yea, i know it's a week premature, but what the hell-- i've had some opportunities to sit down and write recently, and i don't know if i will the next few weeks, so i did it when i could. . . besides, the season's pretty much over anyways. . . so here it is-- make sure you grab a cold beer or three before you get started!
QUARTERBACK
really not that much discussion necessary here. . . while he (not surprisingly) isn't exactly playing like a seasoned pro yet, i saw enough from cutler this year to feel comfortable that he's a legit NFL quarterback, one who i think is going to be very good-- one who has a chance to be great. . . he still takes some needless risks with the ball and makes some bad decisions, but that should improve with more experience-- and of course it's something that even quality veteran QBs do from time to time. . .
what i wanted most to see from jay this year was progression, and an ability to consistently move the ball and command the huddle. . . he displayed those things, and looked poised doing it-- he's a tough competitor with all the skills you want at the position. . . i feel good about building our franchise around him, hopefully for the next decade or so. . . as he continues to grow and develop, so should our offense. . .
while ramsey was pretty shaky when he did play, i honestly think he's still average or better in comparison to other backups around the league-- he's erratic, but he can at least make some throws. . . he's a solid athlete who still has the potential to develop further if he ever was forced to play for an extended period, and another offseason with our coaching staff can only help him. . . cutler seems pretty resilient, and i'd say that ramsey is adequate for his role. . . hackney is about what you'd expect from a 3rd stringer-- his height presents some obvious limitations, but at least he's a young guy with a live arm, and he seems to have some competitive fire. . . it's not like we're super deep at the position, but who really is? there aren't 32 good quarterbacks in the league, it's not like anyone else has a 3rd team QB that's going to light the world on fire. . . it's always possible that we could snag somebody that another team lets go if we like their long-term potential better than hackney's, and you know we'll at least bring in a few camp arms, but i'm satisfied with our depth chart at the position right now. . . it's nice to have some stability at a few spots. . .
RUNNING BACK
this position also looks pretty stable to me, at least for the moment. . . i have to admit, i'm disappointed at the results of the travis henry signing-- and not just because of the pot fiasco, although that obviously pissed everyone off. . . more so, i'm disappointed at how badly he was slowed down by nagging injuries. . . he's always been a guy who's gotten nicked up a fair bit, but it seems that in the past he's done a better job of playing through it. . . i know he started the season strong, and i was as happy as anyone with his play in those first games, but he really faded badly down the stretch. . . even when he was healthy enough to play he just didn't look like the workhorse we were hoping for-- i know shanahan's official stance was that selvin young was starting because henry wasn't back to game shape after missing time in the middle of the season, but you have to wonder if privately he didn't just feel that young was playing better and gave us the best chance of making the big plays that we look for in the running game. . .
regardless, we did dodge a bullet when henry avoided the suspension, because we've got a decent chunk of money tied up in him and we're counting on him to be a big part of our backfield for the next year or two. . . i'm not going to judge him on one season, and i'm certainly hopeful that he can come back strong next year and be the guy we were hoping for-- the guy we saw early in the year, who broke tackles and ground out tough yards even when there wasn't a big hole to run through. . . but, if he doesn't prove capable of being that guy consistently, it's nice to know that we have some other players at the position that can give us some production-- and given what those guys showed this year, i think it's likely that we'll see more of a committee approach going forward even if henry is healthy. . . while i'm still not the world's biggest fan, i do have to admit that it has some benefits-- it allows you to take advantage of different players' varying skill sets, and to keep guys fresher and hopefully healthier (which is especially important when you have some injury-prone backs like we do). . . naturally i'd still rather have an adrian peterson, but the RBBC is capable of giving you some decent production, and it's a much cheaper approach. . . i'd still be in favor of finding a true stud runner at some point, but right now as far as i'm concerned those resources are better spent fixing our bigger holes-- our running game isn't the feared weapon it used to be, but it's still capable of producing at a level we can win with if we can field a competent defense. . .
like everyone else, i'm excited at the flashes selvin young showed-- he's a decisive runner who fits well in our scheme, and has the quickness to make some big plays even if he does seem to lack that real second gear in the open field. . . unfortunately, it barely took any time at all for the injury problems that caused him to go undrafted to rear their ugly heads again-- this guy definitely has the ability to be a productive player, but he's going to have to stay on the field to do it. . . i don't see any way that the team can realistically view him as a long term starting option, so i'm sure they were extremely relieved that henry beat the suspension. . . i've also heard rumors that the team thinks young loses steam after about a dozen carries, and he did have a few key fumbles-- he may turn out to be tatum bell part two, but honestly there could be worse things (we didn't spend a 2nd round pick on young, for one thing!). . . i always liked tatum's ability to contribute as a change of pace back-- he was just overmatched trying to be a fulltime starter. . . i place a lot of value on role players who can come in and make a big impact on the game in a limited number of snaps, and if young can do that he has a chance to be a worthwhile contributor to our offense. . . i can potentially see a dallas cowgirls type of distribution of labor, where young plays the julius jones role and handles most of the work between the 20's, and henry handles the bulk of the goal line and 4th quarter carries the way marion barber does. . .
i'm a big fan of andre hall. . . with a couple of guys at fullback who could pitch in at tailback in a pinch, i think hall is an ideal 3rd stringer for us-- it's a real luxury to have a player with that kind of explosiveness that far down your depth chart. . . he obviously doesn't look like a fulltime back, but he showed that he can give the team a productive start if called on. . . the cat has the skills to make some plays, and i hope the coaching staff finds some ways to get him involved next year-- he brings a different element with his speed and shiftiness, and can be dangerous in the open field. . . i'd like to see him get some work in a 3rd down back role at the very least, maybe use him on some screens and draws. . . and if the other backs are healthy, i think he should get another chance as a kick returner-- in limited opportunities i thought he looked as good as anyone we've had back there the past few years. . .
cecil sapp is another guy i've always liked-- he's a grinder with top-notch work ethic who brings a lot of versatility and does whatever he's asked to do without a word of complaint. . . he's not a true head-knocker in the mold of howard griffith, and every year people say we need to find another guy like that-- but quite frankly those guys are a dying breed, so it's a lot easier said than done. . . sapp is an adequate blocker who can also run the ball effectively on inside handoffs, and has improved his pass catching skills in recent years. . . combine his ability to play both backfield positions with a willingness to contribute on special teams, and there's always going to be a roster spot for guys like him. . .
i thought paul smith was mostly invisible in his first year in denver. . . he made a few plays on special teams down the stretch, but IMO he really didn't live up to his reputation as an "ace" in that area. . . i think he got in on a few plays on offense, but i can't remember him ever doing much-- of course, the team's use of dan graham at fullback in some formations definitely limited his opportunities there. . . i would guess the team will probably give him another year, though scott o'brien is likely have a big say in that. . . i was glad to see kyle johnson come back, but realistically he has a fairly comparable skill set to sapp, and has less ST value. . . he's the kind of guy you root for, but if we decide to keep smith i have a feeling KJ could be left on the outside once again-- not the direction i'd go, just my instinct as to how things could play out. . .
i would say that mike bell is really on the bubble for making the team again. . . he was a total non-factor this year, and if i recall correctly he got in shanahan's doghouse by fumbling as soon as he got on the field the one time he did get a chance. . . i like the guy's story as much as anyone else, but in all honesty i was never really impressed with him as a player-- he lacks any explosive qualities, and seems a little tight-wound mentally for pro football. . . he may get another chance, as he's at least a known commodity, but i wouldn't be particularly surprised to see the team bring in some competition for that last RB spot-- either someone we had an eye on who gets released from another team's roster or PS (like andre hall two years ago), or one of our typical late round RB fliers or UDFAs (like selvin young, and bell himself). . .
all in all, i'm pretty satisfied with this position-- we don't have that one true impact player that you'd ideally like to have, but we've got a group of guys who can be pretty productive. . . i like our depth here better than i have in recent years, and i think these guys can get the job done for us if we can keep a few of them healthy. . . i do think that in his heart shenanigans would still REALLY love to find that stud buffalo again, but that will probably have to wait until we patch some much more pressing holes unless we can catch lightning in a bottle a second time with another 2nd day guy. . .