I forget if I’ve written about it here to any length, but two of my top signs you have a bad head coach are 1. Lots of penalties. 2. Bad special teams play. It seems with coaches who are destined to be good coordinators, they can’t handle the extra detail involved in fixing those issues. So they try to make up for it in other areas and publicly pretend it isn’t that big of an issue.
For the last three years as the Packers have been at or near the top of the league in penalties and special teams ranking, McCarthy has said things like “we’ve got to shore that up” week after week, while the problem doesn’t change. It would be very convenient to blame those mistakes on youth (as the Packers have also had one of the youngest teams in the league over that stretch), but last night you wouldn’t dare make that case.
For example, the end of the third quarter when Green Bay was pinned at their own 1 yard line, long-time right tackle Mark Tauscher flinched on consecutive plays, killing any chance of momentum and getting the fans into a bigger frenzy. After Rodgers forgot to look at the play clock, the Packers were forced to punt. In an astonishingly bad judgement call, special teams coach Shawn Slocum said “let’s punt it to Hester” (who was waiting at mid-field). One Devin Hester punt return for a touchdown later, the Packers were cooked.
The mistakes continued to pile up as James Jones caught a pass down the sideline for what should’ve been a huge first down late in the fourth. Instead of getting out of bounds or simply going to the ground quickly to conserve time, he tried to fight through two linebackers and lost the ball.
When the Packers were trying to stop the Bears from making a game-winning drive, the defensive penalties started mounting. The team was probably tired and frustrated at this point, but they really showed their true character by being over aggressive and killing any hope of stopping the Bears with sloppy play.
Just like every year under Mike McCarthy, this team is going to underachieve. We may make the playoffs, we may even win a playoff game, but as long as the same problems that have plagued McCarthy his entire head coaching career are still there, he will defeat us.
Cynical Packers fans likely went into Thursday night expecting to not see anyone added to the team. Many probably thought GM Ted Thompson would simply trade out of the first round and draft the best player available a few picks later. Maybe we’d end up with another try-hard wide receiver or linebacker. Instead, Thompson showed signs that he feels the team might be done simply turning over the roster and ready to build for something. While there are little arguments that Bryan Bulaga was the best player at pick 23, he also fit a glaring need for the team. It doesn’t matter if he isn’t ready to be an NFL left tackle this season. He can play on the right side or at left guard, and the Packers need help in both spots. We now have a legitimate offensive line prospect to develop for the future, but who can also help the team immediately. In the 2nd round, Thompson addressed a position of concern with the defensive line. Jolly and Jenkins are potentially gone after this season (and Jolly’s legal situation is an ongoing concern), so getting another big body who can play the 5-technique is a very smart move. Neal can find his way into the rotation immediately but is under no pressure to start this season. Finally, Thompson surprised people a bit by trading up in the 3rd round for Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett. Burnett is a prototypical Thompson player, with more athleticism than football acumen, but he definitely addresses a need. Hopefully he can start alongside Nick Collins and offer a bit more security in the deep secondary and against the run than the team got from Atari Bigby over the past few seasons.
While there aren’t a lot of quality corners left, I would expect that to be one of the next positions Thompson targets. Dominique Franks could be a good pickup for that position. Another concern might be running back, where there is no quality depth behind Ryan Grant. Joe McKnight and Jonathan Dwyer are still on the board and either one would make a quality back. McKnight would likely be the better fit as he’s a speedy guy who can catch passes.
Green Bay Packers Draft History
| 2009 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | B.J. Raji | Boston College | |
| 1 | Clay Matthews | Southern Cal | |
| 4 | T.J. Lang | Eastern Michigan | |
| 5 | Quinn Johnson | LSU | |
| 5 | Jamon Meredith | South Carolina | |
| 6 | Jarius Wynn | Georgia | |
| 6 | Brandon Underwood | Cincinnati | |
| 7 | Brad Jones | Colorado | |
| 2008 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 2 | Jordy Nelson | Kansas State | |
| 2 | Brian Brohm | Louisville | |
| 2 | Patrick Lee | Auburn | |
| 3 | Jermichael Finley | Texas | |
| 4 | Jeremy Thompson | Wake Forest | |
| 4 | Josh Sitton | Central Florida | |
| 5 | Breno Giacomini | Louisville | |
| 7 | Matt Flynn | Louisiana State | |
| 7 | Brett Swain | ||
| 2007 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | Justin Harrell | Tennessee | |
| 2 | Brandon Jackson | Nebraska | |
| 3 | James Jones | San Jose State | |
| 3 | Aaron Rouse | Virginia Tech | |
| 4 | Allen Barbre | Missouri Southern State | |
| 5 | David Clowney | Virginia Tech | |
| 6 | Korey Hall | Boise State | |
| 6 | Desmond Bishop | California | |
| 6 | Mason Crosby | Colorado | |
| 7 | DeShawn Wynn | Florida | |
| 7 | Clark Harris | Rutgers | |
| 2006 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | A.J. Hawk | Ohio State | |
| 2 | Daryn Colledge | Boise State | |
| 2 | Greg Jennings | Western Michigan | |
| 3 | Abdul Hodge | Iowa | |
| 3 | Jason Spitz | Louisville | |
| 4 | Cory Rodgers | Texas Christian | |
| 4 | Will Blackmon | Boston College | |
| 5 | Ingle Martin | Furman | |
| 5 | Tony Moll | Nevada | |
| 6 | Johnny Jolly | Texas A&M | |
| 6 | Tyrone Culver | Fresno State | |
| 7 | Dave Tollefson | Northwest Missouri State | |
| 2005 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | California | |
| 2 | Nick Collins | Bethune-Cookman | |
| 2 | Terrence Murphy | Texas A&M | |
| 4 | Marviel Underwood | San Diego State | |
| 4 | Brady Poppinga | Brigham Young | |
| 5 | Junius Coston | North Carolina A&T | |
| 5 | Michael Hawkins | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | Mike Montgomery | Texas A&M | |
| 6 | Craig Bragg | UCLA | |
| 7 | Kurt Campbell | Albany (NY) | |
| 7 | William Whitticker | Michigan State | |
We had 34 draft picks in the first 3 years of Thompson as a GM. The current starters from that pool are:
- Aaron Rodgers, QB
- Nick Collins, FS
- AJ Hawk, ILB (who might not be starting right now if not for injuries)
- Greg Jennings, WR
- Daryn Colledge, OG
Jason Spitz was our starting center this year, so he should count at #6, but unfortunately he went on IR this week. Allen Babre was starting at RT, but he was so bad we had to re-sign Tauscher.
For a team that believes in building through the draft, we’ve done a miserable job of it. Here’s a look at our Week 9 starters and where they come from:
Offense
QB: Aaron Rodgers – TT Draft Pick
HB: Ryan Gran – Trade
FB: John Kuhn – Waivers
WR: Greg Jennings – TT Draft Pick
WR: Donald Driver – Pre-TT
LT: Chad Clifton – Pre-TT
LG: Daryn Colledge – TT Draft Pick
C: Scott Wells – Pre-TT
RG: Josh Sitton – TT Draft Pick
RT: Mark Tauscher – Pre-TT
Defense
LE: Johnny Jolly – TT Draft Pick
DT: Ryan Pickett – Free Agent
RE: Cullen Jenkins – Pre-TT
LOLB: Aaron Kampman – Pre-TT
ILB: Nick Barnett – Pre-TT
ILB: AJ Hawk – TT Draft Pick
ROLB: Clay Matthews – TT Draft Pick
CB: Charles Woodson – Free Agent
CB: Al Harris – Pre-TT
FS: Nick Collins – TT Draft Pick
SS: Atari Bigby – Free Agent
By my count, that’s 8/22 starters that Thompson has drafted. He’s drafted 51 total players in that time frame. That makes his success rate for drafting starters just over 15%. That doesn’t mean the other players that are starting are all bad. We have a lot of talented players that were either here when Thompson arrived or that were acquired outside the draft. The problem is, with so many poor draft picks (23 draft picks – 45% – are not on the team), we’re really lacking in depth and have clearly over-valued at numerous positions. It’s bad. Top it off with McCarthy stinking the joint up and we’re heading the wrong direction.
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2008 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
2 36 Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State – Playing well for a rookie
2 56 Brian Brohm QB Louisville – Horrible performance in pre-season, 3rd string QB.
2 60 Patrick Lee CB Auburn – On IR
3 91 Jermichael Finley TE Texas – Has been the #3 tight end and cannot get on the field.
4 102 Jeremy Thompson DE Wake Forest – Shown some energy but has been hurt
4 135 Josh Sitton T Central Florida – Gotten some playing time as fill-in, project
5 150 Breno Giacomini T Louisville – Project player
7 209 Matt Flynn QB Louisiana State – Played decently in pre-season
7 217 Brett Swain WR San Diego State – Practice squad
2007 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 16 Justin Harrell DT Tennessee – No surprise, has been injured a lot
2 63 Brandon Jackson RB Nebraska – Has played well in spurts, fumble liability
3 78 James Jones WR San Jose State – Played well early as a rookie, has slumped this year
3 89 Aaron Rouse SAF Virginia Tech – Has filled in for injuries, often out of position
4 119 Allen Barbre G Missouri Southern State – Still a project
5 157 David Clowney WR Virginia Tech – Gone
6 191 Korey Hall FB Boise State – Has played well enough
6 192 Desmond Bishop LB California – Made some big plays vs Houston, doesn’t look like a starter
6 193 Mason Crosby K Colorado – Has been very solid
7 228 DeShawn Wynn RB Florida – Was cut, but re-signed because of injuries
7 243 Clark Harris TE Rutgers – Gone
2006 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 5 A.J. Hawk OLB Ohio State – Hasn’t been the impact player expected, but a solid linebacker
2 47 Daryn Colledge G Boise State – Cannot sustain blocks, gets beat by power and speed
2 52 Greg Jennings WR Western Michigan – Looks like a star, gets lost in some games
3 67 Abdul Hodge LB Iowa – Gone
3 75 Jason Spitz G Louisville – Plays okay in fill-in roles, not a starter
4 104 Cory Rodgers WR Texas Christian – Gone
4 115 Will Blackmon CB Boston College – Pick play ability on special teams, goes sideways too often
5 148 Ingle Martin QB Furman – Gone
5 165 Tony Moll G Nevada-Reno – Backup player
6 183 Johnny Jolly DT Texas A&M – Good enough, especially considering where he was picked
6 185 Tyrone Culver DB Fresno State – Gone
7 253 Dave Tollefson DE Northwest Missouri State – Gone
2005 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 24 Aaron Rodgers QB California – Looks like a solid QB
2 51 Nick Collins FS Bethune-Cookman – Out of position way too often
2 58 Terrence Murphy WR Texas A&M – Out of NFL: Injury
4 115 Marviel Underwood DB San Diego State – Gone
4 125 Brady Poppinga LB Brigham Young – Decent vs run, can’t cover
5 143 Junius Coston C North Carolina A&T – Gone
5 167 Mike Hawkins DB Oklahoma – Gone
6 180 Mike Montgomery DT Texas A&M – Playing okay as a fill-in
6 195 Craig Bragg WR UCLA – Gone
7 245 Kurt Campbell CB Albany State (NY) – Gone
7 246 Will Whitticker G Michigan State – Gone
…the Packers should have won today. They had too many turnovers and the defense ran out of steam late, but the Packers were right there. I guess the Titans are a little better than we thought (but definitely can be beaten) and the Packers still aren’t there.
As many expected, the Packers decided to activate defensive tackle Justin Harrell. The 2nd year player has been on the PUP list with a back injury but the need for depth and big bodies on the line has pushed the team to take a chance on the 2nd year player. To make space for him on the active roster, the Packers released DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. ‘KGB’ has been less and less effective in recent years as age, injuries and one-dimensional play has slowed him down. The 31 year old Gbaja-Biamila has seen limited playing time, despite the loss of starting end Cullen Jenkins for the season. So far he has 9 tackles and 1/2 sack. Harrell on the other hand, has been a disapointment since being drafted in the first round before last season. The young man has tons of physical talent, but was hurt through most of his college career and has carried that tradition into the NFL. Harrell missed a great part of his rookie season and was ineffective late with minimal playing time. He is looking at his first serious shot to make an impact on the team going into week 9. He will likely not see the field much tomorrow, but could help a struggling defensive line rotation stay fresh and attempt to stop the rushing attack of the Titans.
The Packers have seen all they need to see from their new starting quarterback. And going into the weekend, they decided to pull the trigger and make a deal that will keep Rodgers in Green Bay for the better part of his career. Rodgers signed the deal Friday morning that makes him among the highest paid quarterbacks in the league. The new contract will put Rodger’s yearly salary above all quarterbacks but Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan and Tony Romo. Romo’s deal beats Rodgers’ by about $5m total.
According to NFL.com, the deal is worth $65 million over 6 years and comes with $20 million in guarantees. The good part about the deal is the Packers got Aaron sigend in time to count the deal against the ’08 cap (they had just a hair under $20 million to spare).
The deal is of course getting some criticism from fans and the media, mostly due to the struggles of Ryan Grant after getting his big payday. While there is some merit to the failures of Grant this season, one can only wonder what his performance would be like had he attended training camp and if he didn’t regularly have offensive linemen thrown into him in the backfield. In the end, you can’t compare this to Grant’s deal. I think Grant was somewhat of a desperation move after the Packers thought of the possibility of not only being without one of their best offensive players of ’07 in the post-Favre era, but also the idea of having Brandon Jackson fumbling his way through the starting job is not very appealing.
Congrats to Rodgers and the Packers. So far, at least in some sense, you could say Rodgers has earned it by being a good teammate, being patient while Favre was doing his thing and performing well when given the chance. Now it’s time for Rodgers to start paying the Packers back with some wins.
The Titans do two things really well; they run the ball and play lights out defense. That seems like trouble for the Packers as the offense is somewhat limited and they absolutely cannot stop the run.
So what can the Packers do to go after the Titans? Here’s some thoughts:
On Offense: The Titans play the ever popular cover 2 defense. The biggest challenge when facing their defense is fighting off the defensive line. The linemen have a single gap assignment and can really get up field fast. Whatever openings are left by the linemen, the linebackers quickly fill up. Because of this, running against the Titans is not easy. However, because they are so agressive going upfield, they can miss on some delays and draws. That’s assuming, of course, that Haynesworth doesn’t meet the running back at the handoff. While they aren’t an overly fast line, they can be suseptible to some of the same attacks used on fast linemen. You’ll see teams running against Tennesee being patient and looking for a defensive lineman to push far into the backfield and use the space they occupied as a running lane. That’s a risky proposition, but can work if you have a quick and decisive back (which Grant has not been this year). Regardless, this isn’t a team that is going to sit back and watch what you’re doing. They are very aggressive and if you’re going to run, you have to try and take advantage of that.
Through the air, if you can get a pass off there is hope. As with other cover 2 teams, there are holes deep over the middle and behind the corners by the sideline. There’s no exception with the Titans. They will also play man coverage, which would hopefully favor the Packers as they face it all week in practice. The biggest problem for the Packers will be protecting Rodgers from the inside pass rush, as the Titans can really push people around in the middle. Watching them play the Colts, the only time Manning was able to get any sort of advantage was on play action (or by simply throwing on running downs). The Titans’ linebackers look very aggressive to stop the run. On numerous plays (including the first Dallas Clark TD), the linebackers, all of them, froze or took a good couple steps toward the line to play the run. Once they recovered and realized the play was a pass, enough time had gone by that Manning had open receivers over the middle behind the linebackers. I’m not sure the Packers can do the same, especially without a great receiving weapon at tight end, but they will need to try.
On Defense:
The Packers really need to figure out how to stop the run. Tennessee has a very good offensive line and Green Bay will not beat them rushing four linemen. They’ll need to stack the box, maybe take after Indy and play four linebackers. That tactic could work, as the Titans wide receivers are definitely overmatched by Green Bay’s secondary. The tight end spot for the Titans is going to be key. Both tight ends (Cumpler and Scaife) can get downfield and they both catch a lot of passes. Green Bay will probably have to play Chillar on one guy and bring Collins up to cover another. Any of the other linebackers will likely get abused in the passing game. It’s definitely a good time to get some healthly defensive linemen back, as the Titans will abuse Green Bay at the line of scrimmage. This could easily be another game like the one against Dallas, where at the line the Packers just looked undersized and overmatched.
Today, we’re going to get a battle of two teams we just don’t know what to make of. The Colts have struggled out of the gate, thanks to a bad run defense, patchwork offensive line and an injured Peyton Manning. Last week, the Colts blew out the regular pretenders in the Baltimore Ravens and everyone is convinced they are ready to take over the AFC. I’m not so sure, but I still think they could win today.
The one good thing the Packers could have going for them today is their run defense may get a rest. Joseph Addai is out and the Colts will probably have to be careful with Rhodes as they can’t risk another running back injury. The Packers also have one of the better pass defenses in the league (not necessarily due to their terrible run defense). They are 2nd best in the league in allowing only a 52.1% completion rate. They are also 7th in the league with only allowing 178.8 passing yards per game. I’m not willing to put that completely on the run defense either, as the Packers have allowed the 12th most pass attempts in the league. The only thing working against these stats is that the Packers haven’t faced much in the way of passing offenses. Obviously the Cowboys are top notch, but the Vikings, Lions, Bucs, Falcons and Seahawks don’t have much to offer in the passing attack. They will definitely be tested today, especially the #2 and 3 corners who will have to take on Harrison or Wayne (whoever Woodson isn’t covering) and Anthony Gonzalez.
This could be a great week to get Ryan Grant going, as the Colts have a terrible run defense themselves. However, if the Colts put up early points (I could see them throwing 10 on us in the blink of an eye), it could force Aaron Rodgers to take over the bulk of the offense. That could be bad, as Rodgers hasn’t shown he can handle times when the team has to pass. If the Packers can score first or at least stop the Colts from getting early touchdowns, this could be a competitive game. I’m still not sold on the Colts being an elite team after beating the Ravens, barely getting by the Vikings and being handed the miracle win over the Texans. I think the Colts are more beatable this year than they have been in the last 5 seasons. Hopefully the Packers will come in believing that.
