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The Off Season is Over... Time to Get it On!
The cold sting of winter is over.
So is the cold sting of blowing a trip to the Super Bowl. No matter how it’s sliced the Green Bay Packers of 2014 were but 3:56 from heading on to the biggest game of the year.
And the disaster that ensued would have broken most teams.
Most teams.
In spite of the loss the 2015-16 Green Bay Packers enter the year as one of the elite, Super Bowl capable squads and Head Coach Mike McCarthy has a defiant look of a man hell bent on keeping it that way.
Mike McCarthy is not one of those coaches that will burn the tape and treat the debacle of the
humbling loss to the Seattle Seahawks as if it never happened. McCarthy’s approach was quite the opposite. Instead of pulling up stakes and limping away quietly the week after the Pack somehow let the game slip through their collective fingers like the ill-fated Brandon Bostick attempt to inexplicably grab that fateful onside kick McCarthy and his staff quietly went back to work the following week.
McCarthy and his staff broke down the tape and began the process of building toward the 2015 NFL season. In doing so McCarthy also made some sweeping changes to the landscape in Green Bay. Special Teams were anything but special last season. While K Mason Crosby rebounded to have a fine year the punting, coverage, and kick return game were the Achilles heel of a team that was clicking on all cylinders in the other 2 phases of the game on offense and defense. McCarthy took some bold steps towards cleaning house and fixing the unit that cost the Pack so dearly last year.
McCarthy immediately addressed the issue of special teams by firing Special Teams Coach Shawn Slocum and importing Ron Zook to run the special teams. McCarthy also released almost anyone involved in the disaster against the Hawks. Gone are long time starter and former #5 pick A.J. Hawk and LB Brad Jones, a move that opened up considerable cap space. Bostick was also cut and immediately signed by the arch rival Minnesota Vikings, but he has also been cut adrift from Minnesota as well. #3 RB and sometime kick returner DuJuan Harris is gone making the openings for new blood a mandate. In a somewhat stunning move McCarthy also announced he will be relinquishing play-calling duties to Tom Clements, a move designed to allow McCarthy to “… be more involved with every aspect of the team…” said McCarthy himself. McCarthy has taken it one step further by stating he would the 3rd coach in the (special teams meeting) room during the season.
The special teams need special attention and they will get a heavy first hand does this year.
P Tim Masthay continues to struggle. He struggled late in the season, when he averaged just 32.9
net yards per punt over the final eight games of the regular season. Competition was brought in but a paltry 35.6 yard average sent FA Cody Mandell back to the unemployment line and Masthay’s job is his for now. His grip may be tenuous should he continue to struggle.
The Packers draft raised many eyebrows when CB’s were taken with the # 1 and 2 picks netting Demarious Randall (Arizona St.) and Quentin Rollins (Miami of Ohio). After losing CB’s Tramon Williams and his $9m cap hit and Davon House to free agency Ted Thompson’s draft strategy began to become clearer after the smoke of the draft had settled. The CB position was the obvious focus of the draft, this in spite of a need at ILB. Clay Matthews moved from the outside to them ILB slot late last year and very quietly the Packers defense began to become a dominant force.
After filling the CB slots with 1 and 2 the expectation was ILB would be next. Not so fast. It was a head scratching move when WR Ty Montgomery from Stanford was taken next considering the Packers’ depth at the WR position. As draft pundits scrambled to get the skinny on Montgomery he was simultaneously being described as ‘… a Randall Cobb type player, only bigger…” The ‘Ah Ha!’ moment came when it was realized Montgomery was tabbed to fill a much needed void at the KR position. He has been sizzling in practice but has yet to really shine in preseason. The expectations are high and have become even higher now that elite WR Jordy Nelson has been lost for the year to and ACL tear. How prescient is Thompson’s selection of Montgomery now in retrospect? The completion at the WR slot has suddenly become the focus of the preseason.
Thompson’s draft strategy began to emerge when high motor ILB Jake Ryan of Michigan was
drafted in the 4tn round. The kid has been all over the field and plays with a high motor. Ryan could conceivably end up in a regular spot much sooner than expected if he continues to impress. QB Brett Hundley of UCLA was grabbed at 5 and has shown promise. His penchant for wildness is in direct proportion to his poor mechanics and there is no better place for a kid to get QB-schooled than in Green Bay. QB Scott Tolzien’s rapid improvement makes him look nothing like he did a year age and Hundley has shown so much upside the Pack may be forced to keep him on the 53 man roster and not expose him to the waiver wire.
Thompson has made a career of his late round/ UDFA finds. Always looking to the future FB Aaron Ripkowski was taken in the 6th round and looks to be folk hero FB John Kuhn’s replacement if not this year then in the very near future. Ripkowski has been relentless in special teams and his bruising style of play has caught McCarthy’s eye. Even if he doesn’t see a down then hard charging, harder hitting Ripkowski may have already secured his spot in the coverage units.
Alos taken on the 6th round were TE Kennard Beckman and DL Christian Ringo. While Beckman has
had his share of drops early in camp he has shown soft hands and just might sneak onto the roster as the #3 TE behind Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers. Many expect Rodgers to have a breakout type of year and with Nelson gone he could see many more balls tossed his way as result. The battered discipline dept. of the NFL has yet to weigh in on Quarless’ offseason run in with the law after firing a gun in the air in a late night altercation at a Miami nightclub. Ringo has the build of the Rams Aaron Donald and has a good base and push, but given the 2nd and the year players in front of him he may end up on the practice squad.
2nd year UDFA RB Rajion Neal may have sewn up the #3 spot after his sizzling performance against the Eagles last week. He brings an explosive burst and has shown talent as a kick returner. His multi-position value will appeal to McCarthy should Montgomery falter or take a while to adjust to the pro game as a returner. Neal also can add a wrinkle with his pass catching. Eddie Lacy will shoulder a larger load in Nelson’s absence and Rodgers may use his backs more in the passing game. With Lacy and James Starks returning the Packers still have a plethora of depth and talent in other areas to remain elite.
The offensive line returns intact and in no small part due to Thompson’s ability to resign his own. RT
Bryan Bulaga and WR Randall Cobb were 2 plums of the free agency pool but both chose to remain with the Pack, turning down better offers elsewhere to stay in Titletown in search of a Super Bowl ring. Bulaga will remain with middle/ late round studs LT David Bahktiari, All-Pro LG Josh Sitton, C Corey Linsley and RG T.J. Lang to bring stability and continuity up front. J.C. Tretter, Don Barclay and Garth Gerhart all provide solid, veteran presence to support the OLine.
With Nelson lost Cobb becomes the default #1 WR and rising star Davante Adams becomes #2. Montgomery will battle with last year’s practice squad players Myles White, Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis to give All World, Best-Player-On-The-Planet QB Aaron Rodgers enough targets. With Rodgers at the peak of his powers he has the ability to make good receivers look great. White has been a steadily improving player albeit with an undersized build. Abbrederis finally gets some much needed playing time after suffering a concussion and his ability to play in the slot will only help Cobb. Janis is the most intriguing of the group with his surprising speed and ability to find the end zone in preseason. His summer stats have him finding the end zone 5 times in the past 2 seasons and his size (6’3”/ 215 lbs.) is almost identical to Nelson’s. He could become a difference maker as the season grinds on.
On Defense the Pack welcomes back DL B.J. Raji who missed last year with a torn biceps. The Pack
will open with Datone Jones (1 game) and Letroy Guion (3 games) both out with suspensions. Mike Daniels will man one DE spot and much will be expected from2nd and 3rd year players Josh Boyd, Khiry Thornton, and Mike Pennel. Pennel is another UDFA who is making a strong bid for a roster spot with his strength and footwork. Last year’s run D was a study in contrasts between the first and second half as the run D became much, much better after Matthews moved to the ILB spot. McCarthy speaks of “starting fast” and when facing Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch and Jamal Charles in the first 3 weeks a poor start simply cannot be afforded.
The LB’s will have Julius Peppers returning after an outstanding year after the Bears gave up on him. Coupled with ever improving Mike Neal the Pack’s outside backers are looking robust. Preseason sack machine Jayrone Elliot could see more time and most decidedly will on special teams. Nick Perry is poised for a breakout season in his contract year and his development on the outside will only aid Dom Capers’ desire to move his best defensive player in Matthews in differing positions making it more difficult to block and scheme the Pack’s D. Sam Barrington will be 1 ILB and someone needs to step up to fill the inside void left by the departed Hawk and Jones. Someone needs to step up here – 2nd year man Carl Bradford or Ryan or Andy Mulumba or Nate Palmer – to not just fill the void but become an answer to the nagging question on the D.
Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix return to man the back end, and Clinton-Dix’s deer-in-the-
headlights reaction to Russell Wilson’s fateful, floating, impossibly successful two point toss last year was all a part of a very painful learning curve but Clinton-Dix looks far more comfortable now and will be able to rely on his ability and not let his head get in the way.
At CB Sam Shields becomes the leader of a group that will see Casey Hayward, the versatile Micah Hyde and the rookies Randall and Rollins vie for playing time. Both rookies have shown playmaking ability in the preseason; they will need to translate that when the games begin to matter. Demetri Goodson needs to make a 2nd year jump and don’t be surprised to see UDFA LaDarius Gunter make the squad as the 53rd man. He has done nothing but make plays all summer and could well be rewarded with a position.
McCarthy has stressed that last year has nothing to do with this year. By boldly reshuffling the deck he has announced the special teams will be better this year. He also said the same thing about the defense last year and then running game the year before that. McCarthy has a proven track record of backing his bold initiatives up with results.
In spite of the loss of Jordy Nelson the Pack looks poised to make another deep run into the post season once again on McCarthy’s watch.
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