Friday, August 31, 2018

The Packers Preseason Is Over and Here Are My Choices For The 53-Man Roster

I didn't have a tough time choosing between players, I had a tough time filling all 53 spots!

After other teams make their final cuts, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers kick the tires on a few different players for their 53-man roster and the practice squad.

I wanted to keep just the players I'd like to see them keep but I ended up making some practical decisions because I had extra roster spots to fill.
QB (3): Rodgers, Kizer, Boyle. No surprises here after they traded Brett Hundley. My initial thought was to release Boyle and sign him to the practice squad, but I had room on the 53-man roster so here he is.

RB/FB (4): Williams, Jones, Montgomery, Ripkowski. Though they'll add someone to fill in while Jones is suspended. But I don't expect it'll be another running back for Week 1.

WR (6): Adams, Cobb, Allison, Kumerow, Moore, Valdes-Scantling. I'm not sure about Kumerow's shoulder but he's deserved a spot. Moore kept improving throughout the preseason so I'm thinking good thoughts about him entering the regular season. Trevor Davis has special return skills and he's pretty good on special teams coverage, but his inability to play receiver and hold onto the ball means it's time to go.

TE (4): Graham, Lewis, Byrd, Tonyan. Man, Kendricks has been such a disappointment since he signed, but I still hate releasing a former Badger. Byrd and Tonyan played well this preseason, though Tonyan's a little small for the position.

OL (8): Bakhtiari, Taylor, Linsley, McCray, Bulaga, Spriggs, Patrick, Pankey. I like the starting five and I'm not a fan of any of the backups other than Patrick. Spriggs will stay because he was a high draft pick and, like Pankey, they can both play tackle. Both #69 and Bulaga missed time this preseason due to injury so they need depth at tackle but I wish I didn't have to include either Spriggs or Pankey. I don't understand why they thought Byron Bell was a good idea.

DL (5): Lowry, Wilkerson, Adams, Clark, Daniels. They had a bunch of decent defensive lineman but none of the others stood out especially and they don't really need that many DLmen.

LB (10): Biegel, Burks, Donnerson, Gilbert, Martinez, Martini, Matthews, Morrison, Perry, Thomas. Surprisingly the converted safety Thomas gets my vote, there has to be roles for Martini and Thomas to play. Donnerson forced a fumble and showed just enough to keep him around. Biegel too. Gilbert better be on the field for every likely passing down this season. From what I've seen of Morrison when he was with the Colts (he's still only 23 years old!) is that he's got some skills, though he had problems with pass coverage and penalties, and he could be explosive on the inside blitz with a limited role. Please, no more Fackrell.

CB (6): Alexander, House, Jackson, King, Williams, Waters. Unlike the situation on the offensive line, I kept the undrafted player Waters over the former 2nd round pick Rollins, unfortunately I'm not a big fan of either of them. Though Waters was injured during the Chiefs game so maybe it'll leave the door open for Rollins.

S (4): Brice, Clinton-Dix, Jones, Evans. I'm not a big fan of any of these guys, except Clinton-Dix definitely is a starting caliber safety. I'd have loved to have seen what Eric Reid could have done for them.

Special Teams (3): Crosby, Scott and long-snapper. Scott finally started looking like the big hang-time punter I saw in college over his last couple preseason games. I don't care about who gets to be the long-snapper (bring back Rob Davis!).

Monday, August 20, 2018

The Green Bay Packers After Their First Two Preseason Games of 2018

I'd have like to seen one game on the road, obviously I will get to do just in their last two preseason games, because maybe it's just these vanilla preseason games but things seem to come to easy at home in the preseason. It's just not an accurate picture. Though it is good to see that TE Jimmy Graham is ready to give them what he was signed for.
Other than former Packers Morgan Burnett, I was underwhelmed with the Steelers' secondary, but I don't know them well enough to say whether they're any good or if it was just a bad day.

After the inevitable regular season injury to either Adams and/or Cobb, the Packers will need at least one other receiver to step up. Jake Kumerow has been the talk of training camp and the star of their first two preseason games, but he just injured his shoulder. Marquez Valdez-Scantling had a big game against the Titans and followed it up with one catch. DeAngelo Yancey has taken a lot of snaps and provided little. I'm not sure what Geronimo Allison is up to. If Kumerow is healthy he should be their No. 3 receiver, then I wouldn't be surprised to see them keep Moore and Valdez-Scantling based on potential and release everyone else.

Robert Tonyan! Though he's a bit small for tight end. I'm not ready to save him a roster spot but I'll be watching his next couple games.

So Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy are not good. Most backup tackles in the NFL are not good, and this is no surprise. If Bakhtiari or Bulaga miss regular season games, I'd hope they'd move Justin McCray tackle (at least his injury appears minor) though I'm not sure who would take over at right guard, I haven't watch Spriggs much at that position.

Kizer seems slightly better than Hundley. I think they gave Hundley his chance, he was mostly awful, and I expect their willing to give Kizer a chance (he's a first round talent!). Boyle might stick over Hundley because he can go to the practice squad (though they tried to slip Taysum Hill through waivers last season for the practice squad and that didn't work).

Muhammad Wilkerson made some plays in the backfield and ran down some guys (though I'm still suspicious after the Jets ran him off their team) and looked like a play maker in his first action. No Mike Daniels yet but I love him, and Kenny Clark too. Dean Lowry and Montravius Adams look like good rotational lineman. It's not a surprise but that D-line looks good.

Oren Burks is flying around the field, on special teams too, and is doing what I hoped he would. Blake Martinez is ready to start alongside him. Nick Perry is now back and Clay Matthews isn't being asked to do much except go nowhere on a straight four man rush (it's the boring preseason). Reggie Gilbert is still looking like a ignored player but they can't ignore him much longer during the regular season, right? Ahmad Thomas is an interesting player, but he's still a converted college safety and more of a project than actual depth. This is a thin group.

Pick-six for Tramon Williams and Josh Jackson! Williams and House seem ready to be the veteran fill-ins for the short-term while Jackson, Alexander and Kevin King develop (it doesn't appear that Jackson will need much time to develop). Though King is still not healthy enough to play. Eventually I expect they'll keep Lenzy Pipkins for depth and release everyone else. Still that's not great but better than last season.

At safety, Josh Jones isn't stepping up and I'm not a Kentrell Brice fan. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix might never make another but at least he's a legitimate starter. I'm not sure what the plan is at safety. Though I doubt they'll pursue George Iloka, I'm not a fan of his but he does look better than their in-house options.

Sunday, August 05, 2018

2018 Packers Training Camp Roster: Inside Linebackers

ILB Jake Ryan has been lost for the 2018 season due to an ACL injury and here's what the Green Bay Packers will be missing without him on the field:
Also on special teams, where he played a lot of snaps last season. His effectiveness against the run surprised me, I've loved his effort on the field but viewed him as a jack of all trades, master of none. He's definitely limited in pass coverage, which is essential for a modern day NFL linebacker. While he was lacking as a starter, he will be missed, if nothing else for depth and on special teams.

Blake Martinez and Oren Burks. Without Ryan, these two are the only inside linebackers currently on the roster who were drafted. Martinez is the only one with starting experience. If crisis strikes, Clay Matthews could theoretically be moved back inside, but that doesn't seem imminent. Martinez has looked great at times, especially early last season, and he's always been a potential play maker. I knew the Packers had high hopes for Burks, they wouldn't have drafted him in the 3rd round unless they did, and the early results on Family Night look promising:
With all the different packages used in the NFL, and the emphasis on pass defense, Ryan was always going to play a limited role on defense. It doesn't help to lose someone like Ryan, but if any two inside linebackers were going to stay on the field for most of the defensive snaps, it was going to be Martinez and maybe Burks.

While none of the other inside linebackers currently in camp are going play a significant role on defense, Ryan's absence does open the possibility for one of them to sneak on to the 53-man roster for special teams purposes.

Even with Ryan, this was not going to be an area of strength heading into the season. While the team has used mid-round draft selections on Ryan, Martinez and Burks in recent years to address inside, it never was enough on its own, without also an in-house veteran or free agent addition to bridge the time from before until after these three were drafted.