Okay all - it's that time. First cut-down is tomorrow, and the final cuts are following very soon after. Who makes it? Who doesn't? Are there any just too close to call?
I'll post my updated list this evening (highlighting changes from before the preseason games, including for injuries), and then maybe update it just before the final cuts.
You guess at who "Marinelli's Men" will be?
{updated - here are mine. This is who I think the Lions will keep, not who I want them to keep. I'll put who I want if it differs.}
25 Offense:
QB: (3) Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton
RB: (3) Smith, Bell, Cason [I'd go Smith, Pinner, Calhoun - more upside]
FB: (2) Felton, McHugh
WR: (5) CJ, Roy, McD, Furrey, Middleton [I'd like to see Standeford make PS, along w/Moore]
TE: (3) Campbell, Gaines, Fitzsimmons [I'd prefer 2 and a 5th wideout, but it's not happening]
O-Line: (9)
G: (3) Mulitalo, Peterman, Ramierez
OT: (4) Backus, Foster, Scott, Cherilus
C: (2) Raiola, McCullum
25 Defense:
LB: (7)
MLB: (3) Davis, Dizon, Lenon
WLB: (2) Sims, Cannon
SLB: (2) Lewis, Gardner
Dline: (9)
DE: (4) White, IAF, DeVries, Avril
DT: (5) Redding, Darby, Cody, Moore, Fluellen
CB: (4) Keith Smith, Bodden, Kelly, Fisher
S: (5) Bullocks, Alexander, Smith, Pearson, Blue
I would like 6 LB -- moving Davis to SLB, or rotating Lenon to SLB and Dizon getting PT at MLB. That would free up room for Robinson, who seems to really be maturing into a solid T2 CB.
I'd also dump Cody since IAF moves inside on passing down, and keep C. Smith on the outside at DE as an additional pass rush specialist.
This was a tough cut down to look at, and I'm sure I've got several wrong. There were more players I wanted to keep than roster spots. We'll see in about a week.
11 comments:
Lions looking to outsource you blog writing:
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here goes
c 1. raiola
2. mc collum
G 3.ramirez
4. peterman
5. mulitalo
6.davis
t 7.cherlious
8. foster
9. scott
10. backus
qb 11. kitna
12. oralasky
13. stanton
rb
14. smith
15. pinner
16. cason
te 17.mc hugh /fb
18. gaines
19. fitzsimmons
wr 20. mc donald
21.cj
22. williams
23. standaford
24. furry
st 25. hanson
26. muhbach
27. harris
cb's
28. smith
29. fisher
30. bodden
31. kelly
de's
32. avril
33. alma francis
34.white
35.smith
36. devries
dt
37. redding
38. cody
39.moore
40. darby
41. fluellen
fb
42. felton
s
43. alexander
44. smith
45. pearsons
46. bullocks
47.blue
lb's
48. lewis
49. lennon
50. sims
51. dizon
52. gardner
53. davis
want joe in there so bad but cant see me scratching any of the others to put him in
Marinelli has said he wants 25 on offense and 25 on defense, so here goes. This is MY picked team, not who I think the Lions will take.
OFFENSE:
QB(3)- Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton
RB (3) K. Smith, Calhoun, Pinner
Bell is weak. Cason isn't special in the running game, he doesn't stand out on kick/punt returns, either, so why keep him? Pinner falls forward when running and is good on special teams, and Calhoun showed something with that long run and could be just as good at returning kicks as Cason is, IMHO.
O line (9) Backus-Mulitalo-Raiola-Peterman-Foster
#6- Cherilus as a backup soon to replace Foster. Have to keep Foster though because Cherilus is Backus' backup. Foster either starts or backs up at RT.
#7- McCollum has to be kept as a backup center. Center is too important.
#8- Ramirez can rotate for Peterman or back up Mulitalo or the right starter. I hope. Not sure how hard it is to move to LT if you are normally a RT.
#9- Jonathon Scott though he probably wouldn't dress very often.
WR (5): Johnson-Williams-Furrey-McDonald-Standeford
I hope they keep Standeford somehow; that guy reminds me of Wes Welker; he just knows how to get open and be an easy guy to throw to. I wouldn't mind seeing us trade McDonald to SF AFTER we play SF for a 2nd or 3rd rounder in the next draft. Keep him around the first few weeks though in case we see a WR injury early in the season.
TE (3): Campbell-Gaines-Fitzsimmons
Campbell's lingering injury issues are a little scary here.
TE/FB(1): McHugh
You have to like this guy because he can be both a 4th option for TE and a good backup FB.
FB(1): Felton
DEFENSE:
D line(9): White-Redding-Darby-Devries
#5- Ikaika. Have to give him time to develop. He's developing and can play effectively in a rotation already.
#6- Fluellen. He's a rookie, gotta give him a chance to develop also. He's been good against backups at least in preseason.
#7- Cliff Avril. Rookie, same as above two.
#8- Shaun Cody - he's worth one last season, but if he doesn't produce, sit him or whatever.
#9 Corey Smith - he's been a decent backup at times. He's serviceable.
LB(7): Sims-Davis-Lenon
Davis has been playing well at MLB. I say move Lenon over to right and have Buster play MLB for now and let Dizon beat him out for the starting spot as the season goes on.
Backup line: Gardner-Dizon-Lewis. I think Lewis and Lenon might be more of a rotational thing; Lewis has played great this year so far. Lenon is solid and deserves respect, but he's no superstar.
#7: Leon Joe. Just because I think he earned a spot and because LB is so important in our defense. Cannon would be OK to keep here also. I'll still go with Joe though I guess. Just because.
CB(4): Bodden-Kelly-Fisher-Smith
Might as well just have 4 here. Our backup choices are Ramzee Robinson and Devonte Edwards. Edwards has been terrible, and Ramzee I love but he's destined for the practice squad. By limiting this squad to 4, you can keep Greg Blue as a 5th Safety. If someone goes down, then pull Robinson from the practice squad.
Safety(5): Smith-Alexander-Bullocks-Pearson
#5: Greg Blue. You have to keep this guy; I call him "The Human Explosion." Need him for insurance in case Bullocks doesn't pan out, since he's such a huge question mark at this point with the injuries he's had.
There's my 50! Hope you like them.
-Issy
P.S. I left out Muhlback, Hanson, and Harris for the final 3 as they are implied.
Wow; not much diffence with me.
QB(3) - Kitna, Stanton, and "O".
RB(3) - Smith, Pinner, and Calhoun.
FB(2) - Felton, McHugh.
TE(3) - Campbell, Fitz, Gaines.
WR(5) - CJ, Roy, Furrey, McDoanld and Middleton.
OT(4) - Backus, Scott, Foster, and Cherilus.
OG(3) - Ramirez, Mulitalo, Peterman
C(2) - Raiola, McCollum.
K/P/LS - (3)Hanson, Harris, Muhlbach.
DE(5) - 5-0, White, DeVries, Avril, Smith.
DT(5) - Darby, Cody, Redding, Moore, Fluellen.
CB(4) - Kelly, Bodden, Fisher, Smith.
LB(6) - Sims, Lenon, Canon, Lewis, Dizon, and Joe.
S(5) - Alexander, Smith, Pearson, Blue, and Bullocks.
-nubs
26 Offense:
QB: (3) Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton
RB: (3) Smith, Calhoun, Cason
FB: (1) Felton
WR: (6) CJ, Roy, McD, Furrey, Standeford, Middleton (Moore to PS)
TE: (4) Campbell, Gaines, Fitzsimmons, Owens (Owens would have to be an emergency FB)
O-Line: (9)
G: (3) Mulitalo, Peterman, Ramirez (If eligible, the lions will try to sign him to the practiced squad)
OT: (4) Backus, Foster, Scott, Cherilus
C: (2) Raiola, McCullum
24 Defense:
LB: (6)
MLB: (2) Dizon, Lenon (the Lions will cut Gardner Lennon could slide to SLB if Lewis gets hurts)
WLB: (2) Sims, Cannon
SLB: (2) Lewis, Davis
Dline: (9)
DE: (4) White, IAF, DeVries, Avril (Hardie to PS)
DT: (5) Redding, Darby, Cody, Moore, Fluellen (Cohen to PS)
CB: (4) Keith Smith, Bodden, Kelly, Fisher (Robinson to PS)
S: (5) Bullocks, Alexander, Smith, Pearson, Blue (Alexander can play CB in a pinch)
ST(3): Hanson, Harris, Muhlbach
I still say McDonald could get dealt. The Bengals are offering Rudy Johnson for a starting WR. Also, Martz will be looking for a WR by week-2. I don’t buy into Rod saying he wants 25 on offense and 25 of Defense. I think he wants the 53 best.
QB(3) - Kitna, O'Sullivan, and Stanton
RB(3) - Smith, Pinner, and Cason
FB(2) - Felton, and McHugh (FB/TE)
TE(3) - Campbell, Fitzsimmons, and Gaines
WR(5) - CJ, Roy, Furrey, McDoanld and Middleton.
OT(4) - Backus, Scott, Foster, and Cherilus.
OG(3) - Ramirez, Mulitalo, Peterman
C(2) - Raiola, McCollum.
K/P/LS - (3)Hanson, Harris, Muhlbach.
DE(5) - Alma-Francis, White, DeVries, Avril, Smith.
DT(4) - Darby, Redding, Moore, Fluellen.
CB(5) - Kelly, Bodden, Fisher, Smith, Robinson.
LB(6) - Sims, Lenon, Cannon, Lewis, Dizon, and Davis.
S(5) - Alexander, Smith, Pearson, Blue, and Bullocks.
I still see Pinner winning the third RB position due to his ST play. Besides, I doubt any team would pick up Bell over the minimum veterans pay during the season.
I like Robinson making the team due to numbers. Pearsons and Alexader do have some cover skills for CB. If I was an Offensive Coordinator and saw only 4 CB's, I would try to use alot of 4 WR sets.
Also, I do not see a need to carry five DT's, especially if 5-0 is going to play some under-tackle. Just a thought. Can "old man" DeVries still play DT in an emergency? Would Rod even risk it.
Also I see D. Smith making team for several reasons. Reasons are experience, good DE's hard to find, and he too played for Rod while at Tampa Bay.
Hey guys.
Correction to my previous blog.
"Also I see D. Smith making team for several reasons. Reasons are experience, good DE's hard to find, and he too played for Rod while at Tampa Bay."
Meant Cory Smith, not D. Smith.
I sure like this year's competition. It makes it more difficult to predict, but very fun to figure out. Several position are hard to call....here's my best guess.
QB(3)- Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton
RB(4)- K. Smith, Bell, Cason, Calhoun
WR(5)- Williams, Johnson, Furrey, McDonald, Middleton
TE(3)- Campbell, Gaines, Fitzsimmons
FB(1)- Felton
OT(4)- Backus, Foster, Scott, Cherilus
OG(4)- Peterman, Mulitalo, McCollum, Ramirez
C(1)- Raiola
DT(5)- Redding, Darby, Fluellen, Cody, L. Moore
DE(5)- White, DeVries, Francis, Avril, C. Smith
LB(6)- Sims, Lenon, Lewis, Dizon, B. Davis, Cannon
CB(5) Bodden, Kelly, Fisher, K. Smith, Edwards
S(4) Alexander, D. Smith, Bullocks, Pearson
ST(3) Hanson, Harris, Muhlbach
25 Offense:
QB: (3) Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton
RB: (3) Smith, Bell, Cason
FB: (1) Felton
WR: (5) CJ, Roy, McD, Furrey, Standeford (Moore to PS should clear waivers)
TE: (4) Campbell, Gaines, Fitzsimmons, Owens (Owens would have to be an emergency FB)
O-Line: (9)
G: (4) Mulitalo, Peterman, Ramirez, Davis
OT: (3) Backus, Foster, Cherilus
C: (2) Raiola, McCullum
25 Defense:
LB: (7)
MLB: (3) Lennon, Dizon, Davis
WLB: (1) Sims, Cannon
SLB: (2) Lewis, Gardner
Dline: (10)
DE: (5) White, IAF, DeVries, Avril, Smith (Hardie to PS should clear waivers)
DT: (5) Redding, Darby, Cody, Moore, Fluellen (Cohen to PS if he clears waivers)
CB: (4) Keith Smith, Bodden, Kelly, Fisher (Robinson to PS, should clear waivers)
S: (4) Bullocks, Alexander, Smith, Pearson (Alexander can play CB in a pinch)
ST(3): Hanson, Harris, Muhlbach
back to my original
here goes
c 1. raiola
2. mc collum
G 3.ramirez
4. peterman
5. mulitalo
6.davis
t 7.cherlious
8. foster
9. scott
10. backus
qb 11. kitna
12. oralasky
13. stanton
rb
14. smith
15. bell
16. cason
te 17.mc hugh /fb
18. gaines
19. fitzsimmons
wr 20. mc donald
21. johnson
22. williams
23. ellis
24. furry
st 25. hanson
26. muhbach
27. harris
cb's
28. smith
29. fisher
30. bodden
31. kelly
de's
32. avril
33. alma francis
34.white
35.smith
36. devries
dt
37. redding
38. cody
39.moore
40. darby
41. fluellen
fb
42. felton
s
43. alexander
44. smith
45. pearsons
46. bullocks
lb's
47. lewis
48. lennon
49. sims
50. dizon
51. gardner
52. davis
53. one left??
edwards cb
August 7, 2008 2:02 PM
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