I'll give it a shot. If I missed anything, I'm sure others will add to it.
Here's a quick review on the haps with our Fins this preseason:
QB - So far our QBs have not done anything to calm the anxieties among the fans, or better yet; the coaching staff.
Gus Frerotte or
A.J. Feeley have not done much to seperate themselves from each other to claim the #1 spot outright
. IMO,
Brock Berlin is battling for the #3 spot with
Sage Rosenfels who is in a slight lead. You gotta love Rosenfels arm, but it just seems he cannot do anything in the coaches eyes to push for the #2 spot. If he's not careful, Berlin could sneak in there and steal the #3 spot away from Rosenfels; but I consider that a very very long shot. I think Berlin has been a pleasant surprise with his performance against the fourth stringers, but keep in mind; he's only been playing against the other team's camp fodders during the preseason games, so you may not want to read in too much about that.
RB - It's hard to judge the RB's. We are very deep in the position with
Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown, Sammy Morris, Lamar Gordon, Travis Minor, and Kay Jay Harris; but the offensive line has not done a good job with opening up holes for our RBs to run through. Ricky has been the best back we have through training camp and preseason games. Ronnie Brown has only been with the team for a week now, so we will be able to get a good look at him against Tampa Bay this week.
TE - We all know
Randy Michael is our starter, although he had a terrible game vs. Pittsburgh (he couldn't block or catch that day). He will bounce back from that day. We may have found a gem (no pun intended :) ) in
Lorenzo Diamond, he has clearly outplayed
Donald Lee during training camp; and right now he has the inside track to stealing the #2 spot from Lee. If that happens; Lee will be cut.
OL - Where do I begin!?!? First, some good news;
Vernon Carey is the most improved player on our offensive line. He's been holding it down at the LT position very well and he will only get better. Another player who is having a decent camp is our LG/C
Rex Hadnot. He's had his up and downs this summer, but overall he's been very solid. Saban has been experiencing with Hadnot by having him take snaps at center, but he's been playing LG the last two preseason games. Our "big" free agent pickup is
Stockar McDougal, but he had a bad outing against Pitt and Saban has demoted him to the second team for this week's game. As a result of the demotion,
Damian McInstosh has been rewarded for his very solid play on the second team, and he's been promoted to play LT with the first team this week. This will move Vernon Carey over to the right tackle position in place of McDougal.
Jeno James started off slow in camp, but IMO; he played very well last weekend. James has been solid overall, but I expect more out of him though.
Seth McKinney, my favorite whipping boy, somehow is still with the first team. He was demoted to the second team for a brief moment, but was put back on the first team the following week. I still don't like him as a starter; hell, I don't want him as a second teamer either but I have to say that his play has improved just a smidge since he was put back on the first team. IMO, he has to go, he can't move anyone on run plays, and on pass plays he is the main reason the pocket collapses up the middle :yell:. The offensive line is still a work in progress and Saban is switching players around in the lineup to find the best fit for our lineup.
WR - We have a bunch of WRs that are playing well. The ones who will definitely make the team are:
Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, David Boston, and Wes Welker. The remaining spots will be filled by either,
Bryan Gilmore (who's had a very good camp), [B/]Derrius Thompson (who's struggling),
Maurice Mann and
Josh Davis.
That's it with the offense for now. I've run out of time. Maybe someone can help out by giving you the 411 on our defense. I'll check back. Take it easy. :D
