Post Mini-Camp Roster Projection

[Ivan]

Sorry if I misspoke. All I'm saying is that there's a decent chance that Brady won't count again the 53 Man Roster week 1 and I included that in my projection.

Not a problem, I was just pointing out that he is actually not suspended as long as Bermans ruling is still in effect. I still believe Brady is going to have the hearing granted and will win in the end.

 

[mgteich]

Nope, The OP said Brady was suspended as of now and that is not the case.

Current court rulings have Brady suspended. Future rulings may or may not have him playing.

But this seems a de-rail of the decisions the OP and Elijah have made.
Elijah cuts Stork, Jackson, Brown, Grissom and G-H.

 

[Ivan]

Sorry if I misspoke. All I'm saying is that there's a decent chance that Brady won't count again the 53 Man Roster week 1 and I included that in my projection.

Props on the projections though, picking a roster isn't easy right now.

 

[Ivan]

Current court rulings have Brady suspended. Future rulings may or may not have him playing.

But this seems a de-rail of the decisions the OP has made cutting Stork, Jackson, Brown, Grissom and G-H.

Wrong, Bermans ruling is in effect.

 

[jah]

Wrong, Bermans ruling is in effect.

I know the media has been slanted against us, but if you're right, they're completely lying in every way every time they say Brady is suspended. The ruling that affirmed the suspension is the ruling that matters until en banc is granted, which has not yet happened.

 

[mgteich]

Here's my most recent crack at a 53, with thoughts after:

QB (2): Garoppolo, Brissett
RB (5): Lewis, Blount, White, Bolden, Develin
WR (6): Edelman, Hogan, Amendola, Martin, Mitchell, Slater
TE (3): Gronkowski, Bennett, Harbor
T (4): Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Waddle
G/C (5): Andrews, Mason, Kline, Cooper, Thuney

DL (4): Brown, Knighton, Branch, Valentine
DL/LB (6): Sheard, Ninkovich, Long, McClellin, R. Johnson, Flowers
LB (4): Hightower, Collins, Freeny, Humber
CB (5): Butler, Ryan, C. Jones, Coleman, J. Jones
S (6): McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards, Ebner, King

ST (3): Gostkowski, Allen, Cardona

PS: Foster, Lucien, D. Roberts, Grugier-Hill, E. Roberts, T. Jackson, Stork, Karras, Derby, Grissom

For me, 60 man rosters are reasonable at this point. Almost anything can happen in choosing the final cuts. So, I would add back Stork, Jackson, Brown, Grissom, G-H, Foster, and Brady.

OFFENSE
There is a lot of competition at RB and in the interior of the OL

DEFENSE
1) I suspect that Ebner will be on some list to start the season.
2) I think that Grissom will make the team.
3) At LB, I think that Johnson, Humber, and G-H are competing for one spot, although two is possible.
4) The bottom line is that we are talking about end of roster decisions. Barring injuries, the defense is all but set.

 

[jah]

For me, 60 man rosters are reasonable at this point. Almost anything can happen in choosing the final cuts. So, I would add back Stork, Jackson, Brown, Grissom, G-H, Foster, and Brady.

OFFENSE
There is a lot of competition at RB and in the interior of the OL

DEFENSE
1) I suspect that Ebner will be on some list to start the season.
2) I think that Grissom will make the team.
3) At LB, I think that Johnson, Humber, and G-H are competing for one spot, although two is possible.
4) The bottom line is that we are talking about end of roster decisions. Barring injuries, the defense is all but set.

Which Johnson at LB? The UDFA or Rufus, who has never played anything but edge?

 

[Ivan]

I know the media has been slanted against us, but if you're right, they're completely lying in every way every time they say Brady is suspended. The ruling that affirmed the suspension is the ruling that matters until en banc is granted, which has not yet happened.

You are right, they are slanted for the league office, Brady is not suspended thought now, Bermans order is in effect, and the recent odds of a rehearing have increased from next to nothing to most likely due to Feinberg's amicus brief. Milstein has claimed its almost a lock, others have it at 50/50.

 

[Ivan]

I know the media has been slanted against us, but if you're right, they're completely lying in every way every time they say Brady is suspended. The ruling that affirmed the suspension is the ruling that matters until en banc is granted, which has not yet happened.

No, once the court accepted the request for rehearing it reverted to Bermans ruling.

 

[luuked]

Imo it would be a good idea to carry 6 WRs this year. Edelman and Amendola have gotten into a bunch of freak injuries for the past couple of years, there is literally less than 1% chance that both play all 16 games in a season without getting hurt. I want Dobson to succeed but I have very little faith in his foot. Martin would be a good add. I would bump Jonathan Jones off the roster instead. While it's true that we play a base nickel and CB depth is important, neither Logan Ryan nor Malcolm Butler has gotten hurt in the past two years (knock on wood), so CB is a position where we could cheat the depth a little bit.

I disagree. As it stands right now (and that's what current projections are based upon) it is less likely that we can get Jonathan Jones onto the PS than Lucien or Carter. I'd approach this more pragmatically than some "lets look who was more injured in the past few years" voodoo.

 

[patsinthesnow]

It would be something if we end up with 6 NFL quality CBs on our final roster especially after some rough years of barely having two.

Last season we saw the difference between JAG vets and a quality CB with Fletcher/Melvin and Coleman. Fletcher made the Steelers/Bills games more stressful than they needed to be and Melvin was busy getting roasted by the Giants 3rd WR. Don't forget late season Johnson vs. Jets & Dolphins while Coleman was hurt too.

Hitting on three UDFA CBs in consecutive seasons with Butler, Coleman, and Jones would give us some top level depth at the position.

Never having to see a Molden, Cole, Fletcher, etc. all season at CB for us would be sweet.

 

[mgteich]

Which Johnson at LB? The UDFA or Rufus, who has never played anything but edge?

Rufus, who is often listed as LB. I guess if McClellan is a DL/LB in your listing, Rufus should be also. If this is his competition, I believe that Grissom is the favorite, because he can also play inside as a lineman.

I would rather look at Rufus or McClellan as an emergency ILB, rather than Humber.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Which Johnson at LB? The UDFA or Rufus, who has never played anything but edge?

There isn't a whole lot of difference between being listed as an OLB or DE in Belichick's defense. I envision Rufus as a guy who can play on the edge either standing up or with his hand in the dirt. McClellin as well.

 

[mgteich]

DEFENSE (23 + 2)
DT (4) Brown, Knighton, Branch, Valentine
DE (4) Ninkovich, Sheard, Long, Flowers
DL (1) Grissom (played inside last year)
LB (4) Collins, Hightower, Freeney, McClellan
CB (4) Butler, Ryan, Jones, Coleman
S (4) McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards
ST (2) Ebner, King
TBD (2) We could add 2 corners, or one corner and a LB/ST like KGH.

 

[jah]

There isn't a whole lot of difference between being listed as an OLB or DE in Belichick's defense. I envision Rufus as a guy who can play on the edge either standing up or with his hand in the dirt. McClellin as well.

I assume when we say OLB we mean 4-3 OLB, which of course isn't correct for this system, but there isn't really such thing as correct terminology for this system. And there's no way in hell Rufus is a 4-3 linebacker. I agree he's in the same position group as McClellin, but the difference is McClellin has experience playing pure LB whereas Rufus has never been anything but a pass rusher. And it sounds like you agree about Rufus' skillset, but I see a lot of people on here and the rest of the internet acting like he could be a backup for Collins or something when it's two completely different positions.

 

[jah]

Rufus, who is often listed as LB. I guess if McClellan is a DL/LB in your listing, Rufus should be also. If this is his competition, I believe that Grissom is the favorite, because he can also play inside as a lineman.

I would rather look at Rufus or McClellan as an emergency ILB, rather than Humber.

I do agree that McClellin-Rufus-Grissom is a competition, but I have Grissom last. Rufus showed a lot of potential. Grissom showed a lot of meh.

But as for emergency ILB? No way in hell Rufus can do that. I know he has similar measurables to Hightower, but that just means Hightower is an ILB in a DE's body.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

I assume when we say OLB we mean 4-3 OLB, which of course isn't correct for this system, but there isn't really such thing as correct terminology for this system. And there's no way in hell Rufus is a 4-3 linebacker. I agree he's in the same position group as McClellin, but the difference is McClellin has experience playing pure LB whereas Rufus has never been anything but a pass rusher. And it sounds like you agree about Rufus' skillset, but I see a lot of people on here and the rest of the internet acting like he could be a backup for Collins or something when it's two completely different positions.

No, he can't play traditional "middle of the field" LB. I agree. He has nowhere near the range. To me he is an edge player who can play the 4-3 DE "hand in the dirt" role or the 3-4 "heavy" OLB role standing up but still playing the edge near the line of scrimmage. I want to see him play more in the preseason before I really start projecting where he will play, or even if he will make the team for that matter, but I really liked what he showed last year and I think he could have a nice role.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

I do agree that McClellin-Rufus-Grissom is a competition, but I have Grissom last. Rufus showed a lot of potential. Grissom showed a lot of meh.

But as for emergency ILB? No way in hell Rufus can do that. I know he has similar measurables to Hightower, but that just means Hightower is an ILB in a DE's body.

I think Grissom will play all over the DL, but I think his main role may be as an undersized 3rd down DT---Easley's old role. I read that Grissom really bulked up.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Grissom will without a doubt make the roster. 3rd round pick and he is different from all of our other pass rushers. He reminds me very much of Melvin Ingram.

I think our dline is more open than most suspect. We have Brown, Branch and question marks. Pot Roast and Valentine are fatties that we have gone away from in recent years. Vellano, who has had a few years to improve, isn't completely out of the equation either.

For our wr competition, I hope they force feed the ball to the fringe guys like they did Boyce and let the chips fall.

 

[mgteich]

Grissom will without a doubt make the roster. 3rd round pick and he is different from all of our other pass rushers. He reminds me very much of Melvin Ingram.

I think our dline is more open than most suspect. We have Brown, Branch and question marks. Pot Roast and Valentine are fatties that we have gone away from in recent years. Vellano, who has had a few years to improve, isn't completely out of the equation either.

For our wr competition, I hope they force feed the ball to the fringe guys like they did Boyce and let the chips fall.

The patriots don't cut 3rd rounders (or 4th rounder for that matter). Valentine is a lock.
Knighton was signed at a bargain price and will stay.