mgteich said:
We talk a lot about depth. Let's spend one thread talking about our starters. I assume that all the questionables who reguarlarly start are considered the starters.
Relative to those who play for other teams, who are our weakest three starters. Or we are not sure of who is the starter, list the position. I presume we have 25 starters, including nickel back, kicker and punter. There are several other Special Teams starters, but they are difficult to compare across teams.
----------------------------
QB
WR
WR
TE
TE
RB
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
2 DE's
NT
2 OLB's
2 ILB's
2 CB's
NB (nickel back)
SS
FS
K
P
------------------------------
I will post my opinion later.
not sure I understand what your looking for, but I'll give it a shot:
c-dan koppen - happy as hell with him comparably. he's been solid.
rg-stephen neal - he's a good run blocker and overall lineman for 2-3 yrs now.
lg-logan mankins - veryh good lineman who could become even better.
rt-nick kaczur/ryan o'callahan - both players seem to get the job done fine.
lt-matt light - plays the toughest OL position and overall I'm happy with him.
qb-tom brady - tremendous clutch performer and fiery leader. super talent.
rb-corey dillon/laurence maroney/ kevin faulk - what's not to like? dillon looks a little more sluggish than 2 years ago, but he's running strong and knock people backwards. maroney looks really really good.
te-ben watson - has been great at times, but still finding his stride.
te-dan graham - solid blocker with very good but inconsistant receiver skills.
wr-chad jackson - we don't know yet. I'm guessing there's a bunch to come!
wr-doug gabriel - is starting to contribute and so far, looks pretty good.
k-stephen gostkowski - has shown good leg stength and straight line accuracy. poise was good in the preseason, and has had a bit of a hard time with some field goals but not all his fault and nothing to be concerned about long term. could wind up being a complete stud.
p-miller seems a solid punter. no complaints.
ls - lonie paxton - if you don't think about him - he's perfect!
de-richard seymour - man mountain is a stud.
nt- vince wilfork - does a great job. I'm glad he's ours.
de-ty warren - looks even better this year. love his solid play.
ILB-tedy bruschi - the guys just a baller.
ILB-mike vrabel - smart, clutch performer - very versitile, a leader.
olb-rosevelt colvin - another smart player, makes big plays.
olb-junior seau - nice veteran knowledge combined with passion. brings emotion to the game ala rodney.
cb-ellis hobbs - kids a little full of himself and likes to spout off, but he's played very well too. could be better, but not bad at all for how long he's been around. I like his passion.
cb-asante samuel - has looked great at times and very average at times. wish he would take it to another level. good nose for the ball.
nickel-randall gay/chad scott - gay's gone for the year, but has been a solid third corner. scott hits hard and seems to be doing fine.
s-eugene wilson - seemed like he was gonna be better when he first started becoming a starter - used to lay more big hits - has been starting to be more invisible lately except when coverage breaks down. hope he can get in a good groove and start playing more aggressively.
s-rodney harrison - a true leader and nice aggressive leader. not quite back to full speed yet but very happy to have him out there, leading the secondary and providing a presence.
overall,
OL - a solid unit that's getting the job done - not worried against any team.
backs - think we're as talented as anyone.
ends - need them to get in sync with brady and get some momentum going. still waiting to see what they can do for sure. wouldn't mind if we acquired more talent.
st- aside from just wanting the ghost to get his feet wet and get comfortable, feel like we'll be solid.
dl - solid unit that compares with any. our team's not built for a big pass rush so I have to love what they've been doing.
lb - players may not be as young and mobil as some teams but they're smart and execute BB's schemes to perfection. they play big when they have to.
cb- wish we had more talent here. feel what we have works well because of BB but scares me that it can become outmatched and people keep getting hurt.
s-would like to see more hitting and less breakdowns but every fan on every team could probably say that. I have a lot of faith in these guys when we've got big games. Rodney is a huge part of this team's personailty.
I'd say wide receiver and corner back are our two biggest spots for improvement, with safety and linebacker a place we'd like some young talented depth to reinforce it.
I think we match up around the nfl very well comparable except for corner and wideouts. but once you factor in BB's schemes, those two spots don't really hurt us that often.
I think we have an edge at coach, QB, OL, RB, TE, DL, with ST, & LB as good as others.
