Chopping Block: 10 Things We Know Now After NY Jets

Ok boys and girls here we go with another incredible edition of the 10 Things we know now.

10) Brett Favre is still pretty good. Well why not start off the column with a little love for the media Darling. Still under tremendous pressure and less than two weeks of pressure Favre steps in and wings it around like he did late last season. Nice to see the old timer land on his feet….and not in the NFC.

9) Vernon Fox can’t tackle. Coaches like this guy because he can understands the mental aspect of both Safety positions, too bad he can’t play either of them. He missed three tackles on that closing drive that put the Jets in position to try and tie it. (On a side note WTH was Mangini thinking? I thought at least he tries the fake FG). Fox is clearly in trouble of not making the squad with Moore and Horton showing that at the very least they are not afraid to knock someone down and Landry returning from injury.

8 ) Carlos Rogers & Rocky McIntosh needs more time to get in game shape. On the opening drive Rogers was burned badly on one play and never anywhere on a few others. This is to be expected as he has missed so much live game time and practice will not make up for that. Rocky is also recovering from a long layoff & looked slow in pass coverage. Both should get up to game speed by opening day, but if a surprise weak side linebacker comes up on the waiver wire they are going to look long and hard at him.

7) You too Devin Thomas. No excuse here. The rookie is plain out of shape and not concentrating at times. I am not going to pound on him too much yet. He is learning this is the NFL, no more excuses. At least he is on the field (ahem ahem Mr. Kelly).

6) Durant Brooks can flat out punt. So this is what it is like having a professional punter. The kicks are long and deep and under control. Brooks may have just sealed the deal and if Frost makes it past the first cut then someone has pictures on someone.

5) Rock Cartwright can run the ball. All of Rock’s detractors can now shut up. Rock showed why he has been able to stick with the Redskins since 2001. And guess what, he will be here this year as well. Never count Rock out, the moment you do he will run a 73 yard counter on you.

4) Marcus Mason is going to keep pushing him. I have long been an activist for keeping 4 running backs and Mason is showing us why we need to do just that. He is tough and gives us added insurance, especially with Betts getting dinged up. Keeping 4 RBs in today’s NFL is becoming the norm, not the exception.

3) Chris Horton needs time with the big boys. Can we please see whether the dreaded one can mean anything more than hair? Reed Doughty just plain looks awful in coverage out there. Time to see if Horton can step it up at Strong Safety. He looks great against other 2nd stringers; let’s see if he rises to the challenge.

2) Justin Tryon is terrible. Do I really need to say anything more? He was a reach in the 4th round and is in danger of losing his spot to a UFA. He better step it up next week or he could find out life in the NFL is fleeting at best.

1) This just in, Colt Brennan lives for game day. I am not going to wax poetic about the Hawaiian Kid, but he has yet to look horrible in an NFL game. Now some of those throws he makes against big boy defenses and he is in trouble, but the guy just keep[s digging in and finding a way to win. Twice he has lead come from behind drives. We can find room for guys like this on the squad.

Roster Guess

QB (3) Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Colt Brennan

RB (4) Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Marcus Mason

FB/TE (4) Chris Cooley, Mike Sellers, Fred Davis Todd Yoder

WR (5) Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle-El. James thrash, Malcom Kelly, Devin Thomas,

OL (9) Chris Samuels, Pete Kendall, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Jon Jansen, Stephon Heyer, Chad Rinehart, Andrew Crumney, Jason Fabini

DL (9) Jason Taylor, Kedric Golston, Cornellius Griffen, Andre Carter, Erasmus James, Demetric Evans, Anthony Montgomery, Lorenzo Alexander, Chris Wilson

LB (7) Rocky McIntosh, London Fletcher, Marcus Washington, Khary Campbell, HB Blades, Matt Sinclair, Alfred Fincher

CB (5) Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot, Carlos Rogers, Leigh Torrence, JT Tryon

S (4) Laron Landry, Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore, Chris Horton

Spec (3): Ethan Albright (LS), Sean Suisham (K), Durant Brooks (P)

Practice Squad (8) Justin Hamilton (S), Jason Goode (TE), Maurice Mann (WR), Tavares Washington (OL), Justin Geisinger (OL), Curtis Gatewood (LB), Matteral Richardson (CB), Rob Jackson (DE)

What’s changed: Neither Mix or McMullen are making their case for a 6th WR. With Mann available at the PS and Cooley able to go wide, Chris Wilson, who finally had some nice pressures, gets back on the roster. Also Justin Hamilton joins the PS as Derek Devine just looks horrible and there is no reason to carry him on the PS with Brennan doing well enough to make the roster.

Next game is the last game before first cuts. Some vets like Todd Wade and Vernon Fox better be wary of that first cut date because if the team has decided to move on from these vets they may part ways early to give the young guys more reps to get ready for the regular season.

That is it for now. As always Hail to the Redskins!!!