so, TC is finally under way. i actually wanted to write a preview this weekend, but couldn't do it. anyway, i just wanted to take a look at the roster and see what our team in '09 could look like.
QBs
we've got three heading into camp and we'll keep three on the roster. hmm, kind of makes you wonder who's the odd man out lol
Pennington will enter camp as clear-cut starter. Henne will be given every oppportunity to shine during pre-season, but in the end i think we'll go with experience. White will certainly be checked out as WildCat trigger man, but he'll have to prove he can be an effective runner out of that formation.
Prediction: Pennington will start. White may see some time in certain formations. Henne will be groomed, but he is the primary back-up if needed.
OL
this is were things are getting really interesting. IMO there's 5 players who are locks to make the roster. those are Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Donald Thomas and Vernon Carey. if everyone is 100 % healthy, that's our starting unit as well. that's a big IF though. both Smiley and Grove have a history of missing time and Donald Thomas spent almost all of last year on IR.
Thomas will probably find himself in a three-man race for the starting spot at RG. Ikechuku Ndukwe filled in ok last year when Thomas went down, although he struggled badly against Baltimore in the post-season.
the third player is Shawn Murphy, who recently received praise from Coach Sparano. with Thomas rehabbing from a pec injury, Murphy is the starter for now. both Murphy and Ndukwe will make the final roster IMO.
Joe Berger was brought in to assume back-up duties at C. he'll have to hold off Andy Alleman to do so. the latter played very shaky when given the opportunity last year.
Mark Lewis and Brandon Frye round out the cast of interior OL. neither will make the team IMO, even though Frye ran with the first team for a day or two during OTAs.
there's even more question marks at OT. the team is thin behind Long and Carey. Andrew Gardner was drafted in the 6th round. Jeff Ireland has really been impressed by the skill set. he recently said in an interview that Gardner has "left tackle feet" and that those are rare to find, which leads me to believe Gardner is here to stay.
both Nate Garner and SirVincent Rogers will be camp fodder IMO.
so, to put it all together, i think we're going to keep 9 players. Long, Smiley, Grove, Thomas, Carey, Gardner, Murphy, Berger and Ndukwe.
WR
9 players will enter camp at WR. my guess is 6 will emerge to end up on the final roster. Ginn, Bess, Camarillo and Turner are locks in my book. that leaves Brandon London, 4th-round pick Brian Hartline, Anthony Armstrong, Chris Williams and Brennon Marion to battle for 2 spots. realistically, it's a race between London, Armstrong and Hartline for 2 spots IMO.
LOndon struggled during OTAs, but he should look better when the pads come on. Armstrong has shown lightning speed and Hartline is a jack-of-all-trades type of player. Hartline is very similar to Bess and Camarillo though. unless he totally outplays London and Armstrong, i think he'll end up on the PS. Armstrong has the speed to replace Ginn if needed and London is just about the same height and skillset as Turner.
TEs
Fasano will start again. he played really well last year. David Martin had a solid season, too. IMO he'll have to hold off Ernest Wilford for the receiving TE role on the team. Joey Haynos and John Nalbone will battle for the #3 spot. IMO Martin and Nalbone will beat out their opponents to secure a roster spot.
i could imagine a David Martin trade though. he's a nice player to have around, but some team just might need a TE come September. if that's the case, Martin could land us anything from a 5th to a 7th round pick IMO.
RB/FB
the only question to me is, do we keep 3 or 4 RBs. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Patrick Cobbs played well last year. they'll all be back. Lou Polite was a great short-yardage option at FB. there's little controversy here. if we're keeping a 4th RB over a 6th WR, Lex Hilliard is in and Anthony Armstrong is out. i think it's going to be the other way round.
DL
to me, Langford and Ferguson are firmly entrenched as starters. at RDE, Phillip Merling will battle Randy Starks. the latter could also play some NT if needed. he played the position against the Ravens last year and did pretty well, all things considered. newly acquired Tony McDaniel is another versatile DL, who will play DE/DT. Paul Soliai will probably be given one last chance to show he can produce. he has the talent. i think we're going to keep 7 DL this season, which means Lionel Dotson will sneak ontop the final roster. he's a nice pass-rusher from the DE position. Rod Wright will be the odd man out IMO. Joe Cohen, Louis Ellis and Ryan Baker could all land on PS.
LBs
it's a pretty tough group to project. last year's starters Roth, Crowder, Ayodele and Porter all return. Jason taylor will be back to take some pressure off of Porter and apply some to opposing QBs. Reggie Torbor will be kept around at ILB for lack of better options.
Charlie Anderson played ok last year. he did contribute some on D and played STs. my guess is he'll stick around. IMO that leaves Walden and Cam Wake for one final spot. Erik Walden was very good ST player for us, but that's probably not enough to land him a spot on the team. Cameron Wake appears to be the better pass-rusher. that should give him the nod over Walden IMO.
that's 8 LBs for now. i think we're going to keep 9, however, the 9th LB will be an ILB for depth yet to be signed. i'm guessing we're going to bring someone in via waiver claim or signing another team's cut etc. we're sorely lacking there.
CBs
Will Allen is our best corner, Sean Smith and Vontae Davis were high draft picks. Nathan Jones played well at NB towards the end of last year. IMO Eric Green and Jason Allen will battle for a final spot. Allen did stink it up against the Pats last year. he does have an abundancy of talent and doesn't take to coaching very well. i think we'll take the cap hit now and cut him loose.
Ss
i don't think there's going to be much of a controversy here. Wilson and Bell are starters. Tyrone Culver, who signed an extension during the off-season, and Chris Clemons will provide depth and ST play.
STs
not much to say here IMO. Dan Carpenter was very good as a rookie PK. his kickoffs need some work, but he's highly accurate. Brandon Fields is uncontested at P. John Denney has been our LS. i expect all of them on the final roster.
Projected Roster and Depth
QB - Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Pat White
LT - Jake Long, Andrew Gardner
LG - Justin Smiley, Shawn Murphy
C - Jake Grove, Joe Berger
RG - Donald Thomas, Ike Ndukwe
RT - Vernon Carey, Andrew Gardner
FB - Lou Polite
RB - Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs
TE - Anthony Fasano, David Martin, John Nalbone
WR - Ted Ginn Jr., Patrick Turner, Brandon London
WR - Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Anthony Armstrong
LDE - Kendall Langford, Tony McDaniel
NT - Jason Ferguson, Paul Soliai
RDE - Phillip Merling, Randy Starks, Lionel Dotson
SOLB - Matt Roth, Jason Taylor
MIKE - Channing Crowder, (FA to be signed)
WILL - Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor
WOLB - Joey Porter, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake
LCB - Will Allen, Sean Smith
RCB - Vontae Davis, Nathan Jones, Eric Green
S - Yeremiah Bell, Tyrone Culver
S - Gibril Wilson, Chris Clemons
PK - Dan Carpenter
P - Brandon Fields
LS - John Denney
Practice Squad
T - SirVincent Rogers
G - Mark Lewis
RB - Lex Hilliard
WR - Brian Hartline
WR - Brennan Marion
NT - Joe Cohen
NT - Louis Ellis
LB - Orion Martin
QBs
we've got three heading into camp and we'll keep three on the roster. hmm, kind of makes you wonder who's the odd man out lol
Pennington will enter camp as clear-cut starter. Henne will be given every oppportunity to shine during pre-season, but in the end i think we'll go with experience. White will certainly be checked out as WildCat trigger man, but he'll have to prove he can be an effective runner out of that formation.
Prediction: Pennington will start. White may see some time in certain formations. Henne will be groomed, but he is the primary back-up if needed.
OL
this is were things are getting really interesting. IMO there's 5 players who are locks to make the roster. those are Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Donald Thomas and Vernon Carey. if everyone is 100 % healthy, that's our starting unit as well. that's a big IF though. both Smiley and Grove have a history of missing time and Donald Thomas spent almost all of last year on IR.
Thomas will probably find himself in a three-man race for the starting spot at RG. Ikechuku Ndukwe filled in ok last year when Thomas went down, although he struggled badly against Baltimore in the post-season.
the third player is Shawn Murphy, who recently received praise from Coach Sparano. with Thomas rehabbing from a pec injury, Murphy is the starter for now. both Murphy and Ndukwe will make the final roster IMO.
Joe Berger was brought in to assume back-up duties at C. he'll have to hold off Andy Alleman to do so. the latter played very shaky when given the opportunity last year.
Mark Lewis and Brandon Frye round out the cast of interior OL. neither will make the team IMO, even though Frye ran with the first team for a day or two during OTAs.
there's even more question marks at OT. the team is thin behind Long and Carey. Andrew Gardner was drafted in the 6th round. Jeff Ireland has really been impressed by the skill set. he recently said in an interview that Gardner has "left tackle feet" and that those are rare to find, which leads me to believe Gardner is here to stay.
both Nate Garner and SirVincent Rogers will be camp fodder IMO.
so, to put it all together, i think we're going to keep 9 players. Long, Smiley, Grove, Thomas, Carey, Gardner, Murphy, Berger and Ndukwe.
WR
9 players will enter camp at WR. my guess is 6 will emerge to end up on the final roster. Ginn, Bess, Camarillo and Turner are locks in my book. that leaves Brandon London, 4th-round pick Brian Hartline, Anthony Armstrong, Chris Williams and Brennon Marion to battle for 2 spots. realistically, it's a race between London, Armstrong and Hartline for 2 spots IMO.
LOndon struggled during OTAs, but he should look better when the pads come on. Armstrong has shown lightning speed and Hartline is a jack-of-all-trades type of player. Hartline is very similar to Bess and Camarillo though. unless he totally outplays London and Armstrong, i think he'll end up on the PS. Armstrong has the speed to replace Ginn if needed and London is just about the same height and skillset as Turner.
TEs
Fasano will start again. he played really well last year. David Martin had a solid season, too. IMO he'll have to hold off Ernest Wilford for the receiving TE role on the team. Joey Haynos and John Nalbone will battle for the #3 spot. IMO Martin and Nalbone will beat out their opponents to secure a roster spot.
i could imagine a David Martin trade though. he's a nice player to have around, but some team just might need a TE come September. if that's the case, Martin could land us anything from a 5th to a 7th round pick IMO.
RB/FB
the only question to me is, do we keep 3 or 4 RBs. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Patrick Cobbs played well last year. they'll all be back. Lou Polite was a great short-yardage option at FB. there's little controversy here. if we're keeping a 4th RB over a 6th WR, Lex Hilliard is in and Anthony Armstrong is out. i think it's going to be the other way round.
DL
to me, Langford and Ferguson are firmly entrenched as starters. at RDE, Phillip Merling will battle Randy Starks. the latter could also play some NT if needed. he played the position against the Ravens last year and did pretty well, all things considered. newly acquired Tony McDaniel is another versatile DL, who will play DE/DT. Paul Soliai will probably be given one last chance to show he can produce. he has the talent. i think we're going to keep 7 DL this season, which means Lionel Dotson will sneak ontop the final roster. he's a nice pass-rusher from the DE position. Rod Wright will be the odd man out IMO. Joe Cohen, Louis Ellis and Ryan Baker could all land on PS.
LBs
it's a pretty tough group to project. last year's starters Roth, Crowder, Ayodele and Porter all return. Jason taylor will be back to take some pressure off of Porter and apply some to opposing QBs. Reggie Torbor will be kept around at ILB for lack of better options.
Charlie Anderson played ok last year. he did contribute some on D and played STs. my guess is he'll stick around. IMO that leaves Walden and Cam Wake for one final spot. Erik Walden was very good ST player for us, but that's probably not enough to land him a spot on the team. Cameron Wake appears to be the better pass-rusher. that should give him the nod over Walden IMO.
that's 8 LBs for now. i think we're going to keep 9, however, the 9th LB will be an ILB for depth yet to be signed. i'm guessing we're going to bring someone in via waiver claim or signing another team's cut etc. we're sorely lacking there.
CBs
Will Allen is our best corner, Sean Smith and Vontae Davis were high draft picks. Nathan Jones played well at NB towards the end of last year. IMO Eric Green and Jason Allen will battle for a final spot. Allen did stink it up against the Pats last year. he does have an abundancy of talent and doesn't take to coaching very well. i think we'll take the cap hit now and cut him loose.
Ss
i don't think there's going to be much of a controversy here. Wilson and Bell are starters. Tyrone Culver, who signed an extension during the off-season, and Chris Clemons will provide depth and ST play.
STs
not much to say here IMO. Dan Carpenter was very good as a rookie PK. his kickoffs need some work, but he's highly accurate. Brandon Fields is uncontested at P. John Denney has been our LS. i expect all of them on the final roster.
Projected Roster and Depth
QB - Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Pat White
LT - Jake Long, Andrew Gardner
LG - Justin Smiley, Shawn Murphy
C - Jake Grove, Joe Berger
RG - Donald Thomas, Ike Ndukwe
RT - Vernon Carey, Andrew Gardner
FB - Lou Polite
RB - Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs
TE - Anthony Fasano, David Martin, John Nalbone
WR - Ted Ginn Jr., Patrick Turner, Brandon London
WR - Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Anthony Armstrong
LDE - Kendall Langford, Tony McDaniel
NT - Jason Ferguson, Paul Soliai
RDE - Phillip Merling, Randy Starks, Lionel Dotson
SOLB - Matt Roth, Jason Taylor
MIKE - Channing Crowder, (FA to be signed)
WILL - Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor
WOLB - Joey Porter, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake
LCB - Will Allen, Sean Smith
RCB - Vontae Davis, Nathan Jones, Eric Green
S - Yeremiah Bell, Tyrone Culver
S - Gibril Wilson, Chris Clemons
PK - Dan Carpenter
P - Brandon Fields
LS - John Denney
Practice Squad
T - SirVincent Rogers
G - Mark Lewis
RB - Lex Hilliard
WR - Brian Hartline
WR - Brennan Marion
NT - Joe Cohen
NT - Louis Ellis
LB - Orion Martin
