Stock Report: Felix Jones up, Ronald Leary is down

[Irving Cowboy]

Stock Report: Felix Jones up, Ronald Leary is down
August, 26, 2012
By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

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.

 

[Midswat]

Love that Felix still isn't in shape.

Such a professional.

 

[superpunk]

I think Lee is a better player than Ratliff at this point. He has been so impressive with his ability to knife through traffic and find the ball carrier, his blitzing is top notch and he's been outstanding in coverage.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

I would venture to say Lee is the most important player on the defense.

 

[dbair1967]

I would venture to say Lee is the most important player on the defense.

its a passing league...nothing is more important than a premier pass rusher

love Lee and he is a bigtime player, but Ware is hands down the most important player on the defense IMO

we're lucky to have them both though

 

[Everlastingxxx]

its a passing league...nothing is more important than a premier pass rusher

love Lee and he is a bigtime player, but Ware is hands down the most important player on the defense IMO

we're lucky to have them both though

True, but you can game plan and take Demarcus out. You can do the same with Rat. I think the defense seems to run smoothly with Lee in the middle. He is the heart of that defense (in my humble opinion). He is also excellent in coverage. We have had Ware for years and the defense still sucked. Plus the defense is complex and i think Lee helps other players understand their assignments.

*Not saying Ware sucks or we will go 0-16.

 

[UVAwahoos]

What's sad is that Ware could be so much better. The team has failed to find a compliment for him because DE and OLB are not fantasy football positions. Jerry has no problem stocking up 7 WRs, 4 QBs, and two kickers, but until oline and dline become mainstream fantasy football roster spots, I don't think Jerry will know about them .

 

[cmd34]

What's sad is that Ware could be so much better. The team has failed to find a compliment for him because DE and OLB are not fantasy football positions. Jerry has no problem stocking up 7 WRs, 4 QBs, and two kickers, but until oline and dline become mainstream fantasy football roster spots, I don't think Jerry will know about them .

The thing is Ware will/would be so much sicker if teams couldn't just scheme him out. I think we'll have no choice next year with Spencer's and Butler's contracts expiring. Even with the scheming and double teaming there are so many plays where Ware is almost there. Now imagine pressure from the other side..QB's are going to spin out of that pressure right into Ware's arms.

 

[UVAwahoos]

Just put Ware on the Giants' dline.

He'd have 30 sacks a year. Not guessing.

 

[superpunk]

Having another pass rusher isn't going to make a ton of differences in most instances, unless we got a pass rusher as good as Ware.

The opposition is still going to commit it's resources to stopping Ware first, unless their tackle is all-world.

Ware would get the same amount of sacks, the team would just get more as we get cleanup sacks when Eli rolls or steps up from Ware and we actually have someone there to hit him.

edit for the possibility that Ware gets a couple cleanup sacks during the course of the season so maybe it impacts his numbers a bit. I'm just theorizing

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Yeah

 

[UVAwahoos]

The trenches are all set, guyz. Now go try some new cinnapie and buffalo chicken pizza on concourse 4.

 

[peplaw06]

lol

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

True, but you can game plan and take Demarcus out. You can do the same with Rat. I think the defense seems to run smoothly with Lee in the middle. He is the heart of that defense (in my humble opinion). He is also excellent in coverage. We have had Ware for years and the defense still sucked. Plus the defense is complex and i think Lee helps other players understand their assignments.

*Not saying Ware sucks or we will go 0-16.

Not really or maybe to some extent. Ware is going to get his whether they game plan for him or not. Do you think Ware does what he does because he's NOT being game planned for? Every team gameplanned for Michael Jordan, but a lot of good it did. The defense would suffer a lot more without Ware than without Lee. Lee is the second most important player on the defense, and let's just leave it at that.

 

[overused]

you start a team strong up the middle

strong Center
strong D linemen
strong M Linebacker
strong SS

its a passing league

what do you do in Dec in the northern towns - you run the ball

 

[overused]

I hope Leary gets put on PS

he has not shown me anything

WE NEED A NEW O LINE SCOUT