Everything you need to know about TT's 4th Round Pick... ILB Blake Martinez

From JSO: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/377508211.html

ROUND 4: (No. 131 overall, compensatory)
THE PICK: BLAKE MARTINEZ, ILB, STANFORD

LOWDOWN: Two-year starter inside in a 3-4, leading the Cardinal in tackles each season. "I really like him," one scout said. "I'm just afraid he's playing as good as he can right now. He's a thick-built guy all the way up. Very smart player. Lacks speed and quick hip flip in coverage. Very solid against the run. He hustles, but speed is limited." Finished with 255 tackles (13 ½ for loss), 6 ½ sacks and 10 big plays. "He's OK," said another scout. "A lot of his production was downfield. He's not an impactful, behind-the-line-of-scrimmage guy. He did play hard." From Tucson, Ariz. -compiled by Bob McGinn (Photo credit: Stanford)

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Name        College        POS        Hght        Wght        Hand        Arm        Wonder        40Yd        BPress        VLeap        BJump        Shuttle        3Cone        60Shutt
Martinz        Stanfrd        ILB        73        237        10.88        31.63                4.71        22        28.5        113        4.2        6.98        n/a

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not impactful

PFF gave Martinez a coverage grade of +10.9 for 2015, highest of any LB in the draft. Measurables coroborate that story. His 6.98s 3-cone and 4.2s SS would be decent for a safety. What he's missing is length.

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Originally Posted by 3irty1

PFF gave Martinez a coverage grade of +10.9 for 2015, highest of any LB in the draft. Measurables coroborate that story. His 6.98s 3-cone and 4.2s SS would be decent for a safety. What he's missing is length.

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My favorite pick in this draft. The 3 cone time is the key. He's gonna be a good starter for this team!

http://www.packers.com/media-center/...4-f446d141c6a1

Packers pick LB Blake Martinez

From Lambeau Field, Packers Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer reads the Packers pick of Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez with the No. 131 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Comment woodbuck27:

I like this pick. This will be the Packers new guy inside at linebacker.

Martinez was a kid I had pegged a couple of months ago as a 3rd day talent.

He could be a fill gap player on defense and make his pay check on special teams.

I think He is more skilled and talented than what scouts say.

Same goes for Murphy.

Kind of funny, but I had Jake Ryan as a comparison for Blake Martinez. I'm sure it was based mostly on similar size and similar athletic measurables (Ryan was slightly better in both). Plus, reading some scouting reports. I didn't get a chance to study Martinez, so I don't know if the comparison is that accurate. I gave both a 4th round grade and both were taken late in the 4th round. I had Ryan as the #8 ILB in last year's draft (he was the 9th ILB taken) and Martinez as the #7 ILB in this year's draft (he was the 8th ILB taken).

My comparison for Kenny Clark was Sylvester Williams.
My comparison for Jason Spriggs was Terron Armstead.
My comparison for Kyler Fackrell was Connor Barwin.
My comparison for Kyle Murphy was Ty Sambrailo.
My comparison for UDFA Beniquez Brown was Ramik Wilson, an ILB who was taken just before Ryan in last year's draft.
My comparison for UDFA Geronimo Allison was Tony Lippett, a WR who was taken in the 5th round last year.

ILB is a position where football instinct means as much as athleticism - more so than most other positions. The fact that Martinez had so many tackles in a big time program is impressive. He seems particularly suited to play the position the way the Packers need somebody to play it - given the large amount of risk taking from the OLBs etc.

Packer ILB Instinct:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7aDde36EpM

This is a fairly decent article about how Martinez will fill the Packers needs at ILB:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...-olb/83924910/

Unlike the typical fluff piece, this one goes into some detail about how he was actually used at Stanford and includes a lot of references matchups he had in games, etc..

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Stanford played only 17 percent of snaps in its base 3-4 defense last season, Hansen said. In a conference where spread offenses are the norm each week, Anderson said his defense is primarily nickel with two linebackers and five defensive backs on the field.

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It's OK to say it, and it feels so good: Nickel is base!

Time to get overly excited about the prospects of a nickel backer: http://www.packersnews.com/story/spo...-olb/83924910/

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Martinez’ coverage portfolio increased last season. He was a “pure cover linebacker” as a senior, Hansen said. Of his 902 snaps, Martinez lined up across a slot receiver 44 times. He played another 37 snaps in strong safety positions, including 19 snaps against Washington State coach Mike Leach’s five-wide passing attack.

“This last year,” Martinez said, “they left it all to me. Every single time we were in our nickel package and our dime package, I would basically stay in. We’d bring in another corner, and I’d go out and cover the tight ends, running backs and those types of things. I felt like this last year, I improved tremendously on that. I feel 100 percent confident to go out there and cover whoever I need to cover.”

Through production, Martinez earned Stanford’s trust on passing downs. Martinez held opposing quarterbacks to a 79.6 average NFL passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus. He was significantly better than the average 85.2 NFL passer rating FBS inside linebackers allowed in 2015.

Martinez’ plus-10.9 coverage grade was the highest of all inside linebackers in college football last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

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Originally Posted by mraynrand

It's OK to say it, and it feels so good: Nickel is base!

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Unsound!

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Originally Posted by mraynrand

Packer ILB Instinct:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7aDde36EpM

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"Kato, my little yellow friend......."

I like the Martinez pick. Hopefully he doesn't get lost in zone coverage, which seems to plague us the most when it comes to pass defense.

Me too. I just hope his instincts are better than Ryan's.

I think Ryan stands a good chance of improvement. He got better after he got on the field and played several games. He misses became less obvious.

I think Martinez can be a poor man's Luke Kuechly...

I saw his 40 time listed at 4.62, but someone posted that he ran a 4.72?? Doesn't seem like much, but that could make a difference. Still, I think he has the smarts and instincts to avoid false steps and be much more effective in subpackages than either Barrington or Ryan.

One thing is for sure - if we have to live with Barrington and/or Ryan on the field in subpackages?? We're in for a very long season.

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Originally Posted by Patler

This is a fairly decent article about how Martinez will fill the Packers needs at ILB:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...-olb/83924910/

Unlike the typical fluff piece, this one goes into some detail about how he was actually used at Stanford and includes a lot of references matchups he had in games, etc..

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Comment woodbuck27:

Edit from original source:

" ...Four days before the Pac-12 title game Blake Martinez was “very doubtful” to play.

Martinez wouldn’t hear it.....diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain, an injury that can keep some players out four to six weeks. Martinez was determined not to miss one.

Martinez wasn’t just on the field. He led Stanford with 11 tackles, four more than any teammate.

His blindside sack of USC quarterback Cody Kessler forced a fumble returned for touchdown.. Martinez didn’t test his ankle out until pregame drills and played all four quarters, making the “game-clinching” play that sent Stanford to their third Rose Bowl in four seasons.

“I don’t know how he did it,” Hansen said, “but to be able to play in that game based on what his ankle looked like the Tuesday of game week, it’s an all-time story for me. An instant favorite.” ....

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Originally Posted by pbmax

I think Ryan stands a good chance of improvement. He got better after he got on the field and played several games. He misses became less obvious.

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he had some nice plays with good recognition in both playoff games. Dude was a rookie.

Apparently he is a really bright kid too. While many of the Packers rookies will be prevented from any further team activities until their current semesters are done, including his Stanford team mate, Martinez can stay because he already has his degree, and not in basket weaving. Less than four years?

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Blake Martinez, an inside linebacker from Stanford, is allowed to remain in Green Bay and participate in all workouts because he already earned his degree in management science and engineering.

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https://msande.stanford.edu/about/welcome

Dear MS&E Community,

I am pleased and honored to have accepted the role of Department Chair as of January 1, with my colleague Margaret Brandeau as Associate Chair. I would like to take this opportunity to share some initial thoughts, as we embark on reshaping our Department and the field.

Under the leadership of the outgoing Chair, Peter Glynn, and his Associate Chair, Stephen Barley, as well as the former Chair, Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, the MS&E Department has risen to the top of its field internationally. In particular, in the last few years we have made spectacular young faculty hires, positioning us to capture key intellectual opportunities with broad social impact.

This change comes at a time when the School of Engineering, under the new leadership of Dean Persis S. Drell, is reimagining its future and how we can work across boundaries to have impact.

The uniquely broad and deep intellectual footprint of MS&E includes established excellence in a variety of diverse areas, ranging from computational social sciences to strategy and entrepreneurship studies, from decisions and risk to health policy, from economics and finance to energy systems, and from core analytics and operations research to organizational studies. We are well positioned to play a powerful role in solving the world’s biggest challenges.

We recently launched MS&E-2025, a process to generate a strategic vision for the Department and a transition path to where we want to be in ten years. It will range from identifying emerging intellectual opportunities with long-term practical impact, to reaffirming our commitment to increasing diversity and designing an implementation plan. It will involve the faculty and students, as well as our industry friends and our alumni. I look forward to working with all of you to extract the best ideas and distill a powerful vision.

Thank you so much for your invaluable contributions in the past, and we look forward to your continued participation and support, as we venture into the future!

Stanford is for losers

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Originally Posted by Patler

Apparently he is a really bright kid too. While many of the Packers rookies will be prevented from any further team activities until their current semesters are done, including his Stanford team mate, Martinez can stay because he already has his degree, and not in basket weaving. Less than four years?

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I thought that did not matter?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ave-green-bay/

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And, of course, just because the NFL’s rule keeps Clark from working with the Packers until UCLA’s school year is over, it doesn’t mean Clark is going to be at UCLA. The rule even applies to players who have already graduated, or to players who dropped out of school. The rule doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s a longstanding rule, and Clark is stuck with it.

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Martinez, who wore No. 4 at Stanford, wasn't going to be able to wear his old number in the pros. Linebackers are only allowed to wear numbers 40 through 59 and 90 through 99.

Not knowing a ton about Packers history, Martinez was offered a dozen numbers from which to pick for his uniform.

He chose No. 50, previously worn by inside linebacker A.J. Hawk.

"They gave me like 12 options and I was just kind of going through it and not really thinking the No. 50 and I was like, ‘50’s a great number,'" Martinez said. "Then all of a sudden, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you’ve got A.J. Hawk’s number.’ I was like, ‘Ohhhh, yep, here we go.’

"But it’s a great number and I’ll do everything I can to kind of live up to his legacy and all of what he’s done."

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please don't

Sounds like Hawk's reputation inside the locker room was greater than outside.

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Originally Posted by mraynrand

please don't

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He did say "kind of live up to..." :-)

"Hey, look. Martinez was slow getting to the play, but he did tackle the guy - eight yards past the line of scrimmage. Just like AJ Hawk!"

"Hey, look, that tight end just ran by Martinez like he was a statue. Just like AJ Hawk!"

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Originally Posted by Fritz

"Hey, look. Martinez was slow getting to the play, but he did tackle the guy - eight yards past the line of scrimmage. Just like AJ Hawk!"

"Hey, look, that tight end just ran by Martinez like he was a statue. Just like AJ Hawk!"

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"Everyone was properly lined up on that play. Just like Hawk. Good job, Marty!"

"Martinez is starting again today, just as he has every game for the last 9 years, since game one of his rookie year."

It wasn't all bad with Hawk, was it?

"Martinez just flipped off the Packers bench after a QB sack, just like Hawk!"

Worse was that people took the faint praise of Hawk

"really keeps his cool" and "gets everyone lined up right"

as evidence that he was the personification of veteran leadership and therefore an unalloyed good.

This thread should automatically change every instance of "veteran leadership" to "Hawk".

If Marty plays as well as hawk everyone will be saying 'great value'.

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Originally Posted by mraynrand

If Marty plays as well as hawk everyone will be saying 'great value'.

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Depends on which vintage. Regardless, some will also say, T2 doesn't care about ILBs because he hasn't used a first or second round pick on it since 2006.

Perhaps some just couldn't let go of the notion that pick #5 is supposed to be splashy/dominant and not just a steady eddie. Isn't the #5 pick supposed to be the best player on the field much of the time?

When he was drafted, the Packers were running a 4-3. I wonder how his Pro Football Focus rating from his first three years compares with the remainder of his time in Capers' system?

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Originally Posted by pbmax

Depends on which vintage.

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2007, at Kansas City. I'd love to see that again.