CCBoy
08-25-2012, 07:25 AM
Spagnola: Final Decisions Right Around The Corner
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-MickeySpagnola/Spagnola-Final-Decisions-Right-Around-The-Corner-/bc40b8b8-0086-4c04-8595-900d9a377c0a
IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys have two preseason games, four practices and 11 days remaining to prepare for their Sept. 5 season opener against the New York Giants.
One of those preseason games is vitally important. That would be Saturday night’s skirmish with the St. Louis Rams at Cowboys Stadium (7 p.m., and shown live locally on CBS-11 and all across the Dallas Cowboys Television Network). They call this third preseason game a “dress rehearsal,” meaning the practice game will be treated as seriously as any of the allotted four preseason games played. All healthy veterans and starters should be on deck.
That final one, Wednesday versus the Miami Dolphins, just four days later and a week before the opener, will be a throw-away. The starters, maybe save the starting offensive linemen, will be put in the deep freezer, likely have their helmets confiscated from them with the highly-meaningful opener just around the corner.
So if you like to pay attention to this stuff, pay attention Saturday night, where many a final decision will based on those performances against the Rams, seeing that by this time next Friday the Cowboys will have first trimmed their now 87-man roster to 75 (by Tuesday) and then to the final 53 by mid-day Friday. And still, nearly one full month since leaving for training camp on July 28, but almost to the date when the rookies began working out here at The Ranch on July 25, the Cowboys have gobs of roster decisions to make.
But let’s start here, with the most prominent guys unlikely to play Saturday night (insert worrisome moans): Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, DeMarcus Ware, Phil Costa and Kyle Wilber, with Kevin Kowalski destined to remain on PUP and Caleb McSurdy headed for injured reserve. From the look of things, though, of the five missing starters, only Witten would seem questionable for the season opener...
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-MickeySpagnola/Spagnola-Final-Decisions-Right-Around-The-Corner-/bc40b8b8-0086-4c04-8595-900d9a377c0a
IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys have two preseason games, four practices and 11 days remaining to prepare for their Sept. 5 season opener against the New York Giants.
One of those preseason games is vitally important. That would be Saturday night’s skirmish with the St. Louis Rams at Cowboys Stadium (7 p.m., and shown live locally on CBS-11 and all across the Dallas Cowboys Television Network). They call this third preseason game a “dress rehearsal,” meaning the practice game will be treated as seriously as any of the allotted four preseason games played. All healthy veterans and starters should be on deck.
That final one, Wednesday versus the Miami Dolphins, just four days later and a week before the opener, will be a throw-away. The starters, maybe save the starting offensive linemen, will be put in the deep freezer, likely have their helmets confiscated from them with the highly-meaningful opener just around the corner.
So if you like to pay attention to this stuff, pay attention Saturday night, where many a final decision will based on those performances against the Rams, seeing that by this time next Friday the Cowboys will have first trimmed their now 87-man roster to 75 (by Tuesday) and then to the final 53 by mid-day Friday. And still, nearly one full month since leaving for training camp on July 28, but almost to the date when the rookies began working out here at The Ranch on July 25, the Cowboys have gobs of roster decisions to make.
But let’s start here, with the most prominent guys unlikely to play Saturday night (insert worrisome moans): Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, DeMarcus Ware, Phil Costa and Kyle Wilber, with Kevin Kowalski destined to remain on PUP and Caleb McSurdy headed for injured reserve. From the look of things, though, of the five missing starters, only Witten would seem questionable for the season opener...