woodbuck27
07-23-2006, 04:01 PM
Posted July 22, 2006
Position by position: Linebackers go from weakness to strength?
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
The Green Bay Packers' offseason tells you everything you need to know about their linebacker play last year.
Gone are starters Robert Thomas and Na'il Diggs, along with key utility man Paris Lenon.
New to the roster are two high draft picks  first-rounder A.J. Hawk and third-rounder Abdul Hodge  as well as bargain free agent Ben Taylor.
So the Packers will have two new starters to join middle linebacker Nick Barnett, the team's leading tackler each of his three years in the NFL. Hawk, the fifth pick overall, will be one, at weak-side linebacker, where the Packers surely will look for him to be an immediate difference maker. Taylor is the front-runner to start on the strong side, though returnee Roy Manning, Hodge or maybe even the recuperating Brady Poppinga could push for that job as well.
Those changes left General Manager Ted Thompson projecting at the team's shareholders meeting this week that a weakness last year could become a special position this year and beyond.
"I think it has the potential to be a remarkable group of linebackers," Thompson told the shareholders Wednesday.
The Packers' chronic shortcomings at linebacker in recent years showed up last season not only in their run defense but in the paltry number of big plays by that position.
First, the Packers' defense ranked 23rd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, and 18th in average yards allowed per carry.
More importantly, their lack of explosive speed at linebacker aside from Barnett showed up in game-changing plays, or the lack thereof. Their linebackers made only seven turnovers, and Barnett had five of them (one interception, one fumble forced, and three fumbles recovered). Incredibly, Barnett's was the only fumble forced by all the linebackers in 2005.
Also, the linebackers had only three sacks. Barnett had one despite numerous blitzes, where he appears to lack a knack for timing and avoiding blocks. Poppinga, who picked up playing time later in the year before tearing up his knee Dec. 11, showed promise as a blitzer with the other two sacks.
The player with the best chance of turning that around is obviously Hawk, whom Thompson picked, spurning the chance to take one of the physical freaks of the draft, Maryland playmaking tight end Vernon Davis.
Teams generally are leery of picking linebackers that high  the last time the first linebacker was selected before pick No. 11 was in 2000, when Washington selected LaVar Arrington with the second selection overall.
But Thompson, a former NFL linebacker, took Hawk for his combination of playmaking explosiveness and football character. Last year for Ohio State, Hawk had 121 tackles, 16½ tackles for a loss, 9½ sacks, an interception, two fumbles forced and a fumble recovered. The 6-foot-1, 246-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 and 4.49 seconds at his campus workout.
Before the draft, NFL scouts nearly to a man said that as much as any player in the draft aside from running back Reggie Bush, Hawk was the most ready to play at a high level in the NFL. However, some scouts questioned whether he had the physical potential be an outstanding player.
"There's a lot of people that think that position, the linebacker position, doesn't warrant taking a guy that high," Thompson said this week. "I thought in this year's draft it was an easy selection for us."
The Packers wouldn't have spent that high a pick on a linebacker unless he was an every-down player, so Hawk not only will remain on the field with Barnett on nickel downs, he probably will end up being the lone linebacker in the dime.
"He's an excellent, excellent prospect," said Bob Sanders, the Packers' new defensive coordinator. "He's quick, he's fast, he's intelligent, he's instinctive, all the things you'd look for. So I think definitely he'll be ready (to play at a high level)."
Depending on how good Hawk is blitzing, he and Barnett have the speed to give Sanders flexibility in his defensive calls. For instance, if Sanders isn't getting the outside rush he needs on passing downs opposite Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, he could use three lineman and plus Hawk and Barnett in the dime, and blitz Hawk for a fourth rusher.
The Packers appear to be quite high on Hodge as well, though whether he'll be ready to challenge Taylor, Manning and Poppinga for the starting job on the strong side is another matter.
The Packers selected Hodge early in the third round (No. 67 overall) after his highly productive three years as a starter at Iowa, where he was third in the nation in average tacklers per game (13.2) last season. His lack of top-end speed  he ran the 40-yard dash (4.66 and 4.69) at his campus workout  kept him from being a higher pick.
Hodge strictly was a middle linebacker at Iowa, but if he plays well early in training camp, he'll likely get a long look at a starting job, most likely on the strong side.
"Football players are football players and linebackers even more so," Thompson said. "If they can play, we usually find a place where they can play. Whether that's at middle linebacker or some other place, if he's good enough, he'll play."
Taylor spent most of the offseason as the starter on the strong side and is the front-runner there heading into camp. He had four injury-plagued years with Cleveland before signing with the Packers as a free agent in the offseason.
Poppinga, who was drafted in the fourth round last year as a possible long-term starter on the strong side, has made a surprisingly fast recovery from knee-reconstruction surgery and has an outside shot at the starting job if he can begin practicing early enough in training camp.
Position by position: Linebackers go from weakness to strength?
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
The Green Bay Packers' offseason tells you everything you need to know about their linebacker play last year.
Gone are starters Robert Thomas and Na'il Diggs, along with key utility man Paris Lenon.
New to the roster are two high draft picks  first-rounder A.J. Hawk and third-rounder Abdul Hodge  as well as bargain free agent Ben Taylor.
So the Packers will have two new starters to join middle linebacker Nick Barnett, the team's leading tackler each of his three years in the NFL. Hawk, the fifth pick overall, will be one, at weak-side linebacker, where the Packers surely will look for him to be an immediate difference maker. Taylor is the front-runner to start on the strong side, though returnee Roy Manning, Hodge or maybe even the recuperating Brady Poppinga could push for that job as well.
Those changes left General Manager Ted Thompson projecting at the team's shareholders meeting this week that a weakness last year could become a special position this year and beyond.
"I think it has the potential to be a remarkable group of linebackers," Thompson told the shareholders Wednesday.
The Packers' chronic shortcomings at linebacker in recent years showed up last season not only in their run defense but in the paltry number of big plays by that position.
First, the Packers' defense ranked 23rd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, and 18th in average yards allowed per carry.
More importantly, their lack of explosive speed at linebacker aside from Barnett showed up in game-changing plays, or the lack thereof. Their linebackers made only seven turnovers, and Barnett had five of them (one interception, one fumble forced, and three fumbles recovered). Incredibly, Barnett's was the only fumble forced by all the linebackers in 2005.
Also, the linebackers had only three sacks. Barnett had one despite numerous blitzes, where he appears to lack a knack for timing and avoiding blocks. Poppinga, who picked up playing time later in the year before tearing up his knee Dec. 11, showed promise as a blitzer with the other two sacks.
The player with the best chance of turning that around is obviously Hawk, whom Thompson picked, spurning the chance to take one of the physical freaks of the draft, Maryland playmaking tight end Vernon Davis.
Teams generally are leery of picking linebackers that high  the last time the first linebacker was selected before pick No. 11 was in 2000, when Washington selected LaVar Arrington with the second selection overall.
But Thompson, a former NFL linebacker, took Hawk for his combination of playmaking explosiveness and football character. Last year for Ohio State, Hawk had 121 tackles, 16½ tackles for a loss, 9½ sacks, an interception, two fumbles forced and a fumble recovered. The 6-foot-1, 246-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 and 4.49 seconds at his campus workout.
Before the draft, NFL scouts nearly to a man said that as much as any player in the draft aside from running back Reggie Bush, Hawk was the most ready to play at a high level in the NFL. However, some scouts questioned whether he had the physical potential be an outstanding player.
"There's a lot of people that think that position, the linebacker position, doesn't warrant taking a guy that high," Thompson said this week. "I thought in this year's draft it was an easy selection for us."
The Packers wouldn't have spent that high a pick on a linebacker unless he was an every-down player, so Hawk not only will remain on the field with Barnett on nickel downs, he probably will end up being the lone linebacker in the dime.
"He's an excellent, excellent prospect," said Bob Sanders, the Packers' new defensive coordinator. "He's quick, he's fast, he's intelligent, he's instinctive, all the things you'd look for. So I think definitely he'll be ready (to play at a high level)."
Depending on how good Hawk is blitzing, he and Barnett have the speed to give Sanders flexibility in his defensive calls. For instance, if Sanders isn't getting the outside rush he needs on passing downs opposite Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, he could use three lineman and plus Hawk and Barnett in the dime, and blitz Hawk for a fourth rusher.
The Packers appear to be quite high on Hodge as well, though whether he'll be ready to challenge Taylor, Manning and Poppinga for the starting job on the strong side is another matter.
The Packers selected Hodge early in the third round (No. 67 overall) after his highly productive three years as a starter at Iowa, where he was third in the nation in average tacklers per game (13.2) last season. His lack of top-end speed  he ran the 40-yard dash (4.66 and 4.69) at his campus workout  kept him from being a higher pick.
Hodge strictly was a middle linebacker at Iowa, but if he plays well early in training camp, he'll likely get a long look at a starting job, most likely on the strong side.
"Football players are football players and linebackers even more so," Thompson said. "If they can play, we usually find a place where they can play. Whether that's at middle linebacker or some other place, if he's good enough, he'll play."
Taylor spent most of the offseason as the starter on the strong side and is the front-runner there heading into camp. He had four injury-plagued years with Cleveland before signing with the Packers as a free agent in the offseason.
Poppinga, who was drafted in the fourth round last year as a possible long-term starter on the strong side, has made a surprisingly fast recovery from knee-reconstruction surgery and has an outside shot at the starting job if he can begin practicing early enough in training camp.