Who doesn’t like Jay Ratliff? This Saturday he’s going to take some reps at NT with the first team. I guess the coaches haven’t made up their mind on Remi Ayodele yet, so they want to double-check that Ratliff can do it. Just get the kid on the field however you can. That’s the way Jay thinks about it.
Ratliff (6-4, 305) is smaller than Ferguson but has great athleticism for his size, having converted from tight end after his freshman year at Auburn. Phillips said he plans to take advantage of Ratliff's quickness by using more stunts when he's in the game.
"A few more blocks and everything is happening a little bit faster, that's all," Ratliff said of the differences when moving inside. "I just want to play. Wherever they need me, I'm willing to go."
We know you will, big fella. Ratliff is like a car in a demolition derby that just won’t quit running.
I think the Cowboys will keep six WR’s, but I can’t see them keeping seven. Although, Wade said he’s done it before.
When asked how many receivers he could keep, Phillips was non-committal, saying he has kept as few as four once and as many as seven, along with all numbers in between.
"But I don't know and the guy behind you probably doesn't know either," Phillips said Wednesday, referring to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones...
TNT, Crayton, and Hurd are the top four. They’re going to keep Stanback, so it looks like it's down to these two guys for six or a possible seven.
But after that, there are two more receivers worthy of 53-man roster consideration: Miles Austin, who made his mark last season as a rookie free agent by taking over the kickoff return chores after Tyson Thompson broke his ankle in the seventh game of the season; and third-year receiver Jerheme Urban, who has appeared in 11 games for Seattle from 2004-05.
My pet cat Alex Obomese seems to have lost his way and Junior Glymph is a weak-side backup only. This means Captain Caveman will have to play a couple of positions if Greg Ellis can’t recover anytime soon. Here’s Carpenter laying it out in detail.
"I think it's something that we're kind of doing as a precautionary measure so (Ellis) has as much time as he needs and doesn't feel like he doesn't have to rush or anything," Carpenter said. "And realistically, if we carry eight linebackers and Greg is one of them, then we don't have a backup at SAM (strong side). You can't go into the game without a guy that doesn't have any reps. So they just want me to get over there and little bit and see how it worked out."