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Biggest Training Camp Battle?

T

The Preacher

Waterboy
With TC a few days away, it seems like a good time to see what everybody thinks will be the biggest battle for their given position. #2 WR and TE immediately come to mind but there are a few others including several backup positions. I know most of the starters are set but there should be some interesting dogfights nevertheless. Any thoughts on what could be the most intriguing or simply what position your looking forward to most that will unfold?
 
I want to see how much Wand has progressed.. yet I want to see McKinney hold his own against Payne and crew.

yes #2 slot is the biggest question mark I think we have..

And for you that get to go to watch camp, I am envious
Chris Mckenzie/Buchanon and if I am not mistaken D-rob run a low 4.3 forty..
mathis runs in the 4.2's make sure yall bring some jet fuel during water break for those guys.
 
It doesn't seem that there will be any real battles this year, all the starters on offense will be the same and the defensive line up has been know ever since Capers and Casserly had their little "spring cleaning."
 
I think there will be a few obvious battles (#2 WR, B/U QB [don't think Ragone is gonna just accept the 32 y/o old Banks keeping that postion after having a rather huge taste of success this off-season] & TE). However, we can't forget about the "hidden battles" where you know guys are basically fighting for their jobs in the sense if they don't perform this year, they WILL be replaced. Tony Hollings has to step up. SS position (although I dig EARL) can be tight, PEEK has to show he can be consistent in coverage...not just causing trouble in the pocket, and of course the 3-way log jam not reported for FB. Remember, with Capers (power rushing), an outstanding FB can make a huge difference. I look for WELLS to be the sleeper this year. I didn't dig him until he started showing some gumption in 2004. I'm rooting for the guy.

Too bad we didn't get Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. With our WR's and Carr's gun....it'd be a fireworks show! (no....I'm not bashing Palmer, I just dig it when we sling the rock more often than not).
 
You mentioned the matchup of McKinney and Payne. I believe one of the problems with TC has been the fact that the coaches are evaluating the O-line play based on our D-line and defensive play. One of our big weaknesses has been rushing the passer, so of course our O-line has looked good. When we play our opponents we then find out how bad we are. This happens a lot in various college sports when the 2nd team plays the 1st or the defense plays the offense. They think they have a winner, but they don't. The inherent weakness of one component makes the other one look good. If this year's defense is much improved, particularly our pass rush, that might ultimately help our O-line improve because their weaknesses will be exposed.
 
Ibar_Harry said:
You mentioned the matchup of McKinney and Payne. I believe one of the problems with TC has been the fact that the coaches are evaluating the O-line play based on our D-line and defensive play. One of our big weaknesses has been rushing the passer, so of course our O-line has looked good. When we play our opponents we then find out how bad we are. This happens a lot in various college sports when the 2nd team plays the 1st or the defense plays the offense. They think they have a winner, but they don't. The inherent weakness of one component makes the other one look good. If this year's defense is much improved, particularly our pass rush, that might ultimately help our O-line improve because their weaknesses will be exposed.
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I meant to add travis johnson in their also.. but very true.. Walker and Payne need to be healthy and Johnson (hopefully) will light a fire under the d-line and give them some competition for starting.
 
One of the most interesting battles every year seems to be the battle for return duties. JJ is no longer here so it's wide open. I'm eager to see how Mathis and Swinton and PBuch and Hollings perform returning kicks. I think PBuch will probably get the nod as the PR after the preseason, but it should still be interesting to see how the guys perform nonetheless.
 
TE could be interesting. I think that Matt Murphy is ready to push for a starting job. He has played well but has not been consistient. If he has matured he has the ability to be solid.
 
RB will be interesting - All four guys, Davis, Wells, Hollings and Morency, sincerely believe they can start. While Davis will probably begin the season in the number one position, the order of the other three in the depth chart is almost impossible to fortell. And, if Davis gets injured again, all bets are off. Any of the remianing three could rise to the top very quickly.

I know everyone is high on Morency right now because he is the new guy on the team, but perhaps you will recall that the support for Hollings was at a similar feverish pitch after he was drafted.

I believe that RB will be the spot with the most intense competetion, and the most to gain or lose for the competitors.
 
I want to see how Drew Hodgdon does. See if they would think about putting him in 1/2 way through the season.
 
There will be lots of good battles. Denver is in town on the 10th so the action heats up asap.

The battle for Baxters job will be a good one. Wells is going to have to fight for his roster spot this year.

I think we have 2 3rd year first day draft projects that may have good seasons as starters. Peek and Wand are in their 3rd years and this is the year that most projects solidify themselves if they live up to their potential (as a projected starter).

It will be interesting to see how many packages TJ is in and how much time he wins out of camp.

I think the reserve linebacker spots are going to have fierce competition.

I really look forward to Morency running. He has Curtis Martin type skills and I think we finally have some RB depth without having to rely on a project (Hollings) or a guy with huge flaws (Wells) behind DD.

The back up WR's will also be interesting to watch. Someone good isn't going to make this squad this year.
 
The TC "battle" Imma waitin on is to see who APeek gets into it with first ... Last season it was MNorris ... (or was it Baxter?)Dunno how much Coach Capers is gonna put up with but it's always good to see Peek lightin' someone up. :headbang:
 
It was Norris--that is one good battle too, Norris as one of the better blocking FB's and Peek on a tear. Don't like to see teammates fighting, but then again it is good to see the players are taking training camp seriously.
 
It's probably not realistic, but I would love to see a tight battle at center between "Push me Back" and the rookie D. Hodgdon.
 
WR #2 isn't a battle, Gaffney and Bradford will both get their starts depending on the defense. OL is a definate battle with all positions open. They want the best 5 out there. Safety is also a definate battle. Earl impressed with his run stop, but must improve coverage. The people behind him, Simmons, CC Brown, and even Jamal Lord have played well. Safety might be the most interesting battle. Kick and punt returned should be interesting too. Buchanan has the most experience.
 
According to 610 this morning, Gaffney is still injured, and will be severely restricted during TC, and might not even be playing to start the season. That makes WR2 even more of a question mark than before. TE is a who's who of journeymen as well. It may be a battle, but it will be a battle of mediocrity. If your name is Seth Wand, you probably didn't like Capers remarks yesterday that LT was wide open, and he had no idea who would be starting the year at that spot...so LT is a battle. Backup QB may be in play fir the first time ever. A lot depends on how Ragone plays in the pre-season games. I think Banks has the edge right now based on his experience, but it may be a close call. The 3rd, 4th and 5th spots at WR are wide open. We have a number of candadites. We have more WR's that could fill those spots that can actually play than the first three years. More than one will be cut that can play in the NFL.

On Special Teams, the return jobs are wide open. This will probably be the most exciting and media driven battle. Mathis, Swinton, PBuc, and others will be competing.


On defense, most of the real position battles will be at the backup spots. Safety, LB, and DLine will all have guys fighting for spots and/or PT.

All in all, I am ready to get the show started. Why does the NFL offseason seem to last longer than a Michael Moore documentary? :crying:
 
I don't think Gaffney will miss any of the regular season, they are keeping him out as a precautionary measure. I heard the 610 stuff this morning as well....In a semi-non-related story, Capers said that he went to the facility one morning after Payne went thru some surgery and he was lifting weights while pulling around his IV. That's some dedication there.
 
Porky said:
According to 610 this morning, Gaffney is still injured, and will be severely restricted during TC, and might not even be playing to start the season. That makes WR2 even more of a question mark than before. TE is a who's who of journeymen as well. It may be a battle, but it will be a battle of mediocrity. If your name is Seth Wand, you probably didn't like Capers remarks yesterday that LT was wide open, and he had no idea who would be starting the year at that spot...so LT is a battle. Backup QB may be in play fir the first time ever. A lot depends on how Ragone plays in the pre-season games. I think Banks has the edge right now based on his experience, but it may be a close call. The 3rd, 4th and 5th spots at WR are wide open. We have a number of candadites. We have more WR's that could fill those spots that can actually play than the first three years. More than one will be cut that can play in the NFL.

On Special Teams, the return jobs are wide open. This will probably be the most exciting and media driven battle. Mathis, Swinton, PBuc, and others will be competing.


On defense, most of the real position battles will be at the backup spots. Safety, LB, and DLine will all have guys fighting for spots and/or PT.

All in all, I am ready to get the show started. Why does the NFL offseason seem to last longer than a Michael Moore documentary? :crying:
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If Ragone wins the backup QB spot, do you think Banks will still make the team?
 
vtech9 said:
If Ragone wins the backup QB spot, do you think Banks will still make the team?
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Yes. Who on the roster has the ability to beat him out for the #3 position?
 
MojoMan said:
Yes. Who on the roster has the ability to beat him out for the #3 position?
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that's not the issue...whether or not he could beat out BJ Symons or Preston Parsons for the #3 QB spot doesn't matter. Banks wanted to find a job as a starter, but couldn't. If Banks loses the #2 spot, he will probably get released so he can catch on with another team. Kind of hard to pay him that much to be the #3, not to mention that he would probably ask to be released before being demoted to the #3. Besides, If you keep him as the #3, both BJ and Parsons will get released, and may or may not make the practice squad. If Banks is gone, one of those younger guys will get a better chance to develope.
 
vtech9 said:
that's not the issue...whether or not he could beat out BJ Symons or Preston Parsons for the #3 QB spot doesn't matter. Banks wanted to find a job as a starter, but couldn't. If Banks loses the #2 spot, he will probably get released so he can catch on with another team. Kind of hard to pay him that much to be the #3, not to mention that he would probably ask to be released before being demoted to the #3. Besides, If you keep him as the #3, both BJ and Parsons will get released, and may or may not make the practice squad. If Banks is gone, one of those younger guys will get a better chance to develope.
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I predict that the Texans will step out on a limb and do something that you will apparently consider quite radical. I predict that the Texans will keep their best three quarterbacks, and seed them in order of their abilities.
 
MojoMan said:
Yes. Who on the roster has the ability to beat him out for the #3 position?
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I don't even think that is a factor. If Ragone has a good showing in preseason and carr stays healthy for the first 4 or 5 games, I think the front office will seek a high draft pick for Ragone. Which would probably end up being a win-win for us and Ragone. Banks just needs to hope that Parsons and Simmons don't show up big in TC and give the Texans a reason to push him aside in favor of developing young talent.

Ultimately, I think if Ragone stays Banks goes and vice versa.

that's just my two cents worth.
 
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