DMN: Cowboys unveil 2010 practice squad; CB Teddy Williams lone defensive player to make it

[tr1]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/090610dnspocowbriefs.2cfd601.html

01:42 AM CDT on Monday, September 6, 2010

BY GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING – The Cowboys were forced to redo Sunday their initial plan for a practice squad.

Four players whom the Cowboys released Saturday landed with other teams: cornerbacks Bryan McCann of SMU (Baltimore) and Jamar Wall (Houston), and defensive linemen Marcus Dixon (New York Jets) and Junior Siavii (Seattle). Only Siavii played for the Cowboys last season, backing up Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff.

The Cowboys had offered practice squad spots to McCann and Wall. With their departures, Dallas has four cornerbacks in the organization: Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick on the 53-man roster, and inexperienced Teddy Williams on the practice squad.

Safeties Alan Ball and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, a rookie, have experience at corner. Coach Wade Phillips has said he would prefer keeping Ball at free safety, where he is the starter, rather than muddling the issue by having him prepare at cornerback, too. Owusu-Ansah is a more likely possibility to work at cornerback.

Williams, a sprinter with no college football experience, is the only defensive player on the eight-man practice squad, which will undergo changes during the season. The Cowboys brought back five players who were with the club in training camp: wide receivers Jesse Holley and Manny Johnson, running back Lonyae Miller, tight end Martin Rucker and guard Travis Bright.

The Cowboys also added tight end Scott Chandler, on their practice squad last year, and tackle Cliff Louis, who has been with the practice squads of four teams. Louis, listed at 6-8 and 315 pounds, was with the New York Giants and Detroit during training camp.

COWBOYS PRACTICE SQUAD

Player Pos.

Jesse Holley WR

Manny Johnson WR

Travis Bright G

Martin Rucker TE

Lonyae Miller RB

Teddy Williams CB

Cliff Louis OT

Scott Chandler TE

[tr1]

So, please, can some puke fan twist this raiding as a good thing for YOUR organization?

Anyone?

I see you guys signing some scrub secondary players at some point during the year who will likely play a few games...should be fun!

BTW, signing only guys to the PS who were with them during training camp shows that the pukes were caught flat footed...they hadn't even scouted other cuts apparently.

Nice, Jerruh.

[dallasfan]

it happens to good teams, is it good, no, but it happens. the plan, I believe is for rookie DB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah to be the 4th CB/reserve FS (Mike Hamlin is the back-up to both safety spots)

[penasquito]

So, please, can some puke fan twist this raiding as a good thing for YOUR organization?

Anyone?

I see you guys signing some scrub secondary players at some point during the year who will likely play a few games...should be fun!

BTW, signing only guys to the PS who were with them during training camp shows that the pukes were caught flat footed...they hadn't even scouted other cuts apparently.

Nice, Jerruh.

Sure. If the Cowboys had 57 roster spots, these guys would still be Cowboys. But what it means is that guys who are good enough to play on other teams in the NFL aren't good enough to play for the Cowboys.

And they did sign 2 guys to the PS who were in other camps. Maybe you should actually read the articles you post.

[DWinzit]

Owusu-Ansah was a good college player with lots of potential and could play different DB spots. I'm not familiar with Williams but I don't get it. Why keep the sprinter with no college experience over good players who could be called up if needed? It reminds me of an Al Davis move.

[penasquito]

Owusu-Ansah was a good college player with lots of potential and could play different DB spots. I'm not familiar with Williams but I don't get it. Why keep the sprinter with no college experience over good players who could be called up if needed? It reminds me of an Al Davis move.

They couldn't keep Wall and McCann on the 53 man roster. They wanted them on the Practice Squad and the players had no choice. Not that they would have chosen a practice squad paycheck over the rookie salary in the NFL.

And I think they'll make Teddy Williams a WR again, his HS position.

[DeMarco Murray 29]

A talented team gets raided of players they release and they immediately go on a teams 53 man roster. That speaks volume of the talent on any teams roster that that can happen.

Owusu-Anwah and Ball both double as Corner.

[DWinzit]

And I think they'll make Teddy Williams a WR again, his HS position.

So 3 WR's and 2 TE's on the PS with no defensive players? Seems weird.

[GhostofSparta]

Interesting that, with Witten and Bennett, the Cowboys have 2 TEs on the PS. It's not hard to fix that, of course, but I would figure they would have more OL or DBs on there.

[DeMarco Murray 29]

Interesting that, with Witten and Bennett, the Cowboys have 2 TEs on the PS. It's not hard to fix that, of course, but I would figure they would have more OL or DBs on there.

Well, we do have 10 OL on the 53. Which is an absurd amount of lineman.

DB's I am not sure why we went with 3. I am guessing they want to move Owusu-Anwah to play some CB and shift Ball from FS to CB in certain passing situations.

Gronkowski can also double as TE if need be.

[dallasfan]

Owusu-Ansah was a good college player with lots of potential and could play different DB spots. I'm not familiar with Williams but I don't get it. Why keep the sprinter with no college experience over good players who could be called up if needed? It reminds me of an Al Davis move.

those guys were either ineligable for the practice squad (Gordon, Siavii) or were claimed on another team's active roster (McCann, Wall and Dixon)

Also while any team can sign a guy to their practice squad after they clear waivers (once they are signed, they must be added to the 53 man roster), it's rare to see a guy who's spent all summer learning a system and then join another practice squad, so adding another defensive player with potential on the practice squad was unlikely.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

those guys were either ineligable for the practice squad (Gordon, Siavii) or were claimed on another team's active roster (McCann, Wall and Dixon)

But there were other defensive players out there that Dallas could have put on their PS...so why didn't they go after any, especially at CB?

[dallasfan]

But there were other defensive players out there that Dallas could have put on their PS...so why didn't they go after any, especially at CB?

I edited the reason while you were posting this. The only chance at a defensive player is if the team cutting him didn't want him on the practice squad or if the player believed he was more likely to get added to our active roster (which is a long shot considering they are starting over with a new system)

[SWFLSkins]

Well, we do have 10 OL on the 53. Which is an absurd amount of lineman.

DB's I am not sure why we went with 3. I am guessing they want to move Owusu-Anwah to play some CB and shift Ball from FS to CB in certain passing situations.

Gronkowski can also double as TE if need be.

Is that becasue the lineman are so talented that the Cowboys feared that other teams would snatch them up?

[Califan007 The Constipated]

I edited the reason while you were posting this. The only chance at a defensive player is if the team cutting him didn't want him on the practice squad or if the player believed he was more likely to get added to our active roster (which is a long shot considering they are starting over with a new system)

Ok, I'm confused here lol...you said the only chance for the Cowboys to place a defensive player on their PS is if the team cutting that player didn't want him on their practice squad...yet the Cowboys lost 4 players they wanted on their practice squad just this weekend ("The Cowboys were forced to redo Sunday their initial plan for a practice squad. Four players whom the Cowboys released Saturday landed with other teams: cornerbacks Bryan McCann of SMU (Baltimore) and Jamar Wall (Houston), and defensive linemen Marcus Dixon (New York Jets) and Junior Siavii (Seattle).")

You also said that a defensive player would only want to sign onto Dallas' practice squad if he felt he would have a real chance of being added to the active roster. Yet the Cowboys only have 3 CBs on the roster...wouldn't a defensive CB think to themselves that being with the Cowboys would indeed give them a realistic chance of seeing some games on the 53 man roster?

Not to mention who wouldn't want to be on the PS of an obvious Super Bowl team? lol ...

[dallasfan]

Ok, I'm confused here lol...you said the only chance for the Cowboys to place a defensive player on their PS is if the team cutting that player didn't want him on their practice squad...yet the Cowboys lost 4 players they wanted on their practice squad just this weekend ("The Cowboys were forced to redo Sunday their initial plan for a practice squad. Four players whom the Cowboys released Saturday landed with other teams: cornerbacks Bryan McCann of SMU (Baltimore) and Jamar Wall (Houston), and defensive linemen Marcus Dixon (New York Jets) and Junior Siavii (Seattle).")

Who did we lose to another team's practice squad?

McCann, Wall and Dixon, the three guys we wanted to add to our practice squad were added to different teams 53 man roster, not another team's practice squad.

Junior Siavii is ineligable for the PS

You also said that a defensive player would only want to sign onto Dallas' practice squad if he felt he would have a real chance of being added to the active roster. Yet the Cowboys only have 3 CBs on the roster...wouldn't a defensive CB think to themselves that being with the Cowboys would indeed give them a realistic chance of seeing some games on the 53 man roster?

Not to mention who wouldn't want to be on the PS of an obvious Super Bowl team? lol ...

3 CBs, but a total of 9 DBs. 2 of the safties have experience at CB, so when you combine that with learning a new system and it may not seem that great

[Ken]

Only Redskins fan's could spin the Cowboys having 4 players claimed, even after making a few trades and getting actual value for players, and think this was a bad thing! How many Redskins were claimed to other teams 53?

I'm sure McCann and Wall were targets for the PS. I'm sure they are not done massaging their practice squad either.

Obviously the Cowboys feel comfortable with their corner back spot to cut the guys they did. Their top 3 corners are as good as any three in the league. That affords them some liberties with how they manage the CB spot. Ball's versatility really allows them to roll the dice with the position as does the obvious talent of AOA.

The fact is, if the cowboys are struck by injuries at the CB spot, neither Wall nor McCann would be in the starting mix anyway. Ball would be moved.

[Shining Star]

So, please, can some puke fan twist this raiding as a good thing for YOUR organization?

Anyone?

I see you guys signing some scrub secondary players at some point during the year who will likely play a few games...should be fun!

BTW, signing only guys to the PS who were with them during training camp shows that the pukes were caught flat footed...they hadn't even scouted other cuts apparently.

Nice, Jerruh.

Or could it perhaps be that the staff likes the players we have more than the rest of the league's castoffs? Nah, couldn't be that since we don't have an eye for talent. I've got news for you. Most teams sign players on their PS that were already in their camp. Why? They already know the system and have started to develop. I know all this stuff is moving fast, but try to keep up.

[DeMarco Murray 29]

Is that becasue the lineman are so talented that the Cowboys feared that other teams would snatch them up?

That was it

But in all honesty, our backups are not world beaters by any means. But they could be serviceable even future starters for weaker teams (ala Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle)

I just wonder how a journeyman like Leon Williams made the squad over McCann.

Josh Brent and Sean Lissemore is the reason we let go of Siavii. Junior is going on 32 both of the new guys are 22 and can do what Junior did in little time behind Ratman.

[coolbeans]

Whatever will they do now. They lost an undrafted rookie and a 6th round CB who wasn't good enough to make the team. Saivii and Dixon were not PS eligible and the team decided to keep other players over them. Sure they would have liked to get McCann and/or Wall to the PS but other teams have first dibs when you release a player. Good for them, they are now on a 53 man roster where they wouldn't be in Dallas. McCann likely would have made the team but he played like crap in the final preseason game. Don't be surprised if either is available again in a week or three. Dallas decided to go long at safety because two rookie free agents showed alot of promise, both at safety and on special teams. Ball and AOA can move into the slot CB spot if needed. Its nice to have some versital players because it allows you to keep the best 53 instead of letting some guys go because you have to keep lesser players at other positions.

[dallasfan]

FWIW, I would add a vet CB after week 1 when salaries aren't garunteed.

[tr1]

But there were other defensive players out there that Dallas could have put on their PS...so why didn't they go after any, especially at CB?

Cali, logic is not a puke fan's strong suit.

[penasquito]

Word is coming out today that the Cowboys had no interest in adding Jamar Wall to their practice squad. So there's a player who is good enough to be on the Texans 53 man roster, but not good enough to be on the Cowboys practice squad.

[tr1]

Word is coming out today that the Cowboys had no interest in adding Jamar Wall to their practice squad. So there's a player who is good enough to be on the Texans 53 man roster, but not good enough to be on the Cowboys practice squad.

Obviously, the pukes' judge of talent is what is suffering...

Face it, Jerruh is an awful judge of talent.