CB and G; most intriguing battles of the offseason.

 

I have no idea who can win the 2nd corner job..will have to study preseason games..not a lot of confidence..

If Ifo is truly healthy than he should win the job.

 

Nah, keep him in the slot, he's 5'9" right? He'll be a nice tag team with Bobby McCain ala Satan's Cavemen from Nacho Libre...

 

You can't teach a guy to be 6'2". I'd like to see Lippett as a contributor. Still think he could be a part-time player on both sides of the ball though. He was not a bad receiver at MSU.

 

he had some really great stats at MSU

 

I would say though, that unless he's got one of those positions on lock down, he should focus on just one.

 

I'm looking at it from a contributory place. I'm not sure if Lippett ever becomes a starting NFL DB, so in the meantime, he has to show some value on the field.

 

Do you think he could contribute or even break into the lineup with what we already have at WR, though?

 

We have one proven NFL WR (Landry), a guy who flashed some real talent but is still unproven (Parker), a guy who is limited in what he can do (Stills), and until we see them play, a bunch of JAGs (including rookies here). The top 3 is settled, but Stills is likely a part-time player considering the nature of the routes he runs best. There's room for someone to spell Stills as well as someone to take that 4th spot in 4WR packages. You want your third round pick to contribute, and I'm sure they'll make sure Carroo gets the chance, but I still believe there's room for Lippett if given the opportunity.

 

IF Ifo is healthy, he was the better corner coming out than Howard..its a huge if..Ifo is learning how to run and cut again with confidence, Howard should have the advantage..

 

I want him a corner for sure. Just surprised he was not drafted as a WR.

 

Ifo is probably the biggest "wait and see guy." He was highly regarded coming out of college, but he may never be that guy again. The Browns didn't even wait around to see what he was in the preseason. This is really concerning since they used a draft pick on him, and he has an extremely cheap salary. When we claimed him, my thoughts were that we would do a medical check on him, and if our doctors did not think he would ever fully recover, we would release him. My assumption is that our medical team thinks that he could be an NFL caliber corner at this moment. This could mean anything from a starter to a guy fighting for the last spot on the roster.

It is so hard to read the tea leaves on this situation. I would consider anything we get out of him as a bonus at this moment.

 

On the topic of Lippett moonlighting as a WR, I think that is next to impossible. Our WR situation is overcrowded at the current moment.

Landry, Parker, Stills, Carroo, Grant, Hazel - I really think that Stills, Carroo, Grant, and Hazel are gonna be fighting to get touches/on the field. Lippett would find himself at the bottom of this list. He would possibly be better than Grant in certain situations. But here is the real reason why Lippett will not play receiver. He does not have a unique skill set that our other receivers do not have. If you are looking for speed, you probably want Stills or Grant. If you want a big target, you are looking at Parker. If you need hands, there is none better in the league than Landry (Carroo and Parker are pretty solid too).

 

I think the diversity at receiver will give secondary coaches better insight as to who's good at covering who.

For instance, it's good to know that Byron Maxwell can run stride for stride with Stills (from ota tweets earlier today)