jday
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Disclaimer: In my final 53, I'm not making predictions. I'm going with the obvious starters plus the guys that have stood out to me thus far.
QB: Tony Romo, Kyle Orton ~ In short, Carpenter and McGee are not in the top 53 in relative talent, in my opinion.
HB/FB: Demarco Murray, Felix Jones, Phillip Tanner, Lawrence Vickers and Jamize Olawale ~ I think they go deep here, considering the injuries they've had in the past, and the overall talent. Jamize Olawale gives us youth and position flexibility, having a good combination of strength to move the pile and shiftyness to make people miss in the open field. Though, to be honest, I wasn't watching him that closely, when it came to blitz pickup and Special Teams. Felix Jones is on the hot seat.
WR: Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, and Raymond Radway ~ Notably, Danny Coale is missing. As mentioned in the disclaimer, if I haven't seen him, I can't keep him. For 3rd receiver, I believe this will be by committee featuring predominantly Ogletree and Beasley. I said it in another thread, but Raymond Radway impressed me with his catching the defender from behind, following the interception. That "no quit" attitude and the speed to catch someone who was running while he was on the groung, is not something a coach can teach.
TE: Jason Witten, John Phillips, and James Hanna ~ I like what we are seeing from James Hanna. He's like the TE version of Peyton Hillis. This may actually be are deepest position on the team, in terms of overall ability.
T: Tyron Smith, Doug Free, Jermey Parnell, and Pat McQuistan ~ I'd say, just below solid here.
G: Mackenzy Bernadeau, Nate Livings and Ronald Leary ~ I can't particulary say I'm confident with this group, or that I made the right choices. But, then again, after the supposed starters Bernadeau and Livings, you can pretty much draw names out of a hat, and get pretty close to the same talent level every time.
C: Phil Costa, David Arkin, Harland Gunn ~ Much to many's dismay, Phil has not been replaced yet. I'm sure they will be watching the waiver wire very closely throughout the preseason. Gunn wins by merit of youth and the fact that he at the very least delivers the ball pretty well. Not sure on his blocking, though.
DE: Sean Lissamore, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Tyrone Crawford ~ Starting or not, I can see all four of these guys getting snaps.
DT: Jay Ratliff, Ben Bass, Josh Brent ~ Josh Brent makes it simply because of his familiarity with the defense, but in terms of showing up, he's tied with Rob Callaway and Clifton Geathers.
MLB: Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Dan Connor and Alex Albright ~ This is another position I'm really happy about in terms of overall potential and skill level. Though, Bruce Carter seemed to dissappear to me in the last game...or did he even play?
OLB: Demarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler, and Adrian Hamilton ~ Really, the entire Linebacking core is better than solid, in my opinion.
CB: Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, and Mario Butler ~ On paper, I realize this position looks like a strength now, but I'm not completely sold yet. I'm really reluctant to believe this group is as good as it looks. For instance, Carr did pick up a few interceptions, which was fantastic to see, but in hindsight, on one of those, he was beat and the QB underthrew allowing him to catch up. Were the QB accurate with his pass, Brandon Carr would be getting mixed reviews today. Claiborne is, afterall, still a rookie who is making a big jump to play against NFL caliber receivers. We haven't seen Jenkins healthy, yet. With a limited range of motion in his rotator cuff, he won't be able to flail his wings in every direction needed to knock down passes. That area of his game, could get exposed by better QB's. Just saying...
S - Gerald Sensabaugh, Barry Church, Matt Johnson, and Danny McCray ~ Okay, so maybe I'm making an exception for Matt Johnson. I base this off his reported measurables and overall lack of competition. I've been critical of Barry Church because of his lack of speed and the speedy receivers we face in our division, but I can't help but like the way he hits, the fact that he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, and the way he drives to the point of attack with bad intentions.
K - Dan Bailey ~ Not much to say here. He's clutch. Keeping my fingers crossed he remains that way.
P - Chris Jones ~ I also liked that backup for the Raiders, and while he made up for the dropped ball by getting the first down, Jones still dropped the ball. I'll be watching this very closely, because the Raiders backup punter is sure to be in the market pretty soon.
LS - LP LADOUCEUR ~ I really wanted to go with youth on every position where I could and thought the difference in talent was nominal, but LP has been so clutch for so long, and that is really all he has to do. I could see him doing this in his 40's. Though likely, in the end, it will come does to dollars and the Cowboys overall youth movement of the last few years.
So that's it. If I were working for the Cowboys, I wouldn't stake my job on that being the best 53, but that's likely who I'll keep on Madden 13. Thoughts?
QB: Tony Romo, Kyle Orton ~ In short, Carpenter and McGee are not in the top 53 in relative talent, in my opinion.
HB/FB: Demarco Murray, Felix Jones, Phillip Tanner, Lawrence Vickers and Jamize Olawale ~ I think they go deep here, considering the injuries they've had in the past, and the overall talent. Jamize Olawale gives us youth and position flexibility, having a good combination of strength to move the pile and shiftyness to make people miss in the open field. Though, to be honest, I wasn't watching him that closely, when it came to blitz pickup and Special Teams. Felix Jones is on the hot seat.
WR: Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, and Raymond Radway ~ Notably, Danny Coale is missing. As mentioned in the disclaimer, if I haven't seen him, I can't keep him. For 3rd receiver, I believe this will be by committee featuring predominantly Ogletree and Beasley. I said it in another thread, but Raymond Radway impressed me with his catching the defender from behind, following the interception. That "no quit" attitude and the speed to catch someone who was running while he was on the groung, is not something a coach can teach.
TE: Jason Witten, John Phillips, and James Hanna ~ I like what we are seeing from James Hanna. He's like the TE version of Peyton Hillis. This may actually be are deepest position on the team, in terms of overall ability.
T: Tyron Smith, Doug Free, Jermey Parnell, and Pat McQuistan ~ I'd say, just below solid here.
G: Mackenzy Bernadeau, Nate Livings and Ronald Leary ~ I can't particulary say I'm confident with this group, or that I made the right choices. But, then again, after the supposed starters Bernadeau and Livings, you can pretty much draw names out of a hat, and get pretty close to the same talent level every time.
C: Phil Costa, David Arkin, Harland Gunn ~ Much to many's dismay, Phil has not been replaced yet. I'm sure they will be watching the waiver wire very closely throughout the preseason. Gunn wins by merit of youth and the fact that he at the very least delivers the ball pretty well. Not sure on his blocking, though.
DE: Sean Lissamore, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Tyrone Crawford ~ Starting or not, I can see all four of these guys getting snaps.
DT: Jay Ratliff, Ben Bass, Josh Brent ~ Josh Brent makes it simply because of his familiarity with the defense, but in terms of showing up, he's tied with Rob Callaway and Clifton Geathers.
MLB: Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Dan Connor and Alex Albright ~ This is another position I'm really happy about in terms of overall potential and skill level. Though, Bruce Carter seemed to dissappear to me in the last game...or did he even play?
OLB: Demarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler, and Adrian Hamilton ~ Really, the entire Linebacking core is better than solid, in my opinion.
CB: Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, and Mario Butler ~ On paper, I realize this position looks like a strength now, but I'm not completely sold yet. I'm really reluctant to believe this group is as good as it looks. For instance, Carr did pick up a few interceptions, which was fantastic to see, but in hindsight, on one of those, he was beat and the QB underthrew allowing him to catch up. Were the QB accurate with his pass, Brandon Carr would be getting mixed reviews today. Claiborne is, afterall, still a rookie who is making a big jump to play against NFL caliber receivers. We haven't seen Jenkins healthy, yet. With a limited range of motion in his rotator cuff, he won't be able to flail his wings in every direction needed to knock down passes. That area of his game, could get exposed by better QB's. Just saying...
S - Gerald Sensabaugh, Barry Church, Matt Johnson, and Danny McCray ~ Okay, so maybe I'm making an exception for Matt Johnson. I base this off his reported measurables and overall lack of competition. I've been critical of Barry Church because of his lack of speed and the speedy receivers we face in our division, but I can't help but like the way he hits, the fact that he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, and the way he drives to the point of attack with bad intentions.
K - Dan Bailey ~ Not much to say here. He's clutch. Keeping my fingers crossed he remains that way.
P - Chris Jones ~ I also liked that backup for the Raiders, and while he made up for the dropped ball by getting the first down, Jones still dropped the ball. I'll be watching this very closely, because the Raiders backup punter is sure to be in the market pretty soon.
LS - LP LADOUCEUR ~ I really wanted to go with youth on every position where I could and thought the difference in talent was nominal, but LP has been so clutch for so long, and that is really all he has to do. I could see him doing this in his 40's. Though likely, in the end, it will come does to dollars and the Cowboys overall youth movement of the last few years.
So that's it. If I were working for the Cowboys, I wouldn't stake my job on that being the best 53, but that's likely who I'll keep on Madden 13. Thoughts?
