The Positives of having and injury filled season...

[firstdayfan]

Believe it or not there are positives from having an injury filled season and these positives are in the form of up and coming players who are pushing the vets for roster spots. Throughout the season injuries have forced these guys into more playing time and most have them proved very effective:

Tyrell Sutton: By far the best pickup from the offseason and a great back who is very versatile. He runs really well, catches the ball really well, and can even block. Seems horrible to say this but to me he is like a combo of williams, stewart, and nick goings all in one little package. Problem is that we have plenty of backs so it will be hard for him to get PT in the future.

Matt Moore: This is an obvious one but I really feel like he is getting better each game and the coaching staff is more comfortable letting him air it out. I've always liked him and I hope he shows he can be the guy for the future...but he will have to work on his accuracy a little bit and try to avoid the overthrows.

Geoff Schwartz and Mackenzy Bernardeu: These were big question marks coming into the season and I still don't know about Schwartz but both guys have gotten good playing time and both have played well. Add in Robinson and we have a good young core of backups on the oline.

Gary Barnidge and Donte Rosario: No real injuries here but I just thought that both have played well this year and deserve some props.

Tyler, Leonard, Thomas, Hayden, Lewis: These are all guys we have on the roster that have played at DT this year and all are better off because of it. I really feel like Tyler and Leonard could turn out to be big time pickups next year and beyond. Lewis has been solid and Thomas has been a savior, although I'm not sure he has much left in the tank. Hayden has progressed but may not make it due to the depth.

James Anderson and Dan Connor: Anderson has been much more impressive than Connor but I really like both guys and I feel like resigning Anderson should be a priority. Both should push to start next season.

Captain Munnerlyn: Probably the biggest suprise of the season and hopefully he only gets better with time unlike Ricky Manning Jr. Captain has gotten better at his punt return duties and is a very good nickel corner.

Sherrod Martin: Again, here is another area where we seem to have depth that we originally were concerned about. Martin brings some ball hawking skills to the safety spot and has actually pushed Godfrey to play better.

Considering our record and the fact that the coaching situation is up in the air to say the least its good to know that we actually have a strong core of young players who could potentially step up next season. If we can figure out the QB situation and get a legitimate #2 receiver I think we will be fine next season.

[pstall]

Was this post lifted from 2007? Sounds similar

[MaineManPanther]

Agreed. Our DT poistion looks much better then early on. If Kemo and other didnt get injured we wouldnt have this depth going into 2010. And martin could be still a 4th corner instead of a starting level saftey.

[British_Panther]

Was this post lifted from 2007? Sounds similar

worked out well for 08.

[LaChance87]

Na'il Diggs is getting up there in age, Dont get me wrong I like him and think he's been very effective for us. James in my opinion should be a top priority in resigning this offseason as long as he gets more playing time he could eventually move in to the starting defensive line up. Martin is an absolute ball hawk and will be very effective at the saftey postion. Godfrey is a solid starter too, an as proved will force the turnover. This year fight for the starting job will be great compostion and its nice knowing if one (God forbid it happen) gets hurt, the guy behind him can come in and play at the same level if not better.