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The Dallas Cowboys have now completed two weeks of practice and played a meaningless pre-season game where the starters mostly sat and gossiped viciously about how the rookies dressed. Outside of one player going on IR, there is really not much to go on when trying to decide who makes the team as backups, and any attempt at a roster projection is basically guesswork and divination.
But we aren't going to let that stop us! Joey Ickes and I took a run at this after the minicamp, and now we present our post Hall of Fame roster projection extravaganza.
| Tom Ryle | Joey Ickes | ||
| 2 Quarterbacks 2 | |||
| Romo | Only discussion regarding quarterbacks: Should the team stash Nick Stephens or Alex Tanney on the practice squad | Romo | Alex Tanney is an interesting guy and this spot could change over the rest of the pre-season, but so far. I'm betting on 2. |
| Orton | Orton | ||
| 4 Running Backs 4 | |||
| Murray | The Hall of Fame game just made me more convinced they go with these four backs. | Murray | We've seen Murray run it well, and all 3 of the other guys ran with purpose vs Miami. Dunbar is your COP back, and either Tanner or Randle become starters if Murray goes down. |
| Randle | Randle | ||
| Dunbar | Dunbar | ||
| Tanner | Tanner | ||
| 6 Wide Receivers 5 | |||
| Bryant | I still think the team goes with six. Anthony Armstrong is not PS eligible. I think team keeps him for his speed and stashes some young guys on the PS. | Bryant | I don't think there's any reason to keep 6 here. Eric Rogers could be intriguing, but with the way this team wants to use 2, 3, & even 4 TE's you need to go short somewhere. |
| Austin | Austin | ||
| Williams | Williams | ||
| Harris | Harris | ||
| Beasley | Beasley | ||
| Armstrong | |||
| 4 Tight Ends 4 |
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| Witten | Not quite ready to get on the five TE bandwagon. Tempted, yes. Ready, no. | Witten |
We saw the emphasis on TE's in the HoF game, and that was without the HoF'er at Y or Hanna playing the move guy.
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| Hanna | Hanna | ||
| Escobar | Escobar | ||
| Rosario | Rosario | ||
| 3 Offensive Tackles 3 | |||
| Smith | Parnell may be at risk if the team can find a good backup elsewhere. Or anywhere. | Smith | Let's be real, there's no competition at RT anymore. Parnell and Demetress Bell are in a race to get back on the field to win the spot. |
| Free | Free | ||
| Parnell | Parnell | ||
| 6 Guards/Centers 6 | |||
| Frederick | I'm still standing by my contention that Livings is gone by the start of the season. I think his knee will not heal properly, or at least not in the eyes of the coaching staff. Bernadeau may supplant Arkin, but he's gotta win it on the field. | Frederick | After the way Leary played Sunday night, I would say he's about 85% of the way to winning the LG job. If Bernadeau can get back into the regular swing of practicing, the starters could be pretty good. Costa's lack of flex hurts him and he's out in the drop to 53. Livings will be inactive unless there's an injury that forces him to start. . |
| Arkin | Bernadeau | ||
| Leary | Leary | ||
| Costa | Arkin | ||
| Bernadeau | Livings | ||
| Kowalski | Kowalski | ||
| 9 Defensive Linemen 9 | |||
| Ware | DE: George Selvie may be the flavor of the week - but damn, he is a good one. DT: Ben Bass offers a little position flex here. |
Ware | DE: SELVIE!!! After his performance on Sunday, I'm penciling him in here as Spencer's primary back up, another game like that in Oakland, and I'm changing to pen... DT: With the uncertainty about Ratliff's injury history I think they keep 5 guys inside. |
| Spencer | Spencer | ||
| Wilber | Wilber | ||
| Selvie | Selvie | ||
| Hatcher | Hatcher | ||
| Ratliff | Ratliff | ||
| Lissemore | Lissemore | ||
| Bass | Bass | ||
| Hayden | Hayden | ||
| 7 Linebackers 7 | |||
| Lee | Ernie Sims just will not be denied. Too good, too savvy. McSurdy is the new last man on my roster, and he is most threatened by Brandon McGee. | Lee | Lots of guys who will run and hit you. Play makers and RKGs fill this room. |
| Carter | Carter | ||
| Durant | Durant | ||
| Sims | Magee | ||
| Holloman | Holloman | ||
| Albright | Albright | ||
| McSurdy | Sims | ||
| 5 Cornerbacks 5 | |||
| Carr | Moore backs up Carr/Claiborne, Webb is the backup nickel. | Carr | This spot seems pretty locked down. |
| Claiborne | Claiborne | ||
| Moore | Scandrick | ||
| Webb | Webb | ||
| Scandrick | Moore | ||
| 4 Safeties 5 | |||
| Church | I really wanted to add Eric Frampton here as the replacement for Danny McCray, who I still see getting cut. But can't figure out who else to drop. | Church | I have McCray on this team, but if Hamilton plays well in the next 4 pre-season games (he did on Sunday). He could push for a spot. Especially if Johnson takes the starting FS spot from Will Allen. |
| Allen | Allen | ||
| Johnson | Johnson | ||
| Wilcox | Wilcox | ||
| McCray | |||
| 3 Specialists 3 | |||
| Bailey | Don't mess with success. | Bailey | No questions here... If it ain't broke, don't fix it. |
| Jones | Jones | ||
| LaDouceur | LaDouceur | ||
| 8 Practice Squad 8 | |||
| Tanney | Tanney taked the lead over Stephens, based on one pass. Needless to say, we are talking one slim lead here. | Tanney | Lots of potential in this group. Kendial Lawrence, Tank Reed, and Jakar Hamilton are guys with big time upside that we have to hope make it through waivers. |
| Green | Rogers | ||
| K. Lawrence | Green | ||
| Magee | Reed | ||
| Hamilton | Hamilton | ||
| Reed | Long | ||
| Rogers | K. Lawrence | ||
| Coughman | Brewer | ||
Is it a good thing or a bad thing when the most churn on your roster projection is the practice squad? Things do seem to be settling down, although we can always hope for more George Selvie style stories.
Feel free to come up with your own roster, or compare us to the wild-eyed guesses carefully thought out lists from rabblerousr and OCC.
More from Blogging The Boys:
- Tracking The Cowboys First Quarter Offense: Performance, Personnel And Play Selection
- Cowboys HOF Game: Coaching To A Win, Defensive Edition
- Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Winning The NFC East, Player Tweets, More
- Cowboys Hall Of Fame Game Observations
- Dallas Cowboys 53-man Roster Projection (Post-Dolphins Game)