NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

• Per the Athletic’s Jon Machota, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended LB Jaylon Smith who has come under fire along with the rest of the Cowboys defense for effort questions: “I think Jaylon Smith has been courageous in his performance. He gives you everything he’s got. … We’ve lost some games, but he hasn’t had a losing effort. Without question, he has the talent to be the middle linebacker on a championship team.” 
• Jones added making a change from DC Mike Nolan after only four games isn’t even a consideration. (Machota)
• Cowboys C Joe Looney will miss 2-3 weeks with a sprained MCL and the team will observe his progress this week to make a decision on whether to place him on injured reserve. (Todd Archer)
• Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz has a bruised thigh but won’t miss Week 5’s game against the Giants. (Archer)

Eagles

• Per the Athletic’s Zach Berman and Bo Wulf, Eagles HC Doug Pederson says OT Jordan Mailata has done okay pressed into duty at left tackle because of injuries: “He’s a big man, obviously. He’s strong, and when he is 100 percent accurate on what he’s doing on that particular play, it’s hard for defenders to get around him, whether it’s a pass block or a run block, when he’s right. So he’s still a work in progress. He’s still like a ball of clay that we are shaping and molding and making into a left tackle.”
• Berman and Wulf note Mailata is actually two years younger than Eagles OT Andre Dillard, the team’s presumptive left tackle of the future. 
• Eagles DC Jim Schwartz says they moved S Jalen Mills back to cornerback in Week 4 because they didn’t want to take either Cre’Von LeBlanc or Nickell Robey-Coleman out of the slot: “Our depth was a little bit better at safety than at corner.” (Berman)

Giants

• NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton thinks there’s a good chance Giants DB Logan Ryan ends up being more than just a one-year fill-in even at his age. 
• Giants waived S Sean Chandler.
• Giants promoted TE Eric Tomlinson to their active roster. (NFLTR)

Washington

Washington HC Ron Rivera has three more weeks of chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed with cancer this summer. The veteran coach acknowledged it’s been harder than he expected to coach through the disease and he’s needed halftime IV’s to make it through games. But he still intends to keep pushing through and not step back from his coaching duties. 

“It’s who I am,” Rivera said on “Good Morning America” via ESPN’s John Keim. “Listening to the doctors talking about how important it is to try and do as much of the routine as possible, but they also tell you, ‘Hey, be careful, listen to your body.’ And also, there’s other people watching me, so I’m just trying to set the example.”