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Who's up and who's down after Vikings game + 53 man projection PART 3

This will be my third attempt at projecting our final 53 man roster that will be decided on September 3rd. I have done one after every preseason game and will also look at who hurt and helped their case after Saturday night's 23-117 victory against the Vikings. I will use NFL.com's90 man roster for reference.

The Locks

These are players who are pretty much guaranteed to survive the final cut. There aren't many changes from week to week for the locks but I will explain my changes.

QB- Tony Romo, Jon Kitna, Stephen Mcgee

Note- Romo had his best game of the preseason going 15/20 for 141 yards and a 94 passer rating. No late game heroics were needed for Mcgee to win this game but he still looked good like he has all preseason.

RB- Felix Jones, Demarco Murray

Note- We finally saw Demarco Murray suit up and take the field as a Cowboys and he did not disappoint. He had 7 carries for 32 yards and he saw most of his action behind the second unit offensive line. He looked like a Felix clone out there, quick and explosive. Felix himself impressed me again not only running the ball but catching and blocking as well.

WR- Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree

Note- Austin was held out of the Vikings game and we probably won't see him until the opener and lets all hope he is fully recovered by then. Ogletreelookedsolidagain last night, he is getting closer and closer to locking down that 3rd receiver spot with his excellent route running. He should of had a touchdown catch from Romo if only he had kept his feet in bounds but that was his only negative play all night. Dez looked unstoppable in the first half and him and Tony were connecting like they were in mid season form. Hopefully they will continue this play into the season and we see a lot of Tony to Dez connections.

TE- Jason Witten, John Phillips

- Bennett- Bennett's roster spot probably isn't in jeopardy even with his costly drop last night but he did suffer a high ankle sprain and had to leave the game. He could miss 3-4 weeks and maybe more. It is possible Bennett starts the season on the PUP.

OT- Tyron Smith, Doug Free

Note- Tron looked human last night for the first time this preseason. He is struggling with inside moves and gave up a sack on Tony because of it. I thought Free did an excellent job containing the extremely intimidating Jared Allen except for one play were Allen beat him bad and got to Romo for a sack.

OG- Kyle Kosier

Note- Kosier's veteran prescience was very important on a line that boasted 3 rookies last night. The line did very well protecting Romo and leading the way for another strong performance by Felix and Kosierwas a big part.

C- Phil Costa

- Gurode- As we all know Gurode was held out of the game last night and Jerry called it a "business decision". This could mean he is traded, cut, or just simply asked to take a pay cut. It is starting to look like we could see Gurode in a different teams uniform on opening day.

UPDATE- GURODE HAS BEEN CUT BY THE DALLAS COWBOYS DUE TO CAP CONCERNS

DE- Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Kenyon Coleman

Note- Hatcher dropped back into coverage on one play and tipped a ball that lead to a Gerald Sensabaugh interception. Turnovers are going to be very important to our defense's success this year and its good to see Hatcher contributing after missing the Chargers game. Coleman hasn't really stood out to me but I know he is a solid run stopper and knows RR's system well so he will be here. Spears was missed last night as Peterson gashed us for big runs all through the first half and it would've helped to have our best run stopper on the field.

NT- Jay Ratliff, Josh Brent

Note- Neither of these guys have made a lasting impression on me so far but we know that Rat has all pro upside and Brent is a solid contributor to this defense.

OLB- Demarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler

Note- Ware was surprisingly quiet last night but Spencer and Butler bothrecordedasack. Spencer keeps teasing us with his potential and if he ever plays up to his ability watch out quarterbacks. Butler looks like he could become a top pass rusher in this league and will be used more often in the defense this year.

MLB- Bradie James, Sean Lee

Note- Bradie James had a pass interference penalty, I think our only defensive penalty. The MLB as a whole have not exactly impressed me this preseason but neither James or Lee are in any danger of losing there spot on the roster especially Lee.

CB- Terrence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick

Note- We still haven't seen Jenkins or Newman in live action and we won't until the season opener but the 27 million dollar man continued his stellar preseason last night. Scandrick had a nice pass breakup near the endzone and was playing tight coverage all night.

FS- Gerald Sensabaugh, Danny McCray

+ McCray-McCray was stellar on special teams again against the Vikings and has proven that he is our most valuable player on special teams. He is not too shabby at the safety position as well. He is too valuable to the special teams unit for him not to be here after the final cuts.

SS- Abram Elam, Barry Church

Note- Abram Elam was a few centimeters away from having his first interception of the preseason, instead it resulted in a long Bernard Berrian touchdown

P- Mat Mcbriar

Note- Not much more to say about Mcbriar, haters gonna hate but Mcbriaris the best in the biz.

LS- L.P. Ladouceur

This week we had one less lock to make the roster due to the subtractions of Bennett and Gurode and the addition of McCray so there are 33 locks to make the roster and there are also locks to miss the cut when the time comes.

Locks to miss the cut

Mike Balogun LB, Billy Blackard NT, Tom Brandstater QB, Clay Curtis WR, Alex Daniels LB, Chris Jones P, Lyle Leong WR, Pepa Letuli OG, Chris Randle CB, Titus Ryan WR, Jimmy Saddler Mcqueen NT, Teddy WIlliams WR, Colin Zych S

There are 13 locks to be cut this week as apposed to 11 locks in the previous 2 weeks. As the season nears it is getting clearer who will and wont be here in the end. Now with 20 spots left on the 53 man roster, last nights performance by certain players will play a huge role in the final decision so well look at who hurt and helped there case last night.

HELP- Jesse Holley WR- All Holley has done since becoming a Cowboys is prove people wrong. When people said he would never stick around and he was just a reality show star he hung around on the practice squad. When people said he would never be more then a special teams player he had back to back games where he impressed as a receiver and a special teamer. Holley had 3 catches for 51 yards which was good enough for second on the team behind Dez Bryant. 2 of those 3 catches were important third down conversions. We always knew this kid would be a major contributor on ST but if he becomes a contributoron offense he could be very valuable to this team.

HURT- Martellus Bennett TE- Even before Bennett suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain he had a bad drop which is unacceptable for him. He has had problems with his hands in the past and it is definitely somethingheneedsto work on. Also it looks like he will miss 3-4 weeks at least with a high ankle sprain and their is the possibility he starts the year on the PUP.

HELP- Gerald Sensabaugh FS- Sensi was probably the MVP of the defense and special teams last night. He blocked a Ryan Longwell field goal attempt and had a diving interception on a tipped pass. This defense is going to have to create turnovers this year if they want to be successful and Sensi did exactly that against the Vikings.

HURT- Josh Thomas CB- Thomas obviously has talent but his play so far this preseason has been sub par. Even Jerry was critiquing him in the booth last night. There are currently 4 cornerbacks actively fightingfor 2 maybe 3 spots on the active roster so Thomas really needs to perform well if he wants to be here after the final cuts.

HELP- Bill Nagy OG- Nagy might be the best thing to come out of the 7throundforus since Jay Ratliff. He looked good again last night with the first team and he might be starting to tighten his grip on the starting job. Nagy paved the way for Felix's touchdown run and he also did a very good job of keeping Romoupright.

HURT- Igor Olshansky DE- Another poor performance by Igor last night might have sealed his fate. For the third straight game he was outplayed by the younger and more active Sean Lissemore. He just looks like hes getting bullyed out there.

HELP- Dan Bailey K- Bailey took advantage of Buehler'sabsence by drilling bothofhis field goal attempts with ease. Shayne Graham did not help his case on kickoffs. He bounced a kick that was returned for a huge gain.

HURT- Lonyae Miller RB- For the third straight week Lonyae Miller has failed to translate good practices into good performances in the game. His 2.3 rushing yard average against the Vikings needs to come up if he wants to have a serious chance of challenging for the third RB spot. His two competitors for that spot , Phillip Tanner and Tashard Choice had an average of 5.0 and 4.7 yards respectively.

HELP- Jeremy Parnell OT- Parnell is in a heated battle against Sam Young for the swing tackle position backing up Doug Free and the prodigy Tyron Smith. On Saturday Parnell definitely came out on top in the battle. Parnell allowed one sack that was not his fault. Parnell did his job by guiding the left end around to create a pocket for Mcgee to step into but Mcgee failed to step up and was sacked because of it. He did a good job of protecting Mcgee's blindside all night.

HURT- Sam Young OT- AsIpreviouslystated Young is fighting for a roster spot with Parnell. Unfortunately for Young he was outplayed by his teammate. Young was beat bad twice which resulted in 2 sacks of Mcgee. He has struggled all throughout the preseason and he could be cut because of it.

Still 20 spots up for grabs.

RB- Tashard Choice vs. Phillip Tanner vs. Lonyae Miller

Miller failed to perform again in the VIkingsgame, he still has yet to show us he can play when it counts. His performance in practice is tantalizing but he is constantly getting outplayed by other running backs in the game. Miller has played himself out of a job in the three preseason games. Choice and Tanner were bothimpressiveon Sunday. Tanner continued his excellent preseason with 5 carries for 25 carries. No helmetless touchdown runs this week but still looked very good running the ball. Choice impressed me, in addition to his 14 yards on only 3 carries he also had 2 big runs called back because of holding calls which was a killer for Choice. Bothofthese guys have too much value to just release so both should make the squad unless we can get a decent return from trading Choice. Felix, Demarco, and Tashard have all had injury problems in the past so keeping 4 rb's on the roster isn't the craziest thing in the world. Winners- Choice and Tanner

FB- Shaun Chapas vs. Chris Gronkowski vs. Jason Pociask vs. Isiah Greenwood vs. Martin Rucker

This seems to be a three man race at this point, either Chapas or Gronk playing fullback or keeping Ruckerandplaying Phillips at h-back. Before Sunday night's game I was going to go with the latter option and keep Rucker on but Chapasreallyimpressed me with his lead blocking against the Vikings. He helped pave the way for Felix's touchdown run and he finally showed some pop. It looks like Chapas has finally taken the lead on Gronkinthis position battle with his play on Sunday. Winner- Chapas

TE- Martellus Bennett vs. PUP

It has come to my attention that Marty B has already practiced thererfore can not be placed on the PUP so he will make the 53 man roster. Winner- Bennett

WR- Dwayne Harris vs. Jesse Holley vs. Manuel Johnson vs. Raymond Radway vs. Tyson Poots

I like Poots'upsidebut he hasn't shown nearly enough in the games to compete with the other 4 receivers for the final 2 spots so he is our. Radway is the fastest guy out there whenever he steps on the field but the undrafted free agent, who has been picked by me to make the squad the last two weeks, has been very quiet the last two games. This is one guy I think we would regret cutting so hopefully we keep him on the practice squad and call on him when he's ready but he is not ready for the big time yet. Harris vs. Holley vs. Johnson for the final 2 spots, Harris was so good the first game but has also been very quiet the last two games. Jerrydidinvest a fifth round pick into this kid and I think he saw enough in the first game to make up for his no show the last two games. Harris will survive the final cuts. The last spot comes down to two guys who have been around us for years now and neither has impressed until the last two games. The one big difference between these guys is that Holley is a ST standout which is very important for a 5th receiver and will eventually be the reason he makes the team over Johnson. After doing literally nothing his first two yearsas a Cowboy Manny has looked great this preseason but it is too little too late for him. Winners- Harris and Holley

OL- Kevin Kowalski vs. Bill Nagy vs. David Arkin vs. Montrae Holland vs. Jeremy Parnell vs. Sam Young

The release of center Andre Gurode opens up a spot for one of the young lineman to step in and make the final cut. Nagy has proved that he can play at a high level in this league and he has a very good chance of starting next to Doug Free this season so he is safe. Arkinhasshown incredible potential but is still very raw. The coaches like what they see in him, he plays with a mean streak as we could tell by his scufflewith Rat in camp and his late hit call against the VIkingsbuthe could eventually start for us down the road so he is safe. With the release of Gurode, Holland's experiencebecomes more valuable. He is back practicing now and could push Nagy for the starting LG spot. If he gets in shape and works hard in practice he could be a solid offensive lineman for us so he will still be here. Kowalski is the only center besides Costa left on the roster after the release of Gurode. He played the entire game on Sunday and I was not impressed like most other people. I saw him constantly get pushed back and he got beat really bad one play which left Romo wide open for a sack, fortunately he got rid of the ball quickly and avoided getting hit. He will still be here out of desperation, he is the only backup center we have at the moment. The final spot is between Young and Parnell for the swing tackle position. Parnell outplayed Young on Sunday and has consistently outperformed him this preseason. Parnell is gigantic and has more raw talent then Young in my opinion. Young was a 4 year starter at Notre Dame and Parnell is a converted basketball player so Young has that going for him but not much else. At this point I think the decision comes down to who has performed and who hasnt and Young has not so Parnell is our swing tackle. Winners- Kowalski, Nagy, Arkin, Holland, and Parnell

DE- Igor Olshansky vs. Sean Lissemore vs. Clifton Geathers

Igor had another rough game against the Vikings and he will probably be cut because of it. There's a youthmovement in Big D and Igor is it's next victim. He came into camp with a starting job and has already lost that and his roster spot should be next. Geathershas been very quiet since the Broncos game but still has a lot of upside but hasn't shown enough to make the team. I think JG will feel comfortable rolling with Lissemore as the 4th defensive end for us because he can play all three defensive line positions. He has a high motor and it never stops. Winner- Lissemore

LB- Brandon Williams vs. Alex Albright vs. Keith Brooking vs. Orie Lemon vs. Kenwin Cummings

Before we start remember that I project Bruce Carter to be on the PUP for those of you wondering where he was. I think one of Albright and Williams make the team and two of Brooking, Lemon Cummings make it. Albright holds a pretty big lead on Williams in the OLB position battle. Like Manny Johnson, it is too late for Williams even if he has had a strong camp. Albright has outplayed him and been one of the best young guys out there. Brooking missed the cut in my post last week but I think once he gets healthy he will be here. The Cowboys will give Sean Lee one more year to learn behind Brooking since he has looked less then stellar this preseason. Lee needs to learn to finish tackles before he is our starting middle linebacker. The final cut comes down to Lemon's upside and potential vs. Cummings' experience and excellent performance in games. This is the hardest one on one decision for me but I think Lemon will prevail because of his natural ability. Cummings has been solid and I would love to keep them both but there is no way we keep 5 middle linebackers on our team.Winners- Albright, Brooking, and Lemon

CB- Alan Ball vs. Brian McCann vs. Josh Thomas vs. Mario Butler

Ball had one of the biggest plays of the game when he took back a blocked field goal for a touchdown with a hyper extended elbow. Apparently he will be fine and his play this preseason at cornerback should make everybody forget about his dismal job he did at safety. Ball should be a solid 4th corner. McCannstruggled some last night bothcovering receivers and finishing tackles but I think his roster spot might already be decided. He is important on special teams and obviously has big play potential bothas a returner and corner. The kid is also blazing fast which is very important for a corner. Butler has shown good ball skills but his lack of speed and our depth at this position will be his downfall but hopefully we can stash him on our practice squad. Thomas struggledmightily last night against the Vikings second team offense. He had several blown coverages and Jerry even talked about his poor performance while in the booth. He also talked about his potential and how much the coaches like him so he shouldn't be in any trouble yet. I think we keep 6 corners because of our injury problems at the position so JT should survive the final cuts. Winners- Ball, McCann, and Thomas

S- Akwasi Owusu-Ansah vs. Andrew Sendejo

For weeks I have preached that it is too early to give up on AOA but Sendejo's play the last couple of weeks makes it very hard to cut him. He is a stud on special teams and has been playing much better then AOA as a safety as well. This is finally the week I cut AOA and invite him back onto the practice squad and give Sendejo a spot as our 5th safety. This is not me giving up on AOA this is me acknowledgingthe hard work Sendejo has put in and his performance in the preseason games. He has been 10x better then AOA and AOA's potential is no longer enough to keep him here over Sendejo. Winner- Sendejo

K- Shayne Graham vs. David Buehler vs. Dave Rayner vs. Kai Forbath vs. Dan Bailey

First off Dave Rayner is technically not on the team but he is being brought in for a workout so he will be considered. I think Forbath, who I picked to make it last week, will be on the team but be on the non football injury list so will not take up a roster spot. Graham was very unimpressive Sunday night on kickoffs. It came back to bite us when one of his bouncing kickoffs was returned into our territory. Buehler is still out which does not help him in this tight battle. I think unless Rayner comes in and really impressed, Bailey will come away with the kicker job. He drilled all of his field goal attempts on Sunday with ease. He has been the best kicker in camp and probably has the highest upside besides Forbath. Winner- Bailey

The 53 man roster is now set with Bruce Carter on the PUP and Kai Forbath on the non football injury list. So hopefully we can salvage some of these young guys and sign them onto our practice squad.

RB- Lonyae Miller

WR- Raymond Radway

WR- Tyson Poots

TE- Martin Rucker

DE- Clifton Geathers

LB- Kenwin Cummings

CB- Mario Butler

SS- Akwasi Owusu- Ansah

Also the final cuts came down to...

Last 4 in

1. Holland

2. Lemon

3. Thomas

4. Sendejo

Last 4 out

1. Radway

2. Rucker

3. Cummings

4. AOA

Thanks for the read

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