Need Bodies?

by: Michael Steffes

Making some early decisions on special teams would certainly help.

First the good news, it appears Josh Wilson's injury was more to his psyche than his leg. He returned for the afternoon session after leaving the field following his transformation into burnt toast at the hands of Jordan Kent.

Now back to the special teams, which was the focus of the afternoon session. Danny O'Neil has some quotes from ST Coach Bruce DeHaven saying that Reggie Hodges has punted well enough to create a punting competition to go along with the kicking competition.

Sando noted this earlier, but the Hawks are now carrying 6!!! specialists. 2 of each. Making some of the decisions at these positions early would allow the team to limit some of the reps veteran guys are getting right now because there would be more position players. If injuries continue to be a concern, it is possible that some of the specialists will be gone by the first cutdown day.

If Tyler Schmitt is healthy then poor luck Tim Lindsy should be part of that group. How long will the team wait to decide on a kicker? Seemingly it will go down to the final cuts, maybe with the hope that they can get Coutu on the PS. If the punting competition is for real, then it would stand to reason that Hodges may stick for a while too. This is not the most economical use of the limited roster if you ask me, but I do believe making sure the team makes the correct choices at those positions is important. ~END~