Always the horses, seldom the jockey...
Daily Commentary on the Dallas Sports Scene - By Bob Sturm - Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket - The Athletic Dallas - The Athletic - Bob Sturm
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, October 19, 2014 (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
Let's understand that there is never a completed roster in the NFL. If you accept the fact that the last few members of the roster must live with the idea that they could be asked to "go talk to coach" at any time on any day, then you might be ready to live a life as a pro football player (as long as you are a massive human being with uncommon ability, as well).
But, given that today is the day where many teams shoot their team picture (before the injuries begin) and given that today is also the day that most teams begin preparations for their Week 1 battles to open the year, this is a good day to meet the 53.
13 new players made the team which is certainly more than I anticipated when camp began. But, injuries, suspensions, and a few last minute decisions from the front office made that possible. And yes, they are on the first version of the roster, but how many are still here on October or November 1st?
The path is never straight and there is nothing predictable about managing a NFL team through a season. It is made more complex with at least 4 suspensions to deal with and before long, the trainer's room will start to fill up with players who are busted up. This is a rough way to make a living.
Ok, with all of that in mind, let's see what this team looks like:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Dak Prescott, Kellen Moore, and Cooper Rush
The Cowboys got their fan base worked into a frenzy this weekend when they did what everyone wanted them to do - cut Kellen Moore. Trouble is, they weren't really cutting him. They were using a loophole to sneak a 54th man onto their roster. Moore did not have to clear waivers. They could tell him that this is just paperwork and he wouldn't even leave the complex. I believe he is still the 2nd string QB in that if Prescott needed to leave the game Sunday, there is a 100% chance it is Kellen Moore who would enter the game. I am not saying he is better than Cooper Rush, I am saying he is more prepared and more trusted by the coaches. The sooner everyone accepts this truth, the sooner we can all go on to more productive time wasting exercises. Further, I still contend that if they lose Prescott for 2 months, Tony Romo is actually the plan. I am only half-joking.
RUNNING BACKS (5): Ezekiel Elliott, Rod Smith, Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris, and Keith Smith.
This group is pretty clear. Elliott and McFadden are the main ball carriers, Morris is suspension insurance for Elliott and injury cover for the position. Rod Smith is working his way into the picture of the offense (although still a rare plan, I imagine) and Keith Smith is here 100% for special teams duty. This is a lot to put at RB, but the Elliott situation makes this a bit complicated.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Brice Butler, Ryan Switzer, and Noah Brown.
Again, the Cowboys went heavy here with 6. But, they plan on 3 and 4 WR sets as rather routine plan and also have Switzer and Brown slated for considerable special teams duty. Brice Butler looks better than he ever has and I think they are in really good shape here. Of course, it only takes on Dez Bryant injury to sabotage that thinking (2015, 2016), but for now, I like what they have done here.
TIGHT ENDS (3): Jason Witten, James Hanna, Geoff Swaim
It looked like it would be 4 tight ends for a while, but the regular season unveiling of Rico Gathers is going to have to wait a bit as the Cowboys cleared a spot by placing him on IR to return when his concussion clears up. It is difficult to say whether this is roster manipulation or whether his concussion is more severe than we first thought, but it is what it is. Now, with Witten, Hanna, and Swaim all back, the 12 and 13 personnel packages are back to full strength. This was an under-reported issue last season with Hanna gone and Swaim lost in Pittsburgh. This is a real boost.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE (3): Tyron Smith, La'el Collins, Chaz Green
They have the best tackle in football, a very bright prospect at right tackle, and Chaz Green who would likely be ok for a short patch, but I would not consider him for full-time duty at this point. It is important to remember that there are not many 3rd tackles in the NFL who would be considered very highly, so having Green there might give you indigestion, but know that every team in the league is in big trouble if they lose a tackle for a long spell. It isn't quite like QBs, but there are not enough good pass-protecting tackles to go around in this league.
OFFENSIVE GUARDS (3): Zack Martin, Jonathan Cooper, Byron Bell
They have the best guard in football (possibly), a very talented reclamation project at right guard (I am announcing Cooper is the starting LG since they won't), and a veteran stop-gap who can play guard or tackle at replacement level, or so. It is important to remember with Green, Bell, and Joe Looney, that they believe all of them can play multiple spots if needed, so where we place the backups is more of a cosmetic exercise right now.
CENTER (2): Travis Frederick, Joe Looney
They have the best center in football and some veteran cover in case of injury. I know Snacks Harrison gives him fits, but the luxury of having Frederick is substantial and overlooked.
So, 25 offensive players for now. We don't know about Elliott's spot yet and we also don't have Moore official as of this moment.
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Now, on to the defense:
DEFENSIVE ENDS (5): Demarcus Lawrence, Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford, Charles Tapper, and Benson Mayowa
You can imagine how much fun it is to try to put a roster and then have everyone at the same position get suspended. How different does this look with Randy Gregory, David Irving, and Damontre Moore? You would start by saying Crawford and Irving are likely moved to tackle because you are so stacked and work from there. Instead, they have to figure this out and try to affect the passer with some pressure. Lawrence is in a contract year, too. I imagine Crawford is your backup 3-technique (which is a job he is being paid amazingly well to do). Charlton will play plenty in September and Tapper may be on the fringe of the roster when the suspensions end.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES (3): Maliek Collins, Stephen Paea, and Brian Price
Maliek Collins might be the best player on this defensive front already. He has a chance to have a huge year at the 3-technique. Stephen Paea was a shrewd signing and he was able to push Cedric Thornton to the street after Cedric had such a hard time staying healthy. Price was just grabbed from Green Bay and maybe he will fit better in the 4-3 scheme as a run plugger. Like I said above, I am sure they will be joined inside by Tyrone Crawford quite a bit on early downs.
LINEBACKERS (7): Sean Lee, Justin Durant, Damien Wilson, Jaylon Smith, Kyle Wilber, Jayrone Elliott, and Anthony Hitchens
There seems to be uncertainty with Hitchens and his injury, because so far they haven't put him on the IR. This is interesting to say the least, but I think it also demonstrates their nervousness about Jaylon Smith's readiness to play a big role early. Keep in mind they are still bracing for a Damien Wilson suspension, too. But, as it stands, Lee and Durant will play most snaps, with Wilson and Smith chiming in. Wilber and Jayrone Elliott will be special teams regulars and Hitchens is anyone's guess. I imagine they will go with 6 linebackers here soon, once things start to clarify a bit with all the uncertainty.
CORNERBACKS (6): Orlando Scandrick, Nolan Carroll, Anthony Brown, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, and Bene' Benwikere
So, here is another spot where they were never expecting to keep 6. But, the kids have had a real issue getting their hamstrings right, so for now they bring in veteran Benwikere to provide some cover early in the first few weeks. I imagine he is another candidate to go when the suspensions expire, but who knows? Awuzie is close and Lewis isn't thought to be too far behind, but this was not the way they wanted to start Week 1.
SAFETIES (4): Byron Jones, Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, and Xavier Woods.
Here is finally one spot where it went exactly like we though in late April. Now we will see if they are as ready as management thought when they let Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox walk without much effort to keep either high-snap safety from last season and the last several years. Lots of Jeff Heath early as we are still waiting for Woods to acclimate before he challenges for center-field duty. Keep in mind the Cowboys have played three safeties a ton as Jones is often used as a corner.
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SPECIALISTS (3): Dan Bailey, Chris Jones, LP Ladouceur
How easy is this group to summarize? Year after year, rinse and repeat.
So, like we said, things will happen here as Moore will be signed today. Elliott's fate for Week 1 could also come down before dusk. And, they could also move Hitchens to the IR, but I am guessing.
Beyond that, this looks like your team picture. For better or worse:
IR: Rico Gathers
Damontre Moore, David Irving
And then here is the chart that demonstrates how many the team has put at each positional group on this day over the last decade:
Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson (second from left) is pictured with his players from left, rookie Cooper Rush (7), Kellen Moore (17) and Dak Prescott (4) during organized team activities at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
As we jam quite a few things together on cut-down weekend, I hope you don't mind our Friday mailbag actually being moved back to Sunday morning this one time. We had to wait until the Cowboys made their decisions, and caution you there are likely a few more today to be made. But, for now, let's see what you all have to say and I will answer your questions the best I can.
Q: After being so attached to Moore for so long, what do you think finally put Cooper Rush over the top to force Dallas to keep him?
There is no question the biggest story on cut-down day is the Cowboys letting Kellen Moore go as a released player. That got a lot of people pretty fired up because that was also the biggest argument amongst Cowboys fans over the last few weeks - how could the Cowboys like Kellen Moore more than this kid Cooper Rush?
So, it got sorted yesterday, right? They obviously didn't like Moore more than Rush, right?
I still think there is more to come here. Possibly by this afternoon. I think the Cowboys saw a way to work around the system. Let's start with the idea that this year you may now have two players return from injured reserve during the season. So, you can basically have two roster exemptions in your 53-man roster. HOWEVER, you must also have them on your roster on the final cut-down day. That keeps teams from trying to keep 55 players.
But, the way around this is also simple - just cut a player or two that you value more than anyone else or that agrees to go along with you because he does not need to clear waivers - and then bring them back the moment you place Anthony Hitchens and/or Rico Gathers on the IR-DTR. Once that is done, they are back to 51 players and then they can re-add two players (provided they are still out there).
Now, Cooper Rush would have had to clear waivers and possibly would have been claimed by someone else. Kellen Moore is the type of player who is always out there on the streets. I suspect they sat there and figured they like him more than anyone else (they do) and Kellen knows this (he does). So, they could actually work around the 53-man constraints by cutting him for 24 hours.
Again, I could be wrong, but I anticipate next Sunday that Kellen Moore will be active as the 2nd QB for the Giants game and Cooper Rush will be the 3rd. Let's see what the next 48 hours brings us.
Q: Do you think there's any chance Kellen Moore doesn't end up on the practice squad? Would anyone else want to sign him?
No, I don't think he is going to the practice squad. And, I don't think Kellen Moore would be signed elsewhere. This is about simple trust for his football acumen from Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan. I think they want him to help Dak Prescott prepare for action and to be ready in a pinch to play a few quarters in an emergency. They like Cooper Rush for the future far more. But, this is very early in Rush's career, and I suspect they want Moore for now - and then hope he doesn't actually have to play.
Q: Were you surprised by the number of draft picks from this year's class that were cut?
To be honest, no. The Cowboys entire roster had very few openings this year. I know people are making a big deal about losing all those defensive backs in Mo Claiborne, Brandon Carr, Barry Church, and J.J. Wilcox. But, beyond that, Ron Leary and Doug Free also bounced out of here as well as Terrell McClain and Jack Crawford up front on the DL. So, that is roughly 8-10 players.
But, they added Jaylon Smith, Charles Tapper, and Rico Gathers from last year's draft class that didn't even play a snap as a group in 2016. They also added Jonathan Cooper, Nolan Carroll, Byron Bell, and Stephen Paea as veterans before the draft to fill spots. So, 8 players out and 7 in before we get to the draft.
Now, here comes a 9-player draft class. You simply don't have room for all of them. There just aren't enough jobs available for those players even if they can play. That said, the 5 they picked in the first 200 picks all made the squad and they have big plans for. The last 4 were going to have to outperform quite a bit to make a spot. It looks like Noah Brown was the only one who did, with Joey Ivie, Jordan Carroll, and Marquez White being exposed to waivers and then possibly on to the practice squad for now. White had the best chance, but didn't really get on the field enough and Ivie and Carroll were outplayed by undrafted rookie Lewis Neal - who also didn't get a spot.
But, as it stands, the only players they set free were from picks #216, #228, and #246. And it is pretty hard to think players taken that deep in the draft are assured of making the team. The more picks you make, the more you have to make room for. The Cowboys aren't a rebuilding team. They won 13 games last year and it was going to be tough to get a job here. Like I said, we knew 50 of their 53 before camp even started. So, this is no surprise to most of us.
Q: Any insight into the new CB Bene' Benwikere from Cincy?
Well, first of all, it is his 26th birthday today. So, there is that.
Also, he is roughly 18 months removed from joining the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 - however, he was on injured reserve for their playoff and Super Bowl run. He did, however, play a ton of corner for the Panthers from 2014-16 as part of their primarily zone defenses. He was released when they were destroyed by Atlanta last season and has been briefly signed by Miami, Green Bay, and Cincinnati ever since.
For a few weeks, we have wondered how the Cowboys could expect to deal with Eli Manning and his cast of talented receivers if all of these rookies have yet to recover from their injuries. Now, we know - we shouldn't expect much from Awuzie or Lewis until they are fit. This is surely a stop-gap with a conditional draft pick sent to the Bengals for some veteran cover at cornerback until they get healthy. I imagine this move cost Marquez White his roster spot, but now with Giants week here, they can use Orlando Scandrick, Anthony Brown, Nolan Carroll, and even Byron Jones as cover guys. Then if they need to go deeper, they will use Benwikere until these rookies get it back together.
If he really impresses, perhaps they will have some decisions to make, but I suspect unless one of those top 3 get injured, this is a pure depth play for the first few weeks.
Q: What should the expectations be for Taco Charlton in his rookie season?
For me, the expectations are simple for Taco Charlton - continue to be that active body who swoops in and cleans up plays when the QB holds the ball too long and use his high motor ability to run into stops. Continue to learn on the fly and be molded by Rod Marinelli.
He has a real athletic build and I would like to see him capitalize on his size and just be a force. I have talked about his limitations on the edge, but now let's focus on why he should be a 5-6 sack guy right away. This defensive pass rush scheme is based on collective engagements where they use each other to create chaos in the pocket. Guys get sacks from activity, not overpowering moves, quite a bit. They are stunting and flashing around and the QB runs into someone's arms as he avoids another. This is where he should excel, and it will often be just because he remains active. And, he should get plenty of work early with suspensions to David Irving and Damontre Moore.
Q: Can Dez Bryant be a top-three NFL receiver this season?
Can he? Sure. Is this a fantasy question? Because I don't think he can match the numbers that will be put up by teams that throw the ball a ton. But, will he be a unstoppable force? Sure.
I have written about my concerns about Dez and his body. I think we should be concerned that his style has caused him to be injured quite a few times in the last few years because he refuses to give up on a play or run out of bounds. I think that will be an issue moving forward. But, on any given play he looks as impressive as anyone in the sport.
Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) waves at a fan after getting a note from a kid prior to the start of practice during training camp at The Star in Frisco on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
So, I would not rate him with Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, A.J. Green, Mike Evans, and that group at the very top for pure production and most of those guys are pretty durable, too. But, he can flash up there at any moment and is surely in that next tier of #6-#10 receivers in the league.
I am sure many of you will disagree and put him at the top, but I need him to be fit for a whole season again, first.
Q: Who is one defensive player who is flying under the radar that can have a big year for the Cowboys?
Jeff Heath. Since many of you already want him on the sideline, I would say that constitutes "flying under the radar". One of the most impressive players in the preseason for me was Damontre Moore. I hate that he is suspended for the first 2 games, because I think he can have a 8-sack season if he gets the chance. Not sure he will because Benson Mayowa earned that spot last season, but those are probably the two names I like more than others. Stephen Paea, too, but that is not a splash-play position at the 1-technique.
Q: Dak Prescott had trouble against the Giants last season. How does he fix that this season?
Well, this will come down to the Linehan offseason for me. Never have you had 9 months to sort something out quite like this. The Cowboys offense mowed through pretty much every challenge imaginable in 2016 with the exception of the New York Giants. You had 2 games of snaps to sort out what they did against you and how they made your offense look feeble at times.
In this league, much of the offseason is spent on your division rivals and how they present issues for you and you work on solutions. I would like to think that the Cowboys spent an entire week or two figuring out how Steve Spagnuolo and his troops did so well and worked on counters.
This one is not on Dak. They were out schemed in Week 14 in New York. This is on Linehan and his staff to have plans for when the Giants start cutting off all of the Cowboys normal paths on offense.
Is it rub routes? Is it more play-action? Is it a way to free up Dez from his predictable routes in tight press coverage?
I will be interested to see what their plan is, but let's hope the Cowboys don't roll out the same offensive ideas and expect that the Giants can't keep up. Because the Giants built their defense to stop the Dallas offense. And last year, it worked quite well.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett talks to the team after practice during training camp at The Star in Frisco on Monday, August 28, 2017. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
Sometimes when you write a piece about the Dallas Cowboys, you hope it is something that is relevant enough to be bookmarked for a few weeks. Other times - like this morning - you write something that you know will possibly be outdated by lunchtime.
This is one of those moments. I was given the task to put together my 53-man roster, even though the real one could be out today or early tomorrow.
The Cowboys roster is, as usual in recent years, a bit complex because of suspensions and pending suspensions. But since the Cowboys have to deal with them, so do I.
OK. So, suspensions we know: David Irving and Damontre Moore. Suspensions we might have to deal with: Ezekiel Elliott. Also, Nolan Carroll and Damien Wilson could have earned a suspension that has yet to be issued.
Injuries are also on the table - but, I assume Anthony Hitchens is the only IR candidate. He might miss less than 2 months, but now that you can bring 2 players back, I would imagine he is one of them "designated to return."
It seems like putting this roster together was really easy this year, to be honest. The Cowboys lost some players from their 13-3 season, but they also filled each spot man-for-man in the draft, so to find the 53 players for these jobs wasn't too difficult. Of course, if I have 8 of these names wrong, you can have a laugh at this missed attempt.
So, let's look at my 53-man roster on the morning of September 1st:
Initially, I have gone with 26 on offense and 24 on defense with 3 specialists:
They never go with 26 on offense, but because several of these offensive players are technically "special teams" aces and due to the suspensions, I think they will start 26/24 and then move to 25/25 or even 24/26 by the end of the suspensions.
But, for now, 26 on offense and 24 on defense:
And then here is the chart that demonstrates how many the team has put at each positional group on this day over the last decade:
Position
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
QB
2
2
3
3
3
3
2
3
2
3
RB
5
4
4
5
4
4
4
4
5
6
TE
3
3
3
2
4
3
4
3
4
3
WR
6
5
5
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
OL
10
11
10
10
10
9
9
9
9
8
DL
6
6
6
7
7
7
10
11
10
8
LB
7
8
9
9
7
8
6
7
6
7
DB
11
11
9
9
9
10
10
8
9
10
ST
3
3
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
Total
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
53
Please don't get too concerned about Jaylon Smith starting over Justin Durant. I listed them as I see them when Jaylon is fully fit. He is clearly the better player, but Durant will likely start at first. Either way, they both are safely on the team, of course.
I also assume now that it is virtually assured that Elliott will play in Week 1, so I didn't worry about his spot. If they have to shed a RB for numbers, I think Alfred Morris will be their choice.
When we left for California, I wrote that the Cowboys know about 50 of the 53 spots already. I believe that is true because there are only names - Cooper Rush and Lewis Neal - who I never thought a month ago would make the roster. A fine job by both of them to make this team. Now, it is up to both of them to take advantage of it because when it is time to free up spots when the suspensions end, those will be the most likely names they look at.
Also, we should list the toughest cuts and the most likely candidates for the practice squad.
Andy Jones, Uzoma Nwachukwu, Lance Lenoir, Emmitt Cleary, Nate Theaker, Joey Ivie, Jordan Carroll, Joseph Jones, Lenny Jones, Marquez White, Jameill Showers, and Duke Thomas will be on the list as potential practice squad players if they can clear waivers.
Now, like I said, in just a few hours, this list will not be very relevant, but then we can break down the moves that they have actually made. Most importantly, we should keep in mind that the Cowboys can and will add up to 3 names from other team's cuts. Linebacker seems to be a real position where they can add moving forward.
Let's see what the next 48 hours brings (especially in news from New York City) before we assume the roster on Monday is the final 53 to face Week 1.
Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia directs practice during the morning walkthrough at Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California on July 23, 2013. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
We are now in the middle of NFL training camps and, as we speak, teams are meeting about which players they can keep around when they are forced to make roster decisions. Unfortunately, most fans don't know where to look, because when they are trying to figure out who are the fourth and fifth wide receivers, or the sixth-best linebacker, or the fourth-best safety, they are looking in the wrong place.
It is reasonable to think that you keep wide receivers for their ability to catch the ball. And it is equally reasonable to believe that if we are going to keep one more edge rusher, it is because we think he can ultimately develop into a guy who may collect a few sacks. It is reasonable, but it is also seldom true.
The truth is that this league doesn't have time to develop players very often. They can hide a few practice-squad projects for a short amount of time, but even those can get picked off by the competition without much notice. So, the NFL quickly becomes a place where we think about the week at hand -- because if we lose too many games this season, none of us will be around to worry about our projects.
So, you have to offer the league something right now. In almost every case, to get a chance to show what you can be, you had better be able to help us now. How? Special teams.
I write about this every August and consider it the most important thing to determine roster spots for the Cowboys, or any team. If you want to know who is going to make the team, once we get by the top 25-30 players on the roster who are making all the money, you simply have to consider the following chart. This is a chart I have been keeping for six seasons now, and it offers valuable information about how often the Cowboys (or any team, really) use their special teams:
As you can see, there are eight times your special teams are needed. Field goals, extra points, punts and kickoffs are four. The other four are when your opponents do those things. Of those eight groupings, you will use them roughly 28 times a game. So, in a sport where your offense and defense each average between 60-65 snaps per game, we should not forget that around 20 percent of all snaps in an NFL game come on special teams.
This is not interesting to many fans, because odds are that their favorite players are so good they are not asked to do anything on special teams. It is also uninteresting to fans because it almost never affects their fantasy football team and seldom affects the outcome of their real football team's games.
But if you spend a week at Cowboys training camp, you will find out that "real" football obsesses over special teams. Every few days, they dedicate entire practice or walk-through sessions to special teams. They spend countless hours in meetings in preparation for the importance of dealing with between two or three dozen moments in a game when nearly none of the millionaires are on the field, but games often swing. Imagine that in other sports! Imagine scenarios when games are won and lost while none of the top 20 earners are on the field. It happens all the time in this sport. Almost all special teams players (save for a star kicker, or perhaps a star return man) are at, or slightly above, the league minimum. Almost all special teams players have little service time in the NFL and are on their first contracts. Almost all of them are pretty anonymous to most fan bases.
But there they are, covering kicks and returning punts. The last 15-20 names on the roster, and the special teams coach is left to make darn sure that they may not win the game -- but for his very own job security, they had better not lose the game, either.
So let's imagine Rich Bisaccia's job on a week-to-week basis. He has to make sure these coverage and return teams are full of competent and talented players who can do their jobs. We all know that, but who are his choices? Well, once you start going down the list of 46 active bodies, you will find that it is not a very big list:
So that was your roster card from Thanksgiving Day of last year. As you can see, I put a red line through all the players who are either off-limits, not dressed, or not candidates to do any sort of coverage or return work. Some of them, of course, can at least be part of the field-goal units (most of the O-line does that), but when it comes to sprinting down the field and trying to collide at high speeds, the teams are smart enough to protect their most valuable assets from this work.
Other body types just don't work. You don't want 300-pounders trying to cover punts (or 180-pounders, usually). Not great fits. So in the end, you have roughly 20 players to handle those four most important units on your special teams that will each be asked to take the field between 4-6 times per game. Punt cover, punt return, kick cover and kick return.
And that is the point to this entire August blog entry -- as you are trying to figure out the roster cuts, it is made much easier if you pay close attention during the next 2-3 preseason games to see who is covering kicks and punts (especially in the first half). This will be Bisaccia's testing of the players -- especially all the young ones -- and if you see anyone who was drafted between rounds 4-7, or undrafted altogether, then you can expect that their best way to make the team is by being excellent at special teams.
Especially the following positions: Running backs, fullbacks, tight ends, wide receivers, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties. If you are a big enough stud starter at some of those spots, they won't risk you on special teams. Everyone else stays. And as long as I have covered these lists, safeties, even if they are starters, are still on special teams. Why? Because they are your best tacklers in the open field and you will need them to do that on a few kicks and punts each year.
When you go down the roster, you should look at each "non-starter" with the question, "Can this guy help me on special teams?" If not, he had better be a pretty special player -- or a backup quarterback. With 46-man rosters on gameday, we can't have too many passengers.
Grab a legal pad and jot down the numbers on the screen on punts and kickoffs. Each unit will be different, but they will generally have the same guys to choose from (since Bisaccia only gets about 20 names to work with).
Last season, these were the players who played the most on special teams (and their snap counts): Jeff Heath (345), Damien Wilson (340), Kyle Wilber (322), Andrew Gachkar (308), Byron Jones (227), Keith Smith (188), Gavin Escobar (160), Anthony Brown (159), J.J. Wilcox (127), Leon McFadden (124), Lucky Whitehead (114), Anthony Hitchens (111), Jack Crawford (102) and Kavon Frazier (101). Of those 14 players, five are gone. So, you could argue that there are five major special teams jobs up for grabs after the departures of Gachkar, Escobar, Wilcox, Whitehead and Crawford.
Just something to think about as they put their roster together. Rich has a very difficult job because he gets the table scraps and then must get his guys to perform. Also, in mid-game, when someone gets hurt (or several do), he has to adjust on the fly with the leftovers.
But more than anything, this demonstrates why there is no such thing as a bench-warmer in the NFL. Everyone who is active on gameday is going to have to contribute to the cause somehow. One of the many reasons, in my opinion, that this game is so great.
