Breaking down the Pack from Fox Sports

JbShell

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What happened last year?

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Javon Walker was lost for the season with a torn ACL in the first game. Injuries reduced the Packers to their fifth-string running back. Brett Favre started the season playing well but regressed badly as the season wore on, and by the end of the season he was just chucking the ball down the field and hoping it would land in the right place. The defense was every bit as bad as the offense, and the special teams were even worse.

Who's leaving?

The first question, of course, is whether or not Brett Favre will be back at quarterback. There haven't been any clear indications, but when he last spoke publicly he said he was leaning toward retirement. The best choice for Green Bay in that case would be Jon Kitna, who showed in Cincinnati that he is a capable player when his team needs him, but also that he won't stand in the way of the development of the team's quarterback of the future.

Even if Favre is back, the Packers' offense will look different. Running backs Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher are all unrestricted free agents. Given that they're all coming off injuries and subpar seasons, there's no reason to think Green Bay should spend a lot of money to keep them.

The defense will return most of its starters, but two starting defensive linemen, Aaron Kampman and Grady Jackson, are unrestricted free agents.

Whom should they sign?

If Favre retires, Aaron Rodgers, last year's first-round draft pick, will get every opportunity to earn the job. But the Packers will sign some veteran free agent to be there in case Rodgers shows that he's not ready. Craig Nall, the Packers' fifth-round pick in 2002, has spent the last four seasons on the bench behind Favre and is now an unrestricted free agent. If the Packers planned to use the same offense they used in years past, it would make a lot of sense to keep Nall around. But with new head coach Mike McCarthy bringing in his own schemes, Nall might not fit with the plans.

Assuming Green, Davenport, and Fisher all go elsewhere, Green Bay might be tempted to sign one of the big-name free agent running backs, like Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James or Jamal Lewis. That would be a mistake. The best choice would be to keep Samkon Gado and Noah Herron, two players coming off their rookie years and making the league minimum, and see whether they can develop. Gado and Herron were just as effective last season as Green was.

With Kampman and Jackson leaving the defense, Seattle defensive tackle Rocky Bernard would be a good signing. Bernard isn't as stout against the run as Jackson was at his peak, but he's a very good pass-rusher, and he's sturdy enough on the inside that he'll take some heat off middle linebacker Nick Barnett.
 

P@ck66

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In other words...

we're gonna suck this year....

(thanks..TT...!!)
 

Yared-Yam

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JbShell said:
Green Bay Packers
What happened last year?

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Javon Walker was lost for the season with a torn ACL in the first game. Injuries reduced the Packers to their fifth-string running back. Brett Favre started the season playing well but regressed badly as the season wore on, and by the end of the season he was just chucking the ball down the field and hoping it would land in the right place. The defense was every bit as bad as the offense, and the special teams were even worse.

I believe I remember that awful defense being in the top 10.
 

Anubis

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Yared-Yam said:
I believe I remember that awful defense being in the top 10.

#1 defense against the pass is awful? The offense totally blew, but the defense was vastly improved over the season before. However, I have not much faith in the team in 2006 with Bates gone and the OC of the absolute worst offense in the league now being our HC. :roll: I can't possibly imagine Favre coming back to try to sort out this mess.

I hope you belive in miracles, cos we are going to need one to even beat this season's abysmal record. Thanks TT! Helluva job you're doing there. :cry:

GO PACK!

Robert C. Hedley
 

tromadz

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how do you break the pack down when FA signing hasnt started and we're months from the draft.

and uh, 66, drown yourself.
 

PackerTraxx

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Why do they assume we will lose all our free agents? Nobody knows what next year will hold at this point. If all our players come back healthy, we sign all our key free agents, get a couple of impact players in the draft and a couple more that contribute, sign a couple of good free agents, Brett comes back, and our young player step up we could be playing for the Super Bowl next year. Highly unlikely. But some of those things should happen.
 

cheesey

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DOOM AND GLOOM!!!LOLOL!!!
Man......theres WAY too much that can happen to call the Packers bad OR good for this next season.
 

Greg C.

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This guy almost lost me with his comment about last year's defense being just as bad as the offense. But eventually he made a few good points. I agree that it would be a mistake to sign a big-name free agent running back, as Gado looks ready for the job. (Herron I'm much less sure of.) I also agree that the Packers should try to keep Nall if Favre leaves. I would like to see an open competition between Nall and Rodgers for the starting QB spot. The knock on Nall is that he is a poor practice player, but maybe if Favre was out of the picture Nall might be inspired to step it up a couple notches in practice, knowing that he finally would have a real chance to start.
 

net

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Typical press release analysis by FOX by someone who likely couldn't spot Green Bay on a map using a GPS.

I agree with many of the above fan comments. The Packers first problem to assess is their offensive line. I have a firm belief that winning teams have the best offensive line. If you can control the clock and score it puts your defense in a good position and the other team behind the eight ball. The Packers MUST upgrade both guard positions and the center. If you put the Packers line from 2004 in there again this year, no way this team is 4-12, even with the backfield/receiver injuries. Anyone disagree?

Regardless of Favre's decision, another veteran QB must be brought in. Rodgers isn't ready yet. Nall wants to work elsewhere(like the Saints).

Green was showing signs of being done even before the injury, Davenpoop is hurt all the time. Fisher is a 3rd down back and special teamer, period. They need one back and there's plenty available in the draft.

A new fullback is needed(Bernstein?).

Chatman might go elsewhere, but if Walker comes back ok, he, Driver, Gardner, possibly Murphy and Chatman make a pretty good receiver corps.
Bubba Franks was a non-factor last year. David Martin MUST be cut. The Packers could use a TE.

On defense, Kampman wasn't signed which lends me to think he wants to test the FA waters. They will need a DE in any scenerio. They also need a tackle.

The worst unit on the defense is the linebackers. Diggs likely won't be back, Thomas is a backup, Barnett is a stud but showing signs of being nuts. Who knows if Poppinga will ever live up to expectations or Campbell. Paris Lenon is a solid backup, Manning might be a good backup. They need some playmakers there. They need 1-3 players here.

The secondary could use one more cornerback to push Carroll and one to eventually replace Al Harris. Hawkins isn't the sharpest tool in the shed regardless if he runs faster than the speed of light. Underwood looked lost last year, and Roman played better, which means that was a C-. They could use an athletic safety.

Longwell might well be gone...but don't be surprised if they franchise him.

Sander will be selling peanuts at Ohio State games this fall.

I don't know how Tightwad Ted is going to fill all the holes with quality this year. Of the likely 6 draft picks, he can't really whiff on any...you will need them all...and he needs to get lucky with a few mid-range FA's.
 

packedhouse01

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I've said this before but what the heck I'll say it again, Mr. Sherman left the cupboard awfully bare. There was almost no depth on this team behind very mediocre starters. If you think Ted Thompson can come in here in one or two years and restockthe cupboard, you're wrong. What he has to hope for is that his coaching staff is good enough to continue to develop players, while he slowly rebuilds through the draft. I doubt he will spend a lot of money in free agency unless he feels he can find the missing piece that will elevate this team into a competitive one. Picking up the kid from the Queens isn't the answer. I'd like to see them keep Grady and Kampman however because I think those two players give our defense a chance to be credible.
 

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packedhouse01 said:
I'd like to see them keep Grady and Kampman however because I think those two players give our defense a chance to be credible.

Agreed. The D is certainly going to need Kampman's talents to stay competitive next year. However, the O in general is a mess, and if a lot of FAs leave in the pre-season, we are going to be royally screwed for next season.

Personally, I still feel Bates should have been given the HC job. Does anyone have any insight as to why TT chose McCarthy over him other than hoping that Favre would stick around for one more go at it?

On the running side, I feel we are going to need a veteran back to compliment Gado if we want to have an offense that resembles something other than a one-trick pony... especially if we are going to have Nall or Rodgers throwing the ball.

The Pack should certainly keep Walker and Driver. That kind of throwing corps coupled with Gado and a veteran back as a running threat may keep our offense competitive, however the O-line needs some SERIOUS work. Just think how effective Gado might be if we had a decent O-line to open holes for him...

Granted Sherman left this team a mess, but TT is not doing enough to stop the bleeding. Running an NFL on the cheap will never win you a division title, NFC title, or the Super Bowl for that matter.

GO PACK!

Robert C. Hedley
 

paxvogel

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Pack will be better whether Favre and Green return or not. We have a good defense that the draft will make better. Our biggest weakness is OL and we can address that in draft also. Only thing that would make us worse is coaching.
 

retiredgrampa

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Net is on the money re:eek:r OL. We MUST have 2 solid guards brought in...so far Whittaker looks like a backup, which we need. MS didn't give Coston, White, even Barry, a real chance to show what they could do so you can't really count on them. We must finally settle on a center. Flanagan isn't that man anymore. This team needs that interior OL badly. No team succeeds w/o a good one.
 

cheesey

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Yup Grandpa......they need an O line REAL bad. If they can get some decent ones, and get the WR's and RB's healthy, they will be OK.
TT has the money to do it, now he just has to show that he has the "smarts."
 

Bruce

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retiredgrampa said:
Net is on the money re:eek:r OL. We MUST have 2 solid guards brought in...so far Whittaker looks like a backup, which we need. MS didn't give Coston, White, even Barry, a real chance to show what they could do so you can't really count on them. We must finally settle on a center. Flanagan isn't that man anymore. This team needs that interior OL badly. No team succeeds w/o a good one.

Coston and White were not ready for the NFL last season. I think it is reasonable to expect a significant leap forward from both (esp. Coston) with a year of learning, lifting and growing under their belts.

I expect Scott Wells to be the Packers starting Center with White as his backup. I think Flanagan is much better and tougher than people give him credit for, but with a new regime in town I can not see them committing to him given his age and cost.

Klemm may do quite well in a zone blocking scheme -- he has the athleticism required to succeed. I think he got lost in the complications of playing LG in last year’s scheme – with it being a new position for him and trying to get timing down with a rookie RG and an injured Center that could hardly stand up between plays last season due to injuries. Having Bubba out hurt the timing of the offensive line too, as did the injury necessitated constant carousel of running backs changing from game to game – again due to injuries.
 

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Bruce,
I'm sorry but I can't agree with that thinking.

We got stuck in a tough place at the guard position last year and rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes.

All but Coston (whom I've heard positive reports on) had a chance to step up but none did. They tried to replace Whittaker late in the year and as bad as he was in many games we couldn't find anyone better.

You can't say they didn't have a chance when they had a chance every day in practice to show the staff they had what it takes to start.

TT and MM cannot afford to put their heads in the sand and hope for better from these guys. I will be highly pissed if we don't see new faces there next year.

One year of that crap was plenty for me.
 

Bruce

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I think you misunderstood my post (I obviously was not very clear). I am not saying they should sit on their hands at Guard -- it was one of the areas I have been quite ******* T.T. about doing last year.

My post was simply pointing out the possibilities that exisit on the team, not to imply that they should not look to free agency and/or draft to strengthen the guard position.

Sorry that I was not clearer.

warhawk said:
Bruce,
I'm sorry but I can't agree with that thinking.

We got stuck in a tough place at the guard position last year and rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes.

All but Coston (whom I've heard positive reports on) had a chance to step up but none did. They tried to replace Whittaker late in the year and as bad as he was in many games we couldn't find anyone better.

You can't say they didn't have a chance when they had a chance every day in practice to show the staff they had what it takes to start.

TT and MM cannot afford to put their heads in the sand and hope for better from these guys. I will be highly pissed if we don't see new faces there next year.

One year of that crap was plenty for me.
 

gopackgo4

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Defense defense defense thats what we need. Defense wins championships so if we want a championshp lets get a killer defense look at tampa bay they had a mediocre offense but a great D and they won the superbowl so I say lets spend around 60-70% of money on defense. I hate to say it but look at the bears they have a horendous offense and somehow the defense won 11 games for them and hell their D wasnt even that great. Lombardi said it himself "You never lose a game if your opponent doesnt score"
 

CaliforniaCheez

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Some have the believe that cap room will be spent on acquiring players.

With this much cap room many players can be cut and the cap hits absorbed.

Quite the offseason. What will happen.
 

warhawk

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gopackgo4 said:
Defense defense defense thats what we need. Defense wins championships so if we want a championshp lets get a killer defense look at tampa bay they had a mediocre offense but a great D and they won the superbowl so I say lets spend around 60-70% of money on defense. I hate to say it but look at the bears they have a horendous offense and somehow the defense won 11 games for them and hell their D wasnt even that great. Lombardi said it himself "You never lose a game if your opponent doesnt score"

I agree with improving the "D". It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see our first few picks on that side of the ball, or, pick up a couple of good FA's. But we still cannot ignore our shortcomings on the "O" line. A good offense that can control the clock and put some numbers on the board IS a good defense.
I don't think talent-wise we are that far away from vastly improving our offense. Just getting our injured guys back would be a big help. But not getting at least one good guard will hurt our "D". They will be on the field way to often.
 

P@ck66

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gopack..

You saw how far Chicago got...
YOu also need a good QB and offense who can score against other teams that may also have a good defense...

or you don't win....not at playoff time...!
 

gopackgo4

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oh yes i know but im not saying we abadon our offense like chicago im saying if it becomes mediocre that would be ok if we have a really good defense I know you still need an offense but you dont need a great one
 

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