PACKERS NEED BY POSTIONS- BLOGS

[Bretsky]

I'm a big fan of Ijalana. I would be very happy with him at #32. Not an NFL LT, but he's a LG or an RT.

I've watched highlights of him and his look reaks of being a Packer.

[RashanGary]

I'm a big fan of Ijalana. I would be very happy with him at #32. Not an NFL LT, but he's a LG or an RT.

It's nice that he's not 26 years old. Great player against mid-level competition. Very good athlete. Very experienced. He's a safe bet to be good. I have no problem with him what-so-ever. He's more a guard than a tackle. The thing that stinks, we got the same type of player (Josh Sitton) in the 4th round a couple years ago. At this point in the draft, a weak draft, I guess I'd be ecstatic with a top tier guard/RT.

OL
OLB

Would be my favorite two choices.

[Bretsky]

SECONDARY

Need level: Low

On the roster: CB Tramon Williams, CB Charles Woodson, S Nick Collins, S Morgan Burnett, CB Sam Shields, S Charlie Peprah, CB/S Jarrett Bush, CB Pat Lee, CB Brandon Underwood, CB Josh Gordy, S Anthony Smith, S Michael Greco, S Anthony Levine, and CB Josh Bell.

Free agents: S Atari Bigby.

Outlook: The emergence of Shields as a starting-caliber player changed everything for this unit. Woodson is starting to show age on the outside and needs to be in the slot where he can be used more like a safety. Shields has allowed that and also guarantees the team has two young corners in place for at least three more seasons. Behind Shields, Lee and Underwood haven’t grown the way the coaches hoped and could be replaced if a corner is drafted. Lee is a little ahead of Underwood because of experience, but if Underwood could get his act together he could work his way into the dime. Gordy is an interesting prospect because of his speed and could get a look, too. The coaches were extremely high on Burnett before he tore his ACL and will give him every chance to win the starting spot over the reliable Peprah. Burnett has outstanding ball skills, but you never know how an ACL will affect a player’s ability. Whatever the case, they're stocked at the position with Peprah, Smith, Bush and others. There’s almost no chance Bigby will be back.

Eye-opening stat: The secondary committed 18 coverage penalties in 20 games, an average of just under one per game.

What’s available: There are a lot of guys with glaring warts that make taking a cornerback in this draft a risk. The top two corners, LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara, will be gone early and the next most talented, Colorado’s Jimmy Smith, might be off GM Ted Thompson’s board for character issues. In the second, Buffalo’s Josh Thomas would fit the height/speed requirements the Packers have and converted running back Curtis Marsh of Utah St., who doubles as a kick returner, might be an option at the end of the fourth. Later, South Carolina speedster Chris Culliver could be considered both for his Shields-like potential and return ability.

Bottom line: This might not be the time or place to address the eventual replacement for Woodson. There’s always reason to add cornerbacks and Thompson could do that late, but there’s no sense taking any gambles or over-drafting because of need. The safety position probably won't be addressed.

[Bretsky]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/119984204.html

[packrulz]

Draft Might Have Underrated Depth At Tackle
Posted by Pete Dougherty April 15th, 2011, 2:22 pm
One analyst says this year’s draft has underrated depth at one of the Packers’ biggest positions of need, tackle.
Five tackles appear likely to be selected in the first round, and for now at least, there’s a pretty good chance all five will be gone by the time the Packers select at No. 32 overall: USC’s Tyron Smith, Boston College’s Anthony Castonzo, Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi, Colorado’s Nate Solder and Mississippi State’s Derek Sherrod.
But Rob Rang of CBSsports.com likes a small group of tackle prospects behind them: Alabama’s Carpenter, Miami’s Orlando Franklin, TCU’s Marcus Cannon, Florida’s Marcus Gilbert and Indiana’s Nate Brewer. They are second to early third round prospects.
And ranked near or just behind them, Rang also likes the long-term prospects of several tackles.
“Though level-of-competition questions abound, no one dominated their opponents as consistently as Villanova’s Ben Ijalana throughout his respective career,” Rang wrote. “There are a lot of teams very high on the long-term upside of lower level FBS prospects Derek Newton (Arkansas State), Jah Reid (Central Florida), Willie Smith (East Carolina), Byron Stingily (Louisville) and Byron Bell (New Mexico).”
Chad Clifton returns as the Packers’ left tackle after a good finish to the 2010 season, but the Packers have to prepare for when he’s no longer a starting quality tackle. He’ll be 35 this summer and has history of knee and ankle problems.