Defensive line depth

[wist43]

Bingo. I don't remember Neal being particularly slippery, but we shall see.

Its supposed to be one of his strengths, but it very much depends on his recovery at this point. Then we get to see whether he can do it.

I like Neal a lot... think he can be a hell of a player. Be interesting to see how he comes back from the injury.

[vince]

You're obviously not going to have any more than 2-deep across the d-line on the 53-man roster. Last year, the Packers played 70% - 75% 2 d-linemen, depending on who's stats you want to follow. Raji, Neal, Wilson, and Wynn take them 2 deep there. All showed capability to get to the QB last year. Both Wynn and Wilson flashed some last year. Wynn could be upgraded because he's undersized in base 3-4 d, but he likely would never play there.

In their base 3-DL rotation, they add Pickett and Green with Raji backed up by Neal, Wilson and Wynn, which gives them the biggest d-line in the league against the run.

It's legitimate to argue that Neal will never be as good as Jenkins, but I think he can be - and it seems pretty clear that the GM does too. If he is, that's the d-line this team had the #2 ranked D in the league with last year, #1 against the pass, top 5 in sacks - and won the Super Bowl with. If it can be upgraded, great, but I'm not sure there's a bunch to fret about.

[Lurker64]

IMO, all Neal needs to do to be an improvement over Jenkins last year is to stay healthy play within the system. Jenkins gave up quite a few plays because he was pursuing sacks and TFLs more than he was actually playing his designated assignment (this sort of thing is common in a player's contract year, c.f. Corey Williams).

Fans perceptions of Jenkins are distorted by the fact that he gets sacks, but he was largely responsible for a number of poor performances against the run.

[pbmax]

IMO, all Neal needs to do to be an improvement over Jenkins last year is to stay healthy play within the system. Jenkins gave up quite a few plays because he was pursuing sacks and TFLs more than he was actually playing his designated assignment (this sort of thing is common in a player's contract year, c.f. Corey Williams).

Fans perceptions of Jenkins are distorted by the fact that he gets sacks, but he was largely responsible for a number of poor performances against the run.

Are we sure of what his assignment was? And did you notice this is 3-4 or 2-4-5 personnel?

[3irty1]

The Packers have run-stuffing 2-4 packages two that are pretty common on first down that would consist of Raji and a fat man like Pickett or Green.

Those packages obviously won't suffer at all from the loss of Jenkins. Our 3-4 is also first and foremost a situational run-stopping package (in the superbowl we even started with a 4-4) so losing Jenkins won't cramp our style super hard here either. However he was a force on third down and was also athletic and fluid enough to drop into a zone during zone blitzes. Neal and Wynn are my favorites to fill this role.

[bobblehead]

Raji played a ton of snaps last year, and Capers used him very creatively... and while I agree that a team usually won't roster 5-6 "starting calibur" DL in a 3-4... I certainly want 4 such players, b/c everyone is going to play significant snaps in this day and age of rotation.

We have 3 NFL calibur starters - and no depth. That's the point - no depth. Green is okay, but is 32 and a "fat guy"... don't like the odds of him holding up all year.

If Raji were to go down??? Our season would pretty much be over at that point... as I've said, he was the team co-MVP right along with Rodgers last year. We don't win the SB last year w/o Raji.

I agree losing Raji would cripple our D, but so would many teams losing their best defender. I think we are as good at DL as we can reasonably expect. I wish we had signed Jenkins if he would have taken the same offer from us, but I think we have a solid rotation. Always happy to improve, but I do like our talent.

[vince]

From Larry McCarren

For the Packers to adequately replace Cullen Jenkins, Mike Neal has to be the real deal, and he looked the part tonight. During a run / run defense drill, he destroyed Derek Sherrod. Then during 1 on 1 pass rush, he mixed power and quickness very well. Neal is very strong, shows the blocker a bull rush, then counters the next time with a move. This coming in just his second full practice as Neal is returning from rotator cuff surgery. Encouraging.

[gbpackfan]

Makes me feel great about Neal, but down on Sherrod. I just dont think he is going to be a G. Kinda like a square peg in a round hole. I just keep reading, over and over, that Sherrod is not working out at LG. Not that I blame him, never played there. He just seems to be a T based on his size and skill set. We will see I guess.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'm hoping that one of our ROLBs steps up and provides decent pressure. I think that would help a great deal to make up for the loss of Jenkins. We need that rusher opposite Matthews--whether that's Neal, Zombo, Walden, or Jones.

[vince]

It sounds like Capers may be switching up a bit by putting Raji over at RDE opposite Matthews and Neal at LDE next to him. He may just be experimenting but it's good to see the mad scientist playing around a bit at least. I'm confident that the Dom and these d-linemen and olb's can get the job done again regarding pressuring the QB.

[VermontPackFan]

While we may only need 6 and dress 5 on game days, injuries will plague at least one of these guys, besides Wynn is only a warm body. Can anyone say justinharrell or johnjolly? Did Harrell sign with anyone? What is Jolly's league status right now? Short of one of those guys signing, I think we will need to add someone else to the mix.

[HarveyWallbangers]

It sounds like Capers may be switching up a bit by putting Raji over at RDE opposite Matthews and Neal at LDE next to him. He may just be experimenting but it's good to see the mad scientist playing around a bit at least. I'm confident that the Dom and these d-linemen and olb's can get the job done again regarding pressuring the QB.

That's good to hear. I'm glad Capers isn't resting on his laurels, and he's designing new wrinkles. Sounds like a good idea to get Raji and Matthews on opposite sides.

[wist43]

Bottom line is... we need more front 7 talent.

We got by last year b/c Capers did a masterful job at hiding our weaknesses, and Raji played at an All-World level.

Now??? We've lost one of our best front 7 players in Jenkins, and teams have had an offseason to figure out how to handle some of the things Capers was doing last year.

[pbmax]

By the way, someone mentioned Raji is unmovable. That is actually the only mark against him so far. He isn't as stout as Pickett in the middle. He can get moved or turned by doubles. But he will learn. Pickett went through the same thing when Capers arrived.

[Smidgeon]

Makes me feel great about Neal, but down on Sherrod. I just dont think he is going to be a G. Kinda like a square peg in a round hole. I just keep reading, over and over, that Sherrod is not working out at LG. Not that I blame him, never played there. He just seems to be a T based on his size and skill set. We will see I guess.

You know, I think we're starting to get spoiled with TT's first round draft picks:

2005 Aaron Rodgers - Super Bowl MVP
2006 A. J. Hawk - All rookie team
2007 Justin Harrell - Talent, but injured often
2008 - no pick
2009 B. J. Raji - Top 2 or 3 NTs in league
2009 Clay Matthews III - Top 2 or 3 defenders in league
2010 Bryan Bulaga - Solid from day 1
2011 Derek Sherrod - ??

That's a success rate virtually unheard of in the NFL. Even for the first round. I have high hopes for Sherrod. But if he can't hack it as a guard, I'm okay with that.