dryheat44

Remember he didn't make the team last year. He came back from the shadow roster mid-season due to injury.

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RayClay

Hannah is not one for happy talk. An endorsement from him means something IMO.

Having said that, where do we put all these Olinemen? Our line is young.

What about that guard from last year? Forgive me if I don't remember his name, but they're picking these guys in bunches like bananas.

Is (low round guard from last year) still in the picture?

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RayClay

I believe Elgin needs to gain weight, no?

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dryheat44

Dan Stevenson? I don't believe he made the team. Or are you thinking about PS squadder Barthelmes, who probably would have been cut already if he counted towards the roster limit?

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RayClay

Thanks

I meant Stevenson. They were bouncing so many Olinemen on and off the PS last year it was hard to remember if he was on it. No matter, they're just names until they show something anyway

Don't mean to be lazy, but they seem to draft a lot of low round OL picks for a team that already has a pretty young line.

I wish they'd have drafted linebackers in some of those slots.

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Box_O_Rocks

Miami picked up Stevenson off waivers...
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Where do we put...?
Starters: Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur
Reserve OT:
- - - RT: O'Callaghan
- - - Swing: Britt
- - - PS: Oldenburg is leading Hilliard after one game because he also took reps at LG and didn't look too bad.
Reserve Interior OL: Hochstein, Yates*, Mruczkowski
- - - PS: Elgin, Barthelmes
*Unknown injury status.
With Kaczur and Britt available as Swing Tackles, Hochstein solid at all three interior positions, and Yates a solid G, plus O'Callaghan as a reserve RT, you've now got nine proven OL for the 53 man roster. Leaders for the Practice Squad are Elgin and Oldenburg.

If Yates' injury keeps him unavailable for opening day, BB may go with 10 OL on roster with either Elgin or Mruczkowski getting the nod - if Elgin then Hilliard probably makes the Practice Squad with Oldenburg backing up T & G. Barthelmes, whom I like for his Mankins-like nastiness, looks to be odd man out.

14 OL, 9-10 man roster and 2 man PS, leaves you with 2-3 guys looking for a job. When you break it down into the individual pieces and how they fit together, there aren't as many OL as you might think when looking at a clump of names on the roster.

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RayClay

Kind of a rhetorical question, Box. My guess is they like to have a lot of OL bouncing around the league and practice squads that they've already evaluated. Shadow roster thing.

They still had 3 on the PS late in the year and I think they were all pickups from other teams (I could be way off, that's my recollection). EDIT I think Barthelmes was one.

If I'm right, that's a ton of Olinemen they've worked out that might be available if injuries hit.

By contrast, They never seem to do more than work out and reject or keep (Chad Brown) linebackers. No shadow roster there.

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Box_O_Rocks

2006 end of season roster: http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=2006Roster

Bathelmes and Bubin on the Practice Squad, and Bubin "retired." Barthelmes was a Pats UDFA who was re-signed to replace Stevenson when they cut him. Current players in the NFL the Pats had in camp or on the PS: Stevenson, Tucker, Ashworth, Gorin, Woody, and Ruegamer. Someone mentioned Klemm had signed with Oakland, but those are pretty sparse pickings if they constitute the Pats' Shadow Roster.

The thing with the Shadow Roster is no guarantees. I believe Chad Brown was cut because of injury, and when he was better Pittsburgh needed him before the Pats did, I don't see many players saying I'll only play if the Pats call me (one, and he is getting heavily into golf).

If you look at the roster you have:
- drafted first year starters: Light, Koppen, Mankins, Kaczur, O'Callaghan
- undrafted (by the Pats) Practice Squad projects: Neal, Hochstein, Britt, Mruczkowski, Yates, Barthelmes
- drafted Rookies: Elgin, Oldenburg, Hilliard

That breakdown suggests we may not want to get too comfortable with "past" practices. BB and SP have had this team for 8 drafts as they enter their 8th season, they've built a pretty consistent team, both starters and reserves, now they're shifting into maintaining that team at a competitive level. Ashworth and Tucker are the only players listed above whom I'd want back, Oldenburg and Elgin are cheaper (and I think Elgin looked better then Tucker anyway).

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RayClay

The Pats have definitely shifted priotities as far as OL goes. with the emergence of brady as a great QB they seem to want toload up that line short of spending for that monster LT.

I'm all for that, but there comes a point where you wonder if we're improving, or just shifting names at the bottom of the depth chart.

I know we had 3 OL on the squad late in the season, because I was all upset we didn't have all LBs on the squad (obsessed ). It might have been Yates, but i think he was on the team by then. I think the picked u someone and cut him a couple weeks later.

They were shifting a lot week to week, which made me think they were just trying to"look at" a lot of players for scouting purposes. Doesn't mean they'll be available, but increases the chances they'll have a bit of a "book" on a lineman if an emergency arises.

No other reason for those wholesale shifts late in the season IMO.

EDIT: At least one of those punters replaced an OL, I'm almost sure

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shakadave

If our O-line cut-blocks a lot this year, will that increase the chances of injuries to our D-line in practice? Has Denver had this problem over the years, does anyone know?

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