53 man roster prediction

Offense:

Carr(duh!)
Banks(experienced backup)
Ragone(#3 QB, still learning)

Davis(probable starter, 3rd down back if Hollings shows well)
Hollings(backup , possibly #1 if he plays really well)
Wells(He'll stay another season,special teams, if DD gets hurt he's #2)

Baxter(better overall FB than Norris)
Norris(played well last year, Has experience and should be a quality backup)

Bruener(competes w/ Joppru for starter)
Joppru(possible starter)
Miller(#3 TE, plus DC loves him)

Johnson(no questions here)
Gaffney(should be #2 this year)
Bradford(#3 WR)
Thomas(he'll make the team as 4th or 5th reciever and possible return man)
Armstrong(i think they'll go w/ 5 WRs, depends on how Thomas shows)

Pitts(I'm still expecting him to be at LT this year, i may be wrong)
Wand(should backup Pitts or Wade, but could start at LT)
Wade(RT no qustions)
Wiegert(ROG, can also backup Wade if needed)
Mckinney(Starting at center)
Weary(may back up Pitts or Washington)
Brown(Another guard, future starter?)
Washington(will start at LT if Pitts stays at LT, plays C as well)

Deffense:

Walker(no questions LDE)
Payne(will start unless he's hurt
Smith(RDE, that's why we got him)
Deloach(can backup any DL position, may start if Payne is still hurt))
Sears(can play a backup LDE or RDE)
Martin(another DE, may not make the team however)
Ioane(stays on roster because of uncertainty about Payne)

Sharper(no questions here)
Wong(ROLB starter)
Foreman(starts inside alongside Sharper)
Babin(starts ROLB)
Peek(should be backup to Wong)
Polk(makes team because of special teams, Sharper needs vet backup)
S. Orr(competes with Peek for backup ROLB)
Evans(special teams, back up Foreman possibly)

Glenn( Starting LCB unless he gets hurt)
Robinson(RCB, should start)
Wright(quality backup,)
Simmons(another quality backup, can also play safety)
Faggins(played excellent last season, i'd hate to see him go)
Bell/Vaughn/Duff(this should be a great battle, can duff be the returner?)

Brown(starts at SS, Walker pushed him towards end of season however)
Coleman(starts at FS, can also move down to CB)
Walker(awesome special teams player, may take Brown's job)
McCree(another quality backup, played well last season)
Earl(won't play much, if at all, may be a practice squad player)


Special Teams:

Brown(no questions)
Stanley(no questions here either, damn good punter)
Pittman(i don't even know if he's go competition, snapped perfect all season)

Two quick comments before heading to work:
1) They will find a spot for Lekkerkerker. Expose him in the practice squad and he can be grabbed by another team.
2) For the DL, I don't think they'll carry seven bodies to fill three positions.

19,

Practice squad is the place for guys like Lekkerker, undrafted free agents. Exposing him will be just a risk the team has to take, unless he proves good enough to stick as the 9th OL instead of 8 here. Probably 9 OL man instead of 7 DLmen.

Cool guy,

Armstrong with the 4th WR who may be closer to pushing for 3rd than hanging onto the 5th. The player in the 5th spot will make the team because of ST play.

If the Texans offense runs correctly the FB will need to be a blocker first I give the edge to Norris. Last I remember there was still concern over Baxter recovery also.

Shawnte Orr will be in a battle with Raheem Orr, Anderson and Dunn for that spot. At least one of those guys will be on the practice squad.

Faggins is the 4th CB, closer to 3rd than gone. Simmons is on the list with Duff/Bell and company fighting for a spot based on ST play more than coverage ability.

Also, of course, a couple of injuries will occur (hopefully just a handful and not 17), and a couple of players were not thinking about or not even on the team now will be in the mix.

Did I miss something, living in Austin we dont always get the news----
Where's JJ Moses on this list?

BigWig said:

Did I miss something, living in Austin we dont always get the news----
Where's JJ Moses on this list?

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JJ is definetly on the bubble this year. There is a strong possiblilty that he won't be able to make the squad. If he were able to contribute more as a WR then his chances would increase, but it looks like they will go with Thomas and Armstrong as the depth WRs and look elsewhere for a return man.

There are several guys on the squad that have some return time under their belts, in fact, Vontez Duff was a highly touted returner coming out of college...speculation was that he would take the return job in order to free up another WR roster slot.

Just about every roster prediction I've seen has the Texans carrying 3 TE's. But I can see Holloway still making this roster because of 3 factors.

1) Health concerns of Joppru & Bruener
2) 2 TE sets becoming more prevalent in the Texans attack
3) Wand becoming a starting LT and no longer used as a blocking TE

Maybe it wouldn't be Holloway. Maybe Matt Murphy wins the 4th TE spot because of his special teams ability. I just think that the Texans will be committed to run the double TE set and the extra TE on the roster would be necessary at some point during the season.

Just some random thoughts on the 53 man roster ...

In order to project the 53 man roster, you must consider the 45/6 active roster. Players 47 - 53 are protected from being claimed, but don't need to dress early. As they gain experience (and as injuries occur) they can move from not dressing, to dressing and backing up, to starting (see Davis, Wand, as examples); I think it's important to build your 45/6 roster first and then add your 47-53 players because of the role of specialists on special teams. For example, the 46 will include a third quarterback, a field goal kicker, a punter, a long snapper and likely a returner and 2 gunner specialists (Moses wasn't really effective as a back up WR and Vaughan and Bell weren't really effective as CBs). Accordingly, you only have 39 players to cover offense and defense and you can't go a full two deep on game day.

The Texans may not do what is conventional with the O-Line because of the ability of their starting guards to play tackle. Conventionally, you will activate 5 O-lineman and a spare guard and spare tackle. We may activate two spare guard/ center types on our projected 45/6. Also, although you only typically activate 7 O-lineman, you still need to practice with 10, so you go two deep. The long snapper may be able to be a practice O-lineman and they may count on having an O-lineman, or two on the practice squad. In summary, they may keep the starters, plus the best 2 of Weary, Brown and Washington, plus a top young prospect, perhaps Lekker... who will be projected to be on 53 (no risk of losing) but not projected to be on active 45/6 initially.

The Texans may also be a little unconventional in their approach to DBs on their 45/6 because of the ability of Coleman to be an emergency CB to finish a game.

I think that whether the Texans carrying a fifth WR, a fourth TE, a fifth CB or safety (other than gunners) on their 53 man squad will be determined by the quality of the prospect regardless of position and is yet to be determined.

IMO Banks, Wells, Sears, Ioane, JJ Moses, Wright & Evans are on the bubble.

Ramon Walker may be a PUP or Earl may be PUP.


Practice Squad players have to be signed to an active roster if another team wants them. Just like the Texans did with TE Matt Murphy last year.
So Lekkerkerker would be fairly safe on the PS because the OLine is such a hard position to fit in without alot of practice time. JMO

TexasAggie said:

IMO Banks, Wells, Sears, Ioane, JJ Moses, Wright & Evans are on the bubble.

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Banks? If Ragone is going to be our backup then we all need to join hands and pray that Carr doesn't get touched.

TexasAggie said:

...Practice Squad players have to be signed to an active roster if another team wants them. Just like the Texans did with TE Matt Murphy last year.
So Lekkerkerker would be fairly safe on the PS because the OLine is such a hard position to fit in without alot of practice time. JMO

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True, but Lekkerkerker was one of the top undrafted free agents and several teams were interested in him. I would almost guarantee that as the season wore on and injuries took their toll, he would be signed for that 53 spot. My take is that Casserly would not have spent the $25K signing bonus to insure that we got him, if the probability of his taking our 53 spot was not high.

David Pruce was given a large signing bonus last year too. He was the best offensive Tackle in NFLe last year and didn't make the team. I would not read too much into his "large" signing bonus (for an unknown fa).

i'm thinking they'll keep 7 on the DL this year because of Payne's injury. i'm really hoping he comes back, but he could be the tony boselli of the DL. also g-funk was hurt alot last year, so they might have that in mind. but i know they'll have atleast 6 on the DL.

atxcoolguy said:

i'm thinking they'll keep 7 on the DL this year because of Payne's injury. i'm really hoping he comes back, but he could be the tony boselli of the DL. also g-funk was hurt alot last year, so they might have that in mind. but i know they'll have atleast 6 on the DL.

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Think that where the 8 man practice squad come into play. An extra DLman or two will be stuck here. Gives a chance to have a player or two to take practice repetitions and be available to move the the regular 53 man with ease.

Mistril excellent point on the last couple of spots 5th WR, 5th safety etc. The ability to play special teams will also factor into the those positions.