Best Performer: Hands down has been Leonard Davis. The guy had 3 pancakes in 2 drives in the first preseason game, and by all accounts he's had a stellar camp. The big question is, we all know he has the ability, but can he keep it up mentally throughout a 16 game season. If so, he can be every bit as good as Larry Allen. To many that may sound sacrilege, but I stand by it 100%.
Runner up: Tony Romo. Reports are that he's back to his almost god-like self. He went 10 of 11 in the preseason game and seemingly picked the Colts defense apart at will, but people complain because he missed a seemingly wide open Jason Witten for a TD pass (although I dispute that he was wide open). Seriously, the biggest complaint was that he wasn't perfect instead of close to perfect.
Biggest Surprise: Joey Thomas. We dug him up from the trash heap sometime this offseason. He's a former 3rd round pick who let his attitude prompt an exit from two teams since 2004. He came into camp and has made play after play. Word is he's going to get a nice long look in the next preseason game or two. He could replace A. Glenn has the nickel corner sooner rather than later.
Runner up: TO. Not because he's been good in practice, but because he's be good in practice. Seems like he's legitimately turned over a new leaf. The guy avoids traps from the press and works hard in practice. The biggest complaint so far? He was 20 minutes late to a single practice because of traffic. Big deal.
Biggest Disappointment: Backup NT. No one has stepped up to the position. But Phillips seems very confident that Ratliff can play the position just fine if need be.
Runner up: The injury bug. It hasn't hit us as bad as Philadelphia, but we've had more players miss practice than I'd like -- Hatcher, Burnett, Ellis, Stanback, T. Glenn, Owens, Colombo, Flozell, J. Rector, etc., etc., etc. This may be a result of Phillips preferring to keep players out rather than have them risk further injury (a philosophy very much different from Parcells).
Sleeper: Jackie Battle. Apparently he's looked impressive in camp -- just as impressive as Tyson Thompson, but Thompson obviously has the edge with the experience and his contribution to S/T. It'll be interesting to see if they go with potential over experience with the third RB spot.
Runner up: Matt Moore. I assumed we'd just go with 2 QBs on the roster, but Moore may be able to snag himself a spot. He has a quick release and appears to make (smart) decisions very quickly in the pocket. If he continues to improve, he'll make Brad Johnson no longer necessary in the '08.
Rookie Progress: Reports have been that Spencer has been progressing just fine, but that it simply takes time to work out the kinks at the new position.
Doug Free has been very impressive at LT and took the backup LT spot from McQuistan pretty early (McQ moved to backup RT with Marten playing 3rd string). Unfortunately Free went out with an injury in the first preseason game. Fortunately, we don't need him to start this year. If Flozell has an average or below average season, Free will be the starter in '08.
Stanback has only been practicing for a week and is extremely raw. But the physical talents are obviously there. Earlier this week in practice he burned both Champ Bailey and Dre Bly for long TD catches. This guy could be a star in this league.
Deon Anderson looks like a 6th round pick FB. Nothing special. And considering how good Hoyte has looked at FB, he's a backup at most.
