Projected 53-Man Final Roster After 2 Preseason Games and Other Goodies

Intropy, that inactive list is entirely due to Brown likely being the superior return specialist, based on his significant more experience returning kicks and punts in college than Sanders, who mainly just returned punts later in his career.

Sanders will get his shot to show off return skills this week. But if he is not the return man, Sanders would likely have to be ahead of Randle El as the No. 3 WR to dress, and I do not see that happening on opening day.

Good points, Mike. Urbik seemed like a longshot before the preseason but has played well. Now, it may be too risky to cut a third-round pick. But I can’t see both him and Hartwig making it, since neither can play tackle. One might, though, probably at the expense of Hills or Scott. Foster has not had a great preseason but is versatile and should make it.

I would love to see Worthington make it over Eason. The rookie looks very athletic and can add more mass. However, the staff cut Harris for Eason last year, and Harris was much more impressive in camp last fall than Worhington was this year.

Summers is probably battling McHugh for a roster spot. One of the two makes it, since they are the only two who have seen action at FB in preseason this year. It will be interesting to see who gets cut from the over-crowded secondary, but cutting Mundy is a possibility. However, he had a good camp.

Randy, if Madison continues to play on all the first-team special units and play well (although he outran his responsibility on the big punt return against NY), I will probably put him on the final projected roster, and take off Butler. I would hate to cut a fifth-round pick at CB, who has played well; and I doubt he would slip through to the practice squad. But I can’t see any team keeping 11 DBs. It would be almost ideal if we could stash one of those two young CBs on IR for a year.

As one of only three CBs with any real experience, I do not think Gay will be cut. He was an effective No. 3 CB two years ago for one of the best defenses in modern NFL history and this offseason was all about putting that same defensive unit back on the field.

I like McHugh, but all of his reps in preseason have been at fullback, where he is the clearly behind Summers on the pecking order based on participation chart. Very little chance he makes it at this point. Johnson, in contrast, has gotten all of his game reps at TE, so he seems like a near lock as the No. 3 TE.

They may well keep just one of Scott or HIlls, and then an interior player among Hartwig or Urbik (most likely Hartwig), but that would leave the squad thin at tackle, where they are also less stable at starting right tackle. Thus, right now I am going on a limb and predicting the Hartwig cut, although that projection may change.

As for Mundy, he played well against the Lions but not the Giants. I am still surprised and disappointed that Colbert did not use a pick on a safety in a 2010 NFL Draft loaded with them. A fifth-round safety seemed like more of a need than a third linebacker in the same draft.

Mr. Kian, thank you for your long, thoughtful reply. As always, you reasoning is exceptionally sound, and I’m sure you’re correct about all your points. But I have some time to kill, so here goes…

I, too, would hate to take a chance and lose Crezdon Butler by waiving him, which is why I’d rather cut William Gay, whose value we well may be over-rating. From the reports I’ve read and heard, he’s not having much of a pre-season.

Of course, it’s only pre-season, but we’ve seen the limit of his play and he’s not terribly impressive. I’d roll the dice that the Steelers can plug in someone who’s adequate at playing the nickel.

Hartwig is a decent center, but like his predecessor Sean Mahan, he simply cannot handle those massive 3-4 nose tackles that the Steelers routinely face. Hartwig doesn’t play guard either. Thus, he lacks the versatility to perform as a Tomlin-style back-up. At least Urbik can move easily between two guard positions, or at least he has so far this pre-season.

I was surprised the Steelers didn’t draft a safety, too, but I can only guess that they didn’t think players who were available to them had enough value.

That said, it’s always good to remind yourself that you can’t have everything.

Good list. 3 points or differences:

(1) Ben does not have to count toward the 53-man roster until he returns from suspension;

(2) I would be shocked if the Steelers only keep 8 DBs. Cutting Mundy, Butler and Madison are all possibilities, but not all of them. Heck, although it sounds absurd, the team could theoretically keep 11 DBs if it deems Madison to valuable for STs, does not want to cut a young CB and feels like it needs four pure safeties;

(3) McHugh has received all of his action in the preseason as the No. 2 fullback behind Summers, with Johnson getting all of the reps at No. 3 TE. Thus, if McHugh makes it, then it will likely be at FB over Summers, but he has yet to get any reps with the top unit even though I, too, think he is a better lead blocker than Tank.

They’ll keep Urbik as its too early to cut a 3rd round pick. Although he started slow, he has turned it on and is making great progress.

Original Thread: Link to the Thread: http://whatchatalkinbout.com/f…php?topic=177.0

It’s that time of year for the Pick the 53 Man Contest. The winner of the contest will receive a Steelers T-Shirt from our friends at Believe Merch (http://www.believemerch.com). The winner of the contest will be the person who picks the highest number of rostered players.

The tiebreaker will be who picks the highest number of practice squad players. If there’s a tie after that, then those tied must call in to the program 206-2024468 and give a reason why they should win. The calls will be posted and listeners will vote and decide who will win.

Please get you roster selections in by Midnight on September 3rd.

Post your selections in this thread or email me at bigswa@gmail.com.

** Don’t worry about the August 31st cuts.