So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

[Chadman]

Chadman figures we might as well start a "Who Makes The Roster" thread..

QB- Ben, Batch & Dixon (3)

RB/FB- Parker, Mendenhall, Moore, Russell, Davis (5)

TE- Miller, Speath, Boyd (3)

WR- Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington, Baker, Drummond (6)

OL- Marvel, Kemo, Hartwig, Simmons, Colon, Starks, Mahan, Essex, Hills (9)

DL- Aaron Smith, Hampton, Keisel, Hoke, Kyle Clement, McBean, Martavious Prince (7)

LB- Woodley, Farrior, Foote, Harrison, Timmons, Fox, Arnold Harrison, Bruce Davis (

CB- Ike, McFadden, Deshea, Gay, Travis Williams (5)

S- Polamalu, Clark, Anthony Smith, Ryan Mundy (4)

K/P- Reed, Ernster (2)

LS- Warren (1)

There you go. What do you think?

[BIG FAN]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Too early for me Chadman.
Give you an answer after Philly.
Was Drummond a "bait " pick.

[Shawn]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

[BIG FAN]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

I'm not so sure either Shawn.
I was big on him last pre-season, but to be honest the more I saw of him the more I missed Dan Krieder. Still unsure about you guy Russell too.

[Shawn]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

I'm not so sure either Shawn.
I was big on him last pre-season, but to be honest the more I saw of him the more I missed Dan Krieder. Still unsure about you guy Russell too.

Russell will be here.

[BIG FAN]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

I'm not so sure either Shawn.
I was big on him last pre-season, but to be honest the more I saw of him the more I missed Dan Krieder. Still unsure about you guy Russell too.

Russell will be here.

I share your hope.

[Oviedo]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Chadman figures we might as well start a "Who Makes The Roster" thread..

QB- Ben, Batch & Dixon (3)

RB/FB- Parker, Mendenhall, Moore, Russell, Davis (5)

TE- Miller, Speath, Boyd (3)

WR- Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington, Baker, Drummond (6)

OL- Marvel, Kemo, Hartwig, Simmons, Colon, Starks, Mahan, Essex, Hills (9)

DL- Aaron Smith, Hampton, Keisel, Hoke, Kyle Clement, McBean, Martavious Prince (7)

LB- Woodley, Farrior, Foote, Harrison, Timmons, Fox, Arnold Harrison, Bruce Davis (

CB- Ike, McFadden, Deshea, Gay, Travis Williams (5)

S- Polamalu, Clark, Anthony Smith, Ryan Mundy (4)

K/P- Reed, Ernster (2)

LS- Warren (1)

There you go. What do you think?

I think you are pretty much right on with the following exceptions:

Reid may still stick at WR. He will have to beat Baker or Drummond. I think Drumond is an unnecessary luxury if you have Moore.

No way both Kirschke and Eason are off the roster and they go with two inexperienced rookies. I think Prince makes it, but Clement will be on the PS.

[frankthetank1]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Chadman figures we might as well start a "Who Makes The Roster" thread..

QB- Ben, Batch & Dixon (3)

RB/FB- Parker, Mendenhall, Moore, Russell, Davis (5)

TE- Miller, Speath, Boyd (3)

WR- Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington, Baker, Drummond (6)

OL- Marvel, Kemo, Hartwig, Simmons, Colon, Starks, Mahan, Essex, Hills (9)

DL- Aaron Smith, Hampton, Keisel, Hoke, Kyle Clement, McBean, Martavious Prince (7)

LB- Woodley, Farrior, Foote, Harrison, Timmons, Fox, Arnold Harrison, Bruce Davis (

CB- Ike, McFadden, Deshea, Gay, Travis Williams (5)

S- Polamalu, Clark, Anthony Smith, Ryan Mundy (4)

K/P- Reed, Ernster (2)

LS- Warren (1)

There you go. What do you think?

I think you are pretty much right on with the following exceptions:

Reid may still stick at WR. He will have to beat Baker or Drummond. I think Drumond is an unnecessary luxury if you have Moore.

No way both Kirschke and Eason are off the roster and they go with two inexperienced rookies. I think Prince makes it, but Clement will be on the PS.

i agree, i would rather have reid over baker and i would be suprised if drummond makes the team. if he does its purely because the coaches have no confidence in the candidates for returning kicks. i hope n.eason doesnt make the roster, he is awful. if carey davis doesnt make the team then who will play fb? i assume no one and just have the te line up there from time to time but i dont like that idea much. davis didnt do anything last year though

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm game.

QB- Ben, Batch, Dixon (3)

RB/FB- Parker, Mendenhall, Moore, Russell, Davis (5)

TE- Miller, Speath, Boyd (3)

WR- Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington, Reid, Baker (6)

OL- Marvel, Kemo, Hartwig, Simmons, Colon, Starks, Mahan, Essex, Hills, Stapleton (10)

DL- Aaron Smith, Hampton, Keisel, Hoke, Kirschke, McBean, Clement (7)

LB- Woodley, Farrior, Foote, Harrison, Timmons, Fox, Arnold Harrison, Bruce Davis (

CB- Ike, McFadden, Deshea, Gay (4)

S- Polamalu, Clark, Anthony Smith, Ryan Mundy (4)

K/P- Reed, Ernster (2)

LS- Warren (1)

I hate limiting myself to only 4 corners, but I will make up for that by keeping 2 rookie CB's on the practice squad. I could bring up Travis Williams to the active roster if one of them goes down with an injury. If I were to keep a 5th corner, I'm not sure if I would try to put Dixon on the PS like Lolly suggests, keep only 2 TE's on the active roster (but this seems to go against Arians' philosophies), keep only 6 d-linemen (I think they keep at least one of the veteran backups, and Kirschke is far superior to Eason, and I plan to use McBean as an Orpheus-Roye-type wedge buster on ST's, but I'm worried about losing Clement to another team if I expose him to the PS) or go with 5 WR's instead of 6 (the first 4 is set, and Reid seems to have impressed so far this camp; Baker seemed to have the buzz during the OTA's, but I haven't heard much about him since they put the pads on).

Practice Squad (I believe it is 8 instead of 5 now): Mike Humpal, Martavius Prince, Travis Williams, Roy Lewis, Dezmond Sherrod, Micah Rucker, Billy Latsko, and an o-lineman that gets cut by another team.

[BIG FAN]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Chadman figures we might as well start a "Who Makes The Roster" thread..

QB- Ben, Batch & Dixon (3)

RB/FB- Parker, Mendenhall, Moore, Russell, Davis (5)

TE- Miller, Speath, Boyd (3)

WR- Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington, Baker, Drummond (6)

OL- Marvel, Kemo, Hartwig, Simmons, Colon, Starks, Mahan, Essex, Hills (9)

DL- Aaron Smith, Hampton, Keisel, Hoke, Kyle Clement, McBean, Martavious Prince (7)

LB- Woodley, Farrior, Foote, Harrison, Timmons, Fox, Arnold Harrison, Bruce Davis (

CB- Ike, McFadden, Deshea, Gay, Travis Williams (5)

S- Polamalu, Clark, Anthony Smith, Ryan Mundy (4)

K/P- Reed, Ernster (2)

LS- Warren (1)

There you go. What do you think?

I think you are pretty much right on with the following exceptions:

Reid may still stick at WR. He will have to beat Baker or Drummond. I think Drumond is an unnecessary luxury if you have Moore.

No way both Kirschke and Eason are off the roster and they go with two inexperienced rookies. I think Prince makes it, but Clement will be on the PS.

Well said as usual. Drummond had best be the most spectacular specialist to come down the pike since Devon Hester. (Doubt it though.)

[Oviedo]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

This article was posted on the Trib site, butr very relevant to this thread. Interesting is how McBean is being written off. Not a good sign for our DL. Hopefully, Prince or Clement can develop fast.

Now, the Steelers' position battles begin
By Mike Bires, Times Sports Staff
Published: Sunday, August 3, 2008 11:31 PM EDT\

LATROBE — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says his main goal at training camp is to “leave as a hardened unit.” A secondary goal is to put together the best 53-man roster.

At some positions, trimming the roster will be effortless.

But at others, tough decisions must be made.

So now that camp is one week old and the first preseason game is just six days away, here’s a position-by-position glance at the Steelers.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK

In camp (4): Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon and Mike Potts.

The skinny: The Steelers will no doubt keep three.

Roethlisberger, with his eight-year, $102 million contract, is firmly established as the starter. Batch is a solid No. 2 man for now. But this could be his last season with the Steelers because of the rookie Dixon.

The Steelers are intrigued Dixon’s athleticism, and he projects as the backup of the future. Potts, who played at Tomlin’s alma mater (William & Mary), is strictly a practice player.

RUNNING BACK

In camp (7): Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore, Carey Davis, Gary Russell, Justin Vincent, Billy Latsko.

The skinny: On paper, there’s a ton of talent at the halfback position. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out how the carries will be divided.

Coming off a broken leg, it’s doubtful that Parker will run 300-plus times as he did the past two seasons. His string of three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons may even be in jeopardy.

That’s because of Mendenhall, the No. 1 draft pick who’s looked terrific in camp. Mendenhall will get his share of carries.

It will be interesting to see how Moore fits. He excelled as a third-down back when he played with the Minnesota Vikings. He caught 116 passes for 1,093 yards the past four years. Just as a comparison, Parker had 75 catches for 620 yards over the same span.

Last year, the Steelers kept five running backs. They’ll likely keep five again this year. Vincent and Latsko have no chance.

WIDE RECEIVER

In camp (11): Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Limas Sweed, Nate Washington, Eddie Drummond, Willie Reid, Dallas Baker, Jeremy Bloom, Micah Rucker, Gerran Walker and Marvin Allen.

The skinny: With Ward and Holmes set as the starters, Sweed and Washington will battle for the No. 3 job. Washington, now a fourth-year pro, has an edge in experience and speed. At 6-foot-4, Sweed, this year’s second-round pick, is the big receiver Roethlisberger has coveted since Plaxico Burress left town.

It didn’t bode well for Reid when the Steelers signed wide receiver/kick return specialist Drummond last week.

TIGHT END

In camp (5): Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Jon Dekker, Cody Boyd and Dezmond Sherrod.

The skinny: It has been said by at least one Steelers insider that Boyd (6-8, 264) is the best blocking tight end on the roster. That bodes well for Boyd’s chances of replacing Jerame Tuman as the Steelers’ third TE.

Miller and Spaeth are perceived to be better pass catches than blockers.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is fond of three tight end sets, so it only makes sense that the Steelers will keep three again this year.

LINE

In camp (13): Marvel Smith, Willie Colon, Kendall Simmons, Chris Kemoeatu, Justin Hartwig, Sean Mahan, Max Starks, Trai Essex, Darnell Stapleton, Tony Hills, Matt Lentz, Jeremy Parquet and Doug Legursky.

The skinny: Last year, the Steelers kept nine O-linemen. Unless they cut another veteran this year, they’ll probably keep 10.

Would the Steelers dare cut Mahan if he loses the starting job at center to Hartwig?

Probably not.

But they also probably won’t cut Starks, despite his $7 million contract, Essex or Stapleton because of the “position flexibility” as Tomlin calls it, or Hills because he’s a rookie fourth-round draft pick.

DEFENSE

LINE

In camp (11): Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Chris Hoke, Travis Kirschke, Nick Eason, Ryan McBean, Scott Paxson, Kyle Clement, Martavius Price and Jordan Reffert.

The skinny: Left to right in the 3-4 base defense, Smith, Hampton and Keisel are set up front.

Eason, Hoke and Eason are the backups.

Last year when the Steelers drafted McBean, a defensive end, they knew he’d be a project. Now it looks like he may never play in the NFL.

LINEBACKERS

In camp (13): Larry Foote, James Farrior, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, Bruce Davis, Keyaron Fox, Mike Humpal, Andre Frazier, Arnold Harrison, Patrick Bailey, Anthony Trucks and Donovan Woods.

The skinny: Foote will keep his starting job at right inside linebacker for now, but Timmons, last year’s No. 1 pick, will play more and more as the season progresses, especially on obvious passing downs.

If the Steelers keep nine linebackers as they did last year, Fox, Frazier and Arnold Harrison will battle for the eighth and ninth spots.

Davis, this year’s third-round draft pick, won’t be cut. Even though he’s a sixth-rounder, Humpal has been impressive so far.

SECONDARY

In camp (13): Troy Polamalu, Deshea Townsend, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Bryant McFadden, Anthony Smith, William Gay, Tyrone Carter, Grant Mason, Anthony Madison, Ryan Mundy, Travis Williams and Roy Lewis.

The skinny: Another position which is all but set. The top eight players are entrenched. Mason, Madison and Mundy will battle it out for the ninth and 10th spots if the Steelers keep 10 DBs like 2007.

SPECIAL TEAMS

In camp (4): Jeff Reed, Paul Ernster, Daniel Sepulveda and Greg Warren.

The skinny: This is a no-brainer.

Reed is one of the NFL’s most reliable place kickers. Warren is a solid the long-snapper. They have no competition in camp right now.

And someone has to punt, whether it’s Ernster, who was signed when Sepulveda re-tore a knee ligament last week, or someone else the Steelers may bring in between now and the start of the regular season.

Interestingly, the Steelers have yet to put Sepulveda on the season-ending injured reserve list. But maybe they will after his surgery on Wednesday.

[steelernation77]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Tyrone Carter will not get cut.

[Oviedo]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

Tyrone Carter will not get cut.

Tyrone taking a spot from a young player you could develop like Ryan Mundy, Travis Williams or Roy Lewis would be unfortunate.

[DukieBoy]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

Agreed.

[DukieBoy]

Re: So- after a week of TC- who's in the final 53?

I'm still not convinced Corey Davis makes this squad.

I'm not so sure either Shawn.
I was big on him last pre-season, but to be honest the more I saw of him the more I missed Dan Krieder. Still unsure about you guy Russell too.

Russell will be here.

Hopefully so.