Gerry Fraley

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IRVING – Center Andre Gurode, his right ankle still healing, returned to practice with the Cowboys on Thursday. He plans on playing Sunday at Green Bay.

The code demands it.

The Cowboys' offensive linemen live by a simple code of honor. If you have all your limbs, you can play.

"If you're not there, we know you can't play," Gurode said. "You do your best to be there. Every guy has something different. It's the NFL. The last time we were healthy was the off-season."

Durability on the offensive line is a strength of this team.

The Cowboys have started the same line – tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo, guards Leonard Davis and Kyle Kosier and Gurode – in every game this season. Only six other teams have done that: division leaders Arizona and Pittsburgh, along with Atlanta, Carolina, Miami and the New York Jets.

In this area, the Cowboys stand in stark contrast to the Packers. Green Bay has started five different offensive line combinations, all of which have been shredded. The Packers have allowed an NFL-high 37 sacks, 12 in the last two games.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy laughed when asked if he envied the Cowboys for the durability of their line.

"I know from my experiences as an offensive coordinator that if your five offensive linemen play every game, it's definitely a benefit," McCarthy said. "With every offense I've ever designed, I felt it starts with the core: your center, two guards and the quarterback. If you can keep that core intact, it really gives you an opportunity to have continuity and consistency."

This is not a one-year thing.

Since Davis joined the group in 2007, the Cowboys' line has been a model of consistency. In that span, the five linemen have made 190 of a possible 205 starts. Adams, Colombo and Davis all have current streaks of 57 consecutive starts, including the playoffs.

Some of it is physical. Offensive line coach Hudson Houck pointed to the year-long program run by strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek.

Some of it is mental. Peer pressure can be a powerful motivator.

Davis called it "a camaraderie that's developed." No one wants to bail out.

"It's really a tribute to their attitude," Houck said. "They're all bumped and bruised, but the attitude is, 'I'm not going to let the other guys down.' If there's a gray area where you could sit out or play, they play."

Durability makes for familiarity, which makes for better line play.

Because these linemen have played together so much, they communicate well. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple nod of the head to set the blocking against tactics such as blitzes.

The attention to detail makes for a better team. Since opening day 2007, the Cowboys are 21-5 when this line starts and 7-8 in all other games.

"We talk about a team within a team," Houck said. "They have to rely on the guy that's next to them. They have to trust the guy that's next to them. If you keep playing with the same guy, you know what he's going to do, and you trust him. You know he's going to be there."

Writer-director-actor Woody Allen famously said "80 percent of success is showing up."

With the Cowboys' offensive line, 100 percent of success is showing up, game after game after game.

The current Cowboys' offensive line is halfway to using the same five starters in every game of the season. A look at the three times that has happened in club history, with Gerry Fraley's comment:

1965: LT Jim Boeke, LG Jake Kupp, C Dave Manders, RG Leon Donohue, RT Ralph Neely. This unit had first nonlosing record (7-7) in club history

1968: LT Tony Liscio, LG John Niland, C Malcom Walker, RG John Wilbur, RT Ralph Neely. This line led NFL in scoring with 30.8 points per game

2006: LT Flozell Adams, LG Kyle Kosier, C Andre Gurode, RG Marco Rivera, RT Marc Colombo. The line was part of an offense that was fourth in NFL for scoring at 26.8 points per game.