Packers' effort to move Mike Neal might be all for naught

play2win
Senior Member Topic Starter

11 years ago

It took Mike Neal four seasons to finally find a home in Green Bay. Now, Neal’s next home could very well be in another city.

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play2win
Senior Member Topic Starter

11 years ago

What to do with mike Neal?

To me, the guy was about as disappointing as could be his first 3 years here. He transitioned to OLB and I thought he did alright. It makes me wonder, though, if the guy will all of a sudden blossom into a nice OLB. I think he has the potential, and his size and speed are pretty decent.

Problem is, Walden commanded $4M per year, and Neal will probably cost more. I question whether Neal is worth that kind of dough without knowing fully that he is a well rounded OLB, which I don't think he has shown himself to be yet.

texaspackerbacker
Veteran Member

11 years ago

If it's true that Neal will cost that much to re-sign, I say let him go. IMO, it was a mistake to try and make him an OLB. He seems like a "tweener" in the 3-4. I see Perry and probably even Mulumba as better at OLB (and they are barely adequate), and 4, maybe 5 D Linemen being better than him in the rotation if he switched back. So $4 million or more a year is way too much to pay. Maybe he would be better as a 4-3 DE, but even then you have the big question mark of staying healthy.

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steveishere
Veteran Member

11 years ago

It sucks that Perry was so banged up all year because we would have been a lot better if we had Daniels and Neal as our pass rushing lineman in Nickle formations, I don't think they meant for Neal to play OLB nearly as much as he did. He did a pretty good job I thought transitioning to OLB for his 1st year and previously being a DT but I think being the DL in Nickle is the best position for him.

nerdmann
Premier Member

11 years ago

Originally Posted by: steveishere

He is a tweener, with no prototypical role in our D. He also lost Greene, the guy who was grooming him for the position. Don't really know what we've got him Neal, or who's gonna be the next guy to groom him.

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Yerko
Senior Member

11 years ago

I really just wish the Packers put a guy in the other OLB position that has actually played the position before. Perry might one day work out but his injury history continues to build up. Mike Neal is sub-par...

If only the Packers had the ability to draft the #1 or #2 OLB this draft. Unfortunately, there are bigger needs (maybe)...

steveishere
Veteran Member

11 years ago

Originally Posted by: Yerko

Most OLB in the 3-4 are former DEs. There are few 3-4 Ds in college these days so limiting your players to those teams really doesn't give you much talent to choose from. Odds are most of the highest rated actual OLB in the draft are going to be too small to play in a 3-4 and not even have the skill set to be edge rushers 90% of a game.

Yerko
Senior Member

11 years ago

Originally Posted by: steveishere

I was referring to possibly going after one of the top two OLB in the first round but that the Packers have too many other needs. I just don't think that players like Perry or Neal are fit for the position. Perry because of constant injury and Neal being below-average to average.

Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr both come from 3-4 systems, first round talent. I believe one of these two would help with the pass rush (so would another great defensive lineman).

Am I missing what you are saying?

play2win
Senior Member Topic Starter

11 years ago

Originally Posted by: Yerko

It is interesting. We DO need prototypical 3-4 LBs, both OLB and ILB. I would love to Ted to draft one or two high, and get the best he can possibly land. We need that.

As for Neal, I wonder if he is done developing as a OLB, and I would think not. Maybe he is about to become something special. To me, this is one of the key problems in strict D & D… the amount of time it takes many of these players to find their groove and become key contributors. At this point, we are not really absolutely sure what we have with this player...

texaspackerbacker
Veteran Member

11 years ago

#10

Originally Posted by: Yerko

Sounds good to me. Solve the Safety problem in free agency (or with supremely good luck, Nick Collins), then get a top flight OLB in the first round. And the type of OLB you are talking about, I like that also.

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