I get the feeling the hidden rationale for the willingness to cut Doucet has more with "I'm Really Pulling for Lance Long" sentiment than it has to do with Early.
I think the decision on who stays and goes will be more complicated than that:
1. How many wideouts do we keep: 5? 6? (ROTB says "7").
2. Will we keep receivers purely on "how they rank vs. one another?" Or will it have more to do with the mix of wideouts we have available and what roles Wiz expects them to play? Let's assume for a moment that Fitz, Q, Breaston and Urban lock up the top 4 spots. Breaston is the closest we have to a "burner." The other three are big possession types. What roles does Wiz expect from the final 2 spots?
Does he want another burner?
How can each of the likely "finalists" (Morey, Doucet, Long, O Jones) best be described: A big possession guy? A waterbug? A burner? A gritty veteran?
How important does Wiz value veteran leadership and versatility - i.e. does he feel Morey's value transcends the physical talent of the other three guys enough to make him expendible?
3. Injuries may help sort out the field. (Garvin -appears to have already been left behind).
My point - It may not be a question of Long vs. Doucet. We could conceivably keep both and jettison Morey. Or there's the remotest possibility we could keep all three. And there's always the possiblity of a late trade with KC if the right Chiefs player was available.
Note - One big "plus" for Doucet was the way he took the hit Sat. night and, two plays later, bounced back to make a pretty sideline catch. And my hunch is that, among those four players, Doucet may have the most pure speed and explosion - and we could use more of that.
Note #2 - I love Long too. He reminds me of Ricky Proehl.
