Bedard's Roster

[Brohm]

I'd try to PS Sutton and Lumpkin regardless. Been mentioned a few times that RB is one of the more talented positions in the NFL (quantity and quality). Try to get them both on the PS and keep some more valuable players on the roster (development, 3rd FB, whatever)

[vince]

* I think Sutton has made the team, even over Wynn, who I think may also be kept, even though he's not on my roster.
* I think Martin is a question mark. He didn't help himself tonight, although we know about his body of work, which isn't that impressive either frankly. I saw somewhere where someone suggested keeping only 4 receivers on the 53-man, along with Swain and Heck on the PS to be available in case of injury - and then the 3 fullbacks for Special Teams or 4 RBs, I thought that was interesting, and something I wouldn't be too surprised to see MM and TT do, although I'm not projecting it here.
* Meredith is not ready for primetime (neither is Lang, although he's farther along than Meredith), and if someone else wants to put him on their active roster, more power to 'em. I don't see that happening. Lang is a regular game-day inactive unless injuries belittle the o-line. I'm no Moll fan, but I think he's needed just because he's NFL-ready and can play multiple spots in a pinch.
* Underwood is also not ready for primetime - on many levels. He needs to build up his body and get much better in both run support and pass defense. The ultimate PS candidate.
* While I don't think Brohm played as well as his numbers would indicate, I think he did do well enough to secure his spot, especially in light of Flynn's questionable status. I've been a Brohm critic, and I hope I'm ultimately wrong about him, although he still has a long way to go IMO.
* I think Havner played his way onto the team showing reliable hands and flexibility to contribute in all 3 areas if necessary.
* On a positive note, I've been critical of both Montgomery and Jolly as well going into this season. I think both of them have proven me wrong to some extent thus far with good camps. Kudos to both of them for outplaying my expectations.
* Lansanah and Lee are my last guys in. I think Lee has the ability, but his injuries and lack of practice time have hurt his chances.
* Defensively, the bottom end of the CB position (and NT depending on the status of Raji) scares me the most, on D although Bush does add some insurance because I think he'd be improved in zone coverage scheme if called upon to play corner. Hopefully our top guys can stay healthy.
* Offensively, the bottom of the o-line is the scariest, particularly in pass protection, although I think there are guys who will develop there.
* I know many are down on Rouse mostly because of his poor angles in run support, but I think he's a tough cut. Maybe an IR candidate along with Harrell.

QB (3): Rodgers, Flynn, Brohm
RB (3): Grant, Jackson, Sutton
FB (2): Hall, Johnson
WR (4): Driver, Jennings, Jones, Nelson, Martin
TE (3): Finley, Lee, Havner
OL (9): Clifton, Colledge, Spitz, Sitton, Barbre, Wells, Lang, Giacomini, Moll

DL (6): Jenkins, Pickett, Jolly, Raji, Wynn, Montgomery
OLB (4): Kampman, Matthews, Thompson, Poppinga
ILB (5): Hawk, Barnett, Chillar, Bishop, Lansanah
S (4): Collins, Smith, Bigby, Bush
CB (5): Harris, Woodson, Williams, Blackmon, Lee

ST (3): Crosby, Kapinos, Goode

PS (8): 2 of Heckendorf, Swain and Allen, plus Meredith, Deitrich-Smith, Toribio, Jones, Obiozor, Underwood

* Swain is the guy I'd be least surprised to see lost to another team.

[packrulz]

TT is shopping Moll, Wells, Peprah, Rouse, and maybe Kuhn, that would make the cuts easier. I could see trading for a TE or punter. I'd like to keep both Lumpy and Sutton. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/57139907.html

[Lurker64]

* Defensively, the bottom end of the CB position (and NT depending on the status of Raji) scares me the most

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Toribio beat out Montomery for the last DL spot. Toribio has certainly played well enough to consider a roster spot, and he makes the numbers work out pretty nicely as you have your defensive line depth chart as:

RDE: Jenkins, J. Wynn.
NT: PIckett, Toribio, Raji
LDE: Raji, Jolly (possibly Montgomery, if he's kept)

That makes the #2 guy at ever DL position at least somewhat competent, which is reassuring.

I don't think Raji has played anywhere near enough at NT in camp to feel comfortable with him as the backup. It's his eventual position, but it's certainly not his current position.

[vince]

* Defensively, the bottom end of the CB position (and NT depending on the status of Raji) scares me the most

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Toribio beat out Montomery for the last DL spot. Toribio has certainly played well enough to consider a roster spot, and he makes the numbers work out pretty nicely as you have your defensive line depth chart as:

RDE: Jenkins, J. Wynn.
NT: PIckett, Toribio, Raji
LDE: Raji, Jolly (possibly Montgomery, if he's kept)

That makes the #2 guy at ever DL position at least somewhat competent, which is reassuring.

I don't think Raji has played anywhere near enough at NT in camp to feel comfortable with him as the backup. It's his eventual position, but it's certainly not his current position.

I wouldn't mind that Lurk, although the DL rotation in this last game wouldn't seem to indicate that. And Montgomery, cast and all, has played decent. Toribio has also held up in the middle and gotten some penetration (far better than Muhtadi, who's long gone.) Not sure how much learning or additional experience Raji would need at NT to be serviceable either. He may well be as good as or better than Toribio at NT already. I could also see Wynn being sent to the practice squad, rather than Monty cut, in the event that Toribio is kept on the 53-man day 1. In any event, I think Toribio sticks with the team at least on the practice squad in case of emergency and for more development.

[Scott Campbell]

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Toribio beat out Montomery for the last DL spot.

Where did we get him? I don't remember reading much about him this summer.

[vince]

He signed with Miami last year as an undrafted rookie, and made their practice squad. But they released him toward the end of the year and we picked him up right away and put him on our practice squad. He's still a "first year" guy and would be PS eligible yet.

[Fritz]

I really like Waldo's projected roster, but I also acknowledge Harlan's very good point that in going with that set of offensive linemen, you're taking the same risk you did last year by keeping Flynn/Brohm as backups to Rodgers: you're keeping guys who frankly are not ready, and you're hoping you get lucky on the injury front.

But what KY wrote here hit me because I agree so strongly: "Havner The third cut is where I get pissy. I hate this Havner kid. I know he won't be cut, but I'm cutting him bc I think he is a shitty TE and a non-entity as a LB." I'd rather keep two tight ends and use the extra spot to hang on to a guy who might otherwise get snapped up by another team - the Lions are going to suck anyway this year, so they could afford to keep a guy like Underwood or Meredith if they become available.

I wish we knew more about the severity of Jackson's sprain. If he's going to be back in two or three weeks, I would keep Wynn (he can block) and cut both Lumpkin and Sutton. I guess I'm not as impressed with Sutton as some others. If his role would be primarily third down or change-of-pace, then his biggest responsibility, it seems, would be to pick up blitzers.

So - I'd keep only two tight ends and three halfbacks, and use those two extra spots to keep younger talent, whether it be Underwood or Lee or Meredith or Jones or Obiozor. You could use the practice squad if you have an injury to a running back, and if a TE gets hurt, Havner may well be on your PS, and isn't Bubba Franks still floating around?

[Scott Campbell]

He signed with Miami last year as an undrafted rookie, and made their practice squad. But they released him toward the end of the year and we picked him up right away and put him on our practice squad. He's still a "first year" guy and would be PS eligible yet.

Ahhh. Thanks Vince.

[pbmax]

Isn't the Havner experiment basically an attempt to keep him for special teams? He looked like he had decent hands. My suspicion is that the coaches went through all that trouble for a reason. But I confess KYPack/Fritz's point makes sense. Why keep him if there is better talent to be had at positions of need?

Was he that good at Special Teams?

[Waldo]

I really like Waldo's projected roster, but I also acknowledge Harlan's very good point that in going with that set of offensive linemen, you're taking the same risk you did last year by keeping Flynn/Brohm as backups to Rodgers: you're keeping guys who frankly are not ready, and you're hoping you get lucky on the injury front.

Not really, the only one that is "ready" that is cut is Moll; Moll is terrible. He is no better than Lang or Giacomini at this point.

You can cover the whole line if Breno and Wells are the game day actives, and with some in-game shuffling.

Lang is ready to play as a backup IMO, same as Dietrich-Smith. Dietrich-Smith is better than Preston was, Preston started for the Bills last year. Of course neither of those options would be needed unless one of the game day guys is pressed into full time service, so really they are the backups to the backups.

Meredith is the one that truly isn't ready to see the field at all.

It should be said that between Meredith, Lang, Wells, Dietrich-Smith, and Giacomini, we have an entire backup line to work together on scout team without any risk of losing any of them. At some point you have to keep your best 53, and if any position is close, keep the more valuable/harder to fill position. You can always snag a RB off someone else's PS in an emergency and press him into service right away (like we did with Herron). An OL? Good luck.

[ThunderDan]

* I think Sutton has made the team, even over Wynn, who I think may also be kept, even though he's not on my roster.
* I think Martin is a question mark. He didn't help himself tonight, although we know about his body of work, which isn't that impressive either frankly. I saw somewhere where someone suggested keeping only 4 receivers on the 53-man, along with Swain and Heck on the PS to be available in case of injury - and then the 3 fullbacks for Special Teams or 4 RBs, I thought that was interesting, and something I wouldn't be too surprised to see MM and TT do, although I'm not projecting it here.
* Meredith is not ready for primetime (neither is Lang, although he's farther along than Meredith), and if someone else wants to put him on their active roster, more power to 'em. I don't see that happening. Lang is a regular game-day inactive unless injuries belittle the o-line. I'm no Moll fan, but I think he's needed just because he's NFL-ready and can play multiple spots in a pinch.
* Underwood is also not ready for primetime - on many levels. He needs to build up his body and get much better in both run support and pass defense. The ultimate PS candidate.
* While I don't think Brohm played as well as his numbers would indicate, I think he did do well enough to secure his spot, especially in light of Flynn's questionable status. I've been a Brohm critic, and I hope I'm ultimately wrong about him, although he still has a long way to go IMO.
* I think Havner played his way onto the team showing reliable hands and flexibility to contribute in all 3 areas if necessary.
* On a positive note, I've been critical of both Montgomery and Jolly as well going into this season. I think both of them have proven me wrong to some extent thus far with good camps. Kudos to both of them for outplaying my expectations.
* Lansanah and Lee are my last guys in. I think Lee has the ability, but his injuries and lack of practice time have hurt his chances.
* Defensively, the bottom end of the CB position (and NT depending on the status of Raji) scares me the most, on D although Bush does add some insurance because I think he'd be improved in zone coverage scheme if called upon to play corner. Hopefully our top guys can stay healthy.
* Offensively, the bottom of the o-line is the scariest, particularly in pass protection, although I think there are guys who will develop there.
* I know many are down on Rouse mostly because of his poor angles in run support, but I think he's a tough cut. Maybe an IR candidate along with Harrell.

QB (3): Rodgers, Flynn, Brohm
RB (3): Grant, Jackson, Sutton
FB (2): Hall, Johnson
WR (4): Driver, Jennings, Jones, Nelson, Martin
TE (3): Finley, Lee, Havner
OL (9): Clifton, Colledge, Spitz, Sitton, Barbre, Wells, Lang, Giacomini, Moll

DL (6): Jenkins, Pickett, Jolly, Raji, Wynn, Montgomery
OLB (4): Kampman, Matthews, Thompson, Poppinga
ILB (5): Hawk, Barnett, Chillar, Bishop, Lansanah
S (4): Collins, Smith, Bigby, Bush
CB (5): Harris, Woodson, Williams, Blackmon, Lee

ST (3): Crosby, Kapinos, Goode

PS (8): 2 of Heckendorf, Swain and Allen, plus Meredith, Deitrich-Smith, Toribio, Jones, Obiozor, Underwood

* Swain is the guy I'd be least surprised to see lost to another team.

I agree with you that Meredith and Underwood are going to the practice squad. Both looked horrible last nigh and I would not want them on the field in any situation. Maybe a year on the PS gives them the seasoning they need to figure it out.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I agree with you that Meredith and Underwood are going to the practice squad. Both looked horrible last nigh and I would not want them on the field in any situation. Maybe a year on the PS gives them the seasoning they need to figure it out.

The problem is you can't assume they'll make the practice squad. If the Thompson/McCarthy think they have starter potential down the road, they'll find a way to protect them. There are teams that aren't deep at those positions and have room to keep a developmental type on the roster.

I'm not sure what other teams think of these guys, but we'll know what Thompson/McCarthy think of them by what he does with the roster.

[ThunderDan]

I agree with you that Meredith and Underwood are going to the practice squad. Both looked horrible last nigh and I would not want them on the field in any situation. Maybe a year on the PS gives them the seasoning they need to figure it out.

The problem is you can't assume they'll make the practice squad. If the Thompson/McCarthy think they have starter potential down the road, they'll find a way to protect them. There are teams that aren't deep at those positions and have room to keep a developmental type on the roster.

I'm not sure what other teams think of these guys, but we'll know what Thompson/McCarthy think of them by what he does with the roster.

After last nights game I don't think that will be a problem. If you are a team who drafted a 5th rounder as a project why pick up the Packers 6th and 7th round projects that looked like turds the night before?

[ThunderDan]

Last night Meredith went to a spot and set. It didn't matter what the play call was or what the DE was doing. The DE just rushed deeper 2 or 3 times and had free shots at Brohm. DE wasn't even touched.