Roster predictions

[Dantés]

Hopefully you’re right. I’m hoping he is the answer at starting perimeter CB so we don’t have to find out what his return skills look like.

I think he’s the top slot corner— which is in this era of football is basically a starting position.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don’t doubt that Alexander can do it. I’m just hesitant to expose him on PR duty when I expect him to be so valuable to the defense.

I read thag he and Moore both took snaps and both muffed a ball.

Seems like the Packers themselves are kind of in the same conundrum as most of us posters, asking themselves "Should Davis be the guy we keep, basically just to return punts?" Obviously if Davis is still injured, they need someone back there during practice, but with the number of different guys I have heard about getting a crack at it, the search for a possible replacement is definitely happening.

 

[Dantés]

Seems like the Packers themselves are kind of in the same conundrum as most of us posters, asking themselves "Should Davis be the guy we keep, basically just to return punts?" Obviously if Davis is still injured, they need someone back there during practice, but with the number of different guys I have heard about getting a crack at it, the search for a possible replacement is definitely happening.

I also think it’s a little bit unfair to Davis to just assume that he is done developing as a receiver. Chances are, he’s never going to be an impactful player on offense. But Kumerow has been in the league a year longer and is seemingly just coming on, yet most of us assume that Davis will never be to able to do anything as a receiver.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I also think it’s a little bit unfair to Davis to just assume that he is done developing as a receiver. Chances are, he’s never going to be an impactful player on offense. But Kumerow has been in the league a year longer and is seemingly just coming on, yet most of us assume that Davis will never be to able to do anything as a receiver.

Agreed, especially given the history of some pretty great WR's in Green Bay and the amount of time it took them to catch on and achieve what they did. I am sure that the Packers are hoping for that as well, but you can't help but notice that they aren't taking it for granted and are giving a lot of guys a crack at winning the return job as well as the fact that in 2 years, Davis only has 8 catches.

 

[Dantés]

Agreed, especially given the history of some pretty great WR's in Green Bay and the amount of time it took them to catch on and achieve what they did. I am sure that the Packers are hoping for that as well, but you can't help but notice that they aren't taking it for granted and are giving a lot of guys a crack at winning the return job as well as the fact that in 2 years, Davis only has 8 catches.

Yes, the smart money is that Davis never catches on. The odds of a 5th round pick making it are slim to begin with. But I still think there’s a chance that he could be a functional backup in addition to being a valuable special teamer.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yes, the smart money is that Davis never catches on. The odds of a 5th round pick making it are slim to begin with. But I still think there’s a chance that he could be a functional backup in addition to being a valuable special teamer.

Janis had only 4 catches in his first 2 years, so there is still hope.....right?

 

[Dantés]

Murphy is the best backup tackle on the roster. Evans is a special teams stalwart and they let Janis leave. Whitehead is a valuable backup to the defense. Allison seems locked into the 3rd wide receiver spot. So I’m confident on those guys.

Gilbert as a lock is probably too strong. He just seems to have shown out as the 3rd best pass rusher so far.

@captainWIMM I just saw that McCarthy said that they really regretted not promoting Gilbert sooner last season, so maybe that’s not too strong.

 

[SD Cheesehead]

They haven’t tried him there and he never did it in college. He doesn’t profile as the type.

I’m not trying to be contrarian. I’m just pointing out that if you cut Davis, it creates an issue.

I understand that he never returned punts in college but his main job is to catch(important with punt returning) and he’s most known for his quick acceleration and game breaking speed. Seems like a pretty good profile for a punt returning type. I would love to see them try him there the next few preseason games. Scrap the Rollins idea. Try MVS, Jaire as second option, and Cobb as our safety play as we know he is going to catch it and make a safe decision. I really would love Davis to be back and getting some practice in but haven’t heard anything on progress on his hammy injury.

 

[Dantés]

I understand that he never returned punts in college but his main job is to catch(important with punt returning) and he’s most known for his quick acceleration and game breaking speed. Seems like a pretty good profile for a punt returning type. I would love to see them try him there the next few preseason games. Scrap the Rollins idea. Try MVS, Jaire as second option, and Cobb as our safety play as we know he is going to catch it and make a safe decision. I really would love Davis to be back and getting some practice in but haven’t heard anything on progress on his hammy injury.

He accelerate quickly and is fast in a straight line. He doesn’t possess the short area change of direction ability that lends itself to punt returning. In any case, I’m not buying the idea that he will be the guy when he’s never done it.

Seems to me that there are two realistic options— keep Davis or expose Alexander.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Devin Hester was drafted by the Bears in the second round as a CB. He ended up being one of the best returners to play the game. Not saying that this is the same path that Alexander takes, but if Jaire turned into the next Devin Hester and not the next Damarious Randall, I would be fine with that.

 

[OldSchool101]

Devin Hester was drafted by the Bears in the second round as a CB. He ended up being one of the best returners to play the game. Not saying that this is the same path that Alexander takes, but if Jaire turned into the next Devin Hester and not the next Damarious Randall, I would be fine with that.

What’s also not seen in Hesters’ stats are how often opponents’ punters sacrificed 10+ yards by directing kicks low and away towards the sidelines, in order that Hester wouldn’t have any chance to touch the ball whatsoever.
We all remember very well how he changed the game plan on ST. In his prime Devin was Dangerous and he often changed the flow of the game or swung momentum. We know it all too well because he was in our Division most of his career.
This game is much about momentum and getting the best available talent on the field. We learned that lesson again when we moved Clay inside and brought Perry and Peppers outside. No one in their right mind would’ve thought to move CM3 inside because of his productivity at Edge. That moved turned out to be brilliant.
If Tramon and Kevin hold their own and Jackson resembles anything close to his college career, it wouldn’t be that far fetched to give Alexander a shot to see what he’s got at returns. It’s not like he’s a novice at ST and he could be delegated to miminal duty only here.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Devin Hester was drafted by the Bears in the second round as a CB. He ended up being one of the best returners to play the game. Not saying that this is the same path that Alexander takes, but if Jaire turned into the next Devin Hester and not the next Damarious Randall, I would be fine with that.

I would absolutely prefer Alexander excel at playing cornerback while ending up not returning a single punt in the NFL though.

We learned that lesson again when we moved Clay inside and brought Perry and Peppers outside. No one in their right mind would’ve thought to move CM3 inside because of his productivity at Edge. That moved turned out to be brilliant.
If Tramon and Kevin hold their own and Jackson resembles anything close to his college career, it wouldn’t be that far fetched to give Alexander a shot to see what he’s got at returns. It’s not like he’s a novice at ST and he could be delegated to miminal duty only here.

The Packers were able to afford moving Matthews inside during the 2014 season because they had Peppers and Perry rushing from the edge. It wasn't anything brilliant as Clay was average as an ILB at best.

In my opinion it would be smart to have Alexander focused on being sucessful as a cornerback and not have him returning punts as well.

 

[Dantés]

Here's an interesting thought-- what if Rodgers and the coaches are so confident in Kumerow's abilities that they feel he can replace Allison? I've viewed him as a lock to make the roster, but if he is replaceable via Kumerow it could help break up the log jam at receiver.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Here's an interesting thought-- what if Rodgers and the coaches are so confident in Kumerow's abilities that they feel he can replace Allison? I've viewed him as a lock to make the roster, but if he is replaceable via Kumerow it could help break up the log jam at receiver.

I don't feel the Packers currently have a log jam at wide receiver by any means. Aside of Adams and Cobb every other player currently on the roster has to prove himself the rest of the preseason to make the team.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Here's an interesting thought-- what if Rodgers and the coaches are so confident in Kumerow's abilities that they feel he can replace Allison? I've viewed him as a lock to make the roster, but if he is replaceable via Kumerow it could help break up the log jam at receiver.

I think that would be a disaster waiting to happen, if you are implying cut Allison. Besides Adams and Cobb, who are both a bit injury prone, Allison is the only WR with much experience and even that isn't a ton. I get the Kumerow loving going on, but as I said in a previous post, we see this every preseason from a WR and then it seems like when they have to play against the "big boys" and not the no longer employed in the NFL guys, we see why they were FA's or late round picks.

 

[Dantés]

I think that would be a disaster waiting to happen, if you are implying cut Allison. Besides Adams and Cobb, who are both a bit injury prone, Allison is the only WR with much experience and even that isn't a ton. I get the Kumerow loving going on, but as I said in a previous post, we see this every preseason from a WR and then it seems like when they have to play against the "big boys" and not the no longer employed in the NFL guys, we see why they were FA's or late round picks.

It probably isn't going to happen. I'm just theorizing-- what if the staff collectively felt that Kumerow was as good or better and ready to help right away? He has less game experience, but he's been in the league since 2015.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

It probably isn't going to happen. I'm just theorizing-- what if the staff collectively felt that Kumerow was as good or better and ready to help right away?

In that case Kumerow definitely makes the team. It's questionable all of the rookies would pass Allison on the depth chart as well though.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

It probably isn't going to happen. I'm just theorizing-- what if the staff collectively felt that Kumerow was as good or better and ready to help right away? He has less game experience, but he's been in the league since 2015.

"less experience" in this case is no regular season receptions. Not even sure if Jake has played in a regular season game? That would be a huge leap of faith to cut Allison in favor of JK and not one I would be happy with. As much as I like the 3 rookies, I would rather see one of them cut and hopefully slid to the PS, if JK is a guy the Packers want on the 53.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

"less experience" in this case is no regular season receptions. Not even sure if Jake has played in a regular season game? That would be a huge leap of faith to cut Allison in favor of JK and not one I would be happy with. As much as I like the 3 rookies, I would rather see one of them cut and hopefully slid to the PS, if JK is a guy the Packers want on the 53.

Kumerow hasn't even been on an active roster during his first three seasons in the league. It seems to me that Moore might be the rookie receiver the Packers could possibly stash on the practice squad.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Kumerow hasn't even been on an active roster during his first three seasons in the league. It seems to me that Moore might be the rookie receiver the Packers could possibly stash on the practice squad.

Thanks for confirmation about JK. Again, I think the WR group beyond 2 often injured guys (Cobb and Adams) is already dangerously thin in experience. Allison is a must keep guy at this point IMO. Imagine at some point in the season, a starting lineup at WR of JK, EQ and MVS

I also agree with you, at this point and I hope it changes, Moore seems to be struggling the most out of the 3 rookies and might be the easiest of the 3 to be able to safely slide over to the PS.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Thanks for confirmation about JK. Again, I think the WR group beyond 2 often injured guys (Cobb and Adams) is already dangerously thin in experience. Allison is a must keep guy at this point IMO. Imagine at some point in the season, a starting lineup at WR of JK, EQ and MVS

I have mentioned it repeatedly that Allison will likely be the wide receiver most game ready aside of Adams and Cobb entering this season. The rookies definitely have a higher ceiling though. It will be interesting to see if Gutekunst risks losing one of them while trying to sign him to the practice squad.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I have mentioned it repeatedly that Allison will likely be the wide receiver most game ready aside of Adams and Cobb entering this season. The rookies definitely have a higher ceiling though. It will be interesting to see if Gutekunst risks losing one of them while trying to sign him to the practice squad.

Not that I want to see one of the rookie WR's injured, but a non debilitating injury that is just enough to get one of them on the IR, wouldn't be a bad thing.

Might as well throw out my annual "b*tching comment". I just hate how the PS works in the NFL. Either expand the rosters to 60 or give teams more protection of guys that they have invested quite a bit of time and capital in and let them be put on and kept on the PS without the risk of losing them.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Might as well throw out my annual "b*tching comment". I just hate how the PS works in the NFL. Either expand the rosters to 60 or give teams more protection of guys that they have invested quite a bit of time and capital in and let them be put on and kept on the PS without the risk of losing them.

Well, teams are allowed to increase the salary of players on the practice squad in order to keep them around. The NFLPA would definitely not agree to a club being allowed to protect guys on the PS as they would make at least four times the money on an active roster.

 

[Dantés]

"less experience" in this case is no regular season receptions. Not even sure if Jake has played in a regular season game? That would be a huge leap of faith to cut Allison in favor of JK and not one I would be happy with. As much as I like the 3 rookies, I would rather see one of them cut and hopefully slid to the PS, if JK is a guy the Packers want on the 53.

I think keeping Allison is safer and the most likely outcome. I’m just musing over a possibility if the Kumerow hype turns out to be real. Most fans are trying to come with ideas for how they might manage to cut Davis. What if it was Allison?

 

[Dantés]

I don't feel the Packers currently have a log jam at wide receiver by any means. Aside of Adams and Cobb every other player currently on the roster has to prove himself the rest of the preseason to make the team.

I didn’t mean a log jam of starters. But they seem to have 8 players that would be good to keep and probably a maximum of 7 spots.