go.pack.go.
15 years ago

Organized Team Activities (OTAs) are usually noteworthy more for whos not there than for anything that actually happens on the field, but that wasnt the case yesterday. Some big news came out of Wednesdays practice and it had absolutely nothing to do with no-shows Atari Bigby, Johnny Jolly and Tramon Williams. The team has decided to move Ryan Pickett to left defensive end a decision that will allow B.J. Raji to take his rightful place as the starting nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers. No disrespect to Pickett, who did a solid job in the middle last season, but Raji has a chance to be one of the NFLs premier nose tackles and it was almost sad to see him flailing away at end as a rookie. Heres some more news and notes from practice:

-In another position change, Will Blackmon will move from cornerback to safety. This makes sense for a couple of reasons. One is that the former Boston College star has undergone surgery on his foot and his knee, so hes probably lost some speed and quickness. The other far more important reason is that he couldnt cover anybody at corner.

-Journeyman Brady Poppinga lined up ahead of second-year man Brad Jones at left outside linebacker. The guess here is that the defensive coaches simply want to see if Poppinga is worth keeping around for another season. If the former BYU star is starting on Sept. 12 at Philly, general manager Ted Thompson will have a lot of explaining to do.

-Rookie Morgan Burnett started alongside Nick Collins at safety. The former Georgia Tech star has a chance to keep that job if he performs well. Dont think for a second that the coaches are satisfied with Atari Bigbys play or his decision to stay away from the OTAs.

-Patrick Lee was back on the field. The oft-injured cornerback saw most of his work in the nickel packages, but hell move ahead of Jarrett Bush, and perhaps even Brandon Underwood, by the time camp opens in late July. When healthy, Lees skill-set is far more impressive than that of any other young corner on the current roster including Williams.

-While both punters were OK, neither one jumps out at you. There are some punters who you just know are going to be quality pros the first time you see them kick, but thats not the case with either second-year man Tim Masthay or former Australian star Chris Bryan. For what its worth, ex-Packer Jon Ryan was more impressive upon first glance.

-Its amazing how much bigger the offensive line has gotten over the past two or three years. Instead of a bunch of bulked-up tight ends masquerading as tackles and guards, players like Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and rookies Bryan Bulaga and Marshall Newhouse actually look like players who could physically whip the opponents lined up across from them.

-Green Bay can develop Breno Giacomini for another 10 years and he still wont be a quality tackle. He lacks functional football-playing strength, hes not quick enough to stay with speed rushers and hes not strong enough to stymie power rushers. Other than that, hes fine.



http://packerupdate.net/ 

The one that intrigues me the most is Pickett being moved to DE. Personally, I like the move. More bulk on the D-Line & we can finally see what Raji's got. I'm pumped about his potential at NT.
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Dulak
15 years ago
I think its lame that bigby and jolly are sitting out - ie look at andre johnson ie he is still practicing and he deservedly should get a really nice contract.

Id be in there if I was bigby ie there are alot of safetys going to compete for his job. I do like bigby thou and I hope he keeps his job.

funny commnet about blackmon saying he cant cover worth jack ...

I really like what was said about Lee ie even being better then tramon - be pretty cool if we have woodson harris and lee then on the field at one time.
warhawk
15 years ago
I called Lee's name out weeks ago as one that will be coming up often this off season. That they say his skill set is better than Williams and all the young corners is a very promising thing and was why I thought the Packers were not as concerned about drafting another one this year.
"The train is leaving the station."
zombieslayer
15 years ago
You know what bothers me about this is if Blackmon lost speed, there goes our PR. Dang it.

As for the DL swap, we were already elite against the run. Now imagine adding a little bit of a pass rush to the mix. I'm loving this. :thumbright:
My man Donald Driver
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Mckennj3
15 years ago
I'd love to see Lee stay healthy and be a solid CB, he along with tramon will make it a whole lot easier moving closer to the days without Harris and someday Woodson.
We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse.
earthquake
15 years ago

I think its lame that bigby and jolly are sitting out - ie look at andre johnson ie he is still practicing and he deservedly should get a really nice contract.

"Dulak" wrote:



Andre Johnson has something like 5 or 6 years left on a 60 million dollar contract, Bigby is a player not under any sort of contract and it is his right to do as he sees fit as far as showing up for OTA's. I'm pretty surprised he hasn't signed his tender and that he isn't there, however those situations have absoletly nothing to do with each other.

I dont agree with the way he's doing it, but you can hardly fault a guy for excersizing one of the very few options he has to try and land a long term contract.
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Dulak
15 years ago

I think its lame that bigby and jolly are sitting out - ie look at andre johnson ie he is still practicing and he deservedly should get a really nice contract.

"earthquake" wrote:



Andre Johnson has something like 5 or 6 years left on a 60 million dollar contract, Bigby is a player not under any sort of contract and it is his right to do as he sees fit as far as showing up for OTA's. I'm pretty surprised he hasn't signed his tender and that he isn't there, however those situations have absoletly nothing to do with each other.

I dont agree with the way he's doing it, but you can hardly fault a guy for excersizing one of the very few options he has to try and land a long term contract.

"Dulak" wrote:



ahh makes sense ... ya guess my emotions are getting into it ie I really like bigby on our team and hate to have him go.
Well if barnett can take the job from him ie because he is better then great if not I want to see bigby again next year (love his hits)
earthquake
15 years ago
Yeah i agree, i would love to see Burnett supplant Bigby simply because it means he it would be an upgrade to the D, i would also love to see Bigby fight him off, retain his spot and show some of that magic he had in 07.
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go.pack.go.
15 years ago
I really hope Raji becomes an elite NT in this league. I hope he is mentioned when people talk about the likes of Haloti Ngata. I think he CAN do that, too. He is very quick and strong for his size, and men, that is 337 pounds. When someone can move like he does and still hold his ground, that is a force to be reckoned with.

I also really want Burnett to be the starter in this defense, with Bigby rotating in on situational downs, maybe on obvious running situations?
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zombieslayer
15 years ago

I really hope Raji becomes an elite NT in this league. I hope he is mentioned when people talk about the likes of Haloti Ngata. I think he CAN do that, too. He is very quick and strong for his size, and men, that is 337 pounds. When someone can move like he does and still hold his ground, that is a force to be reckoned with.

"go.pack.go." wrote:



Would be awesome if Raji becomes an elite NT.

Funny. Looking at our DL, between 3 starting guys, we have almost 1000 pounds.

We were already #1 against the rush last year, with only 1333 yards given up, 5 TDs, and a 3.6 average.

If I'm not mistaken though, this move was more a move to generate more of a pass rush.
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