Steelers 53 man roster, educated guess?

3 QB- Ben, Bruce and ugh... do I have to?  Jones.  I hear Enderle is looking for work among a few others Id take over Landry in a heart beat.

5 RB- Bell, Redman, LSH, Felix the Cat and Will Johnson.  Fumbles didnt help Mendenhall when he was here and he was a 1st round pick.  Tomlin wont settle for another 8-8 season using almost the same RBs as in 2012.  LSH was our typical "Gem FA" and Felix is yet another.  2 great RB additions in our new ZBS.

3 TE- Heath, Pauslon and Id hope Palmer but odds are its gonna be DJ.  At least thats until Speath comes back from IR.  To be honest I hope an above average vet is released and we walk away from Speath and DJ for the 2nd time.  Or keep Palmer.  I also hoped a few weeks ago itd be Moeaki but he went and got broken again.

6 WR- AB, Manny, Cotchery, Wheaton, Moye, J. Brown.  Look, on this blog IM THE GM DAMN IT AND IM KEEPING ALL 6!!!  If you check your notes I had us getting Moye last year, so decent foresight on my part.  Hes done a tremendous job.  Had Brown fielded 2 punts and been looked at by Landry in the 2nd half as opposed to throwing to the defense, then maybe this is different and not such an argument.

8 OL- Gil (yes, at LT), Foster, MP53, Destro, Beachum (pay attention kids).  Adams, Malecki, and Long.  I hate Whimper.  And as well as Long did last night I do hope we find a better vet than Whimper and Long and just make a move.  But this is the Steelers.  So these are the 8.  Long has a far higher ceiling along with bloodlines.

7 DL- Hood, McLendon, Keisel, Woods, Cam, Fangupo and Arnfelt.  "The Fang" has outplayed TaAmu all preseason, getting looks ahead of him as well as beside him.  Hmmm, beside him you say?  That goalline stand last night had Woods, Fangupo, TaAmu and Arnfelt on the Dline.  Yes, a 4 man front.  A very powerful one at that.  Ive said it before and Ill say it again- TaAmu is a 3 tech in a 43 defense.  Nothing more.  Fangupo can and has played the 1 and the 0 in both alignments.  And Woods just frankly kicks ass everywhere (3 year extension anyone???).  As for Arnfelt- there are too many 34 teams now to take a chance on placing him on the Practice Squad.  He earned a chance on the 53.  Granted he probably wont dress.  At least not this year.  Now next year when/if Ziggy leaves... well thats another question altogether.

5 ILB- Timmons, Foote, McFadden, Vince (ass kicker.  Pay attention Spence), Rolle.  I went Rolle over Wilson primarily due to LeBeau being a Buckeye alum. Sorta.  Rumor has it our coaching staff have been a fan of his for awhile now, and him playing with the 2s almost all preseason says enough.  Kion has PS time available.

4 OLB- Woodley, Jones (again, pay attention kids), Worilds, Baxter- Baxter is this years Harrison.  No questions asked.  While Chris Carter finally showed up last night he has been lacking the past 3 seasons showing little to nothing, even on special teams.  He was given the starting gig last year on a platter and couldnt handle it.  And while Carter did well last night, Alan has been playing that well if not better all preseason.  We used Harrison as a ping pong ball a few years ago with the Ravens.  Baxter wont bounce around at all.

5 CB- Ike, Tez, Gay (Ras I Dowling?  Any vet not named Gay???), Hawthorne, Green- Heres my thinking.  The Shark and Golden can and have played the nickel spot very well.  So their flexibility wont force us to use iffy talent in coverage.  Sorry Curtis.  Sorry Victorian.  The 1st cant cover and the other cant tackle.  Green has done well on special teams and has the speed and hands we love.  Hawthorne is Lakes new toy and I bet before long he shows up and dresses (pay attention Gay).  And yes, I still hate William Gay.

4 S- Troy, Clark, The Shark and Golden- maybe the best deep coverage in the league?  Gotta be top 5.  The only way this group coulda been better was if we drafted Matt Elam.  LOL  Shit.

K- Suisham
P- Flip a coin.  Ok, rock paper scissors?  My mother and your mother were hanging up clothes...
LS- Warren

Thats 53 kids.  Yes If I were Tomlin Id put Gil back at LT and start Beachum at RT.  Let Adams be the flex.  You put your best 5 in to start right???  RIGHT???  Beachum has shown far more than anything Adams has done.  His kick slide is still lacking for Christs sake (my biggest concern of his from the draft).  And JJ over Worilds.  Yup, at some point itll happen.

My 53-man Bears roster

This is how I would construct the Bears final roster, pending no trades are made.  It's also a prediction on what I think the roster will look like.

Quarterbacks (2)- Jay Cutler, Josh McCown.

The Matt Blanchard situation stinks, because he was a nice developmental QB.  But what it does is create an open spot for the Bears to keep a player at another position.  I look for the Bears to find a practice squad QB after final cuts are made.  If a 3rd QB is needed, they can always go get Trent Edwards or Jordan Palmer again off the street, which is where they will be after final cuts this weekend.

Running backs (4)- Matt Forte, Michael Bush, Michael Ford, Tony Fiametta.

Forte and the Presidents.  As I predicted several months ago in a mock draft, Michael Ford has too much talent not to be on an NFL roster.  Highly recruited out of HS.  Hard runner, who is also very fast.  Armando Allen is an experienced special teamer, but the Bears aren't short on those.  Ford has proven to be better in all phases with the ball in his hands, Allen's injury didn't help either.  Fiametta has been a big + in the run game, he makes the squad.

Wide Receiver (6)- Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Earl Bennett, Marquess Wilson, Joe Anderson, Eric Weems.

Interesting that Anderson hasn't been in with the 1s at all the last 2 weeks, and doesn't appear to be out there on special teams with the 1s either, a role he was very good at last year in limited duty.  A surprise would be Terrance Tolliver taking Anderson's spot, as the Bears seem to really like him.  Anderson gets the nod due to his ability to play the slot and teams, whereas Tolliver doesn't appear to be able to do either.  Weems makes it for the same reason.  All phase special teamer, potential to play slot WR.  Bennett's health forces the Bears to carry 6 WRs, at least to start.

Tight End (3)- Martellus Bennett, Steve Maneri, Fendi Onubun.

I know Bears fans think Onubun is a lost case because of his wide open drops in games the last few weeks, but he has had a strong camp and can really run.  You see drops, I see a guy who can get open.  He'll start catching the ball.  Wanted to keep 4 TEs, but Fiametta has been really good so far.  Adams, I like, and thought he and Maneri could make Fiametta look 1-dimensional and play a FB/H-back role.  Haven't shown that they can this preseason.  Adams is gone because of it.

Offensive Line (8)- Jermon Bushrod, Matt Slauson, Roberto Garza, Kyle Long, Jordan Mills, Eben Britton, James Brown, Jonathan Scott.

I am a rare Bears fan that actually likes J'Marcus Webb, but a change of scenery is probably necessary.  Penalties and poor run blocking probably sealed his fate last week.  He will presumably get a ton of time this week to bury himself.  Britton makes the squad because he has experience at OT and OG.  He's probably gameday inactive when the rest of the OL is healthy, but he is the swing OT until Scott is ready to play.  Hopefully, he won't be needed.

Defensive End (5)- Julius Peppers, Corey Wootton, Shea McClellin, Cheta Ozougwu, Cornelius Washington.

Bears keep 5 DEs.  With Peppers and Wootton's ability to play inside on pass downs, the 4 D-End, DL is possible.  Washington has too much potential to risk on waivers.  Gameday inactive to start.

Defensive tackle (4)- Stephen Paea, Henry Melton, Nate Collins, Corvey Irvin.

Irvin is hurt right now, but he got the start over Collins in Week 2 vs. the Chargers.  I thought he looked decent.  Bears take a risk here and expose Zach Minter to waivers, frankly because he can go to the practice squad and Irvin can't.

Linebackers (6)- Lance Briggs, Jon Bostic, James Anderson, DJ Williams, Blake Costanzo, Khaseem Greene.

Big name cut here is JT Thomas.  I really thought JT had some potential.  He, frankly, looked bad vs. Terrell Pryor this weekend.  He also missed a couple tackles on kickoffs.  And a player on the bubble like him can't afford special teams screw ups.  DJ Williams' ability and experience at all 3 LB spots makes the depth here OK without Thomas.

Cornerbacks (5)- Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings, Isaiah Frey, Zach Bowman, Sherrick McManis.

CJ Wilson led the team in defensive snaps last week.  He will get a longer look this week.  With Bowman's health for Week 1 in question, there's a shot for Wilson to make the roster if he has a good showing on Thursday.  In that case, the Bears would have to go short handed at WR or DT with Weems, Anderson, and Irvin the names fighting for their lives on the roster.  Ideally, the Bears would be able to trade Webb or someone not making the roster for an experienced CB.  McManis isn't very good as a corner, but is a core special teamer.  Outside shot his roster spot could be taken, but it would have to be a solid upgrade over him on the defensive end, while not losing much on teams.  Not sure that player exists.

Safeties (4)- Chris Conte, Major Wright, Craig Steltz, Anthony Walters.

Big cut here is 2012 3rd round pick, Brandon Hardin.  Hardin just has not done enough on defense or teams to keep his job.  While the GM did draft him, the coaching staff has no loyalty to him.  Very talented kid, but if a starter gets hurt and he has to come on the field, it wouldn't be a good situation for the Bears.

Specialists (4)- Robbie Gould- K, Adam Podlesh- P, Pat Mannelly- LS, Devin Hester- KR.

Well, looks like Hester is going to be on the roster.  Special teams coach, DeCamillas really wants him to be the team's return man and still has faith in him returning to greatness.  Could be coach speak, but I would have bet money that Hester would have been gone by now if that was the plan the entire time.  But if he's not going to play WR or cover kicks, I think there's an outside shot he could be trade bait.  Not sure what a team would give up for him (reserve CB?), but odds are, he plays out the final year of his contract with the Bears.

Phil Emery: Positive Returns on Short Draft History

In about a year and a half as the GM of the Chicago Bears, Phil Emery has certainly made his mark quickly on the organization.  He's fired a beloved coach, right after having a double-digit win season.  He set an ultimatum on a potential Hall of Famer and face of the franchise, essentially forcing him to walk away from the game NOT on his own terms.  Emery has also made unconventional choices at head coach, and most importantly.....the draft.

While this team will only go as far in 2013 as Jerry Angelo drafted/acquired players will take them, Emery's primary job, in my opinion, was to turn around the future of the organization.  By the looks of things, Emery is well on his way to doing just that.

Emery started off on a great foot by trading for Brandon Marshall as his first major roster move.  Last April, the GM really put his stamp on the team by frankly, making some headscratching choices in his first draft.  On paper, the 2012 Bears' draft was a 3-4 OLB drafted to a 4-3 team, a WR with questions about his speed and ability to keep weight off, a college CB being converted to safety after missing his entire senior season, an overdrafted FB/TE tweener, and 2 corners brought in late to compete on special teams.  Flip the calendar to the end of the 2013 training camp, and the 2012 draft is starting to show some potential.  While many Bears fans will still lament the fact that Shea McClellin probably will never be a 3-down DE, the fact is he can be (and is starting to look like he'll be) a productive part of the Bears pass rush.  That 2nd round WR, is regarded by teammates of having the best camp on the offensive side of the ball.  And Alshon Jeffery showed that by being Jay Cutler's key target on a team that exploded for 27 points in the first half of the 3rd preseason game.  Lastly, one of those CBs was able to hang around the practice squad last year and has been the most improved player on the defensive side of the ball this summer.  And Isaiah Frey has gained the confidence in his coaching staff going into the season as the nickel back, a very important and much used position in the Bears defensive scheme.

That being said, the other 3 picks in the 2012 draft have either been or will be cut within the next week.  While 3 contributing picks and a 50% "hit" rate on the draft doesn't seem like a big accomplishment, consider the Bears have not had 3 players from the same draft contributing positively in the same season since probably 2004.

Again with the 2013 draft, Phil Emery left Bears fans scratching their heads with his 1st round pick.  With guys like Desmond Trufant, Sharrif Floyd, and Xavier Rhodes on the board, the Bears opted for Kyle Long, an inexperienced lineman with HOF bloodlines.  Granted he's played the 1st string of 2 bottom 5 D-lines in the league and 2nd stringers in the preseason opener, but so far, Long looks like a star at RG.  Joining him in the starting lineup will be 2nd round pick Jonathan Bostic and 5th rounder, Jordan Mills.  In addition to 3 starters in 6 picks, Emery's draft also boasts 3 players who will make the roster.  Marquess Wilson was a steal in the 7th, and looks like he'll get some runs with the 1s as the #4 WR.  Khaseem Greene and Cornelius Washington will not contribute on defense, but Greene looks like a 4-phase special teamer with potential to start at LB down the line.  And Washington has flat out dominated 3rd teamers so far in the preseason.  Washington potentially could be a pass rush option down the stretch once he gets some extra work in on the side.  Probably not gameday active til midseason, barring injuries.  Lastly, UDFA Michael Ford looks to have a bright future as the #3 RB this year, with potential to be more in the future (as I predicted in one of my previous mocks).

While it is too early to hail Phil Emery as a genius, the guy who comes off as trying to be "smarter than everyone else", may just be on to something.  If the 3 rookie starters continue to play like they have against lesser competition this preseason, and the 3 from 2012 take the next step to being long term contributors, Emery has set a solid foundation for this team's future.  With all the aging players on defense, the contracts expiring of several veterans, it was imperative for the Bears to hit homeruns in the draft early in Emery's tenure.  While neither of these drafts are near that yet, they look to be a huge step in the right direction as of now.