Hogs Haven
The 5 o’clock club aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.
The Commanders have had surprising play from some players this off-season, both good and bad. We all know that, come 26 August, finalizing the roster is a numbers game. Around 1,200 players league-wide will get their walking papers next week.
Players ‘on the bubble’ have to find a way to shine in camp and in preseason games, despite the fact that whatever they do comes with the caveat that it was done against the other team’s second & third string players, so somehow, it doesn’t seem to mean as much.
Still, players like Ja’Corey Brooks and Bill Croskey-Merritt have been able to grab the attention of Dan Quinn and his staff from OTAs to training camp by “making plays”, and we still have one more preseason game left for players to make an impression.
Hustle, hard work, intelligence all count. Making big plays — a lot of big plays — trumps the rest.
In the end, though, if you’re a player, all that counts is what the coaching staff and the General Manager think of you.
Today, I invite you to enter the world of “suppose”.
Suppose you are the GM of the Commanders. All but one roster spot has been decided, and you have to make the final choice. Who do you keep? Who do you cut?
(Man, as a former English teacher, it really hurts me to NOT write “Whom do you keep?”, but it just sounds too pretentious for a sports blog).
I’ve put eight different poll questions below, but I’d invite you to answer each poll question individually, independent from the others. In other words, for each poll question, assume that all other decisions have been made, and all you have to decide is: Between the players listed in that poll question, who do you keep, and who do you cut?
NOTE that some poll questions say KEEP, and some say CUT. They are not all the same.
If you want to add some different choices than the ones I’ve proffered and explain your thinking in the comments, feel free. Today, you’re in charge of Commanders personnel. You decide who is on the roster that lines up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in two weeks.
