faba Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Camp battles: AFC East July 18, 2005 By Pete Prisco CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Pete your opinion! It's training-camp time again in the NFL. That means groans from the players, cheers from the fans (because football is back) and endless evaluations by the coaches. Is Tyrone Poole the same corner he was pre-surgery? (Getty Images) On most teams, the majority of positions are filled -- is anybody taking Tom Brady's job? -- with few to be decided in camp. For other teams, usually the bad ones, there are a lot of jobs open. That's when camp and the preseason become important. So moving into the opening of camps, this is the right time to take a look at key training-camp battles from each team. We'll go division-by-division, offering eight separate stories on the camp battles for each team, and who might win those jobs. We'll start with the AFC East and work our way through the league, with four divisions this week and four next. New England Patriots Tyrone Poole vs. Randall Gay, cornerback Poole missed last year with a knee injury, but he played well in 2003. At 33, age is starting to be a concern for him, but he might have one or two more good years left. Gay surprised much of the league, and the Patriots, with the way he played as a rookie free agent last season. He is never going to be a great player, but he knows what it takes to be a starting NFL corner. Edge: It depends what the Pats want. Do they want the experience or the youth? If Poole is all the way back from the injury, he can still handle NFL receivers, although Gay played well for a rookie. Opening-day starter: The choice here is Poole, strictly based on his being healthy. The Pats will have a decent player here no matter who gets the start. New York Jets Ray Mickens vs. Derrick Strait vs. Pete Hunter vs. Justin Miller, cornerback NFL camp battles Date Pos. July 18 AFC East July 19 NFC East With the retirement of Donnie Abraham, the Jets will turn to long-time nickel back Ray Mickens as the first choice to be a starter opposite David Barrett. Mickens was a decent player inside in passing situations, but he's small and that could be a factor in the run game. Strait, a second-year player from Oklahoma, has the potential to become a quality cover corner. Hunter, acquired in a trade from Dallas, is coming off knee surgery. He does have decent cover skills. Edge: Mickens. He has the experience, and it's his job to lose. Opening-day starter: Strait. The feeling here is that he has too much ability and will take the job from Mickens, who is more of a nickel back anyway. Buffalo Bills Ron Edwards vs. Tim Anderson, defensive tackle The Bills lost Pat Williams to the Vikings in free agency, creating a huge (360-pound) void in the middle of their line. Replacing him will be tough. But Anderson is a second-year player from Ohio State they are high on. He's not big at 300 pounds, but he plays hard and he had a good offseason. Edwards started 16 games in 2003, so he has the ability to be a starter, but he doesn't have as much upside as Anderson. Edge: It seems as if Anderson has it heading into camp because he did so well in the offseason work. Edwards is the bigger man (320 pounds) and the more experienced of the two, so that could help his case. Opening-day starter: Anderson. The Bills were praising him too much the past five months for him to be on the bench. Plus, he has a chance to be a darn good player. Miami Dolphins A.J. Feeley vs. Gus Frerotte, quarterback The previous Dolphins regime traded away a second-round pick for Feeley, and he was a major disappointment last season. That's why Frerotte was brought in to challenge him. New offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, a guy we respect a bunch, worked with Frerotte in Minnesota, so he is familiar with the team's new offensive system. Neither of these two players is a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback, so whoever wins the job is mostly a stopgap measure. Edge: Because he has more time in the offense, it's Frerotte. A comfort level for a quarterback is an important thing. Opening-day starter: Frerotte. The belief is the coaching staff is leaning that way already. Derek Straight has the great opportunity in camp to win this CB job- at Oklahoma he covered some really good receivers well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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