JC2832's Pre-Season Team by Team Analysis: Green Bay Packers

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Green Bay: 15-1

The defending Super Bowl Champions had no real reason to believe they couldn’t repeat. They had a strong influx of young talent in Randall Cobb and Derek Sherrod from the draft along with their superstars at other key positions. The defense however, under Dom Capers, didn’t play up to par in 2011 finishing 32st in yards per game. After a great regular season where they were 1 win away at Arrowhead Stadium from going 16-0, the Packers were cruising their way to a repeat. Dropped passes, Rodgers sacked and an inability for the defense to get off the field was the ultimate demise of this young and promising team. The Packer’s window is far from closing, and they should be primed for another run in 2012.

Offense:

Only a handful of teams can even compete with the Packers in a shootout and given their talent on that side of the ball, it’s easy to see why. Aaron Rodgers is considered the best if not a Top-3 QB in the league but unlike Brady and Brees, Rodgers is only 28. Rodgers had a season that is rarely ever seen. Throwing 45 TDs was incredibly impressive, but only throwing 6 INTs after 500 attempts is unheard of other than Brady’s 2011 season. Rodgers is able throw a lot of lower risk passes when his vast amount of strong targets get 1v1 coverage every play.

Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson are among the league’s best 1-2 duos at WR amounting to 2500 yards and 24 TDs. These 2 are so effective because they run precise routes and have very strong hands. Donald Driver, James Jones and Randall Cobb provide added help in the 3-5 WR sets. Driver’s role is expected to diminish as Cobb’s playing time is expected to increase.

Despite being listed as a TE, Jermichael Finley is basically another WR for Rodgers the way Jimmy Graham is for Drew Brees. Finley’s athleticism is through the roof and so few defenders can cover him because of it, but Finley doesn’t do himself any favors when he continues to drop key passes in the seam. Backup TE Andrew Quarles is still very raw, but athletic much like Finley. The Packers’ running game is basically a series of short passes on early downs because their actual running game is average at best.

Ryan Grant, now a free agent, and James Starks both averaged above 4 ypc, but they were no real threat to break a big run. Stark’s potential is pretty much maxed out, but 2011 3rd round rookie from Hawaii Alex Green is a perfect fit for the Packer’s ZBS and if healthy he could be a very good 3rd down back this year.

Finally, the Packers OL is now done with the once elite duo of Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher. However, the Packers now have the young talent to combat worries that their franchise QB will get hit too much to weather the storm. Bryan Bulaga, Marshall Newhouse, and Derek Sherrod can play either tackle position and even guard in a pinch while they groom 6th round pick Andrew Datko. Josh Sitton will man the RG position and has been doing so at a high level for quite some time. The Packers did lose their good center Scott Wells in free agency and replaced him with the former Colts center Jeff Saturday. Saturday has more experience than the other 4 guys on the line COMBINED. Saturday’s leadership can only help this youthful line. The Packer’s offense should still be elite without question and could even improve on the numbers last year if the defense gets them the ball more often.

Defense:

The Packer’s defense last year was far from what it was in 2010. It was apparent that the loss of Cullen Jenkins and a decline in BJ Raji and Ryan Pickett’s play allowed the offense to focus almost all of their attention on Clay Matthews. The Packers were unable to generate enough pressure on the QB recording only 29 sacks, but they did record an NFL high 31 INTs. Despite a league worst 411.6 ypg, the Packers high volume of turnovers netted them a 19th in ppg, a 13 point differential. Ryan Pickett is going to be 33 at the beginning of this year and it’s apparent that his years are numbered in Lambeau.

BJ Raji took a step back from his strong 2010 season, but is still talented enough to bounce back. The Packers did bring in Anthony Hargrove, who will be suspended for 8 games, but will have an impact on the line when the Packers are starting to make the push. Jarius Wynn got some starting experience last year and added some pressure on passing situations. The Packers finally rid themselves of Justin Harrell, but like a boomerang in a different jersey, Mike Neal came around and never seemed able to stay healthy. Neal has that pass-rushing potential they need, but has only played 9 games in 2 years. Aware of this need along the DL, Ted Thompson went after MSU DT Jerel Worthy in Round 2. Worthy will have to make the transition to the 3-4 from his UT position in the Spartan 4-3.

Clay Matthews is the best pass-rushing option for the Packers, but his counterparts at the other OLB position were subpar at best. Erik Walden, Frank Zombo, and Brad Jones should all be backup OLBs, not starting. The Packers stole Nick Perry in Round 1. Perry’s athleticism is off the charts, but there will be questions about whether or not he can play OLB in a 3-4 defense. Perry is exactly what Clay Matthews and the Packer defense needed. Desmond Bishop plays one of the ILB positions and is a rising star in this league, he can do it all. He is a thumper in the run game, a solid pass-rusher up the middle, and in coverage. The other ILB spot is manned by former 5th overall pick AJ Hawk. Hawk seems to get a bad name because of where he was drafted, but he is still a reliable LB that all teams would welcome on their squad.

The Packer secondary was filled with a ton of ball-hawking players during their 2010 run and most of those guys returned to the Packers this year, but Nick Collins is no longer with the team, Charlie Peprah is also cut, plus Tramon Williams is having major issues with his shoulder still with the season just 1 month away. Charles Woodson is still playing at a high level despite turning 36 this season and there are talks about him moving to Safety, but with Tramon’s injuries and how Sam Shields declined last year, your guess is as good as mine.

Shield and Williams are both capable of being Top-10 CBs someday and Tramon even had himself a Top-10 CB season, but with his recent injuries it might be another year before he gets one. There is still hope for the secondary though. The Packers drafted CB Casey Heyward from Vanderbilt this year and CB Davon House last year and they still have former 2nd round pick Morgan Burnett playing over the top. If Charles Woodson doesn’t move to Safety the Packers will have a dilemma starting someone with no real experience in the NFL.

Questions:

1. Will the Packers be able to rebound on defense with all these injuries and recent releases?

2. Will Jermichael Finley ever become the elite TE his athletic gifts allow him to be?

3. Will the Packers offense be able to match their crazy high ppg totals (35ppg)?
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[MNPackfan32]

Couple of notes:
I disagree with the Alex Green comment. Im not sure he has the vision to be a good ZBS runner. But he should be good in the screen game. Andrew Quarless will be on the PUP to begin the year and might have to miss all year with that nasty knee injury.
Jerel Worthy will probably play a ton of 3-tech so it shouldn't be too much of a transition.
Questions:
1. They should be fine, we added a lot of pieces to the defense, Peprah wasn't a major release.
2. Finley is an elite TE. He got a bad wrap for a couple dropped passes but Graham and Gronk were the only TE's to out produce him IIRC.
3. I doubt they can be that good again, but we have the best player in the NFL. I would guess we will score closer to 29-31 PPG.

[TedThompson]

[SplashDive]

BTW Andrew Datko was a 7th round pick.

Answers:

1.) The release of Peprah really doesn't hinder the defense too much IMO. Peprah was a liability in the secondary and he was serviceable at best. Jennings/McMillian/Woodson will be able to out produce him and also if it is Jennings/McMillian we may have a few mistakes because they are both young but they have much more athleticism which should help.

2.) I think Finley is prime for a huge year this year. Last year he struggled at times with his concentration but there is no doubting his physical gifts. IMO he will be much more involved in the redzone because he is really a mismatch for anyone in that area of the field. Safeties are not as athletic as him, same with linebackers, and CB are too small to be able to compete with him. He will out muscle the smaller guys and out jump the bigger guys. He should easily have 10+ TD's this year.

3.) It will be nearly impossible to average that many points again but I think they will be just as dominant on offense. We have the best QB in the game and tons of weapons for him. The running game can only get better so they should be just as efficient offensively but won't put up 35 a game again.
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Props to Jamison. for the sick sig!!

[incognito_man]

32st?

[MNPackfan32]

[JaguarCrazy2832]