AmishMafia
Cheesehead
I think the Packers have improved significantly this season. With the draft, returning IR players, in-house development, and FA aquisitions
. . .
(waiting for laughter to die down)
. . .
the Packers can expect to be a more talented team on opening day. That got me thinking about where I see our current roster compared to last season.
I broke it down by position and rated it. 1-10 are improvements, 11,12 are status quo, and 13-15 are where we got worse. If I had done Special teamers, they would have been status quo categories.
MOST IMPROVED (most improved to least)
1. Running Back. Obviously we just injected a lot of talent from the draft. Our run game should look entirely different. And keep in mind, I really liked Cedric Benson. He won’t be brought back – I think we go with Lacy, Franklin, and Harris this season.
2. Center: EDS is a big upgrade over the pro-bowl Saturday. My biggest example of why the probowl is a farce. Saturday had to be replace by EDS towards the end of the season. He retired a year too late. Addition of Tretter should add some good versatile depth.
3. Defensive End: Getting Jones in the draft was huge. If we can generate some pressure from the DE position, it will make the OLBs jobs that much easier. Daniels and Worthy should be that much better with a year under their belts. If Jolly provides anything it would be a surprise. Williams is still coming into his own.
4. OLB: Getting Perry back and him having a year under his belt will be huge. The depth may have gotten better with the addition of Palmer and Barrington. I wasn’t too impressed with Walden or Zombo. Moses may take a step as he flashed some pass rush ability at times.
5. Tackle: Bulaga on the left will be better than Newhouse. Barklay did well and should be better with a year under his belt. Bakhtari should be good depth and we may get Sherrod back.
6. Cornerback: I think very highly of Shields, House and Hayward (SHH). Williams has a few weeks to show what he has left. Maybe he doesn’t make it. He didn’t play too well, so his loss is not going to drop this rating. But SHH are all young and on the upswing. And that is what they do to WRs. They SHH them. Not sure what to expect from Hyde. Hopefully we can make it SHHH.
7. Quarterback: Rodgers, to my eye, was not as sharp as he had been in the past. He did not seem to make the quick read/decision as efficiently. Maybe he didn’t study as much this offseason, or maybe the WRs weren’t giving him as many opportunities; or maybe Defenses changed their scheme against him. I’m thinking he and the coaches make some minor adjustments and we see a sharper Rodgers again.
8. Tight Ends: We lost Crabtree, and that was unfortunate. I think we still have a few guys who are pretty good. Most Packer fans probably don’t appreciate what Finley did. Yes he had some drops, but he also put together a pretty good season. I’m hoping Quarless comes back and has an impact.
SAME
9. Wide Reciever: We lost Jennings, but he didn’t add all that much. We also lost Driver, that will hurt most with leadership and not production. Cobb should take another step and alleviate the loss of Jennings. I don’t expect much from our rookies – except maybe Johnson provides some help late in the season.
10. ILB: Hawk and Jones are our starters. I was surprised they let Smith go. Maybe Bishop is back and playing well. I was hoping for some depth here from the draft and I don’t think we got it.
DECLINE (least to most)
11. Guards: Same guys, just switching sides. That has to be a decline in their play. At least till they get used to it. I always thought Sitton should be on the left – so I am very on-board with the switch. As a positive, the addition of Bakhtari/Tretter provides good depth.
12. Nose Tackle. Raji will hopefully play better. Pickett is in the best shape in some time, but there is only so much you can expect from a big guy this late in his career. I was very surprised we didn’t come away in the draft with a NT type. There were several I thought would help. Giving Raji/Pick some rest during games I thought would benefit their play.
13. Safety: Woodson was a good player to have because of his versatility. I don’t think he was able to run with many but he still made up for it with smarts. I like our young safeties and they will be better than Woodson at a few things, but overall, we will miss him and his leadership.
. . .
(waiting for laughter to die down)
. . .
the Packers can expect to be a more talented team on opening day. That got me thinking about where I see our current roster compared to last season.
I broke it down by position and rated it. 1-10 are improvements, 11,12 are status quo, and 13-15 are where we got worse. If I had done Special teamers, they would have been status quo categories.
MOST IMPROVED (most improved to least)
1. Running Back. Obviously we just injected a lot of talent from the draft. Our run game should look entirely different. And keep in mind, I really liked Cedric Benson. He won’t be brought back – I think we go with Lacy, Franklin, and Harris this season.
2. Center: EDS is a big upgrade over the pro-bowl Saturday. My biggest example of why the probowl is a farce. Saturday had to be replace by EDS towards the end of the season. He retired a year too late. Addition of Tretter should add some good versatile depth.
3. Defensive End: Getting Jones in the draft was huge. If we can generate some pressure from the DE position, it will make the OLBs jobs that much easier. Daniels and Worthy should be that much better with a year under their belts. If Jolly provides anything it would be a surprise. Williams is still coming into his own.
4. OLB: Getting Perry back and him having a year under his belt will be huge. The depth may have gotten better with the addition of Palmer and Barrington. I wasn’t too impressed with Walden or Zombo. Moses may take a step as he flashed some pass rush ability at times.
5. Tackle: Bulaga on the left will be better than Newhouse. Barklay did well and should be better with a year under his belt. Bakhtari should be good depth and we may get Sherrod back.
6. Cornerback: I think very highly of Shields, House and Hayward (SHH). Williams has a few weeks to show what he has left. Maybe he doesn’t make it. He didn’t play too well, so his loss is not going to drop this rating. But SHH are all young and on the upswing. And that is what they do to WRs. They SHH them. Not sure what to expect from Hyde. Hopefully we can make it SHHH.
7. Quarterback: Rodgers, to my eye, was not as sharp as he had been in the past. He did not seem to make the quick read/decision as efficiently. Maybe he didn’t study as much this offseason, or maybe the WRs weren’t giving him as many opportunities; or maybe Defenses changed their scheme against him. I’m thinking he and the coaches make some minor adjustments and we see a sharper Rodgers again.
8. Tight Ends: We lost Crabtree, and that was unfortunate. I think we still have a few guys who are pretty good. Most Packer fans probably don’t appreciate what Finley did. Yes he had some drops, but he also put together a pretty good season. I’m hoping Quarless comes back and has an impact.
SAME
9. Wide Reciever: We lost Jennings, but he didn’t add all that much. We also lost Driver, that will hurt most with leadership and not production. Cobb should take another step and alleviate the loss of Jennings. I don’t expect much from our rookies – except maybe Johnson provides some help late in the season.
10. ILB: Hawk and Jones are our starters. I was surprised they let Smith go. Maybe Bishop is back and playing well. I was hoping for some depth here from the draft and I don’t think we got it.
DECLINE (least to most)
11. Guards: Same guys, just switching sides. That has to be a decline in their play. At least till they get used to it. I always thought Sitton should be on the left – so I am very on-board with the switch. As a positive, the addition of Bakhtari/Tretter provides good depth.
12. Nose Tackle. Raji will hopefully play better. Pickett is in the best shape in some time, but there is only so much you can expect from a big guy this late in his career. I was very surprised we didn’t come away in the draft with a NT type. There were several I thought would help. Giving Raji/Pick some rest during games I thought would benefit their play.
13. Safety: Woodson was a good player to have because of his versatility. I don’t think he was able to run with many but he still made up for it with smarts. I like our young safeties and they will be better than Woodson at a few things, but overall, we will miss him and his leadership.