Last Night’s er game
All right. I know I was supposed to be watching last night’s game with, in the words of the Chicago crime boss, “enthusiasms,” but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay attention. The last pre-season game is such a trial for anybody who loves football. It’s like watching the pickup Thanksgiving game at the local high school when its ten degrees. Everything sucks.
So in the spirit of relying solely on memory, here are my observations:
QB:
Ratliff showed maturity, not just a big arm. On his TD throw he had to slip an unblocked tackler which he did nimbly and calmly. After escaping with a nice ball fake, he had to find his receiver and throw on the run. Executed very nicely.
Ainge looked calmer although he certainly showed evidence of “happy feet” on a number of plays. I know that’s a contradiction but how many column inches do you want on Bret Ratliff, the second coming? Ainge is certainly headed for the practice squad.
WR:
Ball and particularly Paul Raymond were on the field a lot. Raymond has a shot at the practice squad. Marcus Henry made a couple of nice plays and probably showed enough to make the roster. There’s something about this guy. He grows on you. He’s like the proverbial tortoise. Nothing flashy but slowly and steadily he captures the imagination. BTW, I didn’t see Wallace Wright all night. He’s either made the club on STs or he’s out. You decide.
TE:
Pociask made an ugly drop in the first quarter. I’ve always thought of him as a shoo-in but now I’m not so sure. This is tricky since MT said that Dearth has already made the team as long snapper.
OL:
You read it here first. Jacob Bender gets cut tomorrow. Talk about your swinging door. They actually did some effective run blocking after the first quarter although punctuated by the not so occasional complete collapse and ensuing sack. If you’re worried about depth, this is the unit that has to scare you. I don’t really see a lot of talent in this group.
RB:
This was the evening’s highlight. Jesse Chatman, who looked like a first stringer grinding up the also-rans, did nice work all night. A real NFL day for a running back: lots of interior runs and good hands on more than a few passes. I have to admit, he definitely made me wonder about Thomas Jones although he’s smaller than my wife’s sister (they’re Greek so use your imagination).
I think Caulcrick did enough to make the squad. He’s Tony Richardson’s only backup.
DL:
Mosley seemed head and shoulders the superior player here. He can run with the big boys. Mattison and KBrown would seem good candidates for the Practice Squad.
LB:
Here there are going to be a lot of questions going into final cuts. Not a lot to write home about last night. Since I think they’ll only carry six def linemen including DeVito who I think has won a spot, my guess is they’ll keep nine LBers favoring the guys who can play both def positions and STs. Sure things are Harris, Barton, Pace, BT and Gholston and I suppose they’ll keep Barton. The three I’d take are Cummings, Spencer and Marques Murrell but that leaves Matt Chatham on the outside looking in. Any ideas?
Safety: Elam was one of the few guys last night who could tackle. I don’t know if Ihedigbo did enough but who would you replace him with? Barrett? I don’t want anybody slitting their wrists tomorrow if he makes the club. If Worrell played last night I missed it.
CB: Ahmad Carroll was very good and very bad. He’ll never make you forget Leon Washington on kickoff returns but he’s sure handed. He couldn’t tackle on a TD where he tried to swat the ball out of a receiver’s hands but he was there, in position. That should count for something. I think he just lacks technique. Is he an upgrade over Barrett? I’m not sure.
Incidentally, Mangini later denied it but Lowery spending the night with a clipboard was pretty definite he both makes the roster and starts next Sunday.
Also interesting was the play of Chansi Stuckey at corner. He was in a lot of plays and kept coming into my frame. He’s never played defense and it showed but he definitely piqued my interest as a potential corner for the future. With the emergence of Brad Smith, Clowney and Marcus Henry, they may be smart to convert the guy. He’s got great hands already and seems to have good instincts for a corner.
I’m troubled about the backup corners. They’re all grouped together in terms of skills even though Carroll is the most versatile. Coleman seems like the surest bet, to me, but Poteat makes the coach feel comfortable.
And, then there’s Barrett. That seems like a convenient place to close.
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Chatham looking in from out is exactly correct. I will be pleasantly surprised if that occurs.
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Absolutely, time to cut Chatham. Henry has to make the roster going to be great inside the 20 and over the middle. And yes, looks like Lowery will start, another 4th round gem?
Gotta love Lowery sure he will have a few bumps and bruises but K Ro will have to keep him in check
When we first drafted lowery I was one who spoke on this website about how I thought he could be a starter in the near future and I recieved some harsh criticism from a few people, guess i wasnt so crazy after all?
Im very happy we could end up with a player like him, I wouldnt have been dissapointed if we had gone for McKelvin with our #6 pick so we would have two shutdown corners, but Tangini had their eyes on Lowery the whole time. He seems poised to be a good player in this league and we should all be happy about this. Miller was never going to pan out as a god player.
Questions about the draft of 2008 will always pass through the Gholston question. Were the Jets hands’ tied because of the fear that the Patriots would get a big, fast LBer with the next pick? I don’t know. Gholston will certainly be good enough to replace BT by next year so I don’t think the pick will be a bust.
As far as the first round, there’s always Keller. Lowery may well be as good as he’s looked and add to an illustrious list of 4th rders including Rhodes, Brad Smith, Leon Washington and Cotchery.
As I look around the team’s first 22 players, I don’t see a lot of weaknesses (woody?, 2nd safety?, rb?) and I see quite a few stars here and there. That ought to be enough with smart coaching for ten wins and I think Mangini is a smart coach, last year notwithstanding. Only issue will be injuries. If we stay healthy, I can see a solid shot at the playoffs especially considering the weak schedule. If not, some units (OLine) are weak and would hurt a lot.
while I am more than a bit worried about ourbackup dwfensive linenmen, I am really happy with the starters.
In particular, Woody.
When I ran operations for my company I equated my job with an NFL lineman (no one knows your name until something goes wrong). So far this preseason there hasn’t been much need to mention Woody’s name. I watched him handily deal with first string rushers and he did pretty well. No doubt our running game could improve but this unit looks good.
I was critical of the Woody signing at first, like many others, but I am thrilled to be on the verge of being proven wrong.
What was Stuckey doing playing corner? I couldn’t believe I was seeing 83 back there. He should be developing as a WR, not CB. Or was Mangini just following the Patriot way of ultimate versitility?
Stuckey has virtually no chance of making the roster as a WR. The top 3 are Coles, Cotchery and Smith. Henry wont be cut because he can develop into a gret slot receiver. Clowny was lighting up the preseason highlight reel so hes going to stay one. If a 6th man is really neccessary then maybe Stuckey makes it but only if he can play CB as well. Otherwise it will be Wright because of his work on special teams.
good notes
so i guess this means lowery is starting , im kinda really curious who is gonna be our 3rd WR , it can either be stuckey or smith and henry i think made the roster for sure and should come in every now and then , but wallace wright might have to go , i know he is good at special teams but smith can play his role and im thinking stuckey can try it also
guys answer me this why is ratty behind clemens i believe that the rat will be an elite qb this guys got the hole package when brett is done with him well forget about it….as for clemens he so dam short and had a horrible camp and preseason so again whats wrong with this picture..and i dont want to hear well he was a 2nd rounder either.so will some one tell me im not going crazy or am i just dreaming about having a franchise qb (brady,mannings,) that kinda a guy of course when brett retires
Yes, it would not surprise me if Ratliff is the heir apparent when Favre retires of course.