Cowboys Make Roster Move; Starters Miss Practice
The Cowboys made a minor roster move when they cut TE Scott Chandler and brought up TE Martin Rucker who had been on the practice squad. Rucker info:
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 255 | Age: 25
College: Missouri | Experience: 2nd season
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Bradie James, Keith Brooking and Marion Barber all missed practice today. Barber is the most likely not to play, opening the door for Tashard Choice.

Count offensive line coach Hudson Houck as a fan of the full pads practice.
``I don't think there's any question about it,'' Houck said. ``That's how it was here when Jimmy Johnson was coaching. That's how it is with a lot of teams. Some teams never take the pads off all week. We're not to that degree, but I thnk it does help.''
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Saw Rucker up close and personal at Lehigh, PA. Nothing too impressive there. Seemed like a nice guy though – Good to see him on an NFL roster.
So it begs the question
Why only now?
Did Winnie forbid Jason from going full pads when he was OC?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
well, that's certainly the implication
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
Don't you find it hard to believe he didn't ask for more "pads time" when the ship was sinking?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Are you assuming Wade was totally inflexible to the idea because it went against his grain?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
the ship sinks even faster
when assistant coaches start undermining the authority of the HC
In Romo we Trust
seriously dude? /facepalm
the title head coach in Dallas is meaningless & the ship is sinking because of it. Jimmy Johnson & Bill Parcells are the only coaches that had any kind of real authority since Jerry bought the team.
i think Jerry undermined the HC title when he hired the OC before the HC…i have no problem at all with Garrett as the next HC but if he has the same restrictions Wade had over the personnel then the problems not fixed in Dallas.
the definition of insanity should have a picture of Jerry Jones next to it. he has no idea what he is doing or that its wrong...
A-freakin'-men!!!
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
it wasnt just Winnie's philosophy not to hit in practice, escpecially later in the season.
Jerry, Wade & Garrett all endorsed it bc of all the season ending injuries that happened starting in TC. a lot of teams embraced the idea & chaged up there practice habits but its a risk that can come back to huant you.
i don’t think it was the pads in practice that finally got them to play 4 quarters, i bet it had more to do with the players getting there coach fired & realizing they’re on notice now. if Jerry was smart he should look at the tape from the 1st game up to the Packers game & decide who actually deserves a job, once a quitter, always a quitter. all those Wrs that staright blew up Jenkins will own him for the rest of his career & it might be different if it was just 1 or 2 plays but he got owned for entire games.
the definition of insanity should have a picture of Jerry Jones next to it. he has no idea what he is doing or that its wrong...
Hope Choice gets a lot of work.
When ask why Choice wasn’t getting playing time, Jerry said he needed to play better on special teams. I really don’t understand that line of thinking, it seems they are cutting of their nose to spite their face
Lock n Load
It would not suprise me one tiny little bit if Jerrah is holding the 'skins game against him
but now has to play him because of Barber’s injury.
- "If you know so much about women why are you here at the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?"
- "By choice! Man"
by fan since '65 on Dec 1, 2010 2:58 PM CST up reply actions
That means RW will sit too. his fumble cost Dallas the Saints game.
There is more to it than we know, maybe he’s just that bad of a blocker?
Lock n Load
One does not equal the other.
We have 3 RB’s and only need to play 2 (usually 1 on the field at a time). So Jerry can be biased against Choice if he wants to.
WR is more a decision of the play calling set (1, 2, or 3 WR set).
Besides, I base my comment on what Jerry said
Jerry said he needed to play better on special teams.I don’t buy that. It sounds like a cop out.
- "If you know so much about women why are you here at the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?"
- "By choice! Man"
by fan since '65 on Dec 1, 2010 4:19 PM CST up reply actions
This has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard from Jerrah Jones
First, to somehow connect blocking the gunner or covering a punt on special teams has jack sh*t to do with running the football is asinine.
In 08 when Jones and Barber were both down, Choice absolutely showed he could be the running back of the Dallas Cowboys, no ifs, ands, or buts.
For Jerrah to continue to not only insist on Barber when he’s clearly declining, which smacks of face saving from overpaying, but now to insult Choice and us fans by pretending that his reasoning has any basis in logic is astounding.
As recently as last spring I defended Jerrah Jones, but his offseason in which he ignored the glaring OL and safety problems, coupled with the barnstorming training camp and dragging out the Wade decision until the season was gone, has finally convinced me that Jerrah needs to stick with promoting fights and football games and leave the football decisions to others.
I know that is not likely, but as others have said, I will outlive him, so hope remains.
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
Jerry loves his guys. He is not cold eyed when it comes to personnel decisions
Lifetime Cowboys Fan from the Swamps of Jersey
My Beer Blog: http://tiltingsuds.wordpress.com/
True.
I guess when one awards a huge contract based on, what, one good solid season of play, one must delude oneself thereafter.
Which begs the question: why isn’t Barber held to the same standard as Choice? Why doesn’t Barber have to “perform better”?
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
Welcome aboard... better late than never I guess.
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
Well we all have our tipping points I guess.
What, was I supposed to give in when he fired Tom Landry?
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
To me it wasn't the firing of Tom,
it was the way it came down. He bought the team and had the right to hire any HC he wanted . Jerry should have shown more respect for the greatest coach in the history of pro football. He and Jimmy were seen in public having a big time after it was made public Jerry had bought the team. Jerry has said it was the worse mistake he has made as the owner of the Cowboys. I know people that still don’t like the Cowboys because of the way Jerry fired Tom.
Lock n Load
Oh, I'm with you
That whole deal was clumsily handled, a case of Jerry having more dollars than sense. And it was a serious gaffe as the new owner to be caught in public and have the deal go public before he’d told Tom.
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
Your right...
we all have our tipping point. Mine was when i realized Jerry s isn’t really interested in winning championship, which was clear to me when he didn’t fire wade phillips after the 2008 season. Many would think that was late in the game as well, but I was blinded by hope i guess.
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
The other guys on the PS have got to be busting their tails off by now.
They see several called up and want to be the next.
Why cut Chandler?
He has not been bad and this sounds like a lateral move.
- "If you know so much about women why are you here at the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?"
- "By choice! Man"
I can only guess they think Rucker is the better blocker
which will be important since MBIII is out.
They may want to put Rucker in in Marty B's spot in passing situations
And have Marty B block more since that’s what he really excels at. Maybe he’ll play some FB. I guess we’re going to find out.
I think we'll see him back on the PS somwtime tomorrow
by One.Cool.Customer on Dec 1, 2010 4:32 PM CST up reply actions
Yup
This is a move that is kinda like “eh”
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
lol
hopefully we’ll find the move more interesting come sunday
Chandler claimed by Buffalo
Guess they really, really needed a tight end or two.
by One.Cool.Customer on Dec 2, 2010 4:59 PM CST up reply actions
Rumor
Rumor is the Bills were about to sign Rucker off our Practice Squad, so we made the move to ensure he remains a Cowboy. I also spoke with someone who watched Rucker play in college and claims he was a BEAST. He is a great blocker and has sure hands, I think we’ll see him a few times this Sunday while we line up with Rucker and Bennett as TE’s with Witten in as FB (who then motions out to the slot on passing plays or used as a lead blocker in run plays.
Some info on Rucker
College Career at MU while splitting time with another big name TE Coffman
Rucker was named as a first-team All-American tight end for the 2007 season by the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press. Rucker finished his collegiate career with over 200 receptions, 2175 yards, and 18 touchdowns.
"Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable."
"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." - Tom Landry
Bill signed Scott Chandler too
Tit-for-tat I’d say. They tried to steal Rucker from our PS, so we made the move. Like many others, I too thought we would try to get Chandler on the PS, but Bills did manage to steal him.
Continue to hear they 'might' play....
nothing definitive yet. Besides, it’s not in the Colts nature to be honest on the injury front.
Turns out the Bills tried to add him to their team
so the Cowboys had to move him up to the 53.
Link: http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/12/1/1849283/bills-attempt-to-sign-martin-rucker
Yes
He’s free to sign wherever he wants, and could theoretically even refuse an offer to join a 53-man squad. Here’s how the economics work:
Players on the 8-man practice squad are paid $5,200 per week, or $88,400 over the full season if they keep their spot on the practice squad.
If a player is called up to the 53-man regular roster, either by his own team or by another team, he automatically signs a contract worth at least the $320,000 rookie minimum salary. He gets 1/17th of that as a check every week, as long as he keeps his roster spot. Also, three weeks of that contract are guaranteed (3/17th of $320,000 = $56,000), even if that player is released, waived or traded before the three weeks are up.
by One.Cool.Customer on Dec 2, 2010 2:23 AM CST up reply actions
so then which teams "never take the pads off"?
anyone know?
BooYah.
The Manster. I met him a couple of times. It was like shaking hands with a giant. He blocks sunlight in doorways. Nicest guy you can ever meet, but I would go out of my way to keep from pissing him off.
If I should die before I wake,
feed Jake.
Smart move.
Randy White could still kick the as**s of most of this team.
He was the first I heard of to study martial arts to work on his hand moves and he had no “quit” in him.
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
Manster's conditioning coach
Dr. Bob Ward came up with the idea of using martial arts training to improve hand work, and Randy excelled at it.
I heard Ward also asked the players to learn to juggle footballs for hand-eye coordination. Best player at juggling footballs? Ed “Too Tall” Jones.
Keep doing what you been doing, keep getting what you been getting.
Yep, "Too Tall" had good hands, too.
From all that training as a boxer, punching that speed bag. Plus I think he played basketball in college as well as football . . . very athletic.
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
Marion Barber
I won’t miss him at all… I hope last Thursday was the last time i’ll see him in a ’Boys uni
+1
yep
Keep doing what you been doing, keep getting what you been getting.
Agreed
He should have been shown the door when TO and his ilk were fired. Let him go to Cincy with them.
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach

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