I got to thinking about the twists and turns of this season, aside from injuries what is ailing this team. We can talk X's and O's of the game, more concerning on the defensive side of the ball for me than the offense, especially now that we have a running game to pair with the passing game that we know is effective. But I think the bigger topic comes down to personnel more so front line talent than depth as I think we still have better depth than most teams.
I think the concern, especially on defense, is that the front line talent struggles at times; especially up the center of the defense... meaning nose, inside backers and safeties. Guys like Burnett and Jones getting signed to decent contracts but not living up to those deals; picking on these two because the deals are recent. If BJ Raji would have inked his 8mil/year deal he would have been clumped in as well.
How could we have missed the evaluations on these guys by this much? Or was it just an off year for the pair. Or is there something more that is affecting the personnel department of the Packers.. transition so to speak.
In 2010 John Schneider left for Seattle.
In 2012 Reggie McKenzie left for Oakland.
Last year John Dorsey to the Chiefs.
Now it sounds like Alonzo Highsmith is being targeted by the Bucs and Dolphins.. being that he is from Florida, I am sure both have some appeal.
So we talk about injuries affecting of depth charts on the field, on has to wonder how much these moves have hurt the Packers in terms of not only acquiring talent, but evaluating and retaining our expiring players.
One also has to project forward a bit with how long Ted stays and if there will be anyone left on staff to transition to? Or will they have to hit the open market for an eventual successor.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"