How Soon Will They Make Plays?

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-08-2015, 10:42 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Just curious how soon you think these following players will start making an impact.



Chris Carter -- We've seen what he can do, and the coaches have too. He made the roster, but how long will it be before we see him rushing the passer? Do they already have a plan to bring him in on 3rd down rush situations or are they slowly working him in? Will we see him week 1?

PJD -- We all want him out there, but how long does it take to crack the lineup? If no one gets hurt, will we see PJD halfway through the season? Or, will he pull a Dennard and ride the bench the entire season after a promising preseason?

Greg Little -- We all get a little excited when Little touches the field. He has that Dez Bryant body, and flashes when he does make plays. How soon does he make an impact? Will his precense be similar to the one he had last year (seen one play, gone the rest of the game), or will he contribute on a weekly basis?

Fisher -- A lot of people keyed him in as the first rookie to make an impact this year. After a discerning preseason, how soon will he get on the field? He may come in for some jumbo packages, but will he do anything else?

Kroft -- We really haven't seen much from the guy. Will he make plays when they are needed most? Or will he fumble and bumble his way to Gresham status. Is he a one catch a game TE or a 4 catch a game TE? Is he going to be bailing Dalton out? How often will we run 2 TE sets knowing that he is the number 2 TE?

Alford -- Will Hue Jackson have packages for Alford or will he stay mainly a practice player due to his lack of experience. He didn't do much to impress the coaches, which doesn't bode well for his impact in games, but maybe I'm wrong. How long until we see Alford make a noteworthy play?



Those are the 6 new guys I can think of who could possibly make an impact sooner than later. If you have others please bring them up, as I may have forgotten someone.

 

The pessimist in me that has been a fan of this team since its inception remembers Marvin's habit of sitting rookies over dud veterans, but the optimist in me realizes that lately there have been some high-impact rookies on this team:  Hewitt and Burfict weren't even draft picks and both saw a LOT of action as rookies.  Bodine started all 16 games.  So, to respond to the OPs original question:

Carter:  Right away.  They need him getting game experience against #1s and playing with our #1s.  I think his excellent use of his hands and his motor pay dividends right away, and I am a big fan of the rotation to get more out of each player.

PJD- Hopefully not, as this would indicate an injury or really poor play by a starter.  With Burfict projected back at week 6, it would take a huge failure or injury to see the field as a starting LB.  If I had to bet, however, I would guess that he will be fighting to take Lamur's spot in the nickel packages.  Instincts are the big difference between those two. 

Greg Little-  Hope he never sees the field.  He did improve and played well in the preseason, but he is purely a depth player.  Hope he is never activated.

Fisher-  He will have to improve a TON in the practices, because what I saw in limited action in the preseason showed the guy was a huge liability.  Hopefully, they can coach this guy up all year and get something out of him next year.  As it sits right now, there is no way this guy replaces Andre Smith.

Kroft-  I was sure his season was over after that shot he took against the Colts.  He will definitely get some action this year, but blocking will be his primary assignment.  They will give him a few targets to keep defenses honest, and I think he could end the season with close to 30 receptions....not too far of Eifert's rookie season.  Remember, Hue's offense loves the TE, and he only had Gresh and Eifert on the field together for a very short amount of time in Eifert's rookie season.  I have high hopes for Kroft to become a solid #2 TE. 

Alford-  The wildcard.  Do you take Marvin Jones, Sanu, or even AJ off the field to give him a snap?  Unbelievably, I say yes.  Keep Jones fresh and spell him with Alford running the "X" position and let him burn a 9 route and help stretch the defense to open things up for AJ, the TEs, and the slot guys underneath.  And the occasional misdirection (I think teams will be so focused on stopping Hill that these have a great chance of success) will allow him to show his speed against LBs that are in the game to stuff the run.  Having seen Alford's ability to track a deep ball as well, I wouldn't be opposed to giving him some deep balls (that sounded funny).  Can you imagine him lined up inside of AJ on the same side of the field, having them cross as AJ runs a crossing route while Alford burns downfield?  I would think a lot of attention would be paid to AJ in such scenarios.  As a matter of fact, if Hill is in the backfield, and Marvin runs an out pattern on the other side of the field, I might just run this the first offensive play of the game and see if Alford can get a blown coverage.