Defensive needs, in order.....

[RashanGary]

Cornerback - I'm of the opinion that Randall is going to have a bounce back season. I see his talent and playmaking ability and saw him slowed by injury. But Gunter is what he is and he's slow. I don't see that working out ever. We need a #1 corner!

OLB - with the loss of Peppers, we need another pass rusher to spell 52 and 53.

ILB - our inside linebacker group is a bunch of blah. They never force a fumble and rarely breakup passes. Yuck. We need a beast flying around in the middle of our defense.

Cornerback - Rollins has never looked good outside whether injured or not and Hyde is more of a ST player who fills in at a bunch of spots on defense. We need real corners. Maybe one of these young guys develop, but I'm not counting on it.

DL - Daniels is a rock. Clark looks like he could develop into a real powerful guy. Guion is serviceable. Lowry was surprisingly active and should develop. Could always use another DL though.

Safety - we're alright at safety and Brice looks talented as a backup. If you can find a stud safety though, shit, Burnett is alright but I'd be happy to upgrade. I actually liked him better as a LB or slot guy.

[RashanGary]

Our best defensive players were, this year, in order:

Daniels
Clinton Dix
Perry
Burnett (only because he's steady and reliable)
Peppers (as a situational player)
Matthews (in a couple flash situations, but he's been hobbled)


Honestly, did anyone else make a play? We should get some development out of Randall, Clark, Brice, ILB group, Lowry and many of the seemingly dozen other rookies/2nd year injured on defense.

But we have very little talent on defense. I think that is clear. We might have to make one decent FA move, get some development and have a really good draft. It's gonna take a big off season to fix that defense. The offense carried us.

[vince]

Our best defensive players were, this year, in order:

Daniels
Clinton Dix
Perry
Burnett (only because he's steady and reliable)
Peppers (as a situational player)
Matthews (in a couple flash situations, but he's been hobbled)


Honestly, did anyone else make a play? We should get some development out of Randall, Clark, Brice, ILB group, Lowry and many of the seemingly dozen other rookies/2nd year injured on defense.

But we have very little talent on defense. I think that is clear. We might have to make one decent FA move, get some development and have a really good draft. It's gonna take a big off season to fix that defense. The offense carried us.

I think you're overrating Dix personally. He was completely invisible the first half of the season. He did come on strong with some (mostly gimme) picks and did start to get some confidence about him as a tackler, but he also was caught out of position and/or a step slow on a number of occasions. The game started to slow down for him the second half, but I can't forget some of the plays he missed that cost the Packers games - Not being able to take down Luck at a crucial time in that game.... Not being able to handle the deflected pass he should have picked off that would have sealed the Falcons game...

I think the safeties maybe look better than they are to many because they're compared to the horrid play of the corners this year.

[texaspackerbacker]

I put Randall at or near the bottom of the bunch we have at Corner. Getting a real quality Corner to pair with Gunter would really be nice. Rollins might improve; Hyde does a lot with limited talent and is decent as a 3rd or 4th Corner/back up Safety. Hawkins is the question mark; He might be a keeper like Gunter but with more speed - or not.

You nailed it on ILBs. Honestly, I still like Clay there.

We need to use Jayrone Elliot more at OLB. Also, I'm not all that negative about Fackrell.

If there's any hope at all that Ted gets off his ass and signs a decent free agent, a proven cover corner would be the place to invest the money we supposedly have.

You pretty much nailed it on D Linemen also; Safety too.

[Deputy Nutz]

Randall will be fine, he had surgery on his groin midway through the season. I am sure that does something to your ability to play cornerback. If Gunter was so bad then why was covering the teams number one receiver? He isn't a number one guy, but he will be in a position to start next season.

Also Matthews is fucking terrible. 13 million for that guy.

[RashanGary]

Randall will be fine, he had surgery on his groin midway through the season. I am sure that does something to your ability to play cornerback. If Gunter was so bad then why was covering the teams number one receiver? He isn't a number one guy, but he will be in a position to start next season.

Also Matthews is fucking terrible. 13 million for that guy.

Gunter played better than Randall or anyone this year. Can't help but think that 4.7 speed is a liability. He does everything right but gets beat. Randall had been a mess this year but when healthy shows big play ability. I hope I'm wrong and I hope Gunter destroys my viewpoint!!

[red]

Randall will be fine, he had surgery on his groin midway through the season. I am sure that does something to your ability to play cornerback. If Gunter was so bad then why was covering the teams number one receiver? He isn't a number one guy, but he will be in a position to start next season.

Also Matthews is fucking terrible. 13 million for that guy.

so does that also explain why he sucked so bad before the groin injury?

the injury is a nice excuse to use for him halfway through a shitty year, but the fact of the matter is he looks just as bad and lost before that injury

in week 2 he began to look like the player he has become today

[Deputy Nutz]

so does that also explain why he sucked so bad before the groin injury?

the injury is a nice excuse to use for him halfway through a shitty year, but the fact of the matter is he looks just as bad and lost before that injury

in week 2 he began to look like the player he has become today

He missed week 4 and 5 with the groin injury tried to play week 6 and tore it again breaking up a pass and was gone until week 12. I am sure you were also one of the fans that decided to burn Adams at the stake last year as well.

[bobblehead]

He missed week 4 and 5 with the groin injury tried to play week 6 and tore it again breaking up a pass and was gone until week 12. I am sure you were also one of the fans that decided to burn Adams at the stake last year as well.

And Nick Collins after 2 seasons.

[red]

And Nick Collins after 2 seasons.

nick collins didn't regress after his rookie year, BEFORE THE INJURIES

[pbmax]

Randall will be fine, he had surgery on his groin midway through the season. I am sure that does something to your ability to play cornerback. If Gunter was so bad then why was covering the teams number one receiver? He isn't a number one guy, but he will be in a position to start next season.

Also Matthews is fucking terrible. 13 million for that guy.

Agreed on Matthews production. Its an amount of money that is probably better spent on pass rushing that works from the LOS.

Randall has some things to square away beside the groin, he had a couple of bad outings early too. But between the groin and his knee, he was not the same guy at the ned of the season.

[Carolina_Packer]

Randall has some things to square away beside the groin, he had a couple of bad outings early too. But between the groin and his knee, he was not the same guy at the end of the season.

Since you brought up a point I was wondering about, I'll ask you, PB et al. No excuse, just a fact; Randall had injury concerns this year. He often seemed to give a huge cushion in coverage which often seemed to lead to a target for the guy Randall was covering, which lead to replays where Randall looked like he was late on every target to the guy he was covering. He never really seemed like a ball hawk, all over his guy type of player.

Did he play like that because of his injury or because he's processing too much information and not just reacting? If a guy has a groin and knee injuries, is it possible he was giving that cushion to make sure he had time to react/close and "keep things in front of him" but ultimately getting bled by a thousand cuts?

I recall a few plays in his rookie year when he played press man well; where he anticipated well. I saw one such play in person against the Panthers when Cam threw an out route and Randall undercut the route and got a pick when the Packers were trying to come back. Then there was the pick six against the Raiders.

I think sometimes toughing it out and playing through injuries is admirable, showing toughness, but can mask a players true abilities because they just can't go like they are cable of going, but we see them out there, so many think, well he's good enough to be out there, but that doesn't always lead to effective play. We'll know next year should he be able to stay healthy.

[pbmax]

Hyde should get a shout out in Justin's list.

[Deputy Nutz]

Hyde should get a shout out in Justin's list.

Hyde made a couple of nice plays against Dallas, but also made some horrible choices in that game as well. Both went for touchdowns. He sold out on the run and over pursued on play action on the Bryant touchdown. Gunter had coverage to the outside with Hyde on the inside. Hyde was no where to be found. In fact you can re-watch it and see Hyde completely lost in the middle of the field.

[pbmax]

Hyde made a couple of nice plays against Dallas, but also made some horrible choices in that game as well. Both went for touchdowns. He sold out on the run and over pursued on play action on the Bryant touchdown. Gunter had coverage to the outside with Hyde on the inside. Hyde was no where to be found. In fact you can re-watch it and see Hyde completely lost in the middle of the field.

I remember that. But I also remember him coming up big versus the Giants.

He is almost not a starter because of his limitations. He's not Jarret Bush, but you want him for a utility role not a starting CB or safety. His value is in versatility.

[RashanGary]

I remember that. But I also remember him coming up big versus the Giants.

He is almost not a starter because of his limitations. He's not Jarret Bush, but you want him for a utility role not a starting CB or safety. His value is in versatility.

I see Hyde exactly this way. A guy who can plug and play a lot of spots and do it fairly well, but a guy you'd rather not have starting. Good piece because he's so versatile. We will use him at some point on defense. Injuries are 100% guaranteed to happen in the NFL.

[Deputy Nutz]

I remember that. But I also remember him coming up big versus the Giants.

He is almost not a starter because of his limitations. He's not Jarret Bush, but you want him for a utility role not a starting CB or safety. His value is in versatility.

If the Giants actually hung onto the balls they dropped with Hyde in coverage I think you would have a different take on the Giants game. He was chasing from behind especially on the first several series. The Packer caught a several breaks in that game with the poor performances of the Giants' receivers.

[Rutnstrut]

Just playing devil's advocate here. is Clay worth anything in a trade?

[beveaux1]

Just playing devil's advocate here. is Clay worth anything in a trade?

If the payout next year on Clay's contract is over 15 million as has been reported, I don't believe so. The question is, does he re-do his contract for less, which he has no obligation to do, does he become a cap casualty, or do we pay him and hope for 15 million in production?

[Freak Out]

What about a DC? lol