WHo Will Make The Roster In Dallas

MINNEAPOLIS - The Cowboys started training camp with 11 receivers trying to fit into five, maybe six spots. Then, Terry Glenn injured his knee during practice in San Antonio. So did Jamaica Rector. Opportunities for young receivers increased. After the roster cut to 75 on August 28, nine receivers remained on the roster. By Saturday evening, if history should repeat itself, three more will likely be cut. But in Thursday night's final preseason game here at the Metrodome, two of those receivers on the bubble have made cutting them very hard on the Cowboys. Jerheme Urban and Miles Austin have emerged as the front-runners for what appears to be the final spot on the 53-man roster since at this point is seems safe to assume the Cowboys will keep Glenn, Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd and fourth-round draft choice Isaiah Stanback as a developmental player. And who knows, maybe they stretch the group to seven with Glenn recovering from a knee scope. Austin and Urban made the most of their starting opportunity Thursday night in the Minnesota Vikings' 23-14 preseason victory over the Cowboys, with both receivers playing well into the third quarter. Urban finished with four catches for 18 yards while Austin had three grabs for 37 yards. But it was Urban who made his mark early in the game on special teams, returning the Vikings' first punt 95 yards for a touchdown. The fourth-year veteran not only ran back Chris Kluwe's 59-yard punt, but along the way he bulldozed over the Minnesota punter after shaking off two previous tacklers. "I probably shouldn't have taken it that deep inside the 10," Urban said following the game, knowing it's a no-no to field a punt inside your 10-yard line. "But I looked down there and they did a great job holding them back and blocking. I just got out there and they set the wall up and it just opened up and I just ran from there." Not bad for a third-year player who just started fielding punts late in training camp after injuries began shortening the punt-return ranks, which became further shortened with Terence Newman now nursing a slight tear in the plantar fascia of his right foot. However, only 7 minutes, 46 seconds later, Urban, back at wide receiver, caught a quick out from rookie quarterback Matt Moore, only to have the ball stripped out from the side, setting up the Vikings for a touchdown off the turnover. Austin's special teams contributions were limited this night to basically covering punts, since on kickoff returns, where he made his mark last year averaging 26 yards a return after taking over for the injured Tyson Thompson, he ended up being the blocking partner back deep for Stanback. He only was able to return one kickoff, going for 16 yards. But Austin had a nice game catching passes, much better than a few of the previous preseason games when he had a couple of drops and slipped down coming out of a route, leading to a Tony Romo pass against Denver getting intercepted. The second-year Cowboys receiver would have produced a huge receiving night if not for two of his receptions totaling 62 yards getting nullified by penalties unrelated to him (Anthony Fasano called for a pick and Pat McQuistan flagged for holding). So the bottom line with Saturday's final cuts looming? With Glenn expected back in practice on Saturday and to be ready for the Sept. 9 season opener against the Giants, there might only be one open receiver slot. Will it be Austin or will it be Urban? "I always feel like I could do better," Austin said of his overall performance this summer after making the team last year as a rookie free agent out of Momouth University. "I tried my best every day and the coaches know that and I know that, so it's all I can do. "I'm not going to be sitting at the dining room table meditating or anything [tomorrow]. I'm going to be living my life like I normally do and hope for good news." Urban has a similar attitude toward the next day or so. "This isn't my first rodeo, so to speak," said Urban, who spent last year on the Cowboys' practice squad after bouncing on and off the Seattle roster the previous two seasons. "I'm just going to try to relax as much as I can, spend some time with my wife. Hopefully I'll go in Saturday morning and be in all the meetings preparing for the Giants but at the same time I know there are certain roster numbers you have to have. I left it all on the field tonight and I felt it was enough." The final preseason performance of the two leaving the Cowboys with a tough decision.