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HarveyWallbangers
04-04-2006, 01:59 PM
I thought this was good until they said the Packers were financially-strapped. Weird! And these reports are usually pretty good--in face, I think many of them are written by Tom Silverstein.

Team Report: Strategy and Personnel
Fox Sports

With Brett Favre still sitting on his decision whether to return or retire, the Packers find themselves somewhat handcuffed about what they'll have at quarterback.

They've begun readying Aaron Rodgers, last year's first-round draft choice, for the possibility he'll have to be the starter on opening day in five months. Yet, should Favre walk away, Green Bay is without any sort of reliable backup after allowing Craig Nall to bolt for Buffalo as a free agent.

The Packers, armed with the fifth overall pick in the draft, are giving Texas' Vince Young strong consideration.

Save for linebacker and possibly addressing an upgrade over Ahmad Carroll at cornerback, the Packers are in better shape defensively after re-signing end Aaron Kampman and then landing former Seattle safety Marquand Manuel and onetime St. Louis nose tackle Ryan Pickett in free agency.

If he were to get assurances by the start of the draft April 29 that Favre will continue to play, GM Ted Thompson can concentrate on finding a starter-ready player at linebacker, cornerback or possibly defensive end (if Mario Williams lasts that long) with the high-end pick.

TEAM NEEDS

1. Linebacker: The man in the middle, Nick Barnett, is the only surefire player the team has in the linebacker corps, although it signed Cleveland free agent Ben Taylor on March 27. Taylor could fill the void on the strong side after veteran Na'il Diggs was released March 2. Robert Thomas, who manned the weak-side spot in his first year with the team, was all but useless the second half of last season because of a quadriceps injury. With the financially-strapped Packers' opting to take a pass on some of the bigger-name free agents that were available, they may be wont to invest their No. 5 draft pick in Ohio State outside linebacker A.J. Hawk.

2. Wide receiver: Javon Walker's recent declaration that he would "retire" before throwing on a Packers uniform again can't be easily dismissed. GM Ted Thompson has made it clear he will hold his ground and not give in to Walker's demand for a new contract because the talented wideout has to prove his worth all over again after missing all but the season opener last year with a knee injury. The re-signing of Rod Gardner and the March 27 signing of Kansas City free agent Marc Boerigter help ease the potential long-term absence of Walker. Yet, what was a position of strength is considerably thin with Donald Driver the only bona fide playmaker.

3. Defensive end: Green Bay took care of its top in-house priority by re-signing indispensable workhorse Aaron Kampman to a well-earned four-year deal with guaranteed money of $12 million. Yet, the Packers still are in the market for a player who can wreak havoc on the other end of the line since Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila isn't cut out to stop the run. North Carolina State's Mario Williams fits the bill and is the trendy pick for the No. 5 spot in Round 1 of the draft, provided he stays on the board.

Deputy Nutz
04-04-2006, 02:35 PM
1. Linebacker: The man in the middle, Nick Barnett, is the only surefire player the team has in the linebacker corps, although it signed Cleveland free agent Ben Taylor on March 27. Taylor could fill the void on the strong side after veteran Na'il Diggs was released March 2. Robert Thomas, who manned the weak-side spot in his first year with the team, was all but useless the second half of last season because of a quadriceps injury. With the financially-strapped Packers' opting to take a pass on some of the bigger-name free agents that were available, they may be wont to invest their No. 5 draft pick in Ohio State outside linebacker A.J. Hawk.

I wouldn't call Barnett "sure fire" in fact he could lose his starting middle linebacker spot to Hawk if he is drafted.

When the hell did the Packers become financially strapped?

SoCalPackFan
04-04-2006, 02:44 PM
So those are ALL of the teams needs...not bad. O-line must be ok then. Maybe I am just worring over nothing.

HarveyWallbangers
04-04-2006, 02:44 PM
Wist,

I'd leave Barnett at MLB. He's fine there. Hawk can play anywhere.

HarveyWallbangers
04-04-2006, 02:45 PM
So those are ALL of the teams needs...not bad. O-line must be ok then. Maybe I am just worring over nothing.

No, they did a team-by-team report just listing the top 3 needs. This team also needs OG, CB, possibly PK, and depth everywhere.

Tony Oday
04-04-2006, 02:54 PM
lol dont we have 100 million in the packer account? I thought they had that set up for a war chest incase we went to uncapped play.

Barnett is sure fire at MLB and with Hawk next to him they will dominate.

Deputy Nutz
04-04-2006, 02:56 PM
I like Barnett, I ain't as fond of him as Wist, but then again who is.

I would just like to see Hawk in the middle if he is capable. Otherwise it is another season of 140 tackles 6 yards down field.

Partial
04-04-2006, 03:25 PM
Why don't you guys want to see an actually middle linebacker like Dqwell jackson, known as an incredible smart, instinctive linebacker in the middle, with Hawk and Barnett, both manning the outside spots?

HarveyWallbangers
04-04-2006, 03:29 PM
Personally, I don't want to see Barnett moved because MLB in the Bates scheme seemed to work wonders for his play. Unlike what nutz said, I don't think his tackles were littered with ones 6 yards down the field. In 2004? Yes. I think he was better than that last year. This will be the first time he plays in the same defensive scheme, so if he stays at MLB, I think you could see more improvement from him. Who knows how he'll play if they make him learn a new position again (well, it was a new scheme in the past).

Deputy Nutz
04-04-2006, 03:41 PM
I got sick of Wist bashing Barnett, and to prove him wrong, I decided to watch all the games over again and focus on Barnett on defense in 2005. I had to side with Wist on alot with what I saw in the 2005 season. His play seemed to get alot better later in the year, probably when the defensive system finally began to sink in, but none the less, Barnett isn't the quickest read, and his play will suffer because of his lack of superior intuition or feel for the game. Yes I am being critical, and I also think that Barnett can hold his own at middle linebacker and keep improving as the players around him improve.

Patler
04-04-2006, 04:06 PM
I got sick of Wist bashing Barnett, and to prove him wrong, I decided to watch all the games over again and focus on Barnett on defense in 2005. I had to side with Wist on alot with what I saw in the 2005 season. His play seemed to get alot better later in the year, probably when the defensive system finally began to sink in, but none the less, Barnett isn't the quickest read, and his play will suffer because of his lack of superior intuition or feel for the game. Yes I am being critical, and I also think that Barnett can hold his own at middle linebacker and keep improving as the players around him improve.

Didn't the highly detail oriented "Patler" offer a summary on the "other site" taken directly from the official NFL play-by-play stats that showed Barnett's tackles by yardage, which revealed that his tackles made within 3 yds of the line of scrimmage were about what other mlb's had, most notably Urlacher? The main difference was in fewer tackles for loss, but not that much difference either.

I think I remember reading that.

billy_oliver880
04-04-2006, 04:12 PM
They've begun readying Aaron Rodgers, last year's first-round draft choice, for the possibility he'll have to be the starter on opening day in five months. Yet, should Favre walk away, Green Bay is without any sort of reliable backup after allowing Craig Nall to bolt for Buffalo as a free agent.

The Packers, armed with the fifth overall pick in the draft, are giving Texas' Vince Young strong consideration.

Could this be a sign that Mad's theory about TT snowing everyone because he already knows that Farve is coming back? I mean TT did not go out and sign a compentant backup...am I reading too much into this??? :mrgreen:

MJZiggy
04-04-2006, 04:15 PM
Everybody's reading too much into everything.

And Shamrock, I really wish Patler were here to enlighten us.

Deputy Nutz
04-04-2006, 05:09 PM
If it was posted on JSO I would have missed it.

Stats are stats and sometimes there are no stats when your middle linebacker gets flattened by a fullback, because he still doesn't know how to take on a block.