Know what? Saturday Night Live usually has my respect, but that's pretty much a rip-off of the concept by The Onion a few years ago: [video=youtube;Rw8gE3lnpLQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw8gE3lnpLQ[/video]
It seems unlikely that the 49ers will keep LT Luke Marquardt on the 53. They will probably try to keep him on the PS. He has potential and might be worth keeping on the bottom of the roster if he ever gets healthy.
The option that is probably more realistic than Matt Tobin is Michael Bamiro. Tobin's unexpected success may spell doom for Bamiro's chances of making the roster. Have to remember that when Bamiro signed wih Philly, it came out that Miami made a late push and it came down to Miami and Philly.
Devin Taylor is a pipedream. No chance. I was hoping Miami targeted Fauria in the draft or as an UDFA, so I'd be interested. With the exception of elite speed and blocking, he has the tools to be a highly successful receiving TE. Especially down in the redzone. In some ways, I was surprised NE didn't try and snatch him up. I thought he would make a good backup for Gronk. A Gronk/Fauria combination in the redzone would hell for defenses. Anyway, I like JF a lot. Big, athletic and fluid, good hands, and strong ball skills. He knows how to use his size to fight and box out defenders. No problems with catching in traffic. I'm not sure he'll ever evolve into a true #1, but he is a great project player. And he can be a valuable tool. I could easily seeing him catching 20 passes and having 6-8 TD's. If he hangs around in Detroit, I don't doubt that possibility. What are the odds, Miami would be interested though? With Michael Egnew, I have to imagine the dolphins are at full capacity with project TE's in need of development. Considering blocking isn't his strong suit, I just can't see him getting picked up by us. Did you ever hear if Miami had any interest?
This situation also seems ripe for a player/player swap, someone (defensive line, maybe) that is good but behind a lot of players for someone (offensive line) in a similar situation elsewhere. I also think there will be a long look at veteran players after week one, though iirc Denver and Baltimore will get first look at that list by virtue of the Thursday night game.
Just a shot in the dark here, but Reid Fragel of the Bengals might be worth a shout. It'll be interesting to see what happens to him as Andrew Whitworth still hasn't practiced, though the team anticipates him being ready for week 1. Anthony Collins is the backup left tackle and for whatever reason, Dennis Roland (6'9" 315lbs) has stuck with the team the past few years. They've even used him as a blocking TE specialist from time-to-time. I'm not sure if Fragel unseats Roland at this point in time, and I believe Boomer mentioned Miami was interested in Fragel back in the Draft.
Marc Mariani I think is an even better return specialist than Marcus Thigpen. He took a serious injury last year but he already looks fine this year. Like Thigpen, every time they try and get him more involved in the offense, it has a way of getting put back on the shelf. Kevin Walter is more like a Brian Hartline than a Wes Welker. Walter is more of an outside perimeter receiver. Not a speed demon, but can make plays deep like Hartline. Decent route runner. The kind of guy you're glad to have around if there's an injury.
Fragel might be worth a look but I tend to doubt they cut him. I would really keep an eye on this Philadelphia situation because at some point they could get fed up with trying to be patient with Jason Peters, move Lane Johnson over to left tackle, go with Matt Tobin as his backup, throw Todd Herremans in at right tackle where he played really well last year, and continue with Danny Watkins at right guard. That whole situation is very fluid and between Michael Bamiro, Matt Tobin and Jason Peters I would think Miami could have interest in any of the three.
Pats releasing Michael Jenkins. That means a lot of snaps to perimeter guys who have never played in the League before (Dobson, Boyce, Thompkins). Glad we're not in that position, tbh.
What it means is that the young guys are coming along better than they hoped and that's not necessarily a good thing. Particularly, while I'm still skeptical about Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins has been blowing them away and getting him as a UDFA is like finding ten bucks in your jeans that you didn't know about. I never really looked at Thompkins. I probably should have. I think Mark Harrison could make some noise when he gets healthy but the Patriots are infamous for keeping guys on PUP and IR for as long as possible as a way of keeping them associated with the team and redshirting them so that they don't have to count on the 53 man roster.
Why trade for him when he'll likely just get released anyway. And they'll be swallowing that money either way.
Didn't Rainey just get into some fresh trouble this off season? I could swear I could remember thinking about him at some point this off season and thinking, holy cow I'm glad he's not on our team.
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/8/2/4583548/Steelers-free-agent-Chris-Rainey He doesn't think so but there was a domestic violence charge against him BTW, while in HS he lived with the Pounceys. Given the tempest in a teapot that was the "Free Hernandez" hat piece, I'm not sure if that could be perceived as a benefit or not??? Pittsburg is not touching him? Would he be an upgrade over Thigpen?
At this point you could make an argument that there isn't anyone that would be an upgrade over Thigpen just by virtue of the volatility that comes with being a return man that isn't named Devin Hester, and the fact that Thigpen has been here working in our systems while these other guys haven't. Although I think very highly of Marc Mariani.
The Antwan Applewhite signing kind of does open up the flood gates for discussing potential pass rushers that could be claimed off waivers. Guys that are doing well THUS FAR as pass rushers included Adewale Ojomo, Louis Nzegwu and Jake Bequette...and you never know if one of them doesn't make it.
If Samuda ends up being the starting RG for the Dolphins, they should be looking at adding a QB to the roster. Because with Samuda at RG and Martin at LT, the Dolphin QB's are going to have a hard time staying healthy.
I would **** if we got Fragel. He can move. Great fit. I wanted him in the draft and somewhat expected us to take him. Why would he be cut? Is he performing badly in camp?
I saw Walter as a sure handed short area guy whose cutting ability got him open. We thinking of the same dude?
Funny because I don't remember seeing most of Walters success on deep routes, but more on routes where he had to plant and cut short and short-intermediate. Maybe I didnt watch the guy enough. Or maybe Madden biased me. Lol.
I'm surprised the Dolphins don't consider signing Geoff Hangartner, unless there are medical concerns. He has the TAMU connection, and been a pretty solid interior swingman over his career. He started the entire season at RG in 2011 and had like a plus 5.6 rating from PFF. Last year he filled in at center when Kalil was hurt. I think he fits the zone scheme, and given the uncertainty at RG, you could do worse than having Hangartner, if he's healthy.
yeah, b/c of a potentially false accusation that he slapped his girlfriend upon yanking her out of a car after she swiped his cell phone. There seems like a different version though, plus his girlfriend wanted the charges dropped and they're still a couple.
Only watched one drive so far but Tobin just got abused by #50 on the Panthers. Looks like that's it for him. He came out when Dennis Dixon got pulled.
What's interesting about that is Louis Nzegwu was another guy that I just mentioned earlier as a standout from Preseason Week 1 as a pass rusher. And if that name sounds familiar, it's because the Dolphins signed him to the practice squad very briefly in 2012 when they promoted Josh Kaddu. So the Dolphins may take a look at him.
Watched the Eagles-Panthers game. 1. On LT Matt Tobin. I like him even more. The only time he came even close to being beaten on a pass protection was the play where Louis Nzegwu beat him to the inside and hit Dennis Dixon on the blind side, forced a fumble. That play happened for a reason. The quarterback and center made a late protection change at the line by switching their designation of the Mike linebacker (there were only two linebackers on the field on this play). Tobin appeared not to get the change. The line blocked right, and Tobin kicked out left not knowing that his inside shoulder was so exposed with a huge gap between himself and the left guard. Tobin made a nice coordinated play by catching the football while it was still in the air off the fumble, preventing the turnover. The interesting thing to me is this was not only the first and only time in the game Tobin got beaten in pass pro, it was the only time he came even close to being beaten. And it was a missed call, not just a guy beating him with straight up ability. That has me intrigued as heck. I'd like to see this guy get a call-up to blocking some of the better players in the league although I would note he HANDLED Jake Bequette, whereas against other players last week (mainly Nic Purcell) Bequette actually tallied 5 QB Hurries. And like I said he also handled Justin Francis, who beat our own Jon Martin once or twice a year ago. 2. On the Eagles offense. I'm jealous. It's going to be a good time to be an Eagles fan. I love Chip Kelly as a head coach in the NFL. Love him. This is going to be exciting. I've always said that I have no idea why everyone is *****footing around about who the QB will be. It's going to be Mike Vick. It was always going to be Mike Vick. But the offense looked good with Nick Foles running it too, even though he made a critical mistake on the goal line. Get your popcorn, because this offense is creative, smart, and BLAZING FAST. I hit my Skip 10 Seconds button one time after the play is over, and the offense is already lined up for the next play. That's how fast it is. The NFL officials are having trouble keeping up with the down and distance markers. When the Eagles went to hire a head coach, they didn't make any safe calls. They dared for greatness. And I wouldn't be surprised if they found it. 3. LeSean McCoy. Matrix. He had a run with a little under 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter that was straight up Neo from the Matrix. I've heard it compared to watching Bo Jackson in Tecmo Super Bowl. It was close to that. Sick. This guy is going to be SICK, if he stays healthy. Draft him in your fantasy leagues. Sick. Perfect for this offense and the way it's run it gets him all kinds of creases and the kinds of looks that let him thrive. Sick sick sick. 4. On Brandon Graham. I still love this guy. I think he's not as high on the depth chart as I'd expect him to be, but he's so hard to block. He's so god damn powerful and fast. He's a bowling ball coming off the line, but more like a cannon ball because you just can't stop his momentum or re-direct him. He slides right off your attempts to stop his momentum, while keeping his shoulders square. It's a nice trait. He uses his hands well even though he's got short arms. He uses his upper body to push people. He makes plays in both phases. Very difficult player to handle. 5. On Carolina's Offense. It didn't look pretty, but you could tell they have pieces in place that will be a handful once the regular season begins. Cam Newton can whip that ball anywhere on the field and Steve Smith is still very much Steve Smith. I liked watching David Gettis get back into the flow, later in the game. He looked like he's really got his burst and control back...so he's an interesting player to keep an eye on. It looks to me like DeAngelo Williams is going to be the guy at running back this year. But who knows. 6. Other players. I mentioned DE Louis Nzegwu as a guy to keep an eye on for them as a pass rusher possibly being cut. That's still a possibility. DE Mario Addison looked pretty impressive to me though and he also had a great game last week. But he looks 2nd string right now which means he probably has a spot on roster. The Eagles better not try and get cute with LB Jake Knott, who had been one of my favorite college linebackers for multiple years. But I don't think they will. They gave him the whole 2nd half and the commentators said they gush about him. He's making the team. That sucks because he was good.
Fernando Velasco. Yes Fernando Velasco. Don't ask me why but he's an after thought in Tennesee. They've demoted him from Center and have moved him to 2nd line Guard. They drafted Schwenke in the 4th and brought in a FA in an attempt to move him. He rated pretty damn highly in PFF that I would personally get on the phone and offer them a 5th. Barring injury they got him as a backup at best.
I keep hearing things about Felix Jones's roster spot being in jeopardy, i know he's had injury and ball security issues in the past but he's an explosive runner who can do some special things. He also was an extremely good kick returner in college in the event we don't keep Thigpen.
I've heard that the reason he's in jeopardy over there is because he's been purely disappointing. They had high hopes for him in Chip Kelly's offense because of his explosiveness, they thought he'd be perfect for it. But the word is, and they actually talked about this during the game some, they're a little confused that he looks like he has no spring in his step anymore. He's faced some injury issues in Dallas and they used to love him over there, so it could be they let him go because they thought he was used up. Fernando Velasco is a good name. I'll keep an eye out.
I watched Brandon graham in that game, and while still explosive, it's obvious now that this is a player that doesn't train hard in the offseason, in college I saw a video of his in training that I overlooked because I loved his game, balance, strength, and explosive cod for a squatty man, but I saw in the video how much he disliked working out very hard, and imo it's showing up now..
I just don't get it. If he plays Guard half as well as he played Center...he's an auto upgrade at RG. The Titans seem very serious about overhauling that line. I'll have to look around Titan boards to find out wtf. Hell my cousin's husband is a Titans fan....I'll ask over there ;p
man you make me think here, i was already on the vick bandwagon fantasy wise thise year, but wasn´t all that impressed with McCoy but that´s basically because of last year edit: i just looked at McCoy´s run..holy smoke i hurt my knees and ankles just watching that
Quote from a Titans board: "I went into the preseason expecting Velasco to be our starter this season. Velasco has been solid his entire career, but apparently he has fallen to the point that Rob Turner might take over his job." o.O. "Heres how the depth chart should look by week-1 Turner-Schwenke-Velasco" o.O. Weird turn of events. I couldn't even get the GML Titans owner to even consider trading Velasco ;p
I'd keep an eye on an OT that you mentioned a while back, Xavier Nixon, and see if the Redskins let him go.
I think the waiver wire and the trade talk might get a little more active for Miami now. Very poor showing by backup linemen, and the potential loss of Keller, should increase Ireland's focus in the next couple of weeks.
We really have NO depth at any unit except the DL. We need to sign a host of players after cut downs, other teams cast-offs are better than most of our backups.
That's what Adam Beasley tweeted. I don't agree. I think this means Clay plays more TE, likely the same role Keller had, and ERod takes over the role Clay was playing, as a combo FB/TE/H-Back.
