cstjohn17

For those of us building our own 53 man roster, here is a very detailed article from Boston.com that details the 2006 initial roster.
http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal...ver/?page=full

Positional breakdowns
NOTE: Numbers total to 54 (Branch did not count against the final number)

25 Offense (includes Branch)
26 Defense
3 Specialists

Quarterback (2): Tom Brady, Matt Cassel

Running back (4): Corey Dillon, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans

Wide receiver (6): Deion Branch, Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, Doug Gabriel

COMMENT - Wow what a collection of garbage!

Tight end (4): Daniel Graham, Benjamin Watson, David Thomas, Garrett Mills
Offensive line (9): Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Ryan O'Callaghan, Nick Kaczur, Russ Hochstein, Gene Mruczkowski, Wesley Britt

Defensive line (8): Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Johnathan Sullivan, Mike Wright, Marquise Hill, Le Kevin Smith
COMMENT - Who could forget J. Sullivan?

Inside linebacker (6): Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Don Davis, Eric Alexander
COMMENT - Don Davis played last year?

Outside linebacker (3): Rosevelt Colvin, Tully Banta-Cain, Pierre Woods

Cornerback (4): Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Randall Gay, Chad Scott

Safety (5): Eugene Wilson, Rodney Harrison, Artrell Hawkins, James Sanders, Willie Andrews

Specialists (3) - kicker Stephen Gostkowski, punter Josh Miller , and long snapper Lonie Paxton.

cstjohn17

I looked at this again, there is a chance the none of the WRs from the 2006 opening day roster make the team. Caldwell has a pretty good chance and Brown should join mid-way through the season.

06 WRs
Wide receiver (6): Deion Branch, Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, Doug Gabriel

psychoPat

So it would seem.

I realize that your point is, Wow! What An Improvement!
However, the significant downside is that no WR will ever have caught a pass from Brady in an NFL game.
Same ol' learning curve to climb as last season!
Steeper, maybe - no Troy.

mgteich

Same old learning curve?

First, Welker is doing fine catching Brady's passes.
Second, Moss and Stallworth are not Gabriel. Talent makes a difference.
Third, Washington will be fine or Caldwell will make the team.

Brownfan80

I fully expect both Caldwell and Gaffney to make the team, so that'd be two receivers that caught passes from Brady last season. And then if Jackson and Brown come off of PUP at some point there are two more.

But yeah, while I don't think it'll quite be the hurdle it was last year (80% turnover, the Doug Gabriel Saga, Caldwell playing at #1 when he should never be put in that position, etc), it'll still take some time before this group comes together.

I just hope that melds more quickly than last year.

Brownfan80

The quality of the depth chart is indisputably higher this season (it'd almost have to be), but there will certainly still be a period where the offense isn't in sync. Particularly with injuries slowing the process.

But even still I like how things look:

Before - Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, Doug Gabriel, Kelvin Kight

After - Randy Moss, Jabar Gaffney, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, Chad Jackson

psychoPat

Yes, Wes caught a TD.
Didn't he also reject a ball thrown right to him, when he was wide open for many YAC?

Stallworth HIMSELF stepped up to say that he caused 2 INTs ... including a pick-six.

Moss has had no game time ... and doesn't look likely to change that very much.
(I know, i know ... he's a seasoned vet and don't need to work anything out with his QB beforehand. Sure.)

Why so certain that "Washington will be fine" ?
Certainly not based on past performance.

But i, too, expect Jabar and Reche to be there. Just like last year.

cstjohn17

On the whole our overall depth has improved, here is my unit by unit analysis.

2006 Units
Quarterback (2): Brady, Cassell
COMMENTS - Same
Running back (4): Corey Dillon, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans
COMMENTS - A little worse, Dillion was washed up but he could get into the endzone
Wide receiver (6): Deion Branch, Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, Doug Gabriel
COMMENTS - Much improved
Tight end (4): Daniel Graham, Benjamin Watson, David Thomas, Garrett Mills
COMMENTS - About the same, maybe a little worse as Graham was less one dimensional than Brady
Offensive line (9): Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Ryan O'Callaghan, Nick Kaczur, Russ Hochstein, Gene Mruczkowski, Wesley Britt
COMMENTS - A little better, Koppen and Light are healthy and there is more competition


Defensive line (8): Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Johnathan Sullivan, Mike Wright, Marquise Hill, Le Kevin Smith
COMMENTS - Better, more depth in 07
Inside linebacker (6): Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Don Davis, Eric Alexander
COMMENTS - Much better in 07, more depth
Outside linebacker (3): Rosevelt Colvin, Tully Banta-Cain, Pierre Woods
COMMENTS - About the same, maybe a little better if Thomas takes reps outside. TBC was further ahead last year than Woods is right now
Cornerback (4): Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Randall Gay, Chad Scott
COMMENTS - Clearly worse, if Samuel returns it is only a tiny bit worse, Chad Scott is better than James
Safety (5): Eugene Wilson, Rodney Harrison, Artrell Hawkins, James Sanders, Willie Andrews
COMMENTS - Better, more depth with Mitchell, Wesley and Merriweather


Specialists (3) - kicker Stephen Gostkowski, punter Josh Miller , and long snapper Lonie Paxton.
COMMENTS - About the same, Miller was a pretty good punter until he got hurt, Ghost has a year of experience

Coaches
COMMENTS - Should be better as McDaniels and Pees have been in place

Brownfan80

Not so. This time around Jabar and Reche have a year with Tom Brady under their belt already. This has to count for something. They aren't going to need the same time to get on the same page with Tom that they did a year ago.

And you must admit that even with some early mistakes that the WR corps this year is in much better shape than last year.

At WORST you're looking at Brady working with two players he's previously thrown to in Gaff and Caldwell. Last year he had only Troy Brown, the rest were new guys.

If Troy comes off PUP then he's got three WRs that he's got experience with. That's plenty of manpower to pull weight while the newbies get up to speed. Welker and Moss will not need as much time to get into the groove of the offense anyway, IMO.

The outlook is much brighter this season at WR than it was last year. Much, much brighter.

psychoPat