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If the Cowboys can open with a win over the New York Giants again, September should be sweet.

The softest stretch of the Cowboys’ schedule is the three weeks after the opener. The Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers combined to go 16-31-1 last season.

It’s the only stretch of the season that features three foes that had losing records last year. Granted, the Cowboys have to travel to Kansas City and San Diego, but the Chiefs and Chargers were a combined 4-12 at their home stadiums last season.

The Chiefs (Andy Reid) and Chargers (Mike McCoy) have new coaches, so it could also be to the Cowboys’ benefit to face those teams so early in the season.

In the early days of free agency we've seen slot receivers become a hot topic.

Wes Welker left the New England Patriots and signed a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos.

The Patriots found his replacement before Welker got his new deal when they signed Danny Amendola from St. Louis.

The Cowboys haven't really had a typical No. 3 slot receiver with the body type of Welker and Amendola.

Patrick Crayton, Kevin Ogletree, Laurent Robinson and Dwayne Harris were No. 3 receivers who played in the slot, but didn't have that small frame.

Last year, the Cowboys found one in Cole Beasley, a player who fits Welker's and Amendola's body type. Beasley is 5-foot-8, 177 pounds. In his rookie season, Beasley finished with 15 catches for 128 yards with no touchdowns. He made a bulk of his catches out of the slot and going forward the Cowboys should use him more often from this area.

New England utilized Welker for several years from the slot to beat teams in the middle of the field. His speed allowed him to get past defenders for yards after catch.

Maybe Beasley can be used in the same fashion in 2013.

Dez Bryant and Miles Austin can stretch defenses deep with their speed and Jason Witten can also command the middle of the field. What about Beasley? If defenses take Bryant and Austin out of the game with their coverages, which has happened, Beasley is a player who should get some run.

There have been teams who have used short receivers from the slot to make plays in different areas of the field and the Cowboys have Beasley who might fit that role.

The Cowboys released running backs coach Skip Peete and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan last week, and there could be more changes to the coaching staff on the way.

During an interview on dallascowboys.com, team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said he spent extensive time with coach Jason Garrett evaluating the coaching staff.

"We spend a certain amount of time between now and training camp," Jones said. "We have spent time, ad nauseam, certainly you spent that kind of time from a management standpoint. You spend that type of time with your coach and your coaches, anytime you might be looking at staff changes and you have to spend a lot of time with your head coach regarding that for sure."

The next step for the Cowboys is trying to figure out which defensive coaches will remain with the Cowboys. There were reports Friday night that Rob Ryan would become a defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams.

Ryan told ESPNDallas that wasn't the case.

"I'm on a beach and have talked to nobody and have no comment," he said.

If Ryan does leave, it's expected he would bring some of the defensive staff with him to St. Louis. That could include linebackers coach Matt Eberflus and maybe secondary coach Jerome Henderson.

The Cowboys have told defensive coaches they may interview for other positions despite having years left on their contracts.

The Cowboys also have to hire a running backs coach, and other changes may take place regarding the duties of some of the current coaches, including Garrett.

The Cowboys have to get their roster down from 87 to 75 on Monday.

One step could be to reach an injury settlement with wide receiver Donovan Kemp, who tore the ACL in his left knee during practices in San Diego.

The team is hoping it can get Kemp through waivers and bring him back to place him on injured reserve. Linebacker Caleb McSurdy (Achilles) is also out for the season, but it's unknown if the Cowboys will waive him because he was a seventh-round draft pick and there's some concern another team might claim him.

Guard Kevin Kowalski (ankle) hasn't practiced this summer, and it appears the team will place him on injured reserve.

There are four injured players who will make the roster despite being injured, but the Cowboys might be without them for the season opener against the New York Giants.

Linebacker Kyle Wilber, a fourth-round selection, is still nursing a hand injury and didn't play in Saturday's preseason game against St. Louis. The status of starting tight end Jason Witten (spleen) and starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff (high ankle sprain) is uncertain for Week 1, and cornerback Mike Jenkins (shoulder) isn't expected to be ready.

There were 17 players who didn't play in Saturday night's victory over the St. Louis Rams. Ten of those players were scratched due to injury.

Some players, such as punter/kicker Delbert Alvarado, deep snapper Charley Hughlett and wide receiver David Little, might play in Wednesday's game against Miami but won't be on the final 53-man roster. Hughlett was given a chance to surpass L.P. Ladouceur but it appears that won't happen. Little and Alvarado, along with tight end Harry Flaherty, the nephew of coach Jason Garrett, are mainly camp bodies. While they might survive the Monday cut, could get let go Aug. 31.

Tackles Tyrone Novikoff and Levy Adcock, who didn't play Saturday, might survive the Monday cuts but not the big one Aug. 31.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Here's our weekly Stock Report after the Cowboys held on for a 20-19 win over the St. Louis Rams.

Stock Up

Dwayne Harris: It's unknown how many wide receivers the Cowboys will keep -- five or six seems like a good place to start -- but Harris had his best game of the preseason. He had three catches for 118 yards with two touchdowns. He continues to get better and is now pushing Kevin Ogletree for playing time.

Felix Jones: He had his best game of the preseason with 34 yards on six carries, and he averaged 11.5 yards per catch. Jason Garrett said Jones is still working himself into shape, and the head coach is right about this. Jones is getting more of a burst back with his runs and seems to be regaining some elusiveness.

Sean Lee: The starting inside linebacker most likely won't play again this preseason. He ended the Rams game with five tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. While DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff are the two best players on defense, Lee is right behind them.

Stock Down

Ronald Leary: The guard was penalized twice Saturday night. While the team has high hopes for him, he continues to struggle at times. Leary said he needs to pick his game up and that he's not guaranteed a roster spot. That's a good attitude to have, but he's got one more preseason game to show it.

Jay Ratliff: Injuries hampered Ratliff's summer. The plantar fasciitis cost him the offseason workouts and limited his training camp practices. Now a high-ankle sprain could force him to miss the regular-season opener. Ratliff is a tough guy, but the Cowboys have to be cautious with one of their more valuable players.

Matt Johnson: The fourth-round pick just can't get a break. He missed training camp practices with a hamstring injury, and when he returned for the first time this preseason, he injured the other leg. The Cowboys like Johnson's playmaking ability, but he can't show it in games if he's hurt.

I don't know. Maybe the preseason is finally getting to me. Maybe I was brainwashed by the beautiful California weather at their training camp. Maybe they just looked really good against a lousy St. Louis Rams team in their 20-19 preseason victory Saturday night. Maybe it's all of the above, but as crazy as this looks to me even as I type it, I kind of like this Dallas Cowboys' defense.

The cornerbacks are covering their men. Brandon Carr was a star of last week's game, and rookie Morris Claiborne made plays on second and fourth downs on a goal-line stand Saturday. Safeties Barry Church and Gerald Sensabaugh are both playing well, patrolling their zones and making their tackles. The linebackers (of which injured DeMarcus Ware was not one on this night) have been active and aggressive, led by Sean Lee on the inside. Jason Hatcher was back on the defensive line and disrupting things in the backfield. Coordinator Rob Ryan was showing off more options, scheme-wise, for the pass rush, and the improved coverage on the back end has been helping with with that. The only points the Rams scored in the first half were on field goals of 52 and 55 yards.

Now, the postgame news of Jay Ratliff's ankle sprain certainly puts a damper on things for the Cowboys going forward, as it sounds like the season opener is in doubt for him. And yeah, I know those guys on the back end were covering Donnie Avery and Danny Amendola and that it's going to be 100 times tougher 10 days from now when it's Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz instead. I get it. I write all the time that we can't draw long-range conclusions from preseason games, and I'm not doing that. But it's completely fair to like the way the Cowboys' defense has performed on the practice field and in these preseason games. And if they're building confidence based on those performances, that's the kind of thing that could conceivably carry into the regular season. So, good for them. Neither matters in the long run, but playing well in preseason is better than playing poorly in the preseason.

Here's what else I saw Saturday night:

Tony Romo was excellent, dodging the rush, extending plays and completing 9 of 13 passes for 198 yards, including touchdowns of 61 and 38 yards to Dwayne Harris. Romo's starting receivers in this game were Harris and Kevin Ogletree, and his starting tight end was John Phillips. Romo is ready to start the season.

So is Harris, by the way. Ogletree went into the game the favorite to be the No. 3 wide receiver, and he might still be, but Harris more than made his case. Yes, the touchdowns were partly the result of poor tackling by the Rams in the secondary, but Harris made the catches and the plays, he looks good in the return game and he made a key block on a DeMarco Murray run one play before his 61-yard touchdown catch. He's certainly made the team, I'd have to think, and he could continue to play himself into more time. Ogletree led the team in targets with six, and he caught five passes for 75 yards, so you can't exactly consider him out of the picture. He had a bad third-down drop, but he caught a ball up the right sideline that you couldn't help but thing looked like the one Miles Austin didn't catch in the first Giants game last year. You know the one I mean. I know you do.

Murray also looked very good against the team that let him rush for 253 yards in his starting debut last year. Murray had 26 yards on five carries and 16 yards on two catches before leaving the game with a hand injury that he said afterward is not serious. Next you'll see him is Sept. 5 in the Meadowlands, I'd imagine. The Cowboys plan to run a lot of their offense through Murray this year.

I'm sorry, but the offensive line still looks awful to me, and I commend Romo and Murray for succeeding in spite of its performance. David Arkin can actually snap the ball to the quarterback now, but he still doesn't look strong enough to hold up at center. The guards looked like they were getting pushed back into the pocket all night. Doug Free is a mess, and even Tyron Smith got beaten on the outside by Robert Quinn on a play early in the game. If the best thing you can say about the offensive line is that it'll be better when Phil Costa gets healthy, you've got a problem. At offensive line, I believe the Cowboys have a significant problem.

The Ratliff injury is a big deal if it lingers deep into the regular season. The Cowboys expect to know more about its severity Sunday. My guess is Josh Brent would fill in at nose tackle, but it could also be Sean Lissemore. Lissemore is also in the mix at defensive end.

I'd take Bruce Carter over Dan Connor as the starting inside linebacker next to Lee. Connor may look better going forward, and maybe they can use him in certain pressure packages. But Carter looks faster and better in coverage, and I think that's going to matter more at that spot.

Felix Jones made a nice blitz-pickup block on Harris' second touchdown, but he whiffed badly on one later that resulted in a Kyle Orton sack. Phillip Tanner also missed in blitz pickup with Orton behind him. Orton has to be wondering what he did to make the backs not like him.

Rookie tight end James Hanna continues to look good as a receiver, and Adrian Hamilton continues to make plays on defense. Remains to be seen what roles the team will have for them this year.

Special-teams ace Danny McCray left with a neck injury, but he told reporters after the game that he should be fine.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne really got tested for the first time as a pro Saturday night.

He gave up a few catches, but Claiborne passed the tests with flying colors, especially in the red zone.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford targeted Claiborne twice in the end zone on St. Louis’ final series of the first half. Claiborne had good coverage on both occasions. He crowded Austin Pettis on an incomplete back-shoulder fade in the front corner of the end zone and swatted away a ball intended for Steve Smith while running across the back of the end zone.

“He seems comfortable out there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He seems like he feels more and more confident.”

This was probably the last playing time Claiborne will get this preseason, as is the case for all of the Cowboys’ starters. After missing all of offseason (wrist surgery) and a week of training camp plus the preseason opener (knee), he had acknowledged that he was still in the mode of thinking too much on the field.

Claiborne said he played looser Saturday night and felt like he made progress.

“I feel pretty good,” Claiborne said. “I’m going to keep working. These 10 days (before the season opener) I’m going to use to my advantage and try to get better and better.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – Danny McCray was smiling after Saturday’s game vs. St. Louis, which was a good sign for the Cowboys’ best special teamer.

McCray suffered a stinger with 2:42 left in the second quarter after colliding with safety Gerald Sensabaugh on a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete.

X-rays taken after the game were negative and McCray said he would not need an MRI.

“I was looking up for the ball and the next thing I know I’m on the ground and my arm is numb and I have no idea what’s going on,” McCray said. “I didn’t know what was happening. The only thing I was worried about was being able to move my arm. I couldn’t at that moment. I’m glad it’s not anything worse than that.”

McCray did not return to the game but he expects to be fine for the Sept. 5 season opener at New York.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Without Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, Tony Romo was able to look like Tony Romo on Saturday against St. Louis.

Romo led the Cowboys to scores on all three drives – two touchdowns and a field goal – while completing 9 of 13 passes for 198 yards. One incompletion came on a throwaway and a second came on a drop. He finished with a passer rating of 151.4.

“I just think I have to go out and execute the play, find the open guy and do what you do,” Romo said. “When we get those starters back, it’ll be a big boost for us.”

Romo’s preseason is over with coach Jason Garrett holding the starters out of Wednesday’s preseason finale against Miami.

In three preseason games, Romo completed 21 of 32 passes for 303 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions behind an offensive line that has not featured its five expected starters.

Are the Cowboys ready for the New York Giants on Sept. 5?

“We’ll find out in two weeks,” Romo said.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- As expected, the Cowboys' first-team offense and defense played the majority of the first half in their best performances of the preseason. Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes and the defense, with the return of starters Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher and Anthony Spencer, beat the St. Louis Rams, 20-19, Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.

What it means? The Cowboys' preseason home opener couldn't have gone any better with the first-team offense scoring 17 points, the most this summer. The first-team defense held the Rams without a touchdown. The Cowboys did have one major injury, as safety Danny McCray left the game with a strained neck. Coming into the contest, the Cowboys were missing nine players, a list which included starting outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

How did Romo perform?: The Cowboys' starting quarterback threw his first touchdown passes of the preseason, both to wide receiver Dwayne Harris. Romo connected on passes of 61 and 38 yards. It seemed as if Romo got better as the preseason wore on. The fact he he did it with backup receivers tells you a lot about how Romo makes players better. Romo completed nine of 13 passes for 198 yards.

Harris plays well: Competition is something the Cowboys like to promote within their locker room. The third receiver spot is up for grabs, but there are strong candidates. Harris showed up Saturday night with three catches for 118 yards and two scores. Kevin Ogletree finished with five catches for 75 yards, and Cole Beasley had three catches for 40 yards. Harris seems like a strong candidate to make the roster because he gives the Cowboys position flexibility. He can return punts and of course play receiver.

"Big Three" returns: The defensive "Big Three" of Ratliff, Spencer and Hatcher -- who were injured and missed the first two preseason games -- returned and played well. Spencer had three tackles, and Ratliff and Hatcher had one each. Hatcher, however, had a tackle for loss, and Ratliff nearly had one.

Claiborne gets a pass breakup: In his second preseason game, first-round pick Morris Claiborne picked up his first breakup on a pass into the end zone. Claiborne has been playing pretty well in the preseason, but this was the first game where it seemed the opponent tried to target him more than three times. Claiborne did fine, especially with the pass breakup.

Cowboys history made with officials: With the NFL using replacement officials, line judge Shannon Eastin became the first woman to officiate a game in Cowboys history. Eastin has been a referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which consists of schools from historically African-American colleges.

Who played well?: At first glance, Harris, of course, with his two touchdown receptions.

Who didn't play well?: Ronald Leary was penalized twice. It seems he would make the team over Derrick Dockery and Daniel Loper, but the Cowboys have to be slightly concerned about Leary's penalties.

What's next?: The Cowboys have 87 players on their current roster and have to get down to 75 on Monday. It would appear the Cowboys place Caleb McSurdy and Donovan Kemp on injured reserve, unless they negotiate an injury settlement with Kemp. Kevin Kowalski could be placed on the physically unable to perform list and won't count against the 53-man roster. The Cowboys take on the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday at Cowboys Stadium to conclude the preseason.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cowboys remain ahead of the St. Louis Rams, 20-6, after a scoreless third quarter.

Some thoughts:

* Good hard hit by safety Mana Silva, who smashed wide receiver Brian Quick near the Rams' sideline. Silva's hit to the chest was clean. When you talk about who makes one of the final roster spots on the 53, check out Silva. He made an open field-tackle on a third-down screen pass. He also has an interception this preseason.

* Mario Butler sacked Kellen Clemens on a cornerback blitz for a 7-yard loss.

*Quarterback Stephen McGee is trying to make sure the Cowboys don't start the season with just two quarterbacks. His first pass went for 26 yards to James Hanna on a rollout. His second pass would have been a completion had Danny Coale not fallen down. When no receiver was open, McGee scrambled downfield for a first down with an 11-yard run.

* Backup offensive linemen were responsible for some penalties. Ronald Leary was flagged for a hold and Jermey Parnell was called for a a false start. Leary most likely will make the Cowboys, possibly forcing the team to release Derrick Dockery, who is also getting second-team snaps. But Parnell can't afford these mistakes. The Cowboys don't know who the swing tackle is and Parnell has a chance to win that spot. Pat McQuistan has played all three spots along the offensive line this summer, including center.

* Jason Garrett's nephew, Harry Flaherty, checked in with 4:18 to play in the third quarter. On his second snap, he lined up in the slot and was wide open, but McGee completed a 12-yard pass to Andre Holmes.

* Interesting to see defensive linemen Marcus Spears and Sean Lissemore with some late third-quarter snaps again. The Cowboys could go deep at this position, maybe having as many as eight linemen on the active roster. Spears lost a starting spot last year to Jason Hatcher and might be fighting for a gig. But it seems he's played pretty well this summer.

* Orie Lemon did a good job of reading a run play to force a tackle for loss and also tackle a running back in the open field. He's another one of these players who needs to make an impression in the final two preseason games to make the 53.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cowboys produced their best performance of the preseason in the first half against the Rams, taking a commanding 20-6 lead.

Second-quarter thoughts:

* Kyle Orton came in with 14:18 to play in the half but had the first-team offensive line with him and Felix Jones as the running back. Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray were out.

* On a fumble by Orton, it was hard to blame Jones for the missed block. It was a play-action pass, and weakside linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar flew in and made the hit, causing the fumble. Dunbar got through the hole before Jones could get there. Sometimes you have to credit the other team for making a play.

* Alex Albright is playing inside and outside linebacker for the Cowboys. He picked up a quarterback pressure when he beat tackle Rodger Saffold off the edge and hit Sam Bradford on a pass attempt. The Cowboys like what Albright can do at both positions, and his hit on Bradford is an example of that.

* Sometimes you don't notice the fullback, but Lawrence Vickers made a play here. He caused Danny Amendola to fumble a punt.

* Morris Claiborne picked up his first pass breakup of the preseason on a pass in the end zone. Faced with a fourth and goal, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford fired a pass into the back of the end zone. Claiborne tipped it away for the incompletion. And while the Cowboys won the battle, they lost the war in some ways. Safety Danny McCray was injured colliding with Gerald Sensabaugh as each player tried to make a play on the live ball.

* The first-team offensive and defensive lines got significant playing time in the first half. Orton played with the first-team offensive line. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan mixed his lines. Starter Kenyon Coleman got late first-half snaps along with Marcus Spears at defensive end.

* It was interesting to see linebacker Barakas Atkins get first-half snaps. He picked up a quarterback pressure on Bradford in the first half. He's one of those players the coaches want to see make some plays when given playing time against first-team offenses.

* Jones gained 12 yards on a run and later caught a nice pass underneath for a 9-yard reception. Coach Jason Garrett said Jones is still getting into the flow of things after missing the offseason program as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Jones has looked slow at times but is still a dangerous player when in open space.

* With 31 seconds left in the half, Phillip Tanner missed a block of Robert Quinn, leading to a sack of Orton. The Cowboys called timeout and Tanner got an ear full from the sidelines.

* It was a strong first half by the Cowboys' receivers. Dwayne Harris was 3-118, Kevin Ogletree 5-75 and Cole Beasley 3-40.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The first quarter of the Cowboys' preseason home opener against St. Louis is done. Dallas leads, 17-3.

Some thoughts:

* Felix Jones, Kevin Ogletree and Phillip Tanner were lined up to return the opening kick. It was Jones who took it back 24 yards. There was a nice hole there for him, but he didn't hit it with a burst.

* Nice job by Ogletree to catch a 25-yard pass against Janoris Jenkins. Ogletree's biggest problem is consistency. After making the catch, however, he dropped a pass on a third and 6 while running a slant. Ogletree is off to a strong start in his quest for the No. 3 receiver spot, but it's drops like these that raise concerns.

* Is Dwayne Harris moving up the depth chart? He caught touchdown passes of 61 and 38 yards from Tony Romo to give the Cowboys a 17-0 lead. Harris outran his defenders on Romo's first touchdown pass of this preseason. It had to be a miscommunication with linebacker James Laurinaitis covering Harris down the field. Harris also fielded a punt in the opening quarter and showed some wiggle. Romo's second TD pass was whipped toward Harris crossing the middle of the field. Harris slipped past two Rams' defenders and then dove into the end zone for the score.

* Bruce Carter started with Sean Lee at inside linebacker, but on the second series Dan Connor replaced Carter. On his first play, Connor allowed tight end Lance Kendricks to get behind him for a 26-yard reception. Conner is more experienced than Carter but isn't consistent in pass coverage. Connor was beaten by a tight end in last week's game at San Diego. It might be the difference between starting Carter or Connor when the regular season starts.

* There's a big difference between Felix Jones and DeMarco Murray. Murray makes people miss in space, and Jones' doesn't. When Tony Romo was moving in the pocket, he found Jones in the flat. He two defenders miss to get a 10-yard gain.

* Jay Ratliff, Anthony Spencer and Jason Hatcher, all recovering from injuries, made their preseason debuts. On his first series, Hatcher, the defensive end, came off the edge and sacked Sam Bradford for an 8-yard loss. Hatcher had a strong season last year, his best as a pro, and isn't in danger of losing his starting gig to any of the emerging young defensive linemen.

* You always want corners and safeties near the ball, something that didn't happen a lot last season for the Cowboys. We saw Brandon Carr and Barry Church converge on Kendricks for an incompletion. Carr and Church ran into each other on the pass play. Both were fine.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The third preseason game of the season kicks off Saturday night as the Cowboys host the Rams at Cowboys Stadium.

Feel free to fire away with questions. We'll start answering at 6:45 p.m.

The Dallas Cowboys play their third preseason game of 2012 at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday against the St. Louis Rams in Arlington, Texas. Here's what I'll be watching...

Most closely: The backup wide receivers. With Miles Austin and Dez Bryant (not to mention tight end Jason Witten) out with injuries, I'm very interested to see who catches Tony Romo's passes in this game. Kevin Ogletree has been the standout among the No. 3 wide receiver candidates so far this preseason, but Dwayne Harris, Andre Holmes, Cole Beasley and others are still in the mix and should get opportunities with the first-team offense tonight. It's still audition time for those guys, and with this likely to be Romo's final preseason game of the year, it's probably their best chance to show their stuff.

On the other side of the ball: The defense looks to be getting healthy, as nose tackle Jay Ratliff, defensive end Jason Hatcher and linebacker Anthony Spencer all have a chance to see their first preseason action. The Cowboys have struggled a bit against the run in the preseason so far, but Hatcher and Spencer are two of their best run defenders, and Ratliff's presence in the middle of the defensive line should shore things up there. Seeing the starting defense on the field together all at the same time will be encouraging to Cowboys fans, and it should be interesting to see who gets the bulk of the playing time at that defensive end spot opposite Hatcher. Some roster decisions looming over there.

If I think of it: DeMarco Murray's touches have been very limited this preseason, and Dallas doesn't want to risk injury to the running back on whom it plans to rely on a great deal this year. Murray will probably get more carries in this game, but don't expect to see very much of him. I'll be looking at Morris Claiborne again at cornerback, as he's going to have to hit the ground running if the defense is to function the way they want it to. And of course, the offensive line, whose struggles have been the story of the preseason. Are they getting healthier and/or better there?