Pack Dissed again

[RashanGary]

I think Jennings is going to have a huge game. I could see Favre hitting Jennnigs deep if they blitz and our guys pick it up. Also, when they blitz, I could see Jennings taking something short to the house.

[Rastak]

The Philly game will be interesting.

From what I am reading - their D-line is probably its weakest in the past few years. Thus, they will be doing a ton of blitzing (like usual) - it will be a test of the line, along with the RBs picking up the blitz.

If we can block it effectively - I think Favre will have a field day - but if not, I am expecting a long day.

Personally, I feel more confident going into the game this year, than last.

Word is their run defense was horrible at the end of the year and not all that great this preseason.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Most "experts" do not have the time to truly evaluate every team - so they poach ideas from other "experts" - basically its a cycle that eats itself. The first person writes something - and then the rest follow.

And whats the easiest thing to write about - FA signings and big splash acquisitions. Most "experts" big picks are those teams that made a big splash (or did well last year).

Understanding depth - and improving through maturity - is something most experts can't see because they don't know enough about the team to do so.

Well said. It's why fans shouldn't get bent out of shape when their draft picks are called reaches and their team is dissed. Really. It doesn't matter. The experts that think "outside of the box" are few and far between.

[Rastak]

Most "experts" do not have the time to truly evaluate every team - so they poach ideas from other "experts" - basically its a cycle that eats itself. The first person writes something - and then the rest follow.

And whats the easiest thing to write about - FA signings and big splash acquisitions. Most "experts" big picks are those teams that made a big splash (or did well last year).

Understanding depth - and improving through maturity - is something most experts can't see because they don't know enough about the team to do so.

Well said. It's why fans shouldn't get bent out of shape when their draft picks are called reaches and their team is dissed. Really. It doesn't matter. The experts that think "outside of the box" are few and far between.

I found one who said the Vikings were an up and coming team...is that out of the box?

[vince]

Most "experts" do not have the time to truly evaluate every team - so they poach ideas from other "experts" - basically its a cycle that eats itself. The first person writes something - and then the rest follow.

And whats the easiest thing to write about - FA signings and big splash acquisitions. Most "experts" big picks are those teams that made a big splash (or did well last year).

Understanding depth - and improving through maturity - is something most experts can't see because they don't know enough about the team to do so.

Well said. It's why fans shouldn't get bent out of shape when their draft picks are called reaches and their team is dissed. Really. It doesn't matter. The experts that think "outside of the box" are few and far between.

I found one who said the Vikings were an up and coming team...is that out of the box?

That guy is so far outside of the box he can no longer find it.

[MadtownPacker]

Personally, I feel more confident going into the game this year, than last.

Seems like the team does too. Have to win this game or all the good buzz will go down the toilet. Home field advantage, winning streak, playoff hopes.

[MJZiggy]

Personally, I feel more confident going into the game this year, than last.

Seems like the team does too. Have to win this game or all the good buzz will go down the toilet. Home field advantage, winning streak, playoff hopes.

What are we Michigan here? It's an important game but I wouldn't hinge the whole season on it...especially not playoff hopes. How many times have the Colts blown their opener?

[oregonpackfan]

Personally, I feel more confident going into the game this year, than last.

Seems like the team does too. Have to win this game or all the good buzz will go down the toilet. Home field advantage, winning streak, playoff hopes.

What are we Michigan here? It's an important game but I wouldn't hinge the whole season on it...especially not playoff hopes. How many times have the Colts blown their opener?

Good point, MJ.

Whatever happens in the Eagles game, good or bad, we have to remember it is just the 1st game of a 16 game season.

Historically, the Packers have finished strong in December. If the Packers can have even a fair start and gradually improve as the season progresses, perhaps they will continue their upward improvement towards the season's end.

[MadtownPacker]

What are we Michigan here? It's an important game but I wouldn't hinge the whole season on it...especially not playoff hopes. How many times have the Colts blown their opener?

Well didnt blow it last season and they won the superbowl.

[MJZiggy]

And before that Pittsburgh squeaked in and won it...weren't they a wild card that year?

[Lurker64]

I found one who said the Vikings were an up and coming team...is that out of the box?

Really they're just a head coach, a quarterback, a right side of the OL, a cornerback, a tight end, and a couple of receivers away...

If Jackson pans out, though they could be on the upswing. I think conventional wisdom is that it's too soon for him, but we'll see.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Everybody is looking for a perfect roster. There isn't a team in the NFC that doesn't have question marks. There isn't a team in the NFC that isn't relying on young guys (or pedestrian veterans). Most experts have these teams as the contenders in the NFC.

Carolina has no safeties and no TEs. Their TE depth chart looks worse than Green Bay. It's Jeff King, Dante Rosario, and Marcus Freeman. Their safety depth chart is so bare that they signed Marquand Manuel. Their starters are Chris Harris (a backup in Chicago who has been bad this preseason) and Deke Cooper.

New Orleans has a swiss cheese defense. They have one good cornerback (Mike McKenzie). They have a below average starter at LB (Mark Simoneau). They have a first year starter at S (Roman Harper).

Chicago has Rex Grossman starting at QB. They are counting on Cedric Benson to be a full-time RB. One of their starting safeties (Mike Brown) gets hurt every year. Their other starting safety (Adam Archuleta) was horrible in Washington the last two years.

Seattle has no depth at corner. They have a bunch of question marks at DT after Rocky Bernard. They have a below average starter at one safety spot (Brian Russell). Their OGs are weak. Their TE depth chart looks poor. They have one guy who is nearing his mid-30s in Marcus Pollard and two below average guys behind him.

Dallas lacks corner depth. They have one ordinary OG (Kyle Kosier) and the other is Leonard Davis--who bombed out in Arizona.

Philadelphia has injury concerns all over their roster: McNabb, Westbrook, L.J. Smith, Jevon Kearse. They are also relying on a lot of young guys who haven't done it before: Reggie Brown as a #1 WR, Kevin Curtis as a #2 WR, Brodrick Bunkley at DT, Omar Gaither and Chris Gocong at LB.

San Francisco is weak on the DL. Tully Banta-Cain is a starting LB. Mark Roman is a starting S. They have question marks on the OL. Arnaz Battle starts at WR for them.

[HarveyWallbangers]

No question, defense is strength
By Pete Dougherty

More than a few times during training camp, coach Mike McCarthy referred to the defense as the "catalyst" for his Green Bay Packers.

It's clearly the strength of his team, but depending on how well the Packers can run the ball on offense, it might have to carry this club at times. The question is whether it will be a good defense or something better.

The Packers appear to have the makings of a defense that could land in the top 10 in the NFL in yards allowed and, more importantly, points. Last year, they finished 12th and tied for 25th, respectively, in those categories. But they finished with a strong push over the final four games — in part fueled by Cullen Jenkins replacing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila as the starting right defensive end — that has the team thinking big.

"I'd be disappointed if we're not a top 10-type defense," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' defensive backs coach.

Defensive tackle Corey Williams went so far as to say the Packers' defense can finish in the top five in the NFL in both categories. Last year, four teams accomplished that: Baltimore (first in yards, first in points), Chicago (fifth and third), Jacksonville (second and fourth) and Miami (fourth and fifth).

"Our defense feels that, too," Williams said. "We're ready. We're going to surprise a lot of people."

The Packers return the starters from last year that moved the unit from 29th to 12th in yards allowed in the final four games, with one change: Atari Bigby replacing Marquand Manuel as a starting safety.

The defense is the ascending part of the Packers' roster, with second-year pro A.J. Hawk a potential emerging Pro Bowler at weak-side linebacker; fifth-year pro Nick Barnett coming off his best training camp at middle linebacker; a sound veteran starting cornerback duo in Charles Woodson and Al Harris; and a deep and young defensive line that includes 27-year-old Aaron Kampman coming off a Pro Bowl season and Jenkins, 26, coming off a training camp that suggested his role in the Packers' improvement late last season was no mirage.

The No. 1 defense didn't play much together in the preseason — Woodson and Harris played sparingly in the first three preseason games and sat out the finale, for instance. But in 10 series with the starters almost completely intact in those exhibition games, they gave up only three points and scored one touchdown on a fumble return by Barnett.

It must be noted, however, the starters faced a Seattle team playing without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and left tackle Walter Jones, who are two of their three best players, and Jacksonville played with quarterback Byron Leftwich, whom it cut at the end of training camp.

Nevertheless, three points is three points, and McCarthy proclaimed training camp a success for a defense in its second season working for defensive coordinator Bob Sanders.

"The biggest thing we were looking for, and I think we accomplished it, was consistency and clear communication," McCarthy said. "I thought they illustrated that throughout training camp — they were very consistent. There was not too many days where you came off the field and felt like they didn't have a very good day of work. Also, I thought they put together four good games. That was something coming off the offseason we wanted to improve on, and we clearly did.

"We're talented, we have playmaking ability on our defensive side of the ball (and) we're playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy."

The Packers are counting on reducing the number of coverage errors by defensive backs and linebackers that plagued them early last season in losses to Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit and St. Louis. Manuel was by no means the only culprit in making major mistakes, but he had more than his share, which especially was surprising because he was signed as a free agent last year to be the quarterback of the secondary. He ended up perhaps trying to do too much and was the defense's weak link.

Bigby is stronger and more athletic than Manuel, though the second-year pro has only two snaps of regular-season defensive experience in the NFL, in last year's finale against Chicago.

Still, with only one new player in a starting lineup that has worked in Sanders' scheme for 1½ years, the defense will have no excuses for excessive communication and alignment errors in his aggressive, bump-and-run-oriented coverage scheme.

"We're light-years beyond (last season's early mistakes)," Schottenheimer said. "A year ago, we got most of that solved. But beyond that, people are going to challenge you every chance they get. They're going to try to put pressure on, they're going to go after some problem. If the cornerback doesn't have the right leverage, the safety doesn't have the right leverage, some way they'll attack it. People are going to play-action pass us. They'll be very aggressive how they're going to play our secondary."

[HarveyWallbangers]

Favre's effectiveness will make or break team
By Mike Vandermause

The 2007 Green Bay Packers come in all shapes and sizes. They range from the oldest (Rob Davis, 38) to youngest (Brandon Jackson, 21); from heaviest (Ryan Pickett, 322 pounds) to lightest (Tramon Williams, 182); from tallest (Bubba Franks, 6-foot-6) to shortest (Jackson, Vernand Morency, DeShawn Wynn, all 5-10).

But it takes more than numbers to determine who has the most value. Here's a ranking of all 53 Packers, from best to worst, based on individual talent, position importance and other intangibles:

1 — Brett Favre, QB

Everything revolves around the still-talented quarterback. His effectiveness will make or break the season.

2 — A.J. Hawk, LB

Capable of emerging as a dominant player, which could push the defense from good to great.

3 — Aaron Kampman, DE

Pro Bowl status was well-deserved last season, and he's still on the rise.

4 — Donald Driver, WR

With career highs for catches (92) and yards (1,295) last season, Driver, 32, is getting better with age.

5 — Cullen Jenkins, DL

The defense was exemplary when Jenkins was inserted into the starting lineup in the final month of 2006. He picked up in training camp where he left off last year.

6 — Nick Barnett, LB

Beginning his fifth year as a starter, Barnett is often taken for granted in the middle of the defense. Make no mistake: He is earning every penny of his six-year, $35 million contract extension.

7 — Al Harris, CB

Acquiring Harris for a second-round draft pick in 2003 will go down as one of former GM and coach Mike Sherman's better moves. Harris, 32, is entering his 10th NFL season but showing no signs of slowing down.

8 — Charles Woodson, CB

Don't accuse Packers GM Ted Thompson of being afraid to spend money in free agency. He opened the vault last year to sign Woodson, who continues to complete one of the best starting cornerback tandems in the league.

9-13 — The offensive line

These five must work together to master the zone-blocking scheme and protect Favre. Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Scott Wells, Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz — listed in order of importance — are capable of elevating a pedestrian running back corps, which would take pressure off the passing game.

14 — Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, DE

He lost his starting job last season, but he hasn't lost his impact. A pass-rushing specialist remains a hot commodity, which is why the Packers didn't ask KGB to take a pay cut from his $5 million salary.

15 — Ryan Pickett, DT

Another example of a Thompson 2006 free-agent pickup that blossomed into a solid starter.

16 — Corey Williams, DL

Worth heightened by ability to play tackle and end.

17 — James Jones, WR

Too high a ranking for the No. 3 receiver? Not for this big rookie (6-1, 207), who was a preseason star and could give opposing defenses fits.

18 — Nick Collins, S

Has started every game since being drafted in the second round in 2005, but can he become a special player?

19 — Brady Poppinga, LB

Must upgrade his coverage skills, but no one came close to challenging for his job.

20 — Atari Bigby, S

He replaces a big hole on defense where Marquand Manuel used to line up. Stellar play from this position could make a huge difference.

21 — Greg Jennings, WR

A return to his pre-injury form of 2006 will give the offense a much-needed boost.

22 — Brandon Jackson, RB

Can he stay healthy? Can he succeed as a rookie? Can he pass-block? There are questions galore for every running back on the roster.

23 — Mason Crosby, K

This might be high for a kicker, but the Packers will covet every point they can get, and Crosby could serve as a long-range weapon.

24 — Jarrett Bush, CB

The nickel cornerback plays around 50 percent of the defensive snaps, making this position extremely important.

25 — Will Blackmon, CB

He is slated for duty as the dime cornerback, although he might give Bush a run for his job. Blackmon also has been tabbed as the primary kick returner, assuming his hand injury doesn't hold him back.

26 — Vernand Morency, RB

Missed all of training camp with a knee injury and presumably won't be 100 percent for a while. Proved capable as a change-of-pace back last season, but could supplant Jackson as the starter.

27 – Johnny Jolly, DT

Has made great strides since being selected in the sixth round last year. If his progress continues, could move up much higher.

28 — Donald Lee, TE

He was the best of a mediocre group during training camp ,and needs to step it up after a 10-catch season.

29 — Bubba Franks, TE

His Pro Bowl days are long gone, but he flashed late in camp.

30 — Colin Cole, DT

Although he's only rated the seventh-best defensive lineman, the 315-pounder will take up space and be a factor.

31 — Jon Ryan, P

Field position will be key in low-scoring games, meaning the Packers desperately need consistency out of their punter.

32 — Korey Hall, FB

It's quite a jump from playing linebacker in college last season to becoming a starting NFL fullback. Hall is a work in progress.

33 — Junius Coston, OL

His versatility adds to his value as the top backup lineman.

34 — Tracy White, LB

He's all over the field on special teams. That ability, more than his backup linebacker skills, earned him a job.

35 — Aaron Rodgers, QB

His improvement in the preseason was noticeable, which lowered the blood pressure of anyone fearing a Favre injury.

36 — Rob Davis, LS

If he continues to be taken for granted as a snapper, he's doing his job well.

37 — Michael Montgomery, DE

A knee injury will sideline him for a month and lowered his stock. He should climb the charts once he's well.

38 — Ruvell Martin, WR

He's tall enough at 6-4 to steal passes away from DBs in four-receiver sets.

39 — Frank Walker, CB

Came on strong late in camp and could move up the ranks.

40 — Justin Harrell, DT

Slow start likely will keep him inactive for the opener. Has shown more potential than production.

41 — Tony Moll, OL

Injuries have slowed his progress after he proved to be a capable starter last season.

42 — Ryan Grant, RB

He must possess talent if Ted Thompson was willing to trade a draft pick to get him.

43 — Jason Hunter, DE

If he suits up, it will be to play special teams.

44 — Aaron Rouse, S

Third-round pick needs time to develop.

45 — Charlie Peprah, S

Won't see much action in the secondary.

46 — Allen Barbre, OL

Will blend into the woodwork on the bench as a rookie.

47 — Daniel Muir, DL

Yet another big body on a deep defensive line.

48 — Tony Palmer, OL

Earned spot on the roster despite injury problems in camp.

49 — DeShawn Wynn, RB

Injury-riddled rookie played in just one preseason game and has a long way to go.

50 — Tramon Williams, CB

Return ability, and injuries to others, could get him activated.

51 — Desmond Bishop, LB

Outplayed the hobbled Abdul Hodge in camp.

52 — Carlyle Holiday, WR

Biggest claim to fame is his role as the emergency third quarterback.

53 — John Kuhn, FB

He's a backup at the most obscure position in the NFL.

[Harlan Huckleby]

REasonable list.

I have only a tiny quibble: There is ZERO evidence to rate Jackson more valuable than Morency.

When 6 of your top 8 players are on one side of the ball, your team is out of balance. But guess we knew that.

Some players that could move up the list by end of season:
James Jones, Korey Hall, Allen Barbre, Will Blackmon