Packers better without Shields?

[Smidgeon]

House looked great outside of that touchdown play. Really aggressive. Good body control, breaking up passes without getting there too soon. Looked like the guy we saw in the preseason. Looks a lot bigger than Hayward... just from a second year bulk-up perspective. If we can get one of these safeties to make a big jump this could be a very, very good secondary with -- dare I say it -- Tramon Williams one of the weak links.

You may dare say it, but I don't think it'd be accurate. If a safety makes a jump (money's on McMillian), and if Hayward and Shields continue to develop, the weak link would be (in my opinion) Burnett--though to call him "weak" would be to only do so in comparison. I'm still waiting for him to become all pro.

[BobDobbs]

You don't cut the fastest guy on your team who would start for a bunch of teams and is still learning to play the position.

But, where is he on our depth chart?

Shields and Hayward are a really interesting comparison. They're almost the opposite of one another. Shields is really unpolished with tons of athletic ability, Hayward has middlin athletic ability and is really mentally and technically tight. My gut is that Shields has a higher ceiling, I don't know if he'll get there. But, this year he had an offseason to focus on his tackling and it's improved a ton.

Heyward is on his receiver all the time. Givens has a ton of speed and he played him well on both the deep passes. They're just so different that its tough to decide who plays where.

The thing I don't get are all the comparisons of Heyward to Woodson. They are totally different players. Woodson sells out his body any time he gets the chance, Heyward is an effective, but tactical tackler. Woodson will gamble when he thinks he knows the play, Heyward is more conservative. Woodson is aging, but in his prime he was one of the best athletes on the field, Heyward played at Vanderbilt for a reason.

Right now I'd play Tramon and Shields outside. Hayward in the nickle. For the dime, seemed like they liked Bush inside there in preseason because of his blitzing. I'd go with McMillian as the dime corner and leave House on the bench for now.

[smuggler]

Only an idiot would want to remove Sam Shields from his team.

[Smeefers]

I can't take credit for this, but I heard it somewhere:
Sam shields could get flagged for pass interference while sitting on the bench.

So uh, I don't remember SS having any mental lapses this year that resulted in big touchdowns. Maybe that's just me though. Who knows.

[run pMc]

It depends --

Better without him on the team?
-- No. It's a passing league and secondary depth is important...especially with the inexperience GB has there.

Better without him as a starter?
-- Doubtful. In theory the TC battle should have helped sort that out. Since he's done the job good enough to help win a SB and is still young I'd give him a shot at the job and switch him out if not.

[denverYooper]

NO!!!

[denverYooper]

NO NO NO!!!

[denverYooper]

At least Shields would just lose his guy deep once in a game.

[pbmax]

No.

[Joemailman]

Kudos to House for filling in nicely for Shields by getting called for a penalty on an absolutely horrible call.

[rbaloha1]

Yes.

Less communication errors and getting burned by double moves. Woodson is the big loss not SS.