Cool Football Picture
You got to love it. What a great pic! 
Video of David Boston?s Field Sobriety Test
David Boston
Bucs wide receiver David Boston was arrested on charges of driving under the influence on Thursday night in Pinellas County. According to a police report,
I’m not sure he failed the test, but he sure has a hard time understanding directions. The cop seemed really nervous about his decision once he saw Boston perform that well. At the beginning, he was being a smart ass. You judge for yourself.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO OF DAVID BOSTON’S FIELD SOBRIETY TEST
Instant Trivia: Final Preseason Version
Given that fewer than a third of the Cowboys’ starters played in the final preseason game against Minnesota, I chose to have an abbreviated version of Instant Trivia. Thus, we only have five questions. Please forgive.
For highlights of Thursday’s game, click on the image below:
Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster prediction
Here’s is my guesstimate on the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster. I might update it later today/tomorrow, I’m still unsure about a couple of moves. But for now, I’m going with this. My reasoning at each position is below the chart.
| Pos | Offense | Pos | Defense |
| QB | Tony Romo Brad Johnson | NT | Jason Ferguson Jay Ratliff |
| RB | Marion Barber Julius Jones Tyson Thompson | DE | Chris Canty Jason Hatcher Marcus Spears Stephen Bowen |
| FB | Oliver Hoyte Lousaka Polite | OLB | DeMarcus Ware Anthony Spencer Greg Ellis Junior Glymph |
| TE | Jason Witten Anthony Fasano Tony Curtis | ILB | Bradie James Akin Ayodele Bobby Carpenter (ILB/OLB) Kevin Burnett |
| WR | Terrell Owens Terry Glenn Patrick Crayton Sam Hurd Miles Austin Isaiah Stanback | CB | Terence Newman Anthony Henry Aaron Glenn Jacques Reeves Joey Thomas Quincy Butler |
| T | Flozell Adams Marc Colombo Doug Free James Marten | SS | Roy Williams Keith Davis Abram Elam |
| C | Andre Gurode Cory Procter | FS | Ken Hamlin Pat Watkins |
| G | Leonard Davis Kyle Kosier Pat McQuistan (T/G) | P/K/LS | Mat McBriar Nick Folk L.P. Ladouceur |
| Practice squad |
| Deon Anderson Matt Moore John Saldi Courtney Brown Alonzo Coleman Jerheme Urban Remi Ayodele Alan Ball |
QB – Matt Moore to the practice squad. The Cowboys only keep two because they need the roster spot
RB – Easy decision.
FB – Lousaka Polite gets the edge over Deon Anderson. The rookie goes to the PS, Polite is more experienced and had a little better preseason.
TE – Easy decision.
WR – Tough one, but Jerheme Urban’s one shining moment isn’t enough to hold onto a roster spot. Miles Austin can return kick-offs and looks better as a WR in the regular offense. Edge Austin. Yes, I thought about keeping seven WR’s, but I couldn’t make it work.
OL – Unfortunately, we have to keep James Marten, who hasn’t shown much yet. That puts us in a bind at tackle, were we have to keep five. Cory Procter is the first off the bench at either center or guard, and if they need another guard Pat McQuistan could do it in a pinch. For this reason, Joe Berger is released.
DL – Stephen Bowen could become a player, I want to keep him around and someone would probably grab him if he was released. For this reason, Remi Ayodele had to go. Jay Ratliff slides over as the #2 NT and DT on the nickel/dime sets. Remi goes to the practice squad.
OLB – I kept Junior Glymph even though his play has been falling off in the preseason. With the Greg Ellis injury, we need someone else there, especially with Bobby Carpenter playing different roles on defense.
ILB – Easy decision.
CB – Another very tough one that affected other parts of the roster. With Terence Newman’s injury and the lack of stellar backups, the Cowboys need options here so I kept six. Aaron Glenn and Jacques Reeves complete the top four to me, and my guess is Reeves would see action if Newman was out; either in the nickel or starting with Glenn playing the nickel. I kept Joey Thomas because he has athletic ability and he can make plays, but he has to refine his technique and play consistently. I kept Quincy Butler because he also has athletic ability and can be the backup punt returner to Patrick Crayton.
S – Abram Elam gets the nod over Courtney Brown based on special teams play and one year of experience. Brown goes to the PS.
K – Sorry Martin Gramatica, I needed the roster spot.
Turnovers, Miscues Lead to 23-14 Loss In Minnesota
The Vikings played their starters for the first series of Thursday’s game while the Cowboys rested all but six of theirs. The highlight of the evening for the Cowboys happened early in the first quarter when WR Jerheme Urban returned a Viking punt 95 yards for a TD giving Dallas an early 7-0 lead, but it went downhill for the Cowboys and Urban from there. He fumbled a short pass from Matt Moore deep in their own territory on their next offensive possession which led to Minnesota tying the game with a TD of their own. It was also only the first of 5 turnovers the Cowboys would have, most in the first half and most leading to Minnesota points.
QB Matt Moore had a good night, although he fumbled the ball twice, once on a snap and the second time during a sack. But he should still be high on the list to make it as the third-string QB, if Dallas does keep three QB’s. He also was 14 of 19 for 94-yards and a touchdown, the best numbers of the evening for any QB. Richard Bartel also got some playing time in the fourth quarter, and although he showed a strong arm, he fumbled once and had one pick late in the game.
Although not a great performance by the Cowboys as a whole, Coach Phillips did get to witness some players step up and try to make it over the bubble. TE Tony Curtis had a good night with 5 catches for 44 yards and a TD, and WR’s Jehreme Urban and Miles Austin had some nice receptions to make it interesting as to who will be the number six receiver on the team. OL Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo and Flozell Adams all got some extra playing time with Davis being named offensive player of the game.
As for the defense, it didn’t appear that any of the prospective back-up CB’s stood out in an attempt to fill in for the injured Terence Newman. Aaron Glenn did make a good play early in the game when he jumped an out pattern and knocked the ball away from the receiver, but other than that, nothing of particular merit. Phillips only stated that he felt they performed better than in the previous game against the Texans. LB/DE Anthony Spencer had another busy game, playing well into the third quarter and his counterpart Marcus Spears made a few appearances late in the game as well.
K Nick Folk had limited opportunities to impress anyone, with only 2 extra-points and a couple of kickoffs, none of which resulted in touchbacks.
”It was a game that we really needed to evaluate our personnel, especially some of our backup positions, because they may have to start for us or at least during the season have to fill in,” Coach Phillips said about the performance. “And some guys did a good job.”
Brad Johson’s return to Minnesota was somewhat satisfactory as he got the start and completed 5 of 7 for 44 yards. There were many purple No. 14 jerseys spotted in the stands in honor of the nine years Johnson had spent in Minnesota. He was relieved of duty early in the second quarter by Moore.
Another area of interest was on kick returns, where several players were given chances. As mentioned, Urban’s return was by far the best of them as Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin, Tyson Thompson, Quincy Butler and Nate Jones also got to return some kicks.
Now the Cowboys have until Saturday when they return to practice to decide on their 53-man roster, and after last night, I wouldn’t be too surprised by any cuts they should make.
Anonymous scout takes a shot at Tony Romo
ESPN is running a series on each NFL team. Over at the Cowboys review, Matt Mosley gives some love to Jay Ratliff as the best-kept secret on the team and to Terence Newman as the worst-kept secret on the team. But when they turn things over to an anonymous NFL scout for the cloak-and-dagger section, things get interesting.
The scout’s anonymous assessment of Tony Romo:
Tony Romo is the weakness. I’m not sure he’s the answer. He played well when he replaced Drew Bledsoe because teams didn’t know how to defend against him and because he was making simple throws. But during the last four to five weeks of the season, he couldn’t make the plays his team needed him to make. He looked like Rex Grossman, throwing off his back foot. They do have some weapons for him, and they’ve got a good defense, so his mistakes won’t be magnified until the playoffs.
Ouch! Rex Grossman? OK, I got mixed reviews for this assessment. I think he has a basic point right, when teams started game-planning for Romo his play came down to good from superior. But this assessment also makes it sound like Romo was the Keystone Kops out there. Yes, that’s a shot at Rex. Tony Romo might have been inconsistent down the stretch, but he wasn’t the weakness on the team and he won't be this year, either. The offensive line and the defense were fighting for that crown last year.
The floor is now open for Terry - or anyone else for that matter - to call the scout an idiot or moron.
Nothing left but cutting down the roster
I watched the game last night through a stream, but even though I could tell what was going on and the replays helped to isolate the play, it wasn’t the best way to watch and evaluate for the 53-man roster.
You can read about the game to some extent at the DMN, the DFW S-T and DC.com. The articles were mainly concerned with the guys who are trying to make the roster or players who might have to fill-in for the injured in the early part of the season. While informative, they really didn’t have any information beyond what I could already tell for myself.
That brings us to the cuts coming up - deadline 4 PM EST Saturday – and how we get down to the 53-man roster. I thought this was going to be an easier year predicting a 53-man roster, but as usual, those last few cuts are really hard to make. Getting down to 56 or so was easy, but slotting in the final five or six guys in those final few positions isn’t easy. I’m still working on it, and hope to have my predictions up soon. After all, the Cowboys could pull the trigger early like they did at the 75-man roster cuts. They could dump 15-18 guys today, and spend the night and tomorrow deciding on the last few.
So I’ll give you some hints as to where I’m going with my roster based on the most challenging positions to fill. But as always, until I put my final chart up, I reserve the right to change my mind.
3rd QB
Do the Cowboys keep a 3rd QB or forgo it in favor of a player at another spot on the roster? If they keep one, it’s got to be Matt Moore, but has he done enough? Right now, I’m leaning toward no. Moore looks to have some potential, but is far too green to be ready right now. He’s done some good things when given the chance, but he also has turned the ball over and looked like a rookie at other times.
Backup CB’s
This one weighs heavily on the minds of the organization and the fans. With the injury to Newman having an open-ended timetable for full-recovery, the Cowboys just aren’t sure how much Newman can play and how effective he will be. Contrary to Jerry Jones’ recent statements, I don’t think anything is assured about Newman. The Cowboys need to think about who will step up in the first weeks of the season, not just who can help them a year or two from now. It turns the position into a "what can you do for me today" instead of a "let’s keep him he has nice potential down the road" situation. I didn’t think any of the corners changed much in the evaluation last night.
6th or 7th WR
Generally I was set on six WR’s on the team, but I admit to considering seven now. The battle is between Jerheme Urban and Miles Austin. The Cowboys like Urban’s potential, they’ve been trying for weeks to get him a role on the team, but he just hadn’t done enough to warrant it. But last night he turned in a performance that makes the decision harder in some respects. A 96-yard punt return for a TD will get a coaching staff’s attention, but fielding a punt at the 4-yard line is not very smart, and later fumbling the ball on offense to set up the other team for a TD also hurts the cause. Miles Austin was very efficient in the passing game last night and had a couple of his best plays wiped-out by another player’s penalties. Both players are making this a tough decision.
There are some other battles going on, like at fullback, where decisions have to be made. There is also the kicking situation, covering for Greg Ellis’ injury, the number of offensive linemen and defensive linemen. All of these work together to create a 53-man roster. Have you started on your predictions? If not, get going and see how difficult it becomes at the last few positions. I promise to have my chart up later today.
Waiver Day
Watch the waiver wires. Teams have until Saturday to make their cuts but expect LOTS of action today.
As for last night’s game, don’t spend too much time on it. It was something both teams tried to endure. If they could have played a half and stopped they would have. The only reasons they did not were the paying fans in the stands.
I see no reason why the NFL can’t cut back to two or three preseason games. Every NFL team was ready to start the season a week ago.
The action was used to evaluate the few positions up for grabs. The final corner spots. The final receiver spots. Special teams slots. Here’s what I think we can take away from the Vikings game:
1. The kick coverage teams, especially the kickoff coverage teams, still need work.
2. Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones played much better than they did last week. Reeves in particular showed some aggressive play.
3. Joey Thomas on the other hand, had another bad week. The biggest Vikings pass play of the night came against him.
4. Courtney Brown is green, but he’s got wheels and is starting to wind up closer to the ball. He’s in a tough spot, however, because Abram Elam plays well on special teams and the Cowboys need every quality special teams hand they can get. Which one will be the 5th safety? Brown has the much better upside, but Elam is more valuable at this minute.
5. Miles Austin was getting a challenge from Jerheme Urban but Urban’s fumble of a short pass probably settled the issue in Austin’s favor.
6. Isaiah Stanback has miles to go before he’s even close to being ready. He blew a couple of routes last night that made his QBs look bad. He’ll stick however, because he’s got too much athletic ability.
7. Jason Hatcher started to show that power rush off the left edge I saw so much in the early days of camp. With Anthony Spencer struggling, the Cowboys need somebody to help Demarcus Ware.
8. Dallas will have a tough decision on Matt Moore. He needs lots of time to get the timing system down. He completed a lot of passes last night, but had an awful average yards per attempt, meaning he dinked and dunked a ton.
His passes down the field were off. He’s got a solid arm, so it may be that he hasn’t mastered the art of throwing to the necessary spot and letting the receiver catch it. That said, he was sloppy protecting the football at times. I’ve touted him for a while, but I can’t defend that.
10. Stephen Bowen got some reps at NT and was pushed back. He played much better at RE. The announcers claimed he’s drawn some attention. I wonder if he’s good enough to barter for a decent CB.
11. A very, very vanilla look last night, even more basic than the first preseason game. The game plan was thin and the Cowboys played a lot of basic zone defense, something you do not expect them to play against New York. The Cowboys gave the Giants staff nothing to take from this game’s tapes.
The game
I did not get to watch the last preseason game, but I was able to listen to the post game radio show. We all know the statistics, so I will not recap those on this blog post.
The only fact that I heard them talking about was the deceptive passing stats. The Cowboys Quarterbacks combined for 30 completions out of 39 passes. This sounds great. What a game? Then you find out the 30 completions went for 208 Yards. That is not very many yards per completion.
It also became fairly obvious that we only had one good drive the entire game. The boys were 4/15 on third down. Not very good. I’ve said this before, when you run that weak arm short passing game, you have to be right so many times in a row without messing up one play that it is hard to put points on the board. One penalty can cost you a 15 play drive.
Oh well, it was the last preseason game. Most of the guys playing will either be out of work or on another teams practice squad by the end of the weekend. I thank them for their service and wish them luck.
It is time for the season. I love this time of year!!!
Preseason Finale: Minnesota 23, Dallas 14
Very few of the Cowboys starters (six, in fact) took part in the preseason finale for the Cowboys, which resulted in a 23-14 loss to the Vikings. Five Dallas turnovers contributed to the loss, including four fumbles, and the Dallas defense displayed some very poor tackling. Fortunately, three of those fumbles were by backup quarterbacks Matt Moore and Richard Bartel, and few of those who missed tackles will be on the roster when Dallas faces the New York Giants on September 9.
Jerheme Urban had one of the most exciting returns I’ve seen in a long time, returning a punt 95 yards in the first quarter. [Let’s just forget that he might have stepped out of bounds.] Below is an animated version of the play.
Brad Sham: “Can you make the team with a play like this?”
I should note that Urban later fumbled, prompting Sham to say, “That play wasn’t really urban. It was suburban.” Bad.
Despite the loss, there were a few highlights:
*Punter Mat McBriar continues to amaze, booting two punts longer than 60 yards.
*Cornerback Aaron Glenn had a couple of good plays early in the game, which is a better sign than what he showed against Houston.
*Tight end Tony Curtis continues to impress, catching five passes for 44 yards. He runs some very nice routes as a receiver and has proven that he deserves a spot on the team.
*Moore looked pretty good and could develop into a solid second-stringer. His fumbles, though, certainly weren’t pretty.
*Guard Leonard Davis had a pretty good game and was featured on the local coverage.
We now have 10 days to wait for the Cowboys’ season opener against the Giants on Sunday, September 9 at Texas Stadium. More to come…