Vision Quest: The Position Battles to look for against the Ravens

The first round of cuts have come and gone and the team is left with 73 players on their roster (the 65 allowed and 8 NFL Europe exemptions). This was the supposed easy cut down but still it yielded some surprises. All in all 13 players were cut, ranging from the very surprising to the mildly interesting to the expected consequence of focusing on your off the field life and the expense of your on the field commitment.

I am of course referring to Darnerrian McCants. This ends DMac’s tumultuous and uneven Redskin career and sportswriters across the DC area are removing his first name from their custom spell check. His work ethic, or should I say lack of, and inability to play special teams landed him in the first wave of cuts. I have stated this here before that I think tins may be a good move for both the Redskins and Dmac. For whatever reason Coach Gibbs and Dmac never saw eye to eye and it had nothing to do with Dmac being 6’5” and Gibbs being the size of an oompa loompa. And as I postulated last week the Eagles are looking to sign Dmac according to the nameless one over at ESPN. A smart move for the Eagles who would love a peek into our new playbook, and DMac could sing to TO and hold him tight during halftime.

Three other surprising cuts were Clifton Smith (MLB), our only pure mike linebacker, Billy Baber (TE), and Jared Newberry (LB) our 6th round draft pick. Many people, including this writer, thought Smith would seriously challenge Lemar Marshall for the middle spot. I am especially surprised because I predicted Smith as a starter and this is a hard pill for my ego to swallow, and probably harder for Smith. Smith showed up in OTAs and training camp but did not do much in pre-season games to warrant keeping him. Greg Williams also favors flexibility from his defensive players and the remaining linebackers can all play multiple positions with the exception of McCune.

Billy Baber started at TE on Friday night and played decently, however Robert Johnson got extensive playing time and played better then Baber. Jared Newberry never seemed to find a niche on defense and with the logger jam at LB he just did not do enough to keep his job, despite being a draft pick. I recently projected both Baber and Newberry to be practice squad candidates (although I originally had Newberry making the roster) but I doubt either will be back. Usually the first round of cuts are people you are not interested in for the practice squad. Why give teams that much time to steal a guy away from you? Most likely all those released will not be back, at least this year.

So before I go into the remaining position battles a few thoughts on last week’s game. This is the team that many Redskin fans had hoped to see a few weeks ago against Cincinnati. The first team defense played nearly flawless football and the first team offense ran the ball with dominance. Ramsey continued to improve, but had one horrible read on a blitz that resulted in a TD.

I am still a little worried about Ramsey, but less then last week. His deep balls are under thrown and there is no reason for it. We know that Ramsey has a canon for an arm, so either he is misjudging the speed of our receivers or he is trying to put too much touch on the ball. The interception could possibly be chalked up as a bad route by Thrash, and Ramsey responded nicely by driving the team down the field to get a TD to tie the score. But even the TD throw was a little off and Cooley had to jump in double coverage to bring it in when Sellers was wide open in the flat and would have easily scored.

And you can’t say enough about Rock Cartwright. Last year he limped onto the roster, this year he is fighting for a final spot and I think secured it last week. He showed not just straight ahead running ability but the ability to move and fake in open space on that TD run. Sure 4 running backs in a Gibbs team may be a luxury, but Rock is worth the expense.

The last pre-season game is upon us and the hardest cuts are yet to come. One or two guys we never thought would make the team will make the team. Of course that means one or two vets that we thought were shoe ins will be looking at the end of their Redskin career. Only time will tell and the final position battles that take place tonight will make the final difference in who stays and who goes.

Top Ten Position Battles

1.) Defensive Line: Ryan Boschetti vs. Nic Clemons for the 8th DL spot.. That is what this boils down to. A durable dependable defensive tackle vs. a defensive end that can rush the passer. Noble looked well last week, and if he is healthy Boschetti is in trouble. What it comes down to is whether they want to keep both Clemons and Boschetti or just Clemons. Boschetti still has practice squad eligibility, Clemons does not. But I believe Joe Gibbs when he says the best guy will make the cut. So in my mind it is a coin flip on who will win.

2.) Tight End: This position battle was busted wide open this week. Royals is injured and Sellers is making the case to be the starting TE. Baber got the start last week and was cut so the starting role is in Seller’s grasp. Robert Johnson is trying to make the case he deserves a roster spot. Last week he beat out Baber to survive the first cut. He is hoping Royal’s injury will convince the coaching staff to keep 5 Te/Hbacks instead of four. Plus the kid is huge, did I mention that?

3.) Running Back: I truly believe that both Rock and Nemo have played well enough to assure themselves roster spots along with Portis and Betts. However one mess up could send Rock home or Nemo to the practice squad. So this will definitely be a race to watch.

4.) Defensive back: Rogers is making a big case for opening day starter and Harris is not helping himself by being injured. Also Pierson Prioleau will try and make the case for starting at the 2nd safety with Bowen and Clark both out. But the real battle is for the last spot. The Redskins will probably keep 9 DBs. Battling for the 9th spot is Omar Stoutmire and Ade Jimoh. Stoutmire is helped by the injuries to Clark and Bowen, however most teams carry 5 CBs and Jimoh is a great special teamer. Rufus Brown and Shideeg Shabazz have outside chances but are not likely to make the final 53.

5.) Punter: Tupa is on Injured Reserve and done for the year. Andy Groom has been solid at punter, but Gibbs and company must be a little worried because they immediately signed veteran punter Chris Mohr. Groom’s problem is his age and he has not shown he can do any directional punting. But Mohr is looking shaky in practice according to reports. If Mohr shows he is fine Thursday, he will get the job. If not it will be a hard decision. Even if Groom is kept he is one bad day away from Gibbs bringing in a vet to “visit with” at camp.

6.) Offensive Line: Lennie Freidman played very well last Friday, and that is bad news for Mark Wilson. With both Wilson and Cory Raymer out Freidman not only played Center well but at times lined up as a TE in goal line situations. Wilson looks to be the one on the outside looking in. However Wilson is younger then both Raymer and Freidman, so a good outing could give him a shot at a spot. Otherwise he might get demoted to the PS.

7.) Wide Receiver: This is Dyson’s final shot. He is the only WR that will grab a roster spot beyond Moss, Patten, Brown, Jacobs, and Thrash. Dmac is out of the picture and it is time for Dyson to shine. Ironically anything he does may not matter. It is all about Jacob’s toe. I am sure the coaches will make a decision over the weekend whether or not Jacob’s toe warrants keeping a 6th WR or should they only keep the top 5. Watch for Dyson to try and step on Taylor’s toe sometime during the 3rd quarter.

8.) Middle Linebacker: The starting spot is done. Lemar Marshall is the starter. But who will be the main backup. McCune and Campbell are fighting for that honor. It looks to this writer both will win a roster spot, but if McCune plays too bad he might find himself on the Practice squad.

9.) Quarterback: Ok Ramsey looked better. But Brunell still wants to be the starter and is not done fighting for it. He knows that come the bye week if the Redskins are 0-2 and he had a perfect pre-season the Coach may call his name. Ramsey needs to show better decision making and recognizing the open man. And it would be nice to see more of Campbell this game, as we probably won’t see him again until next year. I am still looking for the reason we gave up so much for him. He should get an entire half to show us.

10.) Outside Linebacker: Lavar Arrington wants his starting spot back and Holdman wants to keep it. I doubt Lavar is going to start the season as a reserve though the way he looked last Friday. Holdman will be the first LB off the bench when we go into situational substitution, but you aren't paying Lavar to ride the pine. Jared Newberry is gone and it looks as if Chris Clemons will not have any competition at the reserve OLB spot.

Updated Projection

If the season ended today here are my projections on who would make the team. The Final 53 are the players who will make the final roster. The Practice Squad are rookies and/or one year vets who will initially be waived by the Redskins but then signed to the PS as additional depth. On the Bubble represents 5 veterans who can push their way onto the active roster. Players in italics and * are changes from my last prediction. Reasons for the changes are at the end.

QB’s (3) – Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell
RB’s (4) – Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Nehemiah Broughton, Rock Cartwright
WR’s (5) – Santana Moss, David Patten, Taylor Jacobs, James Thrash, Antonio Brown TE’s/H-backs (5) – Robert Royal, Chris Cooley, Mike Sellers, Manuel White, Robert Johnson *
OL (9) – Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Jon Jansen, Ray Brown, Jim Molinaro, Cory Raymer, Lennie Freidman *
DL (8) – Renaldo Wynn, Brandon Noble, Cornelius Griffin, Phillip Daniels, Joe Savale’a, Demetric Evans, Ron Warner, Nic Clemons*
LB’s (7) – Lavar Arrington, Marcus Washington, Warrick Holdman, Lemar Marshall, Robert McCune, Chris Clemons, Khary Campbell*
CB’s (4) – Shawn Springs, Walt Harris, Carlos Rodgers, Garnell Wilds
S’s (5) – Sean Taylor, Matt Bowen, Ryan Clark, Pierson Prioleau, Omar Stoutmire
LS (1) – Ethan Albright
K (1) – John Hall
P (1) – Chris Mohr*

Practice Squad (8): Zak Keasay (LB), Rufus Brown (CB), Jon Alston (OT), James Bethea (CB)*, Aki Jones (DT)*, Mark Wilson (OL)*, Rich Parsons (WR)*, Ryan Boschetti (DT)*

On the Bubble (5): Ade Jimoh (CB), Andy Groom (P), Kevin Dyson (WR)*, Brian Kozlowski (TE)*, Cedric Killings (DT)*

Reason for Changes:

Robert Johnson replaces Kevin Dyson on the Final 53. With Royal hurting a 3rd TE will need to be kept. With Billy Baber being cut, Johnson is the man. And what a man he is. At 6’6” he is raw but with a little coaching could eventually turn into a quality NFL TE. Dyson had a poor performance Friday and Jacobs is making decent progress with his toe. So he goes back on the bubble.

Lennie Friedman replaces Mark Wilson on the Final 53. Freidman looked decent on Friday against the Steelers while neither Raymer nor Wilson played. Word is Raymer has the backup C locked up. Freidman can also play TE in goal line situations as well as Guard and Center. Wilson has had technique and may need a year on then PS to re-learn his craft.

Nic Clemons replaces Ryan Boschetti on the Final 53. I keep going back and forth on this one and it continues to be a tough battle. Brandon Nobel looked decent and that is bad news for Boschetti. Boschetti has practice squad eligibility left and that is even worse news for Ryan. Clemons does not have any PS eligibility so he would be lost if cut. I think they opt for Clemons on the final 53 and Boschetti on the PS.

Khary Campbell is added to the final 53. Clifton Smith was cut and his roster spot goes to the forgotten MLB, Khary Campbell. GW loves guys who are versatile and Campbell can play all 3 LB positions. Khary played extremely well Friday manning the mike position the entire 2nd half. He will be reliable depth for a very deep unit.

Chris Mohr replaces Tom Tupa as Punter. Tupa’s back put him on IR ending his season. Odds are on Mohr winning the battle with the young Groom. Groom will be on the bubble though.

James Bethea, Aki Jones, and Rich Parsons make the practice squad. Operating on the presumption that the early cuts of Newberry, Howard, and Spinner means they will not be signed to the PS, these three players now have realistic shots at making the PS. Bethea was on the PS last year and is familiar with the GW system. Aki Jones takes Howard’s spot as the young DL guy with a ton of promise. Rich Parsons is the only WR eligible for the PS and you usually keep one young WR on there.

Brian Kozlowski is back On the Bubble along with Cedric Killings. How has Kozlowski survived the first round of cuts is somewhat a mystery to me. Why cut Billy Baber and not Koz? Koz must have pictures of Snyder and Cerrato in a compromising pose. Seriously the lack of depth at TE and the knowledge from playing in Gibbs system last year is keeping him around. Any other injury and he could make the roster. Killings is also hoping for an injury and an all time performance to get on the squad.

September 3rd, 2005 is the final cut date for the final 53. 8 lucky rookies and first year players will be signed to the Practice squad on September 5th, 2005. This Labor day weekend will be a long one for some NFL hopefuls as they ponder whether or not they will be working in the NFL or pursuing another line of work.

But realistically tonight against the Ravens is the last time for any of them to make themselves heard. Since the Ravens dominated during the scrimmage earlier this year our boys in B&G have to be looking for payback. Not to mention we want to remind Baltimore that this is Redskin country and always will be. Go Skins and for you rookies out there, this is your time to shine.