pbmax
07-22-2009, 10:32 AM
Kevin Seifert, ESPN
NFC North Camp Preview (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-12-188/NFC-North-training-camp-preview.html)
Green Bay Packers
Training camp site: Team facility in Green Bay, Wis.
Campfires
At least two and possibly three positions on the offensive line are up for grabs as the Packers transition to a younger -- and, they hope, bigger -- offensive line. Jason Spitz seems primed to overtake veteran Scott Wells at center, while Allen Barbre is hoping to hold off rookie T.J. Lang for the right to replace Mark Tauscher at right tackle. And if Wells wins the center job, Spitz could move to right guard and compete with Josh Sitton.
Got all that? Because there's plenty of competition elsewhere on this team. The Packers moved back into the first round of the April draft to grab outside linebacker Clay Matthews, but a spring hamstring injury allowed second-year player Jeremy Thompson to grab hold of the job seemingly designated for Matthews. Thompson will spend training camp trying to hold off Matthews.
Elsewhere, the Packers will have an intriguing (if somewhat inside baseball) competition for their No. 3 receiver position behind Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. James Jones' playmaking skills would seem to give him the edge over 2008 top pick Jordy Nelson, but Jones' injury troubles last season make him an unknown quantity this summer.
Camp will be a downer if ...
... one of the Packers' two backup quarterbacks doesn't demonstrate substantial improvement. Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm got rookie exceptions last year, but neither ran the offense smoothly during minicamp last month.
Brohm's case is especially interesting. He flopped last summer after the Packers made him a second-round pick, by default leaving the No. 2 job to Flynn. If Brohm wants to restore his track as the Packers' top backup and a future starter (for another team), he'll have to get it turned around in camp this summer. Otherwise, he'll be buried on the depth chart for another year.
Camp will be a success if ...
...the Packers can demonstrate mental proficiency with the 3-4 defense. There is little doubt that retrofitting the personnel base will take some time. But if the Packers can master the different alignments and strategies typically employed by coordinator Dom Capers, they'll almost certainly improve their defensive proficiency from a year ago.
Capers and his staff are good teachers, and it's reasonable to expect Packers players to have absorbed the mental part of this new scheme.
A true one-two punch?
Training camp would be a nice time for someone to step in as a legitimate second option behind tailback Ryan Grant. One question the Packers would like to solve: Do they have someone on the roster who provides a stylistic complement to Grant?
Is Brandon Jackson the best answer? You could make an argument that his style isn't different enough from Grant to make him a viable option. Could that person be DeShawn Wynn? Or possibly Kregg Lumpkin? The Packers would like to leave camp with a firm idea on whether they have someone they can consistently rotate into the lineup for strategic purposes.
NFC North Camp Preview (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-12-188/NFC-North-training-camp-preview.html)
Green Bay Packers
Training camp site: Team facility in Green Bay, Wis.
Campfires
At least two and possibly three positions on the offensive line are up for grabs as the Packers transition to a younger -- and, they hope, bigger -- offensive line. Jason Spitz seems primed to overtake veteran Scott Wells at center, while Allen Barbre is hoping to hold off rookie T.J. Lang for the right to replace Mark Tauscher at right tackle. And if Wells wins the center job, Spitz could move to right guard and compete with Josh Sitton.
Got all that? Because there's plenty of competition elsewhere on this team. The Packers moved back into the first round of the April draft to grab outside linebacker Clay Matthews, but a spring hamstring injury allowed second-year player Jeremy Thompson to grab hold of the job seemingly designated for Matthews. Thompson will spend training camp trying to hold off Matthews.
Elsewhere, the Packers will have an intriguing (if somewhat inside baseball) competition for their No. 3 receiver position behind Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. James Jones' playmaking skills would seem to give him the edge over 2008 top pick Jordy Nelson, but Jones' injury troubles last season make him an unknown quantity this summer.
Camp will be a downer if ...
... one of the Packers' two backup quarterbacks doesn't demonstrate substantial improvement. Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm got rookie exceptions last year, but neither ran the offense smoothly during minicamp last month.
Brohm's case is especially interesting. He flopped last summer after the Packers made him a second-round pick, by default leaving the No. 2 job to Flynn. If Brohm wants to restore his track as the Packers' top backup and a future starter (for another team), he'll have to get it turned around in camp this summer. Otherwise, he'll be buried on the depth chart for another year.
Camp will be a success if ...
...the Packers can demonstrate mental proficiency with the 3-4 defense. There is little doubt that retrofitting the personnel base will take some time. But if the Packers can master the different alignments and strategies typically employed by coordinator Dom Capers, they'll almost certainly improve their defensive proficiency from a year ago.
Capers and his staff are good teachers, and it's reasonable to expect Packers players to have absorbed the mental part of this new scheme.
A true one-two punch?
Training camp would be a nice time for someone to step in as a legitimate second option behind tailback Ryan Grant. One question the Packers would like to solve: Do they have someone on the roster who provides a stylistic complement to Grant?
Is Brandon Jackson the best answer? You could make an argument that his style isn't different enough from Grant to make him a viable option. Could that person be DeShawn Wynn? Or possibly Kregg Lumpkin? The Packers would like to leave camp with a firm idea on whether they have someone they can consistently rotate into the lineup for strategic purposes.