IRVING, Texas - Among the roster headaches for Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips as final cuts loom Saturday:
How many receivers to keep? Backups Miles Austin (sprained MCL) and Isaiah Stanback (dislocated shoulder) aren't expected to play in the Cowboys' Sept. 7 regular-season opener, which means a sixth wideout probably makes the 53-man roster as insurance.
How many linebackers to keep, and who fills in where? Kevin Burnett and Anthony Spencer (knee scopes) are questionable for the opener. Burnett is an asset in substitution packages; Spencer serves as Greg Ellis' strong-side backup and works on the four-man nickel defensive line.
All four injuries create depth and rotation issues on offense and defense. All four players also happen to be strong contributors on special teams, be it on the return units (returners or blockers) or the coverage units - or both.
Special teams is often overshadowed by a Cowboys offense that scored the second-most points in franchise history (455) last season and a defense that sent five players to Hawaii, then added a seven-time Pro Bowler (Zach Thomas) in February. But last year's inconsistent kick coverage has resurfaced at times in the preseason, most recently when Nick Folk drilled last Friday's opening kickoff deep into the end zone and the Texans still ripped off a 68-yard return.
"I'm concerned about it some," Phillips said, "but we played (Chicago's Devin) Hester last year and stopped him three times inside the 20 on kickoffs. It's something we can do."
Part of the problem is early attrition. Core guys Austin, Spencer and Burnett combined for 39 special teams tackles last season, and Austin played on every unit in addition to returning kickoffs. All three should be back in the first month of the season.
The Cowboys are also evaluating several rookies to see who can handle the special teams duties required for a backup player on an NFC contender.
"It's like a chess game," said second-year fullback Deon Anderson, a special teams regular who expects to have a reduced role in Thursday's preseason finale against Minnesota. "We're still moving pieces."
Said Phillips: "We've had our starters out pretty much the whole preseason as far as kickoff coverage and we're trying to drive the ball on the kickoffs rather than kick them higher and shorter. And we've had a couple returns that we don't like.
"Some of it is the learning curve of guys that hadn't been in there, and some of it is guys that won't be in there also. But we have to look at all those people because we're going to have some new guys than we had last year."
The punt coverage has improved since San Diego averaged 20.5 yards on four returns in the preseason opener. And rookies like Tashard Choice and Erik Walden, who were lined up in the center on Houston's big kickoff return up the middle, get another chance Thursday.
"What happens on kickoffs is instead of everyone moving in a direction toward the ball, one guy chooses to go another way and that creates a void," said Austin, whose coverage experience has helped his field vision on returns. "Like I when I get the ball and I see someone go around the other way, I'm like, 'Uh oh.' And he's going to get yelled at by his team (for missing the tackle)."
Austin's return services won't be available for another 3-5 weeks while he continues rehabbing his sprained knee. His replacement, Stanback, will try to delay surgery on his dislocated shoulder until after the season, but probably won't be ready for Week One.
Stanback averaged 38.0 yards on two returns against Houston before the shoulder injury caused him to fumble the second half's opening kickoff. His absence crafts opportunity for rookie Orlando Scandrick, who has posted an impressive 25.8-yard average in preseason, and first-round cornerback Mike Jenkins, who will make his kickoff return debut on Thursday. Fellow first-round pick Felix Jones is another possibility, Phillips said.
One of Jenkins' nine returns at South Florida was a 100-yard touchdown run.
"I didn't do it at all really in college until the game situations," Jenkins said. "When I first got to camp, I was doing it a lot and then they took me off the list. Then they just threw me back on there this week."
Phillips is considering Felix Jones and Adam Jones somewhat reluctantly because Felix is fast becoming an integral piece in the offense and Adam, the presumptive punt returner, doesn't necessarily have ideal size for kickoffs (5-10, 185).
"I think we've got to consider it now," Phillips acknowledged this week. "It's a different set of circumstances."
The same can be said across the special teams board, thanks in part to a high injury total for late August.
Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
Rob Phillips - 
