Calm down or Believe the hype? Green Bay Packers edition
We’re at the point in the Green Bay Packers preseason where certain players are starting to generate hype,or prove or disprove that the hype they received during the offseason was justified or overblown. Let’s take a look at a handful of these players and see if they’ve lived up to their hype thus far.
If a player has yet to meet the hype,I’ll give a final verdict of “calm down.” If he is meeting the hype,the final verdict will be “Believe the hype.”
Keep this in mind: It’s early. Way too early to make final judgements. A player labeled as a “calm down” shouldn’t be written off as a lost cause. A player labeled as “Believe the hype” shouldn’t be immediately enshrined in Canton. There is plenty of time for “calm down” players to make a major leap upward,and plenty of time for “belive the hype” players to get knocked down a few pegs.
Davante Adams
Ever since Aaron Rodgers bragged up Adams during minicamp,people have assumed Adams will automatically ascend to being the next good-to-great Packers wide receiver taken after the first round of the draft. Well,Adams has been kind of quiet in training camp and he didn’t exactly light it up in the exhibition opener. I need to see more before I put a down payment on a seat on the Adams bandwagon. Final verdict: Calm down.
Ty Montgomery
When Ted Thompson takes a wide receiver in the second or third round,everyone assumes that receiver will turn into a stud. That was the chatter after Montgomery was selected,and I was fully prepared to be a contrarian and not be impressed. Well,Montgomery has converted me. The kid looks bigger than your typical slot receiver/kick returner type and I liked what I saw on Thursday. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
Offensive line
The Packers had one of the best offensive lines in football last season. After the Packers beat the Patriots in November,I said if the line continued playing like it was,the Packers would win the Super Bowl. Well,the line held up its end of the bargain,but the football Gods had other ideas in Seattle. Now that Bryan Bulaga is re-signed and the full line is back again,people are saying that this year’s version of the offensive line might surpass last season’s. David Bakhtiari struggled on Thursday,but he was probably as bored as all of us were watching the opening exhibition contest. If the Packers offensive line stays healthy,and that’s a big if,I do believe it will once again be one of the best units in the NFL,possibly better than last season. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
Packers short yardage/red zone woes
The first-team offense bogged down against New England in short-yardage and red-zone situation on Thursday. Sound familiar? To longtime Packers beat reporter Bob McGinn it did, who compared the team’s struggles in the exhibition opener to its failings in the NFC title game. Yes,comparing at conference championship game to the exhibition opener is silly,but short-yardage and red-zone issues are nothing new for the Packers under Rodgers and Mike McCarthy. That said,it’s far too early to label this Packers team as another that will struggle to pick up short-yardage first downs or touchdowns in the red zone instead of field goals. It’s a new season. Narratives from seasons past usually give way to new narratives that nobody was anticipating. The Packers will have their struggles in certain areas of the game. I’m not yet convinced it will be in short yardage. Final verdict: Calm down.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix can’t tackle
Clinton-Dix sure looked silly on New England’s long touchdown run on Thursday night. Clinton-Dix also had his lackluster tackling moments last season. But I’m not so sure Clinton-Dix’s issues are with tackling. He seems to be daydreaming on certain occasions,like on the two-point conversion in the NFC title game and being totally out of position on the Thursday night touchdown run. And even if Clinton-Dix did need to improve his tackling,how is he going to do it? The Packers don’t tackle in training camp and practices are never full speed. I’m not overly worried about Clinton-Dix’s tackling. I am a bit concerned about his attention span at certain times. Final verdict: Undecided.
Ladarius Gunter
Every season the Packers have at least one undrafted free agent who makes people wonder why he didn’t get drafted. This season,Gunter looks to be that guy. Reports from practice had Gunter making plays and flashing just about every day. He also had an interception on Thursday. Gunter is garnering plenty of hype for an undrafted rookie,but he’s earning it with his day-to-day performance. Therefore,we have no choice but to believe in this kid. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
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