woodbuck27
07-24-2006, 10:52 AM
Posted July 23, 2006
Packers by position: Secondary seeks to turn the corner
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
The numbers fooled no one. The Green Bay Packers might have finished the 2005 season ranked No. 1 in the NFL in fewest passing yards, but they had nowhere near the best pass defense in the league.
Their No. 14 ranking in yards allowed per pass better reflects the quality of last year's pass defense, and even that rating probably is high.
So, with General Manager Ted Thompson appearing intent on building a defense-oriented team for a cold-weather climate, he made a major move at each position group on defense during the offseason:
Signed defensive tackle Ryan Pickett as a free agent.
Drafted linebacker A.J. Hawk with the No. 5 pick in the draft.
Signed cornerback Charles Woodson as a free agent.
Though Thompson is averse to spending big money in free agency because teams often pay inflated prices for aging talent, he made a major investment in the 29-year-old Woodson, giving him a deal that included $10 million in first-year bonuses and salary.
The move reflected the failure of Ahmad Carroll  who's gradually been improving  to win the Packers' confidence as a starting cornerback in his first two seasons in the NFL.
"Corner play is critical to the way we want to play as far as the style of our defense," coach Mike McCarthy said. "It always starts up front (on the defensive line), but you can not have enough good corners, particularly bump-and-run corners. Obviously, Charles' presence and his style of play was attractive to us in free agency."
The question with Woodson is how much he's lost to injury and age.
A gifted player, he went to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the NFL but has missed 12 games over the past two years because of a knee injury (two games in 2004) and a broken leg (10 games last year).
The Packers have been woefully short of defensive playmakers for several years, and they're looking for the pairing of Woodson with Al Harris at starting cornerback to help change that. Last year, their cornerbacks had five interceptions (Harris three and Carroll two); in 2004, they had only three (one each by Harris, Carroll and Bhawoh Jue).
Woodson left open to question his commitment to football by skipping all of the Packers' voluntary offseason practices after signing a deal that will pay him $15.5 million plus incentives over the first three years.
But all will be forgotten if he he's a playmaker.
"He's intelligent, he's football savvy, he's tough," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "He definitely can be an impact player for us."
Harris, 31, has been a big story during the offseason because he skipped all voluntary minicamp practices and organized team activities to protest his contract. At the start of the 2004 season, he signed an extension that runs through 2009. It paid him $7.5 million over the last two years, with an additional $2.5 million due him this season.
Harris has said he'll report for the start of training camp on Friday, but will be seeking a new contract during the season. His agent, Jack Bechta, has said Harris will not make the contract a locker-room issue, but there's no knowing how Harris will handle the matter.
The Packers have said nothing about whether they'll improve Harris' contract. McCarthy said he spoke with Harris in late June or July.
"Our conversation was in line with everything I've been told about Al. Obviously, I haven't had much interaction with him," McCarthy said. "He told me he loves the Green Bay Packers, he loves playing here and he'll be prepared to play. That was the basis of our whole conversation."
Another key to the pass defense will be the development of the nickel and dime cornerbacks, most notably whether Carroll has made substantial progress.
The Packers' 2004 first-round pick had a horrible rookie season, committing 16 penalties, and first half of 2005, when he had 10 penalties in eight games. However, he showed some signs of improvement as the season went on.
Carroll turns 23 next month, so it's too early to dismiss him as a bust. But he'll have to grow from the high-strung, immature player he's been in his first two seasons to become a starting-caliber NFL cornerback.
"I think he's matured a great deal," Sanders said. "If you watch his responses to the situations he's been confronted with, if you watch his work ethic on the practice field, he loves to play, he's enthusiastic, he brings a love of the game. I think he's been very, very professional. He's worked hard, he's done everything (cornerbacks coach) Lionel (Washington) and (defensive backs coach) Kurt (Schottenheimer) have asked him to do."
Carroll almost surely will be the nickel back, playing when the Packers go to five defensive backs.
That leaves second-year pro Mike Hawkins, third-year pro Jason Horton and rookie Will Blackmon as the leading candidates for the dime job, playing when six defensive backs are needed.
Hawkins, a fifth-round pick last season, probably is the most intriguing talent of the group but is raw after playing only one year of college football. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, his slight build might make him susceptible to injury.
Blackmon, a fourth-round draft pick, switched to receiver last year at Boston College after three years at cornerback. During the Packers' first two minicamps, he showed an innate ability to play the ball in the air. But a broken right foot sustained in the second camp could diminish his chances of winning a regular role, depending on how much of training camp he misses while recovering from the injury.
"Mike Hawkins has made big gains," McCarthy said, "and I can see why everybody is excited about Jason Horton. He wasn't out there very long (in the offseason), but you could definitely see the athletic ability, the explosiveness he has in his body. I think we have a very good group, a very competitive group.
"Ahmad Carroll's had as good an offseason as anybody on the defensive back board, so we'll definitely have the ability to stop three- and four-wide-receiver sets."
The Packers also probably will have a new starting safety in Marquand Manuel, the former Seattle Seahawks player whom Thompson signed in the first week of free agency to a five-year, $10 million deal, to supplant Mark Roman.
Thompson targeted Manuel because of his intelligence and communication skills in running a secondary. He'll join second-year pro Nick Collins, who had 96 tackles, an interception and nine passes defended as a rookie starter last year.
Packers by position: Secondary seeks to turn the corner
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
The numbers fooled no one. The Green Bay Packers might have finished the 2005 season ranked No. 1 in the NFL in fewest passing yards, but they had nowhere near the best pass defense in the league.
Their No. 14 ranking in yards allowed per pass better reflects the quality of last year's pass defense, and even that rating probably is high.
So, with General Manager Ted Thompson appearing intent on building a defense-oriented team for a cold-weather climate, he made a major move at each position group on defense during the offseason:
Signed defensive tackle Ryan Pickett as a free agent.
Drafted linebacker A.J. Hawk with the No. 5 pick in the draft.
Signed cornerback Charles Woodson as a free agent.
Though Thompson is averse to spending big money in free agency because teams often pay inflated prices for aging talent, he made a major investment in the 29-year-old Woodson, giving him a deal that included $10 million in first-year bonuses and salary.
The move reflected the failure of Ahmad Carroll  who's gradually been improving  to win the Packers' confidence as a starting cornerback in his first two seasons in the NFL.
"Corner play is critical to the way we want to play as far as the style of our defense," coach Mike McCarthy said. "It always starts up front (on the defensive line), but you can not have enough good corners, particularly bump-and-run corners. Obviously, Charles' presence and his style of play was attractive to us in free agency."
The question with Woodson is how much he's lost to injury and age.
A gifted player, he went to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the NFL but has missed 12 games over the past two years because of a knee injury (two games in 2004) and a broken leg (10 games last year).
The Packers have been woefully short of defensive playmakers for several years, and they're looking for the pairing of Woodson with Al Harris at starting cornerback to help change that. Last year, their cornerbacks had five interceptions (Harris three and Carroll two); in 2004, they had only three (one each by Harris, Carroll and Bhawoh Jue).
Woodson left open to question his commitment to football by skipping all of the Packers' voluntary offseason practices after signing a deal that will pay him $15.5 million plus incentives over the first three years.
But all will be forgotten if he he's a playmaker.
"He's intelligent, he's football savvy, he's tough," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "He definitely can be an impact player for us."
Harris, 31, has been a big story during the offseason because he skipped all voluntary minicamp practices and organized team activities to protest his contract. At the start of the 2004 season, he signed an extension that runs through 2009. It paid him $7.5 million over the last two years, with an additional $2.5 million due him this season.
Harris has said he'll report for the start of training camp on Friday, but will be seeking a new contract during the season. His agent, Jack Bechta, has said Harris will not make the contract a locker-room issue, but there's no knowing how Harris will handle the matter.
The Packers have said nothing about whether they'll improve Harris' contract. McCarthy said he spoke with Harris in late June or July.
"Our conversation was in line with everything I've been told about Al. Obviously, I haven't had much interaction with him," McCarthy said. "He told me he loves the Green Bay Packers, he loves playing here and he'll be prepared to play. That was the basis of our whole conversation."
Another key to the pass defense will be the development of the nickel and dime cornerbacks, most notably whether Carroll has made substantial progress.
The Packers' 2004 first-round pick had a horrible rookie season, committing 16 penalties, and first half of 2005, when he had 10 penalties in eight games. However, he showed some signs of improvement as the season went on.
Carroll turns 23 next month, so it's too early to dismiss him as a bust. But he'll have to grow from the high-strung, immature player he's been in his first two seasons to become a starting-caliber NFL cornerback.
"I think he's matured a great deal," Sanders said. "If you watch his responses to the situations he's been confronted with, if you watch his work ethic on the practice field, he loves to play, he's enthusiastic, he brings a love of the game. I think he's been very, very professional. He's worked hard, he's done everything (cornerbacks coach) Lionel (Washington) and (defensive backs coach) Kurt (Schottenheimer) have asked him to do."
Carroll almost surely will be the nickel back, playing when the Packers go to five defensive backs.
That leaves second-year pro Mike Hawkins, third-year pro Jason Horton and rookie Will Blackmon as the leading candidates for the dime job, playing when six defensive backs are needed.
Hawkins, a fifth-round pick last season, probably is the most intriguing talent of the group but is raw after playing only one year of college football. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, his slight build might make him susceptible to injury.
Blackmon, a fourth-round draft pick, switched to receiver last year at Boston College after three years at cornerback. During the Packers' first two minicamps, he showed an innate ability to play the ball in the air. But a broken right foot sustained in the second camp could diminish his chances of winning a regular role, depending on how much of training camp he misses while recovering from the injury.
"Mike Hawkins has made big gains," McCarthy said, "and I can see why everybody is excited about Jason Horton. He wasn't out there very long (in the offseason), but you could definitely see the athletic ability, the explosiveness he has in his body. I think we have a very good group, a very competitive group.
"Ahmad Carroll's had as good an offseason as anybody on the defensive back board, so we'll definitely have the ability to stop three- and four-wide-receiver sets."
The Packers also probably will have a new starting safety in Marquand Manuel, the former Seattle Seahawks player whom Thompson signed in the first week of free agency to a five-year, $10 million deal, to supplant Mark Roman.
Thompson targeted Manuel because of his intelligence and communication skills in running a secondary. He'll join second-year pro Nick Collins, who had 96 tackles, an interception and nine passes defended as a rookie starter last year.