Pickett And Raji Switch Positions

[Guiness]

I wonder how often we'll see the phsyco package, with Jenkins as the only DL. Worked we'll well a few times, and got burned a few others.

I can't see Jolly being the odd man out, he has played real well - and I love those batted balls! Is that an official stat? I wonder where he ranked in the league on those.
edit: I just saw Jolly hasn't signed his tender, and wasn't in camp. WHY!?!

[packerbacker1234]

This is a very telling sign as well as to what they think of the whole Jolly situation. As a player on the field last year, Jolly was extremely effective. I don't even know if thats debatable. He fit very well in the 3-4 DE position. His off the field stuff... may just be why the packers are moving picket around. Naturally, this does speak to what they really do think of picket as well. He's always been slightly underrated as a DL and this just goes to show his flexibility.

Like others, I think Raji just fits better at NT then he does at DE. Not saying he can't play DE, but you need to put players in their best positions and let them exceed. I think Picket will do just as well at DE as he did at NT last season.

[Tarlam!]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

LOL, the Packers had 7 Safeties on the roster, now they have 8, right. Made me chuckle when I read this at Packers.com:

Peprah has been around long enough to know it's a waste of time to worry about the depth chart. Had he done that in the past, he never would have made it this far.

"My second year, my first training camp here (in '07), there were eight safeties - eight of us," Peprah said. "If you want to play the see-the-writing-on-the-wall game, I was like, 'Man, I'm outta here.' I wasn't getting a lot of reps.

"But I just had to focus on me. All I could focus on is what I could put on film and things like that. That's what I did and I made the team. That's all I can do, show them I'm ready to contribute any way I can."

Just like ol' times, huh, Charlie???

[MichiganPackerFan]

The Raji Pickett switch seems really weird to me. Pickett did a great job in the middle. I guess there's plenty of rotation. I think the most important thing on the line is getting Jolly back and up and going. He was an aggressive beast last season, And the enthusiasm he plays with makes me think he's not another Cletidus. The line will be strong this year, and it would be a nice bonus to see Harrell get on the field too.

[hoosier]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

I wonder if that is a temporary move while he continues to recover from knee surgery. Blackmon is on the light side for safety and if they are seeing this is a permanent move then they are probably slating him to be Collins's backup and nothing more. Which means he will rarely see the field except on special teams.

[bobblehead]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

Am I the only one who read this and chuckled??

"and actually it helps out with me being real cerebral and stuff"

Yea will, if you are so "cerebral and stuff" you would realize switching positions means you weren't cutting it at CB.

His athleticism jumps off the screen, I'm not sure why he is better suited for safety than corner. I'm afraid its more a testament to his failure at corner but trying to justify keeping such a fantastic athlete on the roster.

[hoosier]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

Am I the only one who read this and chuckled??

"and actually it helps out with me being real cerebral and stuff"

Yea will, if you are so "cerebral and stuff" you would realize switching positions means you weren't cutting it at CB.

His athleticism jumps off the screen, I'm not sure why he is better suited for safety than corner. I'm afraid its more a testament to his failure at corner but trying to justify keeping such a fantastic athlete on the roster.

So you're saying that if you were in his shoes your media savvyness would have prompted you to explain "Yeah, it's because I sucked at CB" instead of trying to find something positive to say?

[run pMc]

Raji is squatter than Pickett, so a move to NT isn't too surprising. My guess is this is something they want to experiment with early and junk it if it doesn't work.

I wouldn't be surprised if they rotate Pcikett and Raji quite a bit. This might be a move to keep them both fresh for the last part of the season. Really, who else do they have at NT besides these two?

Oh yeah, this move gives TT more negotiating leverage with Jolly, too.


As for Blackmon, he's coming off ACL surgery so his speed won't be all the way back. It frees more snaps at CB for Pat Lee, and possibly affects Bush's status on the gameday roster. Might be a good move, but I've not seen him consistently cover. Then again, many people don't think Bigby can cover either.

[rbaloha1]

Good move -- 2 big run stuffers. Should allow the backers to attack ball carriers running downhill.

[bobblehead]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

Am I the only one who read this and chuckled??

"and actually it helps out with me being real cerebral and stuff"

Yea will, if you are so "cerebral and stuff" you would realize switching positions means you weren't cutting it at CB.

His athleticism jumps off the screen, I'm not sure why he is better suited for safety than corner. I'm afraid its more a testament to his failure at corner but trying to justify keeping such a fantastic athlete on the roster.

So you're saying that if you were in his shoes your media savvyness would have prompted you to explain "Yeah, it's because I sucked at CB" instead of trying to find something positive to say?

No, he handled it the best way he could by embracing it and keeping a good attitude....I just liked the "cerebral and stuff" quote. I was just jabbing at him for not living up to potential at CB.

[hoosier]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/

Am I the only one who read this and chuckled??

"and actually it helps out with me being real cerebral and stuff"

Yea will, if you are so "cerebral and stuff" you would realize switching positions means you weren't cutting it at CB.

His athleticism jumps off the screen, I'm not sure why he is better suited for safety than corner. I'm afraid its more a testament to his failure at corner but trying to justify keeping such a fantastic athlete on the roster.

So you're saying that if you were in his shoes your media savvyness would have prompted you to explain "Yeah, it's because I sucked at CB" instead of trying to find something positive to say?

No, he handled it the best way he could by embracing it and keeping a good attitude....I just liked the "cerebral and stuff" quote. I was just jabbing at him for not living up to potential at CB.

Well for what it's worth he did reportedly score a 30 on the Wonderlic, so maybe the cerebral comment was not pure embellishment.

[pbmax]

This is Dom's idea of tweaking a unit that got slaughtered for 51 pts in the playoff loss???

I'm not thrilled with this move...

Pickett is a NT, period. Raji can play just about anywhere... but, I'd rather see him stay a fresher and used at DT/DE in obvious pass rushing situations.

Playing nose can only serve to beat Raji down and negate his pass rush... and, as I would think is obvious, Pickett isn't a DE in any scheme.

Raji did not look good at DE. He is only 6' 2" and has arms short enough that they were question marks about playing even 3 technique in a 4-3. He was also dinged for his lack of pass rush despite his initial, first step quickness.

If you need to get both on the field at the same time, Pickett at end (he looks taller though both are listed at 6' 2") might be the better option. This seems a direct answer to missing Jolly.

[Lurker64]

That 6'2" listed for Raji is pure fiction too. If I recall the combine numbers, he's 6'1 3/8.

The 5 technique was clearly not a good position for Raji. He was fine at the 3, but looks ideal for the 0 or 1.

[Fritz]

Me, I'm like smart and stuff.

[pbmax]

That 6'2" listed for Raji is pure fiction too. If I recall the combine numbers, he's 6'1 3/8.

The 5 technique was clearly not a good position for Raji. He was fine at the 3, but looks ideal for the 0 or 1.

I recall a photo where he is MUCH shorter than Harrell, but I don't recall a picture of him next to Pickett. But the NFL and nfldraftscout.com both had him at 6' 2". I can buy them rounding up.