Kelly Jennings (21) needs to show he is ready to be a starting CB in the NFL. He played well last year and looks good so far in camp. And Josh Wilson (26) needs to show he can be an NFL nickel corner. Jennings should be close to being game-ready, while we should still expect Josh Wilson to be on his way up the learning curve. Wilson just needs to look like he is going to be ready by the start of the season.
2) The Offensive Line
The most important thing is starters Chris Spencer (65) and Rob Sims(67) working well together on the interior. After that, then the Ray Willis (74) at RG experiment is something to watch. And Mansfield Wrotto (66) needs to show whether or not he can be ready to play this year if called upon due to injuries. Jonathan Alston (73), Pat Ross (60), and Kyle Williams (79) will each get a chance to make their case that Floyd Womack (77) is expendable. Steve Vallos (69) probably won’t play as much as any of those other three, especially with Willis getting a lot of work at RG.
3) Young, reserve defenders earning their roster spots
Brandon Mebane (92) has looked good, and he needs to keep that up. It appears to be a question of how much playing time he will command, rather than if he will be able to contribute. But Baraka Atkins (96) still needs to show that is capable of making a solid contribution, and is a better option than Brandon Green (70). Lance Laury (50) and Will Herring (54) can prove they are worthy of being reserve linebackers in the NFL. Kevin Bentley (57) and Niko Koutouvides (53) have already done that. Cameron Jensen (44) is probably the biggest challenger to Laury and Herring for their spots.
4) Quarterback Depth
Seneca Wallace (15) is still developing into an NFL quarterback. He gained his first real game experience last year and can now build on that. David Greene (11) has a chance to show that he is more than just an adequate 3 QB. It isn’t a big concern for this year, but it would be a substantial positive if he could develop into more of a backup caliber QB. That could make Seneca Wallace and David Greene, 2a and 2b. That would free up Wallace to be used occasionally on offense and maybe special teams, and would be very promising for next year.
5) Wide Receivers
The top four wide receivers have been playing well, and it will be nice for anyone that hasn't seen them yet to get a first hand view of what everyone is talking about (especially with respect to Nate Burleson). Ben Obomanu (87) will try to keep his hold on the 5th receiver spot, while Logan Payne (19) will make his case that he deserves some consideration. Jordan Kent (82) is currently among the group of also-rans with Joe Fernandez (17), Robert Ortiz (14), and Chris Jones (16).
6) Injuries
Mike Green (42) has looked good in practice, but it remains to be seen just how close to 100% he is coming off the Lisfranc injury that sidelined him last season. And injuries to Will Heller (85) and possibly Leonard Stephens (89) could give Joe Newton (46) an opportunity to show something. He has done absolutely nothing to this point. And of course, we don't want to see any new injuries (knock wood), but need to pay attention to the ramifications of any injuries if they do happen.
7) Leonard Weaver
No concerns here, but why shouldn’t you watch Leonard Weaver (43) in the preseason? In addition to the chance to see a devastating Leonard Weaver stiff-arm (Watch: The Baptism), this preseason will give us an idea of just how expansive of a role Leonard Weaver is going to have in 2007. Expect to see him contribute on short-yardage, in the passing game, and do some nice things in single-back sets, as well as being the heir apparent to Mack Strong at fullback.
0 comments:
Post a Comment