HarveyWallbangers
11-03-2007, 01:53 PM
Some interesting tidbits in this story.
Pickett has put his size and skill to use as Packers’ man in middle
By Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press Gazette
When the Green Bay Packers prepared to go free-agent shopping in 2006 for a bulky defensive tackle to fit Jim Bates’ defensive system, they projected Ryan Pickett would be the hottest commodity and they would grab Baltimore’s Maake Kemoeatu while most other teams bid on Pickett.
Instead, Kemoeatu drew more suitors, and the player the Packers liked better, Pickett, was second in line. The Packers eventually landed Pickett at a deal worth $14 million over four years, and even though that’s a significant contract, Pickett for 1½ seasons has been perhaps the most unsung player on a defense that’s rapidly improved.
The Packers considered Pickett a younger, healthier version of Grady Jackson — not quite as big or purely explosive as Jackson could be in penetrating a gap, but still plenty big and with much better stamina — and they’ve gotten their money’s worth. He’s been plugging the middle of the line effectively for 23 games since he signed, and despite a knee injury that leaves him listed as questionable on their injury report, he’ll probably be in the starting lineup for game No. 24 on Sunday at Kansas City.
“Ryan really, truly has been an unsung guy his whole career, not just here,” said John Schneider, the Packers’ personnel analyst to the general manager. “The year (before) we signed him in free agency he led defensive tackles yet was not a Pro Bowl player and was kind of an unsung guy. That’s kind of been his history, period — an unsung guy. Not real boisterous. He just goes about his business. And he’s a load in there.”
Pickett is a good fit for the Bates system, run by second-year defensive coordinator Bob Sanders, because at 6-foot-2, 322 pounds, he’s big enough to play two gaps and eat up blockers in the middle of the line, which leaves linebackers Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga more free to make tackles. Pickett is a run stopper who ranks second among the Packers’ defensive linemen in tackles with 28 — Aaron Kampman is first with 42 — and he’s also one of the reasons middle linebacker Nick Barnett is having a huge season (76 tackles).
“My numbers aren’t as high as I’d like,” Pickett said, “but at the same time our linebackers’ numbers are, so I’m doing the job in that aspect.”
Kampman said: “He is a big guy. He’s not like Gilbert (Brown) and Grady are in terms of his size, but he’s quicker moving up and down the line and being able to play a full game.”
Pickett’s sound play has been lost amidst the Packers’ quality depth and solid defensive line play overall. Kampman, a Pro Bowler last year, is that unit’s headliner and is tied for second in the NFL with eight sacks. Cullen Jenkins’ move from defensive tackle to starting right defensive end at the end of last year also has been an important move and well known to anyone who follows the team.
But the Packers also have had good play at defensive tackle, where Johnny Jolly and Corey Williams have switched off as the starter opposite Pickett and had good seasons.
Pickett, in the meantime, has been a quiet constant and proven an excellent free-agent signing by General Manager Ted Thompson in 2006.
Though Thompson is leery of the inflated costs of free agency, he ponied up $6.5 million in first-year pay for Pickett|as part of the four-year, $14 million contract. Kemoeatu, on the other hand, signed a five-year, $23 million deal with Carolina that included $8 million in guaranteed money.
St. Louis offered Pickett a contract slightly better than the Packers’, and Buffalo’s deal included about $8 million guaranteed but was worth about the same $14 million overall.
Pickett apparently wasn’t as valued by NFL teams as Kemoeatu, because he was one of three first-round picks by the Rams in 2001 and ended up getting lumped in with an entire defense that struggled for several years in St. Louis. The Rams progressively slipped each year from 2001, when they finished third in the NFL in yards allowed, to 2005, when they finished 30th.
“He was playing next to Jimmy Kennedy, they were both No. 1 draft choices, and their defense wasn’t rated that high,” Schneider said. “Those guys caught some of the blame, and I’m not sure that was necessarily (warranted) regarding Ryan. When we evaluated him, we were excited about the opportunity to have a shot at him, because everybody ended up going after Kemoeatu.”
Pickett wanted to leave St. Louis. In free agency, after visiting the Packers, he went to Buffalo, and in one of the many helter-skelter stories of free agency, the Bills tried to get him to stay an extra day so they could sign him. He also was considering taking a trip to Cincinnati, but the Packers sent a car to take him to the airport, then flew him to Green Bay so he could sign with them.
“Everything has worked out perfect,” Pickett said. “I tell my wife, ‘I love coming to work.’ I smile in the morning when I have to leave. In St. Louis, I used to dread coming to work. That’s a big thing.”
Pickett has been limited in practice all week after twice taking shots in the back of the leg that injured his knee Monday night against Denver. But he expects to play Sunday, because the swelling has gone down considerably.
He returned to the game each time after getting hurt last week and made a big play in the game’s final seconds when he stopped quarterback Jay Cutler for no gain on a third-down draw from the Packers’ 4 that prevented Denver from scoring the game-winning touchdown. The Broncos instead had to kick the tying field goal, and the Packers won on the first play of overtime.
Pickett and Kampman ran a stunt on the play, and Pickett ended up right where Cutler wanted to run.
“We didn’t know coming off the ball, but Coach Sanders made a great call,” Pickett said. “I just had to beat my man, and I beat him and got in position to make the tackle.”
Pickett has put his size and skill to use as Packers’ man in middle
By Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press Gazette
When the Green Bay Packers prepared to go free-agent shopping in 2006 for a bulky defensive tackle to fit Jim Bates’ defensive system, they projected Ryan Pickett would be the hottest commodity and they would grab Baltimore’s Maake Kemoeatu while most other teams bid on Pickett.
Instead, Kemoeatu drew more suitors, and the player the Packers liked better, Pickett, was second in line. The Packers eventually landed Pickett at a deal worth $14 million over four years, and even though that’s a significant contract, Pickett for 1½ seasons has been perhaps the most unsung player on a defense that’s rapidly improved.
The Packers considered Pickett a younger, healthier version of Grady Jackson — not quite as big or purely explosive as Jackson could be in penetrating a gap, but still plenty big and with much better stamina — and they’ve gotten their money’s worth. He’s been plugging the middle of the line effectively for 23 games since he signed, and despite a knee injury that leaves him listed as questionable on their injury report, he’ll probably be in the starting lineup for game No. 24 on Sunday at Kansas City.
“Ryan really, truly has been an unsung guy his whole career, not just here,” said John Schneider, the Packers’ personnel analyst to the general manager. “The year (before) we signed him in free agency he led defensive tackles yet was not a Pro Bowl player and was kind of an unsung guy. That’s kind of been his history, period — an unsung guy. Not real boisterous. He just goes about his business. And he’s a load in there.”
Pickett is a good fit for the Bates system, run by second-year defensive coordinator Bob Sanders, because at 6-foot-2, 322 pounds, he’s big enough to play two gaps and eat up blockers in the middle of the line, which leaves linebackers Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga more free to make tackles. Pickett is a run stopper who ranks second among the Packers’ defensive linemen in tackles with 28 — Aaron Kampman is first with 42 — and he’s also one of the reasons middle linebacker Nick Barnett is having a huge season (76 tackles).
“My numbers aren’t as high as I’d like,” Pickett said, “but at the same time our linebackers’ numbers are, so I’m doing the job in that aspect.”
Kampman said: “He is a big guy. He’s not like Gilbert (Brown) and Grady are in terms of his size, but he’s quicker moving up and down the line and being able to play a full game.”
Pickett’s sound play has been lost amidst the Packers’ quality depth and solid defensive line play overall. Kampman, a Pro Bowler last year, is that unit’s headliner and is tied for second in the NFL with eight sacks. Cullen Jenkins’ move from defensive tackle to starting right defensive end at the end of last year also has been an important move and well known to anyone who follows the team.
But the Packers also have had good play at defensive tackle, where Johnny Jolly and Corey Williams have switched off as the starter opposite Pickett and had good seasons.
Pickett, in the meantime, has been a quiet constant and proven an excellent free-agent signing by General Manager Ted Thompson in 2006.
Though Thompson is leery of the inflated costs of free agency, he ponied up $6.5 million in first-year pay for Pickett|as part of the four-year, $14 million contract. Kemoeatu, on the other hand, signed a five-year, $23 million deal with Carolina that included $8 million in guaranteed money.
St. Louis offered Pickett a contract slightly better than the Packers’, and Buffalo’s deal included about $8 million guaranteed but was worth about the same $14 million overall.
Pickett apparently wasn’t as valued by NFL teams as Kemoeatu, because he was one of three first-round picks by the Rams in 2001 and ended up getting lumped in with an entire defense that struggled for several years in St. Louis. The Rams progressively slipped each year from 2001, when they finished third in the NFL in yards allowed, to 2005, when they finished 30th.
“He was playing next to Jimmy Kennedy, they were both No. 1 draft choices, and their defense wasn’t rated that high,” Schneider said. “Those guys caught some of the blame, and I’m not sure that was necessarily (warranted) regarding Ryan. When we evaluated him, we were excited about the opportunity to have a shot at him, because everybody ended up going after Kemoeatu.”
Pickett wanted to leave St. Louis. In free agency, after visiting the Packers, he went to Buffalo, and in one of the many helter-skelter stories of free agency, the Bills tried to get him to stay an extra day so they could sign him. He also was considering taking a trip to Cincinnati, but the Packers sent a car to take him to the airport, then flew him to Green Bay so he could sign with them.
“Everything has worked out perfect,” Pickett said. “I tell my wife, ‘I love coming to work.’ I smile in the morning when I have to leave. In St. Louis, I used to dread coming to work. That’s a big thing.”
Pickett has been limited in practice all week after twice taking shots in the back of the leg that injured his knee Monday night against Denver. But he expects to play Sunday, because the swelling has gone down considerably.
He returned to the game each time after getting hurt last week and made a big play in the game’s final seconds when he stopped quarterback Jay Cutler for no gain on a third-down draw from the Packers’ 4 that prevented Denver from scoring the game-winning touchdown. The Broncos instead had to kick the tying field goal, and the Packers won on the first play of overtime.
Pickett and Kampman ran a stunt on the play, and Pickett ended up right where Cutler wanted to run.
“We didn’t know coming off the ball, but Coach Sanders made a great call,” Pickett said. “I just had to beat my man, and I beat him and got in position to make the tackle.”