Reiss Takes His Shot at the 53

[Box_O_Rocks]

... Fred Taylor gets cut. I think you can make some observations based on playing time in the first preseason game, but not to make decisons of cuts.

I've been eyeing that guy....$*$^ slacker.

 

[spacecrime]

I've been eyeing that guy....$*$^ slacker.

Yeah, luckily Reiss called this roster a "projection" because it obviously needs work.

But seriously, why didn't Taylor play? Did I miss something? Was it discussed? I've read everything I could and watched a bunch of TV but never heard anything.

 

[Miguel]

Changed tag from 2007 roster to 2009 roster.

 

[amazinPats]

Hope we find a way to keep BJGE.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

If true that is 9 rookies making this team quite a bit younger.

I counted 10 (8 Chung,Brace,Vollmer,Butler, Ohrenberger,Ingram, Pryor,Edelman and Tate/McKenzie on PUP/IR) with only Daryl Richard and George Bussey as projected cuts (?PS).
If it comes to fruition, that is pretty impressive to have 10/12 draft picks make the roster...

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Whew... Im glad he put Brady and Moss on the roster,

I know! I Know!

 

[farn]

Shades of Wilson and Samuel.

I'd love that ! Even for Wheatley. If Wheatley gives up Wilson of 03 & 04, he'd have been worth the pick.

 

[mgteich]

Wheatley has a long, long way to go in order to give us Wilson's prodcution of 03 and 04.

I'd love that ! Even for Wheatley. If Wheatley gives up Wilson of 03 & 04, he'd have been worth the pick.

 

[Reckedtrek]

Wheatley has a long, long way to go in order to give us Wilson's prodcution of 03 and 04.

True, but not so far to match Eugene's production in 05-07.

 

[luisrha]

After taking in data from everyone, here's my take and comments

(...)

Offensive line (8): Light-1, Mankins-2, Koppen-3, Neal-4, Kaczur-5, Vollmer-6, Ohrnberger-7, Hochstein-8,Britt/OCallahan-9
Quick hit: Lavoir starts the season on PUP and the winner of the Britt/OCallahan battle gets the 8th roster spot....for now. The rookies they like go to the PS

You had 9 offensive linemen, not 8, so your roster had 54 players. Who would you cut?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

But seriously, why didn't Taylor play? Did I miss something? Was it discussed? I've read everything I could and watched a bunch of TV but never heard anything.

My best guess, they wanted to look at something else and didn't figure they needed to work Taylor for those issues - he got a veteran night off. :confused2:

 

[mgteich]

Both Reiss and patfanken know we need 9 offensive linemen.

You had 9 offensive linemen, not 8, so your roster had 54 players. Who would you cut?

 

[patsfaninpa]

I'm not comparing F.Taylor to the Dillon of 04. But, he's going to be our closer this year. When we line up in a spread with 7-8 minutes left in a game. He's going to be damn near impossible to keep from getting 5-6 yards. Pick up a couple of first downs. Run 5 minutes off of the clock and ice the game.

Philly announcer openly speculated that the Eagles might be interested in one of our TE's. Their starter got hurt early in the game. And, there wasn't any depth behind him. They didn't keep LJ Smith. Not even sure what they have there. Dave Thomas for a draft pick? He seems like a west coast offense type of te. Good hands. Not quite the blocker Pats like.

My 53
3 Qb's (Brady,Walter and O,Connell)
5 Rb's (Maroney,Taylor,Faulk,Morris and keep BGE)
6 Wr's (Moss,Welker,Galloway,Lewis,Edelman,Aiken)
3 Te's Baker, Watson and A.Smith(Trade D.Thomas)
9 OL (Light,Mankins,Koppen,Neal,Kaczur,Vollmer,Hochstein,Britt,Yates) Levoir - PUP to start season, and I think Ohrnberger will be an IR stash.

7 DL (Sorry, Keegs) Pryor instead of the widowmaker
Seymour,Wilfork,Warren,Green,Wright,Brace and Pryor
8 LB (A.Thomas, J.Mayo, G.Guyton, P.Woods,TBC,Burgess,Crable and Bruschi)
9 DB (I like McGowan as 4th S)
Bodden,Springs,Wilhite,Butler,Wheatley,Meriweather,Sanders,Chung&McGowan
3 Spec (Gostkowski,Hanson and Ingram)

I'm not as worried about not having a 4th ilb if we play a lot of 4-3. Could almost count Burgess as a DE. Could D.Brooks be a late pick-up? I would think that he'd help our transition to the 4-3.

 

[efin98]

My best guess, they wanted to look at something else and didn't figure they needed to work Taylor for those issues - he got a veteran night off. :confused2:

Could have been running plays that he wouldn't be part of normally anyway...next game might see more of him and less of Maroney and/or Morris...

 

[captain stone]

As I stated in the previous Name Your 53 thread, a lot can happen btwn. today and opening Day, so I tend to think of the TC roster as a giant Depth Chart. But if by some miracle we don't suffer any injuries, here are my changes, if any:

Quarterback (2): Brady, O’Connell
Quick hit: Walter becomes a shadow roster guy. They give him some money to sit by the phone in case of injury. This preseason is for him to get familiar with the offense. Hoyer to the PS. Roster spots are just TOO valuable and rare this season.
Agreed, though having an inexperienced, heretofore unimpressive KOC as the only backup makes me nervous.

Running back (4): Faulk, Taylor, Morris, Maroney
Quick hit: I know Law firm is everyone's binky, but again too many players, too few spots. Morris has played some FB BTW.
Agreed, incl. Morris as FB.

Tight end (3): Baker, Watson, Thomas
Quick hit: Thomas simply manned up and beat out Smith. I think BB might want to keep 4 guys, but that's a luxury we can't afford. More power to the defense. The offense will be OK.
(4) I think that Alex Smith - for whom Bill traded our 5th-rounder - still makes the cut. For the record, I would not have made that trade. Drafting Ben Patrick with one of our 6th/7th-rounders in '07 would've been the better way to go.

Receiver (6): Moss, Welker, Galloway, Edelman, Lewis, Aiken
Quick hit: I was expecting Edelman to be on the PS, but thats won't happen now. He wouldn't make it through wavers. The Pats will carry 6 WRs with Edelman and Aiken making most of their contributions on STs
Agreed.

Offensive line (8): Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur, Vollmer, Ohrnberger, Hochstein, Britt/OCallahan
Quick hit: Lavoir starts the season on PUP and the winner of the Britt/OCallahan battle gets the 8th roster spot....for now. The rookies they like go to the PS
Agreed, if you meant 9; it's one of LeVoir/ROC/Britt.

Offense (23)
I have 25.

Defensive line (7): Warren, Wilfork, Seymour, Green, Brace, Pryor, Wright
Quick hit: Really like this group, the other rookie to the PS
Agreed; looks like it's Pryor vs. LeKevin Smith, though I wonder if Warren would've been better-served had he started the season on PUP.

Inside LBLinebacker (4): Mayo, Guyton, Bruschi, Lenon/Alexander/Williams
Quick hit: You really only need 4 guys, since this will be the area where at least ONE ILB will be on the sidelines in EVERY passing situation (which these days is virtually every play). Alexander is still in the mix because of his special teams play, and his coverage ability.
I never saw Williams with the safeties once. He's a coverage ILB now and has a shot at THAT position only.
Agreed; I'm pulling for Lenon because of his production, both as a starting ILB and as a STer before he became a full-time starter. People are forgetting his dual capabilities, though he won't make the club from the tub.

OLB -(6) Woods, Thomas, TBC, Burgess, Crable, Ninkovitch.
Quick hit - Yeah I know the last name will raise some eyebrow, but he can play some DE, STs, and long snap as well. He has some quickness, and I think he has a shot if BB cuts the offensive guys I mentioned to load up on the defense
(5) Tough cut, but there's just no room for Ninkovich exc. on the Shadow roster.

Cornerback (5): Springs, Bodden, Wilhite, Butler, Wheatley
Quick hit: That was easy.
Agreed.

Safety (5): Meriweather, Sanders, Chung, McGowan, Ventrone/Slater/Richardson
Quick hit: The first 4 are givens and winner of Ventrone/Slater/Richardson get a STs/spare DB slot I just happen to put here
(4) I really want McGowan to stick because of his experience as a starter for da Bears, but I wouldn't be surprised - very disappointed, but not surprised - if HDJ or - worse - Slater gets the nod instead. I would be less disappointed if it's Ventrone over the others.

Defense (27)
I have 25.

Specialists (3): Gostkowski (K), Hanson (P), Ingram (LS)
Quick hit: Contract wise, Ingram makes the most sense. I feel for Hoddel, he didn't do anything to get cut....but he only makes the squad if BB decides he doesn't want to rely on a rookie, and thinks he can stash him on the PS
Agreed.

I think our offense is as talented as it can be, and in that vein can be cut down a bit, to load up on defense and STs. THATs where injuries are most likely to occur. BTW - I wouldn't be shocked to see BB go with only 3 ILBs, given Junior is ready to go. ILB is the new FB in the passing age.

If Bill didn't seem serious about providing more 4-3 looks, then I could almost guarantee 4 ILBs (at least) and perhaps only 6 DLs. Now it appears a foregone conclusion that more DLs will be needed, at perhaps the expense of an ILB or 2. Having Bruschi as part of a 3-ILB rotation makes me nervous, like having KOC as Brady's only backup.

 

[captain stone]

TEs have always played a big role on Special Teams and did in this game, but you don't need four to meet the demand.

You do if you don't have a true Lead Blocker, though I know that Morris has played FB before. Besides, which TE do you cut? Your 1st-rounder? Your 3rd-rounder? The guy for whom you just traded a 5th-rounder? Unless Bill receives real value (not some conditional 7th-rounder) in return, then I can def. see 4 TEs making the final cut. At the expense of which position, is the question.

 

[patchick]

Philly announcer openly speculated that the Eagles might be interested in one of our TE's. Their starter got hurt early in the game. And, there wasn't any depth behind him. They didn't keep LJ Smith. Not even sure what they have there.

They already lost their rookie Ingram, and the NE-Philly trade connection has been hopping lately. But you also can't rule out the Bengals or the Saints, who have both suffered multiple injuries at the position. Could be the right year to have a TE surplus.

 

[Deus Irae]

They already lost their rookie Ingram, and the NE-Philly trade connection has been hopping lately. But you also can't rule out the Bengals or the Saints, who have both suffered multiple injuries at the position. Could be the right year to have a TE surplus.

Yes, but you have to wonder what kind of value Thomas can bring back, even from desperate teams.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'd be pretty surprised to see 4 TEs. IMO either Watson is getting traded or one of Smith/Thomas is getting cut. I expect that at least one of the projected RB/TE spots will be the 9th OL, but we'll see...

 

[captain stone]

At the moment, he's penciled in, though I would consider him alongside Richardson or Slater.

The difference is that, unlike HDJ or Slater, McGowan can actually play the position. Advantage: McG.

Richardson really has to show something on defense if he expects to make the cut. Then again, so does the ancient (and currently hors de combat) Shawn Springs.

Lenon was an excellent STer before he became a full-time starter. If he can practice this week and play vs. the Bungles, I think (hope) that he'll begin to secure his spot on the 53. I really, really don't want to see Eric Effin Alexander wearing a Patriots uniform again. I'm not as militant about Cousin Vinne Ciurciu, but he really can't play defense either.

BTW, has Bubba taken any reps with the defense, or even with the offense, during TC?