Fringe players (people who are not necessarily secured in their roster spots) in Italics
Players in no particular order
Quarterbacks
Ben Roethlisberger, Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch, Mike Reilly, Kevin McCabe
This one is fairly obvious. Ben is the starter who, barring a setback, should be on top of his game next season.
Dixon is an extremely athletic back up with tons of upside. He has the arm strength and accuracy to be an eventual starter.
Batch is the old decrepit back up who plays QB coach.
Mike Reilly is a guy I really liked coming out of Central Washington. He reminds me of Jon Kitna (same school) except with better mobility and a better arm. He should be a practice squad candidate.
McCabe is a very accurate passer, but is camp fodder.
Running Backs
Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore, Carey Davis, Stefan Logan, Justin Vincent, Frank Summers, Ryan Powdrell
Parker is the starter, but for how long? His only good attributes is his speed and toughness. He lacks versatility.
Mendenhall is a very good athlete with very good hands. He can run up the middle, outside, and can return kicks. He needs lots of work on pass blocking.
Moore is a good veteran presence. He does everything well but nothing great. He can play Special teams, catch better than the teams receivers, and pass block with the best of them despite his size (5-10 210)
Carey Davis is the much embattled Full Back. He is one of the teams best coverage players on Special Teams. He is not a good blocker, has adequate straight ahead speed, and ok hands. Route running is suspect and pass blocking needs work.
Stefan Logan is the former CFL player who averaged over 8 yards per carry last year. He is simply electric and at the VERY least he will battle for the primary returning job.
Justin Vincent is a fairly mediocre player who flamed out at LSU that the team has kept around for a while. Don't know that much about him.
Summers is this years 5th round pick. He is short (5-9) stocky (240-250) player who could stand to lose a bit of weight. He has adequate speed and hands. From what I've seen at UNLV he is a decent short yardage runner, though I dont know if he will be a good straight-ahead blocker in the pros. He really reminds me of Carey Davis.
Powdrell is mostly a camp body, but could make some noise due to our lack of Full Back.
Note, I think they will keep 5 running backs with one or two on the practice squad)
Receivers
Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Limas Sweed, Shaun Mcdonald Mike Wallace Brandon Williams, Martin Nance, Dallas Baker, Jayson Foster, Steven Black, Demiko Goodman, Tyler Grisham
Holmes returns as good as ever, though I'm not sure how much higher his ceiling is. He is a reliable possession receiver with enough speed and quickness to elude slower DB's.
Ward is on his last legs. He has steadily lost speed and elusiveness. He is best in the slot now and his hands seem to be fading as well (I think he had 11 drops last year)
Sweed is a tall lanky receiver. Long-strider but can make safeties play a little deeper. Really needs to work on his route tree and concentration.
Shaun McDonald is actually fairly similar to Holmes in build and play style, although Holmes has better speed. McDonald has good hands and can fill in as returner in a pinch. Good route runner. Should push Sweed for the 3rd receiver spot
Mike Wallace is extremely fast, though lacks great lateral movement. Has solid hands and needs help on route running. Should serve as returner. Will battle for 4th receiver spot.
Brandon Williams is a former 3rd round pick in Frisco who has good speed and quickness. Has solid hands and route running ability. Was never given a chance in any previous stops. Has experience returning.
Martin Nance tall player who is a step or two slow. Will probably be cut.
Dallas Baker. Flashes potential but can never deliver. He still has Florida syndrome and cannot run crisp routes. Has OK hands and speed. This is his last chance and he needs a good camp and pre-season
Foster is a former QB who is very undersized (5-7) but crazy athletic. He has bounced around a bit and will need to make an impression as a return specialist.
Steven Black-Camp body
Demiko Goodman- Camp Body
Tyler Grisham- Camp body
Tight Ends
Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth (will likely make roster), Dezmond Sherrod, Sean McHugh, David Johnson
Miller is a very good all around tight end that can block and catch with equal effectiveness.
Spaeth is a very tall player who needs to learn to play lower. Is solid in the passing game when targeted.
Sherrod is a good blocker /H-Back type
McHugh is a good blocker /H-Back type
Johnson is a good blocker /H-Back type
Offensive Tackles
Max Starks, Willie Colon, Tony Hills, Jason Capizzi, Trai Essex, Ramon Foster
Starks is a player who still has untapped potential and has shown flashes of brilliance playing Left Tackle
Colon is too small and slow to be an effective NFL tackle. Needs to be moved inside
Hills looked very good at UT before his injury. Still has a ways to go in terms of development.
Capizzi is a big guy with slow feet. Has some potential though.
Essex is a very solid veteran backup with some starting experience. Has lots of position versatility.
Ramon Foster was an OK player at Tennessee. Will be cut.
Guards
Darnell Stapleton, Chris Kemoeatu, Kraig Urbik,
Stapleton can play center as well. Solid player who can still improve in all aspects of his play. Has the potential to be a good starter.
Kemoeatu is an absolute mauler, but is fat and slow and can't pass block well.
Urbik, the 3rd round pick, is a former tackle that is very similar to Kemoeatu. Slow feet.
Centers.
Justin Hartwig, Doug Legursky, AQ Shipley
Hartwig is a player who can do anything you ask of him and do it well enough so it isn't easy to replace him, although he has enough faults to make you want to replace him. Solid in all aspects of his play.
Legursky has a terrible build for a center. Short and chubby with short arms. Workout warrior though whose weight room exploits are near-legendary at Marshall.
Shipley: refer to above.
Defense/Special Teams coming eventually.
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