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Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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Quarterback
STARTER Drew Bledsoe
BACKUPS Tony Romo
PRACTICE SQUAD Matt Baker
Analysis Bledsoe showed once again that when he is given time he is among the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. To me, it seemed like he stepped up his play compared to last preseason. He did not throw many bad passes, and his worst — the interception against Minnesota — came after his bell was rung. Maybe it was the perceived competition with Romo that made him play better, or maybe it’s just more familiarity with the offense and receivers. ... I find it funny that before the preseason, some national writers were writing us off because we didn’t have a backup who could lead the team if Bledsoe got hurt, then some of those same writers were replacing Bledsoe as the starter after Romo’s first preseason performance. I don’t think anybody, other than the Cowboys’ staff, had seen enough from Romo to be confident about him being the backup. But Romo proved what he started to show last preseason: that he’s got the skills to play well in this league. Now, he’s still got to show it in the regular season someday, but his accuracy, mobility, ability to read defenses, etc., were unquestionable this preseason. The only knock on him showed up in the Minnesota game — his gunslinger mentality comes out some under duress, leading to some poor decisions. ... The Cowboys seemed to like the arm strength of Baker and apparently saw enough improvement from him in his decision-making the final week of training camp to want him on the practice squad as a developmental player.
Running back
STARTER Julius Jones
BACKUPS Marion Barber III, Tyson Thompson
PRACTICE SQUAD Keylon Kincade
Analysis Although the loaded fronts and some bad blocking hampered our running game this preseason, there are a couple of things that concern me about Jones. The first is that he seems to get tripped up too easily at times, not breaking that one arm tackle that’s preventing a possible good run. The other thing is that he stays in the designated running lane to a fault. Jones’ needs to show some of the improvisational skills he displayed as a rookie to cut away from defenders clogging the hole and find another lane. Those faults do not negate the fact that he can be a dynamic runner when given a little daylight because he’s got speed and the moves to make defenders miss. I also thought Jones showed better overall receiving skills than in the past and did some nice blocking to protect the quarterback. ... Barber is better than Jones at making something out of nothing. He spins, dives, whatever it takes to maximize his yards. He lacks Jones’ burst, but makes up for it by always seeking ways to make that extra yard. He’s also a better natural receiver than Jones, but there didn’t appear to be a great difference there between the two this preseason or in blocking. Barber’s main fault is that he sometimes gives up on the designed play too soon. He’s impatient for the blocks to be made and cuts back into the defense. There’s a fine line between knowing when to improvise and when to follow your blockers that greats like Emmitt Smith knew how to walk. ... It seemed to me that Thompson showed more moves on his couple of kickoff returns and in the running game than he displayed last year. He didn’t just race from point A to point B as fast as he could, but cut around blocks and defenders. In some ways, I thought he was the most impressive back of the preseason (with the caveat that he was going up against the worst defenders). He showed quick burst, nuanced cutting ability and powered out of some tackles. ... I really don’t understand why Parcells keeps Kincade around. He’s got some nice moves, but he has no power to push through tackles. Seems to me like the practice squad should be a place for developing players, not ones who have no chance of getting better.
Wide receivers
STARTERS Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn
BACKUPS Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Jamaica Rector, Miles Austin
PRACTICE SQUAD Skyler Green
Analysis Even though we did not get to see much of Owens, I have very few concerns about him on the field. The main thing is getting his timing down with Bledsoe, although he probably could have also used some preseason repetitions for getting used to this system. Still, there is no reason to believe he won’t be as dangerous a receiver as he has been the past few years. His combination of size and speed makes it hard for defenders to figure out how to stop him. ... In some ways, I think Glenn is a tougher receiver to cover 1-on-1 than Owens. Glenn effortlessly makes cuts at full speed, creating separation from defenders. He also has better hands than Owens, but each gives defenders a variety of problems to handle. ... Crayton is not as fast as Owens and Glenn, but makes precise cuts, has great hands and is tenacious after making the catch. His cuts usually get him separation, but when that doesn’t happen he can make the catch with a defender draped on him. I truly believe he could be an effective No. 2 receiver for some teams, but like Parcells says, he’s got to keep himself from falling into bad habits. ... Hurd is a lot like Crayton, but taller. He doesn’t have the footspeed to just blow by defenders, but shows remarkable nimbleness for his size that allows him to create separation. His hands are fine when he doesn’t hold them too far apart and he is physical enough to win battles for the ball. ... Parcells compared Rector to Gary Clark and says he’s the only player on the roster with quickness like Glenn’s. The major difference between Rector and Glenn is that Rector doesn’t have great speed. Although his quickness allows him to create some separation, it seemed that he often made catches with a defender on his hip. The key, though, is that he still caught the ball in tight coverage. He seems to have mastered the back-shoulder catch and does a good job of plucking the ball. Rector’s quickness should allow him to make some players miss him on punt returns also, but his lack of great burst will probably prevent him from being a top-notch returner. ... Parcells said in camp that Green isn’t ready to produce as a receiver, and he showed in the preseason games that he isn’t ready to produce much as a punt returner. Although he showed some elusiveness, Green showed little initial burst, partly because he would not immediately take off upfield with the ball and he looked too much for cutbacks to make the big play. He also made some poor decisions, which is kind of strange for a player Parcells said had been well-schooled at LSU as a punt returner.
Tight ends
STARTERS Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano
BACKUPS Ryan Hannam, Lousaka Polite
PRACTICE SQUAD Tony Curtis, Jerome Collins
Analysis There is no doubt that Witten is a major weapon on offense. He runs good routes, shaking defenders with his cuts and ability to fight through jams, and just knows how to find the soft spot. He also has good hands and can make tough catches. He still struggles as a blocker, though, which hurts our running game. Witten can make some nice blocks, but often gets pushed around by linemen or blown up by linebackers. His main problem is that he seems to let defenders get under him for leverage and drive him back. His value as a receiver overshadows his shortcomings as a blocker, though. ... I was really worried about Fasano based on reports coming out of camp about his blocking, but it wasn’t a major trouble spot in games. He did get blown up some (a power problem more than leverage, it seemed), but was also pretty effective at times. He still needs work on this facet of his game, though, and I expect an up-and-down performance from him in this area at least early in the season. As a receiver, he shows good hands, but I didn’t see enough to say he’s much of a threat to get open and make plays. We’ll see how that develops. ... We didn’t get to see as much of Hannam as most of the other tight ends because of a knee problem, but when he did get to play he did well against backups. Hannam made some nice blocks and showed the ability to get open. His only glitch really was a throw he let glance off his hands that led to an interception. ... When Jerry Jones said we were out of the fullback business, it appeared to be the end of Polite, but Parcells gave Polite every opportunity to make this team by training him as an F-back and short-yardage tailback. Polite showed in camp that he was a better blocker than Fasano at this point (I didn’t really notice it in the games, though), could catch the ball well and had enough power and determination as a runner to break tackles for short gains. ... Curtis also shows the ability to get open and was pushing defenders around as a blocker at times. His biggest fault was dropping a few catchable passes. He still has to get better as a blocker and receiver because of lapses in both areas, but has shown a lot of progress for a player was was very raw at his position when we signed him a year ago. ... Another raw player is Collins. He’s only been playing tight end for a couple of years, but he has nice speed for the position and appears to be a pretty good blocker from what I’ve read.
Center
STARTER Andre Gurode
BACKUP Al Johnson
Analysis Gurode played better than I expected this preseason. He was a driving force at times in run blocking, held his ground in pass blocking and even got out and made a key block on a screen (which was big for a player who I feel lacks good movement skills). Of course, against the best defensive line we faced, Gurode struggled some both physically and mentally. So it seems to me that pressure gets to him and makes him lose focus. Still, if we can keep him mentally focused he has to power to be a really good center. ... Johnson lost his starting job because he is simply not as powerful as Gurode, nor as powerful as we need the starter to be. He just gets pushed back too much when he’s pass blocking 1-on-1. His strengths are that he does not get mentally shaken and he is real good on the move. He gets to the second level quickly and finds someone to block. He had a couple of really nice blocks on pulling plays that sprang Thompson.
Guards
STARTERS Kyle Kosier, Marco Rivera
BACKUPS Cory Proctor
PRACTICE SQUAD D'Anthony Batiste
Analysis Honestly, I did not notice Kosier do much of anything good or bad. He did get outmuscled some and never really seemed to make dominant blocks. I didn’t see anything, though, that makes me think he’s a real liability as he pretty much held his ground in the games. But I also didn’t see anything to make me think he’s going to wow me with his blocking ability, more of a position blocker than a uprooting one. ... On the other hand, in some ways that’s better than what I see from Rivera. Rivera will make a real good block on one play then get pushed into the backfield on the next. Like Kosier, though, Rivera didn’t show himself to be a liability overall just not as good as what I expected when we signed him as a Pro Bowler last year. (I do wonder if playing in Green Bay’s West Coast scheme hid the fact that he’s not a great power blocker.) To me, these two are going to suffice in pass protection, getting a body on a body and providing a sufficient amount of time for Bledsoe to pass. But I didn’t see much to make me believe they are going to get a lot of movement in the middle for the running game. ... Proctor fits into the same category as Kosier and Rivera. All three seem to have the pulling ability we require in our guards, but it comes at the sacrifice of power. Proctor did have a few decent drive blocks, but he also got stood up some. His pass protection was mostly sufficient. .... I thought Batiste actually showed the most power of any of our guards. He was moving players around at times with his blocks and didn’t make a lot of glaring mistakes. He doesn’t look as quick as the other three, though.
Tackles
STARTERS Flozell Adams, Marc Colombo
BACKUPS Jason Fabini, Pat McQuistan
Analysis The play on which Adams hurt his calf reminded me of why we need him healthy. Adams walled off the defensive end and a linebacker on a sweep to his side, with neither player able to budge him. He has the power to just drive defenders off the line and stop bull rushers in their tracks, but he also has the feet to slide with speed rushers. Keeping his focus has always been the main problem and with him coming off injuries, it might even be tougher at the start of this season. Hopefully, his rust doesn’t show too much, either. He did appear to be rounding into form before the calf injury. ... I was really pleased overall with the play of Colombo. He did show some susceptibility to being beaten by wide speed rushes, but he was able to get back on most of them to at least redirect the pass rusher. His strength was most impressive against bull rushers and in driving defenders out of the lane on run plays. He also did a nice job of finding secondary targets to block, moreso than any other lineman. He blocked to the whistle. ... I was also pleased with the play of Fabini after the bad reports on him at the beginning of camp. (I think his play then might have reflected him not being completely in shape and being rusty coming off an injury.) Fabini was not perfect by any means: He struggled with some speed rushes and did not maintain his blocks as long as he should, allowing his man to shed and get in on the play. But he didn’t allow much pressure on pass plays and did a good job of driving his man out of the way initially on run blocks. ... The most encouraging thing I noticed about McQuistan was his ability to slide in front of pass rushers. Once he did that, they were unable to move him. He did get beat on one quick inside move, but overall he handled the pass rush well. He was also good in the run game when he was able to immediately make contact with a defender. Where he struggled was when he had to get on a defender in space, not getting there quick enough to stop penetration.
STARTER Drew Bledsoe
BACKUPS Tony Romo
PRACTICE SQUAD Matt Baker
Analysis Bledsoe showed once again that when he is given time he is among the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. To me, it seemed like he stepped up his play compared to last preseason. He did not throw many bad passes, and his worst — the interception against Minnesota — came after his bell was rung. Maybe it was the perceived competition with Romo that made him play better, or maybe it’s just more familiarity with the offense and receivers. ... I find it funny that before the preseason, some national writers were writing us off because we didn’t have a backup who could lead the team if Bledsoe got hurt, then some of those same writers were replacing Bledsoe as the starter after Romo’s first preseason performance. I don’t think anybody, other than the Cowboys’ staff, had seen enough from Romo to be confident about him being the backup. But Romo proved what he started to show last preseason: that he’s got the skills to play well in this league. Now, he’s still got to show it in the regular season someday, but his accuracy, mobility, ability to read defenses, etc., were unquestionable this preseason. The only knock on him showed up in the Minnesota game — his gunslinger mentality comes out some under duress, leading to some poor decisions. ... The Cowboys seemed to like the arm strength of Baker and apparently saw enough improvement from him in his decision-making the final week of training camp to want him on the practice squad as a developmental player.
Running back
STARTER Julius Jones
BACKUPS Marion Barber III, Tyson Thompson
PRACTICE SQUAD Keylon Kincade
Analysis Although the loaded fronts and some bad blocking hampered our running game this preseason, there are a couple of things that concern me about Jones. The first is that he seems to get tripped up too easily at times, not breaking that one arm tackle that’s preventing a possible good run. The other thing is that he stays in the designated running lane to a fault. Jones’ needs to show some of the improvisational skills he displayed as a rookie to cut away from defenders clogging the hole and find another lane. Those faults do not negate the fact that he can be a dynamic runner when given a little daylight because he’s got speed and the moves to make defenders miss. I also thought Jones showed better overall receiving skills than in the past and did some nice blocking to protect the quarterback. ... Barber is better than Jones at making something out of nothing. He spins, dives, whatever it takes to maximize his yards. He lacks Jones’ burst, but makes up for it by always seeking ways to make that extra yard. He’s also a better natural receiver than Jones, but there didn’t appear to be a great difference there between the two this preseason or in blocking. Barber’s main fault is that he sometimes gives up on the designed play too soon. He’s impatient for the blocks to be made and cuts back into the defense. There’s a fine line between knowing when to improvise and when to follow your blockers that greats like Emmitt Smith knew how to walk. ... It seemed to me that Thompson showed more moves on his couple of kickoff returns and in the running game than he displayed last year. He didn’t just race from point A to point B as fast as he could, but cut around blocks and defenders. In some ways, I thought he was the most impressive back of the preseason (with the caveat that he was going up against the worst defenders). He showed quick burst, nuanced cutting ability and powered out of some tackles. ... I really don’t understand why Parcells keeps Kincade around. He’s got some nice moves, but he has no power to push through tackles. Seems to me like the practice squad should be a place for developing players, not ones who have no chance of getting better.
Wide receivers
STARTERS Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn
BACKUPS Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Jamaica Rector, Miles Austin
PRACTICE SQUAD Skyler Green
Analysis Even though we did not get to see much of Owens, I have very few concerns about him on the field. The main thing is getting his timing down with Bledsoe, although he probably could have also used some preseason repetitions for getting used to this system. Still, there is no reason to believe he won’t be as dangerous a receiver as he has been the past few years. His combination of size and speed makes it hard for defenders to figure out how to stop him. ... In some ways, I think Glenn is a tougher receiver to cover 1-on-1 than Owens. Glenn effortlessly makes cuts at full speed, creating separation from defenders. He also has better hands than Owens, but each gives defenders a variety of problems to handle. ... Crayton is not as fast as Owens and Glenn, but makes precise cuts, has great hands and is tenacious after making the catch. His cuts usually get him separation, but when that doesn’t happen he can make the catch with a defender draped on him. I truly believe he could be an effective No. 2 receiver for some teams, but like Parcells says, he’s got to keep himself from falling into bad habits. ... Hurd is a lot like Crayton, but taller. He doesn’t have the footspeed to just blow by defenders, but shows remarkable nimbleness for his size that allows him to create separation. His hands are fine when he doesn’t hold them too far apart and he is physical enough to win battles for the ball. ... Parcells compared Rector to Gary Clark and says he’s the only player on the roster with quickness like Glenn’s. The major difference between Rector and Glenn is that Rector doesn’t have great speed. Although his quickness allows him to create some separation, it seemed that he often made catches with a defender on his hip. The key, though, is that he still caught the ball in tight coverage. He seems to have mastered the back-shoulder catch and does a good job of plucking the ball. Rector’s quickness should allow him to make some players miss him on punt returns also, but his lack of great burst will probably prevent him from being a top-notch returner. ... Parcells said in camp that Green isn’t ready to produce as a receiver, and he showed in the preseason games that he isn’t ready to produce much as a punt returner. Although he showed some elusiveness, Green showed little initial burst, partly because he would not immediately take off upfield with the ball and he looked too much for cutbacks to make the big play. He also made some poor decisions, which is kind of strange for a player Parcells said had been well-schooled at LSU as a punt returner.
Tight ends
STARTERS Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano
BACKUPS Ryan Hannam, Lousaka Polite
PRACTICE SQUAD Tony Curtis, Jerome Collins
Analysis There is no doubt that Witten is a major weapon on offense. He runs good routes, shaking defenders with his cuts and ability to fight through jams, and just knows how to find the soft spot. He also has good hands and can make tough catches. He still struggles as a blocker, though, which hurts our running game. Witten can make some nice blocks, but often gets pushed around by linemen or blown up by linebackers. His main problem is that he seems to let defenders get under him for leverage and drive him back. His value as a receiver overshadows his shortcomings as a blocker, though. ... I was really worried about Fasano based on reports coming out of camp about his blocking, but it wasn’t a major trouble spot in games. He did get blown up some (a power problem more than leverage, it seemed), but was also pretty effective at times. He still needs work on this facet of his game, though, and I expect an up-and-down performance from him in this area at least early in the season. As a receiver, he shows good hands, but I didn’t see enough to say he’s much of a threat to get open and make plays. We’ll see how that develops. ... We didn’t get to see as much of Hannam as most of the other tight ends because of a knee problem, but when he did get to play he did well against backups. Hannam made some nice blocks and showed the ability to get open. His only glitch really was a throw he let glance off his hands that led to an interception. ... When Jerry Jones said we were out of the fullback business, it appeared to be the end of Polite, but Parcells gave Polite every opportunity to make this team by training him as an F-back and short-yardage tailback. Polite showed in camp that he was a better blocker than Fasano at this point (I didn’t really notice it in the games, though), could catch the ball well and had enough power and determination as a runner to break tackles for short gains. ... Curtis also shows the ability to get open and was pushing defenders around as a blocker at times. His biggest fault was dropping a few catchable passes. He still has to get better as a blocker and receiver because of lapses in both areas, but has shown a lot of progress for a player was was very raw at his position when we signed him a year ago. ... Another raw player is Collins. He’s only been playing tight end for a couple of years, but he has nice speed for the position and appears to be a pretty good blocker from what I’ve read.
Center
STARTER Andre Gurode
BACKUP Al Johnson
Analysis Gurode played better than I expected this preseason. He was a driving force at times in run blocking, held his ground in pass blocking and even got out and made a key block on a screen (which was big for a player who I feel lacks good movement skills). Of course, against the best defensive line we faced, Gurode struggled some both physically and mentally. So it seems to me that pressure gets to him and makes him lose focus. Still, if we can keep him mentally focused he has to power to be a really good center. ... Johnson lost his starting job because he is simply not as powerful as Gurode, nor as powerful as we need the starter to be. He just gets pushed back too much when he’s pass blocking 1-on-1. His strengths are that he does not get mentally shaken and he is real good on the move. He gets to the second level quickly and finds someone to block. He had a couple of really nice blocks on pulling plays that sprang Thompson.
Guards
STARTERS Kyle Kosier, Marco Rivera
BACKUPS Cory Proctor
PRACTICE SQUAD D'Anthony Batiste
Analysis Honestly, I did not notice Kosier do much of anything good or bad. He did get outmuscled some and never really seemed to make dominant blocks. I didn’t see anything, though, that makes me think he’s a real liability as he pretty much held his ground in the games. But I also didn’t see anything to make me think he’s going to wow me with his blocking ability, more of a position blocker than a uprooting one. ... On the other hand, in some ways that’s better than what I see from Rivera. Rivera will make a real good block on one play then get pushed into the backfield on the next. Like Kosier, though, Rivera didn’t show himself to be a liability overall just not as good as what I expected when we signed him as a Pro Bowler last year. (I do wonder if playing in Green Bay’s West Coast scheme hid the fact that he’s not a great power blocker.) To me, these two are going to suffice in pass protection, getting a body on a body and providing a sufficient amount of time for Bledsoe to pass. But I didn’t see much to make me believe they are going to get a lot of movement in the middle for the running game. ... Proctor fits into the same category as Kosier and Rivera. All three seem to have the pulling ability we require in our guards, but it comes at the sacrifice of power. Proctor did have a few decent drive blocks, but he also got stood up some. His pass protection was mostly sufficient. .... I thought Batiste actually showed the most power of any of our guards. He was moving players around at times with his blocks and didn’t make a lot of glaring mistakes. He doesn’t look as quick as the other three, though.
Tackles
STARTERS Flozell Adams, Marc Colombo
BACKUPS Jason Fabini, Pat McQuistan
Analysis The play on which Adams hurt his calf reminded me of why we need him healthy. Adams walled off the defensive end and a linebacker on a sweep to his side, with neither player able to budge him. He has the power to just drive defenders off the line and stop bull rushers in their tracks, but he also has the feet to slide with speed rushers. Keeping his focus has always been the main problem and with him coming off injuries, it might even be tougher at the start of this season. Hopefully, his rust doesn’t show too much, either. He did appear to be rounding into form before the calf injury. ... I was really pleased overall with the play of Colombo. He did show some susceptibility to being beaten by wide speed rushes, but he was able to get back on most of them to at least redirect the pass rusher. His strength was most impressive against bull rushers and in driving defenders out of the lane on run plays. He also did a nice job of finding secondary targets to block, moreso than any other lineman. He blocked to the whistle. ... I was also pleased with the play of Fabini after the bad reports on him at the beginning of camp. (I think his play then might have reflected him not being completely in shape and being rusty coming off an injury.) Fabini was not perfect by any means: He struggled with some speed rushes and did not maintain his blocks as long as he should, allowing his man to shed and get in on the play. But he didn’t allow much pressure on pass plays and did a good job of driving his man out of the way initially on run blocks. ... The most encouraging thing I noticed about McQuistan was his ability to slide in front of pass rushers. Once he did that, they were unable to move him. He did get beat on one quick inside move, but overall he handled the pass rush well. He was also good in the run game when he was able to immediately make contact with a defender. Where he struggled was when he had to get on a defender in space, not getting there quick enough to stop penetration.
Great work, you don't post much. But when you do you make it worthwhile. I appreciate the effort, I did not get to see any of the preseason games, so that was most informative.