Will he clear waivers and make it to the practice squad?

I was wrong about Kevin Ogletree.  If you read my Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots Preview, you will know that I was excited about Laurent Robinson.  I argued that if Robinson supplanted Ogletree on the depth chart (which I thought was ineluctable), then Ogletree would be expendable.  My logic was that Holley was a valuable special teams contributor, and Harris was their return man, plus he was a rookie, so he would be given time to develop.

Boy, was I wrong: the mothership reports that Dwayne Harris was released yesterday.  I presume that he was released to make room for the two OL that were signed (Montrae Holland and Daniel Loper).  In case you missed it, the Cowboys were desperate for help with their interior OL once the starting LG, Bill Nagy, was placed on IR (he broke his ankle late in the Patriots game).

The signing of these two OL tell us a few things about the state of the franchise.  Obviously, the braintrust is not comfortable with promoting 4th round pick David Arkin to a starting role.  If Arkin was going to be the starter, I assume that they would have only needed to sign one new lineman.  It also suggests that they are not ready to thrust the undrafted rookie Kowalski (who filled in for Nagy against the Pats)into the full-time starting position either.  It also means that Costa will likely stay at Center; I kind of thought they might move Costa to LG and Kowlaski to Center since Kowlaski did a decent job when he was forced to fill in for the injured Costa earlier this season.

Click on the link to read the other consequences of the roster changes.

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Will Hatcher outplay the departed Bowen?

Everyone heard the rumors that the Cowboys wanted to re-sign Bowen, but lost a bidding war to Washington, and subsequently got ‘stuck’ with Spears and Hatcher.

According to Ellis at the mothership, Bowen got $27.5 million for 5 years; the Cowboys resigned Marcus Spears (5 years for 19.2) and Jason Hatcher (3 years for 6.0).Without analyzing the intricacies of each contract, it appears that the Cowboys got both Spears and Hatcher for the price Snyder paid for Bowen. Who do you think made the smarter move there?

I think it is obvious that Cowboys got the better deal. Hatcher can ‘add insult to injury’ this Sunday by outplaying Bowen. I will be watching to see how often Hatcher gets on the field. He has two sacks already (granted, one should be credited to the ‘scheme’ because he was untouched), so it will be interesting to see whether or not he is used exclusively in passing situations. (more…)

Why did the Cowboys waive Bryan McCann? (Photo by: Davi Diehl nydailynews.com)

Evidently, the Dallas Cowboys like a challenge. So much so, they waived corner back Bryan McCann today to add to their defensive backfield troubles. The thought process behind this move  is mind-boggling. Is the Andrew Luck lottery in play here? I’m kidding, of course…or am I? (conspiracy theorists, start your engines!)

McCann was not only one of our few healthy corner backs, he was also our primary return specialist, our gunner on punt return coverage and a key member of the kickoff coverage team. McCann had some big plays for the Boys last season including a 97-yard punt return and a 107 yard interception. Now he’s gone. WTF?

The defensive backfield looks like the opening scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. Terence Newman hasn’t played in seven weeks due to a groin injury. Orlando Scandrick is hobbling around in a walking boot with a high ankle sprain. And Mike Jenkins is hurting from the mid-chest up. Newman announced on Twitter that he’s back this week. I certainly hope this is true because the only healthy corner we have now is newly acquired Frank Walker. Still, the release of McCann makes no sense. (more…)