his cover blown by the gut sticking out under No.

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A year ago , Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Joe Looney grabbed the spotlight during training camp as the prankster who took the field in star running back Ezekiel Elliott's jersey,21.Now that Looney has become the starting center under the serious circumstances of Travis Frederick's battle against a rare neurological disorder, the career backup plans to keep his sense of humor."Things are still the same," Looney said Thursday, almost exactly a year after a similar throng of reporters surrounded his locker to discuss his antics in practice at team headquarters."Football is a game. And I'm going to come out here and have fun every day doing it. Sometimes it's not going to be perfect. But at the end of the day, this is a game and I've got to enjoy it."Looney and the rest of the Cowboys will have Frederick on their mind as they prepare to start the regular season. The 27-year-old Frederick will likely miss the visit to Carolina on Sept. 9 and any number of games after that.The Cowboys simply don't know how long Frederick will be out as he undergoes treatment for Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune condition that causes the body to attack a network of nerves around the brain and spinal cord.Weakness is one of the primary symptoms, in some cases signaled by burning sensations similar to what football players call "stingers," usually injuries around the neck. That's what Frederick was describing to the team when the Cowboys were still in California for training camp.Frederick was cleared by a specialist in the Los Angeles area over concerns about his neck. But symptoms persisted after the Cowboys returned to Texas. He got the diagnosis this week and was in his third day of treatment Thursday.The 2016 All-Pro said in a statement issued by the team that treatment will continue for several days. And while Frederick and his teammates are optimistic he will return soon, nobody can say when.Most people recover from even the most severe cases of the disease, but some will continue to have some degree of weakness, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Former NFL lineman Mark Schlereth missed the second half of the 1993 season with Washington because of Guillain-Barre and wrote on Twitter that he didn't fully regain his strength for a year. But Schlereth played until 2000 and won two Super Bowls with Denver after the diagnosis."It's tough," said 2014 All-Pro guard Zack Martin, one of Frederick's best friends on the team. "During training camp, he really didn't know what was going on. He was kind of telling us how he was feeling. It's tough that he didn't know until a couple of days ago."Owner Jerry Jones said he was relieved to get the diagnosis but deflected several questions about the severity of the illness, which likely will determine how long Frederick is out. Frederick said he was encouraged by doctors telling him they thought they caught the disease early.In retrospect, there was a telling moment early in camp in California when Frederick was uncharacteristically pushed back several feet right after the snap by defensive tackle Antwaun Woods in one-on-one drills. A frustrated Frederick shoved Woods, causing a brief scuffle."It's amazing to me that he's been out here going through two-a-days and creating half the fights because he probably wasn't satisfied within himself how he was responding (as) I look back on it," Jones said. "But that's Frederick."Jones didn't want to discuss the idea of adding another center, although the Cowboys did sign undrafted rookie Jacob Ohnesorge this week."I haven't and I don't have a plan as to how we'll work through this relative to the position on the team," Jones said.Martin , the right guard, has taken snaps at center occasionally since joining Dallas but is still viewed as an emergency option. He will miss the rest of the preseason but expects to be ready for the opener after hyperextending his left knee in the exhibition loss to Cincinnati last weekend.Looney, who turns 28 next week, has started 13 of 59 games in six years. He has played all 32 games in two seasons with the Cowboys, with three starts. Looney started a career-best six games in his only season with Tennessee in 2015."Joe's played more football with the ones this year than he ever has," coach Jason Garrett said. "I think we're playing better in combination because of the reps he's gotten. He's a veteran. He's poised. He's composed. He's smart. I think he's fit in really well."The 315-pound Looney didn't fit into Elliott's jersey very well. The increased importance of his role — replacing a four-time Pro Bowl player who hasn't missed a game in five seasons — doesn't mean Looney has stopped thinking about his next gag."You've got to be the same person every day," he said. "It's unfortunate what's going on right now. We're praying for Travis and wish nothing but the best for him. I'm definitely going to crack some jokes when I see him."The Cowboys can use the humor right now.Tweetcap: Cowboys put boots to Giants 20-13, sack Eli Manning into his next meme After the ranting and raving concerning last week’s loss to the Panthers, the Cowboys couldn’t afford to fall 0-2. They know all the stats that point to 0-2 being a hole that 89% of NFL teams don’t find a way out of. The offense, in particular, was under a lot of scrutiny whether it was quarterback play, offensive line play, play-calling, or just about anything else you can think of. The Cowboys came into the division matchup with the Giants as the more determined team and left winners. So, what was different and how did the Cowboys handle business this time around?A.) “Challenge Accepted” Back them off by going deepThe Cowboys got speed involved early on offense and it carried them over for the rest of the game. When you think of speed, Tavon Austin is the guy that comes to mind:The offense needed a shot in the arm of explosiveness and when you can connect on a deep ball like that, it makes the defense have to account for it. Dak Prescott would go deep twice more in this game, though they didn’t connect, it effectively helped them shake loose of the Giants defense. Still, Michael Gallup has to catch this one:The Cowboys took some shots in this game which is what the offense needed and it sparked the team. It did get tougher for them after that, they only scored three more points for the half but that’s when the defense took over.B.) Getting Dak Prescott on the move , grinding down the opponent with Ezekiel ElliottThere was definitely a lull in the offensive action or the score would have been much higher for the Cowboys. However, we got to witness the Cowboys offensive coaches use the strengths of the team’s talents. It was a reversion to the method that was so successful for Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in their rookie seasons. It started with letting Dak trust his instinct to run and take advantage of extra attention Elliott was getting. Here’s his first zone read run:Here’s Dak’s second zone read keeper, where he fakes the defense out well and Deonte Thompson seals off his man:These types of runs by Dak Prescott are critical to the offense’s success. The Cowboys want a healthy balance of knowing when to allow it to happen. They don’t want Dak getting hurt but he’s built to get things done with his feet in addition to his arm. The biggest threats the Cowboys have are Ezekiel Elliott, Tavon Austin, and Dak Prescott. All three were featured last night and all three made huge plays that was the difference in a win or loss.The best part of the entire night was the Cowboys first drive of the fourth quarter. It showed the true strength of their offense because it completely sealed the deal for the win. It was a 14-play drive that traveled 82-yards and took 8:23 off the clock. The drive featured passes to Cole Beasley, Michael Gallup, and Tavon Austin. It also had keeper’s by Dak and runs from Ezekiel Elliott, but the important factor was that it ended with seven points. It was the Cowboys doing what they do best, controlling the tempo, and killing the clock.C.) Sacking Eli Manning into his next internet memeThe Cowboys defense is the strength of this team and it sounds so weird to say for a team that has been so offensively dominant in the recent past. Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard knew that this Giants offensive line could not handle the pressure they schemed up. What ensued was a new classic “Eli” photo for the ages:The Giants spent money on bringing in Nate Solder at left tackle, they drafted Will Hernandez, but nothing they could do would stop the “Hot Boyz”. Taco Charlton’s path on the first sack was easy as pie after the Cowboys sent the linebackers on a blitz. Taco just ran right past the line, untouched:That’s just one of six sacks the Cowboys put on Eli Manning. Six different Cowboys players sacked Eli Manning. Richard and Marinelli dialed up blitzes with their linebackers and safeties, it proved to be too much for that overmatched offensive line in New York.The Giants had four drives in the first half and the Cowboys got Manning down on three of those drives and held them to no points. Folks like to pick on the Cowboys offense but the Giants offense has a far worse trend:It’s pretty alarming for New York because on paper, they have explosive players, but games like this last one will have everyone second-guessing:That decision to load up on offensive talent around Eli Manning looms large for a lot of people that follow and cover the New York Giants. Saquon Barkley is a talented player but the Giants will forever be linked to the quarterbacks they never took:This game had lots of moments but there is nothing that stands out further than watching Eli Manning get battered and bruised for four quarters. Protection was clearly the biggest issue for the Giants. If the Cowboys weren’t sacking Eli Manning, they would have plays like this one where Manning had to have regretted the decision to take off.When you look around the league where offensive line protection is at a premium, these “Hot Boyz” are the real deal. The way the Cowboys defense played this game was one for the ages. Everyone will remember where they were when they watched the Cowboys defense throw a Sack-Fest. In a passing league, the Cowboys finally have the guys that quarterback’s have nightmares over.

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