Okay, well here's my final stab at the 53-man roster:

QB Tony Romo
QB Jon Kitna
QB Stephen McGee

RB Felix Jones
RB Demarco Murray
RB Phillip Tanner

TE Jason Witten
TE Martellus Bennett
TE John Phillips
TE Martin Rucker*

WR Miles Austin
WR Dez Bryant
WR Kevin Ogletree
WR Manny Johnson
WR Dwayne Harris*
WR Jesse Holley

OT Doug Free
OT Tyron Smith
OT Jermey Parnell

G Kyle Kosier
G Bill Nagy
G David Arkin
C/G Montrae Holland
C Phil Costa
C/G Kevin Kowalski

CB Terence Newman
CB Mike Jenkins
CB Orlando Scandrick
CB Alan Ball
CB Bryan McCann
CB Mario Butler*
CB Josh Thomas*

S Gerald Sensabaugh
S Abram Elam
S Barry Church
S Danny McCray

NT Jay Ratliff
NT Josh Brent
DE Marcus Spears
DE Kenyon Coleman
DE Jason Hatcher
NT/DE Sean Lissemore

OLB DeMarcus Ware
OLB Anthony Spencer
OLB Victor Butler
OLB Alex Albright

ILB Bradie James
ILB Keith Brooking
ILB Sean Lee
ILB Kenwin Cummings*

P Mat McBriar
K David Buehler*
LS L.P. LaDouceur

*Might make final roster, but in danger of being replaced once other teams make their cuts or a player returns from injury.

Non-football injury reserve list:

K Kai Forbath
ILB Bruce Carter

Injured reserve:

WR Raymond Radway

Practice Squad:

RB Lonyae Miller
ILB Clifton Geathers
TE/FB Jason Pociask
S Andrew Sendejo
S Akwasi Owusu-Ansah
ILB Orie Lemon
OT Sam Young

Random observations:

• Rob Ryan carries an assload of d-lineman, as many as nine. I have him at 6 here which is definitely suspect.
• I have 7 corners, also suspect, but Newman and Jenkins haven't practiced. Maybe Harris or Butler can clear waivers, but I doubt it. Alan Ball and Terence Newman could very well push two good prospects off the roster. I'd look for any reason to cut Ball, but he's our primary backup at CB. I think they go at least 6 deep.
• WR went deep too, like CB there are some decent special teamers and injury concerns going on
• Expect at least 3 players to not clear waivers btw
• I tried to make room for Choice going 4 RBs, but I just can't, he's gone
• No fullback, and there's a 4th TE until Bennett gets healthy. Not a lot of certainty here, but Jason Pociask could find his way to the active roster by the end of the year. Or, they sign a vet.
• I don't think we have a 4th OT on the roster, and don't think Sam Young is our guy
• Bruce Carter is definitely getting a spot unless he has to go to IR or something

I really dont see them getting rid of Choice. He is a proven back and although backs are a dime a dozen, he knows the system. Also with the new kickoff rules there should be less emphasis placed on his special teams play.

Did you see the projections on ESPN Dallas by Tim MacMahon?

Looking now. Todd Archer and Calvin Watkins have theirs up today too. http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/

Here's a chart listing a bunch of Dallas-area predictions (scroll down).

QB: All have Romo, Kitna, McGee

No-brainer.

RB: All have 4 RBs making it

I say 3; Choice to be traded or cut. Pass happy team the gives limited snaps to a #3... what would a 4th back do? He'd just be inactive.

FB: 3 say Pociask, 2 for Chapas, 1 for no FB

Close for me between Pociask and Rucker. Going with Rucker as a 4th TE and no FB while Bennett's out, but my notes above say Pociask gets a roster spot in 2011. If looks like he can play by game 1 or 2 I'll take Pociask.

TE: Witten, Bennett, Phillips

Agree, but Rucker is a possibility over a FB.

WR: Austin, Bryant, Ogletree, Holley in that order. 1 has us just 4 deep, the rest have Harris as the number 5.

I threw Manny in as a 6th. A bit of a stretch but can use him on teams and he's looked okay.

OL: Free, Nagy, Costa, Kosier, Smith, Holland, Arkin. After that, 5/6 keep Parnell, 4/6 Kowalski, 3/6 keep Young. One adds a 10th slot reserved for a FA tackle.

Agree with the first 7, I keep Parnell and Kowalski (especially with Costa and Kosier hurt right now). Sam Young hasn't looked good. I think the FA tackle idea is very possible since 3 players is a bit thin, but I didn't want to put TBA again.

DL: Spears, Hatcher, Ratliff, Brent, Lissemore. 5 take Coleman, 1 keeps Olshansky. One adds a 7th lineman, Geathers.

6 seems light but that's what I've got (with Coleman in place of Olshansky). Doesn't seem like Rob Ryan's way though.

OLB: Ware, Spencer, Albright, Butler

Easy one

ILB: James, Brooking, Lee. One guy leaves it at three, 4 add Cummings, 1 adds Lemon, and one adds them both.

I go 4 with Cummings, Lemon's dinged up. Won't matter once Carter is ready to play.

CB: Newman, Jenkins, Ball, Scandrick, McCann. 1 goes with that, 3 add Butler, 2 add Thomas.

I went 7 deep keeping Butler and Thomas who both deserve a spot. The two starters are "hoping" to get back for week 1. I don't like going this deep at corner but we can't let any good prospect walk at this position. We're losing 2 corners after this season, and there are big questions about Scandrick and Jenkins.

S: Sensabaugh, Elam, Church, McCray. 2 add AoA.

AoA just hasn't done anything to warrant keeping as the 5th guy and Ball can do that role. He's also not wowing anyone with returns, and we have some return guys too.

Teams: Ladouceur, McBriar.

Hard to beat.

Kicker: 4 of 6 have 2 kickers, Buehler making the cut 5/6. One guy starts just Rayner. I mean there's 4 names on there.

They all seem to suck but Buehler can kick off. Bailey might be the best shot for a 2nd guy. Raynor missed his last three so let's just scratch him off the list. Keep an eye out for a half-decent guy getting cut.

had to post this here. reppin' dat silver n blue! last friday on the lambeau field tour.

Apparently Jerry said on 105.3 that we're keeping 4 backs and 7 lineman.

Jerry has such a big ****ing mouth. I don't hate him like most, but man I wish he'd let Jason at least APPEAR to run the team. He's just been running around spreading **** for weeks now. He comes on those pregame shoes with this **** eating grin on his face and just starts letting out anything they ask.

I feel like the Cowboys have a weird dynamic on the team right now. We have a whole lot of fringe-y young talent, and have no idea who is actually going to pan out and who isn't. As much as I hate the idea of us going young and possibly sacrificing a win or two this year, I would love to have some actual young talent be developed internally.

Can someone explain to me why we need Buehler? Why do we need the long kickoffs? Can we really not find someone to kick touchbacks from 5 yards closer?!!? I'm just flabbergasted that we've now sucked at kicker for several years and done absolutely nothing to fix it. Overpay for a ****ing kicker, trade a 7th rounder to someone for one, I don't give a ****. But we need someone reliable who can make some damn kicks. We play in a ****ing dome for christ sake.

And we take bring back someone other than Buehler, how can it possibly be Rayner? He missed TWO kicks two nights ago!

Rayner's 0 for his last 3, there's no way he makes it, and none of these guys other than Buehler can kick off for ****. Seems like they're all struggling with field goals but if they go with 2 Bailey is probably it. They have their eye on Forbath too (on the PUP list) so we'll have to see what happens when he's ready to play. But for the record I hate the idea of 2 kickers, I'd settle for Buehler if he can make 75% FGs again. Maybe it's his injury.

Going with a 4th back and a 2nd kicker is a band-aid. It's not like Choice will return or we'll carry 2 kickers indefinitely. Meanwhile 2 fringe players get edged out. That Kowalski kid at center, Geathers on the d-line, Butler or Thomas at corner... they've all shown something, but these are the types of players that could get bumped to make room for an inactive RB or 2nd kicker.

The idea of wasting a roster spot with two kickers (given the new kick-off rule) is totally absurd.

i keep thinking some day people will realize the reason the cowboys never meet expectations is jerry jones. if he cared only half as much about employing a cowboys gm who was competent as he does about his own personal celebrity and "kick-ass" lifestyle the cowboys would have been in the super bowl at least once in the past 5 years. every year he under delivers and they under achieve.

it sucks to think with his kinda money he probably won't die off for several more years. maybe even 20-25 more years of this futility. sigh

how does Ogletree get arrested for not paying speeding tickets? hes a ****ing nfl player!

So if they're going 7 deep on the d-line and Igor is Igone then Geathers figures to be on. If the 2 kickers and 4 RB deal is happening then I imagine we're going 5 deep at corner and WR.

Sure hope a couple of those guys can clear waivers. If one of those corners or Kowalski get picked up by someone else I'm going to be a little tilted. And Choice better play his ass off if he doesn't get traded.

Remember though most veteran players have the full year salary guaranteed if they're on the 53 during the first week, that will affect things a little bit for this team no question. You'll definitely see some changes after the Jets game besides what they do here after the cuts.

It's not like he pulled a Kobe or something, but yeah what is that all about. It's dumb **** like this GMs tend to remember if he has another uneventful year and winds up in a close battle for a roster spot next time around.

i mean he went to UVA, he cant be THAT stupid

you have to have a lot of unpaid speeding tickets to have a warrant for your arrest

CUT:

QB Tom Brandstater
RB Lonyae Miller
FB Shaun Chapas
FB Chris Gronkowski
FB Jason Pociask
FB Isaiah Greenhouse
WR Lyle Leong
WR Manuel Johnson
WR Tysson Poots
WR Teddy Williams
G Pepa Letuli
DE Igor Olshansky
DE Jimmy Saddler-McQueen
LB Brandon Williams
LB Mike Balogun
LB Kenwin Cummings
LB Orie Lemon
S Akwasi Owusu-Ansah
S Andrew Sendejo
S Colin Zych
CB Mario Butler
CB Chris Randle
CB Josh Thomas
K Shayne Graham
K Dave Rayner
P Chris Jones

Well at least I got Rucker right. 4 TEs and no FBs for now. Still think Choice is trade bait, there's got to be somebody out there needing a young runner who has something we need. And we need a lot.

My guess is they're pouring through the cuts looking for depth at CB, OT, and probably FB & K.

Joselio Hanson got cut by the Eagles, there's a cheap slot corner worth a little something. With Thomas cut and eyes on promoting Scandrick he would be a pretty good fit.

Pissed about two kickers.
Hopeful Butler and Thomas make it to practice squad.
Pretty disappointed that AOA apparently sucks as bad as he's looked.
Not much else to say really.

No you don't. All you have to do is just never go to the courthouse to check in. I've had a warrant out for my arrest several times just because I got lazy and forgot about tickets for registration and other non important stuff. Although I'll admit, I never really thought they'd take you to jail for those sorts of things. Seems like a waste of a police officers time.

They don't exactly come looking for you, but this means he had to get pulled over again just to get arrested.

I've known a couple of people who wound up with suspended licenses for letting that go too long. Those things can snowball easy. I mean I take the 55 mph Expressway doing 70 or more like the next guy, but if you get papered you have to knock that out. If money's tight, drive slower.

But Ogletree, jfc man. Write your $100 checks and carry on. Envelope, stamp, mailbox, done. Guy was active 6 games last year and caught 3 passes. Dude you had plenty of free time

hahahahaha!

this seems like the kind of thing if he had even bothered to mention it someone in the front office. some low level intern they find an attorney to get it dismissed for him.

Josh,

I think I actually sorta disagree. Obviously I don't think Jerry helps, and he seems to go through weird phases where he's really selfish with the media and what not. But it's so unfair to just look at the Cowboys not having a super bowl recently and pinning it all on Jerry. To me, that's kind of like getting mad at the POTUS for every single thing that happens in the government.

I would love to know how much totalitarian power he actually has in some decisions. Like...when we made the RW11 trade. WTF was going on there? Did the scouts say nothing? Did the scouts tell him RW11 sucks and Jerry went over their heads? Or are the scouts just as awful as he is at evaluating talent?

Seems same questions could be said for a lot of our draft picks that have totally busted over the years, and I just don't know how to interpret it really. I have a really tough time believing that if our scouts/coaches told Jerry they didn't like a MASSIVE trade like the RW11 deal that he'd just run off and do it anyway. Seems like we'd be way closer to the Raiders if that were the case.


I think my personal opinion is that Jerry is just an idea guy. I think he comes to coaches/staff constantly with crazy ass ideas and tries to make every single one of them happen. Occasionally he gets a little too far before someone stops him and we make bad deals or draft these "super athletes" with no plan of where the frack they are going to play.

To me the biggest problem with Jerry is cap management, he just isn't good at it. He has no problem giving a 33-year-old Flozell Adams a 6-year extension, or signing TO to an extension after getting all the hints in the world he'd be a problem, or continually restructuring good deals into bad ones and making future cap burdens. Even given the gift of an uncapped year and a 1-7 record midseason, he wouldn't drop any dead weight during the year.

Problem is he's always eating a lot of dead money, and we're perpetually hamstrung every year because of it. The Patriots and to some extent the Eagles do the exact opposite and have almost a permanent advantage, where we're having to sign mediocre free agents instead of the top talent in the market.

All those little schemes he devises are problematic too. "This draft we're looking to churn the bottom of our roster and focus on special teams." What? Yeah that's silly too, but first and foremost he needs to get his books right so we can level the playing field year in and out. Sometimes that means you let a player go instead of overpaying him with a new deal, that's just the way of things with a cap.

Montrae Holland cut.

FB Tony Fiammetta claimed off waivers & G Derrick Dockery they've come to terms with for a 1-year deal. Don't know much about Dockery but he's 30 and has a lot of starting experience, and since Holland was paid a $500k bonus and they still let him go they must have been unhappy with him and see Dockery as an upgrade. Fiammetta is a lead-blocker type released by Carolina over concussion issues. Another cut is coming to make room.

Sendejo, Gronkowski and 5th-rounder Josh Thomas did not clear waivers and were signed by other teams. They better be right on Thomas.


Cowboys 2011 Practice Squad Signings:

Teddy Williams WR
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah S
Andre Holmes WR
Mario Butler CB
Shaun Chapas FB
Orie Lemon, LB
Isaiah Greenhouse FB/ILB

8th spot may not be filled until alter this week. Hey but look we got a receiver named Andre, so you know he's going to be awesome later

Looks like we're going to sign Laurent Robinson after game 1. Sounds like a reasonable gamble. He's still young, more talented than our 4/5 receivers now.

I wonder whose spot he will take.

A kicker's I hope.

Not too excited about Robinson. He couldn't make a Chargers roster with 6 WR slots and two practice squad players beat him out. Injury history too.