Why It's Easy to Get Excited About the Packers for the next few years

[aaronqb]

We are pretty good and getting better

 

[PackersRS]

Nice job.

The way I see it, I rank players that will be very good/elite for the next 4 years:

QB: Rodgers. YES.
RB: Grant. Maybe 2 years. Need replacement. Not sure on Starks/Jackson.
FB Kuhn/Johnson. YES.
WR1: Jennings. YES.
WR2. Jones/Nelson. YES
WR3. Nelson/Jones. YES.
TE. Finley. YES
LT. Bulaga. YES
LG. Colledge. NO. Need replacement/ Not sure on Newhouse/McDonald.
C. Wells. YES, but could do better.
RG. Sitton. YES.
RT. Lang. To be seen.

DE. Jenkins. 2 years. Will need replacement. But Wynn/Wilson could pan out.
NT. Raji. YES.
DE. Neal. To be seen, but seems yes.
LOLB. Matthews. YES.
ILB. Barnett. YES.
ILB. Hawk/Chillar. Maybe, but definitely could improve.
ROLB. Jones. To be seen.
CB1. Woodson. Still god for at least 2 years. YES
CB2. Tramon Williams. To be seen, but seems yes.
CB3. Shields. To be seen.
CB4. Underwood/Lee. To be seen.
FS. Collins. YES.
SS. Burnett. To be seen, but seems yes.

With this breakdown, I see:
12 positions where, barring something extreme, we're absolutely set for the future.
5 positions were we don't need a replacement for the next 2 or so years, and where we're solid.
3 positions where we aren't sure but it seems like we have the answer for the future.
6 positions where I'm not comfortable to say if we have the answer.
3 positions where I'm sure we need an upgrade in the near future (LG, RB, ILB)

I believe this roster is primed for contending for the next 5 years. And every position that has a veteran, or that isn't set, has a young guy that could pan out.

 

[SpartaChris]

Excellent analysis. This is exactly why I think Ted has done an excellent job as GM for the Packers. While I admittedly don't pay enough attention to other teams to be able to speak intelligently on their future status, I can say with confidence that I think we're in one of the more enviable positions in the league. We have a pretty solid group of guys that will keep us competing at an ultra-high level for the next several years, plus a myriad of young up and coming talent. And we still have all of our draft picks. We didn't have to mortgage our future to field a competitive roster. We didn't have to over pay for free agents, and we've been able to re-sign our standouts.

 

[Murgen]

Great analysis. Thanks for your work on that as it was an Interesting read.

Imagine if Hawk was like Matthews and Harrell was at least as good as Jolly (and not injury prone), we'd be a strong favorite to win a SB this year. I know we are a contender, but I want to be the STRONG FAVORITE!!

What you also can add into your analysis of why we should be excited about the Packers in the coming years is that the Defense will be in it's 3rd year of the 3-4 next year and should be even better.

Overall, I'm happy with TT draft picks this year. He seems to have drafted good this year (contrary to the draft grade reports). Credit has to go out to the scouts GB has as well.

 

[ivo610]

remains to be seen on lang but yes on Bulaga? How can you make a call on Bulaga with no starts already but not Lang?

Really like the analysis other than that though. He has turned us into an elite team.

 

[PackerFan87]

Damn, we are ****.

 

[SpartaChris]

Mike Neal was brought in to replace Jolly and hasn't played yet due to an injury. If he practices today, I'm pretty sure we'll see him get some time on Monday night. In preseason, the kid was a beast, often commanding double and even triple coverage. If that holds true, and he draws that much coverage, he's going to open some holes for Matthews, Jones, and Jenkins.

 

[PackersRS]

remains to be seen on lang but yes on Bulaga? How can you make a call on Bulaga with no starts already but not Lang?

Really like the analysis other than that though. He has turned us into an elite team.

Play in college (started all years) + TC + Work Ethic + play against the Bills.

Remains to be seen on Lang because he wasn't that highly considered coming out of college, last year performed okay but, when looking at it, struggled sometimes, and this year, maybe because of his injury, didn't seem to have the strenght...

You may be right, I may have jumped the gun. But that's how I feel about both of them.

BTW, YES doesn't mean the guy is a future pro bowler. Means he's a good starter, which most Packers fans already feel Bulaga will turn into.

 

[SpartaChris]

I think Lang's issues last season were more due to the lack of continuity than anything. Our O-Line was about as piecemeal as it gets, with players constantly being swapped out and plugged in at random spots. That's what ultimately led to our 51 sacks over the year.

 

[ivo610]

Play in college (started all years) + TC + Work Ethic + play against the Bills.

Remains to be seen on Lang because he wasn't that highly considered coming out of college, last year performed okay but, when looking at it, struggled sometimes, and this year, maybe because of his injury, didn't seem to have the strenght...

You may be right, I may have jumped the gun. But that's how I feel about both of them.

BTW, YES doesn't mean the guy is a future pro bowler. Means he's a good starter, which most Packers fans already feel Bulaga will turn into.

I just hope he isnt another AJ hawk

 

[PackersRS]

I just hope he isnt another AJ hawk

I labelled Hawk/Chillar as maybes that could be improved. Different from my concept of yes.

 

[Murgen]

Mike Neal was brought in to replace Jolly and hasn't played yet due to an injury. If he practices today, I'm pretty sure we'll see him get some time on Monday night. In preseason, the kid was a beast, often commanding double and even triple coverage. If that holds true, and he draws that much coverage, he's going to open some holes for Matthews, Jones, and Jenkins.

According to Packer news, he will be playing Monday.

" Neal: I'm playing, that's no doubt in my mind. There's no question about it. If I'm a practice, I'm a play."

 

[SpartaChris]

According to Packer news, he will be playing Monday.

" Neal: I'm playing, that's no doubt in my mind. There's no question about it. If I'm a practice, I'm a play."

Yeah, things have unfortunately changed since then. According to McCarthy, Neal didn't practice and took a step back.

 

[Murgen]

Yeah, things have unfortunately changed since then. According to McCarthy, Neal didn't practice and took a step back.

Bummer

 

[SpartaChris]

Kind of my sentiments. I'd really like to see what this guy can bring to the table, rather than have him sit on the sidelines. The bright side is we haven't really hit the tough part of our schedule yet, so we still have some time.

 

[Murgen]

Yeah, I can't wait to see what Neal can do. This draft class looks like it has a ton of upside to it. Looks like everybody is contributing and looking GOOD! TT had a great draft this year. Regardless of what the initial draft grade articles said.

I want to see some more C.J. Wilson out there. He was beasting against the Bills in the 4th last game. I want to see what he can do this time in pure pass rushing situations (dunno how good he is against the run). He was SOOOOOO close to 2 sacks last week.