Week 12 Showdown: Packers at 49ers - potential home field advantage implications.

[GBowner]

The Packers defense is definitely better than it was over the last few years but they aren't elite as some believed after the first few weeks of the season.



I think we all had a false sense of security with this D. They started against the Bears, who have a less than stellar O.
I just looked up the defensive rankings. Packers are at #28. I don’t know what they were the last 3 years, but to say theyre better is a stretch. Well, maybe jumped from 30th or so. Big damn deal. How the hell does a tight end with a broken foot get so free that no defender is even on the tv screen? This defense sucks, period. Special teams suck, period. The O line is not good and the Pack better be thinking about life after Rodgers. Aaron Jones is the best player on this team right now. And that’s mainly because of his effort week in and week out. End of rant.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Oh, you can get a starting OT through the draft, but relying on the fact that you will is a dangerous presumption IMO. Play it out; you don't sign Bulaga or an equivalent FA and you don't have a quality starting RT on your current roster. So you head to the draft absolutely having to find an immediate starter. Are you comfortable with that? I wouldn't be. If you don't hit pay dirt, you are faced starting someone like Alex Light or trade for one before the season starts and hope he learns your offense.

My philosophy for what its worth. You use your current roster, Free Agency or trades to field your immediate starters. The draft is for finding your future starters and if that happens to be in their first year and they are worthy of starting, great, you did well.

I agree that it would be risky to enter the draft without a designated starting right tackle but nevertheless it wouldn't be smart to re-sign Bulaga. Gutekunst will have to rely on some rookies to have an impact next season to get the team over the hump, spending precious cap space on a player set to be replaced in the near future isn't the way to go.

I think we all had a false sense of security with this D. They started against the Bears, who have a less than stellar O.
I just looked up the defensive rankings. Packers are at #28. I don’t know what they were the last 3 years, but to say theyre better is a stretch. Well, maybe jumped from 30th or so. Big damn deal.

While the numbers might not suggest that the defense has improved they have played significantly better compared to past seasons. Just take a closer look at what happened during the first half vs. the Niners.

 

[I asked LT to delete my acct]

I think we`ll lose this one. Somebody told me.

 

[Mondio]

I don't care what the stats say, this defense is better than they were. Just like Martinez isn't even close to being the best ILB in the game like his stats might suggest and Cousins is barely at a level where he can consistently sniff Aaron's jock strap, despite his stats saying he's some sort of equal. The game isn't played by stats.

 

[GBowner]

I don't care what the stats say, this defense is better than they were. Just like Martinez isn't even close to being the best ILB in the game like his stats might suggest and Cousins is barely at a level where he can consistently sniff Aaron's jock strap, despite his stats saying he's some sort of equal. The game isn't played by stats.

I expect more than a 28th ranking. The numbers don’t lie. So they’re better than they were. So what. They’re not good enough. They were horrible. Now they’re just bad? I guess that’s an improvement.

 

[OldSchool101]

Problem with that, starting NFL tackles just don't grow on trees. Maybe you find one in the first round if you are lucky. We drafted Spriggs in the second round (using a LOT of picks) and he turned out to be *****. So if you let Bulaga walk, you best be prepared to spend some money in Free Agency for your RT or your first round pick.

I still think there’s quality LT past the first round in many drafts, but the later you draft generally the longer it takes to develop NFL level consistency of play. We have to remember that Spriggs was mainly a high ceiling projection player who had a phenomenal combine, but they knew he needed development and he just didn’t improve to match his athleticism like they thought. When it comes to drafting a RT, I’d rather have a guy who has the size, punch and footwork over a guy like Spriggs who was just athletically gifted but not fundamentally sound. Spriggs performed at his floor and nearly worst case scenario. It’s a lesson as to why not to trade 3 picks away for a top 50 type guy. That should only be reserved for rare cases like our 2019 draft and it’s a philosophy that should be used more sparingly IMO. That doesn’t even account for the % of times that guy would’ve fallen to our original pick.
I personally like the philosophy of trading back slightly and gaining additional picks in the second day where the success rates are still higher. I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket and that’s why I like the med-long run mutual fund approach.

Oh, you can get a starting OT through the draft, but relying on the fact that you will is a dangerous presumption IMO. Play it out; you don't sign Bulaga or an equivalent FA and you don't have a quality starting RT on your current roster. So you head to the draft absolutely having to find an immediate starter. Are you comfortable with that? I wouldn't be. If you don't hit pay dirt, you are faced starting someone like Alex Light or trade for one before the season starts and hope he learns your offense.

My philosophy for what its worth. You use your current roster, Free Agency or trades to field your immediate starters. The draft is for finding your future starters and if that happens to be in their first year and they are worthy of starting, great, you did well.

Yeah. I like both. When it comes to protecting #12 I like the idea of signing my known quantity veteran to a short term deal. Then also drafting a couple options (staggered approach) That way you can wait until the 2nd or even the 3rd day draft to grab a couple more development OT. I don’t think we’ve put enough emphasis at protecting AR in general since he’s been in his 30’s. If I have 9 picks. I’m hitting OT twice, once day 1-2 draft, then again day 3. One could be a guy who’s played multiple positions along the OL. This team has been so focused on fixing the lackluster D, the O gets ignored. You could clearly see that Sunday against 49ers with receivers dropping passes, receivers not staying in bounds, receivers not running correct routes, receivers not understanding the play.
Then the OL got manhandled. Granted against one the leagues best D’s and possibly one of the best defenses this decade. But they still got found out on prime time. Just as well they don’t get too complacent because you wouldn’t want that happening in the playoffs. It was embarrassing.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This team has been so focused on fixing the lackluster D, the O gets ignored.

I have been saying that for a long time and in a nutshell, a big part of the reason the offense is struggling. Unfortunately, it was a "pick your poison" scenario after TT left the roster pretty bare of talent with his last few years of poor drafting and personnel decisions. Gute has made some strides to repair that, but still needs to again hit on a few FA's and his past and future draft picks as well.

 

[OldSchool101]

I have been saying that for a long time and in a nutshell, a big part of the reason the offense is struggling. Unfortunately, it was a "pick your poison" scenario after TT left the roster pretty bare of talent with his last few years of poor drafting and personnel decisions. Gute has made some strides to repair that, but still needs to again hit on a few FA's and his past and future draft picks as well.

Oh yeah. I don’t think many of us fans expected MLF to win it all in his rookie campaign. But he’s got a nice start and surprised us. I see 6 player positions that need to be fixed. (I’m sticking with my pre-season prediction of 11-5 and losing the NFC game)
ILB, DT, WR, OT, TE and CB. In my estimation you can lock 2 in upgrades through FA. Then gain 2 more starters in the draft. ILB. TE etc..

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I expect more than a 28th ranking. The numbers don’t lie. So they’re better than they were. So what. They’re not good enough. They were horrible. Now they’re just bad? I guess that’s an improvement.

The Packers are currently ranked 14th in points allowed. Nobody should care about yards per game given up.