Sunday, May 06, 2007

Now where do we put them?

I am a big fan of Ace Davis' blog. A couple times a year he throws together a comprehensive roster listing to project who will be around and who will be cut. I don't mean to rip him off, but I am a little anxious to be able to look at who we could expect to see suiting up come September, so I have gone through the exercise on my own:

QB
Starter: Charlie Frye
Backups: Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson
Practice squad: None
Cut: Ken Dorsey

RB/FB
Starters: Jamal Lewis, Lawrence Vickers
Backups: Jerome Harrison, Jason Wright, Alan Ricard
Practice squad: Tyrone Moss
Cut: Charles Ali, Chris Barclay

TE
Starter: Kellen Winslow
Backups: Steve Heiden, Darnell Dinkens
Cut: Ryan Krause, Buck Ortega

OL
Starters: Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Hank Fraley, Seth McKinney, Kevin Shaffer
Backups: Ryan Tucker, Isaac Sowells, Kelly Butler, Rob Smith
Practice squad: Rick Drushal
Injured Reserve: LeCharles Bentley
Cut: Andrew Hoffman, Pete Lougheed, Fred Matua, Brent Pousson, Scott Stephenson,Nat Dorsey, Lennie Friedman

WR
Starters: Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius
Backups: Travis Wilson, Josh Cribbs, Tim Carter
Practice squad:Syndric Steptoe
Cut: Kendrick Mosley, Steve Sanders, Mike Mason

DL
Starters: Orpheus Roye, Ted Washington, Robaire Smith
Backups: Simon Fraser, Ethan Kelley, Babatunde Oshinowo, Shaun Smith
Practice squad:Melila Purcell
Cut: Orien Harris, J'vonne Parker, Alvin Smith, Chase Pittman

OLB
Starters: Willie McGinest, Kamerion Wimbley
Backups: Matt Stewart, Antwaan Peek
Practice squad: Mike Alston
Cut: Jason Short, David McMillan

ILB
Starters: Andra Davis, D'Qwell Jackson
Backups: Chaun Thompson, Leon Williams, Mason Unck
Cut: Clifton Smith, Funtaine Hunter

CB
Starters: Daven Holly, Leigh Bodden
Backups: Eric Wright, DeMario Minter, Kenny Wright, Jereme Perry
IR: Gary Baxter
Practice squad: Brandon McDonald
Cut: Antonio Perkins, Therrian Fontenot

S
Starters: Brodney Pool, Sean Jones
Backups: Mike Adams
Practice squad: Justin Hamilton
Cut: Ben Emanuel, Jeremy Lesueur, Justin Sandy

Specialists
K Phil Dawson
P Dave Zastudil
LSE Ryan Pontbriand
Cut: Kyle Basler, Jesse Ainsworth

The game is: Tell me where I'm wrong. But remember, we can only have 53 guys on the roster, plus 7 on the practice squad, plus whoever ends up on injured reserve/physically unable to perform.

I know that this list has holes. For instance, punt returner is one of the outstanding open spots. If Eric Wright or Sean Jones can handle that, then the roster can stand as is. But if instead it is won by Brandon McDonald or Syndric Steptoe, then who gets bumped for their spot? DeMario Minter, or Jereme Perry? Could also be Tim Carter, but I'd be worried about our 4th and 5th receivers both being guys who won spots because of their special teams skills

4 comments:

Dale said...

I hope, hope, hope that Frye doesn't start. I think we've seen that he's lacking in too many areas (decision making, arm strength, and most importantly anticipation) to become a quality NFL starter. I think it's been made clear that DA has a much better shot at becoming such a player. He, at least, has the tools to be successful. I say, let him start this year. Give Quinn his time on the bench that's made successes out of so many before him. Most importantly, though, don't let us suffer through more Frye.

Pittsburgh is for Man Lovers said...

I don't know about Daven Holly at the starting CB spot opposite Bodden. He had his moments, but I don't know if he's starting material. Otherwise, I am impressed with the list, but not the roster.

Dwayne Rudd said...

While I gotta say that Frye gave me waaay too many of those "WHAT THE *&$*! ARE YOU THINKING" moments, I'm still willing to give him one more chance, especially if there is a better line in front of him. If Anderson starts instead of Frye, I could be fine with that too. I just don't want to see Quinn rushed into action.

I'd love to see Eric Wright beat out Holly for starting CB, but Crennel never seems to play rookies early on. Holly really impressed me a few times last year (especially how he shut down Steve Smith in the Carolina game), and he was good at picking up the INTs, but yeah, he had alot of lapses. I don't wanna marry him or nothin', but after the crap we saw last year (Ralph Brown, shudder) I could live with him playing until Wright gets up to speed.

Ace Davis said...

Not a bad effort at all for this (too) early date. Expect Chud's guys to give Dinkens a good battle for the 3rd TE job. Can't see Rob Smith beating out Lennie Friedman. Backup DEs and CBs are really up in the air. Somehow I think Jason Short makes it if he stays healthy, maybe instead of Stewart, Thompson, or Unck. Justin Hamilton is not eligible for the practice squad; I think they'll carry four safeties anyway. I hope Tyrone Moss proves too valuable to risk waiving and beats out Ricard. I foresee a lot more multiple-TE sets than lead-blocking fullbacks in Chud's offense.