Packers interested in... Donnie Edwards, Griffith, Grant

[ND72]

4.68ish??

yikes...that's pre-acl surgery, and even that is eh. I don't question that, but I prefer my LB's in the NFL to be in the 4.4-4.59's...I don't question the guy is a brute and did improve...I just question if the coaching staff really thinks this guy is a 5-6 year starter, cause I sure don't.

[b bulldog]

He may not be but Edwards isn't either. They don't even play the same position.

[Bretsky]

His instincts are questionable at best but he doesn't lack speed. I think he ran in the 4.68ish?? out of college, but he gets too aggressive and doesn't show great instinct but last season was basicly his rookie season so he should at least be an average strong side backer. Edwards is a weak or middle backer anyways. Wayne Simmons wasn't fast, he was just an SOB who played mean.

I don't recall Pop running that fast; Wayne Simmons had a hell of a lot more talent than Brady Poppinga

[gureski]

Poppinga lacks the instincts to overcome his defficiency in speed. How many RB's and TE's have to beat the guy in coverage before fans see that. He could improve, because he's a young player, but why tie a concrete block around the feet of the defense if Edwards is willing to sign and fill that role? Why not let Poppinga continue to develop without hurting the team? I just don't see it as a bad thing if a young guy gets time to ride the pine and learn behind a vet. Edwards is one of the best cover LB's in the league over the past 5 years. Poppinga could learn some things from Edwards in the area he needs help the most! I see a move of acquiring Edwards as a major help in developing Poppinga, not killing his career.

Also, if you think of the overall team, Poppinga would be able to contribute more on special teams if they didn't have to balance him starting at LB.

Moving on to Grant....I'd love to see him join the team. I was just telling my friend the other day that he's the safety I was hoping the Packers would look at. It's sign Grant or draft a safety in the first round as far as I'm concerned.

And lastly, I wish we'd hear more about the Packers looking at T.J. Duckett. Duckett came from the same offense the Packers installed ala Jagodinski. With Morency as the darting HB, Duckett would be a nice compliment as a power back.

Oh, and how come nobody has talked about the possibility of W.Dunn being available in the right trade? Atlanta is moving to a power running game. That's not Dunn's forte. Add in the fact that there is a young RB ready to take over behind Dunn and Dunn's age and you have a situation where maybe the Falcons wouldn't mind moving the guy. Realistically, Dunn may come available. I don't know anything anyone else doesn't....I'm just pointing out some obvious factors for us to think about.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't think Duckett was a good fit in Atlanta. That's why they were so willing to get rid of him last offseason.

[RashanGary]

4.68ish??

yikes...that's pre-acl surgery, and even that is eh. I don't question that, but I prefer my LB's in the NFL to be in the 4.4-4.59's...I don't question the guy is a brute and did improve...I just question if the coaching staff really thinks this guy is a 5-6 year starter, cause I sure don't.

Nick Barnett ran a 4.64 at 20 lbs less. Poppinga is bigger, stronger and about the same speed as Barnett. Typically I respect your opinion, but this one is way off.

[RashanGary]

DeMeco Ryans was the DROY and he is 230 lbs and runs a 4.68

Brady is bigger and equally as fast. It's not just speed, it's size, speed, strength, ability to change direction, tackling, ect....

People take one quality and one qualilty that is well up to NFL standards and try to call the guy too slow.

Sorry. Poppinga is plenty fast if he was 230 lbs. Fact is, he runs that speed at 250 and brings tenacity with it.

IMO Poppinga was the toughest, most physical LB we had last year. He's not going anywhere and there is absolutely no need to replace him based on how well he played after getting comfortable.

[gureski]

I don't think Duckett was a good fit in Atlanta. That's why they were so willing to get rid of him last offseason.

My thinking is that we need a power back to handle the 3d and 4th and 1 plays as well as goalline carries. Duckett did well in Atlanta in those roles. He could be the power back that creates a nice balanced rushing attack for the Packers.

I think the Atlanta thing fell apart because Duckett wanted more playing time leading into his contract year. He didn't want to share. Now, he lost his chance and has to work to raise his stock again. He's a guy who is likely hungry to prove himself that can be had cheap (if compared to other deals going on). I think he's good value and he fits a need we have.

In 2003 he had 11 Rushing TD's. He had 8 Rushing TD's in 2004 and 2005 and all that was in the ZBS.

So, that's where I was coming from on that.

[gureski]

DeMeco Ryans was the DROY and he is 230 lbs and runs a 4.68

Brady is bigger and equally as fast. It's not just speed, it's size, speed, strength, ability to change direction, tackling, ect....

People take one quality and one qualilty that is well up to NFL standards and try to call the guy too slow.

Sorry. Poppinga is plenty fast if he was 230 lbs. Fact is, he runs that speed at 250 and brings tenacity with it.

IMO Poppinga was the toughest, most physical LB we had last year. He's not going anywhere and there is absolutely no need to replace him based on how well he played after getting comfortable.

It's not all numbers. Instinct plays a huge part at LB. Last year I listened to several hours of commentary from former Packer LB Brian Noble and he commented at length about how Poppinga currently is lacking instinct at the LB position. He said Poppinga will acquire those instincts with experience but that he's currently lacking in that department because he's a young player. Noble would go at length giving examples that happened in different games of plays where Poppinga missed a play because he lacked the ability to sniff things out or recognize things as they were unfolding. He didn't criticize the kid, he was just breaking down things that happened and explaining why.

With that said, why not let Poppinga work on developing himself behind a successful vet like Edwards for a year or two? You said Poppinga was the toughest, most physical LB the Pack had last year. I can't disagree more. Hawk gets that trophey. If your instincts are to just dig in every time and hit someone then you're going to look tough and physical. Never mind that you may have missed a coverage or missed recognizing a play. It's about more then hitting someone.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Brady actually ran the 40 in 4.72 at the combine. Doesn't seem like much, but a 1/10th of a second is not slight. You can watch Poppinga and Barnett, and know that Barnett plays considerably faster than Poppinga.

[Packnut]

Teddy Strikes Out Again

Forget Grant per Shefter:

The Seahawks are closing in on a deal with Jacksonville free-agent safety Deon Grant.

Also Edwards leaning towards KC.

[b bulldog]

Barnett plays the fastest of all of our LB's imo.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Nice subtle dig at Hawk. Hawk actually ran better than Barnett. He plays fast. That's not a lot of difference between Hawk and Barnett in speed. I think Hawk is a little more instinctive and he's a better tackler, but they both play fast and are solid players. I honestly don't know what we have in Poppinga. I could see him getting better and becoming a solid starter, or I could see him on the bench in two years.

[esoxx]

Hawk needs to work on his coverage skills too. I'm hoping to see big improvement from him this year on that aspect of his game.

[Bretsky]

I'm not a Poppinga fan; brings great tenacity to the table and always will be a great special teams player because of it. I'll always be a fan due to this. But minimal football instincts; I'm just not at all sold on the guy.