Predict The Final 53

[AntiSuperstar]

[DiehardBronxFan]

Broncos 2012 53 Man Roster
Givens:

Offense
QB: Manning, Osweiler
RB: McGahee, Hillman
WR: Decker, Thomas, Caldwell
TE: Dreessen, Tamme
OL: Clady, Beadles, Walton, Kuper, Franklin, Ramirez, Clark

16 Secure spots (barring injury)

Defense
DL: Dumervil, Bannan, Vickerson, Warren, Wolfe, Ayers
LB: Miller, Irving, Mays, Woodyard
CB: Bailey, Porter, Harris, Florence
Safety: Moore, Carter, Adams

17 Secure spots

Special Teams
K: Prater
P: Colquitt
LS: Paxton

3 Secure spots

Total – 36 of 53 spots are locked in barring injury. 17 spots have some level of “competition” to make the team.

Key Contenders by position, and my call:

OFFENSE:

QB: Hanie, Weber. I don’t believe either will make the final 53. Only reason to keep Hanie is if he is your number 2, but he has shown nothing to suggest he can do that (whether it be last year or in camp). No use using a spot on Weber with PS eligibility.
My Call: Broncos keep 2 (or, add a FA).

RB: Ball, Moreno, Johnson, Oman. Toughest position to call. All offer something, all have drawbacks. Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Broncos try to trade Moreno for a late round pick or some veteran depth at OL or LB. Fox will want Ball as a “proven commodity”. Oman and JJ battle it out for the final spot. Oman is hungrier and grabs it during the final preseason games (making Moreno expendable).
My Call: Moreno is traded, Ball and Oman make the final 53.

FB: Gronkowski, Sylvester. Easy choice is Gronkowski – clearly running ahead of Sylvester all through camp. But I just can’t bring myself to go that direction – he’s useless – always has been. Don’t know enough about Sylvester to justify this pick, but he HAS to be better than Gronk, doesn’t he?
My Call: Sylvester makes the final 53.

OL: Blake, Davis, Harris: Oddly, Blake is probably the least prepared to contribute, but the most likely to be picked up if let go. Big question is whether the Broncos try to Gamble and sneak him on the PS. Biggest need is OT (as Beadles, Walton, Kuper, Franklin, and Martinez give you versatility along the middle). And, most important thing for this line is to keep Manning on his feet.
My Call: Harris makes the final 53.

TE: Green, Thomas, Ingram. Green will make this team, but not opening day. Question is whether the Broncos keep 3 or 4 TE for opening day. Clark gives them versatility as an extra blocking TE. Thomas’s upside has to make Manning and Elway salivate, and its not like he hasn’t flashed, when not injured.
My Call: Thomas makes the final 53.

WR: Stokely, Willis, Hill, Robinson, Orton, Dell. Stokely is a virtual lock, although I wish it wasn’t so. I love him, but we are going to be sacrificing somebody that can contribute on Special Teams and be part of the organization in years to come for one last hurrah from Stokes. Hopefully he catches a tipped ball for a last minute, game winning touchdown to justify keeping him
My Call: Stokely, Willis, and Hill make the final 53

Total on Offense: 24:

DEFENSE:

DL: Beal, Unrein, Siliga, Jackson. Another tough position to call. Not sure whether Unrein, Siliga have PS eligibility. With Hunter down, we are thin at DE. It scares me that we are one play away from having Beal as our starting rush end. Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the Broncos bring in a veteran DE at cut-down. Think Beal and Siliga go back to PS.
My Call: Unrein, Jackson, and a Vet DE make the final 53

LB: Brooking, Trevathan, Mohamed, Franklin, Johnson. Our weakest position, IMO. Trevathan has been impressive and seems a virtual lock at WLB. Franklin shows promise, but too raw. Brooking was done last year, but I really think Fox is looking for someone he can trust behind the kids. Mohamed is back-up MLB by default. Another position where we may try to find a vet at cut-down.
My Call: Trevathan and Mohamed make the final 53.

CB: Bolden, Thompson, Jones. Key question here is how CB’s they decide to keep. Elway is planning on Manning putting up points – and thus will want the depth at CB. Plus, Thompson is their best PR.
My Call: Bolden and Thompson make the final 53.

Safety: Leonard, Bush, Bruton. I may be one of the few that think Bruton is a serviceable back-up safety. Combined with his solid contribution on PS, would like to see him stay. But don’t think Leonard was brought in to get cut, and don’t see them keeping 11 DB’s.
My Call: Bruton makes the final 53! (made this call right after Bruton blocked the punt)

Total on Defense: 26

[bobdevine]

[broncosfan07]

Won't be shocked if Ryan Harris gets cut and never plays another down.
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[paul-mac]

QB: Manning, Osweiler
RB: McGahee, Ball, Hillman
FB: Gronkowski
WR: Thomas, Decker, Stokley, Caldwell, Willis
TE: Dreessen, Tamme
OL: Clady, Beadles, Walton, Kuper, Franklin, Clark, Ramirez, Blake

DE: Doom, Wolfe, Ayers
DT: Warren, Vickerson, Unrein, Bannan
LB: Woodyard, Trevathan, Irving, Miller, Mays
CB: Bailey, Porter, Harris, Florence, Bolden
S: Carter, Adams, Moore

There's a base 41 which leaves 9 spaces for final picks

Caleb Hanie looks to be the 2nd QB


I think we keep 4 RB's. Moreno v Johnson v Omon on Thursday night. 2 down.


Will we keep 3 tight ends? Could Ryan Harris, Tony Hills or CJ Davis sneak in as a 9th OL maybe? I'm saying we go 2 TE's and 10 OL with Harris and Davis on the 53. So that's a 25 man offense.

Will Beal make the team? I think yes.


6th linebacker Mohammed, Brooking or Johnson? I reckon Brooking.

Dave Bruton and Leonard both make the team IMO mainly for special teams.


And finally, Syd'Quan for return duties.
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[bobdevine]

QB (3): Manning, Osweiler, Hanie
RB (4): McGahee, Hillman, Ball, Moreno
FB (0):
WR (6): Thomas, Decker, Stokley, Caldwell, Willis, Hill
TE (3): Dreessen, Tamme, Ingram
G/C (5): Kuper, Beadles, Walton, Ramirez, Blake
OT (3): Clady, Franklin, Clark
OFFENSE: 24

DE (5): Dumervil, Wolfe, Ayers, Beal, Jackson
DT (4): Warren, Vickerson, Bannan, Unrein
LB (7): Mays, Miller, Irving, Woodyard, Trevathan, Johnson, Brooking
CB (5): Bailey, Porter, Florence, Harris, Bolden
S (5): Adams, Carter, Moore, Leonhard, Bruton
DEFENSE: 26

SPECIAL (3): Prater, Colquitt, Brewer

I went back&forth on whether the team would only keep 2 QBs but Hanie will be useful for practices. Osweiler isn't experienced enough for that even though he might sub for Manning in real games.

Zero FBs? Yeah, I think a TE (maybe Ingram) can do the blocking on run plays, even though that's not ideal, the need for OL is greater than keeping a roster spot for a pure FB.

I wouldn't be surprised if a new CB is grabbed from the cut list to replace Florence. And maybe a good backup OL can be found.

[AntiSuperstar]

[AKRNA]

Personally I think there are several players, maybe 5 or more, that make the 53 that are on other teams right now.

With what I saw last week, it shouldn't be too tough to upgrade our depth off the waiver wire.

[lomaxgr]

Ok, so here is my guess ...

QB - Manning, Hanie, Osweiler (3)
RB - McGahee, Moreno, Hillman, Ball (4)
FB - Gronkowski (1)
TE - Dreesen, Tamme, Thomas (3)
WR - Decker, Thomas, Stokley, Caldwell, Willis (5)
OT - Clady, Franklin, Clark (3)
OG/C - Beadles, Kuper, Walton, Ramirez, Blake (5)

(24 players)

DE - Dumervil, Beal, Ayers, Jackson (4)
DT - Warren, Bannan, Vickerson, Unrein, Wolfe (5)
LB - Woodyard, Mays, Miller, Trevathan, Irving, Johnson (6)
CB - Bailey, Porter, Harris, Florence, Bolden, Tony Carter (6)
S - Adams, Moore, Leonhard, Bruton, Quentin Carter (5)

(26 players)

LS - Brewer
K - Prater
P - Colquitt

(3 players)

Suspended: DJ Williams, Virgil Green

Practice Squad: Garland (DT), Blatnick (DE), Orton (WR), Ingram (TE), Weber (QB), Robinson (WR), Siliga (DT), Tribue (OG)

So, there it is. The highlights are firstly that we carry 11 DB's. I just think with the way the league is right now, and the opponents we face whilst DJ is suspended, we end up keeping Tony Carter who I think has done a good job in coverage this preseason. He isn't big, but he is always around his man in coverage which is a good sign in my opinion. I could certainly envisage this not happening, but it is just an inclination of mine.

Jeremiah Johnson is probably the toughest cut of all. He flashed his burst of speed again yesterday, but I just think that Knowshon Moreno did enough last night to keep his roster spot. I have no doubt JJ will latch on somewhere else very quickly on Friday night/Saturday morning.

As for the PS - we may find a way to get Ihenacho on there, but with us carrying 5 Safeties on the active roster I just thought there wasn't enough room for him.
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20 TIMES, 20 TIMES MAN UNITTTTTEEDDD

From the banks of the River Irwell, to the shores of Sicily

[JerseysFinest27]

[paul-mac]

My last shot


Manning, Hanie, Osweiler
McGahee, Ball, Hillman, Moreno
Gronkowski
Thomas, Decker, Stokley, Caldwell, Willis
Dreessen, Tamme
Clady, Beadles, Walton, Kuper, Franklin, Clark, Harris, Blake, Ramirez
(24)

Dumervil, Wolfe, Jackson, Ayers, Beal
Warren, Bannan, Vickerson, Unrein
Woodyard, Mays, Miller, Irving, Trevathan, Johnson, Brooking
Bailey, Porter, Harris, Florence, Bolden
Adams, Carter, Moore, Leonhard, Bruton
(26)

Prater, Colquitt, Brewer
(3)

Reserve/Suspended
Williams
Green


IR
Fannin
Hunter

PS
Weber
PICKUP RB
Robinson
Orton
Siliga
Blatick
Franklin
Ihenacho
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[DiehardBronxFan]

[DiehardBronxFan]

[jsthomp2007]

I didn't get to see the game last night, but it looked like Moreno is playing with a bit more gumption. That is a good sign, I think.
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Ninja stealth muggers in the Bellagio has left me in a state of congitive disonance...

[paul-mac]

Beal to IR apparently.
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