What is the most interesting roster battle?

[sharpe1027]

I think the fullback battle is going to have the biggest impact. I'm pulling for Quinn as I think he has the skill set that best fits where our team wants to go.

I think Quinn's roster spot is secure, and the real roster battle is about who is going to be the second FB: Hall or Kuhn. I'd give that one to Hall, since the things that Kuhn does better than Hall are pretty much the things that Quinn is best at. Keep Hall as he's an accomplished special teamer, is good in blitz pickup, and is our best receiving FB.

Unless they consider Kuhn a viable back-up at HB, I don't see him sticking. He is probably the best ball-carrier of the three, but we don't need that.

[Bossman641]

I wonder if Brohm's roster spot is secure. If he shows nothing in preseason, its hard to see a future value.

At the start of camp I figured it was pretty secure. Recently a few writers who have at least some access to the thinking of the club have implied that it may not be so secure. Could mean that the staff isn't seeing progress at all, and might feel they are wasting their time. If that is how they feel, he could be on his way out.

This "do I wear a glove" or "don't I wear a glove" thing from Brohm is kind of pathetic. I want a QB who isn't concerned with sweat, rain, mud, blood, cold, etc. One that just wants the ball in his hand. Brohm seems to be thinking too much instead of just playing. It kind of smacks of looking for a quick fix, an easy answer.

I agree that the whole glove thing does seem pathetic, especially all the switching back and forth. However, didn't Ahman suffer from some pretty serious sweating issues and was switching elbow pads for a while. Regardless, Brohm needs to settle on one thing and go with it.

[Patler]

I wonder if Brohm's roster spot is secure. If he shows nothing in preseason, its hard to see a future value.

At the start of camp I figured it was pretty secure. Recently a few writers who have at least some access to the thinking of the club have implied that it may not be so secure. Could mean that the staff isn't seeing progress at all, and might feel they are wasting their time. If that is how they feel, he could be on his way out.

This "do I wear a glove" or "don't I wear a glove" thing from Brohm is kind of pathetic. I want a QB who isn't concerned with sweat, rain, mud, blood, cold, etc. One that just wants the ball in his hand. Brohm seems to be thinking too much instead of just playing. It kind of smacks of looking for a quick fix, an easy answer.

I agree that the whole glove thing does seem pathetic, especially all the switching back and forth. However, didn't Ahman suffer from some pretty serious sweating issues and was switching elbow pads for a while. Regardless, Brohm needs to settle on one thing and go with it.

The only thing Green did was try to go with the thin, rubber-like forearm sleeves in some hot, humid weather. They said he sweat so much that the sleeves became slick, so he switched to the thick padded cloth ones.

Brohm seems to be having trouble making up his mind about the glove, much like he has trouble making decisions during a play.

[pbmax]

Re: What is the most interesting roster battle?

I can't help but remember a comment I read when the Packers signed Preston. It was said to be from an unnamed scout who's team played Buffalo several times the last couple years. He said Preston can play center and both guard positions, but not very well. He said Preston is a guy who can get you through a game if your starter is injured, but you really don't want him starting the next week if your starter stays out. I thought that was kind of interesting. He seems to have value on the game day 45 as an emergency fill-in at several spots, but not much value otherwise.

I think Tony Moll is sort of the same, enough versatility to give you flxibility in who is active for games, since you hope he never plays anyway, but he's not the guy to starter in place of a starter..

Yes, the same report said that at his size he should be stouter, but gets overpowered. The only logic behind the move (assuming the Packers knew this going in and didn't think it was correctable) was to provide depth at center and guard.

If memory serves, the Packers had few players who could do both (Spitz is the only other one I can think of) and Wells would not make the greatest candidate for a backup as he has seldom seen time at guard since he was a rookie and he does not play special teams. Even if Preston cannot start like Wells, he provides depth at three spots.

So far though, it seems like Wells has played guard better than Preston has fared at center.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Re: What is the most interesting roster battle?

Wells would not make the greatest candidate for a backup as he has seldom seen time at guard since he was a rookie and he does not play special teams.

Ya, but since Spitz can swing between guard and center, it doesn't really matter if Wells only plays center. If any of the three interior guys go down, they are covered.

I don't know about the special teams part, but Wells' experience as a starter is very valuable, no way in hell would they cut him.

[Fritz]

Of all the criticism TT has received, the one area that I think he most deserves it in and has not really gotten blasted for is the punter position.

Nothing they could do about the Josh Bidwell thing - he just wanted to go somewhere warm - but they let the next guy go - not that he's spectacular, but he's still in Seattle, I think. Was it Jon Ryan? I forget the name. Canadian guy. Then there was the debacle of Frost, and now we've got two very mediocre punters battling it out with no one on the horizon who seems much of an upgrade.

In my estimation, Thompson has botched this position pretty badly in his five years here.

[Lurker64]

I think the fullback battle is going to have the biggest impact. I'm pulling for Quinn as I think he has the skill set that best fits where our team wants to go.

I think Quinn's roster spot is secure, and the real roster battle is about who is going to be the second FB: Hall or Kuhn. I'd give that one to Hall, since the things that Kuhn does better than Hall are pretty much the things that Quinn is best at. Keep Hall as he's an accomplished special teamer, is good in blitz pickup, and is our best receiving FB.

Unless they consider Kuhn a viable back-up at HB, I don't see him sticking. He is probably the best ball-carrier of the three, but we don't need that.

Yeah, the FB dive was a play they went to a lot in short yardage situations last year and it rarely actually worked to get the tough yard. Quinn's not a great ballcarrier, but he's a hard hitter (and has the potential to be the proverbial hammer of god with a little polishing). I like our odds better on 3rd and 1 with a back following Quinn or just Rodgers on the sneak behind Colledge.

[bobblehead]

RT is the one I'm paying attention to just because I think one of them emerging is a must for a productive season.

sounds similar to what we have at many positions where we have two guys with opposite skills. From what I have read Barbre has been run blocking very well, but less than adequate at pass pro, while Lang has been just the opposite.

In the end I think MM has been wanting a smash mouth run game for so long that he goes with Babre, but that is just my hunch....any way I find it the best battle in camp.

Where's the love for Breno?

I actually meant Breno, my bad. I constantly get them mixed up for some reason.

[Partial]

Will Spencer Havner finally make a roster after seemingly 4-5 years in camp without doing anything?

[Patler]

Of all the criticism TT has received, the one area that I think he most deserves it in and has not really gotten blasted for is the punter position.

Nothing they could do about the Josh Bidwell thing - he just wanted to go somewhere warm - but they let the next guy go - not that he's spectacular, but he's still in Seattle, I think. Was it Jon Ryan? I forget the name. Canadian guy. Then there was the debacle of Frost, and now we've got two very mediocre punters battling it out with no one on the horizon who seems much of an upgrade.

In my estimation, Thompson has botched this position pretty badly in his five years here.

Botched it? For not re-signing 40 year old Brian Barker who was the punter the year before TT came? For not keeping BJ Sander who he inherited from Sherman? Bidwell was gone for more than a year before TT arrived.

The only way he "botched" it is if you think it was a huge mistake letting Ryan go. Realistically he had a bad punting situation when he came, and he hasn't been able to fix it yet. But if there isn't a good one available, where do you get one?

The key thing is to keep a good one when you finally find one, so maybe his biggest mistake will turn out being letting Jon Ryan go. I'm not convinced just yet.

[Rastak]

Of all the criticism TT has received, the one area that I think he most deserves it in and has not really gotten blasted for is the punter position.

Nothing they could do about the Josh Bidwell thing - he just wanted to go somewhere warm - but they let the next guy go - not that he's spectacular, but he's still in Seattle, I think. Was it Jon Ryan? I forget the name. Canadian guy. Then there was the debacle of Frost, and now we've got two very mediocre punters battling it out with no one on the horizon who seems much of an upgrade.

In my estimation, Thompson has botched this position pretty badly in his five years here.

Botched it? For not re-signing 40 year old Brian Barker who was the punter the year before TT came? For not keeping BJ Sander who he inherited from Sherman? Bidwell was gone for more than a year before TT arrived.

The only way he "botched" it is if you think it was a huge mistake letting Ryan go. Realistically he had a bad punting situation when he came, and he hasn't been able to fix it yet. But if there isn't a good one available, where do you get one?

The key thing is to keep a good one when you finally find one, so maybe his biggest mistake will turn out being letting Jon Ryan go. I'm not convinced just yet.

I think the timing was rather suspect and perhaps that's why people make a bigger deal of it. Camp is over and suddenly the horse you're riding is cast aside and somebody brand new is brought in on the cusp of the new season. It makes further scrambles look perhaps worse than they are.

[Patler]

I think the timing was rather suspect and perhaps that's why people make a bigger deal of it. Camp is over and suddenly the horse you're riding is cast aside and somebody brand new is brought in on the cusp of the new season. It makes further scrambles look perhaps worse than they are.

That may be true, but was that any worse than Seattle cutting Plackermeier 10 days later to sign Ryan? That is sort of the life of average punters. They are shown the door rather abruptly, and often in mid-season.

[Patler]

Re: What is the most interesting roster battle?

The problem with trading Wells is that they might then have to keep Preston, and so far he reportedly has not looked very good. If Preston comes on the next 3 weeks, and Spitz/Sitton is the combination they decide to go with, I think Wells will be gone.

I got the impression that the rookie FA from Idaho State had moved well ahead of Preston.

That's what McGinn reported. Diedrich-Smith is thought to be able to do both center and guard. He got a lot of snaps at both in the first pre-season game.

JSO article on the Packers UDRFAs quotes an NFC scout who says that Dietrich-Smith won't clear waivers. Also says he is a center only.

Looks like the Packers won't be able to stash him on the practice squad. If the Packers hit the final cutdown with all of their Oline healthy, and if Spitz is the starter at center, Dietrich-Smith could be kept and Wells traded. Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

The same article quotes the scout as saying that Obiozor will be kept, because he wouldn't clear waivers either. Said, "He can play."

[denverYooper]

And Tory Humphrey's been cut:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/54015292.html

There's been just a lil blurb about it in 2 different articles now.

[Fritz]

Aren't there a couple of equipment lackey interns duking it out over who stays and who gets shown the door? That could be a good battle.