reed20fence

They'll find somebody or they'll fair catch every punt and let as many kickoffs bounce outta the end zone as possible. Crappy field position is still better than turning the ball over, or worse yet, getting SSS or Webby hurt.

Texans cut Charles James at the last second to get to 53 and probably give as little time as possible for teams to consider him before bringing him back to the PS. We've grown accustomed due to Jacoby to see the KR/PR role as a WR, but this guy is a servicable CB, a shifty and speedy RB, and a really good gunner on kick coverage. May be worth a shot.

Why would the Vikes wanna trade him?

Also, this close to the season and we still don't have a firm hold on a kick returner? Knowing Oz and Harbs they won't let this slide or roll the dice on roster trim fodder. We're probably working a trade.

Hopefully some of these guys clear waivers and get on the PS. There are some really promising kids on this list.

Unless someone can predict who we're gonna acquire as a returner it's gonna be impossible for anyone to win tickets to the St. Louis game. Everyone's predictions are gonna be nullified by either a wire pickup from recent cuts or a trade that they've quietly been working the last few days.

Good to see some lineman on this list. That was a pathetic showing over 3 games by the 2nd and 3rd o-line.

A Crocking to Remember.

Honestly my initial reaction wasnt to be upset about the muffed punt return. All week long our media guys were saying how Harbs and Rossburg couldnt understand why teams kept kicking touchbacks against us when one of the main unspoken themes of preseason is to deliberately kick returnable balls so bubble players on all sides could have a chance to make their case for making the roster on special teams. It may be the case that Asa fealt pressure to make something out of nothing on the return just to have a chance to get something, anything, on tape for the punt team. I know Rossburg really chewed him out but you gotta give the kid some slack, he's been surrounded by at least 10-15 bubble guys desparate to showcase some form of tackling, blocking, wedge-setting and returning ability so they can squeeze by another week.

Here's where the fans and coaches differ. As fans we see the second team oline unable to keep our quarterbacks upright. Little to no movement on the ground by the second team. And on defense the backups cant keep the running game controlled or contained and make Colt McCoy look like the second coming of a young Michael Vick. Its up to our coaches to see what fans don't rewind and hone in on that's happening away from the ball. Who is gonna be a liability to this team if a starter goes down? Who has athleticism, but needs time to develop and holds promise warranting a precious roster or PS spot? Who just didn't pan out and will be excess baggage for us if we're trying to go deep into the playoffs? The 90 to 75 should be really easy based on the fact that the backups scored 0 points, and gave up 31 straight to them. We may need to cut more than that to test out other peoples cuts, especially on both lines and our return game.

Just remember, an actual, literal attempt to break player's neck was neither flagged, and likely won't be fined by the incompetent nfl.

Yeah cuz he got stuck playing behind second and third string o-lineman there too.

I take that back. He was incredibly gracious and calm given the circumstances. I think people are quick to make a caricature outta Harbaugh.

Exactly. No need for anyone to get depressed here. These last two games just tell us that our depth stinks. Just pray and hope we stay healthy this year.

Imma take a wild guess and say Harbs is gonna be short tempered and rude to the press and call all their questions stupid. ...just a hunch

You just know Harbs is thinking "it's a shame we can ONLY cut 15 of these guys." It's entirely possible we cut more and give other guys that have been cut a shot. Especially on the lines.

On the bright side the coaches job of cutting 15 guys shouldn't that hard on Tuesday. Plenty of evidence of terrible execution is on tape.

...and then Asa goes and almost gets himself killed trying to force a punt return out of thin air.

He looks bad cuz he's out there running for his life on every pass play. These 2nd and 3rd string lineman aside from Urschel and Hurst are abysmal.

Marcel Jones #78...you're gettin cut Tuesday dude. Playing like a turnstile my man. The purpose of playing o-line is to block, not usher the d-lineman to the QB.

There is an insanely large disparity of talent between our starters and backups. Much much more so than I've ever seen before. We're very top heavy this year, especially on both lines.

Coughlin said a few years ago that you're only as prepared as your 53rd man. You can insert any random cliche about the weakest link in here but that's the point of the preseason - honing down to the toughest men with the most to contribute. Yeah, you wanna keep the first wave of attack healthy, but you also need to balance the need for a strong 3rd and 4th waive. Imagine if TB didnt give any time to Melvin last preseason and we had no tape on the guy as a potential plug in the bursting dam that was our secondary last year. Would we be talking about replacing Webby with him now as a starter? As a franchise that invests heavily in scouting and whose competitive edge are Ozzie, DeCosta and their army of Watchers, preseason is a potential treasure trove for us every year.

It's Osgood-Schatlers disease. People say it doesn't effect grownups but plenty of people that developed it as kids and continued repetitive stress with sports experience pain well into adulthood.

All the particular troubles with Perriman's injury aside, go back to early April when us fans were pleading that Oz and Harbs should get over this mentality that WRs are 'crapshoots' and how we haven't drafted one succesfully in the 1st round ever and that high a pick is too valuable to waste for a franchise with a cursed history of never producing a homegrown pro bowl calibre WR etc etc. In hindsite you kinda get Harbs' fear. We just expended a precious 1st rounder on a kid who could be plagued with excruciating pain in his knees for his entire career. Baltimore- the land where we develop amazing defenders; run the ball; and occassionally try to poach proven vets in the pass game in free agency.

We still got the 90 to 75 and 75 to 53 cut downs coming. We may be able to get a returner and deep threat bogey in one guy without having to dangle any future late round draft picks out there for mediocre fast guys in the last year of their deals. Patience my friends.