JIM WHATLEY
HENDERSON, TX
What would you consider the biggest surprise in the final 53 player roster?
Bryan: Darrion Weems. He was able to make this roster without doing anything at training camp which is surprising to me. I understand that this front office has two seasons of experience built into him but I still felt like he needed to do something in order to keep that roster spot but that wasn't the case at all.
Rowan: The biggest surprise to me is someone who made it more so than anyone who got cut. Now, nothing is ever really "final" with this 53-man roster, as we've seen with more players getting cut and added every day. But I didn't think they'd keep Dustin Vaughan on the active roster, particularly with the situation they're dealing with on defense. I thought they could have gotten him to the practice squad, and that final defensive spot could have gone to someone like Kenneth Boatright or Ahmad Dixon or Dartwan Bush.
DERRICK SMITH
ALBANY, NY
Why wouldn't the Cowboys waive Jeff Heath and let Ahmad Dixon continue to develop?
Bryan:My experience with coaches at all levels is that they are more willing to go with what they know than what they don't know. I agree Jeff Heath had his struggles in the secondary but if you study his work on special teams, he was one of the best players this team had. With the development of J.J. Wilcox, Heath will no longer be asked to start at safety and he can focus in the area in which he does best. You might not like Heath but these coaches do. They trust when he lines up on [embedded_ad]
special teams each week that he will get the job done and for that reason he is currently on this roster and Ahmad Dixon is not.
Rowan: Heath led the team in special teams tackles last year, and as much as people don't want to hear it, they love him in that role. I was surprised to see Dixon get cut when he did, and I don't think it's entirely related to his promise on the field, because he obviously had a breakout start to the preseason. But I think the move came down to trust. They don't have plans to start Heath on defense, but they trust him more as a special teams player, which is where the backup safety has to thrive.
