Early 53 Estimate

[Joemailman]

I agree with Wist about the OLB's. This is one area that needed to be addressed, but wasn't. The Packera are 1 injury away from being unacceptably weak there. Unfortunately there was a run on OLB's in the 2nd round with 4 taken between the 11th and 21st picks. I wonder if TT thought he was going to be able to get one of those guys. Hopefully, Kevin Greene can get Cyril Obiozor ready to have an impact. He's the best bet of any of the reserves right now.

[RashanGary]

Brad Jones had 4 sacks in 8 games. If he gets 8 sacks in 16 games, he's an above average pass rushing OLB. Matthews is a star.

Last year everyone, including Wist, was pissed off that Ted ignored the DL and once again wasn't concerned with winning. They turned out really good. Now everyone is doubting Brad Jones and complaining that we got exactly what they wanted last year. We'll see how it pans out. Ted has a funny way of looking smart when we look back. And I have a feeling that DL depth is going to look really smart some day soon too. I also have a feeling Brad Jones is better than some people believe.

[RashanGary]

Bulaga, Burnett, DL pass rush talent, OL depth, a really talented 2nd TE option, a really talented RB that slipped with a season ending shoulder injury. . . .

I think we'll look back very fondly on this draft.

[vince]

I'm feelin' ya JH. The Neal pick is growing on me and the athleticism of some of these guys is off the charts. Ted & Co. have proven (to me anyway) that they deserve the benefit of our doubt.

I'm with Joe too on the OLB spot though. I hope Obi really develops this offseason, because we may need him. McCarthy's comments about guys making their biggest leap from year 1 to year 2 will be put to test here. Yeah Jones had 4 sacks and that's not terrible, he wasn't good enough to keep the Cards from taking Matthews out of the game by sliding protection his way. I do think there is a legitimate chance both Jones and Obi develop into quality OLB's and will be able to give the team what it needs. I would have liked to see another pass rusher in the mix there though to at least hedge our bets and protect against injury.

I'm pulling for Jones and Obi for sure, and also for Neal to bring that demension too from inside.

[Gunakor]

I think you might be underestimating how much we helped out the offensive line this year. If we could protect Rodgers better last year, we probably win against Tampa Bay, at least one against Minnesota, and that playoff game against the Cardinals.

Defense last year cleaned up against mid-level QBs, but struggled against elite ones. But the offense definitely demonstrated that they can keep up with elite QBs in a shoot-out. Who knows, maybe another year in the system and a refinement of the scheme will make the defense incrementally more effective against elite QBs.

To me, the offense was never the problem... the defense was always my main concern, I figured we'd score pts.

TT drafted defense to be sure, but other than Burnett, he didn't address his weakest position at all, and likewise didn't address a glaring lack of depth and development at CB. Instead, he restocked an already solid position and ignored CB, essentually saying Lee is a player.

Maybe he really thinks Lee is a player, but man he looked completely out of his league and overmatched every time we saw him. I wrote him off a while ago... hasn't even entered into my thinking at the position. Lee is the gamble here I guess.

My guess is it's Brandon Underwood that emerges as the legit corner. Pat Lee looks a bit lost in zone. Underwood could excel in Dom's defense.

[Gunakor]

I'm feelin' ya JH. The Neal pick is growing on me and the athleticism of some of these guys is off the charts. Ted & Co. have proven (to me anyway) that they deserve the benefit of our doubt.

I'm with Joe too on the OLB spot though. I hope Obi really develops this offseason, because we may need him. McCarthy's comments about guys making their biggest leap from year 1 to year 2 will be put to test here. Yeah Jones had 4 sacks and that's not terrible, he wasn't good enough to keep the Cards from taking Matthews out of the game by sliding protection his way. I do think there is a legitimate chance both Jones and Obi develop into quality OLB's and will be able to give the team what it needs. I would have liked to see another pass rusher in the mix there though to at least hedge our bets and protect against injury.

I'm pulling for Jones and Obi for sure, and also for Neal to bring that demension too from inside.

You guys are forgetting that we have Brandon Chillar and Desmond Bishop as reserve LB's too. Obi isn't the only one we have stashed there. Pop isn't the worst option as a reserve either, having a few years starting experience. You wouldn't want these guys starting all 16 games for you, but you could do far worse for backups.

[swede]

I went back and looked at that second round pick. A few things stick out.

Two LB's we might have been interested in went in the five picks before us, and I think a couple others went earlier that round as well.

So while I would have liked to see a pass rushing OLB, they were really picked through at that level and it was a while before the next OLB was drafted.

On the other hand, there were CB's selected shortly after the Packers pick that might have really added quality. So if you of the view that one of our big needs was CB then there was quality/value there IMO.

From listening to TT and reading his comments, I get the feeling he was not overly impressed with the corners available to him. Time will tell if he was right or not.

I taped the combines and I watched them again today. Kyle Wilson and Patrick Robinson looked very smooth. Haden looked okay. Very few of the other corners stood out, and many were 5' 10"ish. TT mentioned in the post-draft that the Packers simply will not select a short corner. If Patrick Robinson had made it to our 2nd pick we might have gone that way, but that didn't even come close.

(BTW Bulaga is a beast, but Okung and Trent Williams were studly as well...Newhouse was all right with a big motor but not real nifty. He's already strong but he needs to develop his lower body. There was nothing wrong with Mike Neal either. CJ Wilson did not really impress but he looked like he belonged anyway. I couldn't find combine video on Burnett, but he benched 16 reps so he was there. )