Brady Poppinga, Anyone?

[Fritz]

One of the ways I know Poppinga has been playing better is that all the haters who wanted him immediately demoted or cut or both have been strangely silent over the past two weeks. What happened to them all?

I mean, I'm not a huge fan of Poppinga, but I think he's still learning (he's a second year player) and with this team going nowhere I don't see why you wouldn't let him play and develop. It's not like Ben Taylor is secretly named "Lawrence" and keeping him on the bench is a travesty of justice. He's okay, don't get me wrong, I like him fine, but why not let Poppinga learn a little and see if he improves?

Yup, four short weeks ago there were probably about four or five "Poopinga sucks" threads out there. They seem to have disappeared.

[The Leaper]

Poppinga still isn't doing it for me.

The reason people aren't whining anymore isn't because Poppinga suddenly is doing much better. It is because it has become apparent that nothing beside injury is going to put Poppinga on the bench right now. This team is going forward with Poppinga regardless...much like they did with Whitticker last year.

He's still a liability in pass coverage, although he has shown improvement in that area. It would be hard for him not to improve there after showing NOTHING the first 2-3 weeks.

He still overpursues and puts himself out of position on many running plays. He had an interception last week...great. What else did he do? While Hawk is out there racking up 12 tackles, Poppinga is invisible. He had numerous chances on pass rushes, and never really got close to making a play on the QB. That was supposed to be his forte.

At this point, I still do not see anything to convince me that Poppinga is truly a starting caliber LB in the NFL. He still has upside...but he's not really much younger than Taylor, so I'm unsure why this team doesn't give someone else a chance.

[Fritz]

Well, Leaper, I"m not saying the guy is the second coming. But my understanding is that Taylor is a known commodity with a limited ceiling. It's possible Poppinga has more upside, so why not play him? But as always I respect your opinion.

[packiowa]

Well, Leaper, I"m not saying the guy is the second coming. But my understanding is that Taylor is a known commodity with a limited ceiling. It's possible Poppinga has more upside, so why not play him? But as always I respect your opinion.

All season long, I've thought Poppinga played the run better than any other lb we put in there.

He had a tough few games early in the season, but the kid was just coming back to football and he had decent coverage on a number of the plays people chastized him for blowing.

The reasons people aren't screaming about Pop anymore are at least two fold. First, he's playing better. Second, the announcers and replay guys aren't highlighting his mistakes like early in the season.

[The Leaper]

All season long, I've thought Poppinga played the run better than any other lb we put in there.

Hawk plays the run twice as well as Poppinga. Poppings routinely overpursues and bites on fakes. Teams are beginning to run AWAY from KGB now...simply because Hawk is usually behind him. That tells me that other teams also view Poppinga as a larger weakness in terms of giving up a big play in the running game.

Players who play the run well rack up large numbers of tackles. Poppinga is averaging less than 5 tackles a game...and his production has declined throughout the season, down to a season low 1 tackle last week. Compare that to Hawk, who has seen his production consistently increase as the season has gone on.

Plus, Poppinga was supposed to be a guy who could rush the passer. So far, he has no sacks and has proven very unreliable in putting pressure on the QB when given a chance to blitz.


He had a tough few games early in the season, but the kid was just coming back to football and he had decent coverage on a number of the plays people chastized him for blowing.

Decent coverage? You are kidding me. He WASN'T covering in the first few games of the season. Nobody TEs were absolutely eating his lunch.

I think Poppinga has improved slightly through the season...but he remains a subpar LB IMO, and isn't someone I would consider a reliable starting LB in the NFL.

[Willard]

B-Pop still has a long way to go, but I like his attitude. If I were Denny Green I would emphasize Edge in the passing game to challenge the GB pass defense by featuring short passes to the RB & TE. Miami missed a couple of golden opportunities last week where the RB went into the flat (with no Green jerseys in sight) but Joey missed him (thank goodness). We may be getting better, but we also got lucky last week. I hope Denny doesnt go to his RB/FB/TE too often because it could spell trouble (yes, with a capital T).

[SD GB fan]

maybe cos miami were trying to go downfield and score?

[Patler]

Well, Leaper, I"m not saying the guy is the second coming. But my understanding is that Taylor is a known commodity with a limited ceiling. It's possible Poppinga has more upside, so why not play him? But as always I respect your opinion.

Taylor has been out injured and has not played the last two games. I raised the question in a thread earlier this week if when Taylor can play (which might be Sunday) if he will start getting more action. Poppinga had zero tackles against Miami, zero sacks, and one assist. That's not bad for a linebacker, its HORRIBLE!

[Bretsky]

Well, Leaper, I"m not saying the guy is the second coming. But my understanding is that Taylor is a known commodity with a limited ceiling. It's possible Poppinga has more upside, so why not play him? But as always I respect your opinion.

Taylor has been out injured and has not played the last two games. I raised the question in a thread earlier this week if when Taylor can play (which might be Sunday) if he will start getting more action. Poppinga had zero tackles against Miami, zero sacks, and one assist. That's not bad for a linebacker, its HORRIBLE!

Good points Patler. Overall Poppings has still not shown me much in terms of giving me faith he can be an adequate starting LB. Yes, he caught an errant throw last week and he made a defensive play in coverage. But he's overrunning plays all over and getting caught out of postion against the run. Right now he's a starting LB we need to replace down the road. I still hold out hope he can improve enough to be a competent starter.

B

[Bossman641]

I'm still waiting to hear from Wist. He's been silent aroud these parts lately.

[GrnBay007]

I'm still waiting to hear from Wist. He's been silent aroud these parts lately.



We miss Wist!!

[run pMc]

Poppinga is a backup who is starting. I think TT goes out and finds a new LB this offseason. Like the kid's motor, and I was happy he caught that ball Joey threw right at him, but I'm not seeing the production.

I think he'll get better as he plays, but I don't think that "upside" is very high. Higher than Taylor? Yeah.

[Tarlam!]

If Poppinga could emulate the success he had on ST before his injury last year, I would be happy. I have always pulled for the guy; like his attitude, has a bit of a feel good story about him, too.

It's been mentioned previously that he comes off on obvious passing downs which makes him less vulnerable.

I agree with Patler though - no tackles is great for a shutdown CB, lousy for a SLB.

[Fritz]

I still say that given where this team is, it's in the best interest of the Packers to start Poppinga and see how well he develops. I do find it interesting that so many Poppinga critics complained about his pass coverage but dismissed his interception. What, didn't it end up counting or something because it was too easy?

[MJZiggy]

People didn't think it was no big deal against the Rams when those easy interceptions were dropped...

[Patler]

I do find it interesting that so many Poppinga critics complained about his pass coverage but dismissed his interception. What, didn't it end up counting or something because it was too easy?

I believe my comment in another thread was that the interception was the only play Poppinga made the entire day.

[Fritz]

I wasn't referring to you there, Patler. Sorry if it seemed so.

[Patler]

I wasn't referring to you there, Patler. Sorry if it seemed so.

No I didn't think it was pointed at me specifically, I just wanted to emphasize where I stand on Poppinga. He can make an occassional play, but he has a long, long way to go yet to be a competent starter.

If the Packers otherwise were a playoff calibre defense, his weaknesses would stand out even more. He would be exploited even more than he is. However, the Packer's D has had enough other problems that teams can attack other areas with success, too.

I think he was on the verge of losing his starting spot a couple weeks ago, but Hodge and Taylor were both injured three weeks ago. Both have been inactive ever since, and the Packers were forced to re-sign Tracy White, who had been released in September. Basically, Poppinga has been the only option the last two games.

I had hoped he could start to make a difference as a pass rusher, but he hasn't really done that either. He has time yet to develope, and hopefully it will start soon and happen rapidly, but he might turn out to be simply a more physical version of Paris Lenon, a decent ST player and backup linebacker that you would prefer not to have to start..

[The Leaper]

***UPDATE***

Another monster one tackle game for Poppinga. He was invisible the entire game.

[billy_oliver880]

The few plays that I saw him it looked like he wasn't play in control. On the goal line I just watch him try to launch up over the d-line. I thought lb's were fill holes...not leap over the line at a rb that is going the other way.

[Bossman641]

Poppinga is a ghost on the field. I thought his strength was supposed to be rushing the passer. Certainly could have fooled me.