A game has passed, cuts were made, so it was time for the chart. I thought I would do this tonight and have some comments/guesses on the upcoming cuts tomorrow, but the Cowboys pulled the trigger early.
This week’s movers and shakers.
Jay Ratliff has been moved to NT on the chart. Coach Phillips says Jay is his #2 NT at the moment, so I’m moving him there. With the cuts of the other two NT’s, that only leaves Remi Ayodele hanging on for a chance at the 53-man roster. What happens to him could be tied up with Stephen Bowens’ fate, who becomes the #4 DE, although Ratliff could obviously shift between the two. Plus, the Rat plays at DT in the four-down alignment. So Ratliff is the #2 NT, Bowen moves up to #4 at end, and I elevated Jason Hatcher up over Marcus Spears again. Spears turned in another unimpressive outing and I just think Hatch is going to win the job soon.
In the suddenly much smaller WR group that lost three members today, I moved Isaiah Stanback ahead of Miles Austin. Austin probably adds more value at this moment, but Stanback has shown a little at receiver, and the Cowboys are keeping him. Because of that, he is the #5 WR and if they keep six, then Austin has the lead on that spot. Mike Jefferson makes the leap over Damarius Bilbo for the #8 spot, not that it will do him any good. But I watched him drop so many passes at camp that I figured by the 75-man cut he would surely be gone, but he made it, so he gets a promotion.
I was tempted to move Aaron Glenn down and elevate either Jacques Reeves or Joey Thomas because it looks like Glenn’s days of being an every-down corner are over. But in games that Newman plays, Glenn will be the first corner off the bench in the nickel. For that, I'm keeping him at #3. But if Newman sits out any games in the regular season, Phillips would probably put Reeves or someone else over at the starter’s role and keep Glenn in the nickel and dime situations. Right now, I’m leaving it alone. I moved Quincy Butler ahead of Alan Ball now that he's healthy. He'll be a fresh face for the coaches in an area of disappointment, giving him a chance to make a splash. He could also possibly return punts, creating added value.
I left Bobby Carpenter at ILB for the moment, he didn't play much OLB in the game Saturday.
We still have to cut one more before tomorrow's deadline.
| Pos | Offense | Pos | Defense |
| QB | Tony Romo Brad Johnson Matt Moore Richard Bartel |
DE | Chris Canty Jason Hatcher Marcus Spears Stephen Bowen Marcus Smith |
| RB | Marion Barber Julius Jones Tyson Thompson Alonzo Coleman Arliss Beach cut: Jackie Battle |
NT | Jason Ferguson Jay Ratliff Remi Ayodele cut: Montavious Stanley Ola Dagunduro |
| WR | Terrell Owens Terry Glenn Patrick Crayton Sam Hurd Isaiah Stanback Miles Austin Jerheme Urban Mike Jefferson Damarius Bilbo cut: Jamel Richardson Jerard Rabb Jamaica Rector |
OLB | DeMarcus Ware Anthony Spencer Greg Ellis Junior Glymph John Saldi Khari Long cut: Alex Obomese |
| TE | Jason Witten Anthony Fasano Tony Curtis Adam Bergen Rodney Hannah |
ILB | Bradie James Akin Ayodele Bobby Carpenter Kevin Burnett Blair Phillips cut: Dedrick Harrington |
| T | Flozell Adams Marc Colombo Doug Free Pat McQuistan James Marten Pete Lougheed cut: Jason Hilliard |
CB | Terence Newman Anthony Henry Aaron Glenn Jacques Reeves Joey Thomas Nate Jones Quincy Butler Alan Ball |
| C | Andre Gurode Cory Procter Trey Darilek |
SS | Roy Williams Keith Davis Abram Elam |
| G | Leonard Davis Kyle Kosier Joe Berger Matthew Tarullo |
FS | Ken Hamlin Pat Watkins Courtney Brown |
| FB | Oliver Hoyte Lousaka Polite Deon Anderson |
P/K | Mat McBriar Nick Folk Martin Gramatica L.P. Ladouceur (can’t cut) |