So what are are our camp battles for the year?
 

backup QB
backup RB
dt
ncb
a lot of special teamers

what else?

qb

We need a lot of help at corner.

ROLB - Fox v. Bell
LDE - Hicks v. Hali
Both DTs - all of them v. all of them
Nickle CB - Walls v. Sapp
SS (?) - Wesley v. Pollard (doubtful)

RT - Sampson v. Turley
FB - ? v. ?
Back-up RB - Brown v. Spudd Webb..err, that small kid from Denver
#3 and #4 WR - Hall v. Crapho v. ?
Back-up QB - Huard v. Croyle. v. Canadian metro-sexual

Nickelback will be an interesting battle, and it'll be interesting to see Hicks and Hali at LDE.

Any competition at fullback, or will it belong to Cruz?

I'd say Walls/Battle may have to fend off a "challenge" from a guy named Ty Law....don't know if Ty is up to the task though. ;)

yeah fb will be one for sure, but i bet we see a mix of both cruz and wilson, unless one just blows away the competition but thats doubtful.

Yeah, I envision Wilson competing for the role if they decide to use the FB like Washington does Cooley...:hmmm:

Yup....

Bell, hopefully, is healthy and forces Fox to the bench.
Hali, hopefully, tough out of the gates....does the same to Hicks.
Sims, Edwards likely to emerge.
Walls....with Sapp/Battle/Hodge as the "dime"
SS -Knight vs. Pollard, FS? - Wesley vs. Pollard?

RT - Black may surprise, but I'm guessing Turley
FB - Cruz, or Wilson
Back-up TB - Brown vs. Griffin; I'll go Brown
Back-up QB - I'm hoping Printers and Croyle make the squad.

I may be the only one here, but I'm a fan of Battle. The few times I saw him in action, he actually looked very good in coverage. The only problem he had is that he's not used to the rules that say that WRs wear dresses. In the 60s, when teams were allowed to play defense, Battle would've been awesome. I'm hoping that he can fix that little problem and be a good player for us.

Only one, Julian.

(I couldn't help my self. Sorry. HEY LOOK IT'S TY LAW!!!)

He had a great TC last year, prior to the injury. I think Hodge or Sapp may actually lose a job....and Perkins too. I think they can all play in the NFL. If Walls and Battle make the squad, as I expect them to...that may only leave room for one more.

Maybe we can still sneak Hodge or Perkins onto the "practice squad" though.

I want Hali to win it, but I'm still so pissed at Bell for last year that I hope Fox gets it.

The Bell who won rookie of the year would be awesome, but I don't think he exists any more.

I have no clue, or much enthusiasm, for any of our DTs. Though Sims seems the most likely starter. I also hope we cut Huard. Look to the future.

Personally I think Sapp struggles to make the roster.......I think this staff is going to view a guy like Hodge above him.

Youth and athleticism, I agree. Especially if you've got a guy of Wall's caliber, at "nickle."

Simms might lose his starting job if does not get his lazy fatazz in shape. No free pass this year.

Edwards and Dalton, maybe... but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Other than that, who? :hmmm:

since everyone else is givin their personal flavor, i might as well give mine!


qb: printers #2, Croyle #3. Later huard.


rb: I would like to think either dee or Q could run feverishly behind our O-Line. However I also hope LJ has a monster healthy year, and even that we see Priest back on the field and if not this year then next. Let's pay the man for all he's done for us.

fb: I would like to see Kris Wilson step up and play well. validate your 2nd rd status. I also want to see Ronnie Cruz able to come in and play the position. I would like to see both these guys on the field playing well this season.

wr: I want to see Samie Parker step up on every down and beat some good corners. I hope he turns into a solid receiver. I also would like to see some promise out of Crap & Webb. These guys don't have any real outside competition, do they? If so, been a long time since we've gone to River Falls and not had a wide receiver battle on our hands.

de: i want Hali to make our new coaching staff sit Hicks ass on the bench. I think Hicks can still play the run well at DE, but we need someone opposite Allen that can get to the QB.

dt: i like the depth and competition, and here I'm just going to say let the best 4 win. At this point I might lean Browning, Sims, Edwards (w/o seeing much of him) and the one of the remaining that steps up and earns their worth. Maybe Dalton. Up for grabs.

olb: I liked what I saw of key at RF and in the preseason. I'm excited we'll get to see the 3-4 once again, as I think Bell might be better suited playin ILB as opposed to trying to contain the outside. I'd like to see Key Fox playing up to where he was pre-injury and improve from there.

The remaining I really only want to see on ST, so let the better men win. Sorry Rich Scanlon :(

ncb: I think of Battle kinda like I do Fox. I think those two would have made our D a lot better last year. Had Battle not got hurt, at least we would have seen from him what might have been. And maybe when EW came back then we wouldnt have had to see nearly as much of McCleon. I would like to see Battle eventually win this position, but I'm not sure he's where he was before the injury. If not, then I don't mind seeing Lenny Walls or maybe one of the younger guys even step up. I'll admit I'm not as optimistic about Sapp as some others seem to be. I'm just not sure he has enough size to really play the position well. See McCleon. Sapp does do some other things well though, so who knows.

s: i would like pollard to play well enough to make either knight or welsey see more of the bench.

i also like the fact we have no special teams battles to worry about. Let them practice on their own while Herm and crew focus on other aspects :thumb:

Freeman is back. And if anyone pisses him off he gets it. :$2500:

Eh, he got cut a few weeks back.

Is everybody sold with Wesley at Free Safety? Is there any chance that, wait for it, *gasp* Bartee makes a push for the starting spot at free safety?

I think Battle moving back there is more likely.....unless they think Pollard has the Cover skills, with Law and Surtain in front of him....:hmmm:

Did he hit someone with his helmet? :hmmm: ROFL

Marcus Maxey has a safety build if you're looking at guys who could move.......

Only problem at DT is this, Sims is still the most talented guy and Ron Edwards can't start. His most productive year in Buffalo were as a rotation guy coming off the bench. When they thought he could start and went with that he was crap. Edwards for his size doesn't defend the run well, he gets penetration and rushes the passer. He's much more of a situational player than a starter.

As long as Battle gets his wheels back from that Achilles injury, I'd be good with that. Hell, I'd PREFER that, since that's his natural position.

I just never have liked the thought of Wesley at free safety. I was never convinced he had the speed for it. Hopefully, Battle, Bartee, and/or Maxey can push Wesley a bit this year.

That statement sums up ALL of our d-tackles. They're all situational players at best, including Sims.

I'd be really A-okay with this secondary:

CBs - Law, Surtain, Walls, Hodge/Maxey (Battle)
SS - Knight, Pollard
FS - Battle, Wesley

Unless somehow we can steal Dwight Smith between now and Monday of next week...:)

Well I think Marcus Maxey is going to make the team one way or another......

I think it will be something like

Corner
Surtain
Law
Walls
Hodge
Maxey

Safety
Knight
Wesley
Pollard
Battle/Bartee/Page

Or something odd will happen and Maxey will be the last safety and Battle or Sapp makes it as a corner.

I Edited my original post....forgot about Maxey. I agree, he'll probably make the team, which means good-bye Bartee, Perkins, and probably Sapp--maybe even Hodge.

If the Chiefs have any money left....they should have Dwight Smith in here right away, he's a perfect FS for this defense. He's also not old him and Pollard could be the safety combo for the next 5 years.

Exactly. The only question is, do we have the money? I doubt it....:(

Honestly, that would be nice.

It would be great to see perhaps Battle going back to FS early in camp, or Bartee stepping up and shocking us and taking the starting FS spot from Wesley.

Along with having the effect that Pollard should have on Knight at the SS spot (Knight playing better or Pollard stepping up quicker than expected)

How old is Bartee?

The guy has been here forever

I doubt it too.

Would obviously be nice to see us having some money left over over Kawika and Tony G extensions betwen now and the end of the season....not to mention LJ this next offseason.

But hey, would be damn nice if we could sign a FS to replace Greg bad angle Wesley

backup QB-
#1- Damon Huard- I mean he knows the System- Sucks ass- but a Seasoned Vet

#2 Brody Croyle- No explination nessacary

#3 Casey Printers -maybe our P.S. QB- White Vick will have to chill and prove he deserves to be the #1 Back up

you know herm and his QB complex-


backup RB
Priest? -who knows but on Opening day i dont see him active.

Q.Gruff vs D.Brown - :hmmm: this is one of the harder calls to make i will put trust in our coachs in Training Camp to pick the right one

dt
Yeah we need help here - we have a SLEW of projects and a few vets that could step it up but I follow the Herm Philosophy of getting this team younger and this is where its at...

if Sims doesnt impress in training camp than i see him getting cut- BUT... i did hear queen Rondzilla "Jared allen Meat Peeker" Moss speak about how Last year Gunther Focused on getting Kawika Mitchell up to par to be our Middle Line Backer and i think he did a good Job-She said this year Gunther has Singled out Sims.. Rhonda wasnt sure if Sims could Handle Gun down his face the whole time.

long and short- I hope Sims steps it up or Steps it out



CornerBack-

R - Law L -Surtain

Nickel- Hodge, Sapp (if he will stop JUMPING OVER THE DAMN QB WHEN HE COMES TO SACK HIM!!! :cuss:).

I hope they keep washingtion as a back up as i was real impressed with his play as a back up i can see how he beat out ambrose last year -

FB: The Starting Nod goes to Ronnie Cruz - He is the Next/New T-Rich I see it

Saftey-

Execpt for the Giants Game i was pleased with our Saftey Play Esp. with the addition of Knight - that said- Herm thinks something is wrong there- or maybe Knight isnt going to be staying another year so he got Pollard to learn from Knight then to replace him.

ST:
Colquitt is a Pimp and im glad we used a 3rd rounder on him-

Tynes is going to be our kicker for a long time I hope- he earned my trust last year i hope he doesnt break it

BOOMER!!!- I hope boomer gets a ST Job i like the kid

did i miss anything?

RT: Since we have ty law i doubt welbourne comes out of retirement- so i see Turley stepping up or Svitek for sure

The most intriguing battle IMO will be the WR depth chart. I'm excited to see who steps up, and I've really got a feeling about Webb.

As far as Maxey, he's a textbook PS player. He was almost too raw for college FB, no way he makes an NFL roster in his rookie year.

Did you call Casey Printers "white Vick"? If so.....I hope you know he is black.......

I heard he runs white...

yeah my bad

I have to disagree. Sapp has seemed to impress Herm this offseason. He was not asked to attend the rookie minicamp that also had select vets to attend but still showed up anyway. Probably to impress his new HC but still impressive either way. Other than our first day picks I don't think Herm will have a problem cutting a late rounder if a Rookie fa or a street fa or whoever beats them out.

Other than his size I think Sapp is really what Herm loves in a cb. He does a great job at supporting the run and outside of Knight and Maybe surtain he was the surrest tackler in our secondary. I also think he is a much better special teamer than Hodge or battle.

Agree on both points esp Maxey.

I don't think it's a stretch that Pollard could end up at FS. We'll see I guess. I think if John Lynch can play it, Bernard Pollard can.

Honestly, I think our defense looks more like the Broncos defense than the Colts/Bears/Tampa/Cover 2 teams. Have great corners, very good LB's, and much weaker up front. Put the corners in man coverage and blitz until you knock the QB down. That's what Coyer does. If Hali, Hall, and Bell can add some kind of pass rush, I reserve the right to change my mind. That's really my only worry, teams stuff Hicks, Sims, etc. long enough that guys like Moss and Javon Walker have time to get free. If we find a legit pass rush though, we're going to be deadly.

I don't either. As far as Pollard playing FS. Look at the skins with Taylor and Archuleta both being bigger safeties. Or when Dallas still had Darren Woodsen early on in Roy Williams career.

I think that the key is Herm has stated on a couple of different ocassions that in not exact terms he wasn't too impressed with the safety play. Other than Woods no one else got any snaps at S other than the starters Wesley and Knight. I think Woods snaps were in the nickel while Bartee might have played there too some.

That basically tells me he doesn't have a problem replacing Knight or wesley or both.

Sean Taylor has legit 4.4 speed........Lynch gets by by being smart and knowing where he's suppose to be by being a veteran.

You stick Bernard Pollard a rookie that doesn't have great speed in a position he isn't familiar with....what exactly do you think is going to happen?

Wesley sitting bench...

I don't really like Wesley either but I don't think putting Pollard in that spot is a very good option. I think Pollard would look just like Wesley always getting out of position trailing behind plays. He doesn't have the speed or the smarts yet to be playing FS when it's not his natural position.

What about that Savage kid at Fullback we signed?? Cruz has never really impressed me much.

I'd like to see more of Hall in the DE spot as long as he can stay healthy. Rather he be out there then hicks.