Stock Up, Stock Down, for Every Cowboys Position Unit This Preseason

It feels good to be able to sit back and enjoy some football again. This offseason seemed longer than the previous offseason, and it seems that with increasing expectations for the Dallas Cowboys, the longer the wait becomes. Today, a breakdown of each positional unit for the Cowboys so far this preseason. Remember, this is from both the atrocious preseason opener and the progress that was made in the last preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. 

Linebackers: Stock Even

Sean Lee is a beast, as is DeMarcus Ware. They were not the questions marks coming into this season, and they have not disappointed so far. The real question marks have been surrounding the "other" outside linebacker spot and the "other" inside linebacker spot.

Bruce Carter seems to have the lead over Dan Conner just because of his athletic ability in coverage. Rob Ryan didn't shore up his secondary this offseason only to see opposing quarterbacks shred the Cowboys' underneath coverage. So far, Carter has not shown anything spectacular. He also hasn't disappointed.

The outside linebacker spot opposite Ware has been missing its starter for most of the preseason. Anthony Spencer has been out with an injury, giving both Kyle Wilbur and Kevin Butler more time. Both have shown tremendous ability rushing the passer and look to figure in the Cowboys future plans. Linebackers spots are even, since they haven't shown anything for concern, yet.

Defensive Line: Stock Up

The defensive line is another positional unit that hasn't seen much health. With Jay Ratliff fighting off plantar fasciitis and Jason Hatcher nursing an injury, two-thirds of the defensive line haven't seen a preseason snap. This is good, though, because the youngsters for the Cowboys are a force to be reckoned with.

Sean Lissemore is going to have a starting job this year. Expect Kenyon Coleman to be dropped from the 53-man roster. Marcus Spears has been playing like a man on fire because he knows his job is in jeopardy. Tyrone Crawford has also shown some promise in training camp and he will continue to grow into a great player. Stock is up and the young kids are knocking on the starting door.

Quarterbacks: Stock Up

Coming into our first preseason game, expecting Tony Romo to continue the statistical excellence he exhibited last year was a given. The first game, he didn't have enough time to follow his first read due to poor offensive line play. We did see that even as Romo ages, he still has the finesse moves in the pocket to make charging defenders miss. Against the Chargers, Romo looked sharp. Even with his favorite target, Jason Witten, out with a lacerated spleen and Miles Austin on the sideline, (either chomping on some nasty sunflower seeds or snuff) he spread the ball around and was on the money. This was to be expected, however, so his stock sits at even. Don't fret, if you have a high-valued stock in the first place, staying even isn't bad.

Kyle Orton was a question mark coming into this season. He was a supposed upgrade over Jon Kitna (former Mr. Clean and recently retired Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback). Orton has come out and played very well. In fact, Orton could start for several different teams in the NFL right now, so having him on the bench just in case is excellent for Cowboys fans (especially after the first showing of this offensive line). His stock is on the way up. Hopefully, this preseason will be the last we see of Orton, but if the need comes for Orton to fill in, I have confidence that he can not only manage a game, but take control of it and reel in a couple victories.

Stephen McGee is the check down master. Maybe he has been so accustomed to playing behind second and third-string offensive lines that all he can do is look at the check-down route before he is smashed by opposing defenses. Rudy Carpenter is at least getting the ball down the field and generating scoring drives. Mcgee's stock is down, Carpenter's is up. I don't expect McGee to be on the 53-man roster come September. 

Special Teams: Stock Up

Dan Bailey is a model of consistency. He is everything that we expected him to be last year and there is no reason to expect any change. Because staying the same and consistent means that you are doing an excellent job in the kicking world, his stock is up.

Punter Chris Jones has been kicking well, and although we will miss Mat McBriar and his "Fosters, Australian for Beer"-gut, the Cowboys had to go with the younger, less expensive option. Chris Jones stock will stay even, since he has not done anything to excite, or to scold.

Special teams coverage needs to be desired, but that will solidify itself once the roster is trimmed. Instead of players with no chance of making the roster running down field, you have the BEST coverage people running down field to make tackles.  

Running Backs: Stock Up

DeMarco Murray came on strong in his second preseason showing and it was reported that Murray asked Garrett for more time in the preseason game, to which Garrett (rightfully) declined. Murray is going to be a workhorse for the Cowboys this year, and he looks good coming off that ankle injury he suffered against the Giants last year. He is catching balls out of the backfield, running over and through people and is a big fantasy sleeper, considering his workload. His stock is on the up and up.

Felix Jones has dropped two swing passes so far this preseason, and rarely shows the burst that we have grown accustomed to. If it weren't for the injury to Phillip Tanner, he would almost be expendable. Jones' stock; going down.

Jamize Olawale is a fullback/running back/wide receiver hybrid and he weighs 240 lbs. He is making himself extremely hard to cut, and his bruising running style is just what the doctor ordered in short-yardage situations. His stock is way up and expect to see him on our 53-man roster. 

Wide Receivers: Stock Down

This wide receiver group has taken a hit to injuries. First, Miles Austin and his yearly bought with a case of hamstring, Dez Bryant recently bruised up his knee (thankfully MRI came back negative; prescription: Rest) and none of the other wide receiver choices have really made an impact on the game.

Ogletree is in the lead for the third WR position, although I feel as if we have been down this road before sometimes last year. Cole Beasley is making himself hard to cut from the team as well.

As a whole, the younger receivers are showing some promise, but with the two starters out, I would have to say that stock (as a whole) is going down. This group needs to step it up, especially with Witten out with a "slightly" lacerated spleen for an indeterminate amount of time.

Tight Ends: Stock Up

With our perennial Pro Bowl tight end out with that nasty spleen injury, the two youngsters that are replacing him have been doing a fine job. John Phillips and James Hanna have been excelling and show good pass catching potential, along with some blocking ability.

Granted, neither of them is close to what Witten can offer, but their stock is looking up. Having Witten out will drastically change the make up of Jason Garrett's play calling, but with the continued progression of these two tight ends, I think we will see only a slight bit of a drop off. 

Offensive Line: Stock Up

The offensive line in the first preseason game was horrible. There really is no other word to describe it. The feeling was pretty bleak for Cowboys fans after the first three offensive series in which the starters garnered one total first down (an amazing back shoulder catch by Bryant).

In the second preseason game, though, the offensive line took control. There were nice running lanes for Murray and Jones. It also seemed like Romo had all day to pick his target and complete a pass. This week, the hamstrung Nate Livings joins the lineup again and starting center Phil Costa should be back in the mix once he recovers from a sore back. The stock for the offensive line is looking up, and not by default. Major progress was made between Week 1 and Week 2 of the preseason. Look for more progress each week as we get additional starters back.  

Secondary: Stock Way Up

The $50.1 million man showed us exactly why he is worth every penny in the last preseason game. When it looked like Carr had been beaten on a deep route, Carr sped up, timed the jump perfectly and snatched the ball away. When asked about the interception later, he stated, "I got that from Deion." (Carr was referring to Hall Of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders). His play-making and ball-hawking ability is something that has been lacking in the Cowboys secondary for quite some time, and he is just one piece of the puzzle.

Claiborne didn't shine in his NFL debut, but he didn't look like a rusty nail either. Claiborne stayed with his man most of the way and the San Diego defense didn't test him much. With Carr picking passes off left and right, look for Claiborne to get a lot of action in the next few games.

The Cowboys slot corner back, Orlando Scandrick, is bringing his tenacity to the field, as expected. We are still waiting on Mike Jenkins to return from his offseason shoulder injury, but even without him, this secondary is much improved.

And that was just the cornerbacks.

Safety wise, Church has proven that he is worth the starting nod, and the opposite starting safety, Gerald Sensabaugh, has shown some play-making ability by intercepting a pass in the preseason opener. This group is much improved, and expect to see many great plays to come.