Deep Thoughts on the 2009 Season

[sharpe1027]

Re: Deep Thoughts on the 2009 Season

Good post. I agree that Kampy isn't Woodson-worth in coverage. That being said, LaMarr Woodley is no ballerina out there.

I'm actually more worried that he appears to be a better rusher with his hand on the ground then when he's off the line.

Maybe, but (barring a zone blitz or something) DEs are rushing the QB on every passing play and should get more total sacks than an OLBer that is not rushing as many plays total. I think he'll be effective even though his total sacks might be down some.

[rbaloha1]

After watching preseason my expectations increased. Finally the team is playing the way MM and TT envisioned.

The offense is balanced with home run capabilities at any time. The o-line is young and assignment sure. The defense is also capable of scoring a td on any down.

Still concerned about the punting game. However due to a weak north and softer schedule fully expect the Packers to be a legitimate super bowl contender.

[pbmax]

Re: Deep Thoughts on the 2009 Season

Good post. I agree that Kampy isn't Woodson-worth in coverage. That being said, LaMarr Woodley is no ballerina out there.

I'm actually more worried that he appears to be a better rusher with his hand on the ground then when he's off the line.

Maybe, but (barring a zone blitz or something) DEs are rushing the QB on every passing play and should get more total sacks than an OLBer that is not rushing as many plays total. I think he'll be effective even though his total sacks might be down some.

The DEs you are referring to will only rush the passer out of the base set, which is used 40% of the time. In other packages, Kampman/Matthews/Thompson will be the the de facto ends. Jenkins and Raji, of the base DEs, will be tackles on passing downs.

[sharpe1027]

Re: Deep Thoughts on the 2009 Season

Good post. I agree that Kampy isn't Woodson-worth in coverage. That being said, LaMarr Woodley is no ballerina out there.

I'm actually more worried that he appears to be a better rusher with his hand on the ground then when he's off the line.

Maybe, but (barring a zone blitz or something) DEs are rushing the QB on every passing play and should get more total sacks than an OLBer that is not rushing as many plays total. I think he'll be effective even though his total sacks might be down some.

The DEs you are referring to will only rush the passer out of the base set, which is used 40% of the time. In other packages, Kampman/Matthews/Thompson will be the the de facto ends. Jenkins and Raji, of the base DEs, will be tackles on passing downs.

I was referring to Kampman when he played as a DE vs. now as an OLB. In the 4-3 he rushed the QB on every pass. So his total sacks may be lower this year, but that doesn't mean he is necessarily less effective without his hand down.

[]{ilr]3]

After watching preseason my expectations increased. Finally the team is playing the way MM and TT envisioned.

The offense is balanced with home run capabilities at any time. The o-line is young and assignment sure. The defense is also capable of scoring a td on any down.

Still concerned about the punting game. However due to a weak north and softer schedule fully expect the Packers to be a legitimate super bowl contender.

I was suprised to learn that Kapinos has the best yards per punt average in the pre-seaon right now.

I would say with the additions to the vikings and the bears the NFC N is one of the more competitive divisions in the league. Although we still get to play the Browns, Bengals, Rams and the Lions.

[denverYooper]

After watching preseason my expectations increased. Finally the team is playing the way MM and TT envisioned.

The offense is balanced with home run capabilities at any time. The o-line is young and assignment sure. The defense is also capable of scoring a td on any down.

Still concerned about the punting game. However due to a weak north and softer schedule fully expect the Packers to be a legitimate super bowl contender.

I agree with you that the team has been built according to a larger vision and that that vision seems to be working out. This will be an interesting year because the team is very talented but not yet proven. I'm not sold on the soft schedule idea.

Granted, we do play several teams that appear to be in rebuilding mode (Rams, Browns, Lions x 2, Bucs, 49ers) but I remember thinking last year that we'd have more wins against the 'bad' NFC South. They ended up being stronger than expected. There'll probably be a few teams who're better than expected and won't be the cake games they appeared to be from the outset of the season.

We also play the Steelers and Ravens. They're tough, well-coached teams that will be tough on us mentally and physically. Dallas has had our number the last few years. Seattle has Hass back and will be better sans injuries.

I'm not so sure the north will be as weak this year either. They were not great last year, but the Packers aren't the only team in the division that has improved their team in the last offseason. Cutler is a good quarterback, and he gives the Bears some throws that they never had before. They won't be a pushover. The Vikes are usually tough, no matter how much I despise them. This year won't be different. The Lions are still in disarray and are probably not going to be much of a factor.

I'm pumped about this team, and I think they've got huge talent and are ascending. So far, they've got their mojo workin'. I'm interested, though, to see how they handle the close games and the tough teams. I'm not sure yet. They look great in preseason getting up and staying up. Will they grit it out when the chips are down? Will they keep from getting too sure of themselves? When they have one of those games where almost nothing goes right, can they still find a way to gut it out? If not, will they be able to shake those off and come back to win the next week?

How are they in the clutch?

[woodbuck27]

Nice post Nutz. Before the season I believed Favre would have been the best choice for 2008, but now believe Rodgers was the better player and fit for the team in 2008. The 2009 versions aren't even close.

Aaron Rodgers did extremely well and under some pressure to perform after all the off season Favre hoopla last year. We should be very pleased with our QB and his upside remains for us to enjoy.

[woodbuck27]

A lot of thought time and effort in that post Nutz. Thanks. I would be at such a disadvantage as a Packer fan without the fine posting of some of the best here at Packerrats.

It appears to me that there is a marked improvement in our team and credit has to be given to all the off season efforts of players and coachs to get our players ready and believing in a system.

The following players appear to be coming of age:

Collins,Spitz and Colledge.

We see bona fide stars in Charles Woodson, Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. If he stays healthy I expect Ryan Grant to come on big this season and give us a more consistent running game.

I checked the paper this morning and the pre-season results to date and the NFCN is leading all divisions in wins with nine leading up to tonights Vikings and Texans match-up. I expect the Old Black and Blue division will be back this year with really hard fought games. I predict that the Packers and Vikinga offenses will be strong in '09 and whichever team plays the best defense will cop the NFCN.

We need Nick Barnett to get back and play strong. He anchors our linebackers. We have the big bodies and talent on the DL but we need to see our linebackers react to the oppositions running game with some smashmouth tackling, with some head for the ball.

I'll be disappointed if we don't win at least 10 games.


GO Packers.

[Deputy Nutz]

Listening to the local talking head on the radio the realization is that the Packers are a good football team. If the Packers don't win 10 games this year it will be a disappointment and I expect huge changes will be made.

[Fritz]

A friend of mine who watched Minny last night said he thought the Vikes looked really, really, really good.

Should be a tight division this year.

[Partial]

Listening to the local talking head on the radio the realization is that the Packers are a good football team. If the Packers don't win 10 games this year it will be a disappointment and I expect huge changes will be made.

That should be the expectation, I would think. 10-6 is reasonable.