2016 Roster News & Reactions

Shelterdog

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Perhaps we can think of him as a potential Easley replacement
He has a weird career. He was a really highly recruited 5* guy who was described as a "chiseled 295" when he signed with LSU, he played at 330 or so as a freshman so he got fat fast, got down to 295 as a junior at LSU and played reasonably well, declared early and was apparently supposed to get drafted in rounds two or three, weighed 308 at the combine, went undrafted (so you've got to think there was either a terrible medical evaluation or just an ugly off the field evaluation), then he was back up to 320 or more for two years in the pro. Now he's a 280 pound monster?
 

TheRooster

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Someone tweeted a quote from him saying he hasn't been this light since middle school. Maybe he finally got fitness religion as he saw his career slipping away.
 
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Is Johnson now a bit like Dominique Easley with a shittier pre-draft resume, but potential for slightly better production? A quicker, more athletic interior rusher? Same type of player or no?
 

Byrdbrain

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In an ideal world yes but I think we need more than one strong preseason game before we make that kind of statement.
 

Super Nomario

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Is Johnson now a bit like Dominique Easley with a shittier pre-draft resume, but potential for slightly better production? A quicker, more athletic interior rusher? Same type of player or no?
It's weird. His NFL.com profile says "will test well" but he had a brutal Combine:

http://www.mockdraftable.com/player_embed/4503/selected/graph/

I find this interesting, too: "Fits best in an even front, though he's not instant coffee, as his tweener skill set is too unrefined to project absolutely as a nose or three-technique." His weight fluctuation might have been not only a lack of discipline but also him trying to find a role - first gaining weight to try to fit as a nose, now losing it to be more of an Easley type.

Johnson only played 13 snaps last night according to Volin. I don't know whether that makes what he did more impressive or less. He got a pretty good amount of run early, but I think they were just rotating pretty evenly (Valentine got 38 snaps; Knighton / Kuhn / Vellano / Johnson Brown were all between 13 and 19). We've probably gotta pump the breaks on this kid, but he is just 23 so a breakout is certainly possible (I like the odds better than with a 30-year-old Markus Kuhn).
 

RedOctober3829

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Roster Projection 2.0. 54 man roster with Brady. Notable cuts are Clay Harbor and Bryan Stork.

QB(3)--Brady, Jimmy G, Brissett
RB(5)-Blount, Lewis, White, RB not on the roster yet, Bolden
FB(1)-Develin
WR(6)-Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Mitchell, Slater, Dobson
TE(3)-Gronkowski, Bennett, Derby
T(4)-Vollmer, Solder, Cannon, Fleming
G(3)-Thuney, Cooper, Mason,
(Tre' Jackson starts on PUP)
C(1)-Andrews(Thuney can play center as well)

DE(5)-Ninkovich, Sheard, Long, Flowers, Grissom
DT(5)-Brown, Branch, Knighton, Kuhn, Johnson
LB(5)-Hightower, Collins, Freeny, McClellin, Grugier-Hill
CB(4)-Butler, Ryan, C. Jones, Coleman
S(5)-DMC, Chung, Harmon, Ebner, Richards
ST(3)-Gostkowski, Allen, Cardona
 
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Super Nomario

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Roster Projection 2.0. 54 man roster with Brady. Notable cuts are Terrence Knighton, Clay Harbor, and Bryan Stork.
You've got Knighton listed in the DTs.

I think Stork's ability to back four positions on the line in a pinch means he has a good shot of sticking even if he's a backup. Between Kline / Mason / Cooper, one of those guys is third string and I think offers less than Stork. Then again, you've got four tackles, so maybe Stork's ability to chip in at RT doesn't matter. And presumably Thuney could kick outside if needed.

S(4)-DMC, Chung, Harmon, Ebner, Richards
This is five guys. I think Brandon King is close to a lock, too - he's a top five special teams player for them.
 

RedOctober3829

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You've got Knighton listed in the DTs.

I think Stork's ability to back four positions on the line in a pinch means he has a good shot of sticking even if he's a backup. Between Kline / Mason / Cooper, one of those guys is third string and I think offers less than Stork. Then again, you've got four tackles, so maybe Stork's ability to chip in at RT doesn't matter. And presumably Thuney could kick outside if needed.


This is five guys. I think Brandon King is close to a lock, too - he's a top five special teams player for them.
Updated. I had TK out and I put him in without editing my opening sentence. I updated the roster with taking Kline out as they'll have 4 guards when Jackson comes off PUP. Easily could be Cooper that is cut but I chose to go with Cooper.

King is a really good ST player, but I think Grugier-Hill can take his place. It's a tough call as I thought about cutting Jordan Richards and keeping King but did not do so.
 

BaseballJones

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This is going to be one of the most interesting roster decisions (on the whole) in a long time. Lots of talented players will soon be signing with other teams, I think, as they are released from the Pats.
 
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RedOctober3829

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This is going to be one of the most interesting roster decisions (on the whole) in s long time. Lots of talented players will soon be signing with other teams, I think, as they are released from the Pats.
If you get 10 people to do a projection, you will get 10 different rosters. There is so much depth on the 90 man roster at this point. I cut Vincent Valentine and hope to sneak him through to the P-squad. Same with Ted Karras. It's going to be very interesting.
 

BaseballJones

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If you get 10 people to do a projection, you will get 10 different rosters. There is so much depth on the 90 man roster at this point. I cut Vincent Valentine and hope to sneak him through to the P-squad. Same with Ted Karras. It's going to be very interesting.
I'd love to be able to sneak some d these guys to the PS. Sadly, I think that will be difficult in many cases because other teams should wisely snap them up.

I love having a loaded roster. I hate having to cut perfectly good and talented players because you have too many of them.

I suppose there are worse problems to have, eh?
 

jsinger121

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They really need to expand rosters to at least 55 with 50 on the Gameday active roster.
 

tims4wins

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Apprently he was more than 30 lbs over weight at one point this offseason. Hard worker! And a nice reflection of the tight ship Rex is running
 

Super Nomario

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If you get 10 people to do a projection, you will get 10 different rosters. There is so much depth on the 90 man roster at this point. I cut Vincent Valentine and hope to sneak him through to the P-squad. Same with Ted Karras. It's going to be very interesting.
Valentine was a third rounder. That would be unprecedented for BB. I can't remember the last time any team has cut a third before Week 1.
 

dcmissle

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And we're just half way through the preseason games.

The same can be said for projecting the first four weeks, much less the results of the entire season. Putting aside teams' variability year to year, we're now well into a period of attrition via injury, and several weeks removed from the first meaningful snap of the season.

This sucks.
 

54thMA

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And we're just half way through the preseason games.

The same can be said for projecting the first four weeks, much less the results of the entire season. Putting aside teams' variability year to year, we're now well into a period of attrition via injury, and several weeks removed from the first meaningful snap of the season.

This sucks.
Yes it does, players are dropping like flies and we're only two games in.

The league really needs to look into expanding team rosters; imagine they are toying with the idea of an 18 game schedule?

Not to be dramatic, but injuries in football are season killers like in no other sport.
 

Shelterdog

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Brown's cut is a great sign for Gaffney, no?
I'd think so. BB always had four so White/Blount/Gaffney/Bolden makes some sense.
Or Gaffney gets cut for some guy from arkansas state who is currently at the end of the saint's depth chart. So hard to tell with the back end of the 53 because you just know there's going to be a couple of guys out there who BB loves.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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If RB depth is a concern, and right now it is, making a minor deal to bring back Tavaris Cadet may not be the worst move. He may not make the Saints roster and showed something after he moved on from the Pats.
 

RedOctober3829

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If RB depth is a concern, and right now it is, making a minor deal to bring back Tavaris Cadet may not be the worst move. He may not make the Saints roster and showed something after he moved on from the Pats.
I'd still kick the tires on Bishop Sankey but as T&A said Ronnie Hillman is an intriguing option. Many pundits say he will not make the Broncos 53 man roster. He had 863 yards rushing and 7 TDs last year while only fumbling once in 207 carries. He also caught 24 passes so he could be a threat to do either when he's in the game. Last year, whenever James White was in the game it was almost always a pass and that is a problem giving the defense a tell.
 

Super Nomario

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I'd think so. BB always had four so White/Blount/Gaffney/Bolden makes some sense.
Or Gaffney gets cut for some guy from arkansas state who is currently at the end of the saint's depth chart. So hard to tell with the back end of the 53 because you just know there's going to be a couple of guys out there who BB loves.
Yeah, you never say never with Belichick. But they gave Brown $300K guaranteed and they're cutting him without even getting a real look - that tells me they liked Brown somewhat to give him that deal in the first place, and they like someone else enough to feel like they're going to have better options. Then again, can't make the club from the tub.

I'd still kick the tires on Bishop Sankey but as T&A said Ronnie Hillman is an intriguing option. Many pundits say he will not make the Broncos 53 man roster. He had 863 yards rushing and 7 TDs last year while only fumbling once in 207 carries. He also caught 24 passes so he could be a threat to do either when he's in the game. Last year, whenever James White was in the game it was almost always a pass and that is a problem giving the defense a tell.
I think this is a bit overblown. First, the Patriots have always had a separate carrying back and receiving back. Sure, Faulk, Woodhead, and Vereen were better runners than White, but none of them were 20+ carry a game guys. Secondly, a lot of times the passing back is on the field, there isn't a serious threat of a run anyway. 3rd-and-long, or 2-minute drill, the defense isn't going to respect the run even if Adrian Peterson is back there.
 

bakahump

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Just a weird question, Was Stork always "volatile" and "unpredictable"? Which are speculated as part of the reasons he is being released (fights last week being a prime example).

Coming out of college? His first year? I dont recall hearing it in previous seasons.

Could this be early CTE? No way of telling, but weird if he was a pretty "normal" guy (if he indeed was) and then after a quick succession of concussion is acting "different".
 

Shelterdog

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Just a weird question, Was Stork always "volatile" and "unpredictable"? Which are speculated as part of the reasons he is being released (fights last week being a prime example).

Coming out of college? His first year? I dont recall hearing it in previous seasons.

Could this be early CTE? No way of telling, but weird if he was a pretty "normal" guy (if he indeed was) and then after a quick succession of concussion is acting "different".
He's been a bit of a brawler--and a total dick to the media--his whole NFL career.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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Yeah, I don't get "dick" from that - I get guy who has had a long day and is getting really frustrated being asked the same stupid question over and over again. It's almost precanned BB
 

lambeau

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So DL is Solder-Thuney-Andrews-Kline-Cannon with Waddle and Karas backups until Cooper and Mason are healthy enough to compete with Kline?
 

Koufax

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Wow, if they're all switching to defense, who's going to man the offensive line?
 

dynomite

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It's interesting how quickly these predictions can change.

Three days ago Boston.com predicted Dobson and Knighton as cuts, but also called Stork "invaluable" and had Washington on the team over Martin.

http://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2016/08/23/patriots-53-man-roster-projection

This game tonight should be a good test of most units on the Patriots, and as usual change opinions on a few marginal players. I'm especially interested to watch the OL and DL adjust to changing personnel and face stiff tests.
 

Super Nomario

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Wild suppositions based on tonight's playing time patterns:
  • Knighton is in trouble. For that matter, none of the interior guys are locks except Brown and Valentine. Valentine looked pretty good.
  • Gaffney is in good shape. Would be surprised if he didn't make the roster at this point.
  • Karras started at RG and was the backup C. He might be a lock with Stork gone.
  • LeBlanc is ahead of the other young CBs (Roberts and Jones), though I noticed Roberts was out there on the opening KO. Jones looked good on punt coverage. LeBlanc was in on Jones' long punt return
  • Flowers is ahead of Grissom. Grissom could even be a bubble guy
  • Derby is ahead of the other TEs
  • A lot of 3 safety stuff with Harmon / Richards / Vinnie Sunseri. Sunseri's going to be a tough cut. It's hard to see him making the 53-man but I could see him back on the roster at some point, a la King last year
  • Dobson is ahead of Martin / Carter / Harper / Lucien for that 4th/5th/6th WR spot. I still don't think that makes him a lock, but with Mitchell and Amendola hurt he's got a good shot
  • I don't know what to make of the 3rd/4th LB spot. I see Humber and Roberts out there early. Did Grugier-Hill even play?