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I’ll go ahead and put this out there right now. Jason Hatcher is YOUR starting defensive end against the Giants and for the rest of the year, as a matter of fact. I’ve seen enough of what Spears brings, and nothing has changed. The new scheme has helped Bradie James back into his stellar self again, but the results are far from the same for Marcus Spears. Hatcher on the other hand, has continued to improve, he was good last year, and looks even better this year. You want to see a steady progression, and Hatcher has surpassed Spears in all phases. Hatcher is much more explosive off the line, aggressive, and has a high motor that doesn’t stop. Time to unleash hell upon Eli Manning. Its Hatcher time baby!

Alright, that was a lame preseason game, Cowboys lose a meaningless game 23-14; however, we came out of the game without any major injuries. Expect the cuts and practice squad to come swiftly as we are now in full regular season mode now.

BOX SCORE

It’s here everyone, the moment we have all been waiting for. The regular season is here, first game is on Thursday night on NBC, followed by the rest of the weekend games on Sunday, and the Cowboys headline Sunday Night Football in America on NBC as we host the NY Giants.

Major questions remain:

Will shutdown CB Terence Newman play?

Will deep threat WR Terry Glenn play?

Will Greg Ellis ever play this year, or go on IR?

I’ll take a closer look as we finalize the roster in a few days.

Much has been said about the 2-Back system in the NFL, some have called it a gimmick, and some call it a phase. But when you look at the teams in playoffs last year, a majority of them ran an effective 2-Back system. The Cowboys are on the forefront with perhaps the best 2-Back attack going into the 2007 season, the Saints and Chargers are the other two premium running attacks next to the Cowboys.

The major misconception amongst fans and outsiders is that we run a single running back attack, where we have a clear #1 starting running back that carries the load. This is not the case in Dallas, neither previous Coach Parcells, nor, current Coach Phillips announce the starting running back because there is no starting running back, its a shared load. There’s no camp battle, its a lethal 1-2 punch to the nose with Julius and Marion providing the knockout runs.

“It used to be you had one running back,” coach Wade Phillips said. “Now it’s changed where a lot of teams have been able to utilize two good backs. That’s the situation I’ve walked into and I think it’s a good situation.”

Phillips came into this 2-Back system, he knew it would be effective, because he saw it, and practiced against it while with the Chargers. Phillips likes the system and doesn’t appear close to abandoning it anytime soon. Phillips likes the dynamic that both runners bring to the table:

“I think they’re a good combination in that one of them is smaller, faster and one of them is bigger, stronger,” Phillips said. “What I’ve noticed already with both of them is they have real good vision. That’s what you need in a running back.

“Julius is kind of a slasher, movement guy, and Marion kind of skips into it and goes. They’re a little different styles, certainly they’re different body types, but they both have good vision. And they both catch the ball. So we’re going to try to utilize both of them.”

Patrick Crayton calls Marion Barber III, our Mini-Bus, in reference to former Steelers RB, Jerome Bettis. Crayton also gives us his thoughts on the 2-back system in Dallas:

“They’re not selfish like that,” he said. “There’s no selfishness on this team. They know that each one of them complements the other.

“They’re a two-headed monster.”

I got together with NFL Draft Guru, Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountDown.com and conducted a brief Q&A in regards to the 2008 draft class. Its never too early to look at the upcoming prospects; furthermore, I thought it would be a great idea to get a jumpstart and take a look at areas of concern for the Cowboys. In light of the recent events surrounding Newman’s injury, its clear that the Cowboys are not running a quality core group of cornerbacks, and with Newman out this just underlines our inadequacies. I look for the Cowboys to go CB in 2008, an area where we’re paper thin with quality. Here’s my 5 question session with Mr. Wright:

1. There’s no secret the Cowboys are thin at cornerback, We have Terence Newman, and a capable Anthony Henry. After the two starters, we have nothing solid. Its even debatable whether or not Henry is the guy opposite Newman next year and beyond. When you think of a complete CB senior/junior that will be in the draft, who’s the first player that comes to mind? Tell me why we should keep an eye on this player. And who else are some top CBs you really like for 2008?

Well, there’s good news and bad news for teams in the market for a cornerback in 2008. The bad news is that the senior crop looks real weak at this point and there really isn’t a consensus first rounder at the position right now, although Antoine Cason or Terrell Thomas certainly have a legitimate shot. The good news is that help could be on the way thanks to some excellent underclassmen. Keep in mind that it’s still very early but for my money the top guy is Malcolm Jenkins of Ohio St., who has an ideal blend of size (6-1, 200) and speed (4.45). You also can’t underestimate that program pedigree because the Buckeyes have produced first round picks like Antoine Winfield, Ahmed Plummer, Nate Clements, Chris Gamble in recent years. A couple of other guys who I like in the senior class are Zack Bowman of Nebraska, who has 1st round ability if healthy, and Tracy Porter of Indiana, who is very underrated right now. I think the Cowboys will definitely be looking for help at corner sooner rather than later though with Anthony Henry eventually moving to safety.

2. Wide Receiver is another position that could use an upgrade. How deep will the 2008 WR class be? and who’s going to be the complete top WR that the Cowboys could be scouting?

This isn’t a great crop of seniors and there may not be a sure-fire first rounder right now so the top wideout prospects may come from the junior class. Topping that list is DeSean Jackson of Cal, who is a better prospect than Ted Ginn was as both a receiver as well as a return man. Mario Manningham of Michigan could also be in the first round mix if he comes out. As for the seniors, L.S.U.’s Early Doucet will finally get a chance to break out now that Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis are in the NFL while Limas Sweed of Texas and Adarius Bowman of Oklahoma St. will need to answer questions about their speed to get into the first frame.

3. Defensive End could very well be another position that the Cowboys could be looking at upgrading if Marcus Spears and Chris Canty have another average year. Is their a definitive DE that will be the first “DE” taken, and who are some other DE to look out for in 2008?

Chris Long of Virginia plays in a 3-4 defense for the Cavs and has proven he can get the job done so he’d probably be the #1 guy. Kendall Langford of Hampton is one of the top sleepers available and he has the type of size you look for at 6-6 and 294lbs. From the underclassmen ranks look out for Tyson Jackson of L.S.U.

4. The Defensive Tackle position is another roster weakness, and one injury away from disaster. Who is the man at defensive tackle to watch for in 2008? and who else would be a good match in the 3-4 scheme?

Well, the top defensive tackle is going to be Glenn Dorsey of L.S.U. but he is more of a one-gap / 3-technique type so he wouldn’t be a good fit. The next guy for me would be Frank Okam of Texas, who has all the physical tools you look for and could go very high if he can bounce back from an injury-riddled junior campaign. After that the pickings are slim if you’re looking for a 3-4 nose tackle, although Red Bryant of Texas A&M and B.J. Raji would probably be the next two on my board at this point.

5. Depending on how the season goes, Julius Jones may not be a Cowboy in 2008, so this being said, are there any good running backs that would be a good compliment to Marion Barber in the backfield?

As the old saying goes if you have a lot you usually have none and Dallas continuing to go with the two-headed monster of Julius Jones and Marion Barber tells me that they don’t think they have a true #1 running back in either of them. The senior class is weak but if the top underclassmen come out this could be one of the strongest crops of running backs we have seen in years. Topping that list is Darren McFadden of Arkansas and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Jerry Jones go all out in an effort to land his fellow Hog. Now that won’t be easy to do because McFadden will go very early if he comes out but Dallas will have two first round picks and if the selection they receive from Cleveland ends up being pretty high then they just might have the ammo to get a deal done. I also think Steve Slaton of West Virginia would be a nice fit as a compliment to Barber and he’d give the Cowboys running game a big play dimension that they lack. Keep an eye on Jonathan Stewart of Oregon too because his stock could soar if he can stay healthy this year.

I wrote about Ohio State’s Malcom Jenkins a few posts ago, as a possible pickup by Phillips based on his previous drafts. Phillips likes the Ohio State DB program, and could go there in 2008. I’m intrigued by the Chris Long anaylsis as well. Wright makes a good point by bringing up Long’s experience in the 3-4, so he’d be more than capable of jumping right into the Phillips 3-4. Great stuff.

Special Thanks to Scott, great job, and thanks for giving us insight for the 2008 prospects. I’m sure we’ll all be keeping a close eye on these guys.

I wasn’t surprised by the first round of cuts today; however, I hope Jackie Battle can return via the practice squad, assuming he can recover from the ankle injury. After watching training camp and the first three preseason games, the 53-man roster is becoming clearer. Here’s my latest roster projections:

QB (2): Tony Romo, Brad Johnson
RB (3): Julius Jones, Marion Barber 3, Tyson Thompson

FB (2): Oliver Hoyte, Deon Anderson

WR (6): Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin

TE (3): Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Tony Curtis

OL (9): Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, Pat McQuistan, James Marten, Doug Free, Cory Procter

Offense (25)

DL (4): Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears

NT (2): Jason Ferguson, Remi Ayodele

LB (8): DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Greg Ellis, Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer, Kevin Burnett, Junior Glymph

CB (6): Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler
FS (3): Ken Hamlin, Patrick Watkins, Courtney Brown

SS (2): Roy Williams, Keith Davis

ST (3): Nick Folk, Mat McBriar, L.P. Ladouceur

Defense (28)

With injuries and quality depth issues, I see the Cowboys carrying just (2) QBs again this season. Matt Moore has show his ability, and should be able to run the scout team on the practice squad, he’ll continue to work with Garrett, and that will only make him a better prospect for 2008. Deon Anderson makes the team with his big hits, blocking and special teams play. Miles Austin makes the team as a return specialist, but would not be surprised if he does not make the Sept. 1st cuts. Tony Curtis has come a long way, he’s had a strong camp and solid preseason, so he’s probably in. No big surprises on the Offensive Line. Junior Glymph continues to play well and has drawn praise from Phillips several times, so he’ll be solid in rotation. Cornerbacks is where we could see some surprises. Right now I have Aaron Glenn at #3, but he hasn’t really separated himself from the other backups at all, so he’s on the bubble with the rest of the guys. If we can mount a trade to add someone solid at cornerback, this will give us some relief. The cornerbacks are not getting any props from the staff at this point, and its a concern as we draw closer to the game opener against the Giants. Courtney Brown makes the team with his good play, and his versatility as a safety and cornerback experience.

Cowboys have announced player cuts, and an injury settlement with Jackie Battle.

Cowboys | Stanley released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:24:20 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released DL Montavious Stanley.

Cowboys | Richardson released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:23:53 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released WR Jamel Richardson.

Cowboys | Rabb released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:23:03 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released WR Jerard Rabb.

Cowboys | Obomese released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:20:23 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released LB Alex Obomese.

Cowboys | Hilliard released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:16:39 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released OT Jason Hilliard.

Cowboys | Harrington released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:15:38 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released LB Dedrick Harrington.

Cowboys | Dagunduro released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:14:23 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released DL Ola Dagunduro.

Cowboys | Rector released
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:11:37 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released injured WR Jamaica Rector (knee).

Cowboys | Team reaches agreement with Battle
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:09:32 -0700

The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have reached an injury settlement with RB Jackie Battle (ankle). He is not longer on the team’s roster.

Can Kevin Burnett go one season without an injury. There were rumors the Cowboys would be looking at moving a LB for a CB, and I’m hoping this comes true. Please take the injury prone Burnett off our hands and get us a capable cornerback. The latest news from Cowboys camp is not good, Newman has a tear in his heel, and says the injury will bother him all year. Not good, not good at all! In addition to that, we have Burnett being injured again, and will require surgery. Ellis will not be ready, and could go on PUP for 6 weeks, and in all honesty, Spencer and Carpenter have just been average at OLB. I’m not hitting the panic button yet, but it’s looming.
DMN on Burnett:

LB Kevin Burnett said Saturday night that he didn’t think his ankle injury was serious, but X-rays showed bone chips. He’ll have an operation tomorrow, and the plan is for him to be ready to go against the Giants.

Other injury news:

OLB Greg Ellis, who has been day-to-day for a month, is visiting Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to get a second opinion. “We think he’s pretty close [to playing],” Wade Phillips said. “We’d like to get a second opinion for both parties, so he’ll be comfortable.”

K Martin Gramatica has a slight pull in his right hamstring. Phillips wasn’t sure whether Gramatica would kick against the Vikings.

LT Doug Free and WR Terry Glenn, both recovering from knee injuries, are both expected to practice Saturday.

Phillips said he thought Terence Newman will “be fine.” By that, I assume Phillips meant Newman wouldn’t miss any regular season action.

Gramatica is all but assured to be cut here soon, the kicking battle was close upto about two weeks ago, and then this last weekend, Gramatica missed a chipshot. Its’ Folk time.

And on Newman’s latest injury news:

CB Terence Newman said he doesn’t have plantar fasciitis after all. He has a tear in his plantar fascia near his right heel.

“I think it’s something that’s probably going to be bothering me for the whole year,” Newman said. “At the same time, there’s ways that we can deal with it that will limit the pain that I have. Right now, the problem that I have is I can’t plant on it. There’s no way that I can plant on my foot.

“We can do things that can help me out during a game – maybe freeze it a little bit, I don’t know. It would have been better if I completely tore the whole thing, I think, than just to tear half of it.

Newman said the Cowboys’ trainers have told him this is an extremely rare injury. Doctors they discussed it with could only think of two cases they’d seen. That makes it very tough to predict a timeframe for his recovery.

“I’m going to try to be ready for the opener,” he said. “That’s the target date. I don’t think I’m going to miss the opener, one way or the other. If I’m ready, I’m playing. If I’m not ready, I’m playing.”

Newman sounds optimistic enough, unfortunately, I don’t share this optimism. Sure, he says he can play, but how effective would he be, we won’t know until the time arrives. If anything, a Newman at 75% is still better than our backup CBs, that looked like crap against the Texans. Newman’s heel could be our Achilles heel this year, and just all the more the reason for us to get a solid #2CB, and reload the backup CBs, we are paper thin.

Interesting little tidbit from the DMN Blog gives us this to read:

Aaron Glenn said he thinks the Cowboys have a good group of cornerbacks. Wade Phillips disagreed after watching Glenn, Jacques Reeves and Alan Ball get beat for touchdowns tonight.

“We played a lot [of guys] at corner to see who would do something,” Phillips said, “and we didn’t see anything.”

Phillips said this week that he was concerned about the lack of quality depth at cornerback. Consider it a huge problem if Terence Newman’s plantar faciitis doesn’t get better.

The Cowboys attempted to address the issue earlier this month. They inquired about trading for Dante Wesley, but the Bears opted to send him to New England for a conditional seventh-rounder.

And some of you want Darren MacFadden…forget about it, we have bigger issues at hand. Phillips is going to upgrade the CB position in the next draft, you can write that down, put it your calender as an event reminder, or whatever you want. Besides Terence Newman, we don’t really have a good #2CB. We have Henry, he’s capable, but nothing spectacular at all, the truth is that we are really thin on quality corners on this team. Get use to it. Not only will MacFadden not be drafted by us, we may not have a top 5 pick anyway, by the way the Quinn & Co. have been playing in Cleveland.

Man, this article is right on the money, and to think Phillips wanted to trade for a CB earlier on, this is news to me. It just goes to show that Phillips is thinking CB is an issue for us.

If you call this a dress rehearsal game, then we’re in trouble. What a complete disaster from beginning to the end. The offense was putrid, and the defense looked unenthused. Lack of discipline just reared its ugly head in this game. What happened tonight was an embarrassment, and a let down, but its good to bring the Cowboys down to earth after seeming to be unstoppable in our last two outings. There’s just a whole litany of things that went wrong tonight. A good ass whipping is just what the doctor ordered.

Hopefully lessons will be learned, and the team can refocus on the task at hand, a Super Bowl.

Who was on?

On the positive side, Bradie James is indeed back. He has played well throughout the preseason, and looked outstanding tonight. He probably get’s a gameball for all his efforts. James has really come on in this new defensive scheme.

As predicted, Sam Hurd got a lot of reps in tonight, and he continues to look good as a possession receiver.

Who was off? This list could go on forever, so I’ll keep it nice and concise:

Special Teams continues to suffer. I’m not quite sure Bruce Read is getting the job done here, and I just knew that the Texans were going to tear it up on special teams - and they did. I’m baffled in this area, what needs to be done? Is it player personnel or coaching. Fix it, or we’re going to be putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on the defense.

The Defense was way off tonight, sloppy tackling, no swarming to the ball. I mean this unit was a complete opposite of what we’ve seen the last two weeks. When I saw them come off the field, the defense looked lifeless, and unenthused, very disappointing.

The Offensive Line did not get it done at all. Colombo had problems blocking most of the night, and Mario Williams looked like a rejuvenated, Pro Bowl type player tonight. Gurode had issues as well. With the offensive line playing like crap the Texans were in the backfield all day, and stuffed Julius and Barber. The Texans were clearly getting after the Cowboys in ALL aspects of the game, and the better team won tonight. Stupid penalties from Davis and Adams highlighted the offensive line’s woes tonight.

Overall, the team did not look energized, no confidence, no anything, they just showed up and made an appearance. Whether this is a result of loss of focus or discipline will be debated throughout the week.

As for the Texans, these guys are going to be a team to be reckoned with, and I’m not just saying this because they whipped us. Living in the Houston area, I’ve been watching their games, and they are playing well. Their first round pick, Omobi Okoye has great speed, and is going to be a menace up the middle. DeMeco Ryans is still the man at LB. And what can you say about their WR rookie, Jacoby Jones. I highlighted him in my post earlier in the week, and sure enough, this guy went the distance on their first possession. He made a nice catch in the endzone too. I think the Texans found their #2 WR for now and the future. You gotta give the Texans some props, they looked good in my opinion, and they could be on their way up starting this year.
The final preseason game is just five days away when we play the Vikings. Let’s hope we can return to form.

BOX SCORE

The Battle for Texas, The Governor’s Cup is tonight. I’ll be at Reliant Stadium tonight, deep in the heart of the enemy. I’m sure the crowd will be electrified as the game should be at full capacity. Houston hates the Cowboys, and Cowboys fans can’t stand Texans fans either. It should be a great time. Let’s hope the Cowboys can bring home another victory, but more importantly, return home injury free. Be sure to join our fan packed message boards to discuss the action as it happens.
Kickoff: 7PM (CST), Reliant Stadium, Local CBS Markets

NFL Network Replay: Sunday, 7AM (CST)

NFL.com Live Gamecenter: NFL Gameday Graphical Feed

Streaming Audio Feed:

http://radio.woai.com/pages/listen.html
http://www.theticket.com
http://www.kicks99.net/
http://www.khoy.org

Streaming Video Feed:

http://streamednfl.blogspot.com/ (sopcast player required, get it HERE)

Here’s a small preview of the upcoming game:

HOUSTON — (AP) Wade Phillips was an assistant with the Houston Oilers when he met Gary Kubiak, then a high school student and ball boy for the team.

Thirty years later the two, who are now close friends, will meet again when Kubiak and the Houston Texans host the Phillips-led Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night in preseason action.

The coaches have faced each other plenty of times when Kubiak was Denver’s offensive coordinator, but this will be the first meeting between the two as head coaches.

“It’s a big deal for us as far a preseason game, being the third one,” Phillips said. “You want to do well out there, but I think there will be a big crowd. I think they’ll be into it. That will help their team some, as far as motivation, and I want to see how my team reacts with that.”

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Phillips, who played at the University of Houston and began his coaching career with the Oilers under his father, Bum… (more)