Roster Surprises the Rest of the Way?

[CJD]

(08-27-2018, 05:38 PM)kevin Wrote: I'll just say this last meaningless preseason game won'y have much impact.  The top starters will sit this one out, but that does not mean the ones playing are making the team. In this game, you are really trying yo avoid injuries to key players, so you play the scrubs.  The coaches at this point have a pretty good idea who the team is. They get this awful last preseason game over with, make their cuts so they can have 9 days to get ready for Regular Season Game.  This preseason game isn't going to chance much. The coaches know by now who they want in season opener. Fans thinking some 3rd or 4th stringer still has a chance, it's just not happening. That team that played most of Bills game, that is our team. 

I dunno. I think there are still legitimate battles, just not for starting spots.

Some battles I could see this game being a deciding factor in:

Backup QB: Barkley has been okay, not great, when he's come in to the game. Drexel was outstanding in 1 game and forgettable in the other 2. If Drexel blows the roof off the place in this game, he could make that final push for back up QB, especially since Barkley was so bad in training camp in general.

4th RB: Tra Carson, Brian Hill and Mark Whalton are all battling for the final RB slots on the team. We typically carry 4 (granted that was mainly because of Cedric Peerman being a special teams player), so logic tells us one of them doesn't make the team. Who do you cut? Carson needs to have a big game because, right now, I think Hill has the edge on him. Both Hill and Carson have well outperformed Whalton, but he's a 4th round pick and I don't see them cutting him.

6th WR: Auden Tate looked like a lock for the roster after the first game. 2 games later, people are talking about putting him on the PS. Core, on the other hand, had a pretty good rookie year but has been invisible ever since, including in the pre-season. Do you want either of these players on your 53? Or do you go 5 WRs and add more depth at another position (possibly RB?)

10th OL: Ogbuehi vs Perkins. Do you keep Ogbuehi around simply because he was drafted high? Or do you keep Perkins over him? 

9th DL: Andrew Brown vs Josh Tupou. Or, do you cut Michael Johnson and keep both of these guys?

6th LB: Hardy Nickerson vs Brandon Bell vs Junior Joseph. Logic tells me this is Nickerson, as he plays MLB and most of our LBs are OLBs. But if Bell or Joseph impresses in this final game, that could chance. Regardless, I imagine whoever this player is, he will be cut when Burfict comes back anyway.

DBs: This one is a bit more wide open since we drafted 3 defensive backs this draft. Does McCrae finally make the roster? He played awfully well against Buffalo and has been hanging around the team for a few seasons now. He is matched up against our two rookie CBs, Darius Phillips and Davonte Harris. Neither has shown all that much and both could probably be safely stowed on the PS. But Phillips offers you high potential as a kick and punt returner if they choose to go that route.

As for safety, Wilson and Henderson are fighting for that final spot. Wilson is a draft pick who theoretically offers a lot on special teams, but Henderson has showed up in game film, albeit as part of the 3rd string vs 3rd string portion of the preseason. That said, Henderson has looked good in game, whereas I don't even recall hearing Wilson's name ever mentioned. So this could end up being Henderson's job to lose.

Not too many of these are necessarily exciting, but I do see this final game factoring in to these final 8 slots on the roster.