ALL-River Falls Team for 2008

From River Falls, Wisconsin

They worked through three weeks of practices here in the northwoods. Most of the players on the Chiefs roster improved. Some regressed and showed they were suspects rather than prospects.

Some excelled.

They would be the members of the All-River Falls Team for 2008. Unlike the Pro Bowl, there’s no trip to Hawaii for this honor. There’s not even a trophy and there certainly isn’t a bonus of any kind. But these are the players who stood out, from day one, through day 21 during the practices directed by Herm Edwards and his coaching staff.

Opinion was sought from Edwards, his staff and the team’s personnel staff that saw almost all of the workouts. There was very little difference in opinion when it came to the players that performed the best in the Falls.

LG BRIAN WATERS would have to rank as the top member of the All-River Falls ‘08 team. The Chiefs veteran came to camp in shape and with a hard-nosed demeanor that spoke all business all the time. If this is how he plans to play the season, then he’ll quickly return to his Pro Bowl form and the offensive line will be that much better and that much more productive. Plus, Waters level of play was great for No. 1 draft choice Glenn Dorsey, who found out very quickly what it was going to be like going head-to-head with the NFL’s finest.

Waters would have to be the River Falls Most Outstanding Player.

Here are those who would join him on the ‘08 All-River Falls team:

OFFENSIVE LINE: RG ADRIAN JONES and backup C-G WADE SMITH both received attention from the coaches and scouts for how well they performed. Jones had never played at right guard before moving there in the off-season, but so far he’s handled the position. Smith has worked mostly at center, backing up Rudy Niswanger and he did a nice job.

WIDE RECEIVERS: This group had a very good camp, but praise was heaped most on DEWAYNE BOWE and MAURICE PRICE. Bowe came back for his second training camp in great shape and he worked hard to cement his rapport with his starting quarterback. Price started slowly, but in the last two weeks really made a move up the charts. His work on special teams, his speed and his sure hands make him a favorite to get one of the receiver spots on the 53-man roster. Both WILL FRANKLIN and JEFF WEBB received honorable mentions.

QUARTERBACK: He came to camp as the man and BRODIE CROYLE established himself as the offense’s leader. He threw the ball well, generally with very good accuracy and had fewer interceptions than the other quarterbacks.

RUNNING BACK: Completely healed after last year’s broken foot, LARRY JOHNSON came to River Falls and had one heckuva camp. Johnson ran with power and his head coach was especially pleased with his pass protection over the last week or so.

TIGHT END: The tight end who catches the eye of the coaches is always Tony Gonzalez. But he’s made so many All-River Falls teams that he’s now banned. Rookie BRAD COTTAM stepped forward and became part of the offensive package a bit faster than was expected by the coaching staff. Cottam needs work on his blocking, but that will come with time and playing. He’s a reliable receiver and a big target. If he can soak up Gonzalez’s knowledge and work ethic in the next year or two, he could be very good.

DEFENSIVE LINE: DT TANK TYLER and DE TURK MCBRIDE were impressive from day one of camp. Both came to Wisconsin better prepared physically for the grind of camp. Tyler showed up in the best shape of his life, while McBride added some pounds, but did not lose any speed or quickness.

LINEBACKERS: DERRICK JOHNSON, PAT THOMAS and DEMORRIO WILLIAMS leave camp as the starting linebackers. That’s no surprise with D.J., but Thomas is locked at the starting spot in the middle and Williams is going to be tough to unseat on the outside when Donnie Edwards gets healthy.

SECONDARY: Across the board, coaches and scouts were impressed with the team’s top four safeties,  JARRAD PAGE, BERNARD POLLARD, DAJUAN MORGAN and JON MCGRAW. All three of these guys have show hitting and coverage skills from day one. Asked to pick one of the four as the top safety, coaches and scouts would name one player and then re-consider and name another. McGraw’s shoulder injury in the last week was a concern, because injuries have been a problem for him in the past. Morgan is a dynamic player and the coaching staff is working overtime finding ways to get him on the field.