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IRVING, Texas - Now comes the really tough part.
The Cowboys completed the preseason schedule by beating the Jaguars, 27-20, Thursday night at Texas Stadium. And while the regular season doesn't begin until Sept. 11 in San Diego, head coach Bill Parcells said these next two days will be his busiest time of year.
That's because the Cowboys must make several tough decisions trimming the roster from 69 players to the NFL-mandated 53-player limit. The cuts are due at 5 p.m. Saturday, so Parcells, his coaching staff and the team's front office and scouting departments will be grinding over the next 24 hours.
Now the Cowboys should already have a good idea on which 16 players will get released. Parcells even said last week that all but a handful of roster spots were locked up.
But still there are several key decisions to make.
Do they keep three or four tight ends? What about the offensive line, where they could keep anywhere from eight to 10 players? Can they keep four tailbacks and only one fullback? Do they even keep a fullback at all? Do they keep just five receivers, or six?
Parcells said many of those questions will be affected by some moving parts. One of those could be free-agent wide receiver Peerless Price, who met with both Parcells and Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones between Thursday night and Friday afternoon.
Price underwent a physical Friday morning in Dallas, although he is expected to keep visiting with other teams. While there appears to be serious interest on both sides, Parcells said it's anything from "a sure thing."
But while Parcells said there are plenty of things still unsettled, he was able to clear up a few uncertainties on the roster, some of which have been lingering all summer long.
# Free Safety: Despite beginning training camp with the second unit, it didn't take long for Keith Davis to assert himself with the first-team defense. And he hasn't looked back, starting all four preseason games, and even delivering a few big hits in the process.
"He has improved very much over the course of camp," Parcells said. "Obviously he has won my respect. But he's got a couple of little shortcomings and he needs to keep improving. If he can get that done he will be fine."
Davis, a third-year safety, is getting his second chance in the NFL. Remember, Parcells made an example out of Davis, who was shot twice outside a Dallas nightclub just a month before Parcells ran his first training camp with the team in 2003. Davis was cleared by doctors to play, but Parcells chose to cut him, showing the entire team his stance on steering clear of trouble.
But Davis has made it all the way back, re-signing with the Cowboys last year, starring in NFL Europe and then becoming the team's best special teams player.
But the Cowboys will lose some of that this year with Davis now taking on a bigger role as the starting free safety.
# Right Tackle: Rookie Rob Petitti might not play every snap at right tackle, but it appears he's going to get the first look. Parcells has seemed reluctant to outright name Petitti, a sixth-round draft pick from Pittsburgh, his starting right tackle. Parcells said Friday that both Petitti and Torrin Tucker would probably play some on the right side.
However, Parcells did say Petitti had another strong showing Thursday night against the Jaguars.
The Cowboys opened training camp with several prospects battling for the job, including Kurt Vollers and Jacob Rogers. Vollers has backed up Flozell Adams at left tackle and Parcells likes his ability to play both tackle spots.
Rogers became one of the biggest training camp stories, first for his rise to the first-team offense, and then because of his injury problems that led to his release two weeks ago.
# Backup QB: This might have been the easiest one to call after watching four preseason games and a month of training camp practices. Tony Romo was simply better than Drew Henson, and that's why he'll enter the regular season as the backup for the second straight year.
"It's going to be Tony Romo," Parcells said. "I just think he's further down the road than what Drew is. I think he's got good instincts. I think the one thing you see him do that he can do is that he has the ability to avoid the sack. So I think he's done well."
But Parcells said he was purposely hard on Romo during Thursday night's game, stating his backup sometimes loses focus on the smaller details. Despite being one of the team's brighter players, Romo has suffered a few mental lapses in preseason, including fumbling a fake handoff or dropping a the snap for a field-goal attempt.
But overall, Parcells definitely sees more of the positives.
"I'm just telling you what I was trying to do (Thursday) night," Parcells said. "On the other hand he threw a great back shoulder fade to Quincy (Morgan). He threw a ball down the sideline there for a completion to (Patrick) Crayton. He avoided three sacks. He can throw on the run. He does some very good things, but I'm trying to - in a nice way to say this - I'm trying to get his attention."
# Center: The Cowboys will head into the regular season with two centers and likely start Al Johnson, but Parcells said Andre Gurode has deserved the chance to play and will probably rotate with Johnson.
"I'm going to play both of those guys," Parcells said. "I don't think there's any question about that. I have confidence in both players. So I'm not so sure about that, but I think I'm going to play both in the games. And I think it might help both of them."
This position battle came out of nowhere right before the start of camp and heated up, especially during the first two preseason games. Al Johnson had a solid first season as the starting center in 2004 and was expected to resume those duties without a fight. But Gurode, who lost his starting guard spot to veteran Marco Rivera, went back to center, a position he played as a rookie.
"I do have much more confidence in Andre than I've had at any time then I've been here," Parcells said. "His performance this summer was certainly has been superior than it was at any time."
# Backup RB: A week after stating his biggest concern was trying to find the right backup for Julius Jones, Parcells has settled on one.
Veteran Anthony Thomas has done enough to solidify his roster spot, especially after rushing for 64 yards and catching three passes for 28 yards in Thursday night's win over Jacksonville. In the four preseason games, Thomas rushed for 140 yards on 29 carries for a 4.8-yard average.
"That's going to be Anthony Thomas going into San Diego," Parcells said of the backup spot. "He's obviously the most experienced. He knows how to play the game better than these young kids do. If Julius gets hurt, that's who's going in."
# Tyson Thompson: Not sure how many times Parcells has informed a rookie player he made the team, but that happened Thursday night with rookie tailback Tyson Thompson. After scoring the game-winning touchdown, his second of the night, Parcells told Thompson he would travel with the team to San Diego, its first regular-season opponent.
So with Julius Jones and Anthony Thomas set as the first two backs, Thompson figures to be the third back, leapfrogging rookie Marion Barber, who has missed the last two games with an infection on his foot.
"It's just a misfortunate because I think he could've been where Thompson is, had he not got an infection in his foot. But he did," Parcells said of Barber. "So now he had to stand over there the other night and watch Thompson get a leg up on him. And that's really what happened. Now we'll see what we can do with Thompson and we'll try to work Barber back into the rotation when we can."
But Parcells does like Barber's ability to play special teams and that might help him get back on the active game-day roster.
# Punt Returns: For now, it appears Parcells has settled on both Patrick Crayton and Terence Newman as his punt returners. Both players came up with big plays in that area Thursday night, including Newman's 29-yard return in the third quarter. Crayton had a 25-yard return and just missed breaking away for a touchdown.
Parcells has always been reluctant to use Newman on punt returns because of fear of injury. But Newman will get more looks thanks to improved depth at cornerback with the off-season acquisitions of Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn.
***********
So those are some of things that appear to be resolved, at least for the time being. But as we're going to see here in the next few days, there is no such thing as a "final roster." Who knows what players will be released and what might happen with Price.
The Cowboys will continue to make decisions trying to improve the team. And if that means changing up one of the aforementioned positions, the ones that appear to be fixed for now, don't be surprised to see that happen.
Stay tuned.
------------
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=1952998A-C336-46CA-F69471363D483B2A
The Cowboys completed the preseason schedule by beating the Jaguars, 27-20, Thursday night at Texas Stadium. And while the regular season doesn't begin until Sept. 11 in San Diego, head coach Bill Parcells said these next two days will be his busiest time of year.
That's because the Cowboys must make several tough decisions trimming the roster from 69 players to the NFL-mandated 53-player limit. The cuts are due at 5 p.m. Saturday, so Parcells, his coaching staff and the team's front office and scouting departments will be grinding over the next 24 hours.
Now the Cowboys should already have a good idea on which 16 players will get released. Parcells even said last week that all but a handful of roster spots were locked up.
But still there are several key decisions to make.
Do they keep three or four tight ends? What about the offensive line, where they could keep anywhere from eight to 10 players? Can they keep four tailbacks and only one fullback? Do they even keep a fullback at all? Do they keep just five receivers, or six?
Parcells said many of those questions will be affected by some moving parts. One of those could be free-agent wide receiver Peerless Price, who met with both Parcells and Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones between Thursday night and Friday afternoon.
Price underwent a physical Friday morning in Dallas, although he is expected to keep visiting with other teams. While there appears to be serious interest on both sides, Parcells said it's anything from "a sure thing."
But while Parcells said there are plenty of things still unsettled, he was able to clear up a few uncertainties on the roster, some of which have been lingering all summer long.
# Free Safety: Despite beginning training camp with the second unit, it didn't take long for Keith Davis to assert himself with the first-team defense. And he hasn't looked back, starting all four preseason games, and even delivering a few big hits in the process.
"He has improved very much over the course of camp," Parcells said. "Obviously he has won my respect. But he's got a couple of little shortcomings and he needs to keep improving. If he can get that done he will be fine."
Davis, a third-year safety, is getting his second chance in the NFL. Remember, Parcells made an example out of Davis, who was shot twice outside a Dallas nightclub just a month before Parcells ran his first training camp with the team in 2003. Davis was cleared by doctors to play, but Parcells chose to cut him, showing the entire team his stance on steering clear of trouble.
But Davis has made it all the way back, re-signing with the Cowboys last year, starring in NFL Europe and then becoming the team's best special teams player.
But the Cowboys will lose some of that this year with Davis now taking on a bigger role as the starting free safety.
# Right Tackle: Rookie Rob Petitti might not play every snap at right tackle, but it appears he's going to get the first look. Parcells has seemed reluctant to outright name Petitti, a sixth-round draft pick from Pittsburgh, his starting right tackle. Parcells said Friday that both Petitti and Torrin Tucker would probably play some on the right side.
However, Parcells did say Petitti had another strong showing Thursday night against the Jaguars.
The Cowboys opened training camp with several prospects battling for the job, including Kurt Vollers and Jacob Rogers. Vollers has backed up Flozell Adams at left tackle and Parcells likes his ability to play both tackle spots.
Rogers became one of the biggest training camp stories, first for his rise to the first-team offense, and then because of his injury problems that led to his release two weeks ago.
# Backup QB: This might have been the easiest one to call after watching four preseason games and a month of training camp practices. Tony Romo was simply better than Drew Henson, and that's why he'll enter the regular season as the backup for the second straight year.
"It's going to be Tony Romo," Parcells said. "I just think he's further down the road than what Drew is. I think he's got good instincts. I think the one thing you see him do that he can do is that he has the ability to avoid the sack. So I think he's done well."
But Parcells said he was purposely hard on Romo during Thursday night's game, stating his backup sometimes loses focus on the smaller details. Despite being one of the team's brighter players, Romo has suffered a few mental lapses in preseason, including fumbling a fake handoff or dropping a the snap for a field-goal attempt.
But overall, Parcells definitely sees more of the positives.
"I'm just telling you what I was trying to do (Thursday) night," Parcells said. "On the other hand he threw a great back shoulder fade to Quincy (Morgan). He threw a ball down the sideline there for a completion to (Patrick) Crayton. He avoided three sacks. He can throw on the run. He does some very good things, but I'm trying to - in a nice way to say this - I'm trying to get his attention."
# Center: The Cowboys will head into the regular season with two centers and likely start Al Johnson, but Parcells said Andre Gurode has deserved the chance to play and will probably rotate with Johnson.
"I'm going to play both of those guys," Parcells said. "I don't think there's any question about that. I have confidence in both players. So I'm not so sure about that, but I think I'm going to play both in the games. And I think it might help both of them."
This position battle came out of nowhere right before the start of camp and heated up, especially during the first two preseason games. Al Johnson had a solid first season as the starting center in 2004 and was expected to resume those duties without a fight. But Gurode, who lost his starting guard spot to veteran Marco Rivera, went back to center, a position he played as a rookie.
"I do have much more confidence in Andre than I've had at any time then I've been here," Parcells said. "His performance this summer was certainly has been superior than it was at any time."
# Backup RB: A week after stating his biggest concern was trying to find the right backup for Julius Jones, Parcells has settled on one.
Veteran Anthony Thomas has done enough to solidify his roster spot, especially after rushing for 64 yards and catching three passes for 28 yards in Thursday night's win over Jacksonville. In the four preseason games, Thomas rushed for 140 yards on 29 carries for a 4.8-yard average.
"That's going to be Anthony Thomas going into San Diego," Parcells said of the backup spot. "He's obviously the most experienced. He knows how to play the game better than these young kids do. If Julius gets hurt, that's who's going in."
# Tyson Thompson: Not sure how many times Parcells has informed a rookie player he made the team, but that happened Thursday night with rookie tailback Tyson Thompson. After scoring the game-winning touchdown, his second of the night, Parcells told Thompson he would travel with the team to San Diego, its first regular-season opponent.
So with Julius Jones and Anthony Thomas set as the first two backs, Thompson figures to be the third back, leapfrogging rookie Marion Barber, who has missed the last two games with an infection on his foot.
"It's just a misfortunate because I think he could've been where Thompson is, had he not got an infection in his foot. But he did," Parcells said of Barber. "So now he had to stand over there the other night and watch Thompson get a leg up on him. And that's really what happened. Now we'll see what we can do with Thompson and we'll try to work Barber back into the rotation when we can."
But Parcells does like Barber's ability to play special teams and that might help him get back on the active game-day roster.
# Punt Returns: For now, it appears Parcells has settled on both Patrick Crayton and Terence Newman as his punt returners. Both players came up with big plays in that area Thursday night, including Newman's 29-yard return in the third quarter. Crayton had a 25-yard return and just missed breaking away for a touchdown.
Parcells has always been reluctant to use Newman on punt returns because of fear of injury. But Newman will get more looks thanks to improved depth at cornerback with the off-season acquisitions of Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn.
***********
So those are some of things that appear to be resolved, at least for the time being. But as we're going to see here in the next few days, there is no such thing as a "final roster." Who knows what players will be released and what might happen with Price.
The Cowboys will continue to make decisions trying to improve the team. And if that means changing up one of the aforementioned positions, the ones that appear to be fixed for now, don't be surprised to see that happen.
Stay tuned.
------------
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=1952998A-C336-46CA-F69471363D483B2A