K9's Way Too Early 53-man roster/Depth Chart prediction

[kerouac9]

QB (3) - M. Leinart, D. Anderson, J. Skelton. Easiest breakdown on the list.
RB (4) - B. Wells, T. Hightower, L. Stephens-Howling, J. Wright. Wright's selfless play at FB late last season really endeared himself to the coaching staff.
FB (1) - R. Maui'a. Maui'a has playing experience with the Miami Dolphins that gives him the edge.
WR (5) - Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet, Andre Roberts, Darren Moughey. Moughey gives Leinart a huge target in the red zone should one of the starters go down. His upside is as a more consistent Jerehme Urban.
TE (4) - B. Patrick, A. Becht, D. Byrd, J. Dray. The Cards go light on WRs (stashing 2 on the practice squad) in order to get an extra TE on the roster. With more 2 TE sets, the Cards are going to need depth at both the blocking and receiving TE position.
OT (3) - L. Brown, B. Keith, J. Bridges. The Keith/Bridges competition will be one of the more intriguing of camp.
OG (4) - A. Faneca, D. Lutui, R. Hadnot, H. Johnson. Johnson will be a player that's deactivated for most Sundays, but the Cards have really good depth here. The real roster battle might be between the two guys in contract years: Reggie Wells and D. Lutui. I expect the younger guy to win out.
OC (1) - L. Sendlein. Hadnot can come in and play this position in a pinch, but Sendlein is a tremendous value as a UDFA.

Total offensive players: 25

DE (3) - D. Dockett, C. Campbell, K. Iwebema. Easy call. Iwebema needs to make his impact felt this season, as he'll be an RFA come February.
NT (2) - G. Watson, D. Williams. Cards have the potential for a very good rotation at the nose. Dockett moves inside in pass-rush situations.
DL (1) - Alan Branch. Will be seen in goal line and sub packages. Will challenge from Williams raise his game?
OLB (5) - C. Haggans, J. Porter, C. Brown, W.Davis, M. Washington. Baggs is still practice-squad eligible, and Washington can provide better run support.
ILB (4) - G. Hayes, P. Lenon, D. Washington, R. Walker. It'snot starts that people should be looking at for Washington. I'll be looking closely at his reps as the season wears on.
CB (5) - DRC, Toler, Calvin, Adams, Barksdale.
S (5) - A. Wilson, K. Rhodes, M. Ware, R. Johnson, H. Abdullah. Cards may use 4safeties instead of cornerbacks in their dime packages.

Total defensive players: 25

K: Feely
P: Graham - Short-listed for Pro Bowl from beginning of season.
LS: Leach.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Agree on all accounts.

Of course I'm concerned about ILB, CB, and FB. Other than that I like the roster. We'll struggle badly if DRC/Toler go down, and I doubt we'll be any good defending 3WR+ formations. We need to aggressive look at the waiver wire/trade market for another dependable corner and trade a premium to get one. Russ Smith has mentioned Dwight Lowery as a trade possibility and if I'm the Cards right now, I'm calling the Jets offering a conditional fourth for him.

 

[Catfish]

Damn K-9-----I gotta say that even for it being so early in the year, that's a pretty solid roster, and well put-together by you. I really like your logic. Now if we could just work a trade, or maybe a FA pickup to bolster CB and ILB for depth, we could really be on to something here. Good work-up !!!!

 

[cardsfanmd]

I would move Mougey simply because the 5th WR HAS to play STs. I also would switch McBride with Barksdale and put Adams in front of Calvin at this point. I think/hope (like I'm sure you do) that we've bring in a real vet (not Justin Miller) at some point to take that nickel spot. Other than that and maybe another lineman in place of J Wright I love it. Good stuff.

 

[The Commish]

CB (5) - DRC, Toler, Calvin, Adams, Barksdale.

Is that Avon Barksdale?

You must be registered for see images

 

[MadCardDisease]

I think you are pretty close.

My only changes.

I think Dray goes to the PS and Spach is one of the 4 TE we keep.

At WR I think Onrea Jones makes it over Moughey. Although I'm interested to see what Moughey can do with his size. I really don't know much about him though.

Also I have a feeling that we will re-sign Dan Krieder he will end up being our starting FB.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Is that Avon Barksdale?

You must be registered for see images

He's got a bad shoulder, you know, from a gunshot wound.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Nice work, K-9.

I'd expect the CB list to change a bit between now and September.

However, I'd like to know where you came to this conclusion: Baggs is still practice-squad eligible, and Washington can provide better run support.

I've seen Baggs play live a few times in the CFL, and he is solid against the run. And with the width of our field you need some quicks to chase down running backs.

 

[82CardsGrad]

We signed B-Rob to a one year deal today... not sure how that will impact your roster K-9, but I don't believe B-Rob will be a practice squad/deactivated guy...

 

[kerouac9]

Thanks for all the great comments, everyone. You've given me a lot to think about.

Agree on all accounts.

Of course I'm concerned about ILB, CB, and FB. Other than that I like the roster. We'll struggle badly if DRC/Toler go down, and I doubt we'll be any good defending 3WR+ formations. We need to aggressive look at the waiver wire/trade market for another dependable corner and trade a premium to get one. Russ Smith has mentioned Dwight Lowery as a trade possibility and if I'm the Cards right now, I'm calling the Jets offering a conditional fourth for him.

Yeah, but this is what we have for now, and Urban is pretty insistent that we're not looking for FA cornerbacks right now. If a team is releasing a cornerback on the eve of the season, what are the odds that they can really contribute?

I think the strategy here is that we're going to gamble with our CBs staying healthy for 16 games, because we're not even going to pay nickel corner money for a guy that's only going to come in in situations that require 6 defensive backs.

I'm not happy about it, either, but the Cards might be better off playing four-deep coverage with Rhodes--Ware--Wilson--Johnson on obvious passing downs than going with Mike Adams and/or Calvin.

I would move Mougey simply because the 5th WR HAS to play STs. I also would switch McBride with Barksdale and put Adams in front of Calvin at this point. I think/hope (like I'm sure you do) that we've bring in a real vet (not Justin Miller) at some point to take that nickel spot. Other than that and maybe another lineman in place of J Wright I love it. Good stuff.

I'm not sure why you don't think that Moughey can't play special teams. I agree that Adams is going to be in front of Calvin, at least for the start of the season.

I think the coaches love J. Wright. He's the "new" Sean Morey.

I think you are pretty close.

My only changes.

I think Dray goes to the PS and Spach is one of the 4 TE we keep.

At WR I think Onrea Jones makes it over Moughey. Although I'm interested to see what Moughey can do with his size. I really don't know much about him though.

Also I have a feeling that we will re-sign Dan Krieder he will end up being our starting FB.

I love Jim Dray. I don't really care about Stephen Spach. I think that Dray is going to win a roster spot and be a good player for us, even as a rookie.

We might do that with Kreider. I'm interested to see how that plays out. Do you think it's possible that we're going to use Byrd as more of an H-back and go with 2TE 2WR as our base set? That's sort of what I'm thinking right now.

Nice work, K-9.

I'd expect the CB list to change a bit between now and September.

However, I'd like to know where you came to this conclusion: Baggs is still practice-squad eligible, and Washington can provide better run support.

I've seen Baggs play live a few times in the CFL, and he is solid against the run. And with the width of our field you need some quicks to chase down running backs.

I think it's partly that Washington has been in the system a little longer than Baggs has, and Washington's a little bigger. I expect Washington to compete on Clark Haggans' side, and Baggs to work from the weak side.

It's really just a guess, though.

We signed B-Rob to a one year deal today... not sure how that will impact your roster K-9, but I don't believe B-Rob will be a practice squad/deactivated guy...

I'm actually not sure that B-Rob makes it to the final 53. I think that he's going to be a valuable asset in training camp, but Watson has a guaranteed tender offer, and the team has a lot riding on Branch still. I have a hard time seeing the Cards carrying 3 NTs into the regular season (not counting Branch).

I think that Robinson will help work in Watson and Williams, and then get cut in training camp, and finally would be the first call if there's an injury to anyone on the DL.

No one asked, but I think that Schofield goes to the PUP list for the first six weeks of the season, and'll be activated based on what the injury situation is by then.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I'm actually not sure that B-Rob makes it to the final 53. I think that he's going to be a valuable asset in training camp, but Watson has a guaranteed tender offer, and the team has a lot riding on Branch still. I have a hard time seeing the Cards carrying 3 NTs into the regular season (not counting Branch).

I think that Robinson will help work in Watson and Williams, and then get cut in training camp, and finally would be the first call if there's an injury to anyone on the DL.

No one asked, but I think that Schofield goes to the PUP list for the first six weeks of the season, and'll be activated based on what the injury situation is by then.

Not sure about B-Rob...what you suggest can certianly take place, but did he really sign up to be training camp fodder? I doubt it... and I also doubt that Whiz would bring him back just for that purpose. I just don't see that...
Also, regarding Schofield, Whiz was on Gambo & Ash earlier this week and said he expects Schofield to start the season on the PUP list...

 

[Crazy Canuck]

I think it's partly that Washington has been in the system a little longer than Baggs has, and Washington's a little bigger. I expect Washington to compete on Clark Haggans' side, and Baggs to work from the weak side.

It's really just a guess, though.

K-9 - Baggs played on Haggan's side too (in the CFL).

 

[kerouac9]

Not sure about B-Rob...what you suggest can certianly take place, but did he really sign up to be training camp fodder? I doubt it... and I also doubt that Whiz would bring him back just for that purpose. I just don't see that...
Also, regarding Schofield, Whiz was on Gambo & Ash earlier this week and said he expects Schofield to start the season on the PUP list...

Well, I don't think that the Cards are going to take 7 DL into the regular season. Someone has to go. You can't go 3-deep at all but a few positions going into the regular season. There just aren't enough roster spots.

I think that Whis promised B-Rob a chance to compete for a roster spot, but B-Rob had to've (is that a legit contraction? It ought to be) seen the writing on the wall.

We know that there are three locks to make the final roster: Dockett, Campbell, Williams.

I think that there's gonna be a battle among four or five guys for the remaining three spots: Watson, Iwebema, Robinson, Branch, Dykes. Everyone else is camp fodder.

I think that Branch and Iwebema have an early inside track, just because they're guys that the current staff drafted, and I think they've both shown promise. That means that it's between a traditional NT in Watson and a guy who is going to be a swing DL in Robinson. Would you rather have a second true NT or a third swing DL (Branch would be #1)? I don't know.

 

[Zeno]

How come Barksdale over McBride? McBride at least has some starting experience in the NFL (10 starts), I doubt he was anything stellar because he wouldn't have been out of the league last season though but Barksdale only has 1 game played in his career in 2007.

edit: Barksdale does have more than 1 game, I just had to look it up (6 games no starts).