LEANER, MEANER, AND MORE ATHLETIC

Packers D Rebuilds

The mandate for Mike McCarthy and Dom Capers’ defense was simple – go get younger, leaner, meaner, more athletic guys on defense. After being run over by the 49ers in the playoffs the Packers were still smarting going into the offseason and into the draft. Once again the first pick was on defense; last year it was OLB Nick Perry who had his season cut short with wrist surgery, this year it’s UCLA’s DE Datone Jones.

As the new age/ new wave of Cam Newton, RG3, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick type QB’s are embracing the read option offense defensive coordinators like Capers have to find ways to stop them. Stopping them with schemes just won’t work; these guys are just too athletic. The countermove has been to go find guys who can run and play in space and are just as athletic, the NFL term for being able to run down some of these mad scramblers. The big, lumbering dinosaurs of the NFL are being replaced by cheetahs.

In Jones the Packers are hoping to be able to balance the strong side with the weak side. In Clay

Matthews the Packers have a true stud and an elite player. Now it is up to Perry and the rookie Jones to set the opposite edge and keep Kaepernick/ RG3 et. al. from running wild. How well will the new guys do? They’ll be thrown into the crucible right at the start as the Pack opens against the Niners and Washington Redskins to launch the season.

As we make our predictions for the defensive player who make the roster a few moves have already been announced. The logjam in the backfield just got thinner as projected #1 RB DuJuan Harris is lost for the season as he’ll be undergoing knee surgery. That may make Alex Green breathe a whole lot easier so now look for Green to make it 4 in the backfield. The same applies to the WR’s as rookie WR and 7^th round pick Kevin Dorsey was alos IR’d. And in the nightmare that has been the preseason kicking fiasco Mason Crosby finally looks to have taken the job back as both Giorgio Tavecchio and last minute K Zach Ramirez were both released. As for the defense here’s who we think makes the cut.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Once again the Packers went to the draft to find guys to fill the line. The Packers run defense was better last year, but the 579 yards yielded to San Fran in the playoffs takes any good feeling of a season of improvement and flushes it right down. B.J Raji has backslid from his stellar 2010 performance and is looking for help. He’ll find it in the athletic Datone Jones. Jones is the prototype 3-4 DE at 6’4” and 285 lbs. He can fast and has huge wingspan, exactly what the Pack needs to force the running QB’s they’ll see back into the middle and try to contain them. Jones had a great year at UCLA registering 62 tackles, 19 for losses and 6.5 sacks. In addition to his speed are his hands. He seldom gets locked up and makes running past him in the middle difficult as he can get an arm out while being engaged in a block. He is a plug-and-play draft pick and he will start from day 1. Ryan Pickett is nearing the end of his career and he’ll be back. Mike Neal finally showed some signs of life after opening his career with more injuries than game time. Neal had 5 sacks last year and has been experimenting in an upright LB spot as well. IF Neal can continue he’ll shed the ‘disappointment’ liable that was slapped on him early in his career. C.J. Wilson will make it as Jerel

Worthy opens the year on the PUP list. But if Worthy can show the form that he displayed before going down with a knee injury there will be room made for him. The feel-good story is and continues to be the resurrection from literal hell of Johnny Jolly. Jolly’s off field transgressions have been well documented. After serving 3 years for possession of codeine Jolly was signed back by the Pack after being cleared to rejoin the NFL. McCarthy, capers, and GM Ted Thompson may be rewarded for their support as Jolly is showing signs he can still be a pass swatting nightmare for offenses in the middle of the field. His game against Sam Bradford and the Rams in the preseason may be enough by itself to make the team as he had 1 deflection that went for an interception and an interception of his own. The big fella can still play, and that’s exactly what the Packers need. Rookie Josh Boyd gets squeezed out but may clear waivers and will be brought back to the Practice Squad to continue to develop.

B.J. RAJI, RYAN PICKETT, DATONE JONES*, JOHNNY JOLLY, MIKE NEAL, MIKE DANIELS, C.J. WILSON, JOSH BOYD (PS), JEREL WORTHY (PUP)

LINEBACKERS – The easy ones are Matthews, Perry, A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones. Nothing at this point can be written about the ridiculously talented Matthews that is hyperbole. The best news of the off season was in addition to QB Aaron Rodgers there was enough money left to sign Matthews to a deal that made Dom Capers breathe a lot easier. Much is expected of the athletically gifted Perry. Playing opposite Matthews and paired with DE Datone Jones Perry needs to contribute mightily for the Packers defense to improve. The key to the Packers season will be how well Perry and Jones can lock down the outside and play against the run. Brad Jones shined last year as his play has made the injured Desmond Bishop and D.J. Smith expendable and both have been released and are struggling to make the rosters in Minnesota and San Diego. The Packers have clearly committed to younger, faster, stronger LB’s. Nate Palmer was a 5^th round pick up and Robert Francois has continued to develop along with Jamari Lattimore. Last year Dezman Moses’ hell-bent-for-leather style of play earned him a spot and he’ll return. Terrell Manning was the victim of colitis last year as an intestinal parasite robbed him of strength, weight and a promising rookie season. His illness got to the point he required an ER visit to a local hospital where it was detected and treated. The backups will see a lot of time on Special Teams looking to make their marks.

CLAY MATTHEWS, NICK PERRY, A.J. HAWK, BRAD JONES, TERRELL MANNING, NATE PALMER*, ROBERT FRANCOIS, DEZMAN MOSES, JAMARI LATTIMORE, SAM BARRINGTON* (PS)

CORNERBACK – At the Cornerback position the Packers have a stable of CB’s that may just be the

best in the business. Only Seattle can boast of as good a crop of Corners in the NFL. There may be better individual CB’s but no one possesses the depth the Packers own. In Tramon Williams and the ever improving Sam Shields the Packers have one of the best 1 -2 CB combinations in football. Lost in the loss to SF was the fact that Shields picked off Kaepernick’s first pass and took it to the house in last season’s playoff loss. He gets better every time he takes the field. His blazing speed is now well documented and his tackling has jumped up as well. Williams is nearing 30 and has not yet lost a step but continues to be plagued with nagging injuries. He has fallen from his Pro Bowl form of the Packers Super Bowl season but his leadership will help to stabilize a very young group. Last year the breakout star was Casey Hayward. Okay class – everyone who saw that coming stand on your head. Hayward had 6 picks in a part time role and has to avoid the sophomore slump. Davon House was hampered by a shoulder harness after sustaining a similar shoulder injury to Williams and is also poised for a bust out year. Joining the diaper mix of talent is rookie Micah Hyde, the Big 10 Defensive Back of the Year last season at Iowa and just has the natural look of a football player on the field. The Triple ‘H’ combination of Hayward, House and Hyde do not possess the speed of Shields but they make up for it with football smarts, quickness and a nose for the ball. Hyde has increased value on Special Teams as a returner and may make Jarrett Bush expendable.

TRAMON WILLIAMS, SAM SHIELDS, CASEY HAYWARD, DAVON HOUSE, MICAH HYDE*

SAFETY – Morgan Burnett is a mortal lock and will be for some time. He is quietly becoming one of the best Safeties in football and leads a very young Safety corps. Burnett seldom gets burnt and has a real nose for the run game. His natural tendency to go for the hit makes him vulnerable occasionally to a big hit over the top. His running mate is another story. Young and developing are the best way to describe Sean Richardson, M.D. Jennings and Jerron MacMillian. All are almost clones of each other, and the job is all but Richardson’s to lose. MacMillian had a decent enough season last year, at times playing heady, instinctive ball and at others looking like a lost rookie, but if there is a weakness in the Packers’ defense it is in the inexperience of the S spot opposite Burnett’s.  The Packer brass felt comfortable enough with this group to not draft a Safety. Now someone will have to step up to validate the trust placed in the position.

MORGAN BURNETT, SEAN RICHARDSON, M.D. JENNINGS, JERRON MacMillian, CHAS POWELL (PS)

PUNTER – A true no brainer. No other punter was brought in to challenge incumbent Tim Masthay

and for good reason. His booming kicks have been a breath of fresh air across the Frozen Tundra as well as his inside the 20 placement. His value only increases by the fact he has become a superb holder and showed versatility in that underappreciated spot by working from both the left and right side and the left footed Tavecchio and Crosby duked out an offseason kicking competition. Masthay also has a huge leg and has driven several kickoffs out of the end zone so should Crosby falter again the Packers have that spot covered.

TIM MASTHAY

KICKER – The falterings of  K Mason Crosby last year were maddening. He had by far his worst year as a pro and McCarthy stuck by his man. But MM did not hesitate to let Crosby know he had to earn his spot this year. Crosby possesses a big leg but like a golfer who develops the shanks he suddenly couldn’t kick the ball into the water off a pier at high tide last year. The shanks, the yips, the heebie-jeebies or whatever got into his leg got into his head and he was clearly pressing, so much so that after hitting a routine 38 yarder last year the entire team acted as if he had just won a Super Bowl for them. Crosby is a guy everyone likes and wants to see succeed. But his very shaky performance carried over into camp and he stunk the joint out in preseason, missing 3 field goals attempts on family night. McCarthy turned the flame up hotter under Crosby’s backside by bringing in Giorgio Tavecchio for competition in camp and when Crosby continued to struggle MM was unrelenting. “He’s got to makes those kicks, and he knows it” said McCarthy of Crosby. Even up to the last week of training camp the job was Crosby’s to lose as MM cut Tavecchio and imported Zach Ramirez underscoring the urgency of Crosby’s plight. But Crosby responded to the pressure by going a perfect 14 for 14 in the last camp competition. Ramirez was also cut loose after making a pedestrian 6 of 16. MM is playing a few mind games and keeping the pressure on Crosby by ominously letting Tavecchio know he could still factor into the Packers’ plans. The job is Crosby’s – for now. This year MM won’t hesitate to pull the trigger if Crosby struggles again, and Crosby knows it.

MASON CROSBY (MAYBE)

LONG SNAPPER – The sun rises in the east, water is wet, birds fly, death and taxes are inevitable and Brett Goode makes a perfect snap on punts and field goals. That’s all the guy does. He does it so well that few, if any, fans know who Brett Goode is. And - he is that good. Since becoming the Packers regular Long Snapper in ’09 Goode has been money, not having a bad snap in that span. Goode? How about Greate?

BRETT GOODE

That leaves one roster spot open. JARRETT BUSH (CB/S) OR RYAN TAYLOR (TE) OR BRANDON

BOSTICK (TE) OR JEREMY ROSS (WR/ KR) are in a 4 way battle to keep a job. Taylor and Bostick are caught in numbers crunch and one may end up in Miami where they are desperate for TE help. Ross’ star is fading; he had a drop in practice that didn’t help his stock and players like Jonathon Franklin and Micah Hyde show they can return kicks meaning Ross may get squeezed out. That leaves the versatile Jarrett Bush who is highly regarded on Special Teams but can be a liability at times at CB. He can also play at the Safety slot when needed. His versatility gives him the nod – barely.

JARRETT BUSH – CB/S

There’s the Final 53 as we see it. Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson have a little more say than we do however. The real team will be formed after the Kansas City game, and then the fun begins in San Francisco.

NEXT – THE SEASON PREDICTIONS: RANKING THE TEAMS