Players in danger of not making the team

[Keyplay1]

I just saw an early 53 list + 8 PS players and 2 from last years roster not available. Mendy on PUP and Saunders on Suspension. That is 63 names from the 90 players roster.

The following list is 21 players who were left off. Some of these players are very much still in contention. Do you see any that are going to make your final 53?

49 LB Ryan Baker
66 DT Mike Blanc
81 WR Paul Cox
41 CB Andre Freeman
18 WR David Gilreath
44 LB Brandon Hicks
57 LB Mortty Ivy
48 LB Brandon Johnson
-8 QB Jerrod Johnson
61 OT Kyle Jolly
69 C/G Ryan Lee
62 OB John Malecki
-3 WR Marquis Maze
40 LB Marshall McFadden
47 TE Justin Peelle
47 -S Myron Rolle
87 WR Juamorris Stewart
68 DE Jake Stoller
35 DB Josh Victorian
67 DT Kade Weston
14 WR Jimmy Young

All 9 draft choices were kept. 6 on the final 53 and 3 [Paulson, Cleamons, & Beachum ] on the PS. There were 2 players unavailable. Mendy on the PUP and Wes Saunders suspended. So that makes 63 + 21 on the wannabe list 84. The other 6 were K P LS etc or I missed a couple.

The new guy Jason Ford was on the PS. The other PS squad players were DE Corbin Bryant, S Robert Golden, CB Walter McFadden and LB Adrian Robinson.

Uh! It just dawned on me these PS players are also still fighting for spots on the final 53. It is not going to be as easy as in the past to make your final lists. Usually, everyone almost gets just about all of them.

BTW: In case you want to check and see the early 53. They are on [I bet you already guessed] Uh! you know the D-E-P-O-T. Trust me, there are going to be a lot of disagreements here this year, but then again it really is just a bit early, but not really too early to get some ideas going.

There are a lot of very good players on that list of 21. I was not going to make any comments but I can't see any way that the FA Brandon Johnson is not kept. Like I said there are going to be a lot of disagreements.

[flippy]

Maybe Johnson makes it. And maybe Maze goes to the PS.

I think we're gonna have to wait and see who's injured in a couple weeks and that might play into the situation.

[aggiebones]

If Johnson does anything at all, I bet he makes the team with Batch on speed dial. Batch won't be picked up, but Johnson will be. They must get young at QB and Johnson is a good candidate to try out for a year.

[flippy]

I looked at their 53 and would also suggest, we don't need to have 3 QBs on the roster - possibly Batch on speed dial. You could also have Rainey at the #5 WR spot and bring in another RB if needed given some of the health issues at the position.

I also don't see McCoy, Woods, Frederick, Cromartie-Smith, or Sylvester as locks.

I see about 8 spots up for grabs. And they could be trade offs between 2 different positions in some cases.

There's also the question of will Wally come back.

And there may be a few other guys on the PUP to start the season.

[Oviedo]

johnson makes it because of the lack of depth at OLB

[phillyesq]

If Johnson does anything at all, I bet he makes the team with Batch on speed dial. Batch won't be picked up, but Johnson will be. They must get young at QB and Johnson is a good candidate to try out for a year.

Would it kill the Steelers to bring in guys with different last names? I'm reading this thinking Barron Batch and Will (not David) Johnson, not Charlie Batch and Jerrod Johnson. I need more coffee.

[flippy]

Would it kill the Steelers to bring in guys with different last names? I'm reading this thinking Barron Batch and Will (not David) Johnson, not Charlie Batch and Jerrod Johnson. I need more coffee.

Allen, Batch, Brown, Johnson - 3 of em, McFadden, Sanders/Saunders....It's a lot to confuse us.

Why can't more guys be named Ikponmwosa Igbinosun? That's not confusing. Although I'm not sure which is his first or last name. Just like Sylvester who took me years to finally figure out. Maybe those 2 could trade 1 first name for 1 last name.

[Eich]

Allen, Batch, Brown, Johnson - 3 of em, McFadden, Sanders/Saunders....It's a lot to confuse us.

Why can't more guys be named Ikponmwosa Igbinosun? That's not confusing. Although I'm not sure which is his first or last name. Just like Sylvester who took me years to finally figure out. Maybe those 2 could trade 1 first name for 1 last name.

We need another Fuamatu-Ma'afala. That was a name ! And there was no confusing "Chris" as a last name.

[Keyplay1]

Allen, Batch, Brown, Johnson - 3 of em, McFadden, Sanders/Saunders....It's a lot to confuse us.

Why can't more guys be named Ikponmwosa Igbinosun? That's not confusing. Although I'm not sure which is his first or last name. Just like Sylvester who took me years to finally figure out. Maybe those 2 could trade 1 first name for 1 last name.

Glad you mentioned Ike's name. How could I possibly overlook that one. I kept putting him aside and then forgot to add his name to the list. Yes Ik is his 1st name and Ig is his last. This second look helped me finish and finalize the list.

69 DT Ikponmwosa Igbinosun
19 WR Tyler Beiler
71 OT Chris Scott
13 -P Jeremy Kapinos
-2 -K Daniel Hrapmann
49 LS Matt Katula

If nothing else this listing has made me even more aware of the entire camp roster. There are still a couple weeks to take a look at these players. Although it does seem like a difficult road for them.

[Ghost]

So the list included 2 kickers and 2 punters?

[Keyplay1]

So the list included 2 kickers and 2 punters?

No Ghost, the list is the 27 players who according to Depot are gone. The remaining 63 for one reason or another will be there day 1.

The idea is does anyone see enough in any of these 27 players to include them in their own 53 + 8 PS.

What probably confused you was Kapinos name on the cut list. He was last years punter, but since he is hurt the picker opted for the other guy.

An example would be 69 CG Ryan Lee. I have seen several articles and threads seeing a lot in this player. I did not notice him myself, but will try to see what others are seeing in the upcoming games.

However, if this player is good enough to make the team someone must go. Tough decisions for anyone besides coaches.

[pittpete]

If Johnson does anything at all, I bet he makes the team with Batch on speed dial. Batch won't be picked up, but Johnson will be. They must get young at QB and Johnson is a good candidate to try out for a year.

i agree, Batch should not make this roster
is they dont keep Johnson, go with 2 QB's and keep Batch on ice

[hawaiiansteel]

Cutting not the problem

posted by Dale Lolley
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012

Cutting this year's roster for the Steelers won't be the problem. Stopping, however, will be.

The Steelers are solid with their front-line talent.

But the retirements and releases of a number of veterans during the offseason have left this team with very little depth - at least not as much as in previous years.

Here's how I see the 53-man roster breaking down now that we're through three weeks of training camp:

QB (3)
Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch - Jerrod Johnson can go on the practice squad. The team likely won't cut Batch because he's been such a good soldier over the years.

RB (5)
Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch, Chris Rainey, Will Johnson - I wouldn't be surprised to see a veteran added here after other teams start cutting guys loose. All of the backs except Redman have practice squad eligibility. Rashard Mendenhall goes on the PUP.

WR (5)
Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, Tyler Beiler - Wallace will rejoin the team before the start of the season. Beiler has been the best of a ho-hum bunch. Toney Clemons or Marquis Maze or both to the practice squad?

Offensive line (9)
Max Starks, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert are your starters. Mike Adams, Ramon Foster, Doug Legursky and Trai Essex are the backups - When camp began, the team was concerned that rookie Kelvin Beachum would look so good they wouldn't be able to sneak him onto the practice squad. That won't be a problem after his play against the Eagles. Rookie Ryan Lee could also head to the practice squad.

Tight end (3)
Heath Miller, Leonard Pope, Jamie McCoy - Wes Saunders only shows up sometimes. Add that to his pending suspension and there's no reason for him to make the roster. Pope could be pushed off by new signee Justin Peele, but it will be tough since Peele will only be here a few weeks. McCoy makes it because of his ability to play some fullback. Will Johnson isn't much of a blocker at this point.

Defensive line (7)
Brett Keisel, Steve McClendon, Ziggy Hood, Cam Heyward, Casey Hampton, Al Woods, Alameda Ta'amu - With Hampton unlikely to be ready for the opener and Ta'amu not ready for prime time, Woods makes it because they will need five linemen heading to Denver. I don't think Hampton goes on the PUP.

Linebacker (9)
James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, Larry Foote, Jason Worilds, Chris Carter, Stevenson Sylvester, Brandon Johnson, Sean Spence - It's a tough cut. Adrian Robinson goes to the practice squad

Defensive back (9)
Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor, Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen, Curtis Brown, Will Allen, Ryan Mundy, Robert Golden - Only four corners? Why not. Walter McFadden and Terrence Frederick aren't the players that Golden is and if you're down to your fifth corner, you're screwed anyway. Plus, since Clark won't play in the opener, they'll need and extra safety.

Specialists (3)
Shaun Suisham, Greg Warren, Drew Butler - Butler is winning the punting job by default over injured Jeremy Kapinos. Plus, he's actually kicked pretty well

[URL]http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sidelines/[/URL]

[Keyplay1]

As expected just about everyone's final 53 will be almost identical.

There were a few differences between Lolley's 53 and the Depot's.

On the Offensive side the 25 players were identical except for 1. Depot took Derrick Williams for the 5th WR and Lolley took Tyler Beiler. Who's yours?

The Specialists were identical.

On the D side pretty much the same. A few differences.

Lolley kept 9 DB's keeping Robert Golden a UDFA as his 9th.
Depot kept 10 adding Terrence Frederick 7th rd pick and DC-S.

Lolley kept 9 LB's adding Brandon Johnson
Depot kept 8 LB's cutting Brandon Johnson

Lolley does not pick his PS players. This of course is correct. Teams only can keep and protect 53 players. The rest go on the waiver wire. So very soon 35 players not kept by Lolley or Depot or me and/you will go on the waiver wire. I have listed 27 of them. Are you sure you cannot find a place for any of them. Keep in mind you can only pick your PS some days after the final cut. Your players may not be there.

Lolley did suggest a handful of possibles for the PS but as I said the PS cannot be signed until the players clear waivers. I'm figuring next week after watching this pre-season game the threads will start rolling with everyone's final 53. [me too]

[Keyplay1]

Lolley cut the following 35 players:

49 LB Ryan Baker
68 OG Kelvin Beachum
66 DT Mike Blanc
91 DE Corbin Bryant
11 WR Toney Clemons
81 WR Paul Cox
42 -S Damon Cromartie-Smith
21 RB Jason Ford
37 CB Terrence Frederick
41 CB Andre Freeman
18 WR David Gilreath
44 DE Brandon Hicks
-2 -K DKaniel Hrapmann
69 DE Ikponmwosa Igbinosun
57 LB Mortty Ivy
-8 QB Jerrod Johnson
61 OT Kyle Jolly
13 -P Jeremy Kapinos
49 LS Matt Katula
69 C/G Ryan Lee
62 OG John Malecki
-3 WR Marquis Maze
40 LB Marshall McFadden
39 DB Walter McFadden
48 TE David Paulson
47 TE Justin Peelle
46 LB Adrian Robinson
47 -S Myron Rolle
71 OT Chris Scott
87 WR Juamorris Stewart
68 DE Jake Stoller
35 DB Josh Victorian
67 DT Kade Weston
15 WR Derrick Williams
14 WR Jimmy Young

Well, these 35 are gone. Many of them will be eligible for the PS if they clear waivers.