rookBoston
In the Starting Line-Up
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- Sep 13, 2004
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Although a lot will change between now and opening day, here's a starting point for the 53-man:
QB (2) - Brady, Cassell
RB (5) - Moroney, Faulk, Morris, Evans, Mills
WR (6) - Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Washington, Gaffney, Brown
TE (3) - Watson, Thomas, Brady
OT (4) - Light, Kaczur, O'Callaghan, Britt
OG (3) - Mankins, Neal, Yates
OC (2) - Koppen, Hochstein
NT (2) - Wilfork, Wright
DE (4) - Warren, Seymour, Green, Brown
LB(8) - Colvin, Thomas, Bruschi, Vrabel, Woods, Alexander, Izzo, UFA/Lua
CB (5) - Samuel, Hobbs, Gay, Scott, James
S (6) - Harrison, Wilson, Meriweather, Hawkins, Sanders, Mitchell
ST (3) - Gostkowski, Miller, Paxton
Competition - well, lets start at WR. I have Caldwell being released, and Washington and Gaffney riding the pine. I have never seen this kind of depth or athleticism at the WR position, ever. I am dumbstruck.
QB - I've only listed two players. BB had a roster with two guys for a portion of the season, last year, until some of the skill guys started going to IR and he could add a 3rd QB back in. With no rookie coming out of the draft, I'm ready to expect the same this year.
OT - the addition of a handful of rookies, plus the stable of young talent already on the roster has me thinking that players like Kaczur and O'Callaghan and Britt may be offered in trade to teams in need during TC for late round picks in 2008. That's what happened last year, when the Pats converted their extra OL talent, guys like Gorin, into trade bait. Belichick has a history of developing linemen, dating back to his Cleveland days. For this 53-man, I've listed the veterans. I'll be surprised if at least one of them doesn't start for another team in 2007. That should make space for one or two of the kids, like Oldenburg, if they're too good for the PS.
At DE, there's some legitimate competition for Marquise Hill in the form of Miami rookie Kareem Brown. Similar size, but you wonder which of the two had more upside in the eyes of the coaching staff.
The addition of Thomas at OLB does not solve any questions related to depth at the position. Adding Seau and using Vrabel in rotation at OLB makes a lot of sense to me. This roster still has space for one or even two veteran LBs. Alexander does not make me feel warm inside in the regular D. And the loss of Don Davis to retirement needs to be addressed on ST.
I've listed 11 DBs and only 8 LBs. This is entirely an expression of the current depth of talent. The assumption is that our ST unit would be staffed heavily with nominal safeties, like Mitchell, Sanders and Hawkins. ST will also be the entree for guys like Morris, Mills and Mays, if they're going to make the team.
We've been expecting competition for Miller at punter, but it will have to come from the street. Assuming Miller is healthy, this wont be much of a competition, really. Expect BB/SP to sign a veteran kicker to tool around camp with Gost, and then get cut.
This team looks explosive. On offense, there is very little to be wished for. I feel good saying that every single guy on the roster on O truly deserves to be there. LB is the only legitimate concern, and adding Seau would go a long way to making me feel better about the D.
5 day one picks next year...
QB (2) - Brady, Cassell
RB (5) - Moroney, Faulk, Morris, Evans, Mills
WR (6) - Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Washington, Gaffney, Brown
TE (3) - Watson, Thomas, Brady
OT (4) - Light, Kaczur, O'Callaghan, Britt
OG (3) - Mankins, Neal, Yates
OC (2) - Koppen, Hochstein
NT (2) - Wilfork, Wright
DE (4) - Warren, Seymour, Green, Brown
LB(8) - Colvin, Thomas, Bruschi, Vrabel, Woods, Alexander, Izzo, UFA/Lua
CB (5) - Samuel, Hobbs, Gay, Scott, James
S (6) - Harrison, Wilson, Meriweather, Hawkins, Sanders, Mitchell
ST (3) - Gostkowski, Miller, Paxton
Competition - well, lets start at WR. I have Caldwell being released, and Washington and Gaffney riding the pine. I have never seen this kind of depth or athleticism at the WR position, ever. I am dumbstruck.
QB - I've only listed two players. BB had a roster with two guys for a portion of the season, last year, until some of the skill guys started going to IR and he could add a 3rd QB back in. With no rookie coming out of the draft, I'm ready to expect the same this year.
OT - the addition of a handful of rookies, plus the stable of young talent already on the roster has me thinking that players like Kaczur and O'Callaghan and Britt may be offered in trade to teams in need during TC for late round picks in 2008. That's what happened last year, when the Pats converted their extra OL talent, guys like Gorin, into trade bait. Belichick has a history of developing linemen, dating back to his Cleveland days. For this 53-man, I've listed the veterans. I'll be surprised if at least one of them doesn't start for another team in 2007. That should make space for one or two of the kids, like Oldenburg, if they're too good for the PS.
At DE, there's some legitimate competition for Marquise Hill in the form of Miami rookie Kareem Brown. Similar size, but you wonder which of the two had more upside in the eyes of the coaching staff.
The addition of Thomas at OLB does not solve any questions related to depth at the position. Adding Seau and using Vrabel in rotation at OLB makes a lot of sense to me. This roster still has space for one or even two veteran LBs. Alexander does not make me feel warm inside in the regular D. And the loss of Don Davis to retirement needs to be addressed on ST.
I've listed 11 DBs and only 8 LBs. This is entirely an expression of the current depth of talent. The assumption is that our ST unit would be staffed heavily with nominal safeties, like Mitchell, Sanders and Hawkins. ST will also be the entree for guys like Morris, Mills and Mays, if they're going to make the team.
We've been expecting competition for Miller at punter, but it will have to come from the street. Assuming Miller is healthy, this wont be much of a competition, really. Expect BB/SP to sign a veteran kicker to tool around camp with Gost, and then get cut.
This team looks explosive. On offense, there is very little to be wished for. I feel good saying that every single guy on the roster on O truly deserves to be there. LB is the only legitimate concern, and adding Seau would go a long way to making me feel better about the D.
5 day one picks next year...
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