Haynie
09-01-2007, 01:32 AM
Tony Romo, Brad Johnson
These two were obvious. The big question here is whether or not Matt Moore makes the roster, and I say no. I’m not losing any sleep if Moore gets claimed off waivers or the practice squad, and I don’t see why management would feel any differently. If something happened to both Romo AND Johnson in the same game, you have a former college quarterback on the roster in Isaiah Stanback. You could easily find someone as good as Moore, if not better, off the street if you needed to sign a quarterback during the season.
Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Tyson Thompson
Here’s another obvious crop of players. Alonzo Coleman is a lock for the practice squad. Why waste time analyzing this position? Okay, I won’t.
Oliver Hoyte, Deon Anderson
If they didn’t plan on keeping Hoyte, he’d have had an injury settlement by now and be gone. Between Anderson and Lousaka Polite, you have to go with Anderson for his youth and the draft pick invested in him. If the past has been any indication, Polite will be available as a free agent if you wanted to call him up down the road.
Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin
Owens, Glenn, Crayton, Hurd… no surprises there. I think Stanback is also an easy pick when you consider his potential, special teams ability, and draft pick investment. With Glenn’s injury still an issue, there’s no way we’re not keeping six receivers. The big question here is whether or not Miles Austin’s that guy. After glowing reports from Training Camp, Austin had a rough preseason. His performance against Minnesota was big, though, as it was his last chance to make an impression and he seemed to do so. I think it comes down to Austin or Jerheme Urban, with Austin winning out thanks to the experience edge.
Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Tony Curtis
No question about my first two, and then Curtis is the easy pick after his fantastic preseason. I’m a little torn about keeping a fourth tight end, but I think it’s the difference between another tight end or that second fullback. In this scenario, I think they’d definitely rather keep Deon Anderson than Adam Bergen or Rodney Hannah.
Flozell Adams, Marc Colombo, Pat McQuistan, Doug Free, James Marten
None of the backups would make it past waivers, so none of them will be cut. McQuistan doubles as a backup at left guard, so he’s much more than just a backup tackle. They didn’t spend the draft picks on Marten and Free just to lose them now, either.
Andre Gurode, Kyle Kosier, Leonard Davis, Cory Procter
After the two starters at guard, Procter is a backup at both guard and center and is an easy pick to make the team. I went ahead and included Andre Gurode here as he’s the only pure center I see making the roster. Thanks to the versatility of the inside starters, plus Procter and McQuistan, we can afford to go thin here with just nine offensive linemen. Nobody else on the roster stands out enough to be worth keeping.
Jason Ferguson, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Stephen Bowen
I’m doing the entire defensive line as one unit. While it seems strange to have no other pure defensive tackles behind Ferguson, reports are that Ratliff outplayed all of the young tackles at the nose position. That really helps us as we can now avoid keeping a guy like Remi Ayodele, who probably isn’t that great, just because we’re scared about depth at a position. You really maximize your talent level that way. I’m keeping Bowen over any of the tackles as he would be the least likely to clear waivers. Ayodele’s a practice squad guy.
Demarcus Ware, Greg Ellis, Anthony Spencer, Junior Glymph
Easy picks here. Glymph was probable to make the roster all along, and Ellis’ lingering injury only seals the deal. It will be interesting to see if Spencer gets to start over Carpenter or Burnett should Ellis not be ready, but that’s a conversation for another thread.
Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Bobby Carpenter, Kevin Burnett
Again, easy picks. Eight linebackers might seem thin for a 3-4 defense, but keep in mind that Oliver Hoyte can play LB in a pinch and you’ve got versatility with Carpenter and Burnett as inside/outside depth.
Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas
No doubt about the first two, and I never thought Glenn was in any real trouble. He has too much experience (and too much lack of it behind him) to be expendable. Newman’s injury definitely made sure Glenn wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, Newman’s injury is probably why Reeves can sleep easy now. I think Reeves may have been out of here to give a guy like Alan Ball a chance to develop as the sixth corner, but there’s no way they’ll part with him now that he might have to play some significant minutes. Either way, I think Thomas was making the team after a solid camp and preseason. Did you guys realize he’s a former third-round pick? That’s nuts.
Ken Hamlin, Pat Watkins, Courtney Brown
No doubts about Hamlin and Watkins, and you can consider Brown a third safety/sixth corner. I don’t think they’d want to risk Brown on waivers. That interception in the last preseason game may be just enough to have him on somebody’s radar. I think he’s definitely a guy they want to see next year after a full offseason with the team. Lots of potential.
Roy Williams, Keith Davis
Again, why waste time when it’s so obvious?
Martin Gramatica, Nick Folk, Matt McBriar, LP Ladouceur
Alright, McBriar and Ladouceur are easy. The big deal here is the two kickers. I wouldn’t be upset if they cut Gramatica and went with Folk. However, I don’t think they can bring themselves to it. After the kicking woes of last year, Jerry will want an insurance policy. The interesting thing will be who starts, and who serves as insurance. I imagine Folk will see kickoff and PAT duties, while they keep Gramatica fresh for field goals. I don’t like this, personally, and I’ll explain why in a separate post. But this is about predicting what Dallas will do, and not what I think they SHOULD do.
*** GREG ELLIS PUP EXCEPTION ***
If Greg Ellis is placed on the PUP list for the beginning of the regular season, then I think they'll hold onto John Saldi for linebacker depth.
These two were obvious. The big question here is whether or not Matt Moore makes the roster, and I say no. I’m not losing any sleep if Moore gets claimed off waivers or the practice squad, and I don’t see why management would feel any differently. If something happened to both Romo AND Johnson in the same game, you have a former college quarterback on the roster in Isaiah Stanback. You could easily find someone as good as Moore, if not better, off the street if you needed to sign a quarterback during the season.
Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Tyson Thompson
Here’s another obvious crop of players. Alonzo Coleman is a lock for the practice squad. Why waste time analyzing this position? Okay, I won’t.
Oliver Hoyte, Deon Anderson
If they didn’t plan on keeping Hoyte, he’d have had an injury settlement by now and be gone. Between Anderson and Lousaka Polite, you have to go with Anderson for his youth and the draft pick invested in him. If the past has been any indication, Polite will be available as a free agent if you wanted to call him up down the road.
Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin
Owens, Glenn, Crayton, Hurd… no surprises there. I think Stanback is also an easy pick when you consider his potential, special teams ability, and draft pick investment. With Glenn’s injury still an issue, there’s no way we’re not keeping six receivers. The big question here is whether or not Miles Austin’s that guy. After glowing reports from Training Camp, Austin had a rough preseason. His performance against Minnesota was big, though, as it was his last chance to make an impression and he seemed to do so. I think it comes down to Austin or Jerheme Urban, with Austin winning out thanks to the experience edge.
Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Tony Curtis
No question about my first two, and then Curtis is the easy pick after his fantastic preseason. I’m a little torn about keeping a fourth tight end, but I think it’s the difference between another tight end or that second fullback. In this scenario, I think they’d definitely rather keep Deon Anderson than Adam Bergen or Rodney Hannah.
Flozell Adams, Marc Colombo, Pat McQuistan, Doug Free, James Marten
None of the backups would make it past waivers, so none of them will be cut. McQuistan doubles as a backup at left guard, so he’s much more than just a backup tackle. They didn’t spend the draft picks on Marten and Free just to lose them now, either.
Andre Gurode, Kyle Kosier, Leonard Davis, Cory Procter
After the two starters at guard, Procter is a backup at both guard and center and is an easy pick to make the team. I went ahead and included Andre Gurode here as he’s the only pure center I see making the roster. Thanks to the versatility of the inside starters, plus Procter and McQuistan, we can afford to go thin here with just nine offensive linemen. Nobody else on the roster stands out enough to be worth keeping.
Jason Ferguson, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Stephen Bowen
I’m doing the entire defensive line as one unit. While it seems strange to have no other pure defensive tackles behind Ferguson, reports are that Ratliff outplayed all of the young tackles at the nose position. That really helps us as we can now avoid keeping a guy like Remi Ayodele, who probably isn’t that great, just because we’re scared about depth at a position. You really maximize your talent level that way. I’m keeping Bowen over any of the tackles as he would be the least likely to clear waivers. Ayodele’s a practice squad guy.
Demarcus Ware, Greg Ellis, Anthony Spencer, Junior Glymph
Easy picks here. Glymph was probable to make the roster all along, and Ellis’ lingering injury only seals the deal. It will be interesting to see if Spencer gets to start over Carpenter or Burnett should Ellis not be ready, but that’s a conversation for another thread.
Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Bobby Carpenter, Kevin Burnett
Again, easy picks. Eight linebackers might seem thin for a 3-4 defense, but keep in mind that Oliver Hoyte can play LB in a pinch and you’ve got versatility with Carpenter and Burnett as inside/outside depth.
Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas
No doubt about the first two, and I never thought Glenn was in any real trouble. He has too much experience (and too much lack of it behind him) to be expendable. Newman’s injury definitely made sure Glenn wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, Newman’s injury is probably why Reeves can sleep easy now. I think Reeves may have been out of here to give a guy like Alan Ball a chance to develop as the sixth corner, but there’s no way they’ll part with him now that he might have to play some significant minutes. Either way, I think Thomas was making the team after a solid camp and preseason. Did you guys realize he’s a former third-round pick? That’s nuts.
Ken Hamlin, Pat Watkins, Courtney Brown
No doubts about Hamlin and Watkins, and you can consider Brown a third safety/sixth corner. I don’t think they’d want to risk Brown on waivers. That interception in the last preseason game may be just enough to have him on somebody’s radar. I think he’s definitely a guy they want to see next year after a full offseason with the team. Lots of potential.
Roy Williams, Keith Davis
Again, why waste time when it’s so obvious?
Martin Gramatica, Nick Folk, Matt McBriar, LP Ladouceur
Alright, McBriar and Ladouceur are easy. The big deal here is the two kickers. I wouldn’t be upset if they cut Gramatica and went with Folk. However, I don’t think they can bring themselves to it. After the kicking woes of last year, Jerry will want an insurance policy. The interesting thing will be who starts, and who serves as insurance. I imagine Folk will see kickoff and PAT duties, while they keep Gramatica fresh for field goals. I don’t like this, personally, and I’ll explain why in a separate post. But this is about predicting what Dallas will do, and not what I think they SHOULD do.
*** GREG ELLIS PUP EXCEPTION ***
If Greg Ellis is placed on the PUP list for the beginning of the regular season, then I think they'll hold onto John Saldi for linebacker depth.