I hope that Perry's not-so-stellar performance was as much due to a sore wrist as anything. Good to know that he can be effective at the speed rush, but it sounds like he has a ways to go on developing some other moves.
Hate to contrast him with the guy who was picked just before him in the draft: Chandler Jones. He has been an absolute beast so far for NE. He consistently beat the LT in the Cardinals game. They literally couldn't block him. If only. . . ./sigh
On the other hand our other rookies are looking great. I hope that Worthy can really be a force this year because we need him to be if Perry ends up being a work in progress.
On Perry's dedication, I think that if he continues to get enough playing time he'll be ok, but that means he'll have to show something. I also expect Perry to be a better OLB next year with a full season of experience and hard work in the off-season...if he wants it.
Actually my comment about drawing conclusions wasn’t aimed at you or evaluations of Perry. It was aimed at being overly optimistic about the play of the other rookies on defense “vs. a bad OL”. That sentence should have been a paragraph to distinguish it from my comments on Perry.Definitely not drawing conclusions on Perry yet ThxJack, just making a few observations.
Actually my comment about drawing conclusions wasn’t aimed at you or evaluations of Perry. It was aimed at being overly optimistic about the play of the other rookies on defense “vs. a bad OL”. That sentence should have been a paragraph to distinguish it from my comments on Perry.
Going into the 2011 season I was optimistic about Walden and Zombo’s play at OLB opposite Clay. After all they were good enough to win it all and Walden had a great game against the Bears late in the season. Brad Jones (who I’ve never been excited about) was also in the mix. So I understood why that spot wasn’t targeted in the draft (until the 6th round) and thought in-season complaints about not addressing it were hindsight. What a great development that after Thompson addressed OLB big time in the draft and after "recruiting" Moses, Walden is rejuvenated and looks like their second best pass rushing OLB. Walden had to get his domestic situation straightened out and I’ll bet his time reflecting in a jail cell has something to do with his improved play.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-walden-gets-life-in-order-e16ufhs-170613906.html
Moses is another UDFA success story that will help attract future UDFAs. He hasn’t recorded a sack yet but he is one of five LBs in Capers’ psycho package – and he’s in the rotation to keep everyone fresh. The Packers have definitely upgraded their pass rush from the OLB spot IMO by 1) moving Clay to ROLB, the premier pass rushing spot in Capers’ D; 2) Acquiring Perry whose natural strength made the switch of Clay back to ROLB an obvious option – and of course we haven’t seen the best of Perry; 3) Sticking with Walden even after a bad 2011 season and off field problems; and 4) having a policy in place of giving everyone, even UDFAs, a chance to make the team and contribute.
What I expect from Perry in the off season is for him to work on improving his quickness to improve his pass rush and his flexibility - particularly in his hips – to improve his coverage skills. Along with working on different pass rushing techniques, if he does that while maintaining his strength he can be scary-good.