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2018 53-Man Roster Projections and Discussion


Broncofan

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4 hours ago, Counselor said:

It appears also Bolles has progressed a lot. Can anyone speak to this?

I only get to see him for about 10-15 snaps per game. Haven't seen him get beat 1 on 1 in the last three games. He was instrumental in both of Lindsays TD's last week and is a monster in the run game.

I don't think he's given up a sack or had a penalty in that stretch and thats against two of the best pass rushing teams in the NFL. Anyway, right now he's playing that spot at a very high level.

 

If we get in the playoffs I may be able to see a complete game. 

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I definetly think he has proven to be a better player but I sure hope Lindsay doesn’t flame out like Mike Bell another undrafted rookie the team had high hopes on. 

Barring injury, I just  cant see this. Lindsay is one of the most motivated guys in the league. That only counts for so much, but he is also an elite athlete (4.39 40, 35.5 vert, etc) with elite football IQ. Guys with elite motivation, athleticism and football acumen rarely flame out. It will be all abount keeping him healthy. He is a strong 190lbs, but he is still 190lbs. We should be leaning on Royce more, but right now the entire offense is Lindsay. Get this team better QB play and they dont have to lean on him as much, letting Royce get more snaps, lowering Lindsay's injury risk and elongating his career.

But we wont be getting better QB play anytime soon so lets hope Phillip is the RB version of former-iron-man Sanders.

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1 hour ago, BroncosFan2010 said:

Barring injury, I just  cant see this. Lindsay is one of the most motivated guys in the league. That only counts for so much, but he is also an elite athlete (4.39 40, 35.5 vert, etc) with elite football IQ. Guys with elite motivation, athleticism and football acumen rarely flame out. It will be all abount keeping him healthy. He is a strong 190lbs, but he is still 190lbs. We should be leaning on Royce more, but right now the entire offense is Lindsay. Get this team better QB play and they dont have to lean on him as much, letting Royce get more snaps, lowering Lindsay's injury risk and elongating his career.

But we wont be getting better QB play anytime soon so lets hope Phillip is the RB version of former-iron-man Sanders.

Today’s NFL has changed so much - even 10 years ago Lindsay would have been used as a pure scat back despite the fact he can run inside when called upon very successfully.   Same with Tarik Cohen.   Unlike Bell who thrived as a cog in the system - Lindsay and Cohen elevate their position in the system.  It’s really just a matter of staying healthy and in shape, and he’s got such a chip on his shoulder about being overlooked (deservedly so) I don’t ever see that being an issue. 

Now the mileage / wear and tear risk is definitely there.  But as we see more spread concepts the idea of him being the main guy certainly should stick. I definitely agree with the take that ideally we manage the reps.  Sanders’ ability to avoid big hits was unparalleled and his fireplug frame really  (I know he’s listed on most websites at 5’8 but that was before the Combine was televised to show exact measured scouting reports had him at 203 - that’s a big difference in overall frame).   

The fact he was a UDFA reflects 2 strikes he had against him and a 3rd systemic strike.  The 2 specific to him - the size threshold and the competition faced.   The 3rd - how RB remains devalued.   I do think the size threshold is going to get scrapped more - but where you’d see David Williams types go Day 3 - I think we will see the quicksilver backs take that spot on Day 3 instead of being UDFA and 2-down hammers fall back unless they have truly special talent or have translatable pass catching skills.   Speed and explosion matter so much more with skill positions in today’s NFL than size.   Ideally you have all 3 with RB/WR/CB - but out of speed, short area burst (explosion) and size, if I can only get 2, give me the first 2 over the last.   

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The only concern I have with Lindsay (and it would apply to any rookie RB) is when and if he hits the rookie wall. College seasons are 12-13 games, NFL seasons are 16 or more. It's been long-established that rookie RBs do have a tendency to run out of gas in the last quarter of the year. Given that both of our top RBs are rookies, we should be worried about this. The good news is that neither Freeman nor Lindsay have been true bell-cow backs, Lindsay's max touches in a game is 21 (10/28 at KC) and Freeman's is 15 (9/9 vs. Seattle) so hopefully our diligent use of both will preserve them for the stretch run of the season. If we're going to win games it's going to be on the ground. 

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38 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

The only concern I have with Lindsay (and it would apply to any rookie RB) is when and if he hits the rookie wall. College seasons are 12-13 games, NFL seasons are 16 or more. It's been long-established that rookie RBs do have a tendency to run out of gas in the last quarter of the year. Given that both of our top RBs are rookies, we should be worried about this. The good news is that neither Freeman nor Lindsay have been true bell-cow backs, Lindsay's max touches in a game is 21 (10/28 at KC) and Freeman's is 15 (9/9 vs. Seattle) so hopefully our diligent use of both will preserve them for the stretch run of the season. If we're going to win games it's going to be on the ground. 

If I was a DC scouting our O I’d put a S in the box and stack against run until Keenum and the WR/TE could show they can consistently beat the D.    It’s pretty clear our run game is elite while our pass game is really meh and Sanders was a huge part of that. 

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1 hour ago, Broncofan said:

If I was a DC scouting our O I’d put a S in the box and stack against run until Keenum and the WR/TE could show they can consistently beat the D.    It’s pretty clear our run game is elite while our pass game is really meh and Sanders was a huge part of that. 

Aren't most teams playing us that way now? Looks like we see a lot of 7-8 man boxes.

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2 minutes ago, AKRNA said:

Aren't most teams playing us that way now? Looks like we see a lot of 7-8 man boxes.

Early on IIRC the D’s we face usually go in 2-deep base coverage.  The 8-man boxes don’t usually come until it’s 3rd and short or we are ahead - but I didn’t see the Cin game live, so going off the games b4 then.   Part of Sanders / Sutton keeping the D more honest esp early on. 

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16 hours ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

The only concern I have with Lindsay (and it would apply to any rookie RB) is when and if he hits the rookie wall. College seasons are 12-13 games, NFL seasons are 16 or more. It's been long-established that rookie RBs do have a tendency to run out of gas in the last quarter of the year. Given that both of our top RBs are rookies, we should be worried about this. The good news is that neither Freeman nor Lindsay have been true bell-cow backs, Lindsay's max touches in a game is 21 (10/28 at KC) and Freeman's is 15 (9/9 vs. Seattle) so hopefully our diligent use of both will preserve them for the stretch run of the season. If we're going to win games it's going to be on the ground. 

Don't see it he doesn't take bad hits . And has a lot less touches than he got in Colorado.  They've been smart with it. He carried it 301 times last year with Colorado.  Only at 154 nfl carries. His workload and practices are a lot less. Even though the college competition is different. 

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7 hours ago, thebestever6 said:

Don't see it he doesn't take bad hits . And has a lot less touches than he got in Colorado.  They've been smart with it. He carried it 301 times last year with Colorado.  Only at 154 nfl carries. His workload and practices are a lot less. Even though the college competition is different. 

It doesn't have anything, or at least doesn't have much, to do with taking "bad hits" as you call them. It's simply the longer season, more reps in practice, more games to recover from, a longer season of daily and weekly work. I'm also curious how you know his "practices are a lot less." I agree that he team has been smart with their utilization of both Lindsay and Freeman, I said as such as used their weekly touches to illustrate that point. It's a proven fact that rookies, regardless of position, wear down in the later portions of the year as the schedule is longer and more demanding, more games is more games, plain and simple.

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25 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

It doesn't have anything, or at least doesn't have much, to do with taking "bad hits" as you call them. It's simply the longer season, more reps in practice, more games to recover from, a longer season of daily and weekly work. I'm also curious how you know his "practices are a lot less." I agree that he team has been smart with their utilization of both Lindsay and Freeman, I said as such as used their weekly touches to illustrate that point. It's a proven fact that rookies, regardless of position, wear down in the later portions of the year as the schedule is longer and more demanding, more games is more games, plain and simple.

Due to the shortness of TC and limited work in pads I don't think the "rookie wall" is as extreme as in the past but it's still very real.

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