REAL GM PACKERS PREVIEW: GET A LOAD OF THIS SH*T!

[gbpackfan]

I pulled this from realgm.com. If it has already been posted, I apologize.

I don't care that the guy thinks the Packers are going to be bad, but some of his points show that he has NO CLUE and doesn't really watch the Packers play. Also, it was written after the Charger game and before the Falcon game.

I have highlighted some of the more "interesting" comments. My comments are in caps.

Here you go:


Last season: 4-12

Coming: LB Ben Taylor, DT Ryan Pickett, CB Charles Woodson, S Marquand Manuel

Going: WR Javon Walker, LB Na’il Diggs, RB Tony Fisher, K Ryan Longwell, C Mike Flanagan, DT Grady Jackson, QB Craig Nall

Rookies of note: LB AJ Hawk, OL Daryn Colledge, WR Greg Jennings, LB Abdul Hodge, C/G Jason Spitz

What I like: They have one of the best CBs in the NFL in Al Harris, great at jamming his man and a steady tackler. Adding Manuel and Woodson will help in both coverage and tackling and gives the Packers their best secondary in ages. QB Brett Favre returns, and he still has the fire and gunslinging gusto. If RB Ahman Green can return from a devastating leg injury, the Packers have a strong and deep RB corps, along with Najeh Davenport (also coming back from injury) and last season’s rookie phenom/fumble machine Samkon Gado. All of the newbies in the “rookies of note” listing will start in Week 1, and all but Hodge should be major upgrades. The Packers had one of the best draft days in recent history in 2006, potentially. Of the 12 players they drafted, 9 could be starting by the end of the 2007 season. AJ Hawk has all the makings of a perennial Pro Bowler at LB, and Greg Jennings has quickly become the #2 WR with a bullet, showing great physicality and hands. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Aaron Kampman are decent DEs against the pass. There is newfound depth and vastly improved talent at LB, though it’s very youthful and unproven. They still play in Lambeau Field, one of the best home-field advantages in pro sports. They also have a schedule with several winnable non-divisional games.

What I dislike: Brett Favre returns. He doesn’t have the velocity or the mobility of his glory years, and other than Donald Driver, the WR corps is either very green or very inadequate. His return also indicates this team must try to win at all costs this season, rather than do the painfully necessary task of a complete rebuild. (WHAT IS THIS SHIT! EVERY TEAM TRIES TO WIN EVERY YEAR. WITH FA, LONG TERM REBUILDING SHOULD BE A THING OF THE PAST!) That puts tremendous pressure on all those rookies and marginal starters. Starting 2 rookies on the OL is downright scary, but scarier still are the guys who return. Other than Chad Clifton at LT, the line was awful last season, unaggressive, weak, and easily beaten. That was with C Flanagan, easily their best OL, now gone to greener pastures. (FLANAGAN WAS PUSHED INTO FAVRE's LAP NUMEROUS TIMES AND WAS PART OF LAST YEARS PROBLEM) Two of their top FA pickups, Woodson and Pickett, have been largely disappointing of late. Losing K Ryan Longwell is a big blow, as he was great on kickoffs and had mastered the tricky winds of northern Wisconsin. Ahman Green looked lousy before his injury, and unless Gado meets Lester Hayes this summer, he’s as much a risk to fumble as he is to gain 5 yards. Gbaja-Biamila is awful against the run and has exactly one pass rush move, trying an outside speed rush on every single play. That he’s as successful as he’s been is remarkable, but one trick ponies don’t last long. The kick return and punting units are below average. Even the more respected defenders, Harris and LB Nick Barnett, have some fairly large flaws that regularly get exploited. If Harris misses his jam at the line, he’s worthless. Barnett is alarmingly out of position quite often and doesn’t shed blocks well.

Best case: All the youngsters revitalize Favre, and the Hall of Famer is able to lead his charges to playoff contention. The special teams become a strength, the LB corp emerges as a dominating unit right away, and the RBs are both healthy and effective.

Worst case: Ahman Green is done, and the well runs dry behind him. Favre leads the league in INTs again. The OL struggles in all aspects. All the new LBs don’t live up to expectation. The special teams remain a deficiency. New Head Coach Mike McCarthy loses his team after painful early losses. Actually, anything resembling their 2005 campaign is not a positive.

Prediction: I really like the rookie class, I like the needed improvements in the defense, I believe Favre can still summon the greatness at times. Despite all that, this is one of the worst teams in the NFL. They do have a favorable schedule and play in the worst division in football, so an improvement to 6 or 7 wins is likely. But make no mistake; this team would go 3-13 in the NFC East or AFC West. And if Favre is still taking every snap when the Packers are 4-7, they’re not going to significantly improve until at least 2008

[BallHawk]

Yeah, 'cuz we all know how could Ryan was on those kickoffs... :roll:

[BallHawk]

And Flanagan our best O-line man? No. He also forgot about Tauscher. And he's way to critical on Samkon. Samkon fumbled an average of once every 35 carries, that's not good, but only one was lost. He also averaged 145 yard between each fumble. The guys that do football at real GM, really don't have any qualifications, there just fans that right articles. If you wanna bash the Pack, than by all means do so, but for God's sake at least put some knowledge in it.

[Rastak]

Yeah, 'cuz we all know how could Ryan was on those kickoffs... :roll:


Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

[BallHawk]

Being in dome defintely helps, though.

[SkinBasket]

That puts tremendous pressure on all those rookies and marginal starters.

God forbid rookies and margnial starters should feel "pressure" to do their jobs well and win. Does this guy think most marginal starters and rookies should be allowed a year to loaf around, tells jokes while on the field, and generally stand in one place and blink like a deer in the headlights?

[pbmax]

Being in dome defintely helps, though.
I told Rastak the same thing Saturday only to have him rudely inform me :wink: that I was clueless. Longwell was playing in Pittsburg. Is it wrong of me to hope they were all line drives?

[Scott Campbell]

[quote=BallHawk]Is it wrong of me to hope they were all line drives?


Nah, it's fine. I'm hoping they have a holder controversy.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

I think FavreChild posted that one went to the 6, one to the 5, one to the 3, and one to the goalline, so you are exagerrating slightly. All of them went between the 6 and goalline, but most were closer to the 5 than the goalline.

Meanwhile, Rayner kicked his first six kicks into the endzone (including this nugget from JSO: "then sent his next five at least a yard deep into the end zone"). His last kick was a shank to the 9.

Clearly, Rayner displayed a bigger leg on kickoffs. However, it won't mean much if he doesn't make the kicks he should. He was pretty solid in college though. I didn't think much of him before realizing that 15 of his kicks in his two years in college were from 50+. We'll see. Al Del Greco left, and we found Chris Jacke. Jacke left, and we found Ryan Longwell. We've been pretty fortunate. I'm not sure why it's been so hard for the Vikings to find a good kicker--especially in that dome.

[fan4life]

There are some idiots out there who think that Favre should have been pushed out and the full-scale rebuilding begun in GB. Screw 'em. It's just not necessary these days.

Granted, Favre needed better coaching, offensive schemes and a credible defense. But it looks like MM is providing that. Show me the team that has the #1 or #2 rated player at every position, and I'll show you a team that is lying about its salary rolls.

Each team has to figure out what its strengths are and how its going to use them to win: a passing offense that is a scoring machine (the Colts); a ball-hawking defense, clutch special teams and opportunistic offense (the Pats); an efficient offense and bend-but-don't break defense (the Panthers and Bengals); a balanced offense that can control the ball with the run (the 'Hawks); or a lights-out defense that can protect a 3-point lead (the Steelers) have all proven to be winning formulas in recent years. Who gets to the top in any given year has largely depended on injuries and coaching.

No team has the BEST passing offense, the BEST running game, the BEST ball-hawking defense, the BEST pash rush, the BEST steel curtain defense and the BEST special teams play.

The question is: how will the Packers win this year, and next, and into the future? Well, the answer is still that as long as Brett Favre can get on the field, he will be GB's best playmaker - if he has some protection, a credible running game to set up his play action and someone to throw to (other than Antonio Chatman.) Going forward, AR is no Brett Favre or Payton Manning, but he is a smart guy and an accurate passer in the mold of Matt Hasselback. I suspect that a top-tier runner like LT or Shaun Alexander is tops on TT's wishlist for next year's draft, and future GB offenses will look a lot like Seattle's. But to rush Favre out the door before AR is ready, before there is a playmaking "franchise back" on the payroll and a defense in place that can hold opponents below 17 points, is stupid. And it won't help AR's development.

Green Bay's strengths as a team are changing, to be sure. But I see no reason to give up winning because Brett Favre and Ahman Green only have a year or two left. The young guys coming in should be expected to contribute to winning football, from day one. TT's quickness in letting go of marginal players is a step in the right direction.

And finally.... there is no dominant team in the NFC North, and I don't see any reason why every game against the Bears, Lions and Vikings shouldn't be a great contest. Whether this young team can win the division and get to the next level is still a question mark....

[mraynrand]

"What I like: They have one of the best CBs in the NFL in Al Harris, great at jamming his man and a steady tackler. If Harris misses his jam at the line, he’s worthless."

------
So Harris is one of the best CBs in the NFL, but only if he doesn't miss the jam, otherwise, he's worthless.

I hate evaluations of a draft before the guys actually get on the field for a few years.

This guy, like a lot of others, glosses over the fact that the Packers have new coaching and a new offensive blocking scheme. The real twist may be that the Packer tackles, who very very good in the old scheme, may suck at the zone blocking scheme. When you change your schemes, often you have to turn over personnel, even quality personnel.

TT has to remodel the team to match the coaching philosophy. That doesn't happen overnight.

Finally, "one trick ponies don't stick around very long" _ I guess KGB has only been around for 6 seasons. Is that "not very long?"

[woodbuck27]

To be totally honest. We see alot more come next Tuesday when we get in here and toss "the Bengals game" around. :mrgreen:

I will say this:

Brett Favre looks as ready to me now as he was at this time last Off season and his attitude is realistic ,optimistic and he and Mike McCarthy seem to be working things as we needed them to.

Favre helps McCarthy (a Rookie HC) and McCarthy gets Brett zoned in.

Prop's here.

We have a pretty decent QB coach as well Packer fans.
Tom Clements played in the CFL and did well. I was really pleased with us landing him. He'll do alot for Aaron Rodgers.

RB's led by Ahman "Batman Returns" Green....

Looks like two of Najeh " Poopy " Davenport, Arliss "No Sand" Beach and Noah "the Dream Invader" Herron....

FB's William "Aged Wine" Henderson, Samkon"Play Me Anywhere" GADO and Vonta "I'll Catch the next One" Leach.

Yes, some questions here Packer fans, but we have two more preseason games to answer them. Yes - Batman is coming off a horrible injury, but he's Ahman Green. Give him some touch's, let him fumble that out of him.

Samkon is a BULL. Samkon is intelligent, hard working, "a super attitude". He'll be OK. He's got decent hands too. Can he block?

Vonta "Jeee.... I dropped another really soft pass" Leach is a solid blocker (Favre) but....

The Arliss Beach watch is on! Noah Herron may be released? Two more preseason games and expect TT to make alot of moves very soon.The team has to be set to focus for "the Titans". I have been preoccupied with other things here :mrgreen: and didn't get the date of the first cut (is it 75 ?).

We are going to put the hammer down on da BEARS. Put them to bed !!

Our WR's after Javon "whiner" Walker.

OUR WR's are OK too. If Mike McCarthy pulls the string, and starts DD and Greg Jennings? A question I'd like answered this way.......

Go there !! The rest of it will be dealt with by Ted Thompson - after that, Brett Favre and his passing ability. Don't be concerned with picks Packer fans be concerned if he has the option no options he had to be saddled with in 2005.Those of you here who criticize Favre.

It's just this..... What.... are YOU thinking?????? He's YOUR QB !!! STILL !!!

Will TT cut.... my # 3 or #4 WR.... Ruvell "I'm here to be a Packer" Martin?

That won't happen. Why? That makes zero sense. Ruvell's the #3 WR in TC. He's in !! Count on that. :mrgreen:

The rest of the WR's. Who cares with Favre and the way he makes WR's look good. Favre and DD and Favre and Jennings...SWEET. You could look with Favre tossing them to you.Enjoying arthritis later in life though. :mrgreen:

Favre will be tossing the pigskin to the TE's more ( McCarthy) and maybe we see the shoot pass and run, and " the screen pass " ? Favre and Green and Hendo (when back) gives us options.

We need to see.... Robert "I'll do it this season" Ferguson and Rod "Geee - Nice Payday in Green Bay " Gardner, if he ever gets his ass in gear on slants and in the game till the ball is on the ground. Fighting for the ball - PROTECTING IT.

We need to see all WR's running sideline routes and coming back to the ball. Not standing around with their hands up, like their telling us " how big the fish was". Get in the DAM game.

The OL..... who really knows?

The writer of this Article is out to lunch on Chad Clifton and not aware of who played well on OUR OL last season.

Mark Tauscher had a solid 2005. We have concern with Clifton (Knees) and with his concentration.I hope that was due to him never knowing who was going to be at his right last season.He has one assignment at LT. Protect the QB !!

Flanny was in and out and Wells is blowing me away so far.Fingers crossed. Man O Man.... he's showing Leadership. SOLID to date. What's backing him up fans?

Who's backing all of them up? That is the question that has to be answered along withas the first stringers cohesion.

If we loose Favre early....we are in a whole lot of trouble. I must say that this TC I'm seeing some development of Aaron but put him in "under the gun" and it may not be cool. He needs another season behind Favre.TT had to certainly know that full well.

Maybe in his way - THAT was what Ted meant... when he said (and I paraphrase... " I just didn't want Favre to embarass the Packers Organization " ???

Aaron Rodgers may be a QB in the NFL? I believe that had a large part in McCarthy in Green Bay and following that they brought Tom Clemens in.Very very astute move to get a solid QB's coach that can concentrate on development of QB's after Favre.

By the way Packer fans. Things are pointing to a possible return of Brett Favre next season.I just pray that Favre has more enjoyment playing for us this season.

FAVRE'S " the SHIT ". Dan Marino's TD passing RECORD is going to draw a ton of heat on us.... as " the REAL SHIT " Packer fans.

Now....

I'm thinking of a member of this Forum.
"Serious Packer fans.mmmm I'm thinking.... that entry into that club isn't exclusive to member's here or on any Packer forum.

I'm ....that if I made that comment (to someone - like me) before I joined a Packer form ..."I'd be severly challenged, to NOT want to kick his arrogant ass". :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

As a final comment.

These writers have to get paid for something. Most of us here can" rip em a new asshole" - critique their slams and their unbased misinformed critisism's of OUR team and OUR team's players, easily.

We are serious Packer fans, here. There is a distinction in the way and manner we express things Packer fans - Friends. :idea:

Our Defense??

I am very hopeful that we will have a legit TOP TEN Defense in 2006. Nice playas were added by OUR GM. Not big name costly players, except for Charlie (and with him it's here's your candy.... share a meal... but if Safety Marquand Manuel can get his full strength back
( ? mark there fans ) and Ryan Pickett demonstrates more of what he did (by report) Vs. "the Falcons" ...I'm wondering about Kendrick Allen (he's back isn't he?) but my analysis says.... it's better on Defense ... we have more than last season.

It ALL.... will play off the Offense.

TED THOMPSON > AND MIKE McCARTHY and HIS STAFF >NEW REVITALIZED FAVRE's strength's influenced McCARTHY and FAVRE - WCO > The OL > Favre and Green AND RB's/FB's by Committee > Play action pass and audibles > DD and Greg Jennings and Co. at WR. AND MORE BUBBA and COMPANY at TE >>>>>>>> SENSABLE YARD's /game with a Run weighted - Clock Management approach - to OUR Offense ..... means we win games>>>> means we win more than we loose>>>>>because we toss'd the ring to OUR DEFENSE to create TO's and score points ocassionally means we win OUR DIVISION...... means we have some HOPE FOR a Super bowl......but... more importantly.... it certainly means we gain OUR respect back as an Organization > FAST ... a QUICK TURNAROUND>>> to BE NFCN CHAMPS AGAIN.

IT's ALL befor OUR eyes Packer Fans. We need it to go right...
again today.... I see just THAT and.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

GO PACKERS ! 2006 !!!

[Rastak]

Being in dome defintely helps, though.
I told Rastak the same thing Saturday only to have him rudely inform me :wink: that I was clueless. Longwell was playing in Pittsburg. Is it wrong of me to hope they were all line drives?


Well the one that hit the goal line was run back to the 16....one from the 5 went to the 25....not sure on the others....I quit keeping track.

[Rastak]

Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

I think FavreChild posted that one went to the 6, one to the 5, one to the 3, and one to the goalline, so you are exagerrating slightly. All of them went between the 6 and goalline, but most were closer to the 5 than the goalline.

Meanwhile, Rayner kicked his first six kicks into the endzone (including this nugget from JSO: "then sent his next five at least a yard deep into the end zone"). His last kick was a shank to the 9.

Clearly, Rayner displayed a bigger leg on kickoffs. However, it won't mean much if he doesn't make the kicks he should. He was pretty solid in college though. I didn't think much of him before realizing that 15 of his kicks in his two years in college were from 50+. We'll see. Al Del Greco left, and we found Chris Jacke. Jacke left, and we found Ryan Longwell. We've been pretty fortunate. I'm not sure why it's been so hard for the Vikings to find a good kicker--especially in that dome.


I KNEW you'd have the hard numbers....you are second only to Patler.
Although if one went to the 6 it was an EXTREMELY slight exageration.

[woodbuck27]

Yeah, 'cuz we all know how could Ryan was on those kickoffs... :roll:


Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

Rastak:

Did Ryan Longwell have a surprising miss in one of your preseason games?

I'm busy and can't get as much info. myself as I'd enjoy. Something else always POPS UP, errrr well errrr !! :mrgreen:

[woodbuck27]

"What I like: They have one of the best CBs in the NFL in Al Harris, great at jamming his man and a steady tackler. If Harris misses his jam at the line, he’s worthless."

------
So Harris is one of the best CBs in the NFL, but only if he doesn't miss the jam, otherwise, he's worthless.

I hate evaluations of a draft before the guys actually get on the field for a few years.

This guy, like a lot of others, glosses over the fact that the Packers have new coaching and a new offensive blocking scheme. The real twist may be that the Packer tackles, who very very good in the old scheme, may suck at the zone blocking scheme. When you change your schemes, often you have to turn over personnel, even quality personnel.

TT has to remodel the team to match the coaching philosophy. That doesn't happen overnight.

Finally, "one trick ponies don't stick around very long" _ I guess KGB has only been around for 6 seasons. Is that "not very long?"

mraynrand (a fella used to post - (your style) over at JSO - his name... Greenday. The similarity is uncanny. Nothing wrong with that. :mrgreen:

mraynrand.... What is your prognostication of OUR record this season?

PACKERS ! OUR FUTURE GOOD !!

[HarveyWallbangers]

I KNEW you'd have the hard numbers....you are second only to Patler. Although if one went to the 6 it was an EXTREMELY slight exageration.

My slight exaggeration comment was more geared to the affect that you said he kicked between the goalline and 5 on every kick... which paints a great picture of his kickoffs. In reality, he was decent. Most were closer to the 5 than the goalline. Conversely, you could have said Rayner kicked everyone of his kicks between the goalline and the 9, but that wouldn't have taken into consideration that 6 of the 7 were in fact to the goalline or in the endzone. I expect Longwell at the Dome to kick mostly to about the 5. That isn't bad. Most point out he's average at it, but he's not great. I read the KFAN beat writer talk about how great Longwell's leg is on kickoffs or something. Well, if Viking fans are expecting him to have a great leg on kickoffs, they'll be disappointed.

[Patler]

Wow!

That article is so bad it is humorous!
As others pointed out, he contradicted himself on Al Harris.

"one of the worst" teams in the NFL, and he predicts 6 or 7 wins? Even if GB plays all of the worst teams, and one is the Lions who they beat twice, that suggests that AT LEAST 5, 6 or 7 teams will be worse than GB. Seems to throw them into the quagmire of bad, but not awful teams.

I really liked Flanagan in his time, but "easily" the Packers best lineman? Certainly not the last two years.

He states "All of the newbies in the “rookies of note” listing will start in Week 1, and all but Hodge should be major upgrades." His list includes Colledge, Jennings and Hodge. It is unlikely that Colledge or Hodge will start, absent injury, and Jennings likely will not either!

He should be embarassed, not by his opinions, but by the glaring factual inaccuracies upon which they are based.

[woodbuck27]

That puts tremendous pressure on all those rookies and marginal starters.

God forbid rookies and margnial starters should feel "pressure" to do their jobs well and win. Does this guy think most marginal starters and rookies should be allowed a year to loaf around, tells jokes while on the field, and generally stand in one place and blink like a deer in the headlights?

He obviosly isn't too familiar with what Mike McCarthy and hs staff have been doing since lastt March? Many Packers have been showing the dedication to prepare for 2006, as needed.

Some havn't and that's evident in results to date that must improve (ie Al Harris). He'll get there because he's got to with the increased pressure he'll feel on his side of the field this season.

If I was the HC (any Coach) on the Packers.... noone would be pulling on their jock on the sideline or scratching their chin wondering what to do.

They would be busting their ass to make my team. I believe that is the message that Mike McCarthy is sending. Maybe some arn't hearing it but ....McCarthy is sick of losing...and...

This season.... he has Favre and Green and a whole host of Vet's that certinly must inspire the young fellas, or they will never be REAL Packers.

It's got to come from the VETS !! Not just the nice Locker room and the Packer Player's HOF. The monuments outside wear off ...

it's THE VET's !!

PACKER FUTURE !!

[Rastak]

Yeah, 'cuz we all know how could Ryan was on those kickoffs... :roll:


Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

Rastak:

Did Ryan Longwell have a surprising miss in one of your preseason games?

I'm busy and can't get as much info. myself as I'd enjoy. Something else always POPS UP, errrr well errrr !! :mrgreen:


I think it was a 55 yard FG, hardly a sureprise miss, although he didn't hit it real well.

[woodbuck27]

Yeah, 'cuz we all know how could Ryan was on those kickoffs... :roll:


Actually all his kickoffs last game landed between the 5 and the goalline....just for the record.

Rastak:

Did Ryan Longwell have a surprising miss in one of your preseason games?

I'm busy and can't get as much info. myself as I'd enjoy. Something else always POPS UP, errrr well errrr !! :mrgreen:


I think it was a 55 yard FG, hardly a sureprise miss, although he didn't hit it real well.

Got ya.

Ryan Longwell won't disappoint you Rastak.