Koppen May Not Make The Cut

[shmessy]

....... the starting C can also play both G spots,,,,,,,

Oh no you didn't!!!!!!! :0

 

[Ring 6]

Oh no you didn't!!!!!!! :0

What? Connolly would move over to G if a G were injured and Koppen came in at C

 

[shmessy]

What? Connolly would move over to G if a G were injured and Koppen came in at C

Dude. You wrote about G-spots.

 

[mgteich]

The cap is irrelevant to this decision.

However, let us not make believe that unused cap room doesn't roll over into 2013, or has that rule changed?

Doesnt matter because we have room under the cap.
Wouldn't make much sense to not keep the best guy, just in order to have more cap space we won't be using.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Koppen was never great to begin with. He's been surrounded by superstars for most of his career.

Really? Mankins for sure but I wouldn't call Damien Woody, Joe Andruzzi, Stephan Neal superstars. Good players but not spectacular.

 

[shmessy]

Really? Mankins for sure but I wouldn't call Damien Woody, Joe Andruzzi, Stephan Neal superstars. Good players but not spectacular.

If Woody could shotgun snap, he would've been a superstar.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

The thing about position flexibility is that the unit as a whole is what matters.
In the example above if you are keeping 7 game days actives, the logical thought is that one reserve should be able to play C and both Gs.
However if that reserve is a C and the starting C can play C and both Gs, you have the same end result.
Whether Koppen has hit the wall in his career is another question, but position flexibility is not going to matter in earning a roster spot, because if he is a reserve, the starting C can also play both G spots, so Koppen would effectively back up all 3.

You're potentially making two positions weaker instead of just one.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I'd be confident with Connolly as the starter and McDonald as the backup, no big deal if Koppen's toast.

 

[Deus Irae]

It’s been about a year,” Koppen said. “I think it’s still coming back to me in some ways, but I feel great. I’m just trying out here to work hard and get better as a player and try to help this team in whatever way I can. It’s just been fun being back out.”

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Dan Koppen long removed from ankle injury

 

[bagwell368]

He'd be a pricey backup but then we had Ocho in 2011 so that's the new normal.

If BB sees Koppen as a back-up, they why wouldn't BB give DK a choice - take a maximum cut, or be cut? W/o Miguel's page I'm not sure if that would help much, but it could.

 

[Ring 6]

Dude. You wrote about G-spots.

Oh, I thought that was on a different forum,

 

[Ring 6]

If BB sees Koppen as a back-up, they why wouldn't BB give DK a choice - take a maximum cut, or be cut? W/o Miguel's page I'm not sure if that would help much, but it could.

If he is one of our best 53, even relegated to the bench, BB should not give him a chance to go elsewhere.

 

[Ring 6]

I'd be confident with Connolly as the starter and McDonald as the backup, no big deal if Koppen's toast.

Ultimately that is correct. If he is good enough to make the squad, great, if not, we don't lose that much.

 

[Reckedtrek]

Dude. You wrote about G-spots.

I don't know why people are shying away from a cap hit on the G spots. It's probably important to achieve for the desired outcome.

 

[Ring 6]

You're potentially making two positions weaker instead of just one.

Not really. If Koppen is the 4th best interior OL, then with an injury, moving Connolly to G and putting Koppen at C weakens the unit the least. Putting a lesser player at G to leave Connolly at C (where he isn't markedly better than at G) weakens the unit more.

 

[Ring 6]

The cap is irrelevant to this decision.

However, let us not make believe that unused cap room doesn't roll over into 2013, or has that rule changed?

Good point. Although it isn't that much money, and it would cause a dead money hit to next year that would wipe most of the gain out.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Not really. If Koppen is the 4th best interior OL, then with an injury, moving Connolly to G and putting Koppen at C weakens the unit the least. Putting a lesser player at G to leave Connolly at C (where he isn't markedly better than at G) weakens the unit more.

That would only be true if he was the top reserve lineman and at this stage in his career, I don't think he is. He has to beat out Gallery, Thomas, Wendell and McDonald. Reports have mentioned both Thomas and Wendell as having good camps and had Koppen struggling.

Connolly has looked better to me at Center than he did at Guard. At this point I would rather have Connolly at C and Thomas or Gallery at G than Koppen at C and Connolly at G if Mankins and/or Waters aren't playing.

Because of the relationship the Center has with the QB, I don't think you want to be substituting players at the position unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Ring 6]

That would only be true if he was the top reserve lineman and at this stage in his career, I don't think he is. He has to beat out Gallery, Thomas, Wendell and McDonald. Reports have mentioned both Thomas and Wendell as having good camps and had Koppen struggling.

Well that was the entire premise, that if he is the best player, position flexibiity will be irrelevant. If he isn't good enough to beat out those players, it is also irrelevant. The reports you mention are the ones that caused the thread.

Connolly has looked better to me at Center than he did at Guard.

I disagree

At this point I would rather have Connolly at C and Thomas or Gallery at G than Koppen at C and Connolly at G if Mankins and/or Waters aren't playing.

I'm not sure what it is about Thomas that has you sold on him. The reports on Gallery have not been stellar either. Koppen over the long haul has been a better player than Gallery. They are the same age. Certainly they are competing for a job, but I'm mot sure its time to decide who is better suited to win the job based on a couple of early camp reports.
It may turn out that way, but its far from decided. By the way, its not unreasonable that Koppen and Gallery could be the 2 reserve interior OL when all shakes out.

Because of the relationship the Center has with the QB, I don't think you want to be substituting players at the position unless absolutely necessary.

I wholeheartedly disagree here. I think it is a seamless shift, especially when you change to a C who the QB has worked with for 8 years.

 

[supafly]

I do NOT think that this is a matter of Koppen being better than Connolly. It is a matter of Koppen being better that Wendell or even McDonald. Koppen COULD have a place on this team as the game day interior line backup, with Connolly moving to guard if there is an injury at guard, and Koppen to center. After all, the same would happen if either of the alternatives are the Game Day interior backup. Both Wendell and McDonald would move to center with Connolly moving to guard with a Game Day injury.

That being said, the competition is on, and it is not clear who will be the winner of the competition for our 2nd center, in addition to Connolly.

Very good thoughts.

I agree with those who say that it would be nice to keep Koppen, but hopefully either Wendell or McDonald could also fill that void if need be.

I also agree with those who say that Connelly is probably better at guard than center...at least until Mankins comes back anyway.

It will be great to see Belichick's assessment on the whole situation as TC wears on.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Oh, I thought that was on a different forum,

Was that the same forum when Rex wrote about T-spots?