Final Cuts - Guessing at the Roster

53 active, 8 developemental squad.

Rocca, Akers, Dorenbos are the specialists.
QB (3) McNabb, Kolb, Feeley
RB (3) Westbrook, Buckhalter, Booker
FB (1) Hunt. Davis to the DS if he's eligible, if not then it's Collins.
OL (9) Runyan, Thomas, Jackson, Andrews, Herremans, Justice, Young, Cole, McGlynn. Gibson and Dunlap to the DS, Jean-Gilles to IR (probably). A surprise or two is possible here, with Justice and Young both fearing the axe. The injury to Jean-Gilles saved at least one of their jobs. Dunlap may be too valuable for the DS, so one of them could be cleared anyway.
WR (6) Curtis, Brown, Jackson, Baskett, Lewis, Avant. Gasperson has improved, but it's not enough to make this team. Maybe he can catch on in Miami or somewhere, but probably his NFL career is over. Jamal Jones and Bam Childress dropped too many passes, they're gone. Shaheer McBride to the DS.
TE (3) Smith, Celek, Wilson. Schobel is the better pass-catcher at this point, but Wilson is a better special-teamer and has more altheticism. Unless the Eagles deal Wilson for a low-round pick, Schobel's gone.

That's 25 for the offense...now the defense:

DE (6) Cole, Parker, Smith, McDougle, Clemons, Howard. Abiamiri to IR. This has been one of the most fascinating position battles of camp. Frankly, I'd IR Clemons over Abiamiri, his 'calf strain' is pissing me off, but Abiamiri's injury is more serious. You simply can't cut McDougle after the preseason he had, not when you know he'll be lining up for the Giants against you twice a year. Howard probably goes if they don't IR anyone, although I'd love to have a guy around who can play both ends and tackle.
DT (4) Patterson, Bunkley, Laws, Klecko. This is a little light, but one of the ends - Howard or Parker - will play some nickel tackle. Marquardt played well last night, but he never really had a chance.
LB (6) Gocong, Bradley, Gaither, Mays, Jordan...you know, I just had a thought. Conventional wisdom says you keep six LBs, but no one has jumped up and taken the job this camp. Maybe you can DS both Studebaker and Ruland, keep only 5 LBs active, and then have 7 DEs? Yeah, I like that idea. Boiman's been a disappointment, and Togafau has not shown anything special, so let's not waste a roster spot on them.
CB (4) Samuel, Brown, Sheppard, Hanson. Someone to the DS - I'd guess Arrington over Fontenot, but they're pretty even.
S (5) Dawkins, Mikell, Considine, Reed, Demps. Demps is athletic enough to fill in at CB if needed, although his technique sucks at this point. Considine and Reed are core special-teamers, and can play both S positions, so they aren't going anywhere.

This looks to have been a really good draft for the Eagles - 5 or 6 (outside shot at 7) of their draft picks will make the opening roster, and the rest have shown enough promise to find a spot on the DS. A lot of these guys will contribute in big ways this season.

The Eagles always have a surprise or two for us on final cuts, but I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the roster this year...we'll see how close I get tomorrow.