MARK JOHNSTONSILSBEE, TX
How many ways is losing the final preseason game going to affect the staff cutting the roster to 53? In my opinion, there was still a lot to see from the younger guys, and a lot of decisions still to be made on the bottom 10-15 available spots.
Bryan: I think you're overthinking it here. You've played four preseason games, countless practices. If you don't have an idea about your club, then you're in the wrong business. Right now they could give you their 53-man roster with the exception of one or two spots. To think they're 10-15 spots away is not accurate at all.
David:It would have been fun to see the young guys get one more shot in a game environment, but this has been a ridiculously long camp – 40 days, to be exact. They wouldn't want to admit it, but I think the coaches could whittle this roster down to about 50 guys in no time at all. Of course, there'll be some debate – an extra receiver here, a defensive back there. But I don't think the canceled preseason game would have ultimately affected much.
MICHAEL RICKEMADISON, WI
Name one player who gets the most benefit from the canceled preseason game (in terms of not being overtaken by another player) and one player who is hurt the most by the game being canceled (in terms of not having one more chance to prove themselves).
Bryan: Kellen Moore wins the overtaken spot and Cooper Rush loses the one more chance to prove. With that being said, Rush is on this team, and that's a good thing for him -- because on July 23 I didn't think he had a shot. But he's played so well that the fact that we're talking about him as the backup is remarkable.
David:I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's a good thing for Noah Brown that there isn't another game. As it stands right now, I think he's done enough to earn a 53-man roster spot. But there's no telling what might have happened if he'd played poorly against the Texans. Conversely, this feels like a missed opportunity for Joey Ivie and Lewis Neal. Both of those guys would have played a lot in this game, and they could've used one more chance to make an impression.
