The Official Roster Thread or similar ;)

[Koolblue13]

Any way to see all of his plays @Skinsinparadise?

[carex]

13 hours ago, skinny21 said:

Totally agree with this.  Of course, my philosophy is to almost always fill the final spots with promising guys of ok vets (the exception being high quality STers).

I’d also argue that if Reyes was on the 53 and we sustained a TE injury, potentially forcing Reyes to play significant snaps before they think he’s ready, than you can always find a Hemingway/Seales-Jones/Yelder on the street (if you don’t have one on the PS).

the trick is they're keeping the COVID rules this year.  That means 16 people on the PS including some with unlimited NFL experience.  We could keep a couple of them on th practice squad, deactivate Reyes on game day and activate them for at least a couple weeks

[Chris 44]

1 hour ago, Koolblue13 said:

I liked Barnes. I was high on Bolton, but no idea how he's doing. Would have been nice to grab Mac and Barnes.

 

Reyes potential is through the roof and for a guy that only just now started playing football, in his first game, I'm sold. I know other guys on the team have said he's the most athletic guy on the team.

 

TE3 for a guy who can block and play teams is fine, but is otherworldly upside makes him a lock. Im officially sold on Reyes.

Initially I was very skeptical,  almost to the point of is this just a PR stunt. I was dead wrong, a lot of promise there. TE3 and see if he continues to improve his catching abilities. As others pointed out, very much worth further investment.

[mhd24]

Hemmingway is a JAG.  Go with the potential with Reyes.

[Skinsinparadise]

14 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

Any way to see all of his plays @Skinsinparadise?

 

For Reyes I presume?  If so, my video editing doesn't do hot with Game Pass so I tend to instead screen shot things and make clips.   They only have the condensed game up right now which is tough to pull the better clips because you don't have the full view of the field.  But here are some.  Small sample.  but he can seperate.  And he can be a pile driver as a blocker. 

 

 

 

[Rex Tomb]

10 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

For Reyes I presume?  If so, my video editing doesn't do hot with Game Pass so I tend to instead screen shot things and make clips.   They only have the condensed game up right now which is tough to pull the better clips because you don't have the full view of the field.  But here are some.  Small sample.  but he can seperate.  And he can be a pile driver as a blocker. 

 

 

 

Reyes may just be the best kept secret on our roster.  I was really impressed with his blocking, especially the one where he collapsed the entire side of the defensive line. I know he wasn't playing against 1s, but the fact that he has caught on so quickly to blocking and seems to really relish that role is absolutely mind blowing.  Definitely a work in progress and probably TE3 at this point, but really impressive start for him.

[mudhog]

14 hours ago, Borgold said:

I think part of the decision really comes down to who Rivera thinks this team is. If he thinks this is a building team, but not truly a contender then it's a lot more valuable to keep guys like Reyes and Patterson at the end of the roster. If you think you are close to winning it all then you risk potential for the temporary surer thing.

 

I think it's always a fine balance between grizzled back ups you can depend on and high potential guys who might really hurt the team if called on too early, but ultimately you see as significant contributors a few years down the road. For this season, if it's at all close, I go for the high potential guy for while I think we could be surprisingly good, I don't think we can get there if we max out. Therefore, I want the player who may be ready when the team is ready to run.

I agree BG. The only thing here that I would add is that Rivera is also considering that unlike the past, he trusts his position coaches, and thinks he has enough time to fine-tune Reyes. I didn't see if Reyes played on teams at all, but if we cut Apke, he would also have value there.

Seems kinda funny that RR waited till now to suggest that Patterson return punts. I have been thinking that all along. Also, I wonder why Toney hasn't been used more as a blitzing LB instead of DE where there is a logjam and he could end up cut.

Like I have said since the last day of the draft, Patterson makes this team.

[mudhog]

3 hours ago, Borgold said:

One thing I want to know is how nervous Reyes was. This wasn’t only his first preseason game, but his first time on a live football field (I think). That makes his debut even more impressive. 
 

He could have put a ton of pressure on himself and still managed to execute even if he did bobble a bit. 

I am thinking the same about Heineke. This wasn't an all-out winner-takes-all game like the wildcard game. This was an evaluation game for him and though he was a bit shaky at first, he did relax and show he's got what it takes to be a back-up to Fitzmagic.

[skinny21]

5 minutes ago, mudhog said:

I agree BG. The only thing here that I would add is that Rivera is also considering that unlike the past, he trusts his position coaches, and thinks he has enough time to fine-tune Reyes. I didn't see if Reyes played on teams at all, but if we cut Apke, he would also have value there.

Seems kinda funny that RR waited till now to suggest that Patterson return punts. I have been thinking that all along. Also, I wonder why Toney hasn't been used more as a blitzing LB instead of DE where there is a logjam and he could end up cut.

Like I have said since the last day of the draft, Patterson makes this team.

I’m with you on Toney, though I can guess why he’s at DE instead.  One, LB is a tougher role to learn in the NFL and Toney would have a bigger learning curve than most other rookie linebackers (not counting 34 OLBs).  Second, we’ve got JSW in the wings - who played as the 4th-5th DE last year - and not much else.  Toohill is a vet that didn’t play much, Bradley-King is a project, etc.  As weak as our linebacker group is, it’s still a lot of guys that are going to be much further along than Toney.  Lastly, I have to wonder if the plan is to treat him a bit like they did Gibson.  Put him in the role that’s easiest to pick up, then as he gets comfortable there, they can start adding new/more responsibilities.  

That last point is kind of what I surmised once he was drafted - use him as a situational rusher, and then have him transition.  To your point though, if WBK performs, Toney quite likely doesn’t make the cut, which would be a bummer.  On the other hand, he’s a good PS candidate - a guy with potential, but probably not a guy that would get poached as he’s not ready.

[HTTRDynasty]

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/cam-newton-jokes-chase-young-is-smaller-than-i-thought-after-taking-big-hit

 

 

Quote

 

Young provided Washington's biggest highlight, whipping Pats tackle Isaiah Wynn off the edge, smashing quarterback Cam Newton to force a fumble -- later ruled incomplete. The play displayed Young's speed, hand combat skills, power, and bone-crushing energy.

 

Newton was asked after the game what he made of his encounter with Young in the Patriots' 22-13 win.

 

"He's smaller than I thought," Newton quipped, per the team's official transcript. "I'm just messing with you. That's a joke. That's a joke. I'm just messing with you. But yeah, he's going to be good, man. He's going to be good. He's going to be real good. But I've got to do a better job of protecting the football. He kind of got me like right in the tweener when I was letting the ball going or trying to pull it back. Coach talks about it all the time, man, ball security is job security, and that's what it comes down to."

 

The edge rusher showed Thursday that even in minimal snaps, he can give defenses a headache. Imagine if Newton or Mac Jones had to deal with him all night? Young provided Wynn with what's sure to be an ugly film session Friday.

 

Young's hit on Newton might have crumpled smaller signal-callers.

 

"He's very big, very big" Young said. "When I hit him, I felt that he was a big dude. I'll say that. But you know, we're like the same size, so it wouldn't have been like me to [not] take Cam down, so gotta take him down."

 

Already an athletic freak able to win with speed or power -- or both -- as a rookie, Young said he's worked to improve his hands this offseason, so blockers can't get into his body. He displayed that before crushing Newton.

 

"I tell people that I want to work on my hands more this year," Young said. "On that play, all that work paid off. It was a long-arm cut, and I turned my hips, got around the edge, and tried to make a play. I'm glad I could definitely impact the game early."

 

Young will be impacting the game both early and often this season.

 

 

[Koolblue13]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

For Reyes I presume?  If so, my video editing doesn't do hot with Game Pass so I tend to instead screen shot things and make clips.   They only have the condensed game up right now which is tough to pull the better clips because you don't have the full view of the field.  But here are some.  Small sample.  but he can seperate.  And he can be a pile driver as a blocker. 

 

 

 

Yeah, thank you. That's awesome to see. 

1 hour ago, Chris 44 said:

Initially I was very skeptical,  almost to the point of is this just a PR stunt. I was dead wrong, a lot of promise there. TE3 and see if he continues to improve his catching abilities. As others pointed out, very much worth further investment.

I was curious to how he'd respond to being hit and hard, but he showed out. I'm buying it now.

[Ball Security]

20 hours ago, terpfan said:

Reviving this thread to talk roster predictions post-Preseason Game 1.

 

I'll admit I'm still scratching my head about a lot of spots. WR, TE, DE, CB, S all feel very much in the air still. But here we go...

 

QB (3): Fitzpatrick, Heinicke, Allen

Just missed: --

Steven Montez had a nice drive at the end of the game, but I think he's still clearly the 4th option unless Allen's injury ends up being longer term than expected.

 

RB (4): Gibson, McKissic, Barber, Patterson

Just missed: --

If a 4th RB makes this roster, it will be because Patterson forced his way on. And after game one, that certainly seems to be possible, even likely.

 

WR (6): McLaurin, Samuel, Humphries, Brown, C. Sims, S. Sims Jr

Just missed: Carter, Milne, Harmon, Gandy-Golden

By far the most competitive position on the roster. Carter and Steven Sims seem to be in the lead in the competition for #6 wide receiver/punt returner, and neither did anything to hurt their stock in Game 1. I'm giving Sims Jr the advantage as the "incumbent." Milne had a couple catches and a nice punt return himself, so I don't think he's completely out of it, but best case would be to stash him on the practice squad initially. Harmon and Gandy-Golden each had one pretty nice catch in traffic (still not sure why AGG's was overturned). If we keep 7 WRs I think one of Harmon/AGG is the 7th to add a bit more size. I like Isaiah Wright but just don't see how he fits in. Starting to become quite a numbers crunch!

 

TE (3): Thomas, Bates, Reyes

Just missed: Seals-Jones, Hemmingway

This is a really though one to gauge so far. Thomas and Bates are locks, but I went back and forth on the 3rd guy a few times. I like what Seals-Jones brings as a pass catcher to compliment Bates as a blocker. Reports were that Hemmingway was the #2 tight end in camp, but he certainly didn't look it on Thursday night. Reyes showed some flashes, but obviously is still pretty raw to be counting on in real games. That said, ultimately players like Seals-Jones and Hemmingway are always out there... Sammis Reyes has too much potential to risk losing, and is starting to show enough to indicate that he could at least hold his own if pressed into action. He'll have two more games to continue to prove that.

 

OL (9): Leno, Schweitzer, Roullier, Scherff, Cosmi, Lucas, Flowers, Larsen, Charles

Just missed: Ismael

The starting five seems set. The top 3 backups at each position (Tackle: Lucas, Guard: Flowers, Center: Larsen) seem pretty set as well. Charles makes for a great 9th OL given his versatility. Ismael is a former 5th round pick, so they might try to squeeze him in as a 10th OL, but at this point it doesn't seem necessary.

 

DE (4): Young, Sweat, Smith-Williams, Bradley-King

Just missed: Toney, Toohill

Outside of Young's monster hit on Cam Newton, no one from this group really stood out enough to change the pecking order. WBK keeps the edge over Toney for the 4th spot, for now. Toohill missing the game for injury hurts his chances, he'll need to get back on the field soon.

 

DT (4): Allen, Payne, Ionnadis, Settle

Just missed: --

Given the strength of the top 4, a 5th DT would need to make a significant impact to make the roster, in my opinion. I've seen some projections with Devaroe Lawrence making it but not sure I see the need. David Bada had a sack in Game 1 - worth keeping an eye on him but don't think he has a real chance at the roster at this point.

 

LB (6): Holcomb, Davis, Bostic, Hudson, Mayo, Norris

Just missed: Phillips, Walker, Kunaszyk

Not an inspiring day from this group. Davis looked like a rookie. Bostic missed tackles. The 5th and 6th guys are basically making the roster by default. I don't see much separating anyone after the top 4. Hopefully we see a few more flashes from the LBs in game 2.

 

CB (6): Jackson III, Fuller, St-Juste, Moreland, Johnson, McTyer

Just missed: Roberts, Apke

This is the position group I have the least confidence about how it will shake out. The top 4 are locks, but after that.. do you keep 5? 6? And who? Danny Johnson seems to have the inside track because he's being given the first crack at kick return duties. Torry McTyer is getting a lot of run and seems to be taking advantage of it. Darryl Roberts is a veteran FA acquisition who actually got a decent sized contract, so I wouldn't count him out. And then there's the enigma of Troy Apke... I'm still in denial that he could make the roster again, but the staff still does seem to like his special teams ability and keeps giving him chances.

 

S (5): Collins, Curl, McCain, Everett, Forrest

Just missed: Reaves

Five safeties isn't normally a given, but given the six solid options we have on the roster, I don't see how we don't at least keep five of them. The first 3 are locks. Everett strikes me as a guy they either cut early to give younger guys a chance and let him catch on elsewhere, or otherwise he will make the roster for his special teams ability and veteran presence. Forrest gets the nod for the 5th spot because he was just drafted in the 5th round. It would pain me to cut Reaves, as I think he has some potential and has a deep coverage skill set that isn't easy to find, but it's a numbers game and he seems to be the odd man out at the moment.

 

ST (3): Hopkins, Way, Cheeseman

Just missed: --

Like everyone else, I'd be onboard with some competition for Hopkins. I get the argument that the unit needs to work on timing with a new long snapper but... yeesh. That was ugly.

I like the breakdown.  A few points I’d add:

Can Patterson do returns?  If so, that opens up an extra spot if he can serve as RB and K/PR.

Will KAllen start the season on IR?  If so, that’s another spot. 
 

We play more snaps with 2 LBs than 3.  Can we get away with 5LBs?

 

If the answer to number 1 is yes, does SSims have the inside track to WR6?

 

 

 

 

[terpfan]

2 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

I like the breakdown.  A few points I’d add:

Can Patterson do returns?  If so, that opens up an extra spot if he can serve as RB and K/PR.

Will KAllen start the season on IR?  If so, that’s another spot. 
 

We play more snaps with 2 LBs than 3.  Can we get away with 5LBs?

 

If the answer to number 1 is yes, does SSims have the inside track to WR6?

 

 

 

 

All good points.
 

Sounds like they do want to try Patterson in the return game. Not sure if that means kicks or punts or both. Could be bad news for Danny Johnson and/or Sims Jr if he wins either job, but at this point that’s just speculation. I’d guess that even if he does seem competent there, they probably wouldn’t want to trust that solely to a rookie. 
 

I think Allen landing on IR is a good possibility. I believe the IR rules instituted last season are still in effect, meaning there are no restrictions on how many players you can bring back off IR, and they only have to be on IR three weeks before returning. Most likely would allow them to carry a player at another position rather than feeling like they need 3 QBs to open the season. 
 

I actually have had 5 LBs in earlier projections, with 5 DEs, and the idea that Shaka Toney would be a hybrid of the two positions. Otherwise, 5 LBs feels pretty light, even if they expect to play a lot of Buffalo nickel, but it’s probably not outside the realm of possibility. 

[Ball Security]

8 hours ago, PartyPosse said:

Man that feels risky giving two of three TE spots to rookies.

If Patterson can handle returns and KAllen starts the season on IR, you could carry 4 TEs.  

[PartyPosse]

6 hours ago, FootballZombie said:

 

Last year we had pre-breakout Logan Thomas who led the group w/ 35 career Recs, Marcus Baugh (0) and Jeremy Sprinkle (33) on the day 1 roster.

 

Rookie or not, I don't think they are shy about running TEs  with very little experience.

 

 

Last year was a full-on evaluation year for everything so competing wasn’t really the priority. I have to imagine that has changed for this year. 

[kingdaddy]

1 hour ago, PartyPosse said:

Last year was a full-on evaluation year for everything so competing wasn’t really the priority. I have to imagine that has changed for this year. 

Agreed....This year we are playing with high expectations.

[FootballZombie]

3 hours ago, terpfan said:

I think Allen landing on IR is a good possibility.

 

3 hours ago, Ball Security said:

Will KAllen start the season on IR?  If so, that’s another spot. 

 

 

Pretty sure he has to make the initial roster before you can play the stash n pull off IR move. I think if you put him on IR before that he is out for the year, so he only opens up a spot after the fact. Still gotta cut a guy and then resign him.

[Ball Security]

5 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

 

 

 

Pretty sure he has to make the initial roster before you can play the stash n pull off IR move. I think if you put him on IR before that he is out for the year, so he only opens up a spot after the fact. Still gotta cut a guy and then resign him.

I believe you are correct, but couldn’t you just make deal with the 54th guy that the cut was procedural. I guess they could be picked off waivers, but it seems like you could take that risk on the sixth cb or fourth TE.

[FootballZombie]

1 minute ago, Ball Security said:

but couldn’t you just make deal with the 54th guy that the cut was procedural. I guess they could be picked off waivers

 

Yup

Roster pay is much higher than PS pay so a guy would be more than happy to come back, but if he is picked up off waivers there is nothing you can do.

[XxSpearheadxX]

3 hours ago, PartyPosse said:

Last year was a full-on evaluation year for everything so competing wasn’t really the priority. I have to imagine that has changed for this year.

Chase Young is going to hold every player on that team accountable, I doubt Ron or JDR ever really have to discipline at this point because guys like Chase and Jon Allen and Terry are just not going to stand for people not knowing what to do or not giving their all. Its really all about how Fitz leads the offense. I'm excited to see just "decent" offense! 

[Ball Security]

Just now, FootballZombie said:

 

Yup

Roster pay is much higher than PS pay so a guy would be more than happy to come back, but if he is picked up off waivers there is nothing you can do.

Right.  I wonder if Roberts would be the likely guy because, with his contract, he might be easier to pass through waivers.

[PartyPosse]

39 minutes ago, XxSpearheadxX said:

Chase Young is going to hold every player on that team accountable, I doubt Ron or JDR ever really have to discipline at this point because guys like Chase and Jon Allen and Terry are just not going to stand for people not knowing what to do or not giving their all. Its really all about how Fitz leads the offense. I'm excited to see just "decent" offense! 

While that may be true, no amount of discipline can overcome inexperience. It’s a risky bet and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ron bring in a vet TE towards the end of camp.

[Dark Acre]

Reyes is really raw but as some have said, his athleticism is through the roof.  I would exploit the 💩 out of that.  Coach him up to a credible receiving option (basically he crushes his man and then is a reliable positive-yardage safety valve), then once he gets there, figure out his best place on D - it could be very situational but whatever - and then coach him up to being credible there, and then continue to refine.  Dangerous 2-way player because you get to harness his potential on both sides.  Sammis Baugh.

[kingdaddy]

Are we getting into an area where we may need to bring in a vet LB either through trade or another teams releasing someone? This defense can't afford to have subpar LB play and we lack star power in this area....

[kingdaddy]

17 minutes ago, GothSkinsFan said:

Reyes is really raw but as some have said, his athleticism is through the roof.  I would exploit the 💩 out of that.  Coach him up to a credible receiving option (basically he crushes his man and then is a reliable positive-yardage safety valve), then once he gets there, figure out his best place on D - it could be very situational but whatever - and then coach him up to being credible there, and then continue to refine.  Dangerous 2-way player because you get to harness his potential on both sides.  Sammis Baugh.

LOL...I like how you think. Here we have a guy with no football experience whatsoever and you're making him a two way player.  Love it.