The So Early It's Both Awesome & Stupid Thread- Pick the 53

[run pMc]

I'd like to see them stash Lyerla on IR, let him heal up mentally & physically. Being away from football made him rusty. He's the most athletic TE they have.

[call_me_ishmael]

QB (3) Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien
RB (4) Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris (KR), John Kuhn
WR (5) Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin, Davante Adams, Myles White
TE (4) Brandon Bostick, Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor*
OL (8) David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, J.C. Tretter, T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Don Barclay, Derek Sherrod, Corey Linsley
DL (5) Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji, Datone Jones, Josh Boyd, Khyri Thornton
OLB (6) Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Mike Neal, Nick Perry, Carl Bradford, Nate Palmer
ILB (5) A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore, Sam Barrington, Joe Thomas
CB (5) Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Casey Hayward, Davon House, Jarret Bush
S (5) Morgan Burnett, Micah Hyde (PR), Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Sean Richardson, Chris Banjo
ST (3) Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode

IR: WR Jared Abbrederis, TE Colt Lyerla
PS: RB Raijon Neal, TE Justin Perillo, OL John Fullington, DL Mike Pennel, OLB Jayrone Elliott, OLB Adrian Hubbard, ILB Jake Doughty, CB Demetri Goodson

*If Lyerla can return in 2 weeks, I still think he has a shot at a roster spot--because he can play STs and has more upside than Taylor or Stoneburner as a receiver. If he's out longer than 2 weeks, I think they'll try to stash him on IR or PS.

Is 5 DL typical? I could see a 6th DL and not keeping Banjo around. Otherwise, I think this is pretty spot on.

[Brandon494]

They won't keep 3 QBs and Janis will make the 53 let alone missing the PS completely. Also don't see Palmer making the 53 and they will keep more then 5 DL.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Forgot About Janis. He was on my 53 previously. Put him on PS. I think they keep 3 QBs this year. Flynn gets one year before Tolzien takes over next year. Five is light on DL, but I think they'll go with the best 53 at cut time and then look to add DL from another team. Hard for Worthy and Guion to win spots if they don't play. I thought about Pennel over Thomas, but Moss seems to really like Thomas. I also thought about Elliott over Palmer, but Palmer appears to be on most of the #1 ST units. He might be a better bet than I thought originally.

[Brandon494]

Forgot About Janis. He was on my 53 previously. Put him on PS. I think they keep 3 QBs this year. Flynn gets one year before Tolzien takes over next year. Five is light on DL, but I think they'll go with the best 53 at cut time and then look to add DL from another team. Hard for Worthy and Guion to win spots if they don't play. I thought about Pennel over Thomas, but Moss seems to really like Thomas. I also thought about Elliott over Palmer, but Palmer appears to be on most of the #1 ST units. He might be a better bet than I thought originally.

Why do we need Tolzien to take over for Flynn next year? Flynn is only 2 years older and Tolzien seems to be struggling so far in training camp. I still think Janis will make it over White, Dorsey, and Harper who have all been inconsistent. Also don't think they will IR Colt for just a knee sprain, he should be back this preseason. You also don't need to take out Thomas to add another DL when you keep 2 QBs.

[Brandon494]

I want to make a 53 but someone keeps getting injured so I'll wait a few days before final cuts to make my prediction.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Is 5 DL typical? I could see a 6th DL and not keeping Banjo around.

Agreed, Banjo had his 15 minutes of fame last summer. He might get on a roster somewhere. Sean Richardson is the new It player.

[Joemailman]

5 DL would be unusual, but you also have Peppers who can, and probably will play some DE. I think they will keep Worthy, either on the 53 or PUP.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I want to make a 53 but someone keeps getting injured so I'll wait a few days before final cuts to make my prediction.

Thanks for the update, will check back to this thread later.


ps. What would your hero say? "I'm not so sure if I can beat Frazier, give me a couple days to think on it." or "I'm gonna killa the gorilla in Manilla."

[Brandon494]

I wouldn't call Ali my hero but I think we all know what he would say.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Banjo is on most of the #1 STs units, so I'm not ready to write him off yet.

[3irty1]

The cross training on this roster right now makes it easier to keep your best 53. With Peppers and Neal as DE/LB hybrids I think you can get away with just 5 DL until Worthy comes off the pup. Hyde as a CB/S hybrid makes the secondary battle more interesting because it could be Goodson vs Banjo vs the field for just 1 spot in the secondary. The two best battles in camp are the 5th WR and the 6th OLB.

My current favorite for 5th WR is Dorsey. He seems to be on every special teams unit and I personally find him more intriguing than the others because he's so unmeasured. His terrible college situation masked whatever talent he's got which makes him more interesting to me than the guys with clear flaws as athletes or guys who are super raw. My current favorite for 6th OLB is Mulumba. He's only been playing football for 7 years so I can only imagine the big step he took last year isn't his first or last. Elliott seems like a practice squad guy. Good player but lacks the upside of Mulumba or Hubbard. Hubbard is probably one of our better OLB's in coverage so I hope he shows enough instincts and versatility to get reps at ILB. That would be exciting. I don't see him being able to outperform Mulumba as a pass rusher.

[Guiness]

Why do we need Tolzien to take over for Flynn next year? Flynn is only 2 years older and Tolzien seems to be struggling so far in training camp. I still think Janis will make it over White, Dorsey, and Harper who have all been inconsistent. Also don't think they will IR Colt for just a knee sprain, he should be back this preseason. You also don't need to take out Thomas to add another DL when you keep 2 QBs.

Been wondering about that myself. It's not like you're grooming a successor to Rodgers. All they need is a a backup, so I think Tolzien has to beat Flynn outright if he wants the job. Unless they think Tolzien has 'potential' and they think in a year or two they can parlay him into a draft pick in a trade or as compensatory pick.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Been wondering about that myself. It's not like you're grooming a successor to Rodgers. All they need is a a backup, so I think Tolzien has to beat Flynn outright if he wants the job. Unless they think Tolzien has 'potential' and they think in a year or two they can parlay him into a draft pick in a trade or as compensatory pick.

I think Flynn is what he is. He's had a lot of experience, and he's been in this offense for a long time. He's not going to get much better. Tolzien doesn't have a lot of experience. It may take him another year before he is better than Flynn and is a viable backup, but I think they see more upside in him. After last year, I think they are more apt to keep three QBs. I could definitely see him getting cut though, if he shows little progression this preseason.

[3irty1]

QB (2) Rodgers, Flynn
RB (4) Lacy, Harris, Starks, Kuhn
WR (6) Nelson, Cobb, Boykin, Adams, Dorsey, White
TE (3) Quarless, Bostick, Rodgers
OL (9) Bakhtiari, Sitton, Tretter, Lang, Bulaga, Sherrod, Linsley, Fullington, Taylor
DL (5) Daniels, Raji, Jones, Boyd, Thornton
LB (11) Matthews, Peppers, Hawk, Jones, Neal, Perry, Bradford, Lattimore, Mulumba, Barrington, Hubbard
CB (6) Shields, Williams, Hayward, House, Bush, Goodson
S (4) Burnett, Clinton-Dix, Hyde, Richardson
ST (3) Crosby, Masthay, Goode

IR: WR Abbrederis, OL Barclay
PUP: DL Worthy, DL Guion