I wouldn't have made that trade. Rasul was a really good player, and we probably didn't replace him even with all these picks this year.Originally Posted by Joemailman
I wouldn't have made that trade. Rasul was a really good player, and we probably didn't replace him even with all these picks this year.
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Last edited by Anti-Polar Bear; 04-28-2024 at 07:01 AM.
I mentioned in another thread I was disappointed in Mark Tauscher's lack of knowledge about the Packers' draft. Maybe he's busy covering other stuff, I dunno.
But last night I listened to Mike Wahle on his "Block Party" podcast as he broke down some of the Packers' draft class. I learned a lot and was quite impressed with Wahle's seeming ability to break down the players' strengths and weaknesses. He didn't cover all the picks, but of those he did discuss, this is a kind of general summary of the players he liked, from most to least:
Jacob Monk - his favorite in the draft. Wahle said a few years ago he kept seeing tape on this one offensive lineman and he couldn't figure out why scouts didn't have him rated much higher, and couldn't figure out why he lasted until the fourth round. That was Zach Tom. Wahle has a similar feeling about Monk. He thinks, if Monk fixes some footwork and hand placement issues, he's going to be the starting center for this team in two or three years. Says he's got crazy-good bend, good hips, and his problems are all fixable.
Javon Bullard - Wahle loves this guy and thinks he can do it all. He thinks this guy CAN play deep as well as box. The only reservation he has is the size - he's concerned about whether Bullard can hold up at his size. But he loves this guy and thinks he's going to start sooner rather than later, and will develop into a really good player.
Marshawn Lloyd - Wahle liked this pick quite a bit. He thinks this guy is a change-of-pace back in a thick frame. He thinks Lloyd's fumble problems are an issue but a fixable one, and that this guy will be pushing AJ Dillon this summer for the spot. Loves his shiftiness and ability to break tackles, thinks he can develop as a receiver. Wahle likes the Lloyd pick.
Jordan Morgan - Wahle said nothing stands out on tape as far as one, specific physical ability, but that the guy does everything pretty well. He mentioned the guy, like Monk, has good bend and good hips, but that his footwork and ESPECIALLY his hand placement both need help. Lots of help. He thinks the guy will play and start in the NFL, but he actually thinks Monk may see the field before Morgan does. He thinks IF Morgan's going to play this season, it would have to be at guard. Wahle also laughs off the "short arms" stuff. Unless a guy has stupidly, stupidly short arms, Wahle thinks that whole "short arms" thing is just something analysts who don't know shit say to make it sound like they do. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that no NFL defender goes into a game saying "Geez, I can't wait to abuse that offensive lineman because of his short arms." So he likes Morgan, likes his bend and his hips and his ability to move, but thinks he's got a lot of work to do to become an NFL starting tackle.
Edgerrin Cooper - He points out that the guy's over-aggressiveness can really cost him, that he can mis-diagnose sometimes and was used in an odd way, at least in the film Wahle watched - the Alabama / A & M game, in which Cooper was sent on blitzes constantly, and struggled at times to get home. However, he loves, loves, loves the attack mentality, the desire to meet the opposing back behind the line of scrimmage, the violence of the tackling. He thinks the flaws can be corrected, and if they are, this guy will be really good. HOWEVER, Wahle is really, really leery of 230 lb linebackers. He just doesn't think they can hold up. That's the biggest drawback he sees for Cooper - the weight.
Ty'Ron Hopper - like many of us, this pick was a head-scratcher for Wahle. He loves the guy's hitting ability and his down-hill approach, but says he's super raw. The biggest issue he has - just like he has with Cooper - is the weight. He thinks linebackers at 230 are just too light to take on blocks effectively.
Those were all the players I remember Wahle commenting upon. All in all, he was super, super jacked about Jacob Monk, and really really liked Bullard as well. Second tier, but guys he still really likes, are Lloyd, Cooper, and maybe Morgan. Dennis Hopper - a mystery pick.
"The Devine era is actually worse than you remember if you go back and look at it."
KYPack
230 is pretty light to take on blocks, that's why a lot of LBs don't anymore... or don't do it well. You see a lot more of them trying to run around the block or beat the blocker to the gap.
Sending a 230 pound man to take on a 330 pound man in a full sprint is not going to end well for the smaller guy, at least not after a few snaps of it. It's how the game is now, with speedier backers who need to cover ground.
Hopper seems more eager to take on a block than Cooper, but Cooper likes to shoot gaps and is so fast. They will both be aggressive and can run. I think Hopper is easily LB4, but ILs get hurt a lot so he'll play. I hope Hopper plays as well as Dennis Hopper acted. He was a hoot in Blue Velvet.
It's gonna be interesting to see how things will work with Halfley switching to 4-3. Cooper was listed supposedly as an Edge Rusher - an OLB in the 4-3.
What could be more GOOD and NORMAL and AMERICAN than Packer Football?
Isiah McDuffie patrolling the middle, most likely?
By the way, Mike Wahle was also very, very excited about the interchangeability of the safeties, as he thinks Bullard can play deep and close. He was pumped up at the possibility that the defensive pieces in general are interchangeable enough so that you don't have to try to constantly keep up with the offensive personnel/formation changes in terms of your own personnel. He really, really likes that idea.
"The Devine era is actually worse than you remember if you go back and look at it."
KYPack
Yeah, basically it will help disguise what the defense is going to do. and help them react to motion etc. without giving as much away or being out of position.
In GB's case, they'll be in 4-2-5 with two Will LBs, which leaves them a little light vs. the run but having one of those safeties up should help.
I think McDuffie will be the Mike to start, when they go with a base 4-3 (15-20% of the snaps). Maybe Hopper or Quay is eventually that guy.
Doesn't help he uses his body to take on blocks instead of his arms.
You can not like 230lbs lb's taking on lineman blocks as much as you can not like 250lb lb's trying to cover rb's out of the backfield.
Pick and choose.
That's understandable. Dennis was never the strongest actor out there.
Jordan Love panned out. That'll be Gute's legacy. Everything else is gravy.
DB Evan Williams: No. 33
Aaron Jones’ old number didn’t stay vacant for long. Williams wore No. 32 at Fresno State and No. 33 at Oregon.
OL Jacob Monk: No. 62
The last two players to wear No. 62? Lucas Patrick and Evan Dietrich-Smith. Monk is likely to play center in Green Bay.
S Kitan Oladapo: No. 27
Patrick Taylor, who is now in San Francisco, wore No. 27 from 2020 to 2023. Eddie Lacy and Terrell Buckley are the most well-known former players to wear the number. Others include 2017 second-round pick Josh Jones, 2006 fourth-round pick Will Blackmon and Anthony Smith, a Super Bowl winner in 2010. Oladapo wore No. 28, but A.J. Dillon retained the number.
OL Travis Glover: No. 79
His collegiate No. 52 is currently in use (Rashan Gary). The last player to wear No. 79 in a game for the Packers was Dennis Kelly.
QB Michael Pratt: No. 17
A little surprising, knowing kicker Anders Carlson already wears No. 17. Obviously, Davante Adams is the best player in team history to wear the number. Former quarterback David Whitehurst also wore No. 17. So did Hall of Famer Ceil Isbell.
CB Kalen King: No. 34
King wore No. 4 at Penn State, but the Packers have No. 4 retired for Brett Favre. No. 24 isn’t available (Tyler Coyle), so King will start at No. 34, last worn by Jonathan Owens last season.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen
Would he have been the difference in the niners loss?
Maybe that’s why he is going Sinatra and doing it his way. Arrogance can lead to brilliant moments.
We can't know everything that went into the decision to trade Rasul. Maybe he was so sick of Barry that Gute was afraid he was becoming a malcontent. Certainly Campbell did. At any rate I still don't think the pass defense got noticeably worse after the trade as Valentine and Ballentine played pretty well.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen
Hard to say, but I doubt it. Though they played them pretty close, so who knows.
I think they lost that game because Brock Purdy caught fire in the 4th.
On defense, having a capable safety play instead of Savage probably wins the game. He missed a tackle on the McCaffrey TD run and was the closest defender on the Kittle TD. Also dropped a pick-6.
I think I saw somewhere that Anthony Johnson Jr. was supposed to drop back and help Savage with Kittle. Either way, it wasn't a CB that cost them that game, unless you think Nixon did.. and Rasul wasn't any better in the slot. Having better safeties would have made a difference.
Which is why I was shocked they didn't get any of the quality DL available although a slew of them went where we picked said 230lb LB.
I don't hold Grudges. It's counterproductive.
If he were playing safety as I begged for in the spring, he very well might have. Savage blew 2 tackles that lead to long TDs. One on CM3 and another on Kittles.
I don't hold Grudges. It's counterproductive.
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