Even under a best case scenario, I can not see Pruitt being a #2 WR. That would be great, but it’s too soon. He’ll need a few years.

I also don’t think Incognitio needs to develop as mentioned. Incognito has been in the league for a few years now and his talent is not questioned. His skill is developed, but his maturity hasn’t.

Great post btw, I think the biggest downside is injuries, if we have another year like last year I don’t expect anything better then 7-9 again. Outside of our O-Line and maybe RBs we don’t have the skill/vet players to come in and take over for the injured player. I really think I’ll cry if Henne or Marshall go down for any time this season.

is now teams can not stack the line of scrimage against us. Just weight and see now what the wildcat can really
do. Adding B. Marsh just made Henne Ronnie and Ricky
that much better. The sky is the limit for this Offense.

i remember seeing Hartline, make big play after big play last season. i think B. marsh makes it easier for hartline to get open. he may not be a Y.A.C. kinda guy, but when he’s catching the ball 20-25 yards down the field, i dont think he needs to be. i see hartline winning the #2 spot early, and keeping for the rest of the season.

he has the chance the make it.

But, I’m also a fan of Taurus Johnson and I hope he makes it

Yea, it would be nice; but I would much rather have a Cam or Hartline that can catch than someone like Ginn who is a drive stopper. I think its actually a long shot for any WR to make the team outside the 4 locks unless they win the returner job; so my favorite there is Grice-Mullen.

And why no love for Garner? He’s my favorite to win the LG spot, although I must admit, if Jerry or Thomas steps up to almost the same level than Garner might be better served as a multi-positional backup.

I agree speed is something you want in the offense. But it is something you rotate in. Plus big WR who can out jump any one are very good and scary deep threats. Where was the speed threat in the Cardinals offense the last few years????

Obviously I’m on the Pruitt bandwagon, but he’s got a tough hill to climb. The 5th WR spot is a TC battle I’m going to be following. IMO, its between Pruitt, RGM, and Taurus Johnson. Turner is rumored to have work ethic issues and he’ll be gone unless he steps up.

Our O-Line should be great this year and I think that will help other areas also. Thigpen played relatively well in KC with less talent than we have. Our line should give him plenty of time to play well if he has to come in. Our line will also make our RBs better. If Jerry and Incognito win the starting spots, then they should open gaping holes for any RB. If Brown and/or Williams go down, Hilliard and Sheets will be functional behind our line.

So to me, our O-Line is the key. They should be good enough to give any of our QBs plenty of protection and open plenty of holes in the rushing attack.

Sorry, I can’t go with that pick….and also doubt the JJ will sart on the OL…maybe rotated in the mix when the score permits but the starter…

i just added it. Ronnie needs to be healthy and the team needs a replacement for Smiley as a pulling guard. They won’t need to run it this year, but will keep it as part of the base offense if they have the personnel for it.

Listen to me here….the most important offensive player last year that went down with an injury was Patrick Cobbs. He is the unsung and special ingredient in the Wildcat. After his ACL tear in the Jets game, our yards per attempt when running the Wildcat went directly down, and our Wildcat formation attempts per game plummeted as well. He is the key that people constantly overlook.

Ricky took the snaps that Ronnie normally would take and performed well. Sheets coming in motion to stretch the field is acceptable due to his speed. Cobbs is the key.

The injury to veterans will play more than anything else in the line up. It creates opportunity, a crack in the door, for other players to move in and up.

With that, to me the most considered position is RB. P Cobbs is nursing and this has created (in my thinking) an “opportunity” for Kory Sheets to step in and up… adding his versatility and speed to offensive plans, such as the wildcat.

We know the team will only keep four active backs, including the full back position. They are: Polite, Brown, Ricky and the opportunity of Kory over Patrick.

Wrecked

“Sure, he didn’t catch the ball every time when he went deep and the ball came his way (and by every time, I mean ever) " If it wasnt so freakin true I would laugh….. I’m still angry at that idiot CAM for drfting GINN…
I would really like to see Hartline win the #2 job because there is more upside with him over BESS & Camirillo – but I am a big fan of CAM !
Alpha 6 is right too about SHEETS… I am very curious to see what he could bring to the ‘Cat running game… We need some more speed from the RB’s and not just power – ALA Chris Johnson type speed…. And we still need to draft another speed guy at WR (IN THE LOWER ROUNDS) I wanted JACOBY FORD ….

He’s been our most productive receiver the past two seasons. It seems like he knows how to get open, which should be a factor. I personally think that all 3 will end up with similar playing time and would be surprised if any one of them got 60% or more of the snaps as the #2 guy. (unless of course one of them dominates during TC)

i came across this post by ckparrothead over at finheaven on 6/25……..he reads my mind……

People forget that Bess is only just now entering his 3rd year as a pro.

Here are some reality checks.

1. At this point in his career Wes Welker had 29 catches for 431 yards and 0 TDs to his name. Davone Bess has 130 catches for 1312 yards and 3 TDs. And don’t give me any sob stories about Welker’s humble beginnings, because let’s face it Bess’ beginnings were just as humble. They both were UDFAs after being really productive college players.

2. They have basically the same athleticism, except Davone’s is probably a little bit better. Go check their Combine/Pro Day numbers if you like. Welker ran a 4.65 at his Pro Day, had a 30" vertical, 9’5" broad jump, 4.01 shuttle and 7.09 cone. Davone Bess ran a 4.64/2.61/1.53 at the Combine, and a 4.60/2.66/1.59 at his Pro Day. He jumped 31.5" and 32.5". He jumps 9’7" and 9’10". His shuttles were 4.27 and 4.28. His cones were 6.97 and 7.15. Bess was 5’10" and 194 lbs. Welker was 5’9" and 195 lbs.

You have to think back, it’s easy to compare Welker NOW with what he’s accomplished, to Bess now when he’s only a 2nd year player. But to be fair you have to think back to what Welker had shown us after his 2nd year in the pros. I think that if you knew nothing about Wes Welker’s future and you were to rip him out of the past and put him next to Davone Bess right now, everyone here would hands down rate Bess the better football player
.

The one difference I’ve seen between the two so far is that in his 2nd year Welker didn’t have a period where he kept dropping the ball and/or fumbling it. I wasn’t sure if that was something in Bess that indicates he’ll keep dropping passes, or if it was just some kind of weird sophomore thing that happens to even the best. But Welker didn’t really have the opportunity to have that kind of phase because he only caught 29 passes his 2nd year.

I could see a similar thing happening in 2010 with the Dolphins as happened in 2007 with the Patriots. Not necessarily the record-breaking passing offense but in terms of Bess being a go-to player for catches, Marshall being a go-to player for catches, but also Hartline being a guy that like Donte Stallworth, plays an important and productive role.

I just thought this was a really interesting revelation. Marshall had talked about Bess a lot, how much he was impressed with him. He’s talked unbidden about how when he got here he told Bess that he really appreciated his game because he likes how he’s able to catch that short ball, make a guy miss and gain 10 yards or so, he’s real physical after the catch and Brandon likes that. Some time later he talked about how hard Bess works and how hard he studies and how nobody outworks him. I initially mistook this as praise he was heaping on Bess because of the potential awkwardness of the number situation, and I thought the only reason he was even talking about Davone was because he keeps fielding questions about him due to the number thing. But now, you don’t tell someone that you think they’re going to the Pro Bowl this year just to be polite. He talked in this interview with Evan Cohen about his experience with Eddie Royal and how close they were and how it was their goal to get each of them 100 catches, that whenever he was on the sidelines he kept lobbying for them to throw the ball at Eddie so they could accomplish that goal. Eddie ended up with 91 catches so they didn’t quite make it, but it was a revealing story in connection with his admission that he told Davone that he expects him in the Pro Bowl…because people tend to see the present through the lens of the past and to me it means he’s already framing his relationship with Davone Bess like he thought of his relationship with Eddie Royal, and probably Mike Sims-Walker.

Julius Pruitt as #2? It will not happen. It would be awesome if he can work his way onto the 53 and then move up the ranks. Like you said he has a great combination of talent and size. Camarillo is all healed up. He was starting to plant the foot by seasons end. I don’’t think Sheets can unseat Cobb’s. If he unseats someone it will be Hillard. That’s going to be a tough choice. I agree with your bottom line and I think Brown will be 100% by game 1.

If Juilius f-ing Pruitt is our #2 receiver, we’re f*cked. Period.
Hartline has to be the guy.

Upside:

Our upside is top flight offense, last year we were on the verge of being dangerous, add an elite NFL WR, now we are dangerous.

Realistic ifs are all that it will take, if Henne gets a little better, he doesn’t need to improve by leaps and bounds, even if he doesn’t improve, he will be better because of Marshall.

If our OGs work out smoothly, I kind of expect it from Incognito, and if that piece falls, then whoever is playing LG will just have to be adequate.

If we stay relatively healthy, and that is about it, IMO we will be a powerhouse offense this year, we will be hard to stop, the question is will we be an almost unstoppable offense, I think that is more than possible.

On the flanker issue, the presence of Marshall really downgrades the need for a true flanker, he is an allday double team WR, as Wyatt said, he is a threat no matter where he is, the best possible WR to start opposite him is the guy who gets open the most, and that is not even remotely close, Bess is the guy here, he gets open, end of story, IMO.

Downside

IMO the downside is still very high, unless we get hit with the WRONG injuries, but leaving those aside we will be a very good offense this year unless something drastic happens.

Most Likely

IMO we will most likely be a top ten offense that no one wants to play because of our powerful versatility, we will be a high caliber run and pass team that is able to keep A LOT of drives alive, we will be a TOP, field position nightmare for most teams.

And thats my 2cents Lefty.

;^J

Especially with the arm that henne has.

Lefty isnt saying Pruitt will make the team, just that should he perform at his highest level (if he can) he would be a perfect #2.

People who are questioning why Pruitt is in the upside lineup. Its not supposed to be a projected lineup, its the best possible offense ammusing every player plays to his full realistic potential. The only thing I would question is I think Donald Thomas’ potential is probably higher than Jerry’s. People forget how good Thomas looked before his injuries and he still did start 12 games last season. Lefty, I think it would be a good idea if Matty would let you do one post a week. It would take off of his workload, and be a change of pace for us regulars. ( Nothing against Matty at all, just thinkin it could be beneficial to all parties). Lookin foward to the defensive post very much.

or forget about sheet’s as a kick returner & turn one of the wideout’s into punt returner?

Big runs are made with blocks on the outside. It is that simple. Brandon Marshall is a BEAST and will take care of his side unlike anything we have had in the past. #2 also has got to be physical. A Devone Bess type receiver is much more suited to the slot. Where as a Julius Pruitt has more size and strength to handle a run block on the outside. Having speed out there is just one bonus that a particular player may carry in his own personal arsenal. On the NFL level everyone has speed. Even the considered slow players are fast and on gameday its a “who knows” as to what player is going to be faster.

He had very sure hands in Hawaii and when he played in Canada.

and it has created some good banter. Thanks for the taking the reins while
the leader is away.

He isnt a burner but he isnt slow as shit either