gimmesix
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
- Messages
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- Reaction score
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Please note that I have more than eight players as practice squad possibilities since some will possibly be lost on waivers.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks (3)
KEPT Tony Romo, Jon Kitna, Stephen McGee
CUT Tom Brandstater
ANALYSIS I'm not too upset with Romo's interception against the Chargers. I just can't hold him to a higher standard than any other quarterback. He's going to make mistakes. The key is minimizing them. As far as the backups go, it's a good thing we've seen what Kitna can do because he's kind of like the groundhog in theses games: He pops his head up for a minute and then he's gone. That leaves plenty of time to get good looks at McGee, who I thought made progress even if the stats didn't show it. McGee worked on staying in the pocket better, despite the backup offensive linemen taking turns playing a game of "Whoops, my bad."
Fullbacks (1)
KEPT Chris Gronkowski
PRACTICE SQUAD Shaun Chapas
CUT Isaiah Greenhouse
ANALYSIS The day the Cowboys don't trot Gronkowski out with the starters at the fullback position is the day I believe Dallas isn't going to keep a fullback on the roster. The good news concerning Gronkowski against San Diego is that he executed his blocks, especially keeping Romo safe in pass protection. He walled off defenders in the running game, but Dallas was able to play off that well. I thought Chapas played better too, but he still doesn't look as comfortable as Gronkowski.
Running backs (4)
KEPT Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, DeMarco Murray, Phillip Tanner
PRACTICE SQUAD Lonyae Miller
ANALYSIS Disclaimer: I do not think Dallas will carry four tailbacks on the roster, I'm just not ready to make a decision on them yet. The one back I can make a decision on is Miller. He just doesn't have it when everybody's playing full speed. His initial burst is too slow and he doesn't run with power. Tanner does both of those things much better and fights for every inch he can get. Oh, one other thing I can say with certainty is Jones looks like a feature back. In fact, he looks like a Pro Bowl back. Hopefully, we'll get to see Choice and Murray soon, so we can narrow this position down. I know some have already jettisoned Choice, but I really think he's being undervalued now.
Tight ends (3)
KEPT Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, John Phillips
PRACTICE SQUAD Martin Rucker
CUT Jason Pociask
ANALYSIS Dallas' base formation should be two-tight end with Witten and Phillips. That doesn't mean Bennett gets left out, but I think Phillips should be starting as an H-back/F-back or whatever you want to call it. Phillips is simply dependable to make his blocks, with power, and catch the ball. I think he offers us the best combination with Witten. Of course, that would get rid of the need for a fullback.
Wide receivers (5)
KEPT Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Kevin Ogletree, Dwayne Harris, Raymond Radway
PRACTICE SQUAD Tysson Poots, Lyle Leong
CUT Jesse Holley, Teddy Williams, Manuel Johnson, Curtis Clay, Dominique Edison
ANALYSIS The main change I made here is cutting Holley. I just don't think he offers enough as primarily a special-teams player. Other than that, I stuck with the same guys as last week. I was pleased the offense was able to move the ball with Ogletree in the offense in place of Austin. I haven't really seen reason to be concerned with Ogletree as the No. 3 receiver in the preseason games, but if Dallas decides to bring in a vet it certainly would not bother me. Harris and Radway didn't do much against the Chargers, but I still think they are the best, or have the best potential, of the rest of the bunch.
Offensive linemen (9)
KEPT Doug Free, Montrae Holland, Andre Gurode, Kyle Kosier, Tyron Smith, Jermey Parnell, David Arkin, Phil Costa, Bill Nagy
PRACTICE SQUAD Sam Young
CUT Pepa Letuli, Kevin Kowalski
ANALYSIS Sticking with last week's projection here although the backup tackle spot has me concerned. Parnell had a couple of bad plays against the Chargers and is still learning the position. That's not enough for me to keep Young on the 53, though, because I don't think he's ready/able to step in either. Nagy showed he could step in with the starters, and looked like he belonged Sunday, as did Smith. If Nagy can do it again against the Vikings, it might give Dallas some hesitation about changing him out for Holland. I thought Arkin and Costa both slipped some against the Chargers, though, and might need more seasoning before stepping in at their respective spots. Like I said elsewhere, anyone who thinks Costa should replace Gurode now, needs to go back and watch the centers closely in Sunday's game.
DEFENSE
Defensive linemen (6)
KEPT Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears, Kenyon Coleman, Josh Brent, Sean Lissemore
PRACTICE SQUAD Clifton Geathers
CUT Igor Olshansky, Jimmy Sadler-McQueen
ANALYSIS The first-team line of Spears, Ratliff and Coleman was very strong at the point of attack against the Chargers. The second-team line, which was missing Hatcher, wasn't. Olshansky needs to find him a one-gap team to play for again, because he cannot handle two-gap responsibilities, and that's putting it kindly. Brent's play has been a bit of a disappointment, while Lissemore was the best of the second group.
Linebackers (8)
KEPT DeMarcus Ware, Keith Brooking, Bradie James, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler, Sean Lee, Orie Lemon, Alex Albright
PUP Bruce Carter
CUT Mike Balogun, Kenwin Cummings, Brandon Williams
ANALYSIS Welcome to the roster (this week) Lemon and Albright. Lemon made some mistakes, but he also made some nice sticks while Cummings didn't do much at all. Albright played outside linebacker better than Williams has since he was drafted. Seems like a heady player who might not offer great skills, but will play with good technique and be in the right spot.
Cornerbacks (5)
KEPT Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Alan Ball, Bryan McCann
PRACTICE SQUAD Josh Thomas, Mario Butler
CUT Chris Randle
ANALYSIS I had Thomas on the 53 last week, but I just haven't seen enough from the corners to quite warrant keeping either him or Butler. For that matter, I'm not sure I've seen enough from Ball or McCann to warrant keeping them (but I expect McCann to be the primary kick returner). It just wasn't a good game overall for the corners against San Diego, but I'll probably change my mind about Thomas, especially when I narrow down the running backs.
Safeties (5)
KEPT Gerald Sensabaugh, Abram Elam, Barry Church, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Danny McCray
PRACTICE SQUAD Andrew Sendejo
CUT Colin Zych
ANALYSIS Although McCray forced an incompletion on a blitz, I'm still very unsure of him being on the field as a dime linebacker. It seems to me that Dallas has better players that wouldn't force it to try to find a niche for a special-teams ace. If Dallas wants to play a safety at that position, I'd much rather it be Church, who has better coverage skills and is a sure-handed tackler. But maybe the Cowboys know something about McCray that I don't see. The starting safeties were the better part of the pass defense against the Chargers, and Church played well as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers (2)
KEPT Shayne Graham, David Buehler
PRACTICE SQUAD Dan Bailey
INJURED RESERVE Kai Forbath
ANALYSIS Not only do we have four kickers on the preseason roster, but I'm advocating possibly keeping them all around.
(That should blow somebody's mind.) Although I'm not a fan of keeping two kickers on the 53, I'm also not a fan of giving up 37- to 40-yard kickoff returns. To me, Buehler's ability to kick the ball to the back of the end zone or out is more valuable than keeping someone extra to cover kicks (see: Holley). Our kick coverage has been spotty for years and based on Sunday's game, I see no reason to believe it has changed. I also don't believe Forbath is going to be healthy enough to kick before the preseason is over. He needs to let his leg fully recover and then go at it next year. Ideally, Bailey would beat out Graham to be the field-goal kicker, but that's hard to predict since we haven't even seen Bailey attempt a FG in a preseason game.
Punter (1)
KEPT Mat McBriar
CUT Chris Jones
ANALYSIS Please, punt coverage team never make McBriar have to attempt to make a tackle. It's like watching an awkward teenager dance.
Long snapper (1)
KEPT L.P. Ladouceur
ANALYSIS Ladouceur's competition is gone. I wonder if he's figured out yet that he never was competition.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks (3)
KEPT Tony Romo, Jon Kitna, Stephen McGee
CUT Tom Brandstater
ANALYSIS I'm not too upset with Romo's interception against the Chargers. I just can't hold him to a higher standard than any other quarterback. He's going to make mistakes. The key is minimizing them. As far as the backups go, it's a good thing we've seen what Kitna can do because he's kind of like the groundhog in theses games: He pops his head up for a minute and then he's gone. That leaves plenty of time to get good looks at McGee, who I thought made progress even if the stats didn't show it. McGee worked on staying in the pocket better, despite the backup offensive linemen taking turns playing a game of "Whoops, my bad."
Fullbacks (1)
KEPT Chris Gronkowski
PRACTICE SQUAD Shaun Chapas
CUT Isaiah Greenhouse
ANALYSIS The day the Cowboys don't trot Gronkowski out with the starters at the fullback position is the day I believe Dallas isn't going to keep a fullback on the roster. The good news concerning Gronkowski against San Diego is that he executed his blocks, especially keeping Romo safe in pass protection. He walled off defenders in the running game, but Dallas was able to play off that well. I thought Chapas played better too, but he still doesn't look as comfortable as Gronkowski.
Running backs (4)
KEPT Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, DeMarco Murray, Phillip Tanner
PRACTICE SQUAD Lonyae Miller
ANALYSIS Disclaimer: I do not think Dallas will carry four tailbacks on the roster, I'm just not ready to make a decision on them yet. The one back I can make a decision on is Miller. He just doesn't have it when everybody's playing full speed. His initial burst is too slow and he doesn't run with power. Tanner does both of those things much better and fights for every inch he can get. Oh, one other thing I can say with certainty is Jones looks like a feature back. In fact, he looks like a Pro Bowl back. Hopefully, we'll get to see Choice and Murray soon, so we can narrow this position down. I know some have already jettisoned Choice, but I really think he's being undervalued now.
Tight ends (3)
KEPT Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, John Phillips
PRACTICE SQUAD Martin Rucker
CUT Jason Pociask
ANALYSIS Dallas' base formation should be two-tight end with Witten and Phillips. That doesn't mean Bennett gets left out, but I think Phillips should be starting as an H-back/F-back or whatever you want to call it. Phillips is simply dependable to make his blocks, with power, and catch the ball. I think he offers us the best combination with Witten. Of course, that would get rid of the need for a fullback.
Wide receivers (5)
KEPT Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Kevin Ogletree, Dwayne Harris, Raymond Radway
PRACTICE SQUAD Tysson Poots, Lyle Leong
CUT Jesse Holley, Teddy Williams, Manuel Johnson, Curtis Clay, Dominique Edison
ANALYSIS The main change I made here is cutting Holley. I just don't think he offers enough as primarily a special-teams player. Other than that, I stuck with the same guys as last week. I was pleased the offense was able to move the ball with Ogletree in the offense in place of Austin. I haven't really seen reason to be concerned with Ogletree as the No. 3 receiver in the preseason games, but if Dallas decides to bring in a vet it certainly would not bother me. Harris and Radway didn't do much against the Chargers, but I still think they are the best, or have the best potential, of the rest of the bunch.
Offensive linemen (9)
KEPT Doug Free, Montrae Holland, Andre Gurode, Kyle Kosier, Tyron Smith, Jermey Parnell, David Arkin, Phil Costa, Bill Nagy
PRACTICE SQUAD Sam Young
CUT Pepa Letuli, Kevin Kowalski
ANALYSIS Sticking with last week's projection here although the backup tackle spot has me concerned. Parnell had a couple of bad plays against the Chargers and is still learning the position. That's not enough for me to keep Young on the 53, though, because I don't think he's ready/able to step in either. Nagy showed he could step in with the starters, and looked like he belonged Sunday, as did Smith. If Nagy can do it again against the Vikings, it might give Dallas some hesitation about changing him out for Holland. I thought Arkin and Costa both slipped some against the Chargers, though, and might need more seasoning before stepping in at their respective spots. Like I said elsewhere, anyone who thinks Costa should replace Gurode now, needs to go back and watch the centers closely in Sunday's game.
DEFENSE
Defensive linemen (6)
KEPT Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears, Kenyon Coleman, Josh Brent, Sean Lissemore
PRACTICE SQUAD Clifton Geathers
CUT Igor Olshansky, Jimmy Sadler-McQueen
ANALYSIS The first-team line of Spears, Ratliff and Coleman was very strong at the point of attack against the Chargers. The second-team line, which was missing Hatcher, wasn't. Olshansky needs to find him a one-gap team to play for again, because he cannot handle two-gap responsibilities, and that's putting it kindly. Brent's play has been a bit of a disappointment, while Lissemore was the best of the second group.
Linebackers (8)
KEPT DeMarcus Ware, Keith Brooking, Bradie James, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler, Sean Lee, Orie Lemon, Alex Albright
PUP Bruce Carter
CUT Mike Balogun, Kenwin Cummings, Brandon Williams
ANALYSIS Welcome to the roster (this week) Lemon and Albright. Lemon made some mistakes, but he also made some nice sticks while Cummings didn't do much at all. Albright played outside linebacker better than Williams has since he was drafted. Seems like a heady player who might not offer great skills, but will play with good technique and be in the right spot.
Cornerbacks (5)
KEPT Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Alan Ball, Bryan McCann
PRACTICE SQUAD Josh Thomas, Mario Butler
CUT Chris Randle
ANALYSIS I had Thomas on the 53 last week, but I just haven't seen enough from the corners to quite warrant keeping either him or Butler. For that matter, I'm not sure I've seen enough from Ball or McCann to warrant keeping them (but I expect McCann to be the primary kick returner). It just wasn't a good game overall for the corners against San Diego, but I'll probably change my mind about Thomas, especially when I narrow down the running backs.
Safeties (5)
KEPT Gerald Sensabaugh, Abram Elam, Barry Church, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Danny McCray
PRACTICE SQUAD Andrew Sendejo
CUT Colin Zych
ANALYSIS Although McCray forced an incompletion on a blitz, I'm still very unsure of him being on the field as a dime linebacker. It seems to me that Dallas has better players that wouldn't force it to try to find a niche for a special-teams ace. If Dallas wants to play a safety at that position, I'd much rather it be Church, who has better coverage skills and is a sure-handed tackler. But maybe the Cowboys know something about McCray that I don't see. The starting safeties were the better part of the pass defense against the Chargers, and Church played well as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers (2)
KEPT Shayne Graham, David Buehler
PRACTICE SQUAD Dan Bailey
INJURED RESERVE Kai Forbath
ANALYSIS Not only do we have four kickers on the preseason roster, but I'm advocating possibly keeping them all around.
(That should blow somebody's mind.) Although I'm not a fan of keeping two kickers on the 53, I'm also not a fan of giving up 37- to 40-yard kickoff returns. To me, Buehler's ability to kick the ball to the back of the end zone or out is more valuable than keeping someone extra to cover kicks (see: Holley). Our kick coverage has been spotty for years and based on Sunday's game, I see no reason to believe it has changed. I also don't believe Forbath is going to be healthy enough to kick before the preseason is over. He needs to let his leg fully recover and then go at it next year. Ideally, Bailey would beat out Graham to be the field-goal kicker, but that's hard to predict since we haven't even seen Bailey attempt a FG in a preseason game.Punter (1)
KEPT Mat McBriar
CUT Chris Jones
ANALYSIS Please, punt coverage team never make McBriar have to attempt to make a tackle. It's like watching an awkward teenager dance.
Long snapper (1)
KEPT L.P. Ladouceur
ANALYSIS Ladouceur's competition is gone. I wonder if he's figured out yet that he never was competition.
