As some of you may know, I'm currently in college studying to be a video game programmer. Until now, that hasn't had much impact here at Blogging The Boys. Now, that's changing. Today, allow me to introduce the first of what I hope to be many interactive tools that will enrich your experience here.
In the month leading up to training camp, it's only natural to speculate what the final 53 men will look like. Certainly, we don't want to waste our time watching players in camp and preseason who will never again set foot on an NFL field - we want to watch the guys who will be gracing our plasma-screens, visiting our dreams, and appearing on the cover of the Super Bowl DVD we buy at the end of the season.
When making 53-man rosters, however, many fans will start from 0 and work their way up - often completely forgetting about players that would normally make the team. This time, I'm giving you the complete roster, and you will have to go through, position-by-position, and whittle it down to 53. If you have some other GM-related fantasies, like making Tony Romo into a long snapper (I didn't put a spot for holders), or converting the defense to a 4-3, you can do that, as I've allowed all players to freely change positions.
Build your own roster after the jump!
Dallas Cowboys Roster Builder
To begin building your own Cowboys' roster, you'll first have to click on the "Reset Everything!" button. If you make a mistake, this button will return everything to its original condition. To move players, click on the player to highlight him, and then click on the heading to which you wish to move him. Clicking on the red CUT cell will cut that player entirely. You can track your current roster count at the bottom left cell. Good luck getting to 53!
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Defensive Backs | Linebackers | Defensive Linemen | |||
S | CB | OLB | ILB | DE | DT |
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Offensive Backfield | Receivers | Offensive Linemen | |||
QB | RB/HB | WR | TE | OT | G/C |
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Special Teams | Injured | Practice Squad | |||
Kickers | Punters | Long Snappers | PUP | IR | |
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Total Roster Size: | 0 | --- | Click Here to CUT! |
Now that you've (hopefully) made it down to 53, you probably noticed some of the same things that I did. First, you can likely make a good ten cuts (of the 37 necessary) without breaking a sweat. If you think about it, though, how many are because you know they aren't NFL worthy, and how many more are actually because you just don't know enough about them? Remember, every player is here for a reason - and, for the majority of them, that reason is to earn a spot on the 53.
After those ten, you've got 27 more to go. You worked your way through, and likely got down to roughly ten more cuts. You can fully appreciate the pain of selecting those final cuts, potentially practice squad candidates, knowing full well that any other team can snatch them away from you for paltry minimum salaries.
So, tell us. Who were your last three cuts? What were the most painful decisions? What was your strategy? And, finally, what new features do you want to see added to this for the next version?