Cripple Loving Colbert Braces for Season Opener
We
don�t quite know how the final roster will shake out after this Thursday�s
preseason finale, but one thing is certain -- Kevin Colbert will ensure the 53-man
roster is littered with a wide array of crippled players, many of whom won�t be
able to play in the opener and likely won�t be able to play for weeks to
come.�
This
mess took on steam just a few days ago, when Colbert decided to bring both
Mendenhall and Hampton off the PUP list.��
Never mind that this season, for the first time ever, a team could place
a player on PUP if he was injured coming into preseason, and then stash him for
at least 6 weeks before activating him.��
No one bothered to inform Colbert about this new rule, so he rushed
hell-asunder to activate these 2 gimps.��
Let�s
review these 2 players.�� Mendenhall tore
an ACL on New Year�s Eve.��� Anyone who
vividly recalls Rod Woodson will remember the fact that he took nearly 2 years
to get back to the elite level he was at.���
Two years.�� Yes, he came back and
played a few token plays in the Super Bowl, but the �96 season was a disaster,
as he was a shell of his former self.���
Mendy hasn�t had any full contact at camp and hasn�t done a single
activity at full speed.� AT BEST, he
might be ready in early Dec.���� So, why
clog a roster spot right now??��
Hampton
is a lardass who tore an ACL on Jan. 7th.���� Although not needing to cut like a RB, he
still must be able to plant and fight off centers and guards.�� The opener is on the road, in Denver, at
altitude and much more oppressive heat and humidity than that balmy January
playoff game.�� Exactly what does the
staff think FatBoy will contribute out in Denver ?��� Or any
other city the 1st 6 weeks ??�� McClendon has been solid at NT, and this is
a waste of a roster spot during those first 6 weeks.
Harrison
and Worilds, neither of whom have played a snap with pads on since spring, were
both activated off the PUP today.�� Why both ?��� Worilds in
particular seems to be as eager to get healthy as Yancey Thigpen.��� As for Harrison, Colbert and the entire
team botched his injured knee.�� He had
all sorts of knee pain in mini camp.� Nothing was done.� More pain in June.� Still nothing.��� �Let�s wait till mid August for surgery�
was the �plan�, as utterly asinine as it was.��
Then
there�s rookie OG David DeCastro, who tore up a bit
of a knee this past weekend.�� It�s not
as bad as expected, so Colbert, in his infinite wisdom, has decided for now to
keep DeCastro on the active roster all season long,
rather than using PUP.�� DeCastro might be enormously gimpy upon his return in
Nov/Dec ....and at that point, he�ll have exactly zero snaps of real NFL
experience under his belt.��� And Colbert
wants to waste yet another roster spot on that....??
So
here�s a macro look at the 53-man roster going into opening day, of which only
45 can dress on game day.�� You keep 3
QBs,� but only 2
are active on game day.��� Ryan Clark
will not dress, due to his sickle cell.��
Wes Saunders is suspended the first 4 games.� Mendy will not dress.�� Worilds will not dress, and only a miracle
will enable Harrison to dress.� DeCastro will not dress.��
I can�t fathom Hampton will dress, as the last thing the defense will
need is a portly, out of shape NT playing in hot weather at altitude.��� That�s at least 5 for-sure players who will
not dress, and perhaps 7.��� And this
game is at altitude, in the heat of September, where you will need every
lineman, LB, and DB you can get your hands on to sub in & out of the game....but
because of pissing away a host of active roster spots on� cripples, there simply won�t be much
depth.�� Do the math.�� A really myopic,
stone-stupid bit of player management.��
�(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when
it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�.)
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1