So how is our 53 man roster shaping up? Let's see: (players who'll be 31+ in red) Offense: QB: Sanchez, Ainge, ??? (O'connell or vet) RB: Greene, Tomlinson, McKnight FB: Richardson, Conner WR: Edwards, Cotchery, Holmes, Clowney, B. Smith TE: Keller, Hartsock OT: Ferguson, Woody, Hunter, Ducasse OG: Moore, Slauson, Turner C: Mangold Analysis: This is an awesome offense imo! 23 players listed (I'm sure all of them will make the team) I think we could add an extra TE or an extra WR or both... right now we have Mulligan (has been on the active roster last season) who I think will make the team as a TE and someone with strong ST play might make the team as the 6th WR. Defense: NT: Jenkins, Pouha DE: Ellis, DeVito, Pitoitua, Gholston, ??? (Kroul vs Wright vs who knows) OLB: Pace, Thomas, Taylor, Westerman ILB: Harris, Scott, Laury CB: Revis, Cromartie, Wilson, Lowery, Warren, Coleman S: Leonhard, Pool, E. Smith, Ihedigbo Analysis: Solid roster, especially in the DBs. 24 players. I think we'll carry 5 DEs because of question marks at the position... Kroul (CS high on him) might make the team instead of Rodrique Wright. We may also decide to bring in a fatter guy (Callahan Bright anyone?) as an insurance for Jenkins. We need another ILB (Cummings, Butler?) since Laury is strictly ST. We'll either carry a 7th CB or a 6th WR for ST duties... personally I hope it's Marquice Cole. ST: K: Folk P: Weatherford LS: Purdum Analysis: I guess we're really rolling with Folk this year... hope it turns out ok. Weatherford might be beat in TC by TJ Conley but it's unlikely imo. Tanny always refers to Purdum as a quality signing so I guess he's our new LS. At the end of the day I feel like our only openings in the roster are: - 7th DL... be it DE, NT or a hybrid. (I'd prefer a NT but on the roster we have more DEs) - 4th ILB... we only have Cummings there who has always been a borderline player. - 7th CB or 6th WR... strictly depending on ST play IMO. - 3rd TE... although I feel that's Mulligans job to loose. He's an asset in ST and was active for many games last season. maaaybe: - 5th WR... If Clowney REALLY screws up - 6th DL... If Gholston REALLY screws up - 6th CB... If Coleman REALLY screws up Hope you enjoyed my analysis PS and Tanny... for one season... PLEASE DON'T CARRY 4 QB ON THE 53 MAN ROSTER!!!
We don't need a S! We got 4 and Lowery and Warren will get some FS duties. We already have 4 OLBs... how many more do you want? Remember how high we all were on Westerman last year?
I think you could put Ducasse in the OG list as well. On Safety, we might have 4 , but they are very average, and I really am not sold on Pool, who for me has alot of ?????s
The talent that Tanny and Rex have assembled over the last few years is outstanding, especially on offense. Most contending teams have a 1 or 2 year window to win a superbowl before they must go into rebuilding mode, at least partially. Thats why we see a lot of teams disappear after a superbowl appearence. But with our young nucleus of core players, i believe we have at least a 4-5 year window to go all the way. Man i hope we can avoid a lockout in 2011...
We went into the draft needing a #3 corner and got one of the best in the draft. After that we needed depth and as it turned out an OL. We got younger in our back field and better on special teams. Not sure where you've been Donny, but we signed Pool and Taylor pre-draft to fill your "needs".
Nice job Mambo. I'm glad to see you mention Kroul as having a chance. I agree we need another ILB as the CS doesn't seem to have faith in Cummings. Another thing I noticed last year, throughout all our transactions last season, we always seemed to carry 25 d / 25 O and 3 special teamers. If that is the case this year no way we can keep 4 QBs and we will have trouble keeping all the D players we want, especially if we bring back Douglas as some suspect. Unless he really shows something, the Ghost could be in real trouble come August.
We also have 2 roster exemptions on week 1 and 1 roster exemption weeks 2-4 due to the suspensions of Edwards and Holmes. We will more then likely fill those spots with WR's (Woodhead, Allison or Davis)
when Tanny & Rex addressed the DL pre-draft they said they were expecting Pitoitua to contribute a lot more than last season (along with DeVito) and that the CS thought highly of Kroul. I was surprised they didn't include Wright in the talk (he has experience playing in the NFL) so it'll be exciting to see how things turn out in TC. PS thank you that will give us a chance to better evaluate who'll make the team and who won't... I'm predicting a Cole (CB) vs Allison (WR) showdown for who gets the spot as a ST stand-out. I'm rooting for Cole but it's only a gut feeling.
I think the only position group, excluding the kicking game, where you could argue we aren't elite, would be D-Line. And even there we have some solid veterans and a few young up and comers. The season cannot come fast enough!
the ILB depth is a concern due to most teams having to try and run on us since no one will be able to pass on us. Harris should lead the league in tackles with no close second.
What makes me confident about the DL is that Rex is an excellent D coach and his speciality is the DL... if he's ok with what we have I fully trust him. I'm just a little afraid that both our NTs are 31 and we need them to stay in good health... last year having a 3rd NT on the team made me feel a little better.
I agree... I would like to have a decent 3rd ILB. I don't dislike Cummings but I think we'll find someone during final cuts (the way we did with Ryan Fowler last year)... as of now I'm rooting for Kenwin! Ps Anyone have any idea on how effective Laury can be as an ILB? He's this year's Izzo...
Most of this looks pretty good. I'll have questions about our kicking game more than anything else at this point. I hope they only carry 3 QB's this year. If they lose Clemens and move Ainge and O'connell up, thats about the same as last year. Though with an extra year under Ainges belt, I think he will make a better backup for Mark.
I think we're a little vulnerable to the run... I want a big 330lbs guy to plug somewhere on the line!
OK... let me rephrase that... I want another 330lbs just in case Big Jenks isn't up to NFL just quite yet...
