Opening Day 53 Man Roster Predictions **merged**

[TrailBlazer]

Don't see how we keep 5 FB/RB

 

[xwalker]

he frankly is not strong enough and that is why he is so reliant on his technique; and that is not consistent. He is like a yo yo. Now I think the strength problem is not a question of him not working hard enough in the weight room- just the way he is. He is an example of the BS that you always hear 'he can always add weight and strength' about any player. Sometimes you cannot.

I respect your opinion but Callahan said he was strong enough. And he said it was technique as well as buying into the ZBS being taught. I talked with Broaddus (not phone) about his problems and it's always been his hands and punch. You're right he needs good technique but so do a lot of players. He is inconsistent both in the run game and also in the pass game with a couple of moves. He's very good with the outside rush. And he's good at power running just inconsistent at the first and second level. He's fine with zone blocking although not All Pro for sure.

He's above average but could be upgraded.

Good to see you around.

Free's problem is his upper body strength. He has tried all sort of variations in technique to compensate for this lack of strength.

I've tried for years to figure out why his strength is so limited. It seems to be related to his shoulders. His biggest problems are when he gets his arms extented. He has no strength in that situation. He has to keep his body in perfect position which allows him to have his elbows in tight to his body. His above average foot quickness is what has allowed him to survive.

His problem was first exposed by Justin Smith of the Niners. IIRC, that was week 2 of 2011. Smith would get his hands/arms under Free's and thrust upwards. Free had almost no ability to resist this move. Once it was on tape other defenses took advantage and that's when Free's struggles really started. One of the techniques that he has tried is to keep his hands much lower than normal in an attempt to avoid defenders getting "under" him. This obviously caused other problems and he finally seemed to settle in on a more consistent technique in 2013. I thought 2014 was the best that he had looked in terms of run blocking before he was injured.

If you've ever had shoulder problems, you know that keeping you elbows in tight minimizes the stress on your shoulders; whereas, reaching is a problem. I've known some people that just had weak/loose shoulders and were never really injured per se. Some people have this surgically corrected, but it is a major issue in terms of recovery. My guess is that Free has loose/weak shoulders for some reason.

They made some changes in the scheme in 2013 to help him. Despite his above average foot quickness, the fact that he has to play "short armed" causes him to have some issue in Pass Protection. The scheme tweak was to have the RG cheat just a small amount towards Free which helped prevent outside rushers from beating him to the inside and allowed Free to overset to the outside which gave him and big advantage. In run blocking they rarely require him to make power type blocks, They have many run plays where Free just has to wall-off the defender.

 

[xwalker]

I'm more interest in seeing which players are cut from other teams and if we can improve a few positions.

I'm more concerned about keeping as many of the Cowboys players as possible. I don't really see cuts from other teams being better than what is currently on the roster unless it's a return man. Even if there were some decent players cut, they have to pass through waivers unless they're a vested veteran and the Cowboys are low in the claiming order.

 

[Nightman]

Free's problem is his upper body strength. He has tried all sort of variations in technique to compensate for this lack of strength.

I've tried for years to figure out why his strength is so limited. It seems to be related to his shoulders. His biggest problems are when he gets his arms extented. He has no strength in that situation. He has to keep his body in perfect position which allows him to have his elbows in tight to his body. His above average foot quickness is what has allowed him to survive.

His problem was first exposed by Justin Smith of the Niners. IIRC, that was week 2 of 2011. Smith would get his hands/arms under Free's and thrust upwards. Free had almost no ability to resist this move. Once it was on tape other defenses took advantage and that's when Free's struggles really started. One of the techniques that he has tried is to keep his hands much lower than normal in an attempt to avoid defenders getting "under" him. This obviously caused other problems and he finally seemed to settle in on a more consistent technique in 2013. I thought 2014 was the best that he had looked in terms of run blocking before he was injured.

If you've ever had shoulder problems, you know that keeping you elbows in tight minimizes the stress on your shoulders; whereas, reaching is a problem. I've known some people that just had weak/loose shoulders and were never really injured per se. Some people have this surgically corrected, but it is a major issue in terms of recovery. My guess is that Free has loose/weak shoulders for some reason.

They made some changes in the scheme in 2013 to help him. Despite his above average foot quickness, the fact that he has to play "short armed" causes him to have some issue in Pass Protection. The scheme tweak was to have the RG cheat just a small amount towards Free which helped prevent outside rushers from beating him to the inside and allowed Free to overset to the outside which gave him and big advantage. In run blocking they rarely require him to make power type blocks, They have many run plays where Free just has to wall-off the defender.

I thought Free was a 2 year deal when they passed on Parnell. But now that they have Collins and Green I think Free is gone next year. Unless he takes another paycut from 4m.

 

[BrassCowboy]

You have 26 on offense.

odd man out on offense I believe is Lance Dunbar. I don't see much in him to keep him

 

[xwalker]

I thought Free was a 2 year deal when they passed on Parnell. But now that they have Collins and Green I think Free is gone next year. Unless he takes another paycut from 4m.

Yes, that could happen. I'm curious to see if Collins primarily practices at Guard or Tackle in TC or if Weems is the man as the swing Tackle.

 

[jobberone]

Free's problem is his upper body strength. He has tried all sort of variations in technique to compensate for this lack of strength.

I've tried for years to figure out why his strength is so limited. It seems to be related to his shoulders. His biggest problems are when he gets his arms extented. He has no strength in that situation. He has to keep his body in perfect position which allows him to have his elbows in tight to his body. His above average foot quickness is what has allowed him to survive.

His problem was first exposed by Justin Smith of the Niners. IIRC, that was week 2 of 2011. Smith would get his hands/arms under Free's and thrust upwards. Free had almost no ability to resist this move. Once it was on tape other defenses took advantage and that's when Free's struggles really started. One of the techniques that he has tried is to keep his hands much lower than normal in an attempt to avoid defenders getting "under" him. This obviously caused other problems and he finally seemed to settle in on a more consistent technique in 2013. I thought 2014 was the best that he had looked in terms of run blocking before he was injured.

If you've ever had shoulder problems, you know that keeping you elbows in tight minimizes the stress on your shoulders; whereas, reaching is a problem. I've known some people that just had weak/loose shoulders and were never really injured per se. Some people have this surgically corrected, but it is a major issue in terms of recovery. My guess is that Free has loose/weak shoulders for some reason.

They made some changes in the scheme in 2013 to help him. Despite his above average foot quickness, the fact that he has to play "short armed" causes him to have some issue in Pass Protection. The scheme tweak was to have the RG cheat just a small amount towards Free which helped prevent outside rushers from beating him to the inside and allowed Free to overset to the outside which gave him and big advantage. In run blocking they rarely require him to make power type blocks, They have many run plays where Free just has to wall-off the defender.

You're entitled to your opinion but Calahan said Free was strong enough and if you watch his play over time you will see him exhibit it including upper body. I'll take Calahan's and Broaddus's comments over anyone here.

His feet are good to very good. He let's people into him because of his technique and punch and then he does look like he's overmatched. You just cannot block people well if you let them get you off balance.

I've heard you say this over and over and I don't know where you got it. I can't judge well his upper body strength even watching film because I can't go back and forth with reverse and really slow play like the coaches can. And I know very little compared to them.

We agree on most things but here we disagree.

 

[xwalker]

You're entitled to your opinion but Calahan said Free was strong enough and if you watch his play over time you will see him exhibit it including upper body. I'll take Calahan's and Broaddus's comments over anyone here.

His feet are good to very good. He let's people into him because of his technique and punch and then he does look like he's overmatched. You just cannot block people well if you let them get you off balance.

I've heard you say this over and over and I don't know where you got it. I can't judge well his upper body strength even watching film because I can't go back and forth with reverse and really slow play like the coaches can. And I know very little compared to them.

We agree on most things but here we disagree.

I have a method that allows me the ability to watch both the Broadcast and All-22 in super slow motion and reverse the play; however, even without that you can watch the broadcast in slow motion.

Broaddus has said Free has strength issues. He just didn't go into detail about it.

If you found any audio or video of Callahan that I have not heard/seen, I would be surprised. Everything I've heard from him is just high level generic coach speak ("We have him working on some technique changes"). It would be very rare for a coach to criticize a veteran player to the media in terms of saying that he is not strong enough. Obviously he is strong enough to be an adequate player. The question is why he can't get any better. Don't forget that Callahan wanted to bench Free in 2012 but Garrett would not allow him to do it. The compromise was to have them rotate series in the final 4 games that season.

Normally an OL that is 6-6, 325, with good arm length and really quick feet is going to become a really good player in time. It's normally one or more of size, quickness and arm length that limit players in the long term and he does not have those limitations which is what makes it so odd that he is limited. Whether it is technique or lack of strength, those are normally issues for young players, not 9 year veterans.

When an OL has a problem with his "punch" that's basically saying he has upper body strength limitations.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time studying Free. I've probably spent more time studying Free and Parnell than all other current players combined.

There are positives with Free. He is really good on the back side of Zone blocks. Those blocks are about quickness and technique/awareness. The timing has to be just right. He has a lot of experience, so his mental mistakes are minimal.

My concern with him now that that he has had 2 foot/ankle surgeries in the past 18 months and he is 31. He is more dependent on his quickness than some players, therefore, any loss of quickness could send his performance spiraling downwards. Some RTs can just bully their way though to overcome a lack of quickness like Phil Loadholt with the Vikings or what Erik Williams did after the car wreck, but Free won't be able to do that.

Free signed a 3 year deal, but it would just be a 1 year, 6M deal if they cut him after this season. I think they must have plans to move on from him based on their actions. They've carried Weems since December 2012. They carried an OL named Hawkins on the 53 all of last season even though he was not the backup swing tackle. Then they drafted an OT in the 3rd and 7th. They also carried another OT on the PS last year which meant they had 7 OTs that they were paying. I don't know if the pursuit of Collins was really an indicator, but it might be. They also said that they had in mind when they drafted him that Martin was an option to play OT if needed.

 

[jobberone]

I have a method that allows me the ability to watch both the Broadcast and All-22 in super slow motion and reverse the play; however, even without that you can watch the broadcast in slow motion.

Broaddus has said Free has strength issues. He just didn't go into detail about it.

If you found any audio or video of Callahan that I have not heard/seen, I would be surprised. Everything I've heard from him is just high level generic coach speak ("We have him working on some technique changes"). It would be very rare for a coach to criticize a veteran player to the media in terms of saying that he is not strong enough. Obviously he is strong enough to be an adequate player. The question is why he can't get any better. Don't forget that Callahan wanted to bench Free in 2012 but Garrett would not allow him to do it. The compromise was to have them rotate series in the final 4 games that season.

Normally an OL that is 6-6, 325, with good arm length and really quick feet is going to become a really good player in time. It's normally one or more of size, quickness and arm length that limit players in the long term and he does not have those limitations which is what makes it so odd that he is limited. Whether it is technique or lack of strength, those are normally issues for young players, not 9 year veterans.

When an OL has a problem with his "punch" that's basically saying he has upper body strength limitations.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time studying Free. I've probably spent more time studying Free and Parnell than all other current players combined.

There are positives with Free. He is really good on the back side of Zone blocks. Those blocks are about quickness and technique/awareness. The timing has to be just right. He has a lot of experience, so his mental mistakes are minimal.

My concern with him now that that he has had 2 foot/ankle surgeries in the past 18 months and he is 31. He is more dependent on his quickness than some players, therefore, any loss of quickness could send his performance spiraling downwards. Some RTs can just bully their way though to overcome a lack of quickness like Phil Loadholt with the Vikings or what Erik Williams did after the car wreck, but Free won't be able to do that.

Free signed a 3 year deal, but it would just be a 1 year, 6M deal if they cut him after this season. I think they must have plans to move on from him based on their actions. They've carried Weems since December 2012. They carried an OL named Hawkins on the 53 all of last season even though he was not the backup swing tackle. Then they drafted an OT in the 3rd and 7th. They also carried another OT on the PS last year which meant they had 7 OTs that they were paying. I don't know if the pursuit of Collins was really an indicator, but it might be. They also said that they had in mind when they drafted him that Martin was an option to play OT if needed.

The topic between us was his strength. Callahan said strength wasn't the issue and Broaddus echoed the same. Even if you dismiss Broaddus you can't really dismiss Callahan.

We have no idea what the surgeries were for and how well it worked. That wasn't in our exchange but you can't make any predictions of his play.

 

[endersdragon]

In light of the Hardy ruling and possible further reduction by Doty got my wheels turning.

Looking at the roster we have about 38-40 locks to make the team:

ST: Bailey, Jones, and LaDouceur (3)

Offense: Romo, Randle, McFadden, Witten, Escobar, Bryant, Williams, Beasley, Street, Smith, Free, Weems, Green, Leary, Martin, Collins, and Frederick (17)

Defense: Lawrence, Mincey, Gregory, Hardy, Crawford, McClain, Hayden, Lee, Hitchens, McClain, Wilson, Brinkley, Scandrick, Carr, Jones, Claiborne, Patmon, Church, Wilcox, and White (20)

That gives us 40 locks, with 2 missing 4 games as of now so we have 15 spots open, with a lot of questions.

Vaughn needs to either play Weeden off the roster or himself because keeping 3 QBs may be impossible this year. Who gets that 3rd RB spot? Do we keep a FB? Swaim, Hamilton, or Hanna or do we keep 2 of the 3? Can McDermott unseat Bernadeau? Who wins that 5th WR spot? Return Specialist? Which of the young DL with promise do we keep with Russell, Gardner, Crawford, Bishop, Coleman, and Whaley fighting for 2 or 3 spots? Which of the masses at LB get the 1 or 2 spots left? We seem to have a few guys at safety that will be core ST players but would be a target if they played on defense, who stays, if any?

Camp and preseason will be fun. We will have dog fights at 3 or 4 positions, and that last cut down will be painful with several guys never getting to our practice squad.

I am not sure I would consider McFadden a lock... if Randle, Williams, and Dunbar all outplay him in the preseason (which there is every reason to believe they could) why would we keep McFadden ahead of them?

 

[blindzebra]

I am not sure I would consider McFadden a lock... if Randle, Williams, and Dunbar all outplay him in the preseason (which there is every reason to believe they could) why would we keep McFadden ahead of them?

And why is there every reason that they could? Dunbar and Williams have done next to nothing to suggest they can be a lead RB.

 

[endersdragon]

And why is there every reason that they could? Dunbar and Williams have done next to nothing to suggest they can be a lead RB.

McFadden's 3.4 or less YPC these past 3 years suggest to you that he could be a lead back?

 

[jobberone]

Other than Randle there isn't a lock and I'd pencil him in right now. Williams' health is a mystery. Dunbar is a change of pace back. He can run between the tackles some but isn't going to give you 15-20 snaps a game. And he isn't the healthiest either. DMC is a health risk and is another unknown. We don't have a current lead back for certain.

I won't be surprised to see a vet if there are injuries.