The Replacements

[CaliforniaCheez]

The Packers must upgrade the talent this off season at certain positions in order to compete well in the NFL.

Defense

DT- Cole is a free agent. Jolly and Pickett are at the end of next season, Harrell will be cut in training camp. They need more than a couple of draft picks to fill that void.

Safety - Bigby has been slowed by injury and is playing passively. His contract has expired so Rouse will move up. An upgrade over Peprah as backup is required.

CB - It takes time to develop replacements for both Al Harris and Charles Woodson who are running out of time.

Offense

OT - Adequate replacements for Tauscher (who is gone) and Clifton (high cap # and injury prone) are not on the roster. An upgrade from Moll is needed.

OG - A big strong guy is needed to pair up with Sitton.

RB - Ryan's Grant's holdout injury and lack of production means an upgrade at RB is needed.

TE - You may remember this position from year's past. Unfortunately they may only be able to upgrade the back up positions do to needs elsewhere.

P - Obviously


That is more than a dozen players that are the priorities.

The Packers have to make free agent moves and overspend to get the help they need. There are just too many holes in next season's roster.

The players they add must have some leadership ability as well. The immaturity of players like Bigby (gone at the end of the season) and Finley continue to hurt the team.

[RashanGary]

Bad idea IMO. Colledge is our best lineman right now. The other problems stem from zero pass rush and a weak front 4 in the run game. As long as TT recognizes our DL isn't great, he'll figure something out. If he "likes our guys" on the DL then we're screwed. My hope is that he realizes this group isn't very good.


When he drafts, he seems to take the player he needs most if on an equal tier. Him consistantly passing up DL tells me he, "likes our guys" and taht scares me. I hope he no longer "likes our guys" because they suck. If he recognizes DL as our biggest need we'll have guys brought in. My hope is that happens.

[Bossman641]

Re: The Replacements

The Packers must upgrade the talent this off season at certain positions in order to compete well in the NFL.

Defense

DT- Cole is a free agent. Jolly and Pickett are at the end of next season, Harrell will be cut in training camp. They need more than a couple of draft picks to fill that void.

For whatever reasons Pickett and Jolly are nowhere near the players they were last season. I'm content to give Harrell one more offseason to see what he can bring. I notice a lot of people seem to be down on him after this game. I didn't notice him doing anything bad, didn't notice him doing anything good either though. Did he really play that bad or is this just more of a TT's whipping boy thing (understandable after such a horrible loss). What they really need is players with different skillsets. All those guys they have now are run stuffers. Last year they had a nice variety of guys. They were able to mix and match run stuffers and pass rushers.

Safety - Bigby has been slowed by injury and is playing passively. His contract has expired so Rouse will move up. An upgrade over Peprah as backup is required.
I really haven't been that impressed with Rouse. The whole defense looked slow last night but he looked really slow last night. Don't know if he was banged up or what. He still takes bad angles. Maybe that will improve with PT, maybe not. I really don't know what to make of Bigby. I was never that impressed with him last year, thought he got a few cheapo INT's when he was out of position, but he hasn't been the same since his injury. I could see them trying to bring him back for a year.

CB - It takes time to develop replacements for both Al Harris and Charles Woodson who are running out of time.
I think they are in pretty decent position here. Tramon takes care of one side of the problem. You'd hope that Lee or Blackmon can improve and take care of the other. I see this as a mid to late round need.

Offense

OT - Adequate replacements for Tauscher (who is gone) and Clifton (high cap # and injury prone) are not on the roster. An upgrade from Moll is needed.
Agree, definitely need to address both tackle positions. I would love to see an experienced guard brought in for once.

OG - A big strong guy is needed to pair up with Sitton.

RB - Ryan's Grant's holdout injury and lack of production means an upgrade at RB is needed.
Disagree here. Grant has been fine the past few games and Jackson looks much better this year. If anything, I'd say you look for a guy with a different skillset here. A quick guy in the mold of Darren Sproles or Slaton.

TE - You may remember this position from year's past. Unfortunately they may only be able to upgrade the back up positions do to needs elsewhere.
Don't know what to make of the TE's. Are they not getting open? Or is Rodgers just not comfortable with them?

P - Obviously
Definitely


That is more than a dozen players that are the priorities.

The Packers have to make free agent moves and overspend to get the help they need. There are just too many holes in next season's roster.

The players they add must have some leadership ability as well. The immaturity of players like Bigby (gone at the end of the season) and Finley continue to hurt the team.

[PackerTimer]

I disagree about the offensive line. They seem to have turned a corner. They were really controlling the line of scrimmage last night until they found themselves down by 17 and the Saints just pinned back and didn't even have to think about defending the run. Tausch and Clifton are aging and they need to find replacements but I don't think it's as urgent as you make it out to be.

[Patler]

Him consistantly passing up DL tells me he, "likes our guys" and taht scares me. I hope he no longer "likes our guys" because they suck. If he recognizes DL as our biggest need we'll have guys brought in. My hope is that happens.

I don't think he has been satisfied with what he has on the d-line. He has drafted 5 defensive lineman in 4 drafts, including a first round pick and the only guy he has ever traded up to get. One of his few successes in free agency was to sign a former first rounder for the d-line. I suspect he will continue to bring in more, one way or another.

[run pMc]

The Packers have to make free agent moves and overspend to get the help they need.

If they are going to drop a lot of $$$, I'd prefer it be on extending Jennings.

Agree TT needs to keep bringing in OL & DL players. DL seems more urgent -- a lack of pass rush has hurt the defense, but getting gashed in the running game is disappointing.

Not convinced that Bigby or Rouse are the long-term answer at S.

Haven't seen enough of P.Lee, and I'm not sold on Blackmon as more than a dime or nickel CB and the PR.

I still can't tell if B.Jackson is any good, or if Lumpkin can backup Grant.

Frost is gone, but I have faith TT won't trade up and spend a R3 on a punter.

I expect TT to end up with about 10 picks and keep upgrading.

[sharpe1027]

Re: The Replacements

Defensive line:

Kampman is solid.

Picket is solid, but down a bit from last year.

Jolly has not lived up to his brief flashes from last year, but he is still exceeding initial expectations.

Cole is a good rotation guy.

Harrell has looked decent when he played, nothing special though.

Thompson has been above my expectations for a young guy forced to start, but my expectations were very low. Will he improve?

Nobody else has shown much of anything.

Defensive Backs:

Rouse looks slow, I question his range in coverage. I hope that I am wrong.

Bigby has been dinged up lately, but I think he's good enough to start.

Collins has surprised me, lately teams seem to be staying away from him and going at Bigby/Rouse.

Harris and Woodson are fine.

T. Williams is a legit starter.

No other CB is has given me any indication that they are starting material, but that is still have 5-6 starters for 4 positions.

Offensive Line:

Right now, the offensive line is better without Clifton.

Sitton is likely a starter next year.

Barbre is going to be hard to keep on the sidelines.

I think they have the guys they need, but will probably still be looking for upgrades.

Running Backs:

Grant looks good.

Jackson looks good as a 3rd down back, but it would be nice to use more of a rotation.

Our fullbacks are solid, but I would love to see them catch more passes.

Wide Receivers

Jennings will break the bank, but is proving he is worth it.

Driver has probably no more than 3 years, max.

Nelson needs improvement, but has shown ability.

Martin is a great 4th-5th WR as the only WR we have with that much height.

Jones is in danger of being cut next year.

Quarterback

Rodgers looks pretty good, he was a bit off last night though. Missed a lot of open WRS. He also doesn't seem to throw downfield to the TEs...don't know if that is his selection or poor play by the TEs.

Tight Ends

None of them are catching many passes downfield. None of them are getting many thrown their way. Not sure why.

[3irty1]

For such a doom and gloom post you didn't even mention Linebackers. This season they have been the biggest problem.

[BobDobbs]

As far as the Oline- Do you really want to let Tauscher go and play Tony Moll or a rookie that we draft next year? We definitely need to draft a Left Tackle with a top pick, but the best ones are gone early because that is such an important position.

We need pass rushers. Our defense will never achieve improvement without a stronger pass rush. The end position opposite Kampman is crying out for someone who can create pressure. I think that getting Jenkins back can help us inside and it is possible that Jolly keeps improving. Chillar's ability to blitz demands that he sees more playing time.

I think that we are good in the backfield, its always good to bring running backs into camp, but our top 2 are solid.

If they don't think that Blackmon or Lee are going to turn into starters they need to find someone who will. I'm not really that worried about the safety position. It is tough when your starter and backup can't run because of injury, if those guys are healthy they'll play well enough to contribute.

[sheepshead]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0BFhgDcZkM

[Iron Mike]

I had these two albums.

Oops....wrong thread.

[cap360]

For such a doom and gloom post you didn't even mention Linebackers. This season they have been the biggest problem.

If your dline sucks so will your linebackers.

[Fritz]

I have always been an advocate of taking the best available regardless of position, but if TT does that and takes a wide receiver I admit I will be pretty bummed.

I'd like to see a draft that is top-heavy with defensive linemen and a couple of offensive linemen. Then I'd like to see a linebacker or two.

And howz about a punter?

And finally, a tight end to compete with Humphrey and Finley, maybe a later, more developmental pick.

[Pugger]

How does the group available for the upcoming draft look? Are there some defensive line players in the senior/junior class that can make any kind of an impact? I'm not ready to chuck Harell yet. He's not gonna get a lot of sacks at DT but hopefully he'll be the heir apparent to Pickett down the line.

I thought the O line played well the other night even with Tauscher out of there. They gave AR time to throw (but AR had a horrible night). Grant and Jackson ran well and even made a few 3rd and shorts on the ground!! But once the Saints realized our D couldn't stop Brees they came on the a house of fire and we had to abandon the run. Rodgers' INTs didn't help either.