Cowboys Release Vanderjagt

Readying for a game this weekend with first place in the NFC East on the line, the Dallas Cowboys gave up on struggling place kicker Mike Vanderjagt yesterday by releasing him and signing Martin Gramatica as a replacement.

The only thing curious about the move was the timing. Vanderjagt connected on his only field goal attempt, a 22-yarder, in Thursday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Cowboys have surged into first place in the division by winning four of five games since Coach Bill Parcells went to Tony Romo as the team's starter at quarterback. But it was clear that Parcells had no confidence in Vanderjagt for crucial kicks, and the Cowboys face the second-place New York Giants on Sunday at Giants Stadium.

Gramatica spent three games with the Indianapolis Colts this season after failing to win the New England Patriots' kicking job during the preseason. He is trying to resurrect a career in which he once was one of the league's top kickers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Cowboys signed Vanderjagt to a three-year contract worth about $5.4 million in the offseason, expecting him to solve the team's kicking woes. He connected on 87.5 percent of his field goal attempts during his eight seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, making him the most accurate kicker in NFL history. He spoke in training camp about hearing from Parcells, owner Jerry Jones and others about the expectation that he would be worth three more victories to the club this season.

It didn't work out. Vanderjagt struggled with injuries during the preseason and with erratic results during the season. He missed five of his 18 field goal tries for the Cowboys, that after missing only seven regular season field goal attempts over his final three seasons with the Colts. Cowboys officials thought that Vanderjagt's problems were more mental than physical, and Parcells acknowledged he was concerned after Vanderjagt missed two field goal attempts in a triumph over the Colts at Texas Stadium nine days ago.

Broncos Will Start Cutler

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Denver Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan announced that rookie Jay Cutler will replace veteran Jake Plummer as the team's starting quarterback.

There were reports over the weekend that the move would be made in the wake of the Broncos' loss Thursday night in Kansas City. The Broncos have lost two straight games to drop their record to 7-4, and Plummer is only the league's 28th-rated passer. The team traded up in the first round of the NFL draft in April to select Cutler and the rookie was impressive during the exhibition season. . . .

The NFL, under its flexible-scheduling plan, moved the starting time of New Orleans' game at Dallas on Dec. 10 to 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on NBC.

The Buffalo at New York Jets game on the same day was moved to 4:15 on CBS. . . .

The Patriots placed linebacker Junior Seau on the injured reserve list, ending his season. He appeared to break his right arm during Sunday's triumph over the Chicago Bears in Foxborough, Mass., although the Patriots did not specify the severity of the injury. . . .

Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards blamed "my passion for the game" for his sideline tantrum during the third quarter of Cleveland's 30-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

"I don't feel like I embarrassed my teammates," he told the Associated Press yesterday. "I embarrassed myself to some extent. That's not my character. That's not me. Nobody knows me as that type of guy. I've always been the clean cut, quiet, well-spoken guy, so that wasn't me. I embarrassed myself a little bit and I feel I embarrassed this organization to some extent.

"I wish I could do it back, but I can't."