Who Will Start at Other Safety Position?

tromadz

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"We know we're going to keep four, obviously. If there's a special-teams issue Mike (McCarthy) may consider five. There are some difficult decisions to be made." But barring the unforeseen, the decision to stick with Manuel has been made.

So, McCarthy says: there are difficult decisions to be made

and

the author says "Barring the unforeseen, the decision to stick with Manuel has been made."

......are you kidding me? That's quite a leap the author made from that statement, and it ****** me off.

Wow....
 

pack_in_black

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I loathe Marquand Manuel. But if he remains the starter, I'll be ok with it as long as he limits his mistakes.

There were a lot of reasons for his bad season last year, and we all heard the coaching staff blaming 'bad communication'. Sanders listed that as one of his strengths now. Maybe his year in the system, full recovery from injury, and competition behind him will inspire a good year.

If he starts and does his job like he's supposed to, I'll remove him from PIB's Loathe List.
 
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TOPHAT

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ADDITIONAL VIEWS

http://www.railbirdcentral.com/2007/08/manuel-grabs-starting-job.html#links

Manuel grabs starting job

Packer fans everywhere might groan at another season of Marquand Manuel starting at strong safety, but they may have no other choice. "It's halfway through the second week of training camp, none of the young safeties has mounted a serious challenge and Manuel looks entrenched as the No. 1 strong safety, the position that he played so poorly a year ago," writes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [article posted]. There aren't many options at the moment. Marviel Underwood is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury, Aaron Rouse is prone to rookie mistakes, Atari Bigby is still a work in progress, and Tyrone Culver and company are still inexperienced.

Underwood appears as if he's coming back nicely from injury, though. Today's Green Bay Press-Gazette has a feature article on Underwood and his progress. "He's just trying to prove he belongs on an NFL roster," writes the Green Bay Press-Gazette [article posted below]. "Perhaps it's to be expected, but he's off to a slow start this year. He hasn't taken a single snap with the No. 1 defense. Instead, he has worked with the second-stringers behind Marquand Manuel — the player he might have beaten out last year."

Bigby is starting to shine through. The Packers unveiled their dime defense for the first time during training camp on Tuesday, and Bigby was the sixth defensive back. It's possible that in time, the Packers may see a new strong safety. As Underwood recovers, Bigby improves and Rouse catches on, the Packers may be forced to make a change.
There's not many spots up for grabs, though. "We know we're going to keep four, obviously," secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer is quoted as saying in the Journal Sentinel. "If there's a special-teams issue Mike (McCarthy) may consider five. There are some difficult decisions to be made." Right now the favorites for the four spots have to be Nick Collins, Manuel, Bigby and Rouse. That leaves Underwood fighting with Culver, Charlie Peprah, and Alvin Nnabuife fighting for that fifth spot. Underwood, Culver and Peprah have all spent at least one full regular season with the Packers. And both Underwood and Culver are recent draft picks, and they would be especially hard to let go. Coming back to Manuel, the decision to stick with him will be hard to swallow for Packer fans who saw him get beat against both the pass and the run last season.
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http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070808/PKR01/708080636/1989

Underwood fighting to regain form. Safety returning to action after ACL, MCL tears last preseason

Running back DeShawn Wynn caught a check-down pass in the flat during practice earlier this week and turned to run up the field. Suddenly, he found himself knocked to the ground. The seven-on-seven drill was supposed to be non-contact, but somebody forgot to tell safety Marviel Underwood. It was almost as if Underwood was saying: "Don't forget about me." It was at this time a year ago when Underwood was on top of the world. Two weeks into training camp 2006, he was making plays left and right and putting up a serious fight for a starting job in the Green Bay Packers' secondary. A year later, he's a bit of a forgotten man.

After his torrid start to camp last summer, Underwood tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee in the preseason opener at San Diego, ending his season. Now, he's just trying to prove he belongs on an NFL roster. Perhaps it's to be expected, but he's off to a slow start this year. He hasn't taken a single snap with the No. 1 defense. Instead, he has worked with the second-stringers behind Marquand Manuel — the player he might have beaten out last year. "At times, you see him do things and you say there's nothing (wrong), and other times, you might see a false step that he has trouble coming out of or something like that," Packers secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer said. "But I can't really determine how long it will take him (to get back to last year's form). That's kind of a medical question. There are times when you see a dart of quickness that is very, very impressive."

Underwood says his knee feels strong, but he knows from talking to teammates Brady Poppinga and Mark Tauscher, both of whom sustained similar injuries, that the first year back from the injury isn't the best. "They say you feel great, but the second year is always better," Underwood said. "I feel good right now, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel a lot better next year. Plus, I'll be back up to football speed." Eleven months after his surgery, Underwood says he has put the mental aspect of the injury behind him. But he admitted that for a time, he found himself asking: "Why me?" There's no way to know what would have happened had he not blown out his knee last Aug. 12, but Underwood said there's no use dwelling on it. "I'm working every day to try and get things right," Underwood said, "so if I get that chance again, I'm going to try to take advantage of it." However, after missing an entire regular season, Underwood feels a bit like he's starting over.

"It's not my knee or anything mental," Underwood said. "I just had to adjust to the speed of the game again. Every day, my reads are getting better; my breaks are getting better." Perhaps that's why he hasn't flashed on the practice field as much as last year. "He's made some plays," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "He's still getting back into things and getting used to the pads again, but he has made some good plays. He's been in position a couple of times where they wanted to throw the ball and didn't because he was in good position to take away the throws."
 

tromadz

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There is no way he starts opening day. By preseason game 3, he will be 3rd on the depth chart. Believe it.
 

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