Texas NFL Capsules: How the Cowboys will decide on their 53-man roster

IRVING (AP) — Every day since the start of training camp, and sometimes twice a day, coach Wade Phillips studies the Dallas Cowboys roster and picks the 53 guys he thinks should make the team.

He has to keep it fresh, because things keep changing.

Players improve or regress, get hurt or heal. It’s not always as simple as erasing one name and jotting down another. If they play different positions, that could lead to another change. Or two.

Now, decision day looms. The 75-man roster the Cowboys will carry into the preseason finale against Miami on Thursday night must be trimmed to 53 by Saturday afternoon.

Phillips won’t use Tony Romo and many other starters against the Dolphins to keep them healthy for the opener Sept. 12 at Washington. It also gives him a longer look at the guys fighting for jobs.

"I think this is a good opportunity to show you’ve got the ability to play or help us," Phillips said.

Cutdown-day decisions aren’t as permanent as, say, the draft because guys can always be re-signed. Many will return to the eight-man practice squad, albeit for less money and will have to be added to the 53-man roster to play in games.

Yet there are similarities to the draft. These are the most and the toughest personnel decisions since then, and the process is similar: position coaches will lobby for their guys, Phillips will offer his big-picture view and the final say will come from the man who pays the bills, Jerry Jones.

"What I’m looking at," Jones said, "is how they played in the preseason and how they’ve evolved from the OTAs and other things."

Picking the best 53 players is one thing. The challenge is balancing the best-overall list with the needs at each position because the needs at those positions change every year.

To get a better grasp, look at Dallas’ season-opening roster the last five years, spanning Phillips’ three-year tenure and the final two years under Bill Parcells.

Start with the most high-profile spot, quarterback.

The Cowboys kept two quarterbacks from 2006-08, going with three in ‘05 and last season. Most teams keep three because the league essentially encourages it by allowing clubs to suit up an emergency quarterback who doesn’t count against the 45-man active roster. (Oh, yeah, that’s another thing: Even though there are 53-man rosters, eight guys are designated as "inactive" on game day.)

In 2007, Romo’s first full season in charge, Dallas kept only Brad Johnson as his back up and released an undrafted rookie in hopes he would clear waivers and return to the practice squad. Instead, Carolina claimed Matt Moore and, because of injuries, he started games that December. He goes into this season as their main man.

That could be a factor as the Cowboys ponder Stephen McGee, a third-round pick last year who hasn’t exactly lit it up, but is getting a big chance by starting against the Dolphins.

"We feel like Stephen’s the kind of guy we can continue to try to develop as a backup player and a player who is playing all the time down the line," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "We’re still going through that process of evolution and when you cut down that roster, you got to factor a lot of different things. ... It’s the third quarterback vs. the tight end vs. the defensive back vs. the linebacker vs. the lineman."

From 2005-09, the only constant has been three tight ends. That could be about to change.

With projected No. 3 John Phillips going on injured reserve, Dallas may switch that spot to fullback. Instead of keeping only one (every year but ‘07), the Cowboys could keep incumbent Deon Anderson and undrafted rookie Chris Gronkowski.

During the Phillips era, Dallas has stuck with six defensive linemen and eight or nine linebackers. The wild card has been in the secondary — from 10 defensive backs in 2007 to 11 in ‘08, down to nine last year; actually, it’s always been five safeties, so it’s the number of cornerbacks that’s fluctuated.

Dizzy yet?

Well, we’re almost done, except to note perhaps the biggest change in the formula this season. With kickoff specialist David Buehler likely taking over field goals and extra points, too, that opens a spot elsewhere.

Whoever makes it will have to excel at special teams. He’ll have to offer something else, too — like experience at a key position or raw ability that could blossom, like Romo or Miles Austin, undrafted guys who’ve become elite players.

Phillips insists the Cowboys simply want the best players, which makes sense.

Except, as should be obvious by now, it’s not that simple.

"He may be the best player right now," Phillips said, "but you don’t think he’s going to be the best player a month from now or two months from now or a year from now."

Kubiak has tough decisions after preseason finale

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston coach Gary Kubiak worried that he’d be cut before the 1983 regular season, when he was a rookie quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

The eighth-round draft pick remembers throwing two passes in the preseason — one of them intercepted — and dreading the day when the team had to trim its roster. At the time a player is about to be cut, a team assistant will usually summon him to meet with the coach and general manager.

"He sat in the lunchroom, and when you came by, he would say, ‘Take your playbook up to the office,’" Kubiak recalls. "He was sitting there, and I walked by and he didn’t say anything, so I kept eating and kept going to meetings. I was lucky. I got a chance to play. The game’s about opportunities, and I got fortunate with an opportunity."

Now Kubiak has the final say on who stays and goes, and he’s got several tough decisions to make by Saturday, when teams must reduce their rosters to 53 players.

The Texans wrap up their preseason against Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

Kubiak says his hardest decision will be choosing between kickers Kris Brown and Neil Rackers. Brown is the last original Texan, but struggled last season, prompting Houston to bring in the free agent Rackers to challenge for the job.

Neither has missed a field-goal try in the preseason, so the final call may come down to Kubiak’s gut.

"I make it because I have to make it," Kubiak said. "I’ll weigh every factor. I’m no kicking guru, but I’ve been watching the kickers and what they do, I’m watching every kickoff in practice. We’re trying to think of what fits best with our team, and that’s who we’re going to go with.

"It’s no fun making that decision," he said, "but I’ve got to make it."

Brown acknowledged early in training camp that he initially resented Rackers. But the two have become close friends, and Brown said their competition has made a positive impact on both players.

"I’ve enjoyed this experience more so than any camp that I was a part of throughout my career," Brown said. "I’ve learned a lot about myself as a player and a person. It’s been fun coming to work every day."

Kubiak will also closely watch running backs Chris Henry and Jeremiah Johnson in Thursday’s game. The two are jockeying for position on the depth chart after rookie Ben Tate was lost for the season with a broken ankle.

Kubiak said Henry and Johnson both need to play well Thursday night to ensure spots on the final roster. Henry, a second-round draft pick by Tennessee in 2007, signed with the Texans in the middle of last season. Johnson, an undrafted free agent, sat out last season with a shoulder injury.

The Texans’ starting offensive line is set, except at right guard, where Mike Brisiel and Antoine Caldwell will finish their fight for the job in Thursday’s game. Brisiel missed most of last season with a foot injury, and Caldwell played in 10 games with three starts as a rookie in 2009.

"I see it as good competition," Caldwell said. "When we came into this preseason, I knew what it was going to be. We were going to be battling for a job. We have one more game left and it’s been good so far. We’re just looking forward to it."

Kubiak said he’ll rest most of his starters Thursday night. He said tight end Owen Daniels, just back practicing after a long recovery from knee surgery, will definitely not play against Tampa Bay.

Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky will take most of the snaps, Kubiak said, and former Southern Cal star John David Booty will likely see action.

Kubiak said he’ll make the final cuts on Friday morning.

"It’s a miserable day," Kubiak said. "You watched guys work their tails for you, and then you’ve got to tell them, ‘No.’ It’s part of the game, you just try to treat them with respect and try to help them in any way you can, ‘cause there’s a good chance you may see some of them again the next year. They could be right back in your camp, or you could be calling them again. It’s part of the business."

-- Chris Duncan