Official 2019 Training Camp Thread

[pbmax]

Might have to check other years, but looking at 2011 it was clear they were being carried by their offense -- 2nd highest % of drives ended in a score combined with 2nd lowest TO% will do that. Their defense was pretty bad -- mostly because teams were throwing so much to try and keep up but overall the D took a step back. Maybe that's when teams started to figure Dom out. Last in pass defense, ouch.

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...s/2011/opp.htm

Packer D ranked 5th in fewest running attempts faced, 14th in yardage surrendered. I think that is what he is referring to.

[Radagast]

One can't deny cold hard statistical facts. For some they are the basis for every post they make. They see %s and bottom line totals as a fact parade that can't be questioned. The numbers don't lie they say or this ranking proves their stance on a story or area of a team's success/failure. Yes, one just can't dispute those carefully gathered and processed sports facts.

I especially like the statistics that measure a players heart. How it gages a player's/team's intestinal fortitude to carry on when all seems lost. The way it records how smart/dumb a player is compared to his piers playing the same position for other teams. Also lets not forget the tenacity factor that shows a players willingness to not ever quit on a play and weather they keep giving their all until the whistle blows. Lucky for us that we can turn to such records to back up opinions or theories.

What's that, there is no statistic that measures a players heart. Too bad as it's an important intangible that some coaches evaluate better than others. Fans sometime think they can rate a players heart without ever having meet them. So we must take care to not rest our entire arguments strictly upon numbers that don't always tell the entire story.

[mraynrand]

Feelings don't care about your facts

[pbmax]

When facts and feelings collide:

Patrick Claybon @PatrickClaybon
Reminder: the sports culture of the team you are a fan of is simply better than other teams. Your players try extra hard as *true* champions


Patrick Claybon @PatrickClaybon
Some teams win based on talent, execution, and great injury luck.

Your team though? It’s the narrative arc of Mighty Ducks 2 every year

[bobblehead]

Daniels isn't old enough to be over the hill; I don't think the injuries he's had are the type to debilitate him long term; I foresee a comeback year for him, assuming he stays fairly healthy, especially with better quality players around him. I would not put him in the same category as Hawk or KGB.

Physical freaks last longer. Daniels is small and not overly gifted. He likely will disappear quickly and without fan fare. The end is near...I'm just hoping its a year away when his contract expires.

[mraynrand]

Physical freaks last longer. Daniels is small and not overly gifted. He likely will disappear quickly and without fan fare. The end is near...I'm just hoping its a year away when his contract expires.

Maybe fans will give him bus fare for the common man when he leaves.

[bobblehead]

Last year, during his worst year since his first year starting, teams still lined up to stop Rodgers and the passing attack. This despite a pretty effective run game.

You are just kidding yourself if you expect, barring injury, teams to start worrying about the Packers running more than Rodgers.

PB, did you watch the Carolina game when they brought Rodgers back too soon in a desperate attempt to make the playoffs? We had CRUSHED teams with the run in his absence. This despite having Hundly as our QB. First game back fat mike called something like 12 run plays the entire game and nearly got ARod killed.

I look very forward to seeing an effective ZBS that opens things up and keeps our D off the field...and not just because I want to say I told you so.

Ryan Grant said after he left GB "Washington spends more practice on the run game in one day than GB spends in a week"

[bobblehead]

Speaking of which:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-still-matters

I could write a book shredding that article but I will just say those same "analytics experts" also think every team should cut the punter and use all 4 downs.

[bobblehead]

Its not running early that produces the run pass splits that Joe mentions. Its being a good team with a lead in the second half.

If you want proof that causation runs the the other way, again, I refer you to the 2014 Seattle playoff loss. Running more produced nothing but a chance for Seattle to come back.

Again, a horrible analogy. I could point to 10 things wrong with that game. And yes, running into the teeth of a D that has a 9 man front is stupid...no matter the score.

[mraynrand]

... those same "analytics experts" also think every team should cut the punter and use all 4 downs.

These same guys were in charge of the Browns for a few years. And few wins too.

[pbmax]

PB, did you watch the Carolina game when they brought Rodgers back too soon in a desperate attempt to make the playoffs? We had CRUSHED teams with the run in his absence. This despite having Hundly as our QB. First game back fat mike called something like 12 run plays the entire game and nearly got ARod killed.

I look very forward to seeing an effective ZBS that opens things up and keeps our D off the field...and not just because I want to say I told you so.

Ryan Grant said after he left GB "Washington spends more practice on the run game in one day than GB spends in a week"

There were a lot of problems with Rodgers in that game. That is a tough one to parse, Rodgers threw the ball terribly. And when they predictably fell behind ....

I would love to have an effective ground game. But even if the new RG is Logan Mankins (or John Hannah) I expect good before I see great. And even then I still don't expect teams to take their eyes of Rodgers. Maybe the new coach changes that.

Ryan Grant might have a point, but he has been trying to get a media job for a while, so like Butler, he is an ex-player in search of exposure. I am not sure how much emphasis alone will improve the product. We will see.

[pbmax]

I could write a book shredding that article but I will just say those same "analytics experts" also think every team should cut the punter and use all 4 downs.

No legit guys say cut the punter. But many legitimate one's claim teams are too conservative with 4th down calls. Even actual NFL coaches have been listening to that.

[pbmax]

These same guys were in charge of the Browns for a few years. And few wins too.

The Process™ isn't really analytics. Or at its best, its very incomplete. Its just a way to accumulate draft capital. It has no plan to transition to playing winning football.

However, I believe, as Cleveland may demonstrate this year, that a 3-5 year Process™ might be preferable to the 10 year Be Terrible™ plan that the 49ers and Seahawks attempted before they got good with Hairball and Nanobubbles.

[texaspackerbacker]

Physical freaks last longer. Daniels is small and not overly gifted. He likely will disappear quickly and without fan fare. The end is near...I'm just hoping its a year away when his contract expires.

I disagree. There's probably a lot of exceptional cases both ways, but a solid steady not overly gifted guy can go on for a long time because he's used to excelling without the gifts. Let some freaky athlete lose a step, and he doesn't know how to cope. I'm having a hard time coming up with examples. Dez Bryant might be one of the freaks. Almost any long long term O Lineman you can name might be an example of the slow and steady type - Uncle Bruce Matthews comes to mind.

Daniels is small? Short, yeah, but not all that small as D Linemen go. I think he has a bounce back year if he is healthy.

[Radagast]

I disagree. There's probably a lot of exceptional cases both ways, but a solid steady not overly gifted guy can go on for a long time because he's used to excelling without the gifts. Let some freaky athlete lose a step, and he doesn't know how to cope. I'm having a hard time coming up with examples. Dez Bryant might be one of the freaks. Almost any long long term O Lineman you can name might be an example of the slow and steady type - Uncle Bruce Matthews comes to mind.

Daniels is small? Short, yeah, but not all that small as D Linemen go. I think he has a bounce back year if he is healthy.

The Packer's. like so many other teams knows that they will loose starting O-linemen to injury or the FA market or for other varied reasons. That is why they draft or recruit FAs that can be trained to step up on a moments notice if needed. Granted backups are not starters, but some do play well enough to earn a starting position on their own. GB has been a prime example of this strategy and appear to be continuing the policy moving forward. The $64 million question is will GB's backup O-linemen will be capable of stepping in especially if the Packers are headed toward a playoff run in 2019. Can Beluga's backup step into his shoes and not miss a beat?