in the 5-yard zone, he has no shot at getting that ball.

The Redskins drove into the Cowboys' red zone, and Grossman was able to deliver a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to Jabar Gaffney. On the play, Sensabaugh thought he had inside help from Frank Walker, who was lined up at the other safety. At the snap, Gaffney runs up, nods to the outside and then gets Sensabaugh to have to try and adjust to him. Sensabaugh got turned and was unable to get back inside, and Walker wound up jumping an across-the-middle route underneath when he should've been helping Sensabaugh with Gaffney.

Loose coverage proves costly for Newman

While Scandrick and Sensabaugh had their struggles, so did Newman. He didn’t play near as aggressively as he had against Buffalo or Seattle. Maybe it had something to do with the chopped-up condition of the field and he didn't have confidence in his footing. Nevertheless, he played way too cautious on routes.

There was only one time where he drove on a ball, and that was on a pass over the middle to Anderson. Newman read it well, avoiding Anderson and knocking the ball down. Newman's problems were a result of always being four to five yards off in coverage. On third-and-11, Newman allowed Gaffney to run up the field and turn inside with plenty of room to catch the ball. Newman was a good four yards off.

There was another time where Newman got bumped off coverage when covering Donte Stallworth and couldn't rally to make the play. In previous games, Newman had been played much more physical.

Hatcher, Ratliff stand out on defense

When teams were able to run the ball against the Cowboys, it was mainly because of the poor play of the defensive ends. When the defense had success stopping the run, it was because Kenyon Coleman, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher and Sean Lissemore did a nice job of holding blocks at the point of attack.

If I had to give a game ball to one of these ends, I would hand it over to Jason Hatcher, who clearly outplayed former teammate and Redskins DE Stephen Bowen. Hatcher was able to get pressure several different ways. Ryan used him on twist stunts and over the guards in the nickel. Hatcher was always working his way up the field in the passing game, but he also did a nice job of stacking blockers at the point of attack.

Jay Ratliff keeps putting outstanding games together as well. He is one of those players that you really don't appreciate until you go into the lab and break his work down. Ratliff was strong at the point in the running game, overpowering center Will Montgomery several times, causing problems inside for the Redskins' zone running scheme. Ratliff was able to draw a holding call that brought back a nice gain on a pass play to tight end Logan Paulsen in the flat. In this game, the numbers were there for Ratliff, who has played well the last several weeks.

Where was Ware on game-tying drive?

Nobody appreciates the fine work of DeMarcus Ware and what he means to this team on a weekly basis more than I do. There is no questioning his talent and passion, but it's my job to point out flaws that I see during my film study. In this game, the defense allowed the Redskins to drive the ball down the field and score the game-tying touchdown. The 12-play drive -- for another weekend -- showed the Cowboys' defense couldn't close the game out, much like they couldn't against the Jets, Lions, and Patriots. On that final drive in regulation, the Redskins only doubled Ware once. On four of the plays, he was matched up against Jammal Brown. On the other eight, he went against young LT Trent Williams. The result for Ware: Not one sack or even a pressure.

Romo makes most of second-chances

Tony Romo won this game for the Cowboys, plain and simple, through his abilities to buy a second chance with his feet, think on the move and deliver a play when his team needed it the most.

There was no doubt in my mind that the Cowboys were going to have difficulties running the ball against the Redskins' defensive front. As well as DeMarco Murray had been carrying the ball, this was a game where the blocking was less than perfect and he had to fight for every yard.

Romo's reads and execution were spot on. Where he was at his best was his ability to feel the pressure and move to avoid it. Two examples were on touchdown passes to Laurent Robinson and Jason Witten.

Romo on the run: Example No. 1

Robinson did an outstanding job of getting in position to catch the ball. When the play started, it looked like Robinson was going to be brought in motion to create a bunch formation, but Romo did not bring him inside. At the snap, Robinson had to work up to the goal line and then sprint across to get Romo's attention. On the other side, Dez Bryant was jammed at the line.

With the pocket closing around him, Romo moved to his left to buy more time, and Bryant was trying to work himself free in the corner of the end zone. At the same time, Robinson is in the clear but is quickly closing ground to the Redskins corner on the other side of the field.

Romo, moving to his left, pointed to the left corner of the end zone to try and freeze the defender to that side. Bryant tried to work back that way, but Romo really was trying to create space for Robinson along the goal line.

At the moment of truth, Romo, instead of leading Robinson with the ball into the defender, throws the ball behind Robinson so he can brace for the catch. Robinson is able to adjust, make the catch and secure the touchdown.

Romo on the run: Example No. 2

On the TD pass to Witten, it was really a heady play by two veteran players.

Once again, Romo has to deal with pressure, but he's able to spin to his left to avoid the rush. Witten, on the right side of the formation, runs a curl at about 12 yards. When he turns, Witten sees Romo spinning out of the pocket, so he starts across the field to mirror the direction that his quarterback is turning.

Romo doesn't see Witten at first, but Witten makes himself available up and across the field. The Redskins had no safety help in the middle of the field where Witten attacked. Moving to his left and with pressure in his face, Romo delivered a strike to Witten, who was able to finish the play by getting to the end zone.

Less is more for DeMarco Murray

I knew it wasn't going to be easy for Murray, but the way he carried the ball was more impressive than his 250-yard effort vs. the Rams. On fourth-and-1 in the third quarter, with the Cowboys trailing 17-10, Jason Garrett decides to go for it.

On the field, Garrett has three tight ends, one wide receiver and Murray in the backfield. John Phillips is lined up as a wing to the left and comes in motion across the formation. Martellus Bennett is lined up on the line right, with Witten slightly off the line to his right. WR Robinson is wide left.

At the snap, the Redskins defense pinches down inside on both sides in an effort to clog the middle. Montrae Holland pulls from his left guard to the right. On the front side, Witten, Bennett, Tyron Smith and Kyle Kosier all block down inside to cave the edge.

Holland managed to get around the corner with Phillips out on the support. Holland pulled to block London Fletcher, but missed. Murray is now heading for the edge as Phillips loses contact with DeAngelo Hall, who is able to grab Murray in space. Murray, however, is much too strong for the cornerback and is able to finish the run by carrying Hall an extra four yards for the first down. The drive later was capped with the game-tying touchdown pass to Robinson.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Maybe there wasn't anything to say but Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan offered few words after the Cowboys' 27-24 victory over the Washington Redskins.

"We won, so I'm fired up," Ryan said as he walked to the team bus.

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When asked about Rex Grossman leading the Redskins to a game-tying drive at the end of regulation Ryan noted, "Rex is streaky and he's always been."

On the kicker, Dan Bailey who won the game with a 39-yard field goal, Ryan said, "Our kicker is great."

Ryan has to be concerned with a defense that allowed 24 points to the Redskins, who was averaging 15.1 points per game, ranked 28th in the NFL. The Redskins drove 89 yards to tie the game and rallied from a 10-point deficit. The defense played well at the start forcing four punts and a fumble on the first five possessions.

But Washington scored two touchdowns by starting drives in Cowboys territory. There were two other drives leading to field goals, a make and a miss but the last three possessions resulted in a punt, interception on a deep ball and a game-tying touchdown.

The Cowboys allowed a season-high six plays of 20 or more yards, all occurring in the second half. The Cowboys had allowed four plays of 20 or more yards the last two weeks.

"Early on in the game they really created a number of different stops," Jason Garrett said. "Then as the game wore on Washington kept plugging away, they made some throws in the passing game but I thought our guys just hung in there, kept battling and that's what you have to do. They were on the field a long time, if you think about the last part of the fourth quarter then starting overtime. To me that is a gut check, it's got to come in from deep down and they made the critical stops when we needed to, to give us the chance offensively to have that last drive that allowed us to kick the field goal."

LANDOVER, Md. -- After the Dallas Cowboys were obliterated, 34-7, at the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 30, owner and general manager Jerry Jones preached patience.

Three weeks later, Jones looks prescient as the Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East.

The Cowboys’ 27-24 overtime win Sunday at the Washington Redskins was their third straight and improved their record to 6-4.

The 17-10 loss suffered by the New York Giants to Philadelphia on Sunday night left them with a 6-4 record.

The Cowboys are in first place thanks to a 2-1 division record. The Giants are 1-2 in the division. The two teams meet twice in December.

And don’t bury the Eagles. While Philadelphia is just 4-6 overall, it is 3-1 in the division and its toughest non-conference games against the New England Patriots and the New York Jets come at home. They play at the Cowboys on Dec. 24.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Jason Witten did not have a catch in the first half Sunday against Washington and finished with a season-low three for the game, although one was a big one on a 59-yard touchdown grab.

“Lot of bracketing,” Witten said of the Redskins’ defense on him. “The coverage wasn’t allowing it to go my way but we kind of just stuck with it.”

Witten’s first catch nearly resulted in a lost fumble, but he managed to pull the football back in for an 11-yard gain. His second catch was a 15-yard corner route for a first down on a drive that ended in Laurent Robinson’s touchdown.

The 59-yarder was just two players “playing ball.” Witten ran a curl initially but Romo was flushed to his left.

“They were setting the hook so high playing Cover 2 that they weren’t going to let my by them, so we were hooking it up,” Witten said. “It was the same as the first [catch], but I see him scrambling and just tried to stay in his vision. That was a great job by Tony.”

LANDOVER, Md. – He’ll take the win, but Orlando Scandrick is not looking forward to watching the film of this game.

“I didn’t play my best game,” Scandrick said. “Quite frankly, I think I played bad. Made a big play, but a couple penalties, a couple penalties, a couple missed assignments, a couple misalignments and they’re right back in the game.”

Scandrick, who had an interception and two defensive holding penalties, had plenty of company in the Cowboys’ secondary. They made Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman and a bunch of waiver-wire-type wide receivers look like a legitimate NFL passing attack.

Grossman completed 25 of 38 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Jabar Gaffney had seven catches for 115 yards and a score, a huge day for a receiver whose previous season high was 68 yards.

“They executed,” said cornerback Terence Newman, who was in coverage of several of Gaffney’s catches. “We didn’t execute as well as we would like, but you’ve got to tip your hat to the guy because he’s took a lot of criticism throughout his nine years in the league. He’s showing everybody that he’s a quality quarterback.”

Yes, he’s talking about the same Rex Grossman who was benched for John Beck.

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Dallas Cowboys came dangerously close to turning Dan Bailey's 39-yard game winning field goal try into a 54-yard attempt.

With the play clock running down on third down and the field goal team on the field, holder Tony Romo signaled for a timeout the Cowboys did not have. Fortunately, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was granted a timeout a tick earlier to attempt to ice Bailey.

Had the Cowboys been granted a timeout, they would have been penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, which would have moved the line of scrimmage to the Redskins 37. Since it was third down, the Cowboys would have had the option of running another play.

Romo said he did not know until after the timeout that the Cowboys had used their two already in overtime. They used their first timeout prior to Graham Gano's 52-yard field goal try that missed to the right and the second at the 7:48 mark after an incomplete pass.

“The clock was running down, yeah, I tried to stop it at one second,” Romo said. “They helped us out on that.”

Coach Jason Garrett was a little sheepish when asked about the play.

“I just saw the whole sequence and they gave the Redskins the timeout,” Garrett said. “It was a good sequence.”

Here's the rule from the NFL:

An attempt to call an excess team timeout or to call a second timeout in the same dead-ball period by Team B in an attempt to “freeze” a kicker, will be considered unsportsmanlike conduct and will subject the offending team to a 15-yard penalty (See 12-3). This will apply to field goal or try attempts.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Felix Jones returned to the field Sunday after missing the last four games with a left high ankle sprain. Jones came in on the fifth play of the Dallas Cowboys' first possession and gained six yards out of a two-tight end set.

When his day was over, Jones had five carries for 18 yards and one catch for four yards.

"This is what I love to do," Jones said. "It felt good to get back out there."

Jones worked on returning kickoffs during practice last week and there was a thought he might do it in the game Sunday. He hadn't returned a kick since 2009. The Cowboys used Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on kickoffs vs. the Redskins on Sunday. Owusu-Ansah fielded three kickoffs for 56 yards.

It seems the Cowboys will be cautious with giving Jones more touches to prevent him from re-injuring his ankle. For now, DeMarco Murray is the starting running back.

There were several stretches where Murray was in the game while Jones watched from the sidelines. Murray touched the ball 31 times and was targeted seven times in the passing game. Jones touched the ball five times and caught the only pass thrown his way.

"Just getting back out there, first of all is just exciting for me and we'll work on [touches later]," he said. "We'll see what happens."