Assuming anyone's actually trying to make this a serious thread:
1). Riddick seems moving back to RB [surprising to me as he is a lot like Cierre and not like Jonas], so that creates a logjam there. That would indicate staff seriously considering moving GAIII back to receiver and CamMc to slot. This would still leave us with Wood, Riddick, Roberson [if healthy], Mahone, and Russell. If Roberson can't really go, and if Russell looks more receiver/slot than RB, then GAIII or CamMc come back to RB.
2). Linemen are apparently shifting due to the quality of underclassman tackles. We seem to know that Hegarty will go to Center. He probably will cross-train a little at Guard as Warriner seems to like Guard/Center flexibility. Hanratty will probably do the same, as will Harrell. ZMartin dominates LT, but RT needs a player. Lombard was back-up this year, but we have Prestwood, Nichols, incoming Decker, and Stanley who all look like straight-out tackles. Lombard, originally thought of as a guard, might go back there. NMartin is primed for a possible starting job, too, and he was LT last year--- so that would have to change. I know you guys have little interest in O-Linemen, but stability of positioning there is a very big deal or nothing works offensively at all.
3). Should Riddick really move out of slot, who backs up Toma?? Whoever it is will be a change unless it's Farley [who might go back to DB depending how athletic we really look there]. Does TJ move? I don't see it. Does CamMc go there? Could easily see that. GAIII? Russell? A big talent like CBrown?
4). What happens at NT behind Nix? I am not even sure that Cwynar is coming back, although I believe that to be a very good idea. After Cave and Slaughter, and KLM, Sean is the next man on the list if the recruiting success rate would really get out of hand late. Plus Sean is already a graduate student, I believe. Whose getting the back-up [really in our substitution pattern, sharing] time? This is even more of a conundrum when considering how much we're in four down. Is Springmann ready for any of this? Or does Schwenke move there semi-permanently? Does Tuitt become a de facto DT? Do we make do with the rooks [Day, Jones]?
5). Linebackers will shift all over the place, in my opinion, except Te'o. Some shifting will just be disappearing down the depth chart, but some will be major. Shembo seems gone from the Dog. Where will he be? He's too good not to have on the field, so that means Cat or Will. [unless you want to make him an undersized but nevertheless effective DE]. Where does Rabasa end up? He's very similar to Shembo in the sense of where he might play. Do we "waste" Grace for a year sitting watching Te'o, or do we get him on the field? Where does Niklas fit? ( We have Lynch, Tuitt, KLM, Hounshell, and maybe Schwenke, as proven talents at DE --- and Jones and Okwara coming ). Where's he go?
Look at the LB situation: Te'o, IWiliams, Councell, Shembo, Fox, Spond, Grace, Moore, Rabasa [probably], Calabreese, ... and Niklas. Who do you want on the field? Can you pick your four favorites, and fit them into positions which actually work? By the way this doesn't even include the Slaughter at Dog option, and before you say "No No", the staff is saying that it really likes the idea.
My opinion is worth less than the electrons needed to send it, but I'll give it anyway.
A). Obviously I want Te'o on the field for as long as he can handle it physically. But I want to give him some breathers too.
B). When Slaughter's not playing a hybrid DB/Dog, I want speed there and no messing around. That means Councell. I have no idea whether anyone else on this team can actually play the position.
C). At Cat-Crash Fever, it has to be IWiliams, if he can think it out, and someone else big, mean, fast, and athletic. Is that Niklas or is that Shembo?
D). That leaves Will. If it's Niklas at Cat, then it should be Shembo at Will to get my best athletes on the field. I'd like whoever it is to share time with Grace, unless Diaco is willing to give Te'o more rest. Grace needs playing time. If he's getting some even behind Te'o, and Dan Fox continues to improve in pass coverage [which the staff thinks he's doing], maybe it's Fox who shares Will with Shembo. Could Niklas be Will instead, and The Prince go to his natural position at Cat? That would be even nicer if Niklas turned out to be instinctively good at it.
That LB array would be: IWiliams/ Shembo; Niklas/ Fox; Te'o/ Grace; Councell/ Spond, & Slaughter in our speciality defense. That should be controversial enough.
6). DBs: I would not be surprised to see some positional shifting among players like Jalen Brown and Eiler Hardy who are real talents, and, given the tremendous uncertainty in the D-Backfield, might be flipped CB/S to get some kind of adequate set of talents on the field.
There: I've said it and I'm glad.
