Analysis: Cut down day

50 yard line on an american football field

You can’t make the wrong choice if you don’t choose. The Hawks kept all their relevant WRs except for fringe player Michael Bumpus. They kept both of their kickers, both Baraka Atkins and Jason Babin, and TJ Duckett and Justin Forsett.

They were allowed this flexibility by the combination two suspended players (Rocky and Babs) and some folks on IR.

When those two players return in Week 2, two players will need to be released. You can count on one of those players being a kicker (likely Coutu, since as Frank Hughes said on his blog, they would have just cut now Mare if they were going to cut him at all). Teams have kept kickoff specialists in the past, but I can’t see us doing that with our needs elsewhere.

The other player will either be Forsett or Atkins. I expect Babin to have an impact in game 1 the way he has played so far. He has an early lead in the most improved player race.

I like what the Hawks did.