gimmesix
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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Thursday's game provided us with a little more information about who Dallas is likely to keep on the 53-man roster. There are still some unsettled spots where we need to see more from players, but the roster is beginning to take shape.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks (2)
Tony Romo, Dak Prescott
COMMENTS Romo going down briefly was a scary moment, but it gave Prescott the opportunity to come in cold and show if he could handle it. Seattle made him more uncomfortable than the previous two games, but he still showed plenty of poise even if a few of his throws were off. You want to see how a young quarterback handles pressure and his reads were spot on even if some of his throws sailed because he didn't get properly set. Showers showed more promise than he had in the previous two games, but there were enough holes in his performance that it shouldn't be a problem to get him to the practice squad.
Running backs (4)
Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris, Lance Dunbar, Darius Jackson
COMMENTS I've decided to elevate Jackson simply because we don't know at this point if McFadden will be ready to return at the start of the season. I still want to see more vision and inside running ability from Jackson, but it's hard for him to show it when the interior blocking doesn't hold up. Elliott was pretty much everything that we could have hoped for, showing good vision to know when to cut, speed and power. About the only thing more he could have done is made a long run. Having Morris as his backup will give the team a stout 1-2 punch. We've yet to see Dunbar, but he's at least practicing, which is more than we can say of McFadden.
Fullback (1)
Keith Smith
COMMENTS Rod Smith being out hasn't helped his chances to be the team's fullback, while Keith Smith keeps excelling in the one area that I believe will help him make this team: special teams. He's one of two players that I believe will make the team primarily based on special teams play because of his ability to play returns well.
Tight ends (3)
Jason Witten, Geoff Swaim, Gavin Escobar
COMMENTS Although it might not be the case, it seemed to me that Swaim is getting more looks than Escobar at this point. Perhaps that's because he's worked with Prescott more or perhaps it's because Escobar is coming off injury. Whatever the case, Escobar hasn't been targeted much while Prescott keeps throwing to Swaim, who might step into Hanna's role in the offense since Escobar is still not a great blocker.
Wide receivers (5)
Dez Bryant, Terrence Williams, Cole Beasley, Brice Butler, Lucky Whitehead
COMMENTS It seems like every time Williams is asked to step into the No. 1 role, he fails. At this point, he's got to understand the need to attack the ball at its highest point instead of waiting for it to drop into his body. Butler will have to do more than he has, though, to push Williams out of the No. 2 role because this front office doesn't make changes easily. Dropping passes will limit Whitehead to just being a return and end-around option.
Offensive line (8)
Tyron Smith, La'el Collins, Travis Frederick, Zach Martin, Doug Free, Ron Leary, Joe Looney, Chaz Green
COMMENTS There were a few glitches with the first-team blocking (I'm looking at you Free), but for the most part it provided enough protection to force Seattle to blitz to make Prescott uncomfortable. I'm getting more and more comfortable with Green as the backup tackle. He has a tendency to lose focus on his technique when he gets tired, but he's been pretty solid so far when asked to step in with the first team.
DEFENSE
Defensive ends (5)
(DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory) Benson Mayowa, David Irving, Jack Crawford, Ryan Russell, Charles Tapper
COMMENTS The lack of overall pressure by the ends was disappointing. I know Seattle's quarterbacks' ability to scramble affected it some, but there were plenty of times the ends didn't get off their blocks to even force that. Even with Lawrence in there we were not very effective. Crawford continues to play the best of any of the ends, while I was hoping to see more burst from Mayowa. Irving and Tapper did not play.
Defensive tackles (5)
Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain, Maliek Collins, Cedric Thornton, Shanell Jenkins
COMMENTS It didn't help our pressure that Crawford didn't play. The first-team run defense was solid, but we weren't doing much to collapse the pocket against the pass. Missing Jenkins might have hurt, too, since he showed more in his first two games as a pass rusher than what we saw from Collins, who is coming off a broken foot. McClain continues to play with the first team ahead of Thornton, who said he's still learning the system. Thornton was on the field when our run defense got porous, but some of that was bad linebacker play.
Linebackers (7)
Sean Lee, Justin Durant, (Rolando McClain), Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, Andrew Gachkar, Kyle Wilber, Mark Nzeocha
COMMENTS When Lee and Durant were in the game, I didn't notice any issues with the linebackers, but Hitchens and the younger players had all kinds of problems with hitting their gaps, taking good angles, etc. Based on this game, it looks like Lee and Durant are head and shoulders above everyone else, which is scary considering their pasts with injuries. Gachkar still isn't playing, though, and if nothing else, he at least seems to understand where he's supposed to be. We were also without Nzeocha and Morris, so there were a lot of linebackers in there who have no shot of making this roster
Cornerbacks (5)
Morris Claiborne, Orlando Scandrick, Brandon Carr, Antony Brown, Deji Olatoye
COMMENTS Claiborne made some tackling missteps but he continues to provide mostly solid coverage. He needs to be given the chance to start alongside Scandrick, when he gets healthy, and let Carr step in if Claiborne struggles. Brown had a few mistakes, but looked good overall and Olatoye looks to be the next best.
Safeties (5)
Barry Church, Byron Jones, Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, J.J. Wilcox
COMMENTS My surprise pick for this week to make the roster is Wilcox. Yes, I know that he sucks in coverage, but go back and watch his special teams play. I think much like others before him, such as Danny McCray, he's kept for special teams purposes. He'll probably be fourth in line to go into the game at safety, though, ahead of Frazier, but Dallas should limit his safety snaps as much as possible or replace him with someone who is good at both.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker (1)
Dan Bailey
COMMENTS Bailey likes to miss a field goal every now and then just to remind us that he's human.
Punter (1)
Chris Jones
COMMENTS Jones is averaging only 40.4 yards per punt, but he's only punted five times, with two downed inside the 20. The fact that opponents only have 35 return yards and his long is only 45 yards says he's been pretty steady.
Long snapper (1)
L.P. Ladouceur
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks (2)
Tony Romo, Dak Prescott
COMMENTS Romo going down briefly was a scary moment, but it gave Prescott the opportunity to come in cold and show if he could handle it. Seattle made him more uncomfortable than the previous two games, but he still showed plenty of poise even if a few of his throws were off. You want to see how a young quarterback handles pressure and his reads were spot on even if some of his throws sailed because he didn't get properly set. Showers showed more promise than he had in the previous two games, but there were enough holes in his performance that it shouldn't be a problem to get him to the practice squad.
Running backs (4)
Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris, Lance Dunbar, Darius Jackson
COMMENTS I've decided to elevate Jackson simply because we don't know at this point if McFadden will be ready to return at the start of the season. I still want to see more vision and inside running ability from Jackson, but it's hard for him to show it when the interior blocking doesn't hold up. Elliott was pretty much everything that we could have hoped for, showing good vision to know when to cut, speed and power. About the only thing more he could have done is made a long run. Having Morris as his backup will give the team a stout 1-2 punch. We've yet to see Dunbar, but he's at least practicing, which is more than we can say of McFadden.
Fullback (1)
Keith Smith
COMMENTS Rod Smith being out hasn't helped his chances to be the team's fullback, while Keith Smith keeps excelling in the one area that I believe will help him make this team: special teams. He's one of two players that I believe will make the team primarily based on special teams play because of his ability to play returns well.
Tight ends (3)
Jason Witten, Geoff Swaim, Gavin Escobar
COMMENTS Although it might not be the case, it seemed to me that Swaim is getting more looks than Escobar at this point. Perhaps that's because he's worked with Prescott more or perhaps it's because Escobar is coming off injury. Whatever the case, Escobar hasn't been targeted much while Prescott keeps throwing to Swaim, who might step into Hanna's role in the offense since Escobar is still not a great blocker.
Wide receivers (5)
Dez Bryant, Terrence Williams, Cole Beasley, Brice Butler, Lucky Whitehead
COMMENTS It seems like every time Williams is asked to step into the No. 1 role, he fails. At this point, he's got to understand the need to attack the ball at its highest point instead of waiting for it to drop into his body. Butler will have to do more than he has, though, to push Williams out of the No. 2 role because this front office doesn't make changes easily. Dropping passes will limit Whitehead to just being a return and end-around option.
Offensive line (8)
Tyron Smith, La'el Collins, Travis Frederick, Zach Martin, Doug Free, Ron Leary, Joe Looney, Chaz Green
COMMENTS There were a few glitches with the first-team blocking (I'm looking at you Free), but for the most part it provided enough protection to force Seattle to blitz to make Prescott uncomfortable. I'm getting more and more comfortable with Green as the backup tackle. He has a tendency to lose focus on his technique when he gets tired, but he's been pretty solid so far when asked to step in with the first team.
DEFENSE
Defensive ends (5)
(DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory) Benson Mayowa, David Irving, Jack Crawford, Ryan Russell, Charles Tapper
COMMENTS The lack of overall pressure by the ends was disappointing. I know Seattle's quarterbacks' ability to scramble affected it some, but there were plenty of times the ends didn't get off their blocks to even force that. Even with Lawrence in there we were not very effective. Crawford continues to play the best of any of the ends, while I was hoping to see more burst from Mayowa. Irving and Tapper did not play.
Defensive tackles (5)
Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain, Maliek Collins, Cedric Thornton, Shanell Jenkins
COMMENTS It didn't help our pressure that Crawford didn't play. The first-team run defense was solid, but we weren't doing much to collapse the pocket against the pass. Missing Jenkins might have hurt, too, since he showed more in his first two games as a pass rusher than what we saw from Collins, who is coming off a broken foot. McClain continues to play with the first team ahead of Thornton, who said he's still learning the system. Thornton was on the field when our run defense got porous, but some of that was bad linebacker play.
Linebackers (7)
Sean Lee, Justin Durant, (Rolando McClain), Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, Andrew Gachkar, Kyle Wilber, Mark Nzeocha
COMMENTS When Lee and Durant were in the game, I didn't notice any issues with the linebackers, but Hitchens and the younger players had all kinds of problems with hitting their gaps, taking good angles, etc. Based on this game, it looks like Lee and Durant are head and shoulders above everyone else, which is scary considering their pasts with injuries. Gachkar still isn't playing, though, and if nothing else, he at least seems to understand where he's supposed to be. We were also without Nzeocha and Morris, so there were a lot of linebackers in there who have no shot of making this roster
Cornerbacks (5)
Morris Claiborne, Orlando Scandrick, Brandon Carr, Antony Brown, Deji Olatoye
COMMENTS Claiborne made some tackling missteps but he continues to provide mostly solid coverage. He needs to be given the chance to start alongside Scandrick, when he gets healthy, and let Carr step in if Claiborne struggles. Brown had a few mistakes, but looked good overall and Olatoye looks to be the next best.
Safeties (5)
Barry Church, Byron Jones, Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, J.J. Wilcox
COMMENTS My surprise pick for this week to make the roster is Wilcox. Yes, I know that he sucks in coverage, but go back and watch his special teams play. I think much like others before him, such as Danny McCray, he's kept for special teams purposes. He'll probably be fourth in line to go into the game at safety, though, ahead of Frazier, but Dallas should limit his safety snaps as much as possible or replace him with someone who is good at both.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker (1)
Dan Bailey
COMMENTS Bailey likes to miss a field goal every now and then just to remind us that he's human.
Punter (1)
Chris Jones
COMMENTS Jones is averaging only 40.4 yards per punt, but he's only punted five times, with two downed inside the 20. The fact that opponents only have 35 return yards and his long is only 45 yards says he's been pretty steady.
Long snapper (1)
L.P. Ladouceur
