NFL Notes: Cowboys, Falcons, Patriots, & Ravens

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took the blame for QB Matt Cassel‘s poor play since taking over as the team’s starter.

“Probably not having that backup quarterback in better shape, whether it be having Cassel for the entire preseason,” Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’ve said that, and I know y’all are tired of hearing it, but certainly not having this backup quarterback in better shape rests solely and completely starting with me and that shouldn’t have been all of it, but it certainly was enough to really diminish a lot of the hope and promise that this team had.”

Meanwhile, HC Jason Garrett reiterated that they believe in Cassel being their starter.

“We believe in Matt Cassel,” Garrett said. “We believe he can win games for us. We will evaluate the tape before we talk about anything regarding personnel.

“Matt battles. He competes. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough offensively to win this ballgame.”

Falcons

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said he has “complete confidence” in HC Dan Quinn, despite how things have gone since they began the year 5-0.

“I’ve got complete confidence in Dan,” Blank told Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “He’s going to be a great head coach for us for many years.”

Patriots

• Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Patriots S Devin McCourty suffered a sprained ankle and X-Rays were negative.
• According to Rapoport, the injury isn’t serious enough to prevent McCourty from missing the playoffs.

Ravens

Impending free agent Kelechi Osemele made his debut at left tackle for the Ravens on Sunday, and added that he would like to be back, possible playing the same position, with next year.

“I sure hope so,” Osemele said, via the Baltimore Sun. “I would definitely love to be the guy for the Ravens into the future, as long as I can keep performing at a high level.”