DRAFTT !

[RashanGary]

Aaron Maybin and Gerald McCoy look like good players. It looks to me like Maybin is a prototype 3-4 OLB but I haven't seen him play. Maybe he's got a big frame, but hasn't grown into it, in his short 21 years. I know Everette Brown is a guy that isn't big enough now, but you can clearly see the frame to add good weight as he makes that next step to the NFL.

Gerald McCoy looks like a prototype 3-technique tackle. I don't know what our offseason plans are with the defense, but our current defense tends to value the real big frames that can eat blockers while our DE's tend to be a little lighter and rush hard at the QB. He doesn't seem like a great fit for what we're looking for, but if he's a great player maybe we adjust or maybe we get a whole new defense this year anyway.

To answer your question, no, I don't know a whole lot about either.

[Bretsky]

A lot of people now seem to think that Orakpo will be gone when the Packers pick. Football's Future has the Packers taking Jason Smith/OT/Baylor in the 1st round. http://www.footballsfuture.com/2009/nflmockdraft.html With Tauscher an injured free agent and Clifton a free agent next year, it's a possibility. OT, DE and LB look pretty strong in the 1st half of the 1st round this year.

Could happen, but it'd be disappointing to me to see a OT in round one

I love ya Bretsky, but are you serious? Our #1 position we need an upfusion of talent in Tackle/OL...Damn I can't wait till we take a Joe Thomas type to upgrade the shoddy pass protects with the injured/old Tauchy/Cliffy combo and get someone that can open a hole for the RB's. For real, that needs to happen soon. This OL is a wreck and need a passrusher, but those take a year or two to develop, so I'd rather a stud ass OL in the top 10 right now by far. LB not so concerned as it's average, but the OL and DL are very much the cause of our digress in 2008. DL could come in FA if TT shows some nuts and gets one for the money....doubt it, but it's hard to upgrade with a rook on DL, but easily done on OL..Damn Joe Thomas was

an All-Pro last year as a LT. Get one off them and we are set.

I think both the OL and DL have needs; but to me it seems that we at least have some promising young OL and I see DL as weaker overall than the OL. I don't see promising young players on the DL side yet. We could shoot for a OL and DL starter in free agency; in fact I hope we get a solid DL player in FA and round one.

Basically we're weak in the trenches on both sides and that makes us a finesse team; that needs to change

[RashanGary]

Basically we're weak in the trenches on both sides and that makes us a finesse team; that needs to change

I think that's the #1 thing this bad year did for our team. How easy was it to overlook our wimpy team when we were winning finesse games? It was very easy. I'm not so sure Ted can go to sleep at night and think our run unit and run stopping unit are anywhere close to good enough.

Just about every team that wins a championship has a good, powerful running attack and a top 3 defense. We have neither. We can win games. We could have won a few more this year but we'll never win a championship as long as we are as weak up front as we are now. That HAS to change. I really want DL, but if we could get a strong LT that can pass block and pave the way in the run game for a long time, I'd also be ecstatic. Clifton is an awful run blocker. Our whole run game changes if we replace him and Wells with powerful blockers. Wells will be gone with Sitton sliding in. Replace Clifton in the draft and I think our offense is in the top 3.

[ND72]

Maualuga is the best player in college football this year. I take him and I switch to a 3-4 as he is the next Rey Lewis. They can't teach that size/speed/power/intensity combination.

OH

MY

F'IN

GOD

YES!

[ND72]

9. Everette Brown* DE Florida State 96
10. Eugene Monroe OT Virginia 96
11. Rey Maualuga ILB USC 96
13. Vontae Davis* CB Illinois 95
16. Jermaine Gresham* TE Oklahoma 95
17. B.J. Raji* DT Boston Coll. 94


I think it's going to be one of these guys here. My favorite is Everette Brown, but I like all of these guys and all fit into a 4-3/press type defense or a WCO. If ESPN has any clue, this draft could fall really well for us. Brown, Monroe, Maulaluga, DAvis, Gresham and Raji are all guys that would fit in really well to what we do. They've all got a little star power too. Playmaker type talent. Seems like a good year to have a top pick.

Orakpo is the guy I would not even consider. He is not going to be good in the NFL in my opinion.

Something about a highly ranked DE from Florida State scares me...

[ND72]

Agreed. Packers need d-linemen and linebackers.

Luga is better than Hawk because Luga is nastier and plays with reckless abandon. Hawk is overly concerned with assignments thus no impact plays.

Brandon Spikes from Florida is a prospect who is much more disciplined than Luga and possibly a better fit for TT's type of l-backers.

See, this is not what I get about our defense...Hawk WAS that guy in college. #1 - I think Hawk has been more injured this year than many know....but also, #2 - I think Vanilla Bob keeps Hawk held down in THINKING too much, and not playing.

My buddy & I were talking about this a few weeks back, Hawk plays like a MLB should, assignment correct, but needs more aggression than he has, and Barnett plays like a WLB should, plays with no thought process, just plays.

WHICH, by the way, whill be why they don't draft Luga. With Hawk, Barnett, Poop, & Chillar on staff, they have a lot of $$$ tied into our LB corp, they won't draft a LB in the 1st round unless it is for the SLB (Poop's) position.

Right now, I'm even thinking they will take OL, or DB. Unless there is some stud RB there, because I still don't think Grant is the answer. I still like Jackson, but he isn't an everydown guy.

[Bretsky]

Agreed. Packers need d-linemen and linebackers.

Luga is better than Hawk because Luga is nastier and plays with reckless abandon. Hawk is overly concerned with assignments thus no impact plays.

Brandon Spikes from Florida is a prospect who is much more disciplined than Luga and possibly a better fit for TT's type of l-backers.

See, this is not what I get about our defense...Hawk WAS that guy in college. #1 - I think Hawk has been more injured this year than many know....but also, #2 - I think Vanilla Bob keeps Hawk held down in THINKING too much, and not playing.

My buddy & I were talking about this a few weeks back, Hawk plays like a MLB should, assignment correct, but needs more aggression than he has, and Barnett plays like a WLB should, plays with no thought process, just plays.

WHICH, by the way, whill be why they don't draft Luga. With Hawk, Barnett, Poop, & Chillar on staff, they have a lot of $$$ tied into our LB corp, they won't draft a LB in the 1st round unless it is for the SLB (Poop's) position.

Right now, I'm even thinking they will take OL, or DB. Unless there is some stud RB there, because I still don't think Grant is the answer. I still like Jackson, but he isn't an everydown guy.

What about DL ? We have a lot of pedestrians on that side of the ball as well. The safety from USC also seems like the real deal though

[red]

well for those that are interested there will be a couple of good DE prospects going head to head on espn in about 40 minutes from now when wisconsin takes on FSU

[digitaldean]

Though TT's philosophy is to build through the draft, there should be no question that he HAS to have 1 to 2 high impact players for 2009 season.

OLine is a definite need, so is DLine. LB? The one with all the hype is Mauleuga (assuming that's the "luga' you're referring to). We need a less cerebral D and D that can set the tone, that can intimidate. To me Mauleuga is in the mold that Polamolu was for the secondary.

To me Poppinga has ZERO, ZIP, NADA in the instinct category. He is an overachieving special teamer at LB. Chillar wasn't super-consistent but I'd take him over Poppinga. Move out Poop and bring someone in who has his motor, but the instincts of a Polamolu. Mauleuga is that guy.

Vanilla Bob's D doesn't cut it. Blitzes rarely worked this year because they were poorly disguised and poorly executed. There are plenty of DC's out there who play press coverage and can do a better job than Sanders. Yes, we had a multitude of injuries, but our depth was not there talentwise. That's on TT. Also we tried changing our type of defense to compensate for that. That experiment has blown up in our face, that's on Sanders.

We do need a more active role for TE, and that may have to come via trade or FA. I wouldn't put my team's success in the hands of the TE's we have now. Lee is servicable, but not a big enough playmaker. Humphrey is just a body and Finley (save his lone 35 yard reception vs Chicago) has been more of a detriment than a help.

We came so close to get Gonzo then KC pulled their last second stunt to nix the deal. The guy has 96 catches on an absolutely pathetic Chiefs team. How much more would've his veteran presence helped this year? But, I digress.

Both MM and TT, are on an a big-ass hotseat for next season. An influx of new talent is needed to replace some starters and build depth in others. They do need to hit the right buttons or their tenure here won't be long.

[ND72]

Agreed. Packers need d-linemen and linebackers.

Luga is better than Hawk because Luga is nastier and plays with reckless abandon. Hawk is overly concerned with assignments thus no impact plays.

Brandon Spikes from Florida is a prospect who is much more disciplined than Luga and possibly a better fit for TT's type of l-backers.

See, this is not what I get about our defense...Hawk WAS that guy in college. #1 - I think Hawk has been more injured this year than many know....but also, #2 - I think Vanilla Bob keeps Hawk held down in THINKING too much, and not playing.

My buddy & I were talking about this a few weeks back, Hawk plays like a MLB should, assignment correct, but needs more aggression than he has, and Barnett plays like a WLB should, plays with no thought process, just plays.

WHICH, by the way, whill be why they don't draft Luga. With Hawk, Barnett, Poop, & Chillar on staff, they have a lot of $$$ tied into our LB corp, they won't draft a LB in the 1st round unless it is for the SLB (Poop's) position.

Right now, I'm even thinking they will take OL, or DB. Unless there is some stud RB there, because I still don't think Grant is the answer. I still like Jackson, but he isn't an everydown guy.

What about DL ? We have a lot of pedestrians on that side of the ball as well. The safety from USC also seems like the real deal though

Don't get me wrong here, I would LOVE Luga. I think Barnett, Hawk, & Luga would be an amazing 3 corp....BUT, I think one thing we have issues with is our talent on the DL. good LBers are good because of the guys up front. When Urlacher was the amazing player he was, he had 2 stud DT's in front of him. Losing Jenkins hurt us a lot this year, maybe more than many would know, probably even more than losing Barnett. I don't think Jolly was as good as advertised, and Pickett was not the Pickett of 2007. in 2007, he was a stud, 2008, he was invisible. Kampman gets double teamed if not triple teamed every down most times, and he has had a reputation to fade off as the season goes because he gets so beat up.

Our blitz packages are jokes, and pointless. I would love to get a stud DL guy, but personally I think DL is as big of a crapshoot finding a stud as any position in the NFL.

I like Collins, Harris, & Woodson...but would love to find some LaRon Landry type Safety to put in place of Bigby, who I never really liked, and Rouse, who I like, but has been hampered by injury and a case of the "Sanders"....aka, playing to vanilla.


Overall, I really think & hope that Teddy finds some defensive guys. I'm so sick of seeing guys like Chris Johnson, Chris Gamble, Adrian Peterson, Felix Jones, etc.etc.etc...get picked up and we never get that stud player, that game changing player that so many teams have.

[RashanGary]

The Badgers played away from Everette Brown all day. They doubled, rolled to the right, ran and basically gave him no opportunity to rush the passer.

At the end, with Wisconsin down, they finally had to do some straight drop back passing. Everette Brown showed off his studly inside spin move to get a sack and fumble.

He's a hell of a player. More than just a speed rusher. He's a strong dude, plays well with his hands and has multiple counter moves to go along with his speed rush.

[RashanGary]

Another sweet power move by Brown. He rushed outside, spun, then tossed the Badger OG aside, almost on his ass. Powerful dude. I don't care what his weight is listed at. He's out there bitch slapping 320 lb OL. He's got a big enough frame and he plays with power. Nuff said as far as I'm concerned.

[DonHutson]

Brown did not remind me of Jamal Reynolds. He looks like a real football player. I wanted to be impressed by him, but I now I wonder if he'll even be available.

[RashanGary]

Brown did not remind me of Jamal Reynolds. He looks like a real football player. I wanted to be impressed by him, but I now I wonder if he'll even be available.

Yup. If Jacksonville picks before us they could easily take him. He's a real 4-3 DE. He doesn't look like a linebacker. I know what his weight is listed at, but you can see he's got a bigger frame than a LB and he plays with a lot of power and explosion.

He's my guy this year and if things hold true to usual, he'll be gone and we'll get some average LB that people think is great because his weight is high.

[digitaldean]

It's not like we don't have an extra draft pick or two. If a player of a certain talent level is avaiilable, pull the trigger and move up.

Watched part of the Champs Bowl debacle. Brown did look impressive.

The DLine and OLine are the most pressing needs. Yes, if they can get Mauleuga, I'm for it. But we need players in NOW that have a high motor and high instinct for the game. We do not have the luxury of drafting any more projects like Harrell.