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Hey All,
Some of you I recognize, and sadly some I do not. It's been crazy times in the ole' Nutroll household, but at least nobody has died this year, yet. The high school coaching season ended a bit early for us compared to previous years as we lost in round 2 of the playoffs. It was a pretty interesting season as our head coach from the previous 5 seasons got a tremendous job offer last year at this time to be an associate head coach and defensive coordinator at a high school down in Alabama. So through the coaching changes and all we still managed to win our conference, and beat our cross town rival only to lose to them in the playoffs and watch them go on and win a state title. Football season in the Nutz household is a family affair as my teenage daughter has actually worked her way up from manager to part of the coaching staff, my son finished his 8th grade season of football and will be a freshman next year, and my wife sits on the board of trustees of for the Jr. football program. Busy time for all of us but it is the most exciting time of the year for all of us.
So I have sort of been following the Packers this year as I am slowly starting to come back around to liking the Packers. No more Ted, and no more McCarthy, now I just have to wait for Rodgers to retire. The Packers are a good team under LaFluer and I like the direction of the franchise under his directives on the field. I still think the front office is unorganized and lacking leadership under Murphy but all in all I think at this point 9-3 is already a spectacular season for a first year coach.
2019 Free agents. So far so good on the Smith front, Z. Smith is a total monster and is worth every penny, and Preston isn't far behind. Amos is solid but certainly replaceable at some point. Billy Turner's play is level par, nothing to get excited about, but brings a solid foundation to the offensive line. Overall I liked what the Packers did in the Spring and it is paying off in the Fall.
2019 Draft Picks. I didn't understand the Gary pick last April although I thought his numbers and metrics meant something at the time and he could possibly turn some heads this fall. At this time I don't see jack squat from him. He has played less than 25% of all defensive snaps, and doesn't even play special teams. Darnell Savage is good, messed around with a serious ankle injury that set back his progress, but there is a lot to like about this kid. Elgton Jenkins may be one of the best young linemen in the NFL, and is surprising many in Green Bay as the most consistent linemen on the roster. Jace Sternberger has been a disappointment up till this point in the season, suffered through a terrible fall camp with injuries and has been set back in his progress.
Offense. Rodgers has a running game to back up his play at QB, probably the first time in his long career in Green Bay. Rodgers isn't having the eye popping statistics this season, but he is doing a decent job as a the field general moving the team on long drives. He still has the ability to scramble with the football and pick up first downs with his legs and his live arm. Jones and Williams make for a formidable one two punch, but sometimes LaFluer doesn't seem to understand which one of them has the hot hand. Jones was dynamic in the passing game for a several games and that magic has seemed to decrease as the season has aged.
The wide receiver crew is a mixed bag. Devonte Adams is demonstrating that he is recovered from the turf toe injury, but the young receivers from last year have not improved on the 2018 campaign. MVS has been a slight disappoint, along with Allison, and Kumerow. Jimmy Graham has yet to show that he has any juice left in his aging career. Packers need to find a way in the off season to find a legit number 2 next to Adams next year, whether through the draft or free agency.
Defensively the Packers seems to play well and then fall apart for an entire game. I am still waiting on Kevin King to play with some kind of consistency. Alexander plays well for long stretches and then seems to fall apart in coverage at times, but there is no doubt that he is a special kind of coverage player. Tramon Williams is giving this team everything he has but he is too long in the tooth. It would be nice if Josh Jackson would show any kind of promise for this team. I thought he was going to be a solid player if nothing else, total disappointment.
I really try to make myself think that Blake Martinez is a good football player, but at the end of the day he is what you expect out of a 4th round pick. He has 118 tackles on the year, but the Packers just need someone more athletic at the position. Martinez has played better this year than last year and having guys like Z. Smith, P. Smith, and Kenny Clark take up blockers should help.
Where the Packers go from here. They are still competing with the Vikings for the North title and they have to play the Vikings in the Twin Cities. The Packers have a reasonable shot at winning out and finishing 13-3. I think they finish 12-4 and play in the first round of the Playoffs. There are much better teams this year in the NFC. The Packers don't beat the Saints, 49ers, or the Seahawks.
Where they have to get better for 2020. The Packers have to find a replacement for Bulaga. He is a warrior and has managed to stay reasonably healthy but it was obvious when he got hurt against the 49ers the Packers had no answers. The Packers will also need to address the lack of skills at receiver, along with TE. Sternberger hasn't had the chance to show anything till this point in the season but even with him coming back the Packers should move on from Lewis and Graham. Defensively they need to find another middle linebacker to either play along side Martinez or replace him in the nickel and dime packages. The secondary still has a hole at the 5th and 6th defensive back as they have missed on two in the last 4 years of the draft in Jackson and Jones. Adding another interior defensive lineman would also seem like another need for the defense.
Some of you I recognize, and sadly some I do not. It's been crazy times in the ole' Nutroll household, but at least nobody has died this year, yet. The high school coaching season ended a bit early for us compared to previous years as we lost in round 2 of the playoffs. It was a pretty interesting season as our head coach from the previous 5 seasons got a tremendous job offer last year at this time to be an associate head coach and defensive coordinator at a high school down in Alabama. So through the coaching changes and all we still managed to win our conference, and beat our cross town rival only to lose to them in the playoffs and watch them go on and win a state title. Football season in the Nutz household is a family affair as my teenage daughter has actually worked her way up from manager to part of the coaching staff, my son finished his 8th grade season of football and will be a freshman next year, and my wife sits on the board of trustees of for the Jr. football program. Busy time for all of us but it is the most exciting time of the year for all of us.
So I have sort of been following the Packers this year as I am slowly starting to come back around to liking the Packers. No more Ted, and no more McCarthy, now I just have to wait for Rodgers to retire. The Packers are a good team under LaFluer and I like the direction of the franchise under his directives on the field. I still think the front office is unorganized and lacking leadership under Murphy but all in all I think at this point 9-3 is already a spectacular season for a first year coach.
2019 Free agents. So far so good on the Smith front, Z. Smith is a total monster and is worth every penny, and Preston isn't far behind. Amos is solid but certainly replaceable at some point. Billy Turner's play is level par, nothing to get excited about, but brings a solid foundation to the offensive line. Overall I liked what the Packers did in the Spring and it is paying off in the Fall.
2019 Draft Picks. I didn't understand the Gary pick last April although I thought his numbers and metrics meant something at the time and he could possibly turn some heads this fall. At this time I don't see jack squat from him. He has played less than 25% of all defensive snaps, and doesn't even play special teams. Darnell Savage is good, messed around with a serious ankle injury that set back his progress, but there is a lot to like about this kid. Elgton Jenkins may be one of the best young linemen in the NFL, and is surprising many in Green Bay as the most consistent linemen on the roster. Jace Sternberger has been a disappointment up till this point in the season, suffered through a terrible fall camp with injuries and has been set back in his progress.
Offense. Rodgers has a running game to back up his play at QB, probably the first time in his long career in Green Bay. Rodgers isn't having the eye popping statistics this season, but he is doing a decent job as a the field general moving the team on long drives. He still has the ability to scramble with the football and pick up first downs with his legs and his live arm. Jones and Williams make for a formidable one two punch, but sometimes LaFluer doesn't seem to understand which one of them has the hot hand. Jones was dynamic in the passing game for a several games and that magic has seemed to decrease as the season has aged.
The wide receiver crew is a mixed bag. Devonte Adams is demonstrating that he is recovered from the turf toe injury, but the young receivers from last year have not improved on the 2018 campaign. MVS has been a slight disappoint, along with Allison, and Kumerow. Jimmy Graham has yet to show that he has any juice left in his aging career. Packers need to find a way in the off season to find a legit number 2 next to Adams next year, whether through the draft or free agency.
Defensively the Packers seems to play well and then fall apart for an entire game. I am still waiting on Kevin King to play with some kind of consistency. Alexander plays well for long stretches and then seems to fall apart in coverage at times, but there is no doubt that he is a special kind of coverage player. Tramon Williams is giving this team everything he has but he is too long in the tooth. It would be nice if Josh Jackson would show any kind of promise for this team. I thought he was going to be a solid player if nothing else, total disappointment.
I really try to make myself think that Blake Martinez is a good football player, but at the end of the day he is what you expect out of a 4th round pick. He has 118 tackles on the year, but the Packers just need someone more athletic at the position. Martinez has played better this year than last year and having guys like Z. Smith, P. Smith, and Kenny Clark take up blockers should help.
Where the Packers go from here. They are still competing with the Vikings for the North title and they have to play the Vikings in the Twin Cities. The Packers have a reasonable shot at winning out and finishing 13-3. I think they finish 12-4 and play in the first round of the Playoffs. There are much better teams this year in the NFC. The Packers don't beat the Saints, 49ers, or the Seahawks.
Where they have to get better for 2020. The Packers have to find a replacement for Bulaga. He is a warrior and has managed to stay reasonably healthy but it was obvious when he got hurt against the 49ers the Packers had no answers. The Packers will also need to address the lack of skills at receiver, along with TE. Sternberger hasn't had the chance to show anything till this point in the season but even with him coming back the Packers should move on from Lewis and Graham. Defensively they need to find another middle linebacker to either play along side Martinez or replace him in the nickel and dime packages. The secondary still has a hole at the 5th and 6th defensive back as they have missed on two in the last 4 years of the draft in Jackson and Jones. Adding another interior defensive lineman would also seem like another need for the defense.
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