ILB isn't really a huge priority in this type of 3-4 scheme

[HardRightEdge]

If Burks' improvement was a key concern for you wouldn't you rather have the coaches saying he has improved rather than not hearing his name at all....

For me, not especially.

Saying some nice things about a struggling player may just be an attempt at confidence boosting. In the internet age, not just with social media but also the numerous reporting web sites, guys like Burks and J'mon Moore are surely aware of the widely held negative opinions of their play compounding the benchings. Confidence boosters are in order. And if there is a secondary purpose, telling media and fans progress is made may have the desired affect of cautious optimism and laying off the guy.

Here are some kind words from May 30, liberally spread around including some for Moore. We even get this:

"[Manny Wilkins] is a sharp guy. You can see he’s been able to bounce around in those different offenses and handle it very well. He has a good background, too. He’s been great. He’s been working his tail off. I’m excited to see him when we get to training camp."

I've not heard any glowing reports of Josh Jackson's progress, a guy who will need to step up. Do I take that as a negative? Not really.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Fair enough and once again I agree but I still think positive words are more encouraging and thus warrant a bit of optimism more than no words at all.

Put it another way. If Burks' improvement was a key concern for you wouldn't you rather have the coaches saying he has improved rather than not hearing his name at all even though we haven't seen him in any games yet? Players can show improvement outside of game situations and it can be legitimate.

Actually coaches mentioning positive things about certain players during the offseason doesn't make any difference to me. There are various reasons for it and a lot of times you don't see any improvement in performance during the regular season by those guys.

I didn't mean for it to sound like "so what are you doing here then?"

Actually I wonder about how much time I have spent here in the past few years on many occasions

 

[sschind]

Actually I wonder about how much time I have spent here in the past few years on many occasions

I think we all feel that way every now and then. I know I do.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Actually I wonder about how much time I have spent here in the past few years on many occasions

I chalk it up to being a hobby. But one can't help but wonder....

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I chalk it up to being a hobby. But one can't help but wonder....

For me it's the only way to talk about the team in-depth as Packers or NFL fanatics are pretty scarce in this part of the world.

 

[PackerDNA]

I've not heard any glowing reports of Josh Jackson's progress, a guy who will need to step up. Do I take that as a negative? Not really.

All I've heard about Jackson is that he's put on 10 lbs of muscle.

 

[Mondio]

I don't even like most of you, yet here I am and now you all get to suffer

 

[HardRightEdge]

All I've heard about Jackson is that he's put on 10 lbs of muscle.

Case in point. It doesn't mean much to me one way or the other. We had reports of Spriggs putting on quite a few pounds last offseason and he looked it. It didn't do much good. About all we can say about it is it opened the possibility of moving him to OG, but there hasn't been any interest in that to date.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Why do people keep churning over the depth here?

Blake Martinez is fine... Burks is fine... Morrison is fine...

FRANKLY, this defensive scheme doesn't place a whole lot of emphasis on having some 3-4 ILB stud like a Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis who can just go sideliine to sideline and blow up plays in the backfield. We aren't running a 4-3 either, so no need for a Kuechly type or even a Nic Barnett type of player... there isn't really a NEED for some "stud" at ILB.

It's all on the DBs and DL and EDGE rushers

You could place pretty much ANY "competent" NFL ILBers who can read assignments, cover some, and can TACKLE at ILB in this scheme.

Because there are so many ONE ILB sets that he runs, you hardly need any use for 2 ILBers because there is usually a Nickel DB anyways

The largest question mark I believe is Kevin King. Obviously everyone was hoping he was going to be the next Richard Sherman b/c of his length... I would hope that Josh Jackson can make a significant move up this upcoming year as I believe he is more physical than King

But Jackson and Alexander would leave a pretty "short" CB duo...

I’m not so sure about Burks. He is athletically gifted but as far as I can remember, had an unremarkable rookie run. I don’t think Morrison is on the team. Martinez is a tackling machine but certainly not a rusher.

You might be right that they have enough depth elsewhere on D to make up for a lack of it at ILB. I’m sure they would have taken Devin White or Bush had they been available. That said, Savage was a nice pick up for the D, and Gary has a lot of upside under Pettine and can likely be a very good interior rusher. But I expect they’ll address ILB next year in FA or the draft.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Case in point. It doesn't mean much to me one way or the other. We had reports of Spriggs putting on quite a few pounds last offseason and he looked it. It didn't do much good. About all we can say about it is it opened the possibility of miving him to OG, but there hasn't been any interest in that to date.

Ugh, Spriggs. Why is he still on the team? It’s been three years I think. I know he was a #2 pick but he hasn’t played close to that. I know OL depth is an issue for most teams, but I gotta believe that someone can step up in TC and PS to replace him. I see him as a liability, just my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Martinez is a tackling machine but certainly not a rusher.

The Packers should have enough pass rushers to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks therefore they don't need Martinez to excel in that area. It's an issue that he struggles too often in coverage though.

Ugh, Spriggs. Why is he still on the team? It’s been three years I think. I know he was a #2 pick but he hasn’t played close to that. I know OL depth is an issue for most teams, but I gotta believe that someone can step up in TC and PS to replace him. I see him as a liability, just my opinion.

Spriggs is still on the team because he's cheap while on his rookie deal.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

Why do people keep churning over the depth here?

Blake Martinez is fine... Burks is fine... Morrison is fine...

FRANKLY, this defensive scheme doesn't place a whole lot of emphasis on having some 3-4 ILB stud like a Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis who can just go sideliine to sideline and blow up plays in the backfield. We aren't running a 4-3 either, so no need for a Kuechly type or even a Nic Barnett type of player... there isn't really a NEED for some "stud" at ILB.

It's all on the DBs and DL and EDGE rushers

You could place pretty much ANY "competent" NFL ILBers who can read assignments, cover some, and can TACKLE at ILB in this scheme.

Because there are so many ONE ILB sets that he runs, you hardly need any use for 2 ILBers because there is usually a Nickel DB anyways

The largest question mark I believe is Kevin King. Obviously everyone was hoping he was going to be the next Richard Sherman b/c of his length... I would hope that Josh Jackson can make a significant move up this upcoming year as I believe he is more physical than King

But Jackson and Alexander would leave a pretty "short" CB duo...[/QUO

Morrison is gone. Burks hasn't stayed healthy to prove himself. Our Edge Rushers have been **** for several years now, and I'm not sure we've hit on ANY of the DBs we've drafted in the last 5 years...all what 12 of them? So YES we need a 2nd ILB. I don't care if it's Burks, Summers, or a trade we need that 2nd ILB THIS YEAR!

 

[HardRightEdge]

I don't care if it's Burks, Summers, or a trade we need that 2nd ILB THIS YEAR!

If Burks doesn't come around, it could be "Smash" Amos situationally or against certain matchups. Maybe more than that as with Burnett in his last season in Green Bay, taking over that spot when Jones couldn't get it done. Burnett even took over calling the defensive signals.

If it comes to that, which we'd rather not see, that puts Williams at safety with Savage, assuming Williams is not otherwise occupied at a corner position. Burks (or Summers) need to show they can play to avoid this less than optimal situation.