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The NFL announced recently that teams can have up to 90 players on their roster heading into training camp.

With the Cowboys adding cornerback Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on Tuesday, they have 88 players on their roster and more are on the way as the team is expected to sign some players who tried out last weekend at Valley Ranch.

But the free-agency period is still ongoing and it begs a question: Should the Cowboys sign a veteran free agent?

We look at three positions that could use a veteran.

Wide receiver: The starters are Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, talented and explosive players. The No. 3 receiver is uncertain. There's a gaggle of players battling for the final three receiver spots, leading with the underachieving Kevin Ogletree, but the Cowboys drafted Danny Coale from Virginia Tech in the fifth round as a possible slot receiver. Signing a veteran could help bolster this unit, considering how Bryant and Austin battled injuries last season. Patrick Crayton comes to mind, but it's doubtful the Cowboys would go back to the talkative receiver, especially after he asked for a trade when Bryant was drafted. Jerheme Urban is another possibility but it's not known if the Cowboys like his skill set.

Running back: This position, like wide receiver, is a strength for the Cowboys. DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones are a solid 1-2 punch. Phillip Tanner can play special teams and get some snaps as a No. 3 runner, but all three running backs were injured at some point last year. Murray didn't finish the season, needing surgery to repair a broken ankle. You can't have four running backs on the roster, yet signing someone such as Patrick Cobbs (North Texas) to mainly play special teams and become an insurance policy might be a good move. Ronnie Brown, a former first-round pick, while he might not play special teams, is someone to look at too.

Punter: Chris Jones is the favorite to win the job, but Mat McBriar, who is a free agent, is recovering from leg surgery. There's some uncertainty regarding McBriar's availability for teams, because some might want him to prove he can punt after recovering from surgery. McBriar should be ready to kick in training camp. Daniel Sepulveda (Baylor) punted with Pittsburgh last season and in eight games had a 40.6 net average. If Jones struggles and McBriar is unavailable due to health or signing with another team, getting a veteran such as Sepulveda might be worthwhile.

IRVING, Texas – The negotiations between the Cowboys and wide receiver Laurent Robinson figure to be interesting because determining market value will be difficult.

Robinson had a career year in 2011 with 54 catches for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns. He and Tony Romo clicked instantly and he helped a passing game that was missing a No. 3 wide receiver when the season started after Kevin Ogletree failed to corral the opportunity.

With Miles Austin missing six games and Dez Bryant banged up at different times, the Cowboys were able to count on Robinson.

But that’s the first time Robinson has been healthy for his career and produced. His two best years prior to 2011 came in 2007 with Atlanta and 2010 with St. Louis when he combined for 781 yards on 71 catches and three touchdowns.

In his five years he has played in only 52 of 80 possible games.

Can you pay Robinson significant money when he has missed so much time? Can the Cowboys afford to not pay him considering the injury histories of Austin and Bryant?

When Patrick Crayton was the Cowboys’ No. 3 receiver, he was signed to a four-year, $14 million deal. By 2010 the team had Austin, Bryant and Roy Williams, and Crayton’s $2.5 million salary became too expensive and he was traded to San Diego.

Some possible contracts to look at as barometers for Robinson: Chicago’s Earl Bennett signed a five-year deal worth $18.55 million last year. Jacksonville’s Mike Thomas is on a five-year, $19 million deal with $9 million guaranteed.

Bennett has 124 catches for 1,659 yards and six touchdowns in four seasons. Thomas has 158 catches for 1,688 yards and nine touchdowns in three seasons. Robinson has 143 catches for 1,858 yards and 15 touchdowns in five seasons.

There is a framework there from which to work, but all it takes is for one team to blow that up.

IRVING, Texas -- For the 16th straight year the Dallas Cowboys will be represented at the Super Bowl by former players.

Four ex-Cowboys will be on the sidelines Sunday when New England plays the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Defensive back Nate Jones and fullback Lousaka Polite play for the Patriots, while defensive tackle Chris Canty and wide receiver Isaiah Stanback are on the Giants.

Canty starts for the Giants, while Jones and Polite are backups for the Patriots. Stanback is on the Giants’ practice squad.

Canty was a fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2005. Jones was a seventh-rounder in 2004 in the same round that produced Patrick Crayton and Jacques Reeves, which is a great job by the scouting department to have three keepers that late. Stanback was a fourth-round pick in 2007 but his conversion from college quarterback to wide receiver was slowed by a foot injury.

The four had some memorable moments:

Canty seemed to play his best against the Giants, which could have led to his six-year, $42 million deal he signed with New York in 2008, but his most memorable moment as a Cowboy came in 2007 when he blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Minnesota and saw safety Patrick Watkins return it for a touchdown. The Cowboys won, 24-14.

Jones’ most memorable moment came in 2007 as well when the Cowboys all-but clinched homefield advantage in the NFC. He can also be credited for hastening the Aaron Rodgers’ Era in Green Bay because he knocked Brett Favre out of the Nov. 29 meeting by hitting the quarterback’s arm on a blitz off the edge. Rodgers played well in Favre’s absence and became the Packers’ starter the next year.

Polite joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2004. I guess his most memorable moment came in 2006 when Julius Jones, Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson scored rushing touchdowns in a 45-14 win at Tennessee. Others might remember that as Vince Young’s first career start. Polite’s better moments came when he followed Bill Parcells’ & Co. to Miami.

Stanback’s moment was a 58-yard kickoff return against Seattle in 2008. Unfortunately the Cowboys did not score on that drive and he caught all of two passes before he was released before the 2009 season began.

IRVING, Texas -- Justin Tuck said he hates the Cowboys. That’s nothing new. He’s said that for a few years now.

But what is interesting is how last week the New York Giants felt the Jets talked too much. Now the Giants have kicked off the NFC East Championship Game Week with some harsh talk. At some point you can bet Brandon Jacobs will get involved, too.

If you’re waiting for the Cowboys to return fire, don’t.

“That’s just what this is about,” Spears said of Tuck’s “hate” comment. “That’s what this rivalry is about. Guys are going to get chirpy. Guys are going to talk, say things out of their neck, and I hope that my teammates understand that we just need to stay quiet and go about our business the way we need to and go up there and get a win because at the end of the day talking doesn’t win games at all.”

The Cowboys could bank on Patrick Crayton spicing things up, but he’s been in San Diego the last two years. Mike Jenkins said almost halfheartedly before the teams’ first meeting that Jacobs was a bully and DeMarcus Ware said he believes Tuck wants to play for the Cowboys.

The only trash talker of note is defensive coordinator Rob Ryan

“He was doing that before he got here, so that’s his personality,” Spears said. “One thing about Rob though, and when you reference talking trash, he always puts it on his players. I think that that’s a mechanism he uses to let guys know I believe in you 100 percent, than it is him going at another guy personally or individually.”

Ryan’s brother, Rex, talked some junk last week for the Jets and it didn’t work. I’m not sure Rob will serve and volley much this week.

IRVING, Texas -- We’re back for another installment of Five Wonders as the Cowboys head to Washington on Sunday.

**Strange things tend to happen when the Cowboys head to FedEx Field, at least since I’ve been covering this team. I wonder what will happen Sunday that can be head-scratching. Last year there was the Alex Barron holding penalty to wipe out the winning touchdown and the end-of-half fumble by Tashard Choice. In 2008, the Cowboys won 14-10 in Tony Romo’s return from a broken pinky and I remember the quarterback carrying his iPod while listening to a song from Rocky IV. In 2006 there was the blocked Mike Vanderjagt field goal try that turned into Washington’s game-winning field goal after a facemask penalty aided a Sean Taylor return. In 2003 and ’09 the Cowboys had shutouts at Washington. And in that ’03 game Troy Hambrick ran for 189 yards. Let me say that again: Troy Hambrick.

** I wonder if the Redskins will have a return yard on Sunday. Seriously. The Cowboys have not allowed a punt return yard in their last two games. Two weeks ago Chris Jones had a 43-yard gross and net-yard average against Seattle. On Sunday against Buffalo Mat McBriar’s only punt traveled 52 yards and went out of bounds. Brandon Banks is averaging 9 yards per return on the season and averaged 8 yards on two returns when these teams met at Cowboys Stadium in September.

**For the sixth time this season Tony Romo completed passes to at least seven different players with Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, Jason Witten, Laurent Robinson, Jesse Holley, Kevin Ogletree and Martellus Bennett comprising Romo’s 23 completions on the day. I wonder how that makes a defensive coordinator feel. Jason Garrett often talks about being able to attack teams in multiple ways with the pass and the run. This is an example of that and it came without Miles Austin. In the New England loss Romo completed passes to 10 different pass catchers. As much as Witten is his security blanket, Romo will spread the ball around to the open guy.

**I wonder if Rex Grossman wants to start against the Cowboys. Washington will go with Grossman Sunday against the Cowboys, which puts him in the cross-hairs of DeMarcus Ware. This will be Grossman’s fourth start against the Cowboys in his career and he has been sacked 11 times. Only the Giants have sacked him more. But back to Ware, who is on pace for an NFL record 23 sacks, for a second He has sacked Grossman five times. The only quarterbacks to face Ware’s wrath more are Eli Manning and Donovan McNabb.

** I wonder if the Cowboys would be interested in signing Laurent Robinson to a contract extension. The deadline to sign players and have all of the bonus money go against this year’s cap has expired, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do a deal. He has 27 catches for 441 yards and four touchdowns. He has shown to be a quick study and would give the Cowboys a nice top-three with Miles Austin and Dez Bryant for the foreseeable future. I also wonder if Robinson would want to do a deal now. This would be his first time to truly cash in. Would it be better for him to be patient and see if a team comes with a big offer in the offseason? He’s been cut a few times, so it might be more prudent for him to sign now. In 2007 the Cowboys signed Patrick Crayton to a four-year, $14 million deal with $6 million guaranteed. Does something like that sound right?

IRVING, Texas – Tony Romo had quite an interesting night the last time the Cowboys played the Bills.

Romo threw a career-high five interceptions in that game … and somehow managed to regain his composure to lead the Cowboys to an improbable comeback win.

“I look back now, it seems a little silly some of the stuff I did,” Romo said Thursday. “It is what it is.”

It is a key moment in Romo’s career, as far as his coach is concerned.

Romo, who was in his first full season as a starter, played about as poorly as possible for the first three and a half quarters that Monday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium. He had two picks returned for touchdowns in the first half. His club-record-tying fifth interception came in the fourth quarter, when he also lost a fumble.

But Romo came through when the Cowboys needed him most. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 99 yards on two drives in the final 3:45. Those possessions ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton and a game-winning 53-yard field goal by Nick Folk, who had to make the kick twice because the Bills called timeout just before the first attempt.

“I learned a lot about him that night,” Garrett said. “When it came down to the critical time in the ballgame late when you’ve [thrown five interceptions], it takes a special mentality, a special competitor to come back and keep banging away and give your team a chance to win that game. Tony did that. He didn’t blink. …

“I thought it was a really important night for him. Often times as a quarterback, when it’s easy, it’s easy. Things are rolling, everything’s clicking. But I think you really get measured at that position – and, really, as a football team, as individual players and coaches – when things are hard. How do you respond?”

Romo’s response for the then-undefeated Cowboys gave Jerry Jones more reason to believe he found a franchise quarterback. The Cowboys signed Romo to a six-year, $67 million extension weeks later.

It was also a valuable learning experience for a quarterback early in his tenure as a starter.

“I think you need to understand that, no matter what is going on around you, it’s the next play,” Romo said. “Like we’ve said before, if you’ve thrown an interception or a touchdown you need to come back and be your best on the very next play. That was an example of you can be down, you know you put your team and yourself in a hole, but we had a chance to win late in the game.

“At that time, you need to think you’ve thrown four touchdowns and everything is going your way so that you’re emotionally and mentally renewed to go win a game. That was an important lesson there.”

The other lesson learned by Romo that night: “Don’t throw five interceptions. It makes it harder to win.”

IRVING -- The interesting thing about this Cowboys-Jets matchup on Sunday night is that the visiting team doesn't seem unnerved by the big stage the season opener has been place on.

Among the many subplots, the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is taking center stage. There should be an emotional pregame ceremony for the fans, players and coaches.

The Cowboys don't have the expectations the New York Jets do made harder when coach Rex Ryan said the game is one of the biggest of his career. Ryan said he wants to win the game for the New York-New Jersey area. The Cowboys, who have had their share of big moments in New York don't appear to be backing down.

Defensive end Marcus Spears said the game on Sunday reminds him of the first game the New Orleans Saints had in New Orleans after they returned home following Katrina.

"It will be the same way," said Spears, a native of Baton Rouge, La. "It's New York's day. You just got to go up there and realize it's a ball game we need to win and make sure it don't snowball on us."

One of the things helping the Cowboys, at least on the defensive side, is the swagger defensive coordinator Rob Ryan brings. You can hear it in the player's voices this week they don't seem caught up in the moment of playing in a charged up environment.

"It’s New York, man," Spears said. "I have never been to New York and it ain’t been something that’s supposed to make them beat us to death. It’s just another one of them things. We don’t take it lightly, because these guys, we know they’re out there trying to beat us, and we’re out there trying to beat them."

When asked what is the confidence level of his team, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware said, "What would your confidence level be if you put a No. 7 jersey on you as the quarterback and I was coming. Would you be confident that I’m going to get to you? We feel really good with what we’re doing and really comfortable with what we’re doing."

It sounds like Ryan's swagger, right?

"I think that’s what you’ve got to have in this defense," Ware said. "You can’t go out there and be timid. He’ll throw the kitchen sink at you as players and expect you to learn it. Now, let’s throw that kitchen sink out there on the Jets and see how they take it."

The Cowboys have had some memorable games in the Meadowlands in recent years.

You could back to last year when in Jason Garrett's first game as the interim coach, the Cowboys knocked off the New York Giants, 33-20.

In 2007, then-wide receiver Patrick Crayton, after scoring a touchdown, lifted up his leg as if he was marking his territory, upsetting the Giants in a Cowboys' 31-20 victory. It set off a battle of trash talk between Crayton and Giants running back Brandon Jacobs the next season.

Kicker Martin Gramatica added to the legend of Tony Romo with a game-winning 42-yard field goal in the closing seconds of a 23-20 victory in the Meadowlands in 2006. It would be then coach Bill Parcells last game against his former team.

The Cowboys have won important games on the road in the swamp and don't feel as if Sunday night will be any different for them.

"Going against the Jets, it’s just another team," Ware said. "Going up there 9/11, crowd noise, all of that, we’ve got to get over those obstacles."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- San Diego Chargers wide receiver Patrick Crayton played his first game against his former team Sunday night.

In 82 games with the Dallas Cowboys, Crayton had 196 catches for 2,888 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Crayton, who was outspoken at times during his six seasons with the Cowboys, had just one catch for nine yards and dropped the first pass directed his way from quarterback Philip Rivers. Crayton was also a team captain.

"It felt good," said Crayton, a DeSoto, Texas native. "Happy to be back for a little bit. It was just good to be back to see some old teammates, some old friends. Good to practice against these guys and continue as a team."

Crayton rebounded from the drop with a nifty one-handed grab on the Chargers' second possession of the game. Eventually, the Chargers would get the first score of the game on that drive, a Nate Kaeding 25-yard field goal.

"He made up for it with a great one-handed catch there the next drive," Rivers said of Crayton. "We're glad we have him. We're glad he's on our side. He's made a bunch of big plays for us last year, and he'll be a big part of what we'll do this year."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Except for the injured players, the Cowboys are off today and will report to Valley Ranch for the first time this training camp Thursday to practice against San Diego.

“It’s a challenge,” inside linebacker Bradie James said. “When you’ve got the No. 1 offense coming in and the No. 1 defense coming in, it’ll be a test to see where you are.”

The Cowboys have practiced against Denver in the past, which brought about different looks on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

The Chargers run a similar offense to the Cowboys under coach Norv Turner and also use a 3-4 defensive scheme.

“It’ll help a lot,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “There’s very few teams that run the exact same system anymore. Even when you have guys who are disciples of people, there are a lot of different variations off it. The closest I can think of is a Tampa Two team might be the most similar, but these 3-4 teams, they’re different. A lot of teams in the league are going to the 3-4, a lot of different hybrid stuff. It’ll be beneficial for us. I think it’ll be great just to compete against a new team.”

It will also be a chance for the Cowboys to reunite with Patrick Crayton. He was traded to San Diego last summer.

“You know he’s been talking,” James said. “I got a text message from him already, talking about tickets to the game. He’s already talking about what he’s going to do.”

The Cowboys have signed wide receiver Dwayne Harris -- their sixth round pick (No. 176 overall) -- to a four-year deal.

That leaves Bruce Carter and DeMarco Murray as the only rookies to not reach a deal yet.

With the decision to cut Roy Williams, Harris is in a position to play a lot as a rookie. He will likely battle Kevin Ogletree for the No. 3 receiver job with the Cowboys not likely to pursue a veteran.

He finished his career with 268 catches and 3,001 yards, which are school records. As a senior he had 101 receptions for 1,123 yards and 10 touchdowns and was the Conference USA player of the year. The Cowboys are looking at him as a Patrick Crayton type with the ability to work the slot. He can also return punts and kicks.

The Cowboys will have eight draft picks, including two in the seventh round.

Dallas picks ninth overall and has at least one pick in every round thereafter until the seventh.

Dallas gained the 220th pick overall from the Patrick Crayton deal.

Crayton was traded to San Diego before the start of the 2010 season. If Crayton had at least 40 catches, the Cowboys would have received a sixth-round pick from the Chargers. But Crayton, whose season ended early with a wrist injury, finished with 28 catches.

The Cowboys also receive a compensatory selection (252 overall). NFL teams can't trade compensatory picks. However, the Cowboys lost their seventh-round pick this year when they took took Josh Brent in the the supplemental draft last year.

Here's the Cowboys draft order:

Round: 1
Overall pick: 9

Round: 2
Overall pick: 40

Round: 3
Overall pick: 71

Round 4:
Overall pick: 110

Round: 5
Overall pick: 143

Round: 6
Overall pick: 176

Round: 7
Overall pick: 220 (from San Diego)
Overall pick: 252 (compensatory selection)

The Cowboys have some issues at the wide receiver position heading into the regular season finale at Philadelphia.

Miles Austin is the only healthy wideout with experience.

As Todd Archer pointed out, Sam Hurd (headaches), Roy E. Williams (groin) and Jesse Holley (knee) have some health issues. It's forced the team to sign Jeff Moturi to the practice squad just so the team can get through practice this week.

But injuries have bothered this unit all season and you have to wonder if the organization made the right decision in getting rid of Patrick Crayton.

When the team traded Crayton to the San Diego Chargers before the start of the year, the theory was rookie Dez Bryant, second-year man Kevin Ogletree and Hurd would get more playing time.

Bryant was a fantastic player for the Cowboys but injuries and his inability to grasp the playbook hampered his development. He was shutdown after the Colts game with a fractured lower leg. Yet, Bryant is going to be a force in this league.

However, Ogletree and Hurd didn't do much with their chances. Yes Bryant took snaps away from both, but after Bryant went down, there were about two catches Hurd didn't make in games he normally does in training camp.

Ogletree, before he went out for the season with a big toe injury, hadn't caught a pass until Dec. 12 vs. the Eagles. He finished that game with three catches for 34 yards. He spent seven weeks inactive as the Cowboys went with Holley because of his ability to play special teams. But interim coach Jason Garrett said Ogletree has improved as a receiver by his practice habits.

One would think Williams would pick up the slack, but after 18 catches the first four weeks of the year, Williams compiled 18 catches the next 10 weeks. Some of it could be the defense and some of it could be Garrett's inability to get him the ball.

Now as the Cowboys enter their final game in a season going nowhere, Garrett is left with Austin, Manny Johnson and Teddy Williams as the healthy receivers.

We believe Hurd will be fine once the headaches stop, but Williams has struggled with his groin injury and is questionable for the Eagles game. Teddy Williams, who never played college football before, was signed as a cornerback then moved to wide receiver in the last month.

We're not saying the Cowboys should have kept Crayton, who injured his wrist with the Chargers a few weeks ago, but the lack of experience at this position is hurting right now.

IRVING -- Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team isn't looking to trade any of its players.

The NFL trading deadline is Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT.

Jones said despite his club's 1-3 record and difficult schedule, which continues Sunday at Minnesota, teams are not blowing up his phone trying to make deals.

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"We don’t get that," Jones said. "For the most part, this team is put together. No panic around here."

The Cowboys made two trades in 2010, both before the regular season started.

Dallas traded receiver Patrick Crayton to San Diego for a seventh-round draft pick in 2011 and sent Pat McQuistan to Miami for sixth-rounder in 2011.

The last in-season deal by the Cowboys was 2008, when it gave up three draft picks to the Detroit Lions for wide receiver Roy E. Williams. That deal came on the eve of the trade deadline.

The Cowboys did very little to instill confidence during the preseason. If you’re a Cowboys fan and you’ve got a fresh pot of panic brewing, you’re not alone. Pour a cup and find out what is pushing my panic button.

It’s all on the line

Last season ended with Tony Romo running for his life in Minnesota. This season has all of the warning signs to suggest that it might start the exact same way.

Kyle Kosier is the best offensive lineman on the roster, and it looks as if he’ll be watching from the sideline as the season opens. That’s a bigger issue than many realize.

Even if this vastly underperforming unit wasn’t dealing with injuries to Kosier and Marc Colombo, it would still be on triple-secret probation. But when your ability to be effective offensively lies in the hands of guys like Montrae Holland and Alex Barron, you better keep your punter loose.

The Cowboys appear to be fairly loaded at the skill positions. But without solid offensive line play, that’s a bit like having a Ferrari without an engine in it. Ultimately, if this team fails, it will be because the offensive line couldn’t consistently create running lanes or give Romo enough time in the pocket.

Is Jerry’s wallet running on fumes?

Trading Patrick Crayton was a massive mistake in my book. Don’t even try to make a case that it was a football decision. It was purely financial.

Miles Austin, as good as he is, had a lackluster camp and has just one good season under his belt. Roy Williams and his quarterback somehow remain on different pages. Dez Bryant missed every preseason game on the heels of missing most of his final season at Oklahoma State, and he’s coming back from a high ankle sprain. I hear whispers that Kevin Ogletree, although promising, has his hands full with the playbook and may already be battling a mild case of entitlement. Sam Hurd is on this roster because he covers kicks.

Crayton wasn’t going to blow your mind this season as a Cowboy. But in a group full of question marks, you knew exactly what you were going to get with Crayton. There was considerable value in that.

I find it hard to believe that the experts at Valley Ranch saw things any differently. Which ultimately means that even though the Crayton trade could hurt the Cowboys on the field, it will help Jerry in the wallet, which tells you all you need to know about Jerry’s funds.

You can file the release of Flozell Adams in a similar coupon clippings envelope. Initially I was in denial about this one. But in hindsight, this was one of the first financially motivated maneuvers up Jerry’s sleeve. Maybe Doug Free would have beaten him out anyway, but in an uncapped year, why not let it play out?

Free agents had no reason to visit Valley Ranch. Jerry wasn’t buying.

The Cowboys played an extra preseason game, which brought in more cash but gassed the football team. They bounced between two training camp locations, which brought in more cash but hurt the football team in terms of mental fatigue.

Maybe it’s because of the giant expense of the greatest stadium on Earth or perhaps fear of a football-less 2011, but either way to see Jerry pinching pennies is something I never anticipated seeing.

I’d try to reach Jerry for comment but I fear that he’d spend the whole time trying to sell me a Manny Pacquiao poster. I just can’t risk it.

A preseason of discontent

It’s hard to find many bright spots from what we just watched unfold over the past several weeks. Outside of fantastic showings from Mat McBriar and David Buehler, what is this team hanging its preseason hat on?

John Phillips was looking great. Bam. Out for the season. See ya later, intriguing three-tight end set.

Bryant was looking unstoppable. Bam. Out for the preseason. Hopes of Bryant hitting the season opener in full stride were lost.

Then what?

I don’t care about the win-loss record in preseason. But I do place importance on an offense finding some semblance of a rhythm. Obviously that never happened. In addition, I watched a Cowboys defense that I expect to be very good get carved up like a Christmas ham a few times.

So what do we make of this mess? Was it just an attack of vanilla game preparation as Wade & Co. would lead you to believe? Or was it all the result of a tired, jet-lagged team weary from Jerry’s marathon training camp promotional tour? Or maybe this just isn’t as good of a football team as most of us have been giving it credit for being.

Very soon the answers to these questions will become blatantly obvious. Perhaps the preseason does indeed mean nothing and the Cowboys will go on to have a wonderful season. It’s also possible that we’ll soon be able to look back on this dreadful preseason as being an undeniable sample of what was about to take place during the regular season.

Until these answers start rolling in, please feel free to panic at your own discretion.

The amazing thing about following a training camp from start to finish is that you think you have an idea of a direction a team is going, then when it gets down to the final cuts there are still surprises that you never thought were coming.

The trade of wide receiver Patrick Crayton was a surprise to me. I really believed that Crayton would be on this roster to help in the transition and growth of Dez Bryant and as an insurance policy if Roy Williams continued to struggle as he had in years past.

Crayton had an outstanding camp. He was consistent in practice every day and when given the opportunity in games, he was able to deliver plays.

His replacement in that role will be Kevin Ogletree. Ogletree is often praised by Jerry Jones, so it’s understandable why Crayton was traded. Jones is big on “progress stoppers,” and Crayton was viewed as that. Jones wants Ogletree to have every chance to succeed, much like Crayton did.

I do see talent in Ogletree, but the question I have is whether I see that nasty, between-the-hashes, receiver that makes plays in traffic on tough downs. My answer is no. It takes fire in your gut to want to go inside and fight for football. To run across the middle or in the red zone to buy space so your quarterback can find you.

Tony Romo had a friend in Patrick Crayton. It was never pretty, but it worked. Kevin Ogletree will have big shoes to fill and Jones is betting on it, much like he did with Flozell Adams and Doug Free.

Sam Hurd on the roster makes perfect sense to me. Hurd is that guy that fills a role and a need. You have to have core special teamers if you are going to have any success on Sunday. Hurd is your man and Holley is not.

Money should not have been the factor here, and for the special team’s sake, I am glad to see it was not. On cut day, there are tough decisions to make, and to the Cowboys this was a tough call but the right call. Sam Hurd is a better player than Jesse Holley and he will continue to prove that.

On the defensive side of the ball, there were two moves that really surprised me. And with the way the roster tends to move on opening week and after the first game, it might change again. I was surprised that cornerback Cletis Gordon and nose tackle Junior Siavii (who is on his way to Seattle) were released.

Gordon appeared to have the fourth cornerback job nailed down in camp with his play in practice and in the preseason games. I will say this about Gordon: His last game against the Dolphins was not his best game.

The Cowboys have some position flexibility here. Safeties Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and Alan Ball can both play the corner spot if needed. Owusu-Ansah had been working in the slot on certain packages already in camp, so that isn’t a hard transition. He will get the first opportunity to play off the bench as the fourth corner because you don’t want to take Ball out of the role as the starting free safety.

In the San Antonio portion of camp, Josh Brent to me really arrived on the scene. Despite the broken hand, he played with power, quickness and effort. He was a very active nose man inside.

Siavii is a strong player with a big body, which is something that defensive line really doesn’t have. Against the Texans, he had one of his better games and then I thought there was a chance that the Cowboys were going to keep three nose tackles. Because of Brent’s play, Siavii raised his game.

Where I missed the boat about the defensive line was with Sean Lissemore. Lissemore was injured a great deal during camp so he became an afterthought to me. In the Dolphins game, he played well. He was strong, mobile and good assignment-wise.

Sometimes teams try to protect their draft and hold onto guys who might not have shown much in camp, keeping them on the active roster to give them time to develop. In this case, the Cowboys feel that Lissemore has more upside and is better to have on the roster now than a player like Siavii, who might have limited upside and the club knows what they have in him.