Packers pick #4A Blake Martinez Stanford LB

[Vrill]

Seems like a TT kind of guy too. Brains over Brawn. I'm not saying everyone TT picks is a Harvard Grad.....but you kind of get the feeling that it is something TT values.

Maybe we have our guy here at ILB finally. One can hope! Hes going to wear #50 by the way.

 

[Vrill]

By the way, we are becoming Palo Alto North with this Stanford pipeline, LOL

 

[bigbubbatd]

According to PFF Martinez had hoghest coverage grade among all linebackers in 2015.

Funny to read that with a later link that says he might struggle in coverage. I like him more than some of the other ilbs who seemed to be 2 down guys

 

[PackerDNA]

By the way, we are becoming Palo Alto North with this Stanford pipeline, LOL

We'll be a really smart team.

 

[HardRightEdge]

We'll be a really smart team.

...that can play basketball.

 

[Poppa San]

We'll be a really smart team.

That's good at basketball too.

 

[sschind]

According to PFF Martinez had hoghest coverage grade among all linebackers in 2015.

I love draft weekend. On another site some fan was crying over the pick because he said he can't cover.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

This particular pick I give a B-. I like Blake's play, he fills a need, I do worry about his speed. He ran a full tenth slower than AJ Hawk in '06 and we saw how AJ was in coverage. I also saw a couple other linebackers that went earlier and later that I liked better. I had Martinez #4 at the position.

 

[okcpackerfan]

This particular pick I give a B-. I like Blake's play, he fills a need, I do worry about his speed. He ran a full tenth slower than AJ Hawk in '06 and we saw how AJ was in coverage. I also saw a couple other linebackers that went earlier and later that I liked better. I had Martinez #4 at the position.

don't get too caught up in 40 yard dash times - I think this pick will work out just fine

 

[Packerlifer]

Feels more like a depth insurance pick than a high upside guy. Even so we are now better at ILB than we were yesterday and we now have three guys who can atleast hold down the fort there. Maybe grab a tweener in the sixth, someone like Joe Thomas but someone who doesn't suck.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/po...hey-have-enough-to-move-clay-matthews-outside

 

[easyk83]

I finally had a chance to watch a little bit of him. When he's doing thing right he reminds me of Desmond Bishop, similar measurables similar size, plays behind his pads and explodes into people. Has a knack for breaking through blocks when he's blitzing. I like him although he's not quite what I wanted at the position.

He'll never be a face of the franchise kind of guy, his interviews are just brutally boring. Kid does not have any charisma what so ever.

 

[Vrill]

I finally had a chance to watch a little bit of him. When he's doing thing right he reminds me of Desmond Bishop, similar measurables similar size, plays behind his pads and explodes into people. Has a knack for breaking through blocks when he's blitzing. I like him although he's not quite what I wanted at the position.

He'll never be a face of the franchise kind of guy.

The thing I like best about Martinez are his fundamentals and smarts.

 

[easyk83]

The thing I like best about Martinez are his fundamentals and smarts.

I like that too, but his strength stands out to me. He was said to be one of the strongest pound for pound players in the draft and it shows up on film.

 

[JBlood]

Hopefully the additions to the defensive line will make all the current and new ILBs better in the run game. But unless this group is able to cover the middle in passing it doesn't look to be much better overall than what we've had the last 5 years.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

I'm very excited to see him actually play. I have a feeling he's going to end up as a steal.

 

[Viper556]

I'm also excited to see him play. Strange that I can't seem to find any highlight videos of him. Just the one INT and it's a pretty poor video at that.

 

[PackerDNA]

I got to see a pretty fair amount of Martinez over the past couple of seasons and always came away impressed.
After Ragland, I had 3 or 4 ILB's that I wanted. He was one, and out of that group, they were pretty much interchangeable as far as ranking them. I'm pleased with the pick.

 

[Vrill]

I bet he has a legit shot to start day 1.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I like the Martinez pick as well but in my opinion Thompson hasn't done enough to significantly upgrade the position this offseason.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Meet Blake Martinez, your new dime backer with maybe some nickel zone coverage duty. I'm not sure it goes much further than that for 2016.

But we can take encouragement in the additions by subtraction.

Getting Palmer off the field around mid-season, be it run game or pass game, was an improvement regardless of who you put there. He was that bad, and Ryan showed a lot of improvement from early games to late games.

Joe Thomas likewise. No field awareness; he just stands there watching the QBs eyes until something happens...a guy crossing his face that he has to chase or reacting late to the seam. 3rd. and 8, 6 DBs, a dropping ILB, first down! I think we've all had a bellyful of that. It's hard to blame the player; he was an OLB that didn't work out. You want more than a guy who just takes up space. The consensus is that Martinez's strength is zone coverage, which is exactly what you want in dime and nickel zone drops.

Getting Matthews out of the middle is addition by both subtraction and addition. Take away the blitzing, and Matthews was more liability than playmaker at ILB. That's the subtraction. Put him back on the edge and that is of course the addition. The Matthews excitement of 2014 turned increasingly sour as the 2015 season wore on...consider it tendencies put to tape and exploited. It was an honorable but ultimately failed experiment.

So, with Ryan, Barrington (evidence indicates the brain trust is not concerned about that foot) and Martinez, with Matthews back where he belongs, there's nowhere to go but up. I'll reserve judgment until after a couple preseason games as to whether "up" will be enough.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Any videos of him, highlight or game tape? I've found nothing that useful.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Meet Blake Martinez, your new dime backer with maybe some nickel zone coverage duty. I'm not sure it goes much further than that for 2016.

According to PFF Martinez was excellent defending the run in 2014 but regressed last season. I don't expect him to start as long as Barrington's healthy but hopefully he's an upgrade as a coverage linebacker.

 

[OldSchool101]

Although I feel we waited 1-2 rounds late to fill a need with an experienced inside Backer, My concern is offset by my relief in getting AR quality edge insurance in Spriggs. That was IMO our priority after watching Aaron get throttled too often last season.
It'll be interesting to see if Martinez can impress and contribute more than just ST

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Although I feel we waited 1-2 rounds late to fill a need with an experienced inside Backer, My concern is offset by my relief in getting AR quality edge insurance in Spriggs. That was IMO our priority after watching Aaron get throttled too often last season.
It'll be interesting to see if Martinez can impress and contribute more than just ST

With the Packers inside linebacker´s inability to cover running backs or tight ends last season Martinez has to immediately contribute on defense. I still think passing on Myles Jack and even Reggie Ragland was mind-boggling.

 

[HardRightEdge]

With the Packers inside linebacker´s inability to cover running backs or tight ends last season Martinez has to immediately contribute on defense. I still think passing on Myles Jack and even Reggie Ragland was mind-boggling.

Buffalo took Ragland and Listenbee, two guys I wanted the Packers to take. I'll be seeing them this year in the half dozen or so Bills games I usually watch.

I looked at Listenbee's tape on Amish's recommendation. The guy played his senior year with a double sports hernia, ran 4.39 at the Combine with those hernias, followed by surgery. This guy isn't some Ted Ginn or Heyward-Bey, where it was always an adventure in their tracking a deep ball, and then a further adventure in their actually trying to catch it if they could find it. His ball tracking is outstanding, good hands, and competitive at the ball.

The Packers could have taken Listenbee in the 5th. instead of Davis. Maybe they liked Davis' return potential. Or maybe they just didn't like Listenbee's cockiness, something that would not bother Rex Ryan.

Here's the thing...Listenbee's boasts are not unjustified. He claimed he would have gotten into the 4.2's without the hernias, and might have broken the Combine record. That's justified. This guy ran a 10.02 wind aided 100 meters which is blazing fast in the post-steroid era. Highly decorated college sprinter. He claims he would be on the Olympic team, but he's going to focus on football. Again, if it were just speed, it wouldn't matter...track and catch is what you need to effectively stretch the field...the QB can put the ball over either shoulder away from any defender or closing safety. This is something you'll never ever get from Janis...he's just not that kind of player.

I can't help but think the cockiness was a Packer turnoff, even if it is a common trait of the wideouts and perimeter corners (along with short memories) who are constantly exposed to the TV camera in one-on-ones in space.