Mike Neal to OLD....you can't be serious

[bubblercheez37]

Woops I meant OLB not OLD haha....anyway I read on JS Online the other day quoting Trovac saying that they are considering moving Mike Neal to OLB next year. Are they serious?! Of course, I guess it can't get any worse for Neal at DE...

 

[realcaliforniacheese]

I read on JS Online the other day quoting Trovac saying that they are considering moving Mike Neal to OLB next year. Are they serious?! Of course, I guess it can't get any worse for Neal at DE...

Mod needs to change your title lol!!!

 

[Southpaw]

notsureifsrs. That would be a terrible idea. He's a little too heavy and he's not quick at all.

Mike Neal might in fact come around to being a productive player with a good offseason. His knee surgery before the season started probably affected his ability as well.

I think the team will give him another opportunity to show everybody what he's capable of, but we should still take a defensive end in the draft anyway.

 

[realcaliforniacheese]

notsureifsrs. That would be a terrible idea. He's a little too heavy and he's not quick at all.

Mike Neal might in fact come around to being a productive player with a good offseason. His knee surgery before the season started probably affected his ability as well.

I think the team will give him another opportunity to show everybody what he's capable of, but we should still take a defensive end in the draft anyway.

We even if Neal does make the jump in the off season we still need more depth. we were dangerously thin on the DL this season. I remember one game we were down to 4 and one went out for a time. 3 DL, now that's cutting it thin.

 

[Southpaw]

We even if Neal does make the jump in the off season we still need more depth. we were dangerously thin on the DL this season. I remember one game we were down to 4 and one went out for a time. 3 DL, now that's cutting it thin.

Agreed. Not arguing that at all. In addition to obviously drafting a Defensive End, I really like Mike Martin coming in and being a Nose Tackle. Love that guy from what I've been seeing at the Senior Bowl practices.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

I don't think Mike Neal can make the transition to OLB. OLB's need to be able to play in coverage and do more than just rush the passer. I'd just like to see him stay healthy and be a good defensive end.

 

[SpartaChris]

No harm in giving the guy a look. My guess is it doesn't work out, but you never know. I have faith in our coaching staff.

 

[Wills29]

They say this guy is a serious Body Builder type which means he needs to be in that 3 point stance. He's never be able to cover the TE on a seam route, heck our current OLB's can't cover a TE on a seam route, especially on 3rd down!

 

[B-ri]

This would, in essence, be giving up on Neal. I doubt it happens. Give the guy an offseason and see if he can come back and be productive at DE. Hopefully they draft an OLB somewhere

 

[The Real Pack Attack]

Can't see this happening. He'd have to lose weight to gain speed to make this move. Like B-ri said this would be a last ditch effort to salvage his career. If he failed there he'd be done!

 

[DoddPower]

Source?

 

[TJV]

I'll be surprised if this experiment lasts very long. Way too "stiff" for pass coverage IMO. Now, if Capers wants to see if he can rush the passer from a two-point stance, that's different. And to avoid being too predictable they could occasionally have him in coverage in a zone blitz situation - very occasionally. I mean, even BJ Raji went into coverage on a zone blitz in a very memorable game.

If they think he's ill-suited to play DE or DT on passing downs it would make more sense to me to have him add weight and even more strength this off season and switch him to NT. I know he's light for a NT but with his incredible strength that would have a better shot at success. If his injuries have affected his quickness, he's not going to be more than a journeyman and that'll be a shame. Here's hoping for a healthy off season for Mike Neal and that we'll see the player full time we've only seen glimpses of so far.

 

[El Guapo]

Can't see this happening. He'd have to lose weight to gain speed to make this move. Like B-ri said this would be a last ditch effort to salvage his career. If he failed there he'd be done!

Not picking on you specifically The Real Pack Attack, but comments like this were routinely made last year about Mario Williams making the same switch in Houston. It wasn't made to "salvage" his career. If Neal is a weight room junky and slightly too heavy, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to cut down to weight. The speed in coverage is the key. However, we've never seen this guy truly healthy except at the start of training camp. I'd like to think that Trovac knows more about Neal's abilities than all of us combined.

His thought about switching Neal might reflect what Neal's natural abilities might actually be, not what position he's been playing all along. In the end, this could also be Travoc's way of lighting a fire under Neal to get him motivated to be a good DL. Who knows.

 

[The Real Pack Attack]

Not picking on you specifically The Real Pack Attack, but comments like this were routinely made last year about Mario Williams making the same switch in Houston. It wasn't made to "salvage" his career. If Neal is a weight room junky and slightly too heavy, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to cut down to weight. The speed in coverage is the key. However, we've never seen this guy truly healthy except at the start of training camp. I'd like to think that Trovac knows more about Neal's abilities than all of us combined.

His thought about switching Neal might reflect what Neal's natural abilities might actually be, not what position he's been playing all along. In the end, this could also be Travoc's way of lighting a fire under Neal to get him motivated to be a good DL. Who knows.

I just don't see him having the speed to make this move. His 40 times coming out of college ranged in the mid 4.80's. Not gonna cut it if he has to cover a TE or RB. I also think he's too stiff, probably because he's so bulked up.

I personally am hoping that this whole year was a bust for him because of the injury to his knee. Hopefully he can build up strength in the knee and come back next year and show us the real Mike Neal!

 

[JoshuaRHuffman]

I don't see the point of it. The Packers already don't have enough depth on the DL even with Mike Neal.

 

[DoddPower]

After some searching, I think I found it:

Mike Neal:​

Viewed as the logical successor to Cullen Jenkins, Neal hurt his knee Aug. 16 and didn't get back on the field until Game 10. Playing 158 snaps in eight games, he made merely six tackles for the worst tackle-per-snap rate on the unit. As an interior rusher, he just kind of thrashed around. Neal gave good effort but never really made a play. In two seasons, he has played 237 snaps in 10 of a possible 37 games. Ten days ago, D-line coach Mike Trgovac said some in the organization have been talking about giving Neal a shot at OLB next season. Although Neal maintained his weight of 295, he's a committed body builder who probably could drop weight to do it. The Packers would have to determine if he has the athleticism to stand up. ​

Grade: F.​

Link: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/individual-report-card-defense-7l3sfco-137833488.html

 

[bubblercheez37]

After some searching, I think I found it:



Link: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/individual-report-card-defense-7l3sfco-137833488.html

Yeah that's it....since it came from Trovac I thought it was credible

 

[El Guapo]

We have no evidence that Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson plans to veer from his recent offseason policy of building exclusively through the draft. The last significant veteran free agent the Packers signed was linebacker Brandon Chillar in 2008, and in the past two seasons the Packers have won 29 of 37 games without tapping the quick fixes available in the free agent market.

All the same, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is already laying the groundwork in the event of an exception to that approach. Speaking Wednesday on his ESPN 540 radio show, Rodgers said he plans to spend some time at the Pro Bowl this week talking up the advantages of playing in Green Bay. Rodgers referenced a 2009 episode when defensive lineman Chris Canty turned down a visit and said he is trying to get "in some of these guys' ears about how we got it in Green Bay."

"Green Bay is becoming a more desirable place, I've got to think," Rodgers said. "It's not the same place that Chris Canty refused to take a trip to unless there was a contract in place. … We haven't really been a big free agent team. That being said, I think there's a good possibility that we might go out and get somebody on the defensive side of the ball, or as we've done in the past, use one of our top draft picks to pick maybe an outside rusher or maybe a defensive back."

The Packers certainly have a need for either a pass-rushing defensive end or linebacker. Typically, teams lock up established pass-rushers with long-term contracts before free agency, but the projected $120 million salary cap could flood the market with more credible players than normal. If, for example, the Detroit Lions can't keep defensive end Cliff Avril, you wonder if the Packers would considering him as a 3-4 linebacker. Stay tuned.

Funny now that Seifert is talking about another DE, Cliff Avril, as converting to OLB for the Packers.

 

[ExpatPacker]

Funny now that Seifert is talking about another DE, Cliff Avril, as converting to OLB for the Packers.

If we signed Avril as a FA, would't it be better to keep him at DE? It's not like we have anyone there to speak of.

Avril may come with a high price tag though...too high perhaps. Also, he's playing great this season but I almost have the feeling that once he gets that phat contract he may not be the same player.

 

[bozz_2006]

Abril doesn't really fit the 3-4 DE body type. He's long, lean, and rangy. I really like his game.

 

[Southpaw]

Avril would be much more useful at OLB in our scheme. 6'3 250-260.

 

[bubblercheez37]

how many sacks did Avril have this year?

 

[Southpaw]

how many sacks did Avril have this year?

10 or 11. Somewhere around there. But we have to take into account having Suh and Fairley on that line make it a lot easier for him to get to the QB. Could he duplicate that production here as an OLB? Hard to say. Especially if we don't have guys on the line that can get a push. If we have a good defensive end on that right side, I think he could create a lot of havoc in the backfield

 

[SpartaChris]

Abril doesn't really fit the 3-4 DE body type. He's long, lean, and rangy. I really like his game.

Tell that to Aaron Kampman who started to really pick it up at the end of our first year in the 3-4.

 

[bozz_2006]

Tell that to Aaron Kampman who started to really pick it up at the end of our first year in the 3-4.

I think you got my post backwards. Avril is a 4-3 DE in Detroit like Kampman was in GB's old 4-3 scheme. Someone suggested Avril play DE in our 3-4 scheme. And I suggested that Avril is better suited to play OLB in our system, like Kampman did.