Marginal White players on NFL rosters

referendum

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Here are most of the White players who are on the bubble in terms of making their teams. I've included many of the white non-starting defensive players and most non-starting White running backs (or fullbacks) and wide receivers. I realize some of these players are very likely to make their teams and some have no hope, but thought I'd include most everyone to create a comprehensive list.
49ers
Zac Keasey full back, Jay Moore linebacker, Brit Miller (I think he's white), linebacker
Bears,
Eric Peterman WR, Mike Rivera LB, Hunter Hillenmeyer LB, Kevin Malast LB,
Bengals,
Chris Harrington, DE, Dan Skuta LB, Jim Maxwell LB, Corey Lynch safety,
Bills,
David Lindquist DE, Jon Corto LB, John Wendling Safety, Dustin Fox CB (now theres an intresting letter combination to put after a white players name).
Broncos,
Spencer Larson FB/LB, Nick Greisen LB, Nate Swift WR.
Browns,
Adam Hoppel (guessing he's white) NT, Bo Rudd LB, Blake Costanzo LB,
Nick Sorenson safety, Mike Furrey WR.
Buccaneers
Nico Koutovides LB, Matt Mccoy LB.
Cardinals,
Lance Long WR, Sean Morey WR/special teams expert, Dan Kreider FB,
Rodney Leisle DE, Aaron Francisco safety.
Chargers
Keith Grennan DE, Eric Bakhtiari LB, Billy Latsko FB, Steve Gregory safety,
Chiefs
Derek Lokey DE, Weston Dacus LB, Andy Studebaker LB, John Mcgraw safety.

More updates laterEdited by: referendum
 

whiteathlete33

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These guys are on the bubble? Mike Furrey, John Mcgraw, John Wendling, and Hunter Hillenmeyer? Furrey had 98 receptions several seasons ago and now he can't even make a team? I may not watch a single game this year.
 

whiteathlete33

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Mike Furrey is better than 95 percent of the receivers in the league. The guy has great hands and should be starting.
 

dwid

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Chris Reis SS. He should be the starting SS, but is listed 3rd on the depth chart as SS and has mainly been a special teams player. We brought in quite a few safetys this year, and converted one of the crappy cornebacks into a safety. I have a feeling Malcolm Jenkins will eventually be converted into a safety, he just looks too slow to play corner. He ran a high 4.5. There are White guys who run in the 4.4 range and get converted to safety. Roman Harper is the starting SS, he showed promise his rookie year but has declined ever since. I havent seen anything impressive out of him except a few flashes in his rookie season. Reis deserves a chance to battle for the starting spot but is listed on the depth chart behind Pierson Prioleau

Jeff Charleston DE is going to play because our two starting DE's are out for 4 games but after that im worried they will get rid of him. Hes shown enough that he is good enough to be in the DE rotation, 3 sacks in a limited amount of snaps (he was brought in half way through the season and only saw limited action) which tied Will Smith the "probowl" de who is making like 10 mill a year (who played a majority of the snaps last season). He has shown great athleticism and is really good when given the opportunity. So unless he somehow loses his talent Saints would be stupid to get rid of him.

the new defensive coordinator says there are no guys with definite starting jobs, every snap counts in practice and the jobs will be determined there, I think he is full of crap. Saints fans seem to think this only applies to the White linebackers, apparently Vilma can't lose his starting role no matter what. If hes telling the truth it would be nice though, because I think Charleston should be getting more snaps and Reis should see more time on the field. Fujita should be a lock at SLB and Shanle has always been solid, last year he improved and was impressive.

As far as offense Zach Strief is listed as a backup RT but always fills in for Jammal Brown (the "probowl" LT that has to hold constantly) even though there is no drop off in talent when Strief is in (well there is a drop off in holding calls) , Brown is considered great and makes much more money. There are quite a few White olinemen that should push for starting jobs but I doubt they will get a real opportunity. Brees has such a quick release he makes these guys look better than they are. Stinchcomb is the best imo, very athletic, so many times Reggie Bush springs a screen pass for a big one i see him way up the field making a key block. Nicks is a decent LG when it comes to run blocking but still has room to improve in pass protection, he like most of the line could be replaced.

WR Mat Simon
hopefully he has a shot to at least make the practice squad. Saints have quite a few guys who are supposed to be talented but havent shown anything yet (adrian arrington and robert meachem) So the only proven receivers they have are Marques Colston, Lance Moore (in a fair world Mike Hass should be in his spot, they both have good hands, great route running but Hass is taller and runs a little faster) and Devery Henderson (whos proven hes good for 1 or 2 fly routes a game). Then we have Skyler Green and Courtney Roby battling it out for KR/WR. So hopefully Simon can battle it out for a 5th or 6th WR spot, Payton usually keeps a bunch of receivers. Lance Moore is still recovering from a shoulder injury and Colston hasnt been the same after he broke his finger.
 

referendum

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Many of these guys will be making their teams, but just like Matt Wilhelm getting cut last week, or Stryker Sulak (spelling) getting cut before training camp as a sixth rounder, you never know. So, I'm putting in most of the non-starting white defensive players on this list.
 

Leonardfan

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Seattle has a few to keep close watch on. Two of them are WRs. Mike Hass and Logan Payne will be battling it out with a bunch of scrubs. Seattle has never had an impressive WR corps. Deion Branch is oft-injured, Nate Burleson is average, TJ Houshmenzadah is the EXACT same player Mike Hass is yet Hass has not recieved a fair shot in the league up to this point. Rookie WR Deon Butler will make the team.

Billy McMullen, Benjamin Obamanu, Jordan Kent, Courtney Taylor and Michael Bumpus are the scrubs Hass and Payne will be battling against. Hopefully Hass finally gets playing time during the preseason unlike every other year he has been in the league.

This is a battle for all of us to keep our eyes on.
 

referendum

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Some more teams,
Colts, Pat Kuntz, DE, Brett Mcdermott WR, Samuel Giguere, WR, Adam Seward, LB, Jordan Senn, LB, Brannon Condren and Jamie Silva, safety.
Cowboys, Tim Anderson NT, Matt Stewart and Justin Rogers, LBs.
Dolphins, J.D.Folsom (I think he's white), LB, Ethan Kilmer, CB.
Eagles, Danny Amendola, WR, Dan Klecko DT, Jason Babin DE, Matt Wilhelm, LB.
Falcons, Troy Bergeron, Dicky Lyons, Darren Mougey, Bradon Godfrey WRs, Kroy Bierman DT, Coy Wire, LB.
Giants, Tollefson DE, De Ossie LB, Blackburn LB, these three were all on team with meaningful roles last year, so hopefully all will make team this year. Blackburn even started some games.
Jaguars, Andy Strickland, Todd Peterson WRs, Brock Bolen FB, Tim Shaw LB, Pete Ittersagen CB.
Jets Danny Woodhead RB, Mike Devite, Zack Potter, Matt Kroul and Ty Steinkuhler DEs, Larry Izzo, Jason Trusnik, Brandon Renkart, Craig Kobel (guessing he's white), LBs, Eric Smith safety. The Jets will be interesting to watch to see how many of these white players make the team.
Lions, John Standeford WR, Sean Conover and Ryan Kees DE, Zack Follet, Jordan Dizon and Cody Spencer LBs, Stuart Schweigert safety.
Packers Brett Swain WR, lots of white LBs on Packers of course, wondering if Spencer Havner is the only one in jeopardy.Edited by: referendum
 

dwid

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falcons signed Dicky Lyons Jr hope he sticks to the team

as i mentioned earlier for the Saints Matt Simon. Never heard of him before this year but he has looked great in training camp and several training camp reports mention him making spectacular plays
 

referendum

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The Jets defense and the Colts and Falcons WR situation are three of the interesting teams to watch. Do the Colts reach three white WR's, and does a second white WR (assuming Finneran makes team) make the Falcons, out of Bergeron, Godfrey, Lyons and Mougey?
 
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http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-training-camps/09000d5d81191a1c/On-the-fringe-Lance-Long

This is a pretty good video featuring Lance Long of the Cardinals. I think he has a good shot at making the team, given how hard he's been working out (coming in on weekends/offdays, etc.) and the fact he's been on the Cardinal's practice squad for a year now. He was impressive in his preseason showings last season, but just barely missed the cut. With a whole year of work and preparation under his belt, hopefully this season he'll make the team, as a ST guy, but also as a contributing WR as he states he wants to be.

Honestly, Jerheme Urban should be the number 3 WR, and Lance Long could battle it out with Steve Breaston over the 4/5 spots. I'd argue that Urban has the talent to take a position away from Fitz or Boldin, but there is no way that chance will arise, unless one of them gets hurt, or in the future doesn't resign.

Few other articles:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/cards/2009-08-06-cardinals-camp-letter_N.htm
http://www.revengeofthebirds.com/2009/7/23/952501/arizona-cardinals-pre-training

EDIT:

I just noticed the updated Lance Long topic on the Cardinals board. This post would probably would have been better suited there...oops.
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Edited by: Synapse to synapse
 

celticdb15

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Thanks for the vid Synapse, I noticed Lance has that Upper Michigan accentlol. Jokes aside it's weird that after things didn't work out at Toledo that he would choose to walk-on at Miss St. Why not Central Michigan or Western Michigan? I don't know if it's neccesarily fair to call Lance less talented than other past white receivers, with him i see a guy who never really got a shot! He looks to have VERY quick feet and runs good routes. He may not have freak numbers or the ideal height but cmon we need someone to be ready and take over the slot once Wes hangs his cleats up!
 

Don Wassall

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referendum said:
The Jets defense and the Colts and Falcons WR situation are three of the interesting teams to watch. Do the Colts reach three white WR's, and does a second white WR (assuming Finneran makes team) make the Falcons, out of Bergeron, Godfrey, Lyons and Mougey?

The Falcons reacted in predictable fashion after WR Harry Douglas (lots of hype going into '09 despite having just 23 receptions in '08) was lost for the season, bringing in two retreads that are ridiculous even by NFL standards, Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker.

Ferguson was an early second round draft choice by the Packers who was given season after season after season to develop but never did. Despite playing a lot, in 8 NFL seasons he managed but 151 catches and 1993 yards. He probably dropped as many passes as he caught.

Booker was a good possession receiver for a number of years despite being slow afoot, but had declined to the point that he couldn't even get playing time last year with the Bears and their sad-sack corps of so-called wide receivers.

Hopefully the Falcons, who improved significantly last year from a demographic standpoint, will keep Bergeron along with Finneran but as always expect very little when it comes to the NFL and white players.Edited by: Don Wassall
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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i posted this in another thread, but i thought it bears repeating ...

Jimmy Chitwood said:
i always thought Lance Long was under-utilized while he was at Miss. State. however, and don't take this as a slap at Lance, but something isn't right here.
if a player of his athletic ability, which is middle of the pack for an NFL wideout, gets a shotwhile much more physically gifted guys like Matt Jones, Weston Dressler, Jeremy Bloom, David Kircus, Dan Stricker, Troy Bergeron, Jimmy Fryzel, Jesse Schmidt, Tim Dodge and so on and so on don't get a fair shake ... that just goes to show you that the system is completely screwed up.

Don has spoken to this several times in the past, and i think he's right. it's as if the truly gifted White players are cast(e) asidewhile themore average White players are allowed to earn a handful of roster spots in order to maintain the false notion of "blacks are just better."

i mean, how the hell can Lance Long be in a camp and none of those other guys (except for Bergeron) are? and we know even Bergeron won't end up starting like he should ... hell, he might not even make the Falcons roster!

end of rant.
 

whiteathlete33

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I believe they don't want great white athletes in the NFL. Jeremy Bloom has world class speed though he didn't run in that range during the combine. He was focusing on skiing at that time. Kevin Kasper is an athletic freak who is thrown aside.Troy Bergeron would be one of the faster receivers in the NFL. Bloom ran the 100 yard dash in 9.41. This was only .01 off the record set by Joey Galloway.Edited by: whiteathlete33
 
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Leonardfan said:
Seattle has a few to keep close watch on. Two of them are WRs. Mike Hass and Logan Payne will be battling it out with a bunch of scrubs.
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</div><div>If Hass doesn't make my Seahawks I don't think I'll be able to get into NFL football this year! Yes there is still Hasselback to watch on the Hawks and I am a little curious to see how Mora does as a Coach but knowing that a player that deserves a roster spot like Hass has gotten cut will just kill my interest and I will just watch College Ball instead.
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