Early 53 Man Guess

[MichaelWeston]

QB	Burrow 29	Browning 26			2	Lombardi 27	1
RB	Moss 26	Brown 27	Williams 25		3	Free Agent	1
WR	Chase 26	Irwin 25			2	Burgess 27	1
WR	Higgins 25	Iosivas 27			2	Jackson	1
WR	Burton 28	Jones 27			2	Lassiter	1
TE	Gesicki 25	Sample 27	All 28	McClachlan 28	4	Pryor	1
LT	Brown 27				1	Hudson 25	1
LG	Volson 26	Ford 25			2
C	Karras 25	Lee 28			2
RG	Cappa 26	Hill 25			2	Kirkland	1
RT	Brown 25	Mims 29			2

 

 

Light at RB with an eye on adding the top released rookie/2nd year guy to practice squad or depth. 

Keeping McClachlan over Hudson due to contract length and age. Love to keep Hudson around. 

4 WRs on PS is a bit much but all are talented with upside for a position in transition in 2025. 

Only 9 lineman with versatility from Brown-Ford and Hill. Excited to see Smith and Carman finally gone. 

Would want a tackle with upside don't the practice squad. Maybe a C. 

 

K	McPherson 25				1
P	McNamara 27				1	Robbins 27	1
LS	Adomitis 25				1

 

Punting battle extends into season with the other punter on the ps. 

 

LE	Hubbard 26	Sample 25	Ossai 25		3	Gunter	1
LT	Hill 25	Jackson 28			2	Davis	1
RT	Rankins 26	Jenkins 28			2	Maxwell 26	1
RE	Hendrickson 26	Murphy 27	Johnson 28		3	Bell 25	1
WLB	Pratt 26	Davis-Gaither 25			2
MLB	Wilson 28	Bachie 25	Harper 26		3	Casey 27	1
SLB
S	Bell 25	Battle 27			2
S	Stone 26	Anthony 28	Anderson 26		3
CB	Taylor-Britt 26	Newton 28			2
CB	Turner 27	Ivey 27			2	George	1
NB	Hilton 25	Hill 27			2	Davis 25	1
					53		16

 

Not wanting to lose Johnson for next year when Sample, Ossai and maybe Hendrickson are gone I kept 6 DEs and 4 DTs. Loaded the PS with DTs. 

On the face of it the battle at LB seems to be Casey and Harper but it's probably Casey and Bachie. Might actually be less likely to lose Bachie if we cut him considering he didn't have suitors in FA. 

Anthony and Hill are S/Nickel/CB tweeners. I'd think they would give Hill a chance at outside corner first. Davis is a difficult release. He's 28 already though. 

 

Injuries to Ivey and All might save Davis and Hudson

 

Thin at backup OL. 

 

Try to extend for a year or more: Karras, Hilton, Brown, Hill, McPherson, Higgins, Bell. Karras and McPherson most important due to lack of depth. 

 

I'd bet McPherson will be back long term. Karras and Hilton extended 1 season. 

 

If you look at who would be available for 2025

 

QB	Burrow 29	Browning 26			2			Lombardi 27	1
RB	Moss 26	Brown 27			3			Free Agent	1
WR	Chase 26	Iosivas 27			2			Burgess 27	1
WR	Burton 28				2			Jackson	1
WR	Jones 27				2			Lassiter	1
TE	All 28	Sample 27	McClachlan 28		4			Pryor	1
LT	Brown 27				1			Hudson 25	1
LG	Volson 26				2
C	Karras 25	Lee 28			2
RG	Cappa 26				2			Kirkland	1
RT	Mims 29				2
K	McPherson 25				1
P	McNamara 27				1			Robbins 27	1
LS	Adomitis 25				1
LE	Hubbard 26	Johnson 28			3			Gunter	1
LT	Jenkins 28	Jackson 28			2			Davis	1
RT	Rankins 26				2			Maxwell 26	1
RE	Hendrickson 26	Murphy 27			3			Bell 25	1
WLB	Pratt 26	Harper 26			2
MLB	Wilson 28				3			Casey 27	1
SLB
S	Battle 27	Bell 25	Anderson 26		2
S	Stone 26	Anthony 28			3
CB	Taylor-Britt 26	Newton 28			2
CB	Turner 27	Ivey 27			2			George	1
NB	Hilton 25	Hill 27			2			Davis 25	1
					53				16

 

 

[sparky151]

I'd guess they go 25 and 25 for offense and defense. 

 

They'll probably carry 4 RBs on the active roster. It's hard to see what Trey Hill brings to the table so someone like Scharping would be an easy replacement for him. Or even Carman. On defense, it's likely 10-5-10. I think Casey makes the 53 unless they add another vet. Bailey is still available. They reassigned Josh Tupou's number so he's not coming back. 

 

I'll guess Robbins ups his game and wins the punting job again. He was Simmons' choice and will get every benefit of the doubt. Sort of like Carman.

 

For the defensive alignment, they said Dax Hill would be playing outside. I agree with you that using him in the slot might be the best fit for him, but we're very thin at outside CB. Ivey may not be full speed by the start of the season. On the line, I'll guess Jenkins starts at the LDT position, backed up by Jackson. That leaves Rankins starting at RDT backed up by BJ Hill. I'd be surprised if Anthony and Cedric Johnson make the 53. Anderson and Gunter will begin camp ahead of them on the depth chart. 

 

 

[|BlackJesus|]

Random roster thoughts ...

 

- I would give Money Mac a 6 year extension, he's top 3 in the league. 

 

- I would give Karras a 2 year extension, he's a captain and team leader for the entire offense. 

 

- I would give Hilton a 2 year extension. He's one of the best from the slot still. 

 

- I think Poison Ivey is good enough to start, so feel good about CB. 

 

- The team could get by with just 3 LBs, Logan, Pratt, ADG if they had to. This would allow them to keep more DBs. 

 

- I would still like to bring in a bruising RB with some size in free agency.  

 

- I think McNamara beats out Robbins with his booming leg. 

 

- They better cut Carman. I don't want any of his suck to rub off on the new guys. 

[Cat]

20 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

- The team could get by with just 3 LBs, Logan, Pratt, ADG if they had to. This would allow them to keep more DBs. 

 

This scares me a little. Pratt played like shit compared to his normal self, and Wilson wasn't spectacular. We gave up a ton of passes over the middle for big yards... I don't have any stats to back that up, just going on my aging memory from watching last year.

[dex]

Figuring out 53 man rosters are good offseason fun for beat writers and fans But with the 16 man practice squad rosters as well as some lax rules on how they can be utilized, the opening day 53 man roster has become less important than ever. Poaching players off of a team's roster happens less frequently now than ever before. Teams can sort of build something like a minor league team of their own practice squad players who already know the system and the plays already in place.

 

I think we have reached a point where teams build their rosters around what players figure to be among the 48 active on gameday, with most of the non-starters having specific special teams roles to play. So all of this makes how many players at a certain position less important. Even if it seems that a team has too many or too few players at certain positions on the 53 man roster, it can make perfect sense if you look at the 48 man active gameday roster. If you only have 3 RBs on the 53 man roster, that can still be enough if all of them are gameday actives. If you have 10 or more OL on the 53 man roster, maybe only 8 of them are gameday actives so that isn't too many at all.

 

I just think the bottom of the 53 man roster should go to the most deserving players coming out of training camp, almost regardless of position. You can go heavy here or light there, if you have enough backup options on the 16 man practice squad roster. You can easily go get these players whenever you need them (and over the course of a long season you likely will). 

[sparky151]

The main difference between the practice squad and the bottom of the 53 is that PS players can only be called up for games 3 times a season. And of course the active guys get paid more though there's no limit on what PS players can make. 

[gupps]

7 hours ago, Cat said:

This scares me a little. Pratt played like shit compared to his normal self, and Wilson wasn't spectacular. We gave up a ton of passes over the middle for big yards... I don't have any stats to back that up, just going on my aging memory from watching last year.

I vaguely remember reading that the reason the LBs played bad last year was that they were trying to cover for the inexperience in the secondary. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[MichaelWeston]

15 hours ago, gupps said:

I vaguely remember reading that the reason the LBs played bad last year was that they were trying to cover for the inexperience in the secondary. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

That is correct

[sparky151]

Adding Vonn back to get everyone lined up properly should be a big help. Not to mention that he can do something Nick Scott struggled with: tackle the guy with the ball.

[dex]

 

[T-Dub]

On 5/6/2024 at 2:22 PM, gupps said:

I vaguely remember reading that the reason the LBs played bad last year was that they were trying to cover for the inexperience in the secondary. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

Mhhmm..  Well I can only hope a more experienced DB group will allow the linebackers to start shedding blocks and tackling. 

[Inigo Montoya]

I think Vonn Bell and Geno Stone will be far better than what we saw last year from the safety spots.  They allowed an NFL worst 82 plays over 20 yards last season and I have to think that number goes down significantly with better safety play.  

[alleycat]

15 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

Mhhmm..  Well I can only hope a more experienced DB group will allow the linebackers to start shedding blocks and tackling. 

^^^This guy knows how to watch the game. 

[|High School Harry|]

FWIW... A big question mark being overlooked in everything else going on with the draft, free agents and Joe Burrow's

departure from the party circuit is Conrad Volson.

Is he going to make the third year leap from erratic and flashing or have them scurrying to find a potential replacement?

I've always liked the guy.  Such an outlier from the rest of the team.  Blue Collar vs Bling.

 

[PatternMaster]

17 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

Mhhmm..  Well I can only hope a more experienced DB group will allow the linebackers to start shedding blocks and tackling. 

 

Exactly, I don't see what young DBs have to do with Pratt not knowing how to tackle or stop from getting blown up...it's more of a defensive line thing if anything..but everyone knows our LBs are just big safeties that play the pass well but struggle vs the run. 

[dex]

14 minutes ago, PatternMaster said:

 

Exactly, I don't see what young DBs have to do with Pratt not knowing how to tackle or stop from getting blown up...it's more of a defensive line thing if anything..but everyone knows our LBs are just big safeties that play the pass well but struggle vs the run. 

Agree, but even though Wilson and Pratt are better at defending the pass than the run, they both took a step backward last season. I honestly think that when Burrow is down and out, it affects every area of the team in a negative way. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. The defense is built with the expectation that a healthy Burrow will be keep the points coming, which means the opposing offenses need to score a lot too. That usually means passing and pushing the down the field to keep up. But when Burrow is out or so hobbled that he's basically a statue, then opponents play more conservatively because there's not a desperate need to score quickly and often.

[|BlackJesus|]

34 minutes ago, PatternMaster said:

 our LBs are just big safeties

 

True. Lou is the only defensive coordinator in the NFL to basically play a 4-7 defense ... 4 DL, 7 DBs (2 pretend to be LBs, but were college S). He's eliminated the traditional LB position from the team for all intents and purposes. 

 

A 4-7 can be lethal when your team has the lead, but it's predicated on having the lead (with a healthy Burrow). When you get down in games, it's Achilles heel is that you can pound the run against it if you have a good run blocking OL (see Cleveland, Baltimore). 

[PatternMaster]

3 minutes ago, dex said:

Agree, but even though Wilson and Pratt are better at defending the pass than the run, they both took a step backward last season. I honestly think that when Burrow is down and out, it affects every area of the team in a negative way. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. The defense is built with the expectation that a healthy Burrow will be keep the points coming, which means the opposing offenses need to score a lot too. That usually means passing and pushing the down the field to keep up. But when Burrow is out or so hobbled that he's basically a statue, then opponents play more conservatively because there's not a desperate need to score quickly and often.

 

Agreed, this defense is built to play with a lead and defend passing attacks. They struggled against physical teams that focus on running the ball, which is what the teams in our division love to do; if you can't stop them from doing that then it's going to be a long day at the office. 

 

 

[PatternMaster]

9 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

 

True. Lou is the only defensive coordinator in the NFL to basically play a 4-7 defense ... 4 DL, 7 DBs (2 pretend to be LBs, but were college S). He's eliminated the traditional LB position from the team for all intents and purposes. 

 

A 4-7 can be lethal when your team has the lead, but it's predicated on having the lead (with a healthy Burrow). When you get down in games, it's Achilles heel is that you can pound the run against it if you have a good run blocking OL (see Cleveland, Baltimore). 

 

I would love to see Ossasi play LB and have him be a joker who switches sides on passing downs to rush the passer or helps out in the run, he's a crazy athlete who needs to be on the field more, IMO. 

[Shebengal]

1 hour ago, PatternMaster said:

 

Agreed, this defense is built to play with a lead and defend passing attacks. They struggled against physical teams that focus on running the ball, which is what the teams in our division love to do; if you can't stop them from doing that then it's going to be a long day at the office. 

 

 

Word. 

[sparky151]

The odd part is that it's not too hard to stop NFL running games. If we had a thumper or two as backup LBs, we could rotate them in and bulk up. 

[MichaelWeston]

4 hours ago, PatternMaster said:

 

Exactly, I don't see what young DBs have to do with Pratt not knowing how to tackle or stop from getting blown up...it's more of a defensive line thing if anything..but everyone knows our LBs are just big safeties that play the pass well but struggle vs the run. 

 

It was stated that the LBs were not reacting as quickly because they had to set defenses more and ensure the Safeties, who had previously set the defenses were in the right place....so then they were slow to react and then weren't in the right position to make plays. I think this is obviously somewhat true in that we did nothing at LB and completely reset at starting safety. 

[PatternMaster]

27 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

 

It was stated that the LBs were not reacting as quickly because they had to set defenses more and ensure the Safeties, who had previously set the defenses were in the right place....so then they were slow to react and then weren't in the right position to make plays. I think this is obviously somewhat true in that we did nothing at LB and completely reset at starting safety. 

 

Both LBs signed long term extensions before the season  started, that's why nothing was done because the Bengals just committed 50 million dollars to the position. 

 

The LBs struggled with tackling and getting off blocks, that has nothing to do with setting up the defense...it's pre-snap vs post snap...also LBs should be able line up the defense so that excuse does make sense to me. 

[T-Dub]

Granted JB is a badass & all but IDK if a defense predicated on him completing 50 passes a game for 5+ TD's every week is going to get it done.  The other teams have playmakers too, there are going to be close ones - particularly in our division or the playoffs.  Weren't doing a great job vs the AFCN  last year even before they lost JB as I recall.. I mean damn, he's still winless against Cleveland.  Didn't anyone tell them we were in the Super Bowl a few years ago? It's like they don't even care! 🥷 

Beyond that, these teams that make the playoffs year after year do it by controlling their divisions.  The exceptions are usually the ones losing in the Wild Card round every time.

 

Anyway..  Burrow to Chase is already carrying the offense, tellin' me they have to carry the defense too?  

 

[MichaelWeston]

6 hours ago, PatternMaster said:

 

Both LBs signed long term extensions before the season  started, that's why nothing was done because the Bengals just committed 50 million dollars to the position. 

 

The LBs struggled with tackling and getting off blocks, that has nothing to do with setting up the defense...it's pre-snap vs post snap...also LBs should be able line up the defense so that excuse does make sense to me. 

 

Tackling and getting off blocks certainly has something to do with when you react and how quickly you react. Leverage, technique, footwork, momentum all matter. 

 

They moved on from a first round pick at FS