Packers 2017 Free Agency: Perry, Lang and Tretter

The Green Bay Packers took care of their most important free agent (LT David Bakhtiari) during the season. There are some starters and key rotational players about to hit unrestricted free agency, but I feel much less optimistic about re-signing them once that GM Ted Thompson allows them to test the market. There are plenty that he does re-sign, and maybe some of those players and agents just need the official start of free agency to confirm the market, but there are some players that he has no intention of re-signing.

He's sure to re-sign several of their free agents. But the first three ones I'm looking at are the trickiest of the offseason.

OLB Nick Perry. Since the Packers selected him in the 1st round he's been often injured, sometimes great as a pass rusher, and sometimes great against the run. In 2016, he put it all together for the first time in his career (even the injury part, as he played the final few games with a cast on his hand). After accepting a modest one-year, $5 million contract in 2016 (a pay cut from the cost of picking up his 5th year rookie contract option) he'll be looking for a big pay day this offseason. He's not good enough for the franchise tag, but he should receive a Jamie Collins type contract (four-years, $50 million). That's not too rich for the Packers, they have the cap room and he's worth that type of money based on his 2016 season. He missed a lot of time over his first two seasons, but he's played in 14 games or more in each of the past three seasons. He'll also be nearly impossible to replace in any way other than in the draft (and even then...) I expect he'll be re-signed.

LG T.J. Lang. I think his last time in a Packer uniform was, unfortunately, as he was being driven off the field in Atlanta with a leg injury. GM Ted Thompson doesn't often re-sign a drafted player to a 2nd free agent contract, and this would be Lang's 3rd contract with the Packers. Thompson also hasn't shown much interest in re-signing interior lineman to a new contract that would start or stretch into their mid-30s (Marco Rivera, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton). Lang's a great player who doesn't need to take a discount and should have many teams interested in him. He's been a great Packer and I don't want to see him leave, but I'd be surprised to see him return in 2017.

C J.C. Tretter. The stats love him and he's a quality young center in a free agent class that doesn't have any other ones:

Top 5 under the radar players about to hit free agency:
1. Ricky Wagner
2. J.C. Tretter
3. Chris Baker
4. Mario Addison
5. Kyle Juszczyk

— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) January 19, 2017

If a team is making a free agent center a priority in free agency, they'll be targeting Tretter. And speaking of injury prone, Tretter's only played in 31 games in his first four NFL seasons, he ended the 2016 season on I.R. and had surgery in January. He's a good player but I only see him as a center, and he's not better then Corey Linsley. Another future compensatory pick for the Packers!

Packers (1-0) Beat The Jaguars in Jacksonville, 27-23

It wasn't the easiest win, as the Green Bay Packers fell behind in the first half, re-took the lead before halftime, and were able to match field goals with the Jaguars in the second half to hold onto the win. As I was watching it, I was thinking about how it would have been a huge let down to lose to an 11 loss team in what might be their easiest road game of 2016. But the Jaguars are better now and one game isn't going to make or break their season.

An early INT by Blake Bortles turned out to be his only turnover of the game, and some big pass plays to Allen Hurns, Marcedes Lewis, and Julius Thomas led their offense. Anyone who plays fantasy football knows the Jaguars have some legitimate offensive weapons. Also the Jaguars have spent a lot of money on their defense in free agency (mostly to Malik Jackson) and used a Top 5 draft pick on Jalen Ramsey (who's feeling a bit cocky at the moment). If they had put more pressure on QB Aaron Rodgers (zero sacks) then they might have had a shot at shutting down the Packers' offense. But they couldn't stop Eddie Lacy (4.4 ypc) and Rodgers finished with the 4th highest QBR in Week 1 (so far).

Aaron Rodgers is unstoppable.
It's that simple.#GBvsJAX https://t.co/KI1rGSLUvG

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) September 11, 2016

Packers offense: So above is one of the plays that'll be on the short list for plays of 2016. His offensive line played great, though they would have been even better with former LG Josh Sitton. Bob McGinn had a great article about how the front office blew it with Sitton, though his loss is still not going to be a season changing mistake. His replacement, LG Lane Taylor, probably had the lowest grade of their five lineman according to PFF by surrendering three QB hurries (I recall one play when ILB Paul Posluszny ran right past Taylor) but his run blocking appeared strong and he didn't allow a sack.

WR Jordy Nelson was back, and Rodgers again focused in on his top three receivers. This time it was Davante Adams joining Nelson and Cobb, and those three were targeted on 24 of his 33 attempts (73%). It was a big surprise that TE Jared Cook was only targeted twice, and he might have been a help early in the game when Rodgers struggled to get the ball to Nelson and Adams (3 straight punts in the first half). Rodgers barely played this preseason, Nelson didn't play at all, and everyone's timing looked bad as they shook off the rust in the first half. I was ready to give up on Adams after he missed two catchable passes on 3rd downs but he redeemed himself later.

Mike McCarthy started the game by calling a lot of running plays, but that faded as the game went on, and Lacy ended up with only 14 carries. I'd like to see a lot more from Lacy but he'll probably just remain a complementary weapon.

Packers defense: Speaking of players who barely played this preseason, the defense featured two of them, with only one of them being a success story in Week 1. The success was ILB Jake Ryan, who was held out for most of the preseason with a hamstring injury. Against Jacksonville, he was second on the team with 7 tackles and he was very active in the middle of the field, usually tackling T.J. Yeldon for a short gain. The entire defense did a great job against the run (Jags only had 1.8 ypc) and Ryan was a big part of it. The bad news was Morgan Burnett, who had an impressive stat line (9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss), but committed two penalties (both led to 1st downs) and he looked a step slow in coverage. While Ryan was able to play in their final preseason game, Burnett's back injury (which kept him out for most of the preseason) might still be bothering him.

The front seven did a great job against the Jaguars offensive line. Bortles did a good job of getting the ball out as quickly as he could before the pass rush came, but the Packers still had 3 sacks and shut down the Jaguars' running game. Nick Perry was great against the run and he spent a lot of time in the Jaguars' backfield (1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss) while Clay Matthews missed a couple tackles and Julius Peppers didn't record a single stat. Joe Thomas grabbed the lone INT and he was in on the final stop to end the game. It was a quiet game for Mike Daniels (hopefully it wasn't an SI cover jinx) but that was mostly because he faced a bunch of double-teams.

The secondary was a mixed bag. Burnett struggled and CB Quinten Rollins allowed a TD pass. On the other hand, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was great and Damarious Randall had the top defensive grade from PFF. I was worried about Randall after a bad playoff game and a poor preseason (in limited playing time) but he's bounced back.

Next up is a big game, Sunday Night Football to open the Vikings's new US Bank Stadium on September 18.

It's Depressing To See The Packers Re-Sign LB Nick Perry

It's important not to get swept up in NFL's free agency, watching it as some teams instantly transform themselves with major signings or departures. It's usually fool's gold, most teams will regret half of these contracts a year from now, and they'll be looking to dump their new players just like the Eagles did with CB Byron Maxwell. Or RB DeMarco Murray, for anything they can get.

So re-signing your own players at a reasonable price is a good way to go.

#Packers are signing back LB Nick Perry on a 1-year deal, source said (as @TomSilverstein reported). They declined his option but kept him

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2016

And there's nothing wrong with re-signing Perry. He wasn't bad last season and their thin linebacking corps looks even worse now that they've given up on Andy Mulumba, so keeping some of their depth from last season is important. And he's a great value signing. A one-year deal comes with no possibility of dead money in a future year (unless he can't even make the team out of training camp, which seems highly unlikely) and they saved themselves a couple million by declining his 5th-year option at $7.75 million and re-signing him for $5 million. They let him test the market, he found little (none?) interest, and they were willing to give him another chance.

But this is a really depressing move. Perry's not a bust, but he's been a disappointment. He's struggled to stay healthy, he's struggled to earn playing time, and his pass rushing skills vanished last season. He does nothing to make them any better next season, unless he magically puts it all together in 2016. I have no idea what they have in mind for him next season after he barely played in 2015 while they gave his potential playing time to Mike Neal, who did little to earn it either. $5 million from GM Ted Thompson for a backup seems rich for him, so I'm expecting they're going to use Perry as a starter next season (assuming Clay Matthews remains inside). But if he wasn't good enough to start in 2015 then what's changed now?

Maybe this is an area they plan on focusing on in the draft, and they just needed a one-year starter they could rely on for one season. They've been good enough over the past two seasons to hang with the top two-through-five teams in the NFC, so maybe trying to keep the current team together as best they can and hope it all comes together in 2016 is their plan. But it's not an exciting one.

The Packers Shouldn't Be Tripping Over Themselves To Re-Sign Their Defensive Free Agents, Except...

The Packers have already re-signed and extended two potential free agent defensive lineman, but there are other defenders who played significant roles in 2015 that could become unrestricted free agents next month.

Player	Position	Age	PFF Grade	2015 Snaps
Casey Hayward	CB	26	5.2	1020
Mike Neal	LB	28	-12.7	822
Nick Perry	LB	25	3.1	365
B.J. Raji	NT	29	-4.6	472
Sean Richardson	S	26	-0.8	98

And of those players, there's only one that'll draw significant attention in free agency.

#Packers Hayward Earning Big Payday, Too - Even without an interception, Casey Hayward has been productive for ... https://t.co/BY7sVtyXYP

— Packers on Scout (@PackersOnScout) December 14, 2015

I'm a fan of CB Casey Hayward. Looking only at conventional stats, he underwhelmed with no interceptions and only 7 pass defenses in 2015. But that's a sign that teams don't throw at him despite him being on the field all the time (see 1020 snaps in 2015 above), and the advance stats like him, having earned a grade of 5.2 from Pro Football Focus last season. Maybe he wasn't targeted because the Packers relied heavily on two rookie cornerbacks last season, and most teams went after the rookies instead, but this wasn't Hayward's first good season. He's been a reliable player ever since he was drafted in 2012, and other teams are going to notice. While teams are burned badly by free agent cornerbacks every year, they always seem to spend irrationally every March. I'm sure GM Ted Thompson will make Hayward an offer but I think Hayward will get more from another cornerback desperate team.

This is LB Mike Neal's second run through unrestricted free agency. He drew little interest back in 2014 and he hasn't done anything to improve his worth since then. But he shouldn't cost too much and the Packers might prefer the limited player they know (see Guion, Letroy) rather than the unknown player they'd have to find to replace him. It's not important to re-sign him but I won't be upset if they do.

While LB Nick Perry is the only defender other than Hayward listed here with a positive PFF grade, his positive grade was from his run support, not his pass rush. The irony is that Perry entered the NFL with a reputation as a great pass rusher at USC and a complete unknown as a run defender. He's obviously worked hard to improve the weakest part of his game. Unfortunately his best skill (pass rush) has either stalled or vanished last season. The Packers declined his fifth-year option last year and he didn't do much to prove them wrong. Whether it was due to injuries or a lack of trust, the former 1st round pick only logged 365 snaps at outside linebacker when there wasn't any serious competition blocking his path to more playing time. I would guess that the Packers might be willing to give him a one-year contract to provide depth, but maybe another team will be more aggressive on giving him a fresh start and seeing if they can find the talent that made him a top prospect.

Like Neal, this is not NT B.J. Raji's first go around as an unrestricted free agent, and he's drawn little interest from other teams in the past. He didn't do much to stand out last season, but if they don't re-sign him then they'll absolutely have to find someone else like him. With $23 million of room available under the cap, there's no reason to go cheap on the defensive line. While Raji could be replaced, his position needs to be filled, and only the Jets's NT Damon Harrison is clearly a better free agent who might be available. GM Ted Thompson will spend for a star player but Harrison doesn't look like that type of player. The Packers know what they've got with Raji as a run stuffer (even if he's becoming a bit injury prone) and that's probably better than spinning the draft roulette wheel.

Unfortunately this is probably the end of DB Sean Richardson's career.

In the end, other than Hayward (the Packers have depth at CB if he leaves) they should probably push to re-sign Neal, Perry and Raji because they should be affordable and they'd leave holes on the roster if they departed. And the Packers already need to add another inside linebacker (or two) and need more depth at every offensive skill position. This team is good enough now to win a championship and they should try and keep it all together, as best as they can.

Before The 2015 NFL Draft: Looking Back At The 2012 NFL Draft and Nick Perry

The 2012 NFL Draft wasn't all bad for GM Ted Thompson, he did select CB Casey Hayward in the 2nd round and DT Mike Daniels in the 4th, but everyone else from that draft class is either out of the league or hanging on by a thread. Except for 1st round pick LB Nick Perry:

#Packers unlikely to exercise 5th-year option on Nick Perry http://t.co/SAqJxmp5Ke

— Packers News (@PGPackersNews) April 28, 2015

Coincidental, it was reported that the Seahawks are unlikely to exercise the fifth year option on a similar player drafted in the 2012 1st round; LB Bruce Irvin. Teams usually exercise that fifth year option, even the Redskins did it for QB Robert Griffin III this month, and when a team doesn't exercise it, that's usually a sign that the player won't return in 2016. The 2012 NFL draft wasn't a good year in general; overall picks Nos. 2 through 7 are all selections their teams probably wish they could have back.

Perry's a frustrating player. In 2012 and 2013, he flashed signs of being a great pass rusher alongside some terrible games and multiple injuries. In 2014, he stayed healthy and was surprisingly good against the run (which was his biggest weakness coming out of USC) but was generally ineffective as a pass rusher. The estimate was that picking up the option would cost $7.751 million in 2016, which is way too much for what Perry's shown so far in his career. It would seem like 2015 is Perry's last season with the Packers.

Similarly the Packers didn't exercise their option on OT Derek Sherrod while giving him every opportunity to prove himself. Though it didn't work out with Sherrod, Perry has managed to become a solid run defender despite that being a major concern three years ago. He seems more likely to turn it around than Sherrod, unless the Packers draft an obvious replacement for him this weekend. It looks like they intend to give him another chance as part of their rotation in 2015.

The 1st round is tonight, and it's been a rocky road for GM Ted Thompson since his last, great 1st round selection of LB Clay Matthews in 2009. Perry is looking like another mistake, though he'll get one more year to turn it around. I've actually done quite well in guessing which player Thompson will select over the past few years, I was dead-on with his choice of Sherrod, so my stamp of approval hasn't been a harbinger of goodness. I'm hoping he selects someone totally off of my radar (like Rodgers in 2005 or Matthews in 2009).

Packers Injury Updates: Shields Questionable, Perry Probable For Monday

Injuries probably won't affect how the Packers play that much Monday, but nonetheless, there's a few of them. Here they are, courtesy of ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde.

Out – LB Jamari Lattimore (ankle), DE Luther Robinson (calf).

Questionable – CB Sam Shields (concussion),

Probable – DT Josh Boyd (knee), G T.J. Lang (ankle), LB Nick Perry (shoulder), G Josh Sitton (toe), DT Mike Daniels (back), G Lane Taylor (illness).

According to Wilde, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy thinks Shields "still has a chance to play," and will if everything goes right.

If he can't, though, Davon House will be the one who takes his place, Wilde writes.

Packers Injury Updates: Adams, Bostick Probable for Patriots Game

Some Packers injury updates for Sunday's game against the Patriots, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

• OLB Nick Perry (shoulder) questionable
• WR Davante Adams (heel) probable 
• CB Jarrett Bush (groin) questionable 
• RG T.J. Lang (ankle) probable
• LG Josh Sitton (toe) probable
• TE Brandon Bostick (hip) probable

Speaking to the media today, team Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Perry is "making progress", and that more information on him will come tomorrow.

Perry has 12 tackles this season, the third of his career. He had 20 all of last year, so a good last five games could certainly give him a new personal best. 

The Ongoing Musical Chairs At Linebacker

The linebacker core is the one unit that always seems to be undergoing some sort of shuffle. While Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews have excelled this season, it's been terrible times for Brad Jones, Mike Neal and A.J. Hawk.

Top photos from Sunday's #Packers win: http://t.co/YLxg3qvMq9 pic.twitter.com/ZD6nlgNeiB
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 24, 2014

In my recap of the win over the Vikings, I wrote that it was a quiet game for Matthews, who seemed a step slow as he played and practices through a groin injury. It looks like he's feeling better now, but in case his groin injury remains a problem, they'll need DE Mike Daniels and Peppers to make plays against the Patriots.

According to the ESPN playing time breakdown, rookie Jayrone Elliott was given some meaningful snaps for only the second time this season, without making much of an impact one way or another. Unfortunately he was only taking away snaps from Matthews outside, as Neal played as many snaps (59) as he's played in any game this season and received his worst game grade of the season from Pro Football Focus. Hopefully Nick Perry feels better this week and can take away snaps from Neal.

It was interesting that Brad Jones played his first meaningful snaps (13) on defense since a terrible performance against the Dolphins a few weeks ago. Against the Vikings, he received a slight positive grade from Pro Football Focus, which is a massive improvement for him. I'm not expecting too much from Hawk, but he's looking slow in coverage against the tight end, and it's forced them to reconsider Jones, who has the potential to be their best linebacker in coverage though he's been awful this season. The Patriots rely heavily on their tight ends and the Vikings game might be a prelude to a bigger role for Jones next week.

Five Key Things To Watch In Camp: Number 1 - Julius Peppers and the Defense

Julius Peppers comes to Green Bay as one of the biggest free agent signings in GM Ted Thompson's tenure, and he is the face of the new look defense Dom Capers is bringing to the Packers in 2014. While everyone will be watching to see how many sacks he records, he's only going to succeed if Capers's new defense is a hit.

What has #Packers DT Mike Daniels learned from new teammate Julius Peppers? Watch: http://t.co/ZuyBqfzYQv pic.twitter.com/bZROVqQDyv
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 8, 2014

If you look at the defensive front seven, which is where the new defensive look should be obvious, the roster is mostly the same as it was in 2013. Peppers is on board, along with rookies DE Khyri Thornton and LB Carl Bradford, but the rookies might barely play in the early goings. The only mountain on the line remaining is NT B.J. Raji (gone are Pickett and Jolly) and the Packers could frequently line up with only two 300 lb. lineman and an army of linebackers and defensive backs behind them. That formation will be easier to run against, but it'll be hard for a receiver to find any room in coverage.

Capers described the defense as "less volume, more packages" which actually brings some simplicity to the defense. The personnel on the field will "dictate the defense" instead of going with the same personnel group and asking them to do different things. I expect that means he'll be coaching more to his players' strengths.

So Peppers might be playing primarily at linebacker, but he's still listed as a LB/DE, so there should be packages that line him up at defensive end. It's probably the same role they had in mind for Mike Neal last season, but injuries forced Neal to play at linebacker most of the time. Asking Nick Perry to play the same role wouldn't be a bad idea either because he's never looked great dropping back into coverage.

We should be seeing more players rotating on and off the field in 2014, and maybe they'll keep an extra defensive end and linebacker on the roster. However, the disappointing thing is that we might not see what this new defense looks like until the regular season. The Packers have already coached the players on how these new packages work during OTAs, but there's no incentive to give the rest of the NFL an early look during the preseason. Maybe a few of them will be shown, but the Packers will probably play nothing other than their base defense as they evaluate some of the fringe roster candidates during the bulk of the preseason games.

While everyone will be watching Peppers and the new look defense this season, unfortunately neither of them should be seen much during the preseason games.

Packers Head Coach McCarthy convinced team is better after draft

Now that the 2014 NFL Draft and its aftermath have officially concluded, the question is raised: what does the staff think of the new guys? 

Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy was asked that very question yesterday by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Silverstein, giving an overall enthusiastic answer. 

"(We're) absolutely (better)," McCarthy said. "Not a team in the league doesn't feel better. Our players in program is off to a great start. Number of players we've added and now in process of adding new members. Definitely a shot in the arm when these guys come in. We got better (this weekend)."

While it's obvious that the Pack didn't get worse with their acquisitions, I'm still skeptical about this year's rookies. Not because I see any real issues with them (I'm actually pretty excited about Cal's Richard Rodgers), but simply because I'm always doubtful when it comes to draftees. Sometimes they turn out like Aaron Rodgers, but most of the time they turn out like Nick Perry, a guy who came with a lot of hype but ended up being just a frustrating mix of injuries and unproductiveness. 

Now I'm not saying that that always happens, but come on, it's definitely a recurring problem in this league. That can't be denied.

Packers may consider moving Perry to DE

The Packers may consider moving soon-to-be third year Outside Linebacker Nick Perry back to the position he starred in in college, Defensive End, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports. Last season, Perry was okay, collecting 28 tackles and 4 sacks, but still, I guess this move would work. I mean, if he was really good at DE when he was at USC, then I don't see why the Packers can't at least experiment with putting him there. 

Either way, whether or not this move ends up happening won't really affect the defense that much, so yea, let's just not worry about it. When preseason comes around, we'll take another look, but for now, let's just focus on the more important draft stuff.

Extra Points: Packers Win Over The Falcons

Since QB Aaron Rodgers had an MRI on his collarbone last week, the news hasn't been good, and it's still not looking good. QB Matt Flynn and the defense have to keep improving if they want to make the playoffs.

Pro Football Focus ran it's weekly ReFo article after the Packers' game, and I wanted to mention a couple players that I hadn't mentioned in Monday's recap.

C Evan Dietrich-Smith. The Falcons' defense was pretty unimpressive, but DT Corey Peters made an impact (PFF grade of +1.6) while recording one sack, one TFL, and one QB hit. On multiple plays, he got in the backfield, usually past Dietrich-Smith. EDS has started the last two weeks, but his injured knees must still be bothering him. He's played better than I expected this season though I'm wondering how he's going to hold up over their final three games.

LB Nick Perry. He was still listed on the injury report with the same foot injury that's forced him to miss a few games this season. With rookie LB Nate Palmer providing zero in his absence, it's been great to see Perry back. He had a strip sack fumble against the Lions that was returned for a touchdown and Pro Football Focus gave him credit for six pressures against the Falcons. He's been an effective edge rusher in his first two seasons, when healthy.

DE Johnny Jolly. A couple of minor injuries seemed to have slowed him down over the past several weeks, but he made an impact last week with a tackle for a loss and a patted down pass. Maybe he's getting healthy and back into form.

LG Josh Sitton. His back was bothering him for the first couple weeks of the season, but he's been outstanding since then. Pro Football Focus said that he surrendered no pressures against the Falcons and that was the eighth time he done that this season. He might be on pace for his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance.

Injured Packers LBs Clay Matthews and Nick Perry finally return to practice

According to the Green Bay Packers Official Blog, Packers LBs Clay Matthews and Nick Perry, who have missed the team's last 4 and 3 games respectively, returned to practice yesterday on a limited basis. Matthews is currently recovering from a broken thumb he suffered Week 5, while Perry is coming back from a foot injury he suffered Week 6. 

In my opinion, these two guys playing on Sunday is needed for the team to win. Against the Bears, the Pack's defense was absolutely terrible, so having these two back definitely would help. It wouldn't necessarily be a quick fix to all of their defensive problems, but it wouldn't hurt. 

Position Review: Outside Linebacker

I was hoping to get through my review of every position before training camp practices began (Today! July 26th!) but it was not meant to be. It looks like training camp is starting out muggy and with a chance of thunderstorms, but not blazingly hot.

Position Reviews (Defense): Inside Linebacker, Defensive Line
Position Reviews: Offense

Clay Matthews. The Claymaker is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, but even a die-hard Packer fan like myself has to admit he's probably a step behind J.J. Watt's unbelievable 2012 season.

Nick Perry. Though he played last preseason and six regular season games, it felt like a lost season. The transition from college defensive end to NFL linebacker was going to have some rough patches, but coach Kevin Greene likes what he sees in Perry and thought he had figured out pass coverage by Week 5 (right before he was out for the year after wrist surgery). His pass rush ability has been always been there, he opened the 2012 preseason with a sack against the Chargers, and he could become a major factor because he won't command many double-teams. The return of Perry (replacing the little that Erik Walden did), plus the addition of first round pick DE Datone Jones, could transform their pass rush next season.

Dezman Moses. An outstanding training camp brought him to the forefront last preseason, but by the end of the regular season, he wasn't offering much more than Walden. Still, he recorded four sacks as a part-time player. He's got the potential, but he's got to show improvement.

6th round pick Nate Palmer. He's the highest profile college DE converting to NFL OLB in camp. He seems like a bit of a project, drafted more based on his pro day results than his play at Illinois State, but I expect he'll make the roster because they need someone to replace Walden and Frank Zombo.

7th round pick Sam Barrington. Back in April, I wrote that he looked like an inside linebacker prospect. But there are at least five inside backers ahead of him on the depth chart. So while I expect him to make the roster, his short-term future might be outside. We'll have to wait for the preseason to begin and see where he lines up.

If the Packers keep all the guys who were on the team last year, plus their two new draft picks, that's ten linebackers for the 53-man roster. They won't keep more linebackers than ten. The last three guys are either in case of injury or fighting for the practice squad spot.

Andy Mulumba, Donte Savage, Jarvis Reed. This year's group of undrafted college DEs who will get a chance at OLB. It looks like Reed, the player formerly known as Jarvis Wilson, did play some linebacker in college too. Not much separates them at this point and they'll have to prove themselves on the field starting August 9th against the Cardinals.

Nick Perry Is Probably Lost For The Season

The Green Bay Packers have been getting a lot of bad injury news lately, and some more was dropped on election night.

We interrupt this election to bring you breaking @packers news. LB Nick Perry had surgery on wrist today. He's expected to go on IR #Packers
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) November 7, 2012

On one hand this isn't such a big deal since Perry has only recorded two sacks and two QB hits. On the other hand, it'll turn 2012 into a lost season for their 1st round pick who might have given the team it's best chance of weathering the storm while LB Clay Matthews is out with a hamstring injury.

Supposedly Matthews's hamstring injury isn't as bad as it was in 2010 and the Packers probably have a good idea on how to manage the injury since it's been a problem in the past. But when he does return to the field, he might not be the same player. Back in 2010, he played through the month of November with an injured hamstring and, unsurprisingly, he wasn't himself. One game that comes to mind was the win over the 49ers, when he lined up against then struggling rookie RT Anthony Davis and only recorded one QB hit (no sacks). Before his 2010 hamstring injury, Matthews was dismantling poor offensive tackles like Davis. Once he returns this season, he might not be much of a factor if he's not completely healthy.

No defensive lineman has made much of an impact this season, though DE Mike Neal did beat LG Daryn Colledge last week for a sack, so it'll fall on the linebackers to make a difference in the pass rush. That might come from inside if defensive coordinator Dom Capers dials up more inside blitzes from LB A.J. Hawk and LB Brad Jones, but primarily it's got to come from the outside.

They only offered him a minimal one year deal in free agency, and drafted Perry to replace him, but LB Erik Walden has remained and their No. 2 pass rusher with 11 QB hits on the season. Walden is as inconsistent as ever, he had a great game against the Cardinals but did nothing against the Jaguars the week before, and he'll certainly struggle if Matthews isn't around to occupy additional blockers. He'll be asked to do more, and I'm not sure he's up to the challenge, if Matthews is out.

LB Dezman Moses has gotten rave reviews all year, but he hasn't made a big impact on defense this season. In 115 defensive snaps so far this season, he's recorded 1 sack and 2 QB hits. There's an argument to be made that he just needs more of an opportunity, and it looks like he'll be getting a chance to prove it.

LB Frank Zombo has just returned from the PUP list and he was inactive last week against the Cardinals, so I'm not expecting anything from him until he proves he can step back onto the field. Even then, since he's played so little over the last two seasons, it's hard to believe he'll be an effective player immediately.

Recap: Packers Upset The Texans in Houston, 42-24

I didn't see that win coming. The Green Bay Packers win over the Texans was a return to form for the 2010 championship team. QB Aaron Rodgers had his most accurate game of the season and his receivers were making some difficult catches (though there were still a few dropped passes). The big trouble spot I've been harping on all season is the offensive line, and they arguably had their best performance of the season. DE J.J. Watt added to his spectacular season with 2 sacks and 3 QB pressures, but his teammates provided little support. When other Texan defenders, such as LB Brooks Reed or LB Connor Barwin, did apply some pressure, Rodgers showed off his ability to escape or throw under pressure (such as the long TD pass to TE Tom Crabtree).

The defense did an amazing job of shutting down the Texans running game (ranked No. 7 by Football Outsiders coming into the game) and the only impact made by RB Arian Foster was on two short-yardage touchdown runs. But the bigger story was shutdown performance on QB Matt Schaub, who was ranked as the No. 5 QB (ahead of Rodgers) by Football Outsiders. Sure he would have been helped if the running game had been better, but that's not the entire story of why the Packers him shut down (and intercepted him twice). With the exception of a blown coverage on TE Owen Daniels for a 27 yard gain, the defensive backs played well and the Packers put good pressure on Schaub. While LB Clay Matthews failed to record a sack (and Watt moved ahead of him to lead the league in that category), he was still a menace, recording 3 QB hits and single-handedly disrupting the Texans' offense in the first quarter.

This game reminded me a lot of the Packers playoff win against the Falcons in early 2011. The Packers were on the road, underdogs, against the highest seeded team in the conference, and they whipped them on both sides of the ball.

A blemish on an impressive win was the high cost of injuries. Defensive starters LB Nick Perry, LB D.J. Smith and CB Sam Shields were all hurt, along with special teamer RB Brandon Saine, and they made early trips to the locker room. All of the injuries looked serious, but we'll have to wait a of couple days to find out. The good news is that the Packers do have depth to overcome it (more playing time for rookie LB Dezman Moses; CB Davon House and LB Terrell Manning might both get a chance after being left inactive against the Texans) but it's not something we want to see.

But I would like to see the Packers put together a couple strong games in a row before saying they've turned a corner. This win against a previously unbeaten team was a huge step forward, however, next week looks like a trap game in St. Louis against the 3-3 Rams (who are 3-0 at home). The Packers have to come right back and win another tough road game, otherwise their win against the Texans is just another peak in what's turned out to be an up-and-down season.

Packers Lose Ugly In The Preseason To The Browns, 35-10

The good news is that the starters played well, with a couple exceptions. On the Packers's second offensive drive, WR Randall Cobb had the ball stripped and I expect he'll see more ball drills in his near future. Later in the second half, Aaron Rodgers failed to convert a 4th down play, on their side of the field, that the Packers would have never attempted during the regular season. Both plays gave the Browns great field position and led to two scores.

On defense, the Packers forced a fumble on the Browns' first drive. Though the defense held the Browns to only 39 yards on their next two drives combined, the Browns had great field position and kicked two field goals. Rookies Casey Hayward and Nick Perry had some struggles in pass coverage that set up the Browns's first touchdown, but overall the first team defense did a good job tackling and putting pressure on rookie QB Brandon Weeden.

So how bad was Graham Harrell? Pretty bad. Not Brian Brohm bad, but he'll have to show something over the remaining preseason games. Right now, I'm not a believer in him, but I don't think they'll make a trade or free agent signing at this point for the 2012 season.

And I'm starting to become a Jarrett Boykin fan. He made some nice grabs (5 for 63 yards).

Preseason Recap: Packers Beaten By The Chargers 13-21

It was an ugly, sloppy preseason game (which happens) but this might have been the best play for the Green Bay Packers: a Nick Perry sack. The Packers need a pass rush and Perry showed what he can do:
My notes on some other major points:

• I never like seeing injuries during the preseason, and it sounds like Desmond Bishop suffered a serious one. The very limited description reminded me of the multiple leg injuries sustained by Chad Clifton last season, and it wasn't something he wasn't able to come back from. The only silver lining is that the Packers have some depth at inside linebacker, and Bishop was far from great last season.
• No one should been surprised that Herb Taylor isn't the answer at left tackle. I guess the Packers had to give him a shot while Marshall Newhouse and Derek Sherrod were both out, and luckily Aaron Rodgers lived to throw another day.
• Rodgers looked extra sloppy with two turnovers in three possessions, however, he's been so good at protecting the ball over his career that this should be just viewed as a blip on the radar.

It's hard to tell whether one bad (or good) preseason game should be a make-or-break moment for any backup player. I'm waiting until at least next week to give them a thumbs-up or down. Bring on the Browns!

The Packers 90-man Roster: Linebackers

The Green Bay Packers are bringing thirteen linebackers into training camp next month, so this has to be one of the biggest areas of competition on the roster based on size alone. Though they could keep as many as ten on the 53-man roster. Overall, this may be the best group of linebackers to play for the Packers since the early 1980s.

Player	Height	Weight	Age	Experience
Bishop, Desmond	6-2	238	27	6
Francois, Robert	6-2	255	27	3
Hawk, A.J.	6-1	247	28	7
Jones, Brad	6-3	242	26	4
Lattimore, Jamari	6-2	230	23	2
Manning, Terrell	6-2	237	22	Rookie
Matthews, Clay	6-3	255	26	4
Moses, Dezman	6-2	249	23	Rookie
Perry, Nick	6-3	265	22	Rookie
Smith, D.J.	5-11	239	23	2
So'oto, Vic	6-3	263	24	2
Walden, Erik	6-2	250	26	5
Zombo, Frank	6-3	254	25	3

Unless there's a big shake-up in training camp, it will be Bishop, Hawk, Matthews and Perry starting at linebacker. There should be no doubt about Bishop and Matthews, and while Hawk had a poor 2011 season, the coaches are publicly supporting him and I can't imagine they'd take away his starting job in training camp.

I don't believe the Packers would have drafted Perry in the 1st round if they didn't expect him to be good enough to start immediately. They might limit his snaps if he struggles in some situations, such as obvious rushing downs or on defensive calls when they need a linebacker to drop into pass coverage, but I expect he'll start one way or another.

While the Packers should keep six (or seven, if a linebacker is kept on the practice squad) of the remaining nine players listed, I have no idea who they might be. It all depends on whether they can stay healthy, and how they play this preseason.

Francois has been cut before, so he's not a lock. Jones has been in-and-out of favor for the past three seasons, he's been lining up inside this summer, and he'll need a strong camp to stay. Lattimore looked good last preseason, but he did little when he had a chance to play during the regular season. Smith might be the one sure thing among the backups, but a poor preseason could doom his chances too. So'oto followed an outstanding 2011 preseason with a MIA regular season due to injuries, and he did little when he was able to play. Walden received little interest in free agency, and despite his limitations as a pass rusher and in coverage, he's probably the best outside LB after Matthews and Perry. Zombo had a lost 2011 season due to multiple injuries, and he'll have to prove that he's healthy and productive. Overall, there's a lot of potential with the returning backups, but an awful lot of question marks too.

Finally, Manning and Moses are the other promising new additions. Manning looks like he could be a solid middle linebacker in coverage, and he could be a Brandon Chillar type of player. Moses has been the star of the OTAs, the undrafted player who's already earned some reps with the first team defense. It's very early in their careers, but so far so good.

Overall competition level: high. There are a lot of good players here, and at least one promising player or former starter is going to find himself released before the start of the regular season. The Packers needed to upgrade the position, and they've certainly done it.

The Packers Biggest Question Mark Entering Training Camp

A few questions about the Green Bay Packers were pondered on by Tyler Dunne. I'm not worried about anything on the offensive side of the ball. My biggest question is: Did the Packers make the right decision on Nick Perry?

Based on the first team reps at OTA, it looks like Perry is locked in as the starter at outside linebacker opposite Clay Matthews. Both Frank Zombo and Erik Walden are back, but there's been no mention of either player in a significant role during the open OTAs. Perry might be sliding a little bit under the radar because he's just one of three early round defensive draft picks (Jerel Worthy and Casey Hayward being the others) and the out-of-nowhere performance by undrafted rookie Dezman Moses.

But Moses might still turn out to be nothing more than another Brad Jones. And Worthy was always going to get playing time as a rotational defensive tackle. Hayward might overtake Sam Shields on the depth chart in training camp, but the defense will only take a big step forward when Perry emerges.

Does Perry really want to play linebacker? While he didn't drop back into coverage much in college, all of the weaknesses mentioned by Dan Kadar sound like things that can be improved with coaching, but his speed off the snap cannot be taught.

Right now, I've got no answer to this question, and it won't be answered until he's playing in games next season. His ability to rush the passer, along with the additional depth on the defensive line and the return to health of CB Tramon Williams, could be the final piece needed to turn the defense back into a force. If he struggles, then they'd have to count on players like Williams, Charlie Peprah, and A.J. Hawk to bounce back from disappointing seasons, which might be too much wishful thinking.