Cowboys cut Tim Anderson
The Cowboys have cut nose tackle Tim Anderson. Anderson was signed on Jan. 26 after sitting out last season following four seasons with Buffalo and Atlanta. His chances of making the team took a hit when he suffered a toe injury during the off-season conditioning program that required surgery. He missed all of the OTAs and mini-camp as well as the first week of training camp. In his second practice he sprained his left ankle but he played in the preseason opener against Oakland and was not credited with a tackle. With Anderson gone, the Cowboys have Junior Siavii and Jonas Seawright as the backups behind Jay Ratliff.

Predict the December record
The Cowboys haven't had a winning December since 1996. Wade Phillips said each year is different, that none of that matters. The players no the month has not been kind to them. At 8-3, the Cowboys lead the NFC East and could have a two-game advantage if Philadelphia loses Sunday. With New Orleans and Minnesota atop the NFC, forget about any sort of homefield advantage or a bye. "I think you put yourself in position well before December," quarterback Tony Romo said. "You have to maintain a level of consistency and then you raise it up going into January if you're good enough to do that. It's going to be something that we have to answer until we get better. We'll hopefully

Mat McBriar admires Shane Lechler
Mat McBriar has a strong leg. If he wanted - or was asked - he could hit the 90-foot digital board at Cowboys Stadium or launch 69-yard punts. But even McBriar was stunned at the performance of Oakland punter Shane Lechler Thursday. Lechler punted nine times for 493 yards and had a long of 69 yards. He also had punts of 66, 59 and 55 yards. It looked as if Lechler's punts came out of a Jugs machine. "Oh, my gosh," McBriar said when I just mentioned Lechler's name, but then he added something that surprised me: "Definitely there's a wind out there. It was blowing left to right, so what does that make it, westerly?" McBriar said. "At the end of the game it switched

Jenkins chasing Newman
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman was credited with two passes defended in Thursday's win against Oakland. Newman has 12 passes defended for the season, moving him into a tie for seventh in the NFL. Fellow cornerback Mike Jenkins had one pass defended. He now is tied for 13th in the league with 10 passes defended for the season. Jenkins said he and Newman feed off each other's success. ``When he makes a play, it's like `Okay, my turn,' '' Jenkins said. ``And it's the same with him. We're all trying to make plays. In this league, every play is a big play.''

Defense lacking takeaways
The Dallas Cowboys have allowed an NFC-low 16.5 points per game, but the defense has been unable to set up the offense in prime scoring position. The defense had only one takeaway in Thursday's win against Oakland: a forced fumble by DeMarcus Ware on the next-to-last play of the first half. Without the help of takeaways, the Cowboys' offense started all 11 possessions in its territory. For the season, the Cowboys have started only eight possessions in the opponents' end. They have scored on seven of the possessions.