Roster Cuts Tougher Than You'd Think
Nfl jerseys supply store report:
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Brent has made a preseason impression with a cast on his broken left hand.
IRVING, Texas - Glancing at the preseason roster, you'd think the Cowboys' brass could make quick work of Saturday's roster cuts and be home in time for "Melrose" (or "The Hills," I guess, to keep the old phrase current).
How hard can it be, right? Twenty of 22 offensive and defensive starters are back. The special teams operations remain mostly intact; the only difference is that David Buehler is trying to claim full-time kicking duties.
Delving further, 54 players from last year's active, reserve or practice squad rosters - counting tight end John Phillips (injured reserve) and linebacker Stephen Hodge (reserve Physically Unable to Perform) - are part of the current 75-man group that will trim to 53 on Saturday.
That's continuity. But in this five-week split training camp across the southwestern part of the country, the Cowboys unearthed some younger talent that has proven good enough to make this team - or at least make the Cowboys think a little harder about their decisions.
How about two undrafted safeties, Barry Church and Danny McCray, who basically pushed fifth-year veteran Pat Watkins off the roster?
Or undrafted center Phil Costa, who has scratched and clawed against All-Pro nose tackle Jay Ratliff daily in practice and is Andre Gurode's current primary backup while Kyle Kosier is out?
Or rookie nose tackle Josh Brent, who, in addition to Junior Siavii, is making the Cowboys consider keeping two backups behind Ratliff?
Brent started training camp at a supreme disadvantage. He missed all the OTAs and minicamp practices because he was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL supplemental draft, one week before the Cowboys reported to San Antonio. Since the second day of camp practice (July 25), he has been playing with a cast for a broken left hand that renders him "playing literally with one hand," he says.
Hard to shed blocks or make pass rush moves without the proper leverage. But he has found a way. The team has noticed, and he gets one more chance to impress in Thursday's preseason finale at Cowboys Stadium.
"You don't know, so you play it as your last game," Brent says. "Because it could be."
That's the story Thursday. Not whether the starters play (looks like very few, if any, will) or if Dez Bryant is ready for Sept. 12 in Washington (physically, he appears to be).
To make a lawful analogy, the bubble and fringe guys get to make a closing argument. Careers are at stake Thursday night. That's pretty powerful.
Don't discount these back-of-the-roster arguments. If the Cowboys hadn't been so diligent, Tony Romo and Miles Austin and Ratliff and Patrick Crayton wouldn't have crept onto this team as unheralded, even undrafted, rookies. The organization has a track record for finding future starters in the 52nd and 53rd spots.
Numbers must get crunched, though. Certain positions carry more players than usual, lightening other positions. The good news is many players should be healthy for the season opener, which makes injuries less of a factor in determining the final 53.
Let's examine a few positions that figure to give the Cowboys pause:
Offensive line. Last year, the team kept 10. This year, seven appear to be locks: Doug Free, Kosier, Gurode, Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, backup tackle Alex Barron and backup guard Montrae Holland. Second-year tackle Robert Brewster also figures to stick. That's eight. The injuries to Kosier (who might miss at least one game) and Colombo (who might return for Week 1) make things interesting. Right now, Costa is vital as Gurode's center. That'd be nine. Does sixth-round pick Sam Young stay on the active roster even though he'll miss 3-4 weeks with an MCL sprain? That'd be 10, but the Cowboys also could use another versatile interior lineman - a guard/center type. Can 2006 seventh-round pick Pat McQuistan make this team a fifth straight year?
Defensive line. Last year, the team kept six. All six - Ratliff, Marcus Spears, Igor Olshansky, Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and Siavii - return. Siavii has made a strong case to stick as Ratliff's backup again, but Brent is the kind of prospect who might not pass through waivers. That'd be seven, a little heavy. First-year end Marcus Dixon had a terrific showing last Saturday against Houston, but numbers are tight. Same for seventh-round pick Sean Lissemore.
Defensive back. Last year, the team kept nine (four cornerbacks, five safeties). That number may very well swell to 10 this year with four cornerbacks (Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Cletis Gordon) and six safeties (Gerald Sensabaugh, Alan Ball, Mike Hamlin and rookies Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Church and McCray). Church and McCray have shown enough, I think. Owusu-Ansah and Ball (though you'd prefer him to stick to free safety) provide corner flexibility, and Hamlin could help in that nickel linebacker role. We'll see. Rookie corner Bryan McCann has battled the starting receivers day in, day out in practice, but there just doesn't seem to be enough room.
Wide receiver. Last year, the team kept five. All preseason, the general, unofficial consensus has been six (Miles Austin, Roy Williams, Dez Bryant, Crayton, Kevin Ogletree, Sam Hurd). The question is, does a reliable receiver/special teams veteran like Hurd become expendable if youngsters like Church and McCray have shown enough special teams prowess at a cheaper price. Hurd is one of this team's 53 best players, but keeping six isn't a guarantee. Ogletree is still a talented prospect, and Crayton has such underrated value. Can't imagine either going.
This is all excluding the possibilities created via trade or the waiver wire this weekend.
Deciding the roster will be a game of numbers this Saturday. The final 60 minutes on Thursday will be critical to this big bubble.
Roster Cuts Tougher Than You'd Think
By: onliway004
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