BillsFanForever19 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 So, I was looking at our roster and setting up what I thought (so far) would be my ideal 53 man roster. I noticed that TE and CB are pretty tight. Robert Royal (as mediocre as he has been) is one of the captains of this team. He obviously stays. Derek Schouman has shown promise in both games and practice. He also has climbed up the depth chart. He stays. Derek Fine is a 4th Round rookie who has looked good as well. You can't risk putting him on the practice squad, so he'll need to be on the active roster. Then you have Courtney Anderson. We just signed him as a UFA and have plans for him. You wouldn't think we'd cut him. But with us shying away from the H-Back experiment and us having Darian Barnes taking up a roster spot at FB, keeping 4 TE's on the active roster seems unlikely to me. But who do you cut? Ashton Youboty. I was a big fan of his coming out of college and he was all but written off by everyone as early as a month ago. It's unfortunate that personal issues caused such a stunt in his growth as a player. Last year, he was a glorified rookie. This year, would be his chance to shine. But we drafted McKelvin (as well as Corner) and signed Will James, all but sealing his fate. But the guy has stepped up huge. He has looked impressive in camp and he put on a show during the last game. I would be very surprised if we cut or traded him. I don't think he's giving us a chance for that to be an option at this point. Especially when you consider that Jabari Greer is a UFA next season. So you have T-McGee, MC Kelvin, Shake Youboty, Jabari Greer, and Reggie Corner. In my opinion, they all have to be on the roster. You generally don't keep more than 5 CB's on the active roster. Especially, if you're keeping 5 safeties (Whitner, Simpson, Scott, Wilson, Wendling all require spots on this team). Kennard Cox is a glorified UDFA at where he was selected, in my opinion. If he impresses, he could get a practice squad spot at best. I don't consider him for an active roster spot. But then there's Will James as well at CB. It wouldn't make much sense for him to be cut right? Tricky, tricky decisions at both positions i'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I think im the only one around here that thinks Robert Royal is a decent TE........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenews Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Teams and fans always fall in love with their own players. John Guy does a good job of finding spare parts, but rarely do any of our cast-a-ways find the recycling bin. Bilicheat ususally pick up a cut player to download formations and plays from AFC East teams. With the NFL going to year round programs, coaches tend to hold on to their own!! They would rather develop, than replicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRW Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 But then there's Will James as well at CB. It wouldn't make much sense for him to be cut right? I haven't heard much about James. It really wouldn't surprise me that much to see him cut - he doesn't have a track record with this coaching staff, unlike veterans McGee and Greer, and no draft resources were invested in him, unlike McKelvin and Corner... It seems to me he was brought in as a guy who is trying to rehabilitate his career, and if he doesn't impress the Bills can let him go without too much of a negative impact. If Youboty plays well in some more preseason games but not well enough to secure a starting spot I would expect the team to entertain trade offers for him. IMO he'd have to play well enough to unseat Greer to make the team opt to keep him vs. trading him. I fully expect that McGee, Greer, McKelvin, and Corner will be on the opening day roster. Then, if they want a fifth, whoever performs better out of Youboty/James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsaikotic Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 my sig shows who I think the Bills keep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_wag Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Schouman - he's a decent H-Back, but unfortunately for him this team doesn't need an H-Back.........if anderson continues to show promise he'll take the 3rd spot cause he fits the offense better.........royal and fine are locks James - as you mentioned, 4 guys are locks (mcgee, mck, corner, and greer) and his competition (youboty) is clearly outplaying him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art in PNS Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I think im the only one around here that thinks Robert Royal is a decent TE........ Not the only one I'm with you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGimp Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I would cut all the TE's and come up with a new offense based on no TE's whatsoever. The TE's are brutal on this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Schouman - he's a decent H-Back, but unfortunately for him this team doesn't need an H-Back.........if anderson continues to show promise he'll take the 3rd spot cause he fits the offense better.........royal and fine are locks James - as you mentioned, 4 guys are locks (mcgee, mck, corner, and greer) and his competition (youboty) is clearly outplaying him Schouman is the penciled in starter right now. A lot would have to happen for Anderson to make the squad over Schouman. Fine posed for a photo with my 1-year-old son, so he has to make the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I haven't heard much about James. It really wouldn't surprise me that much to see him cut - he doesn't have a track record with this coaching staff, unlike veterans McGee and Greer, and no draft resources were invested in him, unlike McKelvin and Corner... It seems to me he was brought in as a guy who is trying to rehabilitate his career, and if he doesn't impress the Bills can let him go without too much of a negative impact. If Youboty plays well in some more preseason games but not well enough to secure a starting spot I would expect the team to entertain trade offers for him. IMO he'd have to play well enough to unseat Greer to make the team opt to keep him vs. trading him. I fully expect that McGee, Greer, McKelvin, and Corner will be on the opening day roster. Then, if they want a fifth, whoever performs better out of Youboty/James. Especially since they can cut him without having to pay any of his salary other than his signing bonus, which I am sure wasn't that much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperKillerRobots Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 So, I was looking at our roster and setting up what I thought (so far) would be my ideal 53 man roster. I noticed that TE and CB are pretty tight. Robert Royal (as mediocre as he has been) is one of the captains of this team. He obviously stays. Derek Schouman has shown promise in both games and practice. He also has climbed up the depth chart. He stays. Derek Fine is a 4th Round rookie who has looked good as well. You can't risk putting him on the practice squad, so he'll need to be on the active roster. Then you have Courtney Anderson. We just signed him as a UFA and have plans for him. You wouldn't think we'd cut him. But with us shying away from the H-Back experiment and us having Darian Barnes taking up a roster spot at FB, keeping 4 TE's on the active roster seems unlikely to me. But who do you cut? Ashton Youboty. I was a big fan of his coming out of college and he was all but written off by everyone as early as a month ago. It's unfortunate that personal issues caused such a stunt in his growth as a player. Last year, he was a glorified rookie. This year, would be his chance to shine. But we drafted McKelvin (as well as Corner) and signed Will James, all but sealing his fate. But the guy has stepped up huge. He has looked impressive in camp and he put on a show during the last game. I would be very surprised if we cut or traded him. I don't think he's giving us a chance for that to be an option at this point. Especially when you consider that Jabari Greer is a UFA next season. So you have T-McGee, MC Kelvin, Shake Youboty, Jabari Greer, and Reggie Corner. In my opinion, they all have to be on the roster. You generally don't keep more than 5 CB's on the active roster. Especially, if you're keeping 5 safeties (Whitner, Simpson, Scott, Wilson, Wendling all require spots on this team). Kennard Cox is a glorified UDFA at where he was selected, in my opinion. If he impresses, he could get a practice squad spot at best. I don't consider him for an active roster spot. But then there's Will James as well at CB. It wouldn't make much sense for him to be cut right? Tricky, tricky decisions at both positions i'd say. Greer after 08 and then I think McGee after 09. I think it would be very hard for the Bills to get rid of Youboty in any way (trade or cut) if he shows development at all. They invested a 3rd rounder in him and they have two starting CBs coming up for UFA in the next two years. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to keep Greer after 08 and then looked at who else they had and traded one of the older guys (i.e. McGee). Now wheather they keep 6 or cut James, will be real interesting to watch because they definitely keep 5 safeties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 So, I was looking at our roster and setting up what I thought (so far) would be my ideal 53 man roster. I noticed that TE and CB are pretty tight. Robert Royal (as mediocre as he has been) is one of the captains of this team. He obviously stays. Derek Schouman has shown promise in both games and practice. He also has climbed up the depth chart. He stays. Derek Fine is a 4th Round rookie who has looked good as well. You can't risk putting him on the practice squad, so he'll need to be on the active roster. Then you have Courtney Anderson. We just signed him as a UFA and have plans for him. You wouldn't think we'd cut him. But with us shying away from the H-Back experiment and us having Darian Barnes taking up a roster spot at FB, keeping 4 TE's on the active roster seems unlikely to me. But who do you cut? This is definitely a hard decision. Many around here see Schouman being penciled in as a starter and getting a ton of reps as the Bills wanting him to start. However, I feel they are doing it to see everything they have in him. I feel he is auditioning himself for a roster spot and not necessarily the starting job; call me crazy. We have heard good things about him from the practices and OTA's, but in the game he looked aweful. I think it will take the rest of the preseason to have a good book on him and then make the decision. If he is, in fact, as good as advertised, then we are faced with a tough decision. Courtney Anderson looked good in the first preaseason game, and I'm sure the Bills brought him in because they feel optimistic he can return to the form of 2 years ago. Will they keep him and decide we don't need Royal's leadership? I don't know, touch decision. Ashton Youboty. I was a big fan of his coming out of college and he was all but written off by everyone as early as a month ago. It's unfortunate that personal issues caused such a stunt in his growth as a player. Last year, he was a glorified rookie. This year, would be his chance to shine. But we drafted McKelvin (as well as Corner) and signed Will James, all but sealing his fate. But the guy has stepped up huge. He has looked impressive in camp and he put on a show during the last game. I would be very surprised if we cut or traded him. I don't think he's giving us a chance for that to be an option at this point. Especially when you consider that Jabari Greer is a UFA next season. So you have T-McGee, MC Kelvin, Shake Youboty, Jabari Greer, and Reggie Corner. In my opinion, they all have to be on the roster. You generally don't keep more than 5 CB's on the active roster. Especially, if you're keeping 5 safeties (Whitner, Simpson, Scott, Wilson, Wendling all require spots on this team). Kennard Cox is a glorified UDFA at where he was selected, in my opinion. If he impresses, he could get a practice squad spot at best. I don't consider him for an active roster spot. But then there's Will James as well at CB. It wouldn't make much sense for him to be cut right? Tricky, tricky decisions at both positions i'd say. I don't see why Bryan Scott and John Wendling "require" spots on this team. I like Wendling for special teams sake, but he certainly hasn't shown us anything in any games or even preaseason, and Bryan Scott is a dime-a-dozen player IMO. He is average at best, a little big for my liking, and is easily replaceable. I'd rather keep Will James (he has also played some safety) and let go of Scott. As far as corners go, I like the idea of keeping all 6 and experimenting with James at Safety a little. Just because there are numbers there doesn't mean a good player should be cut. I don't think cutting a good corner just for an extra body at safety makes sense. I'd keep all 6 corners, and 4 safeties, minus Scott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomoe Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 This is definitely a hard decision. Many around here see Schouman being penciled in as a starter and getting a ton of reps as the Bills wanting him to start. However, I feel they are doing it to see everything they have in him. I feel he is auditioning himself for a roster spot and not necessarily the starting job; call me crazy. We have heard good things about him from the practices and OTA's, but in the game he looked aweful. I think it will take the rest of the preseason to have a good book on him and then make the decision. If he is, in fact, as good as advertised, then we are faced with a tough decision. Courtney Anderson looked good in the first preaseason game, and I'm sure the Bills brought him in because they feel optimistic he can return to the form of 2 years ago. Will they keep him and decide we don't need Royal's leadership? I don't know, touch decision. I don't see why Bryan Scott and John Wendling "require" spots on this team. I like Wendling for special teams sake, but he certainly hasn't shown us anything in any games or even preaseason, and Bryan Scott is a dime-a-dozen player IMO. He is average at best, a little big for my liking, and is easily replaceable. I'd rather keep Will James (he has also played some safety) and let go of Scott. As far as corners go, I like the idea of keeping all 6 and experimenting with James at Safety a little. Just because there are numbers there doesn't mean a good player should be cut. I don't think cutting a good corner just for an extra body at safety makes sense. I'd keep all 6 corners, and 4 safeties, minus Scott. Rregarding the TE's, I think Royal's days might be numbered. Not that he's a bad TE, this is just a bad system for any TE. I really believe that even Gates, Gonzalez or Winslow would have looked mediocre at best in the Bills system the last few years. The TE is an afterthought on this team and if they can go cheaper and younger, they probably will. Schouman, Fine and Anderson might be left standing when all is said and done but does it really matter? Sad but true since the statistics really hammer out that fact. Who knows, they might keep an extra OL, put him in and declare himself eligible on most plays. That's how underutilized that position really is with this coaching staff. The DB's on the other hand is actually going to be interesting how it plays out. I agree that they will probably keep 6 CB's with Cox being on the practice squad as a flex backup at both corner and safety. It's also likely that the backup SS isn't even on the current roster. Wendling might make the team as a ST player but if something were to happen to Whitner or Simpson, the Bills might aggresively pursue a trade of some sort instead of looking on the street this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bflobarry Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Good discuusion. No way they keep 6 cb's or 4 te's. I'd think Youboty goes, and Anderson also. I don't care for Royal, but he is one of the very few respected locker room leaders. Otherwise, he'd be gone IMO........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I think im the only one around here that thinks Robert Royal is a decent TE........ He cannot catch. He has no hands. He is a strong blocker, and he even gets open, but he cannot catch the football. If this qualifies as decent, you are right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsaikotic Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 He cannot catch. He has no hands. He is a strong blocker, and he even gets open, but he cannot catch the football. If this qualifies as decent, you are right. I'm not so certain that its "he cant catch" and more of "Bills don't throw to TE's"...Ive seen a few games where Royal did have some nice catches, how many hes dropped escapes me thow...I wouldnt write off Royal untill Bills bring in a real quality TE....they should have gone after Utecht(sp)...he looked great the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsaikotic Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I don't see why Bryan Scott and John Wendling "require" spots on this team. I like Wendling for special teams sake, but he certainly hasn't shown us anything in any games or even preaseason, and Bryan Scott is a dime-a-dozen player IMO. He is average at best, a little big for my liking, and is easily replaceable. I'd rather keep Will James (he has also played some safety) and let go of Scott. As far as corners go, I like the idea of keeping all 6 and experimenting with James at Safety a little. Just because there are numbers there doesn't mean a good player should be cut. I don't think cutting a good corner just for an extra body at safety makes sense. I'd keep all 6 corners, and 4 safeties, minus Scott. actually I never thought about this till you just mentioned it....Is James good enough to pull a Vincent?...If he's better than Scott I'd go this route also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Friends Call Me Tebucky Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 The Bills have much bigger problems than Robert Royal starting at TE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 He cannot catch. He has no hands. He is a strong blocker, and he even gets open, but he cannot catch the football. If this qualifies as decent, you are right. Cannot catch is an extreme exaggeration and people usually exaggerate when they have no case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Cannot catch is an extreme exaggeration and people usually exaggerate when they have no case. So its an exaggerration that he drops passes more than the usual NFL calibur player? Because he does... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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