05-02-2016, 06:23 PM
This year is going to be tough for the team. The suspensions of Burfict and Mays along with the likely PUP-listing of Brandon Thompson and James Wright mean that the starting roster may look nothing like the way it will end up come October.
Last year we had two NT in Sims and Peko, two 3T in Atkins and Thompson, and Hardison as the swing guy (who didn't play). The addition of Billings and PUPing of Thompson means that we have to make a decision between carrying 3 nose tackles or cutting Sims - and if the team thinks this is Peko's last year we may want to keep Sims in house ready for a Sims/Billings lineup next year. Atkins is great, but he needs someone to spell him and this could mean the promotion of DeShawn Williams to the lineup. Of course, that has a resulting effect on the rest of the roster - could we go with only 3 DEs or do we go light elsewhere?
On the OL, we now find ourselves with too many guards and not enough quality centres. If Boling is the backup centre, and Westerman and/or Winston are in a position to backup at guard, do we go light here and cut TJ Johnson?
Meanwhile, at LB we have 2 locks in Maualuga and Dansby, two recent high draft picks with potential in Dawson and Vigil, a proven backup in Rey and someone who was showing promise before getting injured in Flowers. Can we afford to carry 7 when Burfict comes back? If not, is Flowers the likely candidate for the cut?
My thoughts right now are that we start the season like this:
QB (2) Dalton, AJMC
FB (1) Hewitt
RB (4) Bernard, Hill, Burkhead, Peerman
WR (5) Green, LaFell, Boyd, Alford, Tate
TE (3) Eifert, Kroft, Uzomah
OL (9) Whitworth, Boling, Bodine, Zeitler, Ogbuehi, Fisher, Westerman, Johnson, Winston
DT (6) Atkins, Peko, Sims, Billings, Hardison, Williams
DE (4) Dunlap, MJ, Hunt, Clarke
LB (6) Dansby, Maualuga, Rey, Dawson, Vigil, Flowers
CB (6) Jones, Kirkpatrick, Dennard, Jackson, Shaw, Lewis-Harris
S (4) Iloka, Williams, Smith, Fejedelem
ST (3) Nugent, Huber, Harris
Suspended (2) Burfict (replaces Flowers), Mays (replaces Fejedelem)
PUP (2) Thompson (released), Wright (replaces TJ Johnson)
Last year we had two NT in Sims and Peko, two 3T in Atkins and Thompson, and Hardison as the swing guy (who didn't play). The addition of Billings and PUPing of Thompson means that we have to make a decision between carrying 3 nose tackles or cutting Sims - and if the team thinks this is Peko's last year we may want to keep Sims in house ready for a Sims/Billings lineup next year. Atkins is great, but he needs someone to spell him and this could mean the promotion of DeShawn Williams to the lineup. Of course, that has a resulting effect on the rest of the roster - could we go with only 3 DEs or do we go light elsewhere?
On the OL, we now find ourselves with too many guards and not enough quality centres. If Boling is the backup centre, and Westerman and/or Winston are in a position to backup at guard, do we go light here and cut TJ Johnson?
Meanwhile, at LB we have 2 locks in Maualuga and Dansby, two recent high draft picks with potential in Dawson and Vigil, a proven backup in Rey and someone who was showing promise before getting injured in Flowers. Can we afford to carry 7 when Burfict comes back? If not, is Flowers the likely candidate for the cut?
My thoughts right now are that we start the season like this:
QB (2) Dalton, AJMC
FB (1) Hewitt
RB (4) Bernard, Hill, Burkhead, Peerman
WR (5) Green, LaFell, Boyd, Alford, Tate
TE (3) Eifert, Kroft, Uzomah
OL (9) Whitworth, Boling, Bodine, Zeitler, Ogbuehi, Fisher, Westerman, Johnson, Winston
DT (6) Atkins, Peko, Sims, Billings, Hardison, Williams
DE (4) Dunlap, MJ, Hunt, Clarke
LB (6) Dansby, Maualuga, Rey, Dawson, Vigil, Flowers
CB (6) Jones, Kirkpatrick, Dennard, Jackson, Shaw, Lewis-Harris
S (4) Iloka, Williams, Smith, Fejedelem
ST (3) Nugent, Huber, Harris
Suspended (2) Burfict (replaces Flowers), Mays (replaces Fejedelem)
PUP (2) Thompson (released), Wright (replaces TJ Johnson)
