Will The Packers Making the Playoffs?

[Voyageur]

The combination of a QB who knows how to sustain drives and a kicker who can drill the pressure kicks is a deadly combination in the NFL. They both know they can rely on each other to put the team in a winning position and it's surprising as to how often it works out for their team. The Patriots are a prime example of that combination, as have been a lot of championship teams over the years.

That's the combo I'm looking to see us have now in Green Bay. I think the pieces are in place it now has to happen.

 

[gopkrs]

It’s really Reminiscent of knowing when to push your chips in. I really believe our Staff feels really good about this Roster. No way does Brian swing for the bleachers unless he thinks we are 1 missing piece away from a SB caliber roster.

I’m really curious how our Staff feels about our current IDL with Clark gone. Curious to see how we handle the rotation. Obviously Wyatt. We do have some Size to work inside with Karl Brooks, Wooden, Stackhouse or Brinson.

I guess Wooden is going to be a very important piece.

 

[OldSchool101]

I guess Wooden is going to be a very important piece.

He’s a guy that draft evaluators struggled a little because he’s a Tweener. His Comp on 3 different sites was Tyrone Crawford, who was a very solid DT for Dallas for 8 seasons. Colby played inside at Auburn but weighed in light at 273-278lbs. Several scouts thought he’d be better suited at DE, but also many said his ceiling there was limited due to poor bend. He’s a Super good work ethic guy who’s just persistent and very athletic. He ranked from percentile 81% 3-cone, 92% Shuttle, 99%,97%,99% 10YD/20/40YD times and 95% Broad for a 9.25-9.55 RAS. Meaning he’s VERY fast, but was also bottom 5% weight for DT.

One of my favorites who’s been pretty draft accurate was CBS. they had him at #93 overall in the 2023 draft class. We moved on him RD4(14). But the consensus has him as a developing starter. Which is pretty accurate at this point.

Early on, it was Karl Brooks who stole the spotlight, but I also believe Karl had a better arsenal of moves than Colby (initially) It’s intriguing that Colby chose to bulk up and slide inside because if you had a 6 month warning of Clarks absence (which we didn’t) It’s exactly the recipe and player you’d use in that scenario. The word on him was he was just a little too stiff at Edge. Yet he’d be undersized at the Pro level Inside.
Colby took the challenge. He increased Mass and Reduced Inside. This might go down as one of the under radar moves that proves brilliant. We have already seen some film review of him (ironically some of it beating Colts C, Josh Myers) He’s a really good Run Defender, but most evaluators seemed concerned with his outside Pass Rush Ceiling. Today we just happen to need a Run Defender inside so this is ideal.

Colby Wooden Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

All Combine and Draft-Related Analysis, News, Video, and Biographical Information for Colby Wooden

www.nfl.com

 

[gopkrs]

I had read that Wooden had gained some weight and would be helpful in the run stopping department. I guess we'll see but the 273 lbs. would mean he's the same as he was at the combine.

 

[OldSchool101]

I had read that Wooden had gained some weight and would be helpful in the run stopping department. I guess we'll see but the 273 lbs. would mean he's the same as he was at the combine.

No I believe he’s heavier now. Reports after 2024 season had him 290-293lb area. I’m pretty sure he’s gained weight since then also. He’s likely 295-300lb.

 

[gopkrs]

And so back to my original statement. I guess Wooden is going to be a very important piece.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The combination of a QB who knows how to sustain drives and a kicker who can drill the pressure kicks is a deadly combination in the NFL. They both know they can rely on each other to put the team in a winning position and it's surprising as to how often it works out for their team. The Patriots are a prime example of that combination, as have been a lot of championship teams over the years.

That's the combo I'm looking to see us have now in Green Bay. I think the pieces are in place it now has to happen.

Well said. Love needs to become a consistently good QB for this to succeed. He is surrounded with more talent than Rodgers had, maybe Favre too - imo. He has to put it together now.

 

[Deleted member 18607 aka in gute we trust]

And so back to my original statement. I guess Wooden is going to be a very important piece.

Starting DT Wyatt, and Wooden in the rotation as well. Starting NT Karl Brooks, with Stackhouse in the rotation as well.

I am not concerned about Detroit running all over the DL. My main concern is Matt LaFleur and the offense being able to put up points. Give the defense 26 points and it's a dub.

 

[Deleted member 18607 aka in gute we trust]

It's not letting me post video of practice today. But yes, the full team is on the grass at Clarke Hinkle Field on Labor Day.

Nate Hobbs and Elgton are the only players not practicing.

 

[gopkrs]

Starting DT Wyatt, and Wooden in the rotation as well. Starting NT Karl Brooks, with Stackhouse in the rotation as well.

I am not concerned about Detroit running all over the DL. My main concern is Matt LaFleur and the offense being able to put up points. Give the defense 26 points and it's a dub.

I'm not sure why you are not at all apprehensive about teams being able to run it up the middle. We lost both of our wide bodies on the interior and now seem to have Wooden who has added 20 lbs and Stackhouse, a rookie. I'm with you. I think we will do well. But until we do it; it's just a thought.

 

[Deleted member 18607 aka in gute we trust]

I'm not sure why you are not at all apprehensive about teams being able to run it up the middle. We lost both of our wide bodies on the interior and now seem to have Wooden who has added 20 lbs and Stackhouse, a rookie. I'm with you. I think we will do well. But until we do it; it's just a thought.

You do you bruh, if you are "apprehensive" or panicked, then that's you.

You act like Karl Brooks never has played NT before for the Packers or that Wyatt is new at DT. Wooden and Stackhouse are just part of the rotation. Kenny never played every snap of the game.

These guys are not scrubs, they got this.

 

[OldSchool101]

And so back to my original statement. I guess Wooden is going to be a very important piece.

Yes. His position change could really by dynamic either direction. Although imo it leans positive. He’ll be surrounded by Devonte, Rashan, Micah, Quay, Edgerrin. Then Rotating Warren, Nazir, Karl, Barryn, Brenton, it’s a very formidable cast of Actors and that will only improve Wooden.

I don’t think Wooden would be the Star on a nobody Defense either, I think he’s fully capable the more I research his history and his growth and recent film he should do ok+

 

[Deleted member 18607 aka in gute we trust]

Micah already tossing players around like rag dolls.

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[gopkrs]

Yes. His position change could really by dynamic either direction. Although imo it leans positive. He’ll be surrounded by Devonte, Rashan, Micah, Quay, Edgerrin. Then Rotating Warren, Nazir, Karl, Barryn, Brenton, it’s a very formidable cast of Actors and that will only improve Wooden.

I don’t think Wooden would be the Star on a nobody Defense either, I think he’s fully capable the more I research his history and his growth and recent film he should do ok+

I think he is important because he added 20 or 25 lbs. and so hopefully can be more of a force in the middle. I don't know how good he will be but we need big bodies in there so as not to get pushed around like we did not so long ago.

 

[Heyjoe4]

You do you bruh, if you are "apprehensive" or panicked, then that's you.

You act like Karl Brooks never has played NT before for the Packers or that Wyatt is new at DT. Wooden and Stackhouse are just part of the rotation. Kenny never played every snap of the game.

These guys are not scrubs, they got this.

Yeah I've seen a few comments suggesting that, in the absence of Clark, the run defense will tank, or at best, regress.

I don't agree. You mention the veterans, and it sounds like Stackhouse had a good PS and camp. I'm not worried. And Clark, a great Packer, seemed to be in decline last year, even at 29 He will be missed, but the addition of Parsons will help the entire D, even though the run is not a strong point for him. He's too busy hassling tables and QBs.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Yes. His position change could really by dynamic either direction. Although imo it leans positive. He’ll be surrounded by Devonte, Rashan, Micah, Quay, Edgerrin. Then Rotating Warren, Nazir, Karl, Barryn, Brenton, it’s a very formidable cast of Actors and that will only improve Wooden.

I don’t think Wooden would be the Star on a nobody Defense either, I think he’s fully capable the more I research his history and his growth and recent film he should do ok+

The trouble with first names only...... Who are Barryn and Brenton? I probably know, but it's just so much easier to use last names. Just mo.

 

[Magooch]

Yeah I've seen a few comments suggesting that, in the absence of Clark, the run defense will tank, or at best, regress.

I don't agree. You mention the veterans, and it sounds like Stackhouse had a good PS and camp. I'm not worried. And Clark, a great Packer, seemed to be in decline last year, even at 29 He will be missed, but the addition of Parsons will help the entire D, even though the run is not a strong point for him. He's too busy hassling tables and QBs.

I agree. I don’t think Kenny was great against the run last season, and in any case IMO the best defenses are aided by being complementary - just like a good pass rush aids your secondary (or vice versa: I think last year we saw our pass coverage suffer as a result of an inefficient pass rush), a good pass rush also removes some of the pressure from your run defense in my estimation

 

[Thirteen Below]

He's too busy hassling tables and QBs.

Hassling tables??

The trouble with first names only...... Who are Barryn and Brenton? I probably know, but it's just so much easier to use last names. Just mo.

"Barryn" would be Sorrell, "Brenton" must be Cox.

 

[milani]

Well said. Love needs to become a consistently good QB for this to succeed. He is surrounded with more talent than Rodgers had, maybe Favre too - imo. He has to put it together now.

He and his receivers have to build an individual chemistry. Both Favre and Rodgers did this along with the great ones. It is his 3rd year starting. It cannot simply be " Everybody go out. "

 

[rmontro]

I'm not sure why you are not at all apprehensive about teams being able to run it up the middle. We lost both of our wide bodies on the interior and now seem to have Wooden who has added 20 lbs and Stackhouse, a rookie. I'm with you. I think we will do well. But until we do it; it's just a thought.

You can list me under "cautiously optimistic". But what really bothers me is that I remember a lot of our past defenses that couldn't defend the run, and their not being able to fix it, and it was a freaking nightmare. And we especially don't need that scenario to rear it's ugly head now, right when we're going all in.

Gute has really brought us some good players outside of our draft, we need to get more than 1-5 in the division out of it.

 

[Voyageur]

I think we may get a bit better on the defensive line without Clark. Not because he didn't have talent, but because we'll now be using more players in a rotation filling the need at the nose. With the Packers moving in and out of a 4-man-line as they will, players like Van Ness will become even more important because they can show as part of the line itself or drop into a linebacker position. In this particular case, I visualize him as lining up on the same side as Parsons, and handling outside containment when Parsons is blitzing. This would take the pressure off Parsons needing to handle containment to the outside. He can be a pure pass rush wrecking machine, and that's what he does best.

No doubt, Clark was a talented player in the middle, but statistically, his numbers have been falling off and he's in a contract year. Moving him wasn't a bad decision. I think they have the horses to do quite well in the middle without him.

Kenny Clark Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Kenny Clark. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[rmontro]

This would take the pressure off Parsons needing to handle containment to the outside. He can be a pure pass rush wrecking machine, and that's what he does best.

Or he can be a heck of a decoy.

 

[Thirteen Below]

I think we may get a bit better on the defensive line without Clark. Not because he didn't have talent, but because we'll now be using more players in a rotation filling the need at the nose.

I've been thinking similar things. Generally, a young player makes his biggest leap in performance between Year 2 and Year 3, and this season 4 of our 10 DL are entering their third season.

Last year, Kenny played 63% of Green Bay's defensive snaps - almost 700. That's a lot of snaps that are now going to be spread around to the younger IDL, a lot of opportunities to get some experience and show what they've got. By December and January, I think it's likely we'll see noticeable improvement in that whole core group, and significant improvement in at least a couple of them. Lukas is at the top of my list, but Brooks, Wooden, and Cox have also drawn a lot of praise for how much better they look this preseason.

With the Packers moving in and out of a 4-man-line as they will, players like Van Ness will become even more important because they can show as part of the line itself or drop into a linebacker position. In this particular case, I visualize him as lining up on the same side as Parsons, and handling outside containment when Parsons is blitzing. This would take the pressure off Parsons needing to handle containment to the outside.

Good thinking. And if you can visualize that, imagine what Hafley and Covington have been visualizing. I'll bet neither of them has slept a wink since the deal was announced.

No doubt, Clark was a talented player in the middle, but statistically, his numbers have been falling off and he's in a contract year. Moving him wasn't a bad decision. I think they have the horses to do quite well in the middle without him.

I think the youngsters are ready to take the wheel. This was good timing - another example of Gute choosing to make the move a year too early rather than risk making it a year too late. Very shrewd personnel management.

Add in a likely breakout year for Cooper, steady growth from Hopper, a more experienced group of DBs, and I think we're going to be very tough to score on this season.

 

[Deleted member 18607 aka in gute we trust]

Not worried about the DL at all. This is all national clueless narrative stuff. "The Packers lost Kenny Clark, they are suspect against the run." It's just ignorant noise from the out of touch. The Pack will be fine there.

If you want something to be "apprehensive" about? CB is that thing. With Nate Hobbs not even practicing yet this week(He better on Weds or Thursday or alarm bells start ringing) you have Valentine to fill in opposite Keisean, but the backups are Kamal Hadden and Bo Melton.

It's REAL THIN at CB if anyone gets injured or Hobbs can't go Sunday. Hobbs is questionable for Sunday currently.

Thankfully Javon Bullard can play in the slot. Goff is looking closely at the Packers CBs, licking his chops a bit. Keisean, Hobbs, and Bullard are going to need to be on point Sunday, or it could be a long day.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Hassling tables??



"Barryn" would be Sorrell, "Brenton" must be Cox.

Oops - tackles, not tables.....

Thanks for the names.

He and his receivers have to build an individual chemistry. Both Favre and Rodgers did this along with the great ones. It is his 3rd year starting. It cannot simply be " Everybody go out. "

Well said milani.

Love hasn't made a connection like Rodgers/Adams, Rodgers/Nelson - or going back, Favre/Freeman, Favre/Driver. These guys communicated with subtle hand signals, or even a simple glance or head nod. These are almost impossible to see, even on replay. I saw Jalen Hurts do it with Saquon Barkeley against the Rams in the playoffs. Barkeley got the ball, feigned running behind his blockers, and easily bounced out to his left for a 65 yard TD run. That wasn't the play called in the huddle.

At this point, Love has no such connection. I think likely candidates include Kraft, Reed, and hopefully Golden. But he has to develop chemistry with one or two of these guys. And this is the year to do it.

And the absence of this chemistry partly explains why the coterie of young receivers like Reed, Doubs, Wicks, even Watson - didn't continue their growth path. And yes, injury and bad play by Love is also responsible.