RaiderPride
15 years ago
From ESPN




Green Bay Packers
Training camp site: Team facility in Green Bay, Wis.


Campfires
At least two and possibly three positions on the offensive line are up for grabs as the Packers transition to a younger -- and, they hope, bigger -- offensive line. Jason Spitz seems primed to overtake veteran Scott Wells at center, while Allen Barbre is hoping to hold off rookie T.J. Lang for the right to replace Mark Tauscher at right tackle. And if Wells wins the center job, Spitz could move to right guard and compete with Josh Sitton.

Got all that? Because there's plenty of competition elsewhere on this team. The Packers moved back into the first round of the April draft to grab outside linebacker Clay Matthews, but a spring hamstring injury allowed second-year player Jeremy Thompson to grab hold of the job seemingly designated for Matthews. Thompson will spend training camp trying to hold off Matthews.

Elsewhere, the Packers will have an intriguing (if somewhat inside baseball) competition for their No. 3 receiver position behind Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. James Jones' playmaking skills would seem to give him the edge over 2008 top pick Jordy Nelson, but Jones' injury troubles last season make him an unknown quantity this summer.

Camp will be a downer if ...
... one of the Packers' two backup quarterbacks doesn't demonstrate substantial improvement. Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm got rookie exceptions last year, but neither ran the offense smoothly during minicamp last month.

Brohm's case is especially interesting. He flopped last summer after the Packers made him a second-round pick, by default leaving the No. 2 job to Flynn. If Brohm wants to restore his track as the Packers' top backup and a future starter (for another team), he'll have to get it turned around in camp this summer. Otherwise, he'll be buried on the depth chart for another year.

Camp will be a success if ...
...the Packers can demonstrate mental proficiency with the 3-4 defense. There is little doubt that retrofitting the personnel base will take some time. But if the Packers can master the different alignments and strategies typically employed by coordinator Dom Capers, they'll almost certainly improve their defensive proficiency from a year ago.

Capers and his staff are good teachers, and it's reasonable to expect Packers players to have absorbed the mental part of this new scheme.

A true one-two punch?
Training camp would be a nice time for someone to step in as a legitimate second option behind tailback Ryan Grant. One question the Packers would like to solve: Do they have someone on the roster who provides a stylistic complement to Grant?

Is Brandon Jackson the best answer? You could make an argument that his style isn't different enough from Grant to make him a viable option. Could that person be DeShawn Wynn? Or possibly Kregg Lumpkin? The Packers would like to leave camp with a firm idea on whether they have someone they can consistently rotate into the lineup for strategic purposes.
""People Will Probably Never Remember What You Said, And May Never Remember What You Did. However, People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel."
Dulak
15 years ago
Interesting article ...

my comments -

- I like the offensive line competition. Ie we need a goodline this year. No more 34 sacks allowed.

- Whats up with collins? He still holding out for more $?

- I'm a bit interested in the ROLB position - thompson or matthews

- IMO it will be a no brainer that jones takes over the 3 spot. He seemed to indicate he no longer sufferes from his injuries as he did last season. He was a nice go to guy in 07; would expect him to do just as well this coming year.

- as far as the RB issues ... to be honest I'd rather they bench grant and use jackson and wynn of lumpkin or the new guy they are working.
but whatever - grant got his money so I assume they will make him work for it.

I cant wait for some nice preseason games where we can actually talk about something other then theory
shield4life
15 years ago
- Jones could take over the 3rd spot but depending on how much Nelson has developed since last year. Great potential in Jordy for this year and the future.

- I love Grant, I just hope he pans out to be like 2 years ago.
Glad To Be A Packers Fan.
15 years ago
Poppinga is the starter. This out of touch ESPN crap is never correct.
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Rockmolder
15 years ago

Poppinga is the starter. This out of touch ESPN crap is never correct.

"CaliforniaCheez" wrote:



I doubt it. I'd like someone who can at least rush the QB a little opposite of Kampman. So far, Poppinga hasn't gotten us any pressure on the QB at all. The rest of his numbers have been average at best as well. If Thompson can even resemble a Lamar Lathon (LB who played opposite of Greene under Dom Capers) or a player like Shaun Phillips, I think he'll get the nod. Mainly because he has tons of potential and can still grow a lot. Poppinga, on the other hand, has been on his current level for about 3 years. Of course, he could excel in this scheme but I doubt it.

Apart from that, we still have a 1st round LB waiting. I have a feeling that if he might become the starter, he could put up numbers comparable to Poppinga's, but get some more QB pressures.
earthquake
15 years ago
I dont think its really that big of a deal which one is the #3 or #4 WR, they will both see heavy playing time, nelson will probably see a lot of time in run formations, considering his size and blocking ability.
blank
Dulak
15 years ago
Was going to point out - that chillar should be a sure thing as a ILB on passing downs (IMO he's our best coverage guy).
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Zero2Cool (31-Jan) : Jets have named Chris Banjo as their special teams coordinator, Former Packers player
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dfosterf (30-Jan) : from ft Belvoir, Quantico and points south. Somber reminder of this tragedy at Reagan Nat Airport
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eerily quiet here in Alexandria. I live in the flight path of commercial craft coming from the south and west, plus the military craft
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eeri
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Now that's a thought, maybe they're looking at the college ranks? Maybe not head coaches but DC/assistant DCs with league experience?
beast (30-Jan) : College Coaches wouldn't want that publicly, as it would hurt recruiting and they might not get the job.
beast (30-Jan) : I thought they were supposed to publicly announce them, at least the NFL ones. Hafley was from college, so I believe different rules.
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Who knows who they're interviewing? I mean, nobody knew about Hafley and then out of nowhere he was hired
beast (30-Jan) : I wonder what's taking so long with hiring a DL coach, 2 of the 3 known to interview have already been hired elsewhere.
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Packers coach Matt LaFleur hires Luke Getsy as senior assistant, extends Rich Bisaccia's deal
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Chiefs again huh? I guess another Super Bowl I'll be finding something else to do.
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : Chiefs Eagles...again...sigh
dfosterf (27-Jan) : Happy Birthday Dave!
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : happy birthday dhazer
TheKanataThrilla (26-Jan) : Exactly buck...Washington came up with the ball. It is just a shitty coincidence one week later
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : I forgot, they corrected the call a week later. Lol btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY dhazer!
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : That brings up the question, why wasn't Nixon down by contact? I think that was the point Kanata was making.
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : Turnovers rule, win the turnover battle, win the game.
packerfanoutwest (26-Jan) : well, he was
TheKanataThrilla (26-Jan) : Eagles down by contact on the fumble....fuck you NFL
Mucky Tundra (26-Jan) : I think this games over
beast (26-Jan) : Eagles sure get a lot of fumbles on kickoffs
Mucky Tundra (26-Jan) : This game looks too big for Washington
packerfanoutwest (26-Jan) : that being said, The Ravens are the Browns
packerfanoutwest (26-Jan) : Browns, Dolphins have longest AFC Championship droughts
packerfanoutwest (26-Jan) : As of today, Cowboys have longest NFC Championship drought,
beast (26-Jan) : Someone pointed out, with Raiders hiring Carroll, the division games between Carroll and Jim Harbaugh are back on (who can whine more games)
beast (26-Jan) : I'm confused, Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer? When Todd Monken, Joe Brady, Kellen Moore, Kliff Kingsbury and Zac Robinson are availab
Zero2Cool (25-Jan) : Any reason I'm catching a shot here about my intelligence?
Martha Careful (25-Jan) : thank you Mucky for sticking up for me
Martha Careful (25-Jan) : some of those people are smarter than you zero. However Pete Carroll is not
Mucky Tundra (24-Jan) : Rude!
beast (24-Jan) : Martha? 😋
Zero2Cool (24-Jan) : Raiders hired someone from the elderly home.
dfosterf (24-Jan) : I'm going with a combination of the two.
beast (24-Jan) : Either the Cowboys have no idea what they're doing, or they're targeting their former OC, currently the Eagles OC
Zero2Cool (23-Jan) : Fake news. Cowboys say no
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