Underwood cut???

[wist43]

Caught the back end of a report on WSSP... thought I heard them say that Underwood was going to be cut.

Anybody hear anything???

I thought Underwood would end up as the starter opposite Collins, but I guess the knee injury has completely robbed him of his burst.

Bigby is making everyone forget about Underwood or Manuel very quickly though.

[Partial]

Yeah, he was cut.

BTW, if you ever hear Steve from the East Side on either Gary and Cliff or Wickett and Russell that is me.

[Bretsky]

Hard to believe this; he was coming off a torn ACL. Figured he'd get thrown on the IR if anything, although I can't find confirmation he was actually but. He sure does not seem to be the same player

[The Leaper]

The guy seems to have zero durability...and personally I never saw him as a guy who was going to be an impact player. He looked like he could potentially be better Manual, but that isn't saying much.

[Fritz]

I feel bad for Underwood. Remember, in college and early in his first season he was NOT "injury prone." I think this is a guy who had some lousy luck. He suffered a major injury, and it takes over a year to get the speed back, if you ever do.

I wonder why the Pack doesn't put him on IR, but perhaps they believe, based on medical reports, that the guy has some damage that will never allow him to regain his speed.

Ah, but Atari Bigby is there to pick up the slack. Cool. Now let's hope TT just cuts Manuel, so we can get on with Culver or Peprah as the final safety.

[wist43]

Yeah, he was cut.

BTW, if you ever hear Steve from the East Side on either Gary and Cliff or Wickett and Russell that is me.

Cool, I'll keep an ear out for ya...

Gotta admit, I'm tempering my enthusiasm for Bigby, but if he can play the way he played the other night, our Safety problem may be solved.

Very surprised to see Sanders incorporating multiple fronts and blitzes... I'm hoping against all hope that they actually tweaked the scheme this past offseason.

Even with a very good front 4, if you don't show multiple fronts and can't blitz effectively, you're not going to have a playoff calibur defense.

I'd hate to have to start being hopeful.

[cheesner]

First Fergy now Undy; it looks like TT won't bother waiting for required cutdown period until he cuts someone. I have 2 explanations for this:

1, Allowing them more time to catch on with another team.
2. Does not want these guys taking reps from the young developing players

[Joemailman]

Stand in line Wist. Yours is the third Underwood thread. I was 2nd.

[wist43]

Stand in line Wist. Yours is the third Underwood thread. I was 2nd.

I don't usually start threads... I scrolled down and didn't see one - and, of course, we need to discuss this. Just didn't scroll down far enough to see the others.

[MadScientist]

First Fergy now Undy; it looks like TT won't bother waiting for required cutdown period until he cuts someone. I have 2 explanations for this:

1, Allowing them more time to catch on with another team.
2. Does not want these guys taking reps from the young developing players

3. Not wanting to take the risk of having to pay them for a year on IR if they get injured in pre-season.

[The Leaper]

Very surprised to see Sanders incorporating multiple fronts and blitzes... I'm hoping against all hope that they actually tweaked the scheme this past offseason.

Why is it surprising?

You can't incorporate all these things when your BASE DEFENSE is struggling to be effective on a consistent basis...which was where we were at during much of last season. The defense was YOUNG and several of the veterans (Manual, Woodson, Pickett) were also getting acclimated to a new system.

Wist, you love to sit here and blather on and on and on about how this team is doomed because of their "passive defensive scheme", completely ignorant of the success this same scheme has had with other franchises. It has NEVER been a failure of the scheme...it has been a failure on the part of inexperienced young players and veterans.

Now that the defense has come into camp with a solid base of knowledge THROUGHOUT the lineup, it is far easier for the coaches to start tweaking things and bringing different looks...rather than merely work almost exclusively on getting guys in the right position in the base defense. The Ravens and Steelers didn't suddenly wake up one morning and discover their multiple front schemes suddenly worked when they hadn't before. It takes EXPERIENCED TALENT to incorporate the confusing defenses those teams execute...and at some point those teams also had more of a vanilla defense while their talent base gained knowledge enough to incorporate additional schemes and fronts.

Now that Green Bay finally has some promising young talent on defense that is starting to get acclimated to the system, it isn't surprising to see the coaches expand the envelope.

It also wasn't surprising to me that they did not do it before...because it would've been a complete and utter disaster.

[wist43]

If they get more aggressive with the scheme - nobody will be happier than me. The Packers defense has been nothing if not passive for over a decade - until a leopard does, in fact, change his spots...

That said, TT has brought in some tough, hard nosed players on the defensive side of the ball - Hawk, Poppinga, and now Bigby.

Bigby is exactly the type of Safety I've been looking for... we don't know if he'll be able to hold up in coverage or in the open field, but the very fact that they're giving him a shot is indicative of a shift in philosophy.

Bigby is a box safety - something the Packers have wanted nothing to do with going back to Wolfe's days. His strengths are born out of aggressiveness, playing downhill, and being physical... definitely a departure from the type of safety the Packers have preferred in the past 15 years.

That said, I'm encouraged, if not yet believing, that they may be getting more aggressive philosophically on the defensive side of the ball.

[Partial]

Hard to believe this; he was coming off a torn ACL. Figured he'd get thrown on the IR if anything, although I can't find confirmation he was actually but. He sure does not seem to be the same player

Yes, I don't understand why they didn't do that. That way he won't be uprooted, and will still have an opportunity to play for the pack when healthy next year.

My guess is he's back in Packers camp next year. He probably won't make a team this year.

[Partial]

First Fergy now Undy; it looks like TT won't bother waiting for required cutdown period until he cuts someone. I have 2 explanations for this:

1, Allowing them more time to catch on with another team.
2. Does not want these guys taking reps from the young developing players

3. Not wanting to take the risk of having to pay them for a year on IR if they get injured in pre-season.

That just seems cheap. It's not like Underwood is making anything more than 600k or so this year. He looked very good last year in camp and tore two ligaments. Dante tore three and he still isn't completely back. I say give this kid some time and IR him. He fought for you, now fight for him. That would be my philosophy, anyway.

[Joemailman]

If they get more aggressive with the scheme - nobody will be happier than me. The Packers defense has been nothing if not passive for over a decade - until a leopard does, in fact, change his spots...

That said, TT has brought in some tough, hard nosed players on the defensive side of the ball - Hawk, Poppinga, and now Bigby.

Bigby is exactly the type of Safety I've been looking for... we don't know if he'll be able to hold up in coverage or in the open field, but the very fact that they're giving him a shot is indicative of a shift in philosophy.

Bigby is a box safety - something the Packers have wanted nothing to do with going back to Wolfe's days. His strengths are born out of aggressiveness, playing downhill, and being physical... definitely a departure from the type of safety the Packers have preferred in the past 15 years.

That said, I'm encouraged, if not yet believing, that they may be getting more aggressive philosophically on the defensive side of the ball.

Wist, why do I get the feeling that Chuck Cecil was once your favorite Packer?