June 9, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
In my Surviving Sunday column this week, I opined that one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have started slow the last three seasons is a bland and vanilla early-season scheme on offense.
In the comments section, marpag disagreed. marpag said the Packers have started slow because they’ve played really good teams right out of the gate. “…if you ask me, blaming the loses on GB’s supposed ‘vanilla-ness’ is kind of overlooking the obvious,” marpag wrote.
The “obvious,” according to marpag, being that even good teams like the Packers will lose to other good teams. Don’t pin the Packers’ early struggles on scheme, blame the quality of opponents.
I see marpag’s point, but I think you have to look a little bit deeper at the “quality opponents” reason for the Packers starting slow. First, let’s look at the teams that have defeated the Packers in the season’s first three games since 2012:
2012
49ers
Seachickens
2013
49ers
Bengals
2014
Seachickens
Lions
According to marpag, these teams combined to go 68-27-1 (I didn’t bother double-checking marpag’s math because I hate math so we’ll just take marpag’s word on this one). When you look at it from a macro perspective, marpag is right. The Packers lost to some damn good teams early. No shame in that. No need to read too much into it, right?
But if you examine the losses at a more micro level, the tough opponents reasoning doesn’t hold up, in my opinion. NFL seasons are full of ups and downs, even for the good teams. How a team plays in September is often very different from how it’s playing in December.
When reflecting on a season, you have to look at how a team was playing during a specific window to get a better gauge on exactly how “tough” they were. Did they go on a dominant run after beating the Packers? What’d they do the week after beating Green Bay?
In 2012, the 49ers waxed the Packers in week 1, beat the Lions in week 2 and lost to the Vikings in week 3. The Seachickens cheated to beat the Packers in week 3, then lost to the mediocre at best Rams.
In 2013, the 49ers once again stomped the Packers in the opener, then lost to the Seachickens and Colts by a combined 46 points. The Bengals beat the Packers in week 3, then didn’t even score a touchdown in losing to the Browns the next week (the Browns finished 4-12).
In 2014, the Seachickens had no problem beating the Packers in the Thursday Night opener. They rested for 10 days, then lost to the Chargers by nine points. The Lions managed to squeak out a win over the Jets after beating the Packers, but lost to the Bills the following week.
As you can see, the teams that have beaten the Packers to start recent seasons weren’t exactly unstoppable early-season juggernauts that couldn’t be defeated. Four of the six teams that beat the Packers in the first three weeks of the last three seasons went on to lose their next game.
Sure, these teams ended up being playoff-caliber teams, but they were beatable when the Packers played them early and the Packers couldn’t get it done.
I’m not trying to pick on marpag. His point was one I hadn’t thought of and it forced me to dig deeper into the issue and turn it into a post (any post ideas are welcome during the dog days of the offseason). And like I said earlier, I don’t think marpag is wrong in blaming the Packers early-season struggles on playing tough opponents.
I just think there’s more to the issue than simply chalking it up to the Packers playing good teams.
June 7, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Surviving Sunday
It was 26 years ago on Friday that Bob Harlan was elected as president of the Green Bay Packers.
Under Harlan, the Packers went from a laughingstock to one of the most successful franchises in all of sports. Thanks to people like Mike Holmgren, Reggie White and Brett Favre, the Packers became “cool” again. Harlan has even played a role in building today’s team. Before retiring in 2008, Harlan hired Ted Thompson, a general manger who has brought in players like Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Jordy Nelson to keep the team “cool.”
Rob Demovsky at ESPN chronicles Harlan’s impact in this piece at ESPN.com. Demovsky notes Harlan’s biggest move probably had nothing to do with personnel and everything to do with how the Packers were run. At Harlan’s urging, the Packers’ seven-member executive committee backed off from middling in football decisions.
Harlan brought in great football minds like Wolf and Thompson, and those minds were allowed to do their thing without a committee of businessmen looming over their shoulders.
Where would the Packers be today if a committee still played an active role in football decisions? Where would they be if Harlan instead used his election as some sort of power grab and ran the Packers like a Jerry Jones or Al Davis, stifling Wolf and the others in favor of his own personal glory? Would the committee have signed off on trading a first-round draft choice for an unknown and unpredictable young quarterback named Brett Favre who was toiling away on Atlanta’s bench?
Today, an entire generation thinks of the Packers only as “cool.” Wolf, Holmgren, Favre, White, Thompson, Rodgers and others deserves a ton of credit for that. But it’s Harlan who probably deserves the most praise.
Packers News, Notes and Links
- Aaron Nagler at Cheesehead TV wonders if Aaron Rodgers playing more during the exhibition season would help the Packers start faster (they’ve began three straight seasons 1-2). To me, the issue with the Packers slow starts isn’t Rodgers, it’s a bland and vanilla scheme on offense. It seems to take Mike McCarthy a month or so to really start mixing things up and trying different things on offense. Would that change if Rodgers played more? Maybe. Even if it does, I’d still be skeptical about playing my MVP quarterback who has had significant injuries in consecutive seasons and has already endured multiple concussions too much in games that don’t matter.
- You probably already knew this, but Tex at Acme Packing Co. goes into detail why the Packers are among the best at drafting offensive players.
- Not to toot our own horn here at ALLGBP.com, but……toot, toot. There’s been some great content on the site this week. If you missed it, check out Jay’s X’s and O’s piece on nose tackles and Thomas’s viewpoint on the nose tackle position. If you’re thirst for defensive line talk still hasn’t been quenched, check out Jeff on the Packers d-line overall.
- Lost amidst the season-ending collapse in 2014 was the fact that punter Tim Masthay wasn’t very good. The Packers brought in Cody Mandell to compete with Masthay in training camp. Hey, a little competition seemed to work for Mason Crosby. We’ll see if it also works for the other guy on the team who makes his living with his leg.
- Big Phat Eddie Lacy isn’t worried about being too fat. Lacy can enjoy all the crab legs and crawfish he wants as long as he keeps trucking defenders.
- The Sporting News picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl. In other news, I had no idea The Sporting News was still around.
Non Packers links and other Nonsense
- This guy was held captive by Somali pirates for 977 days and he’s got an amazing story to tell.
- Man, check out all the eating former Chargers center Nick Hardwick had to do in order to maintain his size. I never really think about how much an offensive linemen or defensive linemen eats. I always assumed they’re just big dudes, but obviously, that’s not always the case.
- Yesterday was the 10th International Day of Slayer. How did you celebrate?
June 2, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
The Green Bay Packers have completed three days of OTAs so far. Based on what we’ve learned during these three days, we can make the following conclusions about the 2015 version of the Packers:
Absolutely nothing.
That’s right, nothing. Zip. Zero. Nadda. Anyone who tries to make grand claims after OTAs is just desperate for attention.
But we can still learn a thing or two during OTAs. I like using OTAs to gauge how close players who suffered serious injuries the previous season are to returning. I also like reading between the lines about players who had offseason surgery or are nursing new injuries.
Keeping in mind the fact that we can’t draw any definite conclusions from OTAs, here are five takeaways so far:
Clay Matthews at inside linebacker wasn’t a one-year band-aid
Turns out moving Matthews inside wasn’t just a desperate half-season fix for the run defense. Look for Matthews to continue playing both inside and outside. It also sounds like Matthews has come around to doing more than just lining up outside. I used this description in my Surviving Sunday column, but I’ll use it again here: To me, Matthews is a bigger, whiter, longer-haired Charles Woodson type of player along the front seven. He talented and versatile to roam around and make plays from anywhere.
Casey Hayward doesn’t have the No. 2 cornerback spot locked up
Hawyard still might be the frontrunner on paper. Cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt also seemed to have Hayward as the frontrunner. But Hayward is injured again and sat out OTAs with a foot issue. He “hopes” to be ready by training camp. Coming from a guy who has already missed most of one season with an injury, hoping to be back by training camp doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
I really, reeeeeeeeeally, REEEEEEEEALLY am excited about the Packers returners
When was the last time the Packers had a true weapon as a kick and punt returner? Randall Cobb has had his moments, but he never caused the other team to poop its pants whenever he trotted downfield to return a kick. Micah Hyde’s been solid, but I don’t think other teams have to change their gameplan to stop him. We don’t know if Ty Montgomery or Damarious Randall will cause other players to soil themselves, either. But at least we have something to be excited about in the return game. No more putting a leftover defensive back, running back or wide receiver back there.
Mike McCarthy still has his beard.
And it’s awesome.
B.J. Raji is back.
The Packers didn’t sign a big nose tackle in free agency or draft one. They did get Raji back from injury. Now it’s time to find out if we’ll be getting the Raji or was an impact player during his second and third season, or a doormat like he was in his fourth year. Having Letroy Guion on board to form a rotation should help.
May 31, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Surviving Sunday
As a Packers fan, do you want to see this Adrian Peterson drama carry over into training camp and the regular season? Or would you rather see the Vikings cut or trade Peterson?
We’ve seen firsthand in Green Bay how a superstar player going off the rails can cause a distraction and impact the entire team. It’d be nice to see Peterson do that in Minnesota, but as a Packers fan I’d much rather see the Vikings get rid of him.
Peterson is the sole reason that the Packers don’t beat the Vikings by four touchdowns every time they play. Peterson is successful against every team he plays, but against the Packers he rushes for 118 yards per game and has scored 11 touchdowns. Peterson on a different team or Peterson sitting at home on his couch in early retirement is much more preferable to watching Peterson plow through the Packers’ defense, no matter how angry Peterson might be at his own team or the state of NFL contracts.
As much as I’d like to see Peterson not wearing a purple jersey this season, it won’t happen. As asinine as it might seem in Peterson’s case, this is what NFL players do when they’re trying to gain some financial leverage. Peterson knows he’s a 30-year-old running back coming off a child abuse charge. He wants more of his salary in future years guaranteed.
I don’t think Peterson is going to win this battle, but apparently he thinks it’s one worth fighting.
When the dust settles and the tweets become slightly less insane, Peterson will remain a Viking and will probably add to his gaudy numbers against the Packers.
Packers News, Notes and Links
- Good on the Packers for continuing to use Clay Matthews at inside linebacker and good on Matthews for embracing the role. At least that’s my take after a week of OTAs. Matthews has the versatility to be a bigger, whiter, longer-haired Charles Woodson type of player along the front seven. He good enough to do more than just crash into tackles over and over again from the outside. I’m looking forward to seeing what Matthews does from different positions all over the field.
- Jordy Nelson says he feels fine after offseason hip surgery. Jordy seems like an honest guy, so I believe him. But hip injuries are always worrisome. In Nelson’s case, his production tailed off down the stretch last season. Hopefully the surgery corrected whatever was ailing him.
- Jared Abbrederis and Don Barclay returned to the field during OTAs, less than a year after each suffered ACL injuries. I’ll be pulling hard for Abbrederis, but if the receiving corp remains healthy, I think it might be tough for him to make the team.
- Eddie Lacy is ESPN’s top fantasy football running back. As long as I don’t draft him, expect Lacy to have another big year.
- Friend of ALLGBP.com Brian Carriveau is absolutely killing it with his Packers coverage at 247sports.com. If you haven’t read Brian at his new gig yet, check it out.
Non Packers links and other Nonsense
May 26, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Around the NFC North, Packers
In a perfect world, a handful of second-year players on the Green Bay Packers roster will follow-up promising rookie seasons by establishing themselves as good to great players in 2015. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Davante Adams and Cory Linsley are three Packers poised to make that transition.
But what about the rest of the NFC North? Unfortunately, the Packers aren’t the only team with talented young players. Here are three second-year players who could become problems for the Packers in 2015.
Teddy Bridgewater
The Vikings second-year quarterback is probably the most obvious selection here, so let’s cover him first. I could never figure out why Bridgewater fell so far in the draft. In a league where QBs like Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford command $100 million contracts, how can teams let a player like Bridgewater fall to the end of the first round?
Anyway, when Bridgewater took over last season, he showed why he might have been the steal of the draft. He completed 70 percent of his passes in each of his last four games and showed the mental makeup and intangibles of a five-year veteran. In 2015, Bridgewater should have Adrian Peterson, coming off a “bye” season, for a full year as well. Uh-oh.
Anthony Barr
Before his season was cut short by an injury, Barr racked up 70 tackles, four sacks, and a fumble return for a touchdown in overtime against Tampa Bay. In addition to having the perfect combination of size and speed to dominate a game, Barr is paired with one of the best defensive minds in the NFL in head coach Mike Zimmer.
As a defensive coordinator, Zimmer’s players rarely regressed. If that track record of developing defensive players holds up in Zimmer’s role as a head coach, Barr will be scary good.
Marquess Wilson, WR, Chicago
I’m going to cheat a bit and highlight Wilson even though he’s a third-year player. After showing flashes during his rookie season, Wilson broke his clavicle last training camp and never got on track. Some say Wilson could be on the roster bubble since he was drafted by the previous Bears’ management team. I say nonsense.
Wilson is 6-foot-4 and should get an opportunity to show what he can do now that Brandon Marshall is gone. If I’m right about Wilson, that’ll give the Bears three receivers (Alshon Jeffry, rookie Kevin White and Wilson) 6-foot-3 or taller. Combine those wideouts with 6-foot-6 TE Martellus Bennett and the Bears receiving corp will be tough to deal with, even for a Packers secondary with a basketball-playing background.
Let’s throw in a bonus category: Wild-card second-year player who could break out:
David Fales, QB, Chicago
What if John Fox and the Bears new coaching staff see Jay Cutler throw one too many backbreaking interceptions and find him a seat on the bench?
Fales would likely be Cutler’s replacement. Coming into a situation with Jeffry, White, Wilson and Bennett as your targets and Matt Forte in the backgroun isn’t a bad situation to come into. I’m not predicting we’ll see Fales play and play well in 2015, but stranger things have happened.
Here’s another bonus category: Second-year NFC North player who worries me the least:
Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit
He only caught 25 passes in his rookie campaign and dropped four. I don’t see Ebron as having the route-running skills to be an effective outside receiving threat and he’s not tough enough or sure-handed enough to consistently be a threat inside.
May 24, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Surviving Sunday
When ya’ll fire up the grill this Memorial Day weekend, what will you be cooking? Here’s my ideal Memorial Day meal:
- Steak, preferably T-bone or tenderloin, from beef raised on my in-laws family farm in Ringle, Wis. I cook my steak slowly over low heat on a charcoal grill. Get that propane stuff outta here. I like my steak medium rare or rare. If you listen closely, you can still hear the slab of meat mooing before I cut into it.
- Potatoes, diced, salted (heavily), buttered, sprinkled with pepper, wrapped in tinfoil and grilled. You can also add mushrooms, green pepper or onions for an added touch. Now, you can go a couple different ways with how you grill the potatoes. I lightly spray the tinfoil with cooking oil and put the potatoes directly on the coals. This makes the bottom layer of potatoes crispy and crunchy. If you don’t want them crispy and prefer your potatoes to be more soft, spray a lot of cooking oil on the tin foil and put the potatoes on the top rack of the grill, not directly over the heat. Either way, be generous with the salt. You really can’t salt them too much. I don’t like things too salty, but no matter how much salt I’ve put on the potatoes using this method, they never taste “too salty.”
- Salad, whatever your wife wants to make so it seems like the meal is somewhat healthy.
- Corn. Odds are you won’t have corn on the cob this early in the spring. What I do every summer is freeze some corn from a particularly good batch of sweet corn every summer. That way I always have good-tasting corn to eat while I wait for sweet corn season to kick in again.
- Beer. My personal favorites are Spotted Cow or Surly Furious. If you’re not a beer person, try a Lazy Uncle Jack: Jack Daniels, sweet and sour, a cup full of ice and black berries.
- Venison sausage. Whenever I grill meat, I like having a side meat to throw on the grill just for the hell of it. This gives you a little extra meat to eat during the main meal, and ensures you’ll have leftovers the next day. My side meat is usually homemade venison sausage from my dad. Other good side meat options include brats, brats or brats.
- I’m not picky when it comes to dessert. Something sweet or chocolaty does the trick. But if I absolutely had to pick just one thing, I’d go with a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. My brother-in-law makes a strawberry rhubarb pie that makes me cry it tastes so friggin’ good.
- If you want to go all out and make an appetizer, try smoked egg salad. It’s great on bread or crackers. Put a dozen eggs in boiling water, boil for 2 minutes, cover and let eggs sit in hot water for 8 minutes before draining and covering in ice water. Peel the eggs and place them directly on the grill grate, and smoke for 30-40 minutes. Dice the eggs, add 1/2 cup mayo, a squirt of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of mustard, and a dash of kosher salt, pepper and paprika. Serve and enjoy.
Packers News, Notes and Links
- Would you pay between $34 and $55 to watch a flag football game if that flag football game included Brett Favre? That’s too rich for me. I’d pass.
- I like to think I stay fairly up to date on pop culture and Hollywood. However, I had never heard of the movie “Pitch Perfect” until “Pitch Perfect 2” was released last week and several Packers made cameos. I guess I’m not as hip as I think I am. Anyway, if you want to know how the Packers got involved in “Pitch Perfect 2,” read this.
- Keep an eye on undrafted rookie RB John Crockett. I really like this kid and have talked to a few people who have worked with him. They all say he has what it takes to make it.
- Have you ever yearned to hear my silky smooth voice? Then listen to this. Thank you to Brian Carriveau for having me on the Railbird Central podcast this week to talk Packers and the new NFL extra point rules.
- Only in Green Bay……
Non Packers links and other Nonsense
- The NFL made some changes to the extra point this week. Boo.
- Click here if you were ever curious what was on Osama bin Laden’s book shelf when we finally found him.
- Former Timberwolves GM David Kahn chose to draft Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry. Being a Wolves fan is really, really difficult.
- Aaron Rodgers should bring a different teammates’ kid to every postgame news conference this season.
- I always enjoyed David Letterman and was sad to see him sign off this week. One of the reasons I liked Letterman was that he’d give some love to metal bands on his show. Here are some of the best metal performances on Letterman in the show’s history.
May 19, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
When it comes to changes in my favorite sports, I’m an old fuddy duddy. I don’t want change. I want things to stay as they are, exactly what I’m used to.
I was one of those people who didn’t want the wild card introduced in baseball. I also scoffed at the notion of interleague play and instant replay in baseball. Turns out, I’ve actually grown to love all three of those things. I may be an old fuddy duddy who’s reluctant to embrace change, but if something ends up working, I can at least admit when I’m wrong.
In football, I’m still sour about all the rule changes that have turned the NFL into a hyper-passing league. I miss the days when there were just as many superstar running backs and middle linebackers as star quarterbacks and defenses didn’t have to play with one arm tied behind their back.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love football. I’ve accepted the fact that even mediocre quarterbacks can throw for 4,000 yards these days. But unlike the changes made to baseball, I haven’t acknowledged that they’ve made the game better. Because they haven’t.
Hurrumph.
Now the NFL wants to mess with the extra point. What did the extra point ever do to you, NFL? Leave it alone!
SI’s Peter King points out that NFL teams have only missed 26 of their last 4,939 PAT kicks. Some say that makes the PAT predictable. That may be true, but predictability isn’t a reason to overhaul an area of the game.
On those 26 occasions when a PAT kick was missed, it’s cool to see (as long as it’s not the Packers doing the missing). It’s a rare and memorable play. I can’t find the clip online, but I remember having a Vikings game on the radio for some reason about 10 years ago and Paul Allen went bonkers after Minnesota’s kicker missed an extra point.
It was hilarious! Those moments would be gone if the NFL changes the rule.
The odds are good that the PAT does get changed during league meetings later today. I’ll cross my arms, shake my head, sigh, and complain about how the NFL was “so much better back in the day.”
Then I’ll hike up my pants and complain about the government.
We’ll see if I come around to PAT changes in football like I’ve come around to the changes made in baseball over the years. For now, I’m digging in my heels and hoping PATs stay just as they have been.
Now get off my lawn.
May 17, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Surviving Sunday
Because I got fired up and went long on a couple of different points in the Green Bay Packers links and non-Packers links sections of this week’s Surviving Sunday, I’ll spare you the long, drawn-out intro and get right to it:
Packers News, Notes and Links
- Folks were all up in arms earlier this week when a report was released highlighting how NFL teams, including the Packers, have received taxpayer dollars from the Department of Defense for various military marketing programs. The original report was light on details, and, in my opinion, reeked of a news outlet trying its hardest to cash in on the OUTRAGE culture that grips a certain segment of folks. The Journal-Sentinel did a little more digging for the Packers’ side of the story. Sounds like most of the funding went toward traditional marketing activities for the military, not “honor our troops” type of ceremonies that every team coordinates. I always find it baffling when we demand that our government behave more like the private sector, then when it does, we get angry. The private sector spends money on marketing and advertising. Our all-volunteer military has to market and advertise to help with recruitment, retention and general goodwill. Marketing and advertising costs money. A lot of it, especially when you’re partnering with the NFL. Yeah, it makes me squirm a bit to think about the Packers not doing “honor the troops” types of activities strictly out of the goodness of their hearts. But it sounds like the vast majority of the dollars were not dedicated to those types of activities. If that’s the case, this story is nothing to get OUTRAGED over.
- Aaron Rodgers: Packers quarterback, NFL MVP, Super Bowl winner, Celebrity Jeopardy champion.
- As the years have gone on, it’s kind of become cool to like Jarrett Bush. The guy works his ass off and goes all out on special teams. We still cringed whenever he lined up at defensive back, but we came to appreciate his attitude and take-no-prisoners approach to the game. If Bush is, indeed, done in Green Bay, I’ll miss him. Even though on several occasions I have unleashed a string of profanity that would make Andrew Dice Clay blush following a Bush blown coverage, I grew to respect him and appreciate what he did for the Packers when put into the proper role.
- Brett Favre doesn’t think Tom Brady was cheating. Never mind that he also said he hasn’t been paying attention to the issue. That hasn’t stopped any red-blooded American from having an opinion before, so have at it, Brett!
- Luther Robinson will forever be known as the dude who tipped that pass that led to that really awesome Julius Peppers pick-six against the Vikings on a random Thursday night.
Non Packers links and other Nonsense
- I hate how whenever something like Deflategate happens, there’s a sector of people who try too hard to be contrarians or find some type of gray area on the issue. I’m a gray area guy myself. Most things aren’t black and white, but I think Deflategate is about as clear cut as you can get. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that Brady cheated. Four games is perfectly reasonable for what the evidence overwhelmingly shows Brady did. It doesn’t matter how much you hate Roger Goodell. It doesn’t matter how Goodell has handled past issues of discipline. It doesn’t matter if you think every team cheats and Brady was the unfortunate soul who got caught. It doesn’t matter if you had issues with the NFL’s reasoning for suspending Brady beyond the mere fact that he cheated. It doesn’t matter if you think deflating the football isn’t a big deal and didn’t give Brady any type of advantage. There’s overwhelming evidence that Brady broke the rules and a four-game suspension is more than justified. Period. Don’t overthink it. Leave the overthinking to lawyers.
- That said, I laughed hard as I was reading this.
- I just learned that Ric Flair has a podcast this week. WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE?!?!?!?! Whooooooo!
- I can’t say enough good things about Dave Koch Sports and his tremendous lineup of Action PC sports management games. If you’re a giant nerd like me, check them out and support a Wisconsin resident and fellow Packers fan.
- Now what the hell am I going to do at the county fair that I can’t look at the chickens? Seriously, though. This bird-flu thing is a mess. My thoughts go out to the farmers dealing with it. Here’s hoping it gets cleared up soon.
- \m/ New song from Lamb of God \m/
May 12, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
Remember these types of columns and blog posts following recent Packers playoff exits? If you’re too lazy to click the link, the column calls the Packers “too soft to join the NFL’s elite.”
Defensive issues, particularly in the area of “toughness,” have plagued the Packers since winning the Super Bowl four seasons ago. With the exception of some early-season run defense issues and the last 5 minutes of the NFC title game, the Packers defense took care of most of those issues in 2014.
But after the departure of Tramon Williams, who turned into a gritty and willing tackler after shying away from contact in previous seasons, and spending early-round draft picks on small defensive backs instead of bruising trench players or a hard-hitting middle linebacker, could the Packers’ “toughness” again be questioned in 2015?
“Toughness” is hard to define. Typically, if a team is winning games, their defensive “toughness” isn’t questioned. That’s not always the case with the Packers since their defensive meltdowns in the playoffs have been bad. Really bad. The Packers have been one of the NFL’s best teams, but their “toughness” is still questioned.
Playing defense today is mostly about match-ups and forcing turnovers. Green Bay’s defense has plenty of versatile athletes and playmakers, so they should be well-equipped to excel in both categories. But there are still plenty of good NFL teams that thrive on a strong running game and pushing around smaller, softer teams.
If Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks steamroll the Packers in week 2, the soft label will make an ugly return to the Packers’ defense. It’ll get worse if San Francisco once again plows through Green Bay two weeks later.
We’ll find out early on just how “tough” the 2015 Packers’ defense will be. If they’re not tough enough, look for changes to be made like they were last season.
Moving Clay Matthews inside, scrapping the “quad” package, playing Morgan Burnett up in the box. Those types of moves improve the Packers on D last season and made them tougher. It’d be nice to not have to do much shifting to get to the right level of “toughness” in 2015.
“Toughness” might be hard to define, but you sure know when your team lacks it.
May 10, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Surviving Sunday
When we’re looking back at the Green Bay Packers 2015 draft class five years from now, will we be nodding our heads in approval or shaking our heads in disgust at the players Ted Thompson passed up?
Versatility and special teams were the buzzwords surrounding this Packers’ draft. I’m not one of those people who gets all wound up about the draft. I say let’s see these kids play before we get too upset about passing up this player or that player.
But like most football fans, I do enjoy second-guessing. So for this edition of Surviving Sunday, I’ve put together a five-round Packers “Second-Guess Draft.” When I put my second-guessing hat on, these are the players I would have taken instead of the players actually drafted by the Packers.
I doubt my second-guess picks will turn out to be better than Thompson’s actual picks, but it’ll be fun to pull up this post a few years from now and compare.
Round 1
Actual pick: Damarious Randall, DB, Arizona St.
Second-guess pick: Malcom Brown, DT, Texas
Many would probably second-guess my second guess in this situation. Inside linebacker Stephone Anthony went to the Saints right after the Packers selected Randall. Obviously, the Packers need all the inside linebacker help they can get. But I want Brown in my second-guess scenario. There’s no guarantee that BJ Raji will be any good coming off injury or that Letroy Guion can repeat the success he had last season. Plus, both of those players are free agents next offseason. Brown seems like the type of big body the Packers need up front.
Round 2
Actual pick: Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (OH)
Second-guess pick: Quinten Rollins
I had never heard or Quinten Rollins before the Packers selected him. After the selection, I thought, “Great, another basketball player with minimal football experience.” But after doing a lot of reading, Rollins’ ceiling seems so high that I think it’s a great pick. I second-guessed this selection when Thompson first made it, but not any more. I’d stick with Rollins in my second-guess draft.
Round 3
Actual pick: Ty Montgomery, WR, Standord
Second-guess pick: Paul Dawson, ILB, TCU
Here’s where the Packers get their inside linebacker. Dawson’s 40-time was awful, but anybody who spends a minute or two watching game-film of Dawson can see that he actually can play. It’d be tough to pass up the dynamic kick/punt return potential of Montgomery, but my second-guess pick here would be Dawson.
Round 4
Actual pick: Jake Ryan, ILB, Michigan
Second-guess pick: David Cobb, RB, Minnesota
This second-guess pick was a tough one between Cobb and Grady Jarrett, NT, Clemson. I went with Cobb because I think he’ll be a very consistent running back and will be able to step right into the third-down role once James Starks’ time in Green Bay is up. I also think Cobb might be a more steady runner than Starks should Lacy be injured for an extended stretch.
Round 5
Actual pick: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
Second-guess pick: Kenny Bell, WR, Nebraska
Here is where I would’ve picked up some additional wide-receiver depth in my second-guess universe. Bell has a sweet afro and is the kind of smart, route-running receiver Aaron Rodgers and the Packers seem to like.
Packers News, Notes and Links
- If you missed out on all the draft podcasts from the Packers Talk Radio Network, be sure to Packers draft There are a lot of great pods that go in-depth on the Packers’ selections.
- This Packers draft post from Acme Packing Co. on the Packers 2015 draftees is also a great read. In my opinion, the immediate best case scenario for this class is they take the Packers special teams from awful to good. Long term best case scenario is Rollins turning into an all-pro and Jake Ryan steadily improving in 2015.
- Want to know more about the Packers undrafted free agents? Packers undrafted free agents from Jeff Albrecht has you covered. I’m most excited to see what John Crockett, RB, North Dakota St., can do.
- The Packers Nick Perry the fifth-year option of OLB Nick Perry. A good decision by the Packers. Let’s see if putting some pressure on Perry leads to more production.
- Bye bye Jarrett Bush The Packers gave Rollins Bush’s No. 24. That likely means Bush won’t be back with the Packers.
Non Packers links and other Nonsense
- Turns out Tom Brady likely wasn’t Mr. Innocent in “Deflategate.” I’m not saying the Patriots don’t win the Super Bowl if Deflategate never happens, but this isn’t some little thing to just brush off, either. Obviously, if Brady and the Pats didn’t feel like deflating the football would give them some type of advantage, they wouldn’t have done it. With so many NFL games, especially late in the season, being decided by the slimmest of margins on one or two key players, any little advantage helps. In Brady’s case, it appears that he got that advantage by cheating.
- This is a tough read, but a worthwhile one.
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