Position Battles after OTAs - Offense

Okay, so let's here is what else do you see in addition to my list below:

QB: No competition
RB: No competition
TE: Palmer, Paulson, and Blanchflower fighting for 1 or 2 spots if we keep 4
WR: J. Brown, Moye, and DHB
Oline: Whimper or Johnson or Neither if we keep 4 TEs

I really think the offense should be that simple. I just don't see any other spots that are up for grabs, but you may see things different. If you do, please lets talk about it.

Someone else want to do the D? A Ton of competition on that side.

 

dont you think .. and you know a lot more about it than i do .. but dont u think they got johnson for munch? id be shocked if he doesnt make the team .. i think thats his "toy" to work with and i think he will be a good one and from what i understand he is very position flex?

HINES

 

I would think Johnson is headed to the practice squad

 

no way.

 

Totally agree no way this kid sees the practice squad. First another team would grab him and for once I agree with HOF this pick is clay for Munchak to mold.

 

well i still think when we signed munch there was some deal that he got to select a player in the draft .. and thats his project... guarantee he seen something in him he liked .. hes a great coach and im as excited that we signed him as the OL coach more than any of our draft picks or FAs... anyway maybe he wont make the 53? but i think munch will work with him non stop and see what hes got ... and i think a helmet on the 53 is his to lose..

HINES

 

LOL... for ONCE ... thank you... i think hahaha.. too funny.. yeah you said it perfectly .. its munchs' clay to mold.. the other guys (OL Men) already have habits good or bad but you said it perfectly . hes the fresh clay... the blank canvas for the master to mold to his image ... thats was munchs pick in the draft ..

HINES

 

You give a former HOF player and possibly future HOF coach a kid that's not afraid of work and is willing to be coached only good things are going to happen. My personal guess is he's Fosters replacement when his contract is up.

 

I think palmer,spaeth and heath 3 TE's, 3 qb's, bell,blount,archer,willj. 4 rb's. that's 10 now add the rest. AB,wheaton,moore,Bryant,DHB 5 wr's, I'm guessing beachum, foster, pouncey, DD, adams, Wallace, Johnson 7 OL so 3 more spots up for grabs.

whimper is more position flexible than gilbert, but maybe both. moye, brown, blanchflower, alexander seem like these guys will battle for a last spot.

 

damn how did u get soooo smart all of a sudden... 100% spot on.... munch got to pick him a OL and thats his pick.. God knows the steelers have wasted a lot of top picks on the OL over the past few years... my money is on muchs late round pick over most of the others.. YES to what you said ... for ONCE.. lol sorry i couldnt help it

HINES

 

and ok i'll take a stab at D.

arnfelt, heyward, tuitt, mclendon, Thomas, McCullers. 6 DL

worilds, so'oto, shazier, Timmons, JJ, moats, zumwalt, Williams, carter. 9 LB'ers

troy, shark, Mitchell, allen, golden, ike, gay, allen, Richardson, blake. 10 DB's

 

no spence? thats sad.. hope u are wrong there but you are probably right ... poor guy cant catch a break

HINES

 

I'd love spence to beat out carter for a spot but I just have a feeling the staff feels safe with him for some reason.

 

I would remove Archer from the RB spot and just put and X as his position. I don't think the third RB is on the team yet. I'm going with Whimper and and JB

 

if spence is ok i think he sticks over carter.. jsut an inspiration to the others .. carter is nothing special.. dotn think they kept spence around for 2 years to cut him if hes healthy..
plus what about all this cap money we had/have..? we signed most of the drafted guys . can we use some of that to pick up a guy that gets cut due to cap space from other teams? or will we try to hold it for allen worilds ben etc? be sweet to pick up an experienced CB thats a cap space casualty from another team... great bskb game 62/62

HINES

HINES

 

First, I think the point of the post for me was to identify who I thought actually had a shot at the roster. The guys I have listed above are about it for me. I just don't see other guys who I think realistically have a shot. So Mac, who took a shot at the D, I would love to see you augment your list to show what other guys MIGHT have a shot at the roster. For instance, say Spence and Carter.

Second, if you ask what my opinion is on Johnson at the moment, I think the pick was made because Munch liked him, but I think there are other factors. For instance, IF, and I'm not sure it even could happen, but IF Johnson could slide through and make it to the PS it benefits this team in the long term. First, more than likely someone on the oline is going to get hurt. Second, it is doubtful if he makes the roster he ever gets a helmet. Third, Whimper while not my favorite player is a LOT easier to throw into a game last minute than a rookie. He will be prepared and able to overcome those nerves in a baptism by fire situation. That is not to say if it was a major injury that Johnson wouldn't start over him the next week, only that in a substitution situation, it would be easier on the vet. So for me right now, Johnson would be PS and Whimper would be on the team, but I really need to see more of Johnson come camp time to see if it stays that way.

 

just dont see johnson making it to the PS ... what you say is all good .. and great in the perfect situation but dont think he makes it to the PS

HINES

 

carter would be the expendable guy on D. and I could see it come down to gilbert, adams or whimper. Johnson is the only other guy besides wallace that can play center and last year we used 4 and the year before 3. he's also guard and LT-RT capable. whimper any spot but center. adams is a left or right tackle capable guy. gilberts pretty much a right tackle only. Johnson would allow them to dress one less OL on game day if they decided too. you almost have to keep a 5 position guy active. Wallace is also flexible enough at the interior positions. we haven't seen pouncey under fire yet. we can't be caught short at center or an interior spot that important. johnson is the new beachum.

 

If Spence stays clean he's in...the org. loves this 3rd rounder follow the trail.

 

If that is the case, then he has to beat Whimper out for a roster spot. If you cut Whimper, sad to say, but you have to hope no one else picks him up so he will be there if/when someone gets hurt. Of note: I don't think the center thing really helps him all that much in the short term. With Wallace here, Velasco still on the street, and Beachum on the roster, he would probably still be #5 on the depth chart at the position.

 

velasco is still rehabbing, and beachum is the LT. you don't pull your LT for a backup and put him at center unless absolutely needed. because now you've weakened two positions.

 

Yes, Velasco is still rehabbing, but come September or October, the time you would actually need him he should be back ready to play and practice.

Beachum is the LT. I get that. I guess what I am wondering is...which combination is more likely to help us win if Wallace and Pouncey are both out hurt... Adams at LT and Beachum starting at C, or Beachum staying at LT and a rookie with no game experience in Johnson. Foster then ends up calling the blocking scheme. This assumes you don't bring back Velasco at the time.

Now, I looked again at the current roster, and to me it looks like Whimper and Johnson will both make the squad. I had Embernate at one point as an option, but to me right now assuming we carry 9: Beachum, Foster, Pouncey, DeCastro, Gilbert, Adams, Whimper, Johnson, and Wallace. I'm not even sure there is someone else who is even an option at the moment unless Velasco is brought back closer to camp or Embernate is brought back. I just don't see anyone else on the roster who I think can even push for a spot.

 

first off it's bens blind side and we know how that went before we shored it up. beachum has only played center a couple of times too, so I'm not sure how much different it would be between he and Johnson.

I'm not sure if Johnson may be better than adams at LT either. Johnson was a first team all SEC lineman, so he's not some slouch. he did very well against clowney too, which is no small feat. add a good head and we should have a good linemen.

embernate failed a physical is why he's not here. we didn't even have to pay him an injury settlement because of that, so I assume he's gone.

velasco coming off of that injury at his age and size and let's not forget didn't play for munch last year and then start him over a guy that's been in camp with munch the whole time is again downgrading the position or two.

 

After 2 weeks of OTAs and with the 3rd starting, this is where I think we currently are for a roster on offense only.

QB (3): Ben, Gradkowski, Jones

RB (4): Bell, Blount, Archer, W. Johnson

WR (6): A. Brown, Wheaton, Moore, Bryant, J. Brown, DHB

TE (3): Health, Spaeth, Blanchflower

OL (9): Beachum, Foster, Pouncey, DeCastro, Gilbert, Adams, Whimper, Johnson, Wallace

I have kept 9 Olineman and 6 WRs. I can keep 6 WR simply because DHB helps on special teams and we kept so few RBs. I would worry about our RB depth the most by keeping this roster as it is. We basically only have 2 guys who could be full time ball carriers. Johnson is a FB, and Archer would get killed carrying 25 times a game. It would not surprise me if we picked someone up via trade like we did with Felix Jones last year or after final cuts to other rosters. The WR position is going to have a ton of competition.