Very bold, yet it kinda makes sense as their strengths and weaknesses will complement each other. Barrett can cover for Lynch’s diminished range while Lynch’s veteran leadership and experience will help make sure Barrett knows his responsibilities on each play.

My list of 53 has 48 of the same names. The 5 differences are that I have Cecil Sapp over Glenn Martinez, Chad Mustard over Kory Lichtensteiger (headed to the practice squad), Josh Mallard and Steven Harris on the D-Line over Carlton Powell (on the practice squad) and safety Marquand Manuel and lately Louis Green over Nate Webster

Throw out your practice squad guys as well….

...to what I got, Zappa..The differences are very minor.

Firstly, at RB, I had just come to the conclusion that Shanahan never keeps two FBs if he can keep an extra RB instead. So, I had also come to the conclusion that Pittman is going to back up at FB. Starters V. backups aren’t an issue for me if they’re both going to get playing time, and Hillis will. Pittman may have to prepare for two positions, and I think he’ll still be in the RB rotation, too. The real virtue is that they may be able to go with 5, but I’m waffling on whether it will be Hall, who I had been leaning towards, or Alridge, who I’ve taken a fancy to because he offers an added dimension. Let’s split the difference and say both, and keep 6 RBs.

[6] – RB – Young, Torain, Pittman, Hall, Alridge ; FB – Hillis, (Pittman)

We agree on the OL, sadly, but I also agree with the complaint that 9 is too high a number. They have kept 9, to my recollection, but they’d dearly love to keep less. The most superfluous OL is probably Harris, but it’s way to soon to give up on him and as a natural LT he’s too valuable to expose—and thus the dilemma. If they really think he’s a bust they may have to cut him, it’s just hard to actually “know” that at this point. There’s some other considerations here, though. They’ve got Mustard, Polumbus and Kuper, and they may all become better LTs in the end. Harris gets his chance to prove himself as a RT for now but they may try to pare the OL down to 8 during the season.

I agree with you on TEs, but only because they can waive Mustard, who wouldn’t be attractive to other teams in his condition and his original undrafted status. I think they’ll want to bring him back during the season. They would keep 4 + Leach if not for Mustard’s injury.

One place we actually differed is WR. I had said that they’d keep Parker, but I’m leaning towards keeping 5, which wouldn’t allow Martinez either. Part of my thinking is that they could bring Martinez back. I also think that Alridge is going to do what Martinez would do on Special Teams, but I’m also looking to cut numbers, which will help when we get to the defense.

The count on my OFFENSE is now 25: 2-QB, 6-RB, 9-OL, 5-WR, 3-TE

My DL was the same as yours initially, and then I waffled and cut McKinley and brought in Harris and Mallard. I’m going to go back to the initial group of DTs even though I think that they’d love to find a 5th DT. They’re just going to have to find him elsewhere, and maybe they can swing a deal for Harris or Paymah, which is more likely. Mallard and Harris are going to be around (we hope), and they’re may be injuries that cure our number crunch, but there’s a reason for my madness, even though I know that the DL is going to wear down and need help by the end of the season.

I’ve decided to keep Woodyard, which makes 7 LBs. I struggled and struggled with this. I’ve decided that Larsen and Woodyard are going to be too important to Special Teams and I’m hoping that this along with their backup roles at LB will justify keeping them on the regular roster. It’s definitely a move for the future.

Finally, I’m keeping Barrett, like you have. That puts me one over, and I”m going to swing a trade for Paymah or Foxworth. I’m looking for fair value in draft picks or a DT. If I do get the DT I’ll have to go back and cut either Hall or Alridge, depending on how it looks at RB. I’ll also consider cutting Harris at this point, depending on the health of the OL.

DEFENSE 25: DT-4, DE-5, LB-7, CB-4(5 MINUS 1), S-5

Specialists are the same.

My practice squad will depend on how the rest works out. I’d like to keep Sam if he shows enough potential. Polumbus is obvious. S. Harris (and another DT if I can find an interesting one). Rogers. Hall (or Alridge). Erickson. And McDaniel. That should cover it, since there is one position assigned (our Mexican LB).

I’m going to be looking for some athletes to bring in after they’re waived, and I’m also going to be telling some people that we might re-sign them during the season, if they’re still available. I realize that some of my numbers are a little off, speaking of team needs. I really wouldn’t want to get too low at WR & TE, CB, DT, etc., so I would try to mitigate the effects through assignments or adding players later. I expect a little roster movement during the season, but I wouldn’t want it to get like last year.

You have us taking 3 DTs? We might keep 5.

Why would you keep Weigman over Harris? Harris is in his Second year! And if he fails at OT, he can move in to OG—where he started for one season in college. One reason we picked the guy was his versatility.

Weigman on the other hand has no future—dude is just a one year insurance. If Nalen and Hamilton both make it through camp healthy, then there is NO chance that we keep him. Hamilton will start at LG and backup C, like he did in 04, 05, and 06.

We can cut Weigman after camp and he will still be on the FA market in week 8 if we need him. On the other hand, if we cut Harris he will never clear the waiver wire. We will loose him the same way we lost Hixon to the Giants (although Hixon needed a change of enviroment to succeed).

Here is my list:

2 QB Cutler, Ramsey
5 RB Young, Torain, Hall, Hillis, (Pitman or Sapp)
4 OT Clady, Pears, Harris, Kuper
5 OG/C Nalen, Hamilton, Holland, K-Lich, Gandy*
4 TE Graham, Shefler, Jackson, Leach
6 WR Marshall, Jackson, Colbert, Stokley, Royal, (Martinez or Parker)

TOTAL O = 26

2 K/P x, y

4 DE Dumervil, Moss, Crowder, Ekuban
4 DT Thomas, Robertson, Powel, (Mallard or McKinley)
6 LB DJ, Boss, K-2, Winborn, Larsen, (Webster or Green or Woodyard)
5 CB Champ, Bly, Foxy, Paymah, Williams
5 S Lynch, McCree, Manuel, Abdullah, Barrett

TOTAL D = 25

Total TEAM = 53

Practice Squad:
1 WR Lorne Sam, 2 WR McDaniel, 3 RB Aldrige , 4 OT Polumbus, 5 OG Erickson, 6 FS Rogers, 7 DT Harris, 8 ?

• Sapp is a good special team player. He was leading the team in ST tackles before he broke a leg in 06

• I think that for the first time (as far as I can recall) we will keep 9 OL-men. But given the mix of young /rookie talent and near the end-of-the-line vets that we have, there is no other choice.

You only had 52 on your original roster. So add Leach and keep Harris.
I don’t think either Pittman or Wiegman make the team, barring injury. Both are too old and we have too many good younger players.

I agree with your roster except, I feel that McCree will be the starter over Lynch. He is younger and faster. Now that doesnt mean that Lynch wont play a lot, its just my opinion. I could be wrong. Lets call it a gut feeling

It is becoming more difficult to take time to read all these posts and still make a living. With the increased interest of the very-near-new-season the posts are coming with increasing speed.

Zappa, Great post…I wish I had your crystal ball.

I love your Martinez surprise…I like him. Did exactly what was asked and did it quite well. It seems Rod did that, when he was new, this is special.

Is Pittman a fullback? If this is true I spent way too much time in la-la-land this pre-season. I put Pittman and Torain as third and short and goal line backs—with Torain and Hall taking the load if Selvin goes down (which he won’t) Selvin 20000 yards.

I, at least to start the season, would put Darrell over Keary. I’ve watched Jackson many times and he ‘can’ at times be very good. Shanny sees something in Colbert-I think he sees something like Rod-so you may be right.

After last year I just don’t get our defense. We seem to have some great players…I just hope they meld together.

Only minor diffs from me.

I agree with Colinski. Hillis at FB, Pittman as #3 HB.

Agree with cutting Harris to make room for Leach.

Cut Manuel (we won’t carry five SAFs).

Change Jackson (WR) to Orange. Colbert will start at #2, but Jackson is too good to cut.

Powell will move to IR. All names to orange and add Mallard.

Terrific job! I wonder which of us is closer?

Your right, HT, I was afraid to pull the trigger, and I had decided on a few of my choices during the process of writing. Going on past roster numbers, as I remember them, they don’t keep more than 9 DBs. And they’re going to have to cut down to 4 at Safety because the 5 CBs are really solid.

The solution to the problem is something I’d thought of previously but forgotten—use the CBs to populate nickel, dime, and quarter coverages. And this is what they do anyways, of course. Depth problems can be addressed through schemes. If worst comes to worst, send Foxworth back to Safety for a while. But my main concern was in not exposing Barrett, who I feel may not clear waivers, and he’s clearly too rare a talent to allow someone else to snatch him away from us.

Some positions borrow from the neighboring position, either through having players who can play more than one position or by scheming—from what I understand, but I’d dearly love to have you explain this to me.

I also expect that the DT may have its depth bolstered by a DE, Ekuban, sliding inside on passing downs. I think it would also be convenient if one of the DEs on the final roster was Peterson, since he also has that ability, too. This would allow them a way of keeping the roster numbers down. Some of the others, like Engelberger, have played inside before, too. However, I’m more comfortable with the general idea of capping DT at 4 than I am with deciding on who the number 4 will be, so I’m going to have to think on it for a while.

Of course, all of this is just to allow me the luxury of keeping 7 LBs, which is a ridiculous number if based on backup duties alone, but I’m expecting big returns (metaphorically) from Larsen and Woodyard. I was going to keep one of them anyways but I couldn’t comfortably decide which and they’re both worth keeping.

The offense may need some adjustments, too, since a Marshall suspension may justify keeping one more WR. I believe that decision can be made later, assuming that Marshall doesn’t count against the roster while on suspension. An added WR could be cut later, like a Martinez. I don’t know if I’m still on board for cutting Harris. If they feel comfortable cutting him then I’ll go along with it, but he’s the one that will determine that through his play in pre-season. I hate keeping as many as 9 OLs and I hate keeping him if it means cutting a better player. I just think it’s too early to be attempting a call at this position.