Partial
08-22-2007, 05:22 PM
The Green Bay Packers selected Aaron Rouse with a third-round draft pick this year to be one of three contenders to possibly knock Marquand Manuel out of the starting lineup at safety.
But after a full offseason and 3½ weeks into training camp, the Packers appear to have never given Rouse or anyone other than Atari Bigby serious consideration for overtaking Manuel. Bigby began taking a few snaps with the starters last week in practice and will start along side Nick Collins in this Thursday's preseason game against Jacksonville.
Though Rouse probably has had more snaps in practice than any of the Packers' backup safeties, almost all but one or two came with the Nos. 2 or 3 defenses, not the starters. Whether the Packers would have been better served by also giving him a look with the starters remains open for debate, but coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Bob Sanders decided that Bigby's speed, aggressiveness and experience (he's played in NFL Europa and been in the NFL since 2005) put him well ahead of the third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech.
So barring injuries, either Bigby or Manuel will be starting opposite Collins in the regular-season opener Sept. 9 against Philadelphia.
"We've got the right three guys right now," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' secondary coach, of starting Collins and either Manuel or Bigby at safety. "Those three guys all have a chance to be very, very good players right now. Not to say Rouse is not, but we need to find out about that one position."
Though Manuel was a weak link in the secondary last year after the Packers signed him in free agency, they gave him the vast majority of snaps with the starters for the first three weeks of training camp, until Bigby took the majority in this short week that consisted of only two full practices. The team's coaching staff continues to praise Manuel publicly, especially for his ability to quarterback the secondary, and says he's a better player after recovering this offseason from a severe groin injury that slowed him last year.
"I know (Manuel) has taken a lot of heat and so forth, some justifiable but much of it not," Schottenheimer said. "He is playing very well right now, he is different than he was a year ago simply because he's healthier."
But if Manuel has been better in this camp, the difference isn't big, and he's done nothing to distinguish himself among the safeties. Bigby, on the other hand, showed good range in coverage in offseason practices, and though he missed an open-field tackle that allowed Pittsburgh's Walter Young to score a 41-yard touchdown in the exhibition opener, he wasn't responsible, as it first appeared, for another big play in that game. On a 49-yard completion on which Santonio Holmes got behind the Packers' secondary, Bigby had run-game responsibilities and was supposed to play bracket coverage in front of any deep routes, while cornerback Will Blackmon was supposed to play off Holmes and stay behind him at all times.
Just as importantly, Bigby also had two eye-catching sacks last week in a four-tackle performance against Seattle and has shown better overall athletic ability than Manuel.
Now, after an unpromising start to his NFL career, Bigby stands a good chance of becoming a starter this season. He entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Central Florida in 2005, was cut by both Miami and the New York Jets before the '05 season began, then played in six regular-season games with the Packers over the last two years combined, with longer stints on their practice squad both seasons as well. He also played in NFL Europa in 2006, an experience that showed in his play last year in offseason practices before a broken hand in the Family Night scrimmage of training camp blew his chances of making the opening-day roster.
"That's all a guy like me can ask for, to get a shot," Bigby said.
In turn, if Manuel isn't the starter for the regular-season opener, there's a chance he might not even make the final 53-man roster only a year after General Manager Ted Thompson signed him to a five-year, $10 million contract that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
The Packers probably will keep four safeties, with Collins, Bigby and Rouse almost surely taking three spots. If the 28-year-old Manuel doesn't start, the Packers might prefer to keep one of their two second-year safeties, Tyrone Culver or Charlie Peprah — as a special-teams player and developmental prospect.
The Packers cut third-year pro Marviel Underwood on Tuesday because they wanted to make sure Bigby, Rouse, Manuel, Culver and Peprah will get plenty of snaps in this week's game. Underwood simply wasn't the same player yet after coming back from torn anterior-cruciate and medial-collateral ligaments in his right knee.
"Those things will be sorted out, obviously," Schottenheimer said. "But those are the good problems you have. If you can tell me there's a guy we're going to keep over (Manuel), then I'd be thrilled, not because that's what I want, but that means someone is a talented player."
But after a full offseason and 3½ weeks into training camp, the Packers appear to have never given Rouse or anyone other than Atari Bigby serious consideration for overtaking Manuel. Bigby began taking a few snaps with the starters last week in practice and will start along side Nick Collins in this Thursday's preseason game against Jacksonville.
Though Rouse probably has had more snaps in practice than any of the Packers' backup safeties, almost all but one or two came with the Nos. 2 or 3 defenses, not the starters. Whether the Packers would have been better served by also giving him a look with the starters remains open for debate, but coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Bob Sanders decided that Bigby's speed, aggressiveness and experience (he's played in NFL Europa and been in the NFL since 2005) put him well ahead of the third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech.
So barring injuries, either Bigby or Manuel will be starting opposite Collins in the regular-season opener Sept. 9 against Philadelphia.
"We've got the right three guys right now," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' secondary coach, of starting Collins and either Manuel or Bigby at safety. "Those three guys all have a chance to be very, very good players right now. Not to say Rouse is not, but we need to find out about that one position."
Though Manuel was a weak link in the secondary last year after the Packers signed him in free agency, they gave him the vast majority of snaps with the starters for the first three weeks of training camp, until Bigby took the majority in this short week that consisted of only two full practices. The team's coaching staff continues to praise Manuel publicly, especially for his ability to quarterback the secondary, and says he's a better player after recovering this offseason from a severe groin injury that slowed him last year.
"I know (Manuel) has taken a lot of heat and so forth, some justifiable but much of it not," Schottenheimer said. "He is playing very well right now, he is different than he was a year ago simply because he's healthier."
But if Manuel has been better in this camp, the difference isn't big, and he's done nothing to distinguish himself among the safeties. Bigby, on the other hand, showed good range in coverage in offseason practices, and though he missed an open-field tackle that allowed Pittsburgh's Walter Young to score a 41-yard touchdown in the exhibition opener, he wasn't responsible, as it first appeared, for another big play in that game. On a 49-yard completion on which Santonio Holmes got behind the Packers' secondary, Bigby had run-game responsibilities and was supposed to play bracket coverage in front of any deep routes, while cornerback Will Blackmon was supposed to play off Holmes and stay behind him at all times.
Just as importantly, Bigby also had two eye-catching sacks last week in a four-tackle performance against Seattle and has shown better overall athletic ability than Manuel.
Now, after an unpromising start to his NFL career, Bigby stands a good chance of becoming a starter this season. He entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Central Florida in 2005, was cut by both Miami and the New York Jets before the '05 season began, then played in six regular-season games with the Packers over the last two years combined, with longer stints on their practice squad both seasons as well. He also played in NFL Europa in 2006, an experience that showed in his play last year in offseason practices before a broken hand in the Family Night scrimmage of training camp blew his chances of making the opening-day roster.
"That's all a guy like me can ask for, to get a shot," Bigby said.
In turn, if Manuel isn't the starter for the regular-season opener, there's a chance he might not even make the final 53-man roster only a year after General Manager Ted Thompson signed him to a five-year, $10 million contract that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
The Packers probably will keep four safeties, with Collins, Bigby and Rouse almost surely taking three spots. If the 28-year-old Manuel doesn't start, the Packers might prefer to keep one of their two second-year safeties, Tyrone Culver or Charlie Peprah — as a special-teams player and developmental prospect.
The Packers cut third-year pro Marviel Underwood on Tuesday because they wanted to make sure Bigby, Rouse, Manuel, Culver and Peprah will get plenty of snaps in this week's game. Underwood simply wasn't the same player yet after coming back from torn anterior-cruciate and medial-collateral ligaments in his right knee.
"Those things will be sorted out, obviously," Schottenheimer said. "But those are the good problems you have. If you can tell me there's a guy we're going to keep over (Manuel), then I'd be thrilled, not because that's what I want, but that means someone is a talented player."