SB Nation User Blog: Dave Halprin (Grizz)

Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster prediction

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:39:09 -0000

My prediction for the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster.

	Offense		Defense
QB	Tony Romo Brad Johnson	NT	Jay Ratliff Tank Johnson
RB	Marion Barber Felix Jones Tashard Choice	DE	Chris Canty Marcus Spears Jason Hatcher Stephen Bowen
FB	Deon Anderson	OLB	DeMarcus Ware Greg Ellis Anthony Spencer Justin Rogers Erik Walden
TE	Jason Witten Tony Curtis Martellus Bennett	ILB	Bradie James Zach Thomas Kevin Burnett Bobby Carpenter
WR	Terrell Owens Patrick Crayton Sam Hurd Miles Austin Isaiah Stanback Mike Jefferson	CB	Terence Newman Anthony Henry Adam Jones Mike Jenkins Orlando Scandrick Evan Oglesby
T	Flozell Adams Marc Colombo Doug Free Pat McQuistan	SS	Roy Williams Courtney Brown
C	Andre Gurode Cory Procter	FS	Ken Hamlin Pat Watkins
G	Leonard Davis Kyle Kosier Joe Berger Montrae Holland	P/K/LS	Mat McBriar Nick Folk L.P. Ladouceur
Notes: - Very tough decision at WR. I picked Jefferson because I think he's a little better as a functional WR right now than Amendola. But, I still think they get a WR from another team's cuts so Jefferson (or if it's Amendola) shouldn't get comfortable. - I kept Walden because he made some plays on special teams last night and I think they like his potential. - Oglesby beat out Ball easily in my book, so if Ball makes it, they must see something we haven't seen yet. Maybe it would be special teams potential which Oglesby hasn't shown a lot of in preseason. - With Montrae Holland on board, someone had to go and that someone is probably Marten.

Film review: Cowboys vs. Vikings - Bubble Watch edition

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:52:11 -0000

I’ve watched the film on the Dallas Cowboys game with the Minnesota Vikings and have compiled my film review – The Bubble Watch edition. Not quite a traditional film review, I concentrated on those areas where I think we have decisions to make. Mainly, this included the offensive line, WR, OLB and the secondary. Later tonight, I’ll post my 53-man roster prediction.

One note, the Cowboys sure wanted to get a look at the line, the receivers and Bartel because in the second half when the Vikings kept blitzing and getting pressure, the Cowboys kept on throwing the ball basically abandoning the running game.

Offensive line

Joe Berger – For the most part I liked the game he played and would rate it better than Pat McQuistan’s or Cory Procter’s. He showed good mobility when he had to pull and was also good about picking up the right defender on those plays. His pass protection was pretty solid for most of the evening. I saw him blow a pass protection on a stunt and then he just got beat another time. He was also slow getting out on a screen. But for most of the game he was delivering a very solid performance.

Pat McQuistan – McQ got almost all the snaps at Kyle Kosier’s vacant left guard position but had some problems along the way. He did have moments when he was powerful in the run game and showed some mobility on the pull blocks, but didn’t always find a guy to block. He had a few soft moments in pass protection including one pitiful play. He also had three plays where his run blocks were complete failures and one almost led to a turnover. He did get downfield nicely on a screen pass.

Cory Procter – Procter only played a couple of series at left guard towards the end of the game. My guess is they are not considering him seriously for Kosier’s spot. Procter still suffers from being a little soft in the middle, he’s very susceptible to getting pushed straight back and he’s not as agile when he has to pull. He showed nothing in this game that should really change his status one way or the other.

Doug Free – Good thing my man Free isn’t really fighting for a roster spot because he played a lousy game. He was repeatedly beaten in pass protection and had a hard time recognizing some of the blitzes and stunts. The speed rush was really giving him trouble.

James Marten – I actually came away with the feeling that Marten played alright for him, which isn’t an overwhelming endorsement. He still had plays where he whiffed on blocks or didn’t hold his ground, but they were fewer than I’ve come to expect from him.

Mike Jefferson – He had a few moments, especially towards the beginning where he caught some balls and made a few plays. He did have one easy drop and he didn’t show up on special teams at all. But he did get the nod as the starter next to Sam Hurd, so that could be an indication about how the Cowboys view him. He did get a couple of good blocks downfield in the run game.

Danny Amendola – He made a few plays catching the ball and blocking downfield, but really looks like if he’s going to stick it will be because he can add to the special teams. As both a backup punt and kick returner, he gets an advantage. But he didn’t exactly shine in this game, but didn’t make any big mistakes.

OLB

Justin Rogers – Don’t see him as “on the bubble” so didn’t chart him. They need his experience (the little he has) and his play on special teams.

Erik Walden – He didn’t really impress in the pass rush department but he did do a better job than I’ve seen him do before at standing his ground against the run. He did blow an easy tackle in the backfield on one play. But what caught my eye was that on four kick/punt coverage plays, Walden showed up around the ball and made a couple of tackles. If he can contribute on special teams, that’s a great sign for him sticking around.

Tearrius George – If George could have had a couple of more games like this or showed some of this in camp, the Cowboys would for sure create a place for him on the roster. The guy had at least six plays in the backfield. He had a great penetration blowing up a run, he got a couple of sacks and hit the QB a couple of other times disrupting passes. Now, he did a lot of this later in the game against the Vikings’ scrubs, but it still was an impressive performance. The question is - was it too late to change his future?

Darrell Robertson – Just didn’t do enough to change his fate.

CB/S

Evan Oglesby – Helped himself again this game with a nice breakup of a pass in the endzone, another pass break up later, a good tackle against the run and generally no big mistakes. The only bad thing I saw him do is use bad technique and turn his back to a receiver on a short pass. One problem for Oglesby is he doesn’t show up much on special teams and that could hurt his chances.

Alan Ball – Had one great special teams play on punt coverage and one good deep coverage but not much else. He just doesn’t make a lot of plays.

Dowayne Davis – A couple of nice tackles on defense but not much on special teams where he needs to shine to make the team. Didn’t really help himself much during the game.

Injuries causing uncertainty for the Dallas Cowboys

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:07:51 -0000

A couple things to preface this post. I haven’t really watched the Dallas Cowboys game against the Vikings last night in detail; I did try to keep up watching online on a tiny screen but not enough to really comment on how guys played. I do have it on Tivo though and will be going through it this afternoon specifically watching the bubble players and will post on that later. Last night, a lot of my attention was focused on this. The other thing I’d like to say is thanks to Brandon for posting the open threads and a game recap last night while I indulged my other football passion.

OK, on to the game. One play I did see last night that I wish I’d never seen was the injury to Sam Hurd. Are you kidding? Another receiver down for the Cowboys. We need to wait on the MRI results before speculating but even that might not tell the whole story, it could take a while to really know.

Hurd, who will have an MRI exam on Friday, seemed confident he could return in time for the Sept. 7 season opener in Cleveland with proper rest and treatment. But team doctors project that he'll be doubtful for the game due to the lingering nature of a high ankle sprain, which involves the ligaments connecting the tibia and fibia on the lower leg. Generally that type of injury requires a week of evaluation before an accurate timetable can be set.

Now, I’ve taken some flak for suggesting we can’t roll into the season with just T.O., Crayton and Hurd because we’d be one injury away from playing some totally untested guys in a real role on offense. I’ve suggested that a veteran will be signed at some point but with the top three healthy, we might wait until we get past the first game so we wouldn’t guarantee the salary for the year. But now with Hurd down, and everyone expecting he won’t be available next Sunday - except for Hurd himself – I feel even stronger about this. Jerry Jones expresses the opposite view, but I have to wonder if he’s playing poker.

"We want people on the field with [Tony] Romo that Romo's been throwing to," Jones said. "We won't have anybody out there that has not been on the team trying to move the ball against Cleveland."

If you take that statement as the truth, then it looks like Mike Jefferson and/or Danny Amendola are going to get a baptism by fire next week as they participate in a real NFL game, a game that counts in the standings and kicks off the Cowboys run at a Super Bowl. I’m sorry, but I’m just not comfortable with that. It’s been suggested that we have enough weapons on offense to get away with it and that some of the other guys like Felix Jones or maybe Martellus Bennett can be used in ways to minimize the impact. That may be what Jason Garrett has in mind but even those guys are untested and are rookies who need time to grow into their roles – that includes El Gato. I realize we still have Jason Witten, so we still have three WR-quality guys we can play. But it’s a real gamble to me, injuries in that game would really hamstring us and rookie mistakes could cost us. WR is one of the easier roles to integrate quickly, especially if the receiver has any familarity with the coordinator's offense and terminology.

I won't beat this subject to death, because without knowing if any decent WR gets cut from another team, it’s hard to debate the specifics of the issue. But there is one WR out there who is available.

When asked if he planned to contact [Terry] Glenn, Jones was non-committal.

"I'm going to keep that to myself, one way or the other," Jones said.

Interesting.

One thing I will be watching closely when I review the game is the play of our offensive line, especially the guys in the left guard competition. I feel just like Wade:

"It's hard to evaluate the inside blockers until we look at the tape," Phillips said. "Once we get the tape, I think we'll have a better feel how each of those guys played."

With the trade for Montrae Holland, we have 11 linemen for 10 spots on the roster; somebody is going when we make the last roster cut. It’s not going to be one of the starting five and it won’t be Doug Free or Montrae Holland. That leaves Pat McQuistan, Joe Berger, Cory Procter and James Marten. I won’t hazard a final guess until I watch the tape, but my early money is on Marten.

Could we be adding another player to the roster? It will be tough to do with all the injury problems but It could help us on our special teams.

When asked if the Cowboys would be interested in making an effort to re-sign [Keith] Davis, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, "We haven't - we'll get into that tomorrow and see. It has everything to do with the kind of pressure we have on our 53-man roster."

Cowboys vs. Vikings open thread 8/28/08

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:59:18 -0000

Open Thread

Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings
Thursday, Aug 28th, 2008
8:00 PM EST
Texas Stadium – Irving, TX

Listen online - try The Ticket or WOAI.

This is an open thread for game chat.

Weather Forecast
Partly Cloudy
93 degrees
Wind SSE 8 mph

Dallas Cowboys trade for an offensive guard

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:03:57 -0000

Hat tip to my boy The Sports Guru, who was on this story at Mile High Report. From a Denver Broncos press release:

The Denver Broncos on Thursday traded guard Montrae Holland to Dallas in exchange for a fifth-round choice in the 2010 NFL Draft, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

Holland, a sixth-year player, joined the Broncos as an unrestricted free agent on March 5, 2007, after spending his first four NFL seasons (2003-06) with New Orleans

Cowboys vs. Vikings: Offensive roster battles

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:58:56 -0000

The last preseason game. After tonight, the next time our Dallas Cowboys hit the field it will be for real. Yes, we are that close to actually starting the 2008 NFL season. We aren’t there yet though, we still have the last preseason game to complete and for the top of the roster it’s an opportunity to play dress up and not actually do anything, but for the bottom of the roster tonight means everything. Soon the Cowboys will have to get down to the 53-man roster limit meaning tonight will be the last time we ever see some players in a Cowboys uniform.

So what’s tonight all about? Roster battles.

Offense

QB - Richard Bartel vs. the practice squad. The Cowboys are deciding between three QB’s or just two. Bartel will get the whole game to prove his worth. My estimation is he probably can’t do enough in this game to stop the inevitable. Dallas enters the season injured and unsure about when they will have full health. They need extra players elsewhere. They are banking that they won’t get Matt Moore-ed by another team and that they can move Bartel to the practice squad. An eye-opening game tonight may sway that opinion, but the odds are not in his favor to make the roster.

RB – I’ve always contended they’ll keep three and I still believe that. Keon Lattimore and Alonzo Coleman haven’t forced their hand, one will probably make the PS.

FB – Julius Crosslin is still hanging around but hasn’t shown enough to make the Cowboys keep him. They decide to go short at FB to open the season with only Deon Anderson.

WR – Now this is tricky. It all depends on what they really think will happen with Isaiah Stanback and whether they think Miles Austin’s injury is a four-week deal or six. They need six WR’s to start the year unless the news on Austin and Stanback is so good and absolute, that they can revert to the philosophy from the beginning of camp; they were going to keep five and a sixth would have to force their way on the roster. I don’t think that’s the case right now, so Danny Amendola and Mike Jefferson have an opportunity here. I still think a vet signing is going to happen after league cuts, so even if they kept both, one may be gone within a week or so. I have Amendola slightly ahead of Jefferson at this point, mainly because of special teams work. Amendola has been playing on a lot of the units and has shown a little something along with his mistakes. Jefferson as a receiver can get open, his problem is catching the ball consistently and he’s doesn’t contribute much besides being a WR. Todd Lowber is still too raw and a mythical creation of Hard Knocks. (Because I wrote that, he’ll catch two TD’s tonight, it’s a given).

TE – The only possible question is keeping Rodney Hannah as a fourth TE and going long at a position to supplement the lack of FB’s, or go with three like normal. I don’t think Hannah has shown enough, he’s not special on special teams and he probably can’t block out of the backfield or handle other important TE jobs. He’s tall and athletic, but young and inexperienced, and we already have that guy in Martellus Bennett, and his upside is higher and was a second round pick.

OL – All eyes will be on Pat McQuistan and Joe Berger. Tonight is the final interview for the job of replacing Kyle Kosier for the first quarter of the season. Cory Procter is also in the mix but I think its McQ or Berger. Figuring out who it will be is the most important thing tonight, but the Cowboys need to decide if they will keep nine or ten offensive linemen. We know the starting five when Kosier is back, and we pretty much know that McQ or Berger will fill-in with the other being kept just in case. That gives you seven. Doug Free isn’t going anywhere, that’s eight, and Procter is the only true backup center giving you nine. That leaves James Marten and I don’t think the Cowboys want to give up on him yet and with the shifting around of the line because of Kosier, they probably hang on to him for insurance at this point.

Dallas Cowboys news & notes

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:10:31 -0000

Some quick news & notes from today

With Austin and Stanback down, the kick return unit becomes an interesting place. Wade says Mike Jenkins is going to get some time back there along with Orlando Scandrick and El Gato might possibly make an appearance.

I guess we’re all just counting on it as a formality, but sheriff Roger Goodell has to actually reinstate Adam Jones for him to play. Final cuts are on the 30^th, the Cowboys expect to know by then and expect that he'll be cleared.

"We've worked him, getting him ready for the season, and then getting him working with our first group, especially our sub-group and any sub-package that we have," [Wade] Phillips said of Jones. "He's the guy that goes in."

Tony Romo is ready to go. Freed from the burden of playing in the last preseason game, he’s ready to get this thing started.

“It just allows you to get a chance to get a little bit of a head start on the opponent,” Romo said Tuesday. “For us, that’s Cleveland. We’ve been working on them this week. The juices are flowing just because you know the first game is coming.”

Jason Witten thinks Martellus Bennett still has a lot to learn.

“He has to understand this is his job,” Witten said. “That’s the next step for him. Sometimes you don’t really realize that.”

A couple of other notes, Terence Newman participated in practice in-full today and looked good doing it, so they say. Pat McQuistan practiced with the 1's again today.

Cowboys starting left guard tryouts

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:53:53 -0000

So the Cowboys are holding open tryouts Thursday for a starting left guard. Well, open if your name is Pat McQuistan, Joe Berger or Cory Procter. Not content with what they’ve seen so far from their primary backup, Joe Berger, Dallas will shift McQ inside from his right tackle spot and give him a chance. Berger is still in the mix and Procter is going to get some time too, although with Gurode not playing that means Ryan Gibbons will get some time at center on Thursday. Watching our offensive line against Minnesota will be of interest to Cowboys fans everywhere.

I’ve never been impressed with McQ’s work out at tackle; he doesn't have the footwork and agility necessary to deal with the quality pass rushing ends in the league. At the end of the last preseason game, a guy went right around him and knocked the ball from Brad Johnson’s hands. Luckily a penalty wiped out the play. Moving him inside might be the ticket as it was for another player at tackle, albeit one with a much higher level of talent, Leonard Davis. The principle remains the same, they may struggle in space, but inside where they have protection on both sides can play to their strengths. We’ll see if McQ is ready for primetime.

If not, then it could be Joe Berger, who received a lot of praise in camp but I never quite saw what the big fuss was about. They might have liked his play, but if they’re contemplating moving McQ inside, which might kick James Marten back outside, they must not be all that sure about his play. That’s a lot of movement to initiate and they wouldn’t do it unless they had doubts.

I don’t see Cory Procter as the guy who will win this competition. He’s had too many soft moments in the middle this preseason to be a starting guard. My guess is he remains at backup center/emergency guard.

Wade puts it this way.

"We're looking at all three of those guys this week," head coach Wade Phillips said. "All of them will get an opportunity to play in the game. We should have some idea what we'll do after the game."

Please, someone step up.

Terence Newman returned to practice.

Todd Archer on all kinds of Cowboys stuff.

Here’s a good look at all of our injuries and our options.

Dallas Cowboys cut five players

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:25:23 -0000

The DMN blog reports that the Cowboys have already made their five cuts required by Tuesday. The list:

CB Quincy Butler – No surprise there, he has been injured for all of camp and has barely been hanging on with the Cowboys for a while now.
P Jay Ottovegio – Camp leg.
WR Daniel Polk – Never showed up in TC, the QB to WR switch doesn’t always work.
QB Jeff Terrell – The team IQ just dropped without the Princeton grad, but the average roster ability went up.
FB Ronnie Cruz (injury settlement) – Noo! Not my pet cat Ronnie, I guess it wasn’t to be.

Isaiah Stanback injury: Maybe two weeks, maybe a lot more

Dave Halprin (Grizz) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:56:10 -0000

So the latest on Isaiah Stanback appears to be he’ll miss 2-17 weeks. I’m serious, he’s going to try to rehab the shoulder without surgery and possibly be back in two weeks. If that doesn’t work, he’ll need surgery and could miss a lot of time or possibly the season.

…and now Isaiah Stanback hurts his left shoulder in Friday's win over the Houston Texans, likely out a minimum of two weeks - maybe more.

Stanback, who injured his left shoulder in the same exact fashion he did last season - running back a kickoff - will eventually need surgery, but trainers are waiting to see if he first could play through the season. The rehab process without surgery will be at least two weeks long.

Now think about this. With Austin and Stanback out for the foreseeable future, we’re rolling into battle with T.O., Crayton, Hurd and a bunch of inexperienced question marks. Our fourth WR is going to be Danny Amendola or Mike Jefferson. I just can’t go with that, one injury to the top three and one of those two guys are playing serious minutes in a real game. We are going to have to sign a free agent WR or make a trade if Stanback is out for any amount of time. Keep your eyes open for WR cuts from other teams because I went searching for a list of WR’s who are still free agents and this is what I found.

Wide Receiver
Terry Glenn - The Miami Dolphins have shown interest in him.
Joe Horn - He really only wants to play for a Super Bowl contending team. Dallas and Philadelphia are possibilities although Andy Reid said he's not interested in signing another receiver despite the injury to Kevin Curtis.
Eddie Kennison - He recently told Sirius NFL Radio that he's interested in playing at least two more seasons.
David Givens - His career is in doubt after suffering a serious knee injury almost two years ago.
Koren Robinson - The troubled but talented receiver should find work closer to the start of the regular season.
Cedrick Wilson - He'll serve a one-game suspension to start the regular season.
Doug Gabriel - He was recently released by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Eric Moulds - He's received mild interest around the league.
Peerless Price - He's probably done playing because of a neck injury.
Keenan McCardell - He said recently that he still wants to play.
Aaron Moorehead - He offers a team value as a No. 4 receiver.

That’s a lot of over-the-hill or troubled receivers.

Standard Greg Ellis article.

Our first opponent, Cleveland, is getting hammered in the press for their poor play in the preseason. Here’s a taste.