Official Packers Bye Week Thread

[Joemailman]

Time to get healthy boys.

Don Barclay released off of IR.

Max McCaffrey signed to PS.

[pbmax]

So the Packers were down to one healthy ILB on Sunday. They have not made moves to address this.

Does this mean Ryan or Thomas will be back? Anyone heard about either one?

[mraynrand]

I don't even think they care. Who has hurt them in the run game? I mean, nobody runs the ball in the NFL anymore and wins, right? Even if you roll up 200 yards on the ground, you probably still lose.

[Teamcheez1]

Probably expect Burnett back, so they will be running more nitro.

Ryan is not seriously hurt, so they can plug him in for mediocre LB play when needed.

[Teamcheez1]

Demovsky laments defense is still just as bad or worse than last year

http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/41695/packers-defense-has-gone-from-bad-to-still-bad

[mraynrand]

Demovsky laments defense is still just as bad or worse than last year

http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/41695/packers-defense-has-gone-from-bad-to-still-bad

I decided to respond before reading the article. Main reasons for defense not progressing:

1) TT tried to fix d-back situation by drafting King, Jones, (and Evans) and BRINGING BLACK HOUSE. Hope was that these guys, plus healthy and improving Randall and Rollins would result in serious upgrade. Reality: Injuries, mental illness (Randall), and regression by HCD (due to injury or over-burdened with responsibility on back end) have made this group meh so far. Still, dramatic improvement by season's end is still possible.

2) Interior pass rush. Daniels plus Clark were supposed to be more disruptive. Even Lowry was expected to contribute more with the invisible Datone Jones now actually missing, not just MIA. Packers drafted Adams, but he is not ready. Clark is a force, but not a disruptive pass rusher. Daniels is neutralized for whatever reason. Mix of double-teams and drop in productivity. Maybe he just tired. There is no reason to believe anything here will improve. Lowry's arms have stopped growing.

3) Outside pass rush. This is largely nonexistent. Biegel was supposed to help: Packer Plague victim. FA gamble with Brooks may not work out as he is suffering from the Packer Plague as well. Matthews is ineffective. Perry is OK but it's entirely possible that he is now the target for other team's game planning, not Matthews. He can't defeat double teams. He is no Khalil Mack. Packers have nothing close to a Mack. As a result, d-backs are more exposed than Harvey Weinstein in a limo. Expecting Biegel and Brooks to return and save the pass rush is possible, but so is a Mars colony in the next 10 years.

4) Linebackers and Nitro. Martinez is good. Ryan is Meh. Burnett can run the nitro, but without him, the middle is even more susceptible to crossing route kryptonite. This should improve with Jones gaining experience and Burnett returning.

Overall: lack of productivity from key starters (HCD, Matthews, Daniels) and delayed (or non-existent) improvement from others is killing the defense. There is some hope for improvement by season's end, but only if everyone gets healthy and stay healthy, and even then, we're looking at an average defense. And they need more - right now - to weather the storm of either waiting for Rodgers to return or Hundley to improve.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I decided to respond before reading the article. Main reasons for defense not progressing:

1) TT tried to fix d-back situation by drafting King, Jones, (and Evans) and BRINGING BLACK HOUSE. Hope was that these guys, plus healthy and improving Randall and Rollins would result in serious upgrade. Reality: Injuries, mental illness (Randall), and regression by HCD (due to injury or over-burdened with responsibility on back end) have made this group meh so far. Still, dramatic improvement by season's end is still possible.

2) Interior pass rush. Daniels plus Clark were supposed to be more disruptive. Even Lowry was expected to contribute more with the invisible Datone Jones now actually missing, not just MIA. Packers drafted Adams, but he is not ready. Clark is a force, but not a disruptive pass rusher. Daniels is neutralized for whatever reason. Mix of double-teams and drop in productivity. Maybe he just tired. There is no reason to believe anything here will improve. Lowry's arms have stopped growing.

3) Outside pass rush. This is largely nonexistent. Biegel was supposed to help: Packer Plague victim. FA gamble with Brooks may not work out as he is suffering from the Packer Plague as well. Matthews is ineffective. Perry is OK but it's entirely possible that he is now the target for other team's game planning, not Matthews. He can't defeat double teams. He is no Khalil Mack. Packers have nothing close to a Mack. As a result, d-backs are more exposed than Harvey Weinstein in a limo. Expecting Biegel and Brooks to return and save the pass rush is possible, but so is a Mars colony in the next 10 years.

4) Linebackers and Nitro. Martinez is good. Ryan is Meh. Burnett can run the nitro, but without him, the middle is even more susceptible to crossing route kryptonite. This should improve with Jones gaining experience and Burnett returning.

Overall: lack of productivity from key starters (HCD, Matthews, Daniels) and delayed (or non-existent) improvement from others is killing the defense. There is some hope for improvement by season's end, but only if everyone gets healthy and stay healthy, and even then, we're looking at an average defense. And they need more - right now - to weather the storm of either waiting for Rodgers to return or Hundley to improve.You could have saved a lot of typing by just writing: We still stink.

Seriously, great, great post. Describes are defensive ills to a "t."

I'm especially disappointed in Matthews. I think he takes plays off now, which he never used to do. I watched him on a couple of plays against NO he just quit. Maybe his skills have diminished, or he's beat up physically or his heart just isn't in it given all our key injuries.

[Fritz]

Good analysis by MrAynRand. Hits all the notes.

Even if things go well health-wise, this is looking like a very "meh" defense. That can get you somewhere if Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback of the offense, but not if Aaron Jones is your offensive star.

[Bossman641]

Biggest mysteries for me on defense are..

Is Daniels injured? ya it was Seattle but he played like a man possessed in week 1
What in the world has happened to hhcd?
Where is Lowry? I haven't followed the games as closely this year as the past few but seems like he's been invisible

[texaspackerbacker]

Yeah, I concur with pretty much all of aynrand's post above too. The only slight disagreement is about Randall. I had been as negative about him as anybody, but I see real improvement, and the crap about "mental illness" is mostly irrelevant - just exuberance over making plays (finally), and that's a good thing.

Whether it's just bad luck or Ted Thompson shoulda done better, we just haven't been able to hit on high draft picks becoming star quality players. Clay Matthews is about the last one on D, and that's a long time ago.

[woodbuck27]

Demovsky laments defense is still just as bad or worse than last year

http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/41695/packers-defense-has-gone-from-bad-to-still-bad

No kidding !