Project the Depth

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Roy P

we were more likely to pull Chester to the right in between Weary and Winston to take out the LB in the hole. If Weary could do that in the opposite direction, it would keep the defenses from guessing.

I noticed that too. We pulled Chester quite a bit last year as well. I thought he did a good job with it too. I never thought about it too much, but as soon as you said it I realized you were right. Pulling Chester seemed to me like it led to several nice plays.

I'm not sure about Weary. I think he could be athletic enough, but coming back from the injury is going to make it that much harder for him. I would like to see him do well, but I think he's going to have a lot of competition for that spot....which feels great to say when talking about our offensive line.

[Drew]

The thought of Spencer coming back at full strength makes me drool. His quick feet, long arms, and brute strength make him a prototypical RG for Gibb's system. Spencer with Winston would give us a more than above average right side, and with Brown being coached up (he's so athletically gifted--like Spencer but with better speed, less strength) and a healthy Pitts and Myers, our line could quickly become a plus for our team in no time.

[dadmg]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Are Walker and Studdard still eligible for the PS?

Originally Posted by Mike

I do not think Darius would be eligible based on the number of snaps that he played last year.

One of the NFL rules I have the hardest time keeping straight is practice squad eligibility, so I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong. While making this list I had a page open with the relevant section from the NFL rule book open in one window and player profiles in another and I think the players I put on the PS are eligible, although I would welcome input from someone who knows for sure. He only played in four regular season games (six would've made it an accrued season) and dressed for at total of six games (eight would've made it an accrued season.) I'm thinking that makes him eligible to return to the PS squad for one more year.

Now that I've looked closer, though, I think Studdard might be ineligible. He played in less games than Walker, but was on the 53 man roster all year (although he was inactive for 13 of 16 games.) Keith, am I interpreting this right?

Next in line would probably be Grice-Mullens or Marcus Richardson, although I'd prefer to keep another OL for injury depth but Frye's the only other OL I think would be eligible and I think he'll make the 53 man.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by dadmg

Keith, am I interpreting this right?

Oh man, practice squad eligibility questions give me the biggest headache, but I'll document what I know. That link seems to have some factual info.

First, need to define a couple terms, mostly so I can keep them straight.

Accrued vs. Credited season -
Six games (active, inactive, IR'd, PUP) equals an accrued season. Three games equals a credited season. Games on IR count in the accrued season calculation but do not count in the credited season calculation. As an aside to this conversation, accrued seasons determine free agency whereas credited seasons determine minimum salary.

Further definition of an Accrued Season -
A season is accrued during which a player was on full pay status (active, inactive, or IR'd) for a total of six or more games, but does not include games for which the player was on the Exempt Commissioner Permission List, on the PUP List as a result of a nonfootball injury, or on a practice squad.

Practice squad seasons -
A player may be on a practice squad for up to two seasons, but worth noting, three weeks on a practice squad within a league year constitutes one season.

Now, the practice squad eligibility rule -
* players who do not have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and
* free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s). No player may be a practice squad player for more than two seasons.


So... the determination on Studdard is a little confusing since he was on "full pay" status all year, but was active for fewer than nine games during his accured season. Ultimately then, that means Studdard is eligible for the practice squad, but color me about 80% confident in that determination.

[Arky]

I was wondering about Darius Walker. I believe he was on the practice squad for most of the season until the last 4 games when he was on the active roster. So, it sounds like he is similar to Studdard in that (I think) he is elegible for another season of practice squad ..... correct?

It would be nice to be able to stash him for another year in case the injury bug hits the starting RB's (I am assuming he is odd man out)...

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Arky

I was wondering about Darius Walker. I believe he was on the practice squad for most of the season until the last 4 games when he was on the active roster. So, it sounds like he is similar to Studdard in that (I think) he is elegible for another season of practice squad ..... correct?

Well, let's see here...

Walker was on the practice squad for more than three games, so one practice squad season left by that determination. He was signed to the roster on 11/21, six games left in the season (2 inactive, 4 active). That gives him one accrued season.

But he was active for fewer than nine games during his only accrued season, so that means he has one year left eligible for the practice squad.

Of course, in both the cases of Studdard and Walker, the catch is that the Texans would have to release them before the season then hope that neither signs to the active roster of another team.

The team might catch that break with Studdard. He didn't really show much during his cup of coffee on game film. Walker, however, averaged 4.6 ypc in the last four games on 58 carries (incl a 5.1 ypc average in the "nationally" televised game against the Broncos). That might be enough for another team to offer him a spot on their roster if he's healthy coming out of camp.

[jppaul]

What I could see them doing is cutting Cook, and slating Taylor in as the backup FB, with Abbate on the practice squad.

That means our lineup would look like this:

RB: Green, Brown, Walker, and Slaton.
FB: Vonta Leach, and Chris Taylor.

Practice squad: ...Abbate...

That would allow us to keep Taylor and Walker out of the market, and we have Abbate if anything ever happens to Leach.