Cowboys Team Report.

Inside Slant:

Offensive line was the one of the Cowboys' biggest concerns in the offseason following last year's 8-8 campaign.

Owner Jerry Jones said it has actually held the team back the last two years. The Cowboys made a couple of moves in the offseason to help solidify the position but a rash of injuries the first couple of weeks of camp has Jones worried and frustrated that the offensive line will be a problem again and not hold up for quarterback Tony Romo.

The top three centers on the team -- Phil Costa, Bill Nagy and Kevin Kowalski -- were sidelined for the preseason opener. Nagy and Kowalski are out indefinitely. The Cowboys had hoped to find someone to push the undersized Costa for the starting job but that has been to no avail. Now they are just holding their breath that he is OK from a back injury.

Guards Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings were signed in the offseason to solidify the interior of the line and both were sidelined the first two weeks of camp with hip and hamstring injuries. Their injuries are not serious but the line has been set back in its ability to develop chemistry and cohesiveness.

Jones is worried that the line won't hold up for Romo.

"I think frustration is probably good in this case," Jones said. I must tell you that I am holding my breath a little bit because I need the interior of this line to be a source of confidence for Tony and to feel good about his protection in there. We can talk about the running game. I know that helps protect him in our passing game. But I look at it principally by it beginning with protection for him. That's got me a little angst right now."

At this point, Romo is not worried about the development of the line. He believes the Cowboys have enough time to get things settled. He said the Cowboys are working hard and he is just going to go out and do his job.

"I think obviously we'd like things to be a little different, but we've got to roll. Guys are working hard and they're going to get an opportunity," Romo said. "We gotta get some reps with a lot of guys, the snaps things like that will be good for guys to get that time, so we'll see what happens."

The snaps have been the biggest problem with Costa, Nagy and Kowalski missing time. The Cowboys don't think Costa's injury is serious and expect him back for the second preseason game against the San Diego.

But just getting quality practice reps has been a problem because the snaps from David Arkin and Harland Gunn, who both have been moved from guard to center, have been a circus at times.

The Cowboys have tried to preach patience and they understand it's a new role for both players, especially Arkin. But they also understand you can't play football if you can't get the snap from center.

"This is a really important thing," Garrett said. "We get it. We preach the ball (security) thing to our team on a daily basis. Typically, you don't have (three) centers on your team go down in a span of a couple of weeks, so we're just trying to make the next best decision."