mgteich

MORRIS
Could Belichick give up on this oft-injured player in favor of BJGE? If not, we either start the season with an injured player or keep one more RB than we need at the cost of the fourth OT. Reiss is suggesting that Belichick will keep five running backs for six weeks while LeVoir is on the PUP list and deal with the roster spot in the 6th-8th week of the season.

CRABLE
How serious is this last injury? Is Crable worth keeping a roster spot or should he be put on IR? Reiss is suggesting that Crable is the odd man out. Perhaps he knows more than we do about the estent of Crable's most recent injury or the extent of Belichick's patience with Crable for 2009.

LENON
Lenon is fine linebacker addition to the roster, and he is also a fine special teamer. He even could start at ILB if necessary. IMHO, if he is healthy, he is a lock, expecially given Crable's issues. HOWEVER, he is not healthy yet. Might Belichick put him on the 53 anyway since Alexander is the alternative as an ILB backup in case of a mid-season injury to Bruschi? After all, the #3 ILB is usually on the active squad.

BOTTOM LINE
Reiss addresses all the injury situations with replacement players that are available now. By excluding Lenon, Crable and O'Callaghan from the roster, he is able to make room for three special teamers: Alexander, Slater, and BJGE. Reiss has more information on the injuries than I do. He also is likely to better know Belichick's attitude toward carrying a gunner position.

I have O'Callaghan, Crable and Alexander on my roster projections as of now, but Reiss may have the better analysis. He should; he has more of the information needed to make these decisions.

signbabybrady

Morris, Crable, and Lennon fall into a category that is tough for me to determine and I imagine for Reiss too.

In Crable and Lennon it is tough for us to have seen what BB may have seen in them because when we got to watch the team they were barely there. BB has to decide if he has seen enough out of them to give them a spot over other tough cuts.

In Morris' case its hard for us to know if BB would keep 5 and harder for us to determine what BB thinks is more important BJGE's youth and persumed durability VS what we know Morris' is capable of.


also we don't have a clue as to the extent of the injuries.

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PatriotsInGA

As we saw last year, BJGE had one big game against Buffalo in Foxboro. Morris had 2/3 big games. Easy call for most people, but with Belichick he could as easily go either way

mayoclinic

I think all 3 get spots unless they truly have major injury concerns for the majority of the regular season. We can "pseudo-PUP" them (keep them off of the 44 man active roster) for as long as necessary while the get healthy. All 3 bring significant additions (or, in the case of Crable, potential upside) when compared with the alternatives (BJGE, Alexander/Ninkovitch, Slater).

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BritPat

I'm completely bewildered why anyone would want to cut Morris. Look at his production since he arrived, especially last season - he puts up the yards. I'm a big Maroney fan, but IMO Morris is our #1, and with a hugely affordable salary ($900k) to boot what's not to love?

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mayoclinic

No argument from me. I say he makes the club from the tub.

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WhiZa

Morris would make the team over BJGE based on his experience, ST ability, and receiving ability are all upgrades over lawfirm.

Crable would cost the Pats more to cut then to keep so he is either going to IR or making the 53.

I dont see Lenon making this team if he doesn't play. Especially with Alexander playing steadily out there. What he did in Detroit won't necessarily transfer to the Pats. So he's really wait and see type deal.

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mgteich

Our disagreement is with regard to Crable. You think he is done if he is put on IR. You think that there is considerable advantage in having him be on the inactive squad all year. After all he is not a very good special teamer.

Thomas, Banta-Cain, Woods, and Burgess will share the reps at OLB. Burgess is certainly good enough to be part of the rotation. Where is the great need for a 5th OLB? Burgess was signed because Crable wasn't ready for prime time. Things have indeed changed since we signed Burgess. Crable has been injured yeat again.

If Crable is not ready to start the season, I would prefer to use the roster spot on someone else. This week I choose Slater. Last week I chose Ninkovitch. Last week I suggested that it likely doesn't matter since Player 53 will likely come from the roster of another team.

As always, injuries are critical in deciding the last three roster spots.

Brady'sButtBoy

With the age in our RB's - 3 are 32 years old or older - I can envision BJGE, or a youngish castoff from another team making the Pats final 53.

Morris has been productive for the Pats when he's played (19 of 32 regular season games) running at 4.5+ yds/carry, a very good number. His receiving stats are relatively inconsequential - 23 catches in 2yrs. Sammy doesn't have as much wear on his tires as most RB's his age: 5 of his 9 seasons he didn't play much, but as pointed out many times - RBs in the NFL very, very rarely are productive after age 30, let alone 32 like Morris. The light goes off quickly.

My guess - if Sammy has a significant injury, one that would take a few weeks to recover from, then he's gone. BJGE's numbers aren't all that great (3.7yds/carry) but they are very similar to Sammy's first year, a point sure to be noticed by BB and his people.

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Rob0729

Are we even sure Morris is really even injured? Could it be that they might be alternating him and Fred Taylor (who missed the first game) to keep them fresh since both are over 30 and very experienced and injury prone. I don't know if Belichick needs to see Morris out there to see what he can do and he might be just holding him out like he does on occassion with veterans during the preseason. I can't see him cut unless he has an injury that will cause him miss most or all of the first month of the season.