The final 53
 

I'd like to have opinions before the cut downs happen as to who we keep. Ballard has done us the favor of giving us many options for the final 53. Good options at that. I think there is an argument to be made for keeping 5 tight ends. As football becomes more 'positionless'. There is a good chance that we regret if either Henteges or Travis is let walk. They both have skill sets that can replace older more expensive players next year, if they continue to develop. I think Henteges is the fourth tight end, he blocks and Reich is committed to the run game, he has great hands and runs excellent routes. Travis is a playmaker. He will be split out most of the time. He ran a 4.6 40 with only two weeks practice. Pascal ran a 4.55 (he improved it to 4.46 on his pro day). Interesting how they will develop this team. Many options

well what the fuck, I'll take a stab at making a 53:
Offense, (23 players):
WR: Hilton, Funchess, Cain, Rogers, Pascal
(Campbell will be put on PUP and return mid-season, at which point I expect Pascal to be cut barring any surprises)
TE: Doyle, Ebron, Cox, Hentges
(a surprise move might be to trade Doyle and keep Travis or maybe they cut Cox and keep Travis)
Tackle: Castonzo, Clark, Smith, Haeg
Guard: Nelson, Glowinski, Boehm,
Center: Kelly, Andrews
QB: Luck, Brissett
(another surprise move, a last minute trade of Brissett and keeping Kelly, and they've really just been holding Luck out to showcase Brissett a lot more)
RB: Mack, Hines, Wilkins

Defense (27 players):
End: Houston, Turay, Muhammad, Banogu, Green
(Sheard may also end up on PUP, if not, then Green is waived to practice squad to make room for Sheard)
Tackle: Autry, Hunt, Lewis, Stewart, Ward
LB: Leonard, Walker, Okereke, Speed, Adams, Franklin, S. Moore
CB: Desir, Wilson, Ya-Sin, Milton, K. Moore, Hairston
S: Hooker, Geathers, Willis, Farley

Special Teams (3):
Vinatieri, Sanchez, Rhodes

My stab, realizing this all probably changes this weekend/Monday based on Luck etc.


OFFENSE (25)

QB (2): Luck, Brissett
RB (4): Mack, Hines, Wilkins, Williams
WR (6): Hilton, Funchess, Campbell, Cain, Rogers, Pascal
TE (4): Ebron, Doyle, Alie-Cox, Hentges
T (4): Castonzo, Smith, Clark, Barton
T/G (1): Haeg
G (3): Nelson, Glowinski, Eldrenkamp
C (1): Kelly

NOTES: Obviously this implies a healthy Luck for Week 1. If Luck isn't healthy, swap Barton's spot for Walker or TBD FA QB.

I think they keep 4 RBs because Wilkins is week-to-week, Mack is a traditional injury question mark and Hines is more of a WR/RB than a RB. I'm going to give that RB4 spot to Williams just purely guessing on severity of his injury, but if he's down Week 1, it's West instead.

This team is keeping 6 WRs as Campbell's hamstring lingers and there has been no special teams separation from any other players + Rogers/Pascal.

Picking OL beyond starters + Haeg kinda sucks. Staff seems to like Josh Andrews, but that's a no from me, dawg. Boehm isn't good. Eldrenkamp probably isn't worse than Boehm, but at that point in talent, it doesn't really matter if it's Boehm or Eldrenkamp or someone else entirely. I actually kinda wonder if it isn't a waiver wire add.

DEFENSE (25):

DE (5): Houston, Muhammad, Sheard, Turay, Banogu
DT (5): Autry, Hunt, Lewis, Stewart
LB (6): Leonard, Walker, Okereke, Speed, Franklin, Adams
CB (6): Desire, Moore, Wilson, Ya-Sin, Milton, Taylor
S (4): Hooker, Geathers, Willis, Odum

NOTES: Sheard's health obviously has an impact; this group needs another DL if he's down >first 2-3 weeks. I think Franklin and Adams are too good on special teams to omit, and Franklin can play SAM when team goes heavy. Milton seems like a lock by now, so carrying a 6th CB or 5th S is an interesting question. I've been impressed by Taylor and think he has upside, is a special teams contributor, so I have him slotted in ... but I could see the case for a number of others.

I think the top 3 safeties is a damn fine group, but no one beyond that wows me. I slotted in Odum because Ballard seems to love him, but he's never really shown me anything. Could just as easily by Farley.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3):

K: Vinatieri
P: Sanchez
LS: Rhodes


TOUGHEST CUTS: Jihad Ward, Nate Hairston, Krishawn Hogan, Ross Travis, Carroll Phillips

I can see us drafting a TE next year along with some oline and a RB

I hope the Colts don't go with 4 RB's on the roster at the start of the season. I completely agree with you about the potential injury risk of both Mack and Wilkins - so at some point in the season, the Colts will need to add a 4th RB to the mix. I don't think it is necessarily required for Week 1, however.

QB is the first round.

:eek:

You tanking for Tua ? :cool:

I would hate to to Ward and Phillips go.

Same for Travis. I'm going to be bummed at who is cut for the first time in I don't know how long. Very cool

I was hoping they would find a way to keep Travis, but trading Doyle for him seems like a non starter, and Cox is developing well as a blocking TE. Hentges is just better, has shown more in card and has longer upside.

Zak Keefer on Hentges: