Zero2Cool
14 years ago
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Ted Thompson has placed a big bet on second-year linebacker Brad Jones.

If an inadequate pass rush prevents the Green Bay Packers from advancing deep into the playoffs, then the general manager will shoulder most of the responsibility because he didnt spend a high draft pick or free-agent money on an outside linebacker.

But if Jones builds on his competent half-season last year as a rookie starter and adds something to the pass rush in 2010, then Thompson will have judged well the talent on his roster.

While theres a decent chance Thompson will add another outside linebacker before the season starts, either via a trade or waiver pickup during training camp, thats still only a possibility. Thompson has so far stood pat with Jones at one of the key playmaking positions in defensive coordinator Dom Capers 3-4 scheme.

If Thompson had felt desperate, he would have done something, anything, to add an outside linebacker at least as a fallback much like he did last season when he traded up to select Clay Matthews late in the first round to start at right outside linebacker. But he didnt.

If youd have told me at this time last year that Brad Jones will have started seven games for us down the stretch (in 2009), I dont know if Id have felt real comfortable at that point, Capers said. I feel better about it now.

Though the Packers arent going out of their way to talk up Jones this offseason, their actions say theyre prepared to go with him as their starter in a season in which they could be a legitimate championship contender.

Brady Poppinga lined up at left outside linebacker with the No. 1 defense in the organized team activities practice that was open to reporters on Wednesday, but Capers said after practice that Jones is his starter opposite Matthews.

They dont need anybody else, Poppinga said of he and Jones manning the position this season.

Jones was an unexpectedly big contributor as a rookie even though he was a seventh-round pick and sat out the first three weeks of his rookie training camp because of a back injury. Missing the critical first three weeks of camp can cost a low draft pick a roster spot, but Jones showed enough as a pass rusher and special-teams player in his limited time to make the final 53-man roster.

By midseason, hed surpassed Poppinga as Aaron Kampmans backup, and in eight games as a starter, playoffs included, Jones had four sacks and 11 quarterback hits.

Jones played last season at about 239 pounds, which is light for the position, though Capers said Jones might be physically mature enough to hold the 10 pounds hes added in the offseason workout program.

Hes a pretty good leverage player, Capers said. Hes probably stronger than his size would indicate because he understands playing with leverage. And hes got a little pass-rush instincts. Hes slippery in terms of not giving people a large blocking surface, he can get on the edge and slip by and use his hands, that type of thing. To me thats one of the qualities good pass rushers have.

Along with Jones, the Packers also are placing a big bet that their pass rush will get better simply because theyve had a full season in Capers 3-4 scheme.

They made a significant improvement in that area in Capers first season, when they jumped from No. 25 in sacks percentage in 2008 to No. 12 last year in their switch to the 3-4.

But a shortcoming against top competition was their pass rush. They failed to sack Brett Favre in two losses to the Minnesota Vikings, and in their playoff loss to Arizona, when Capers decided to play more coverage than blitz against quick-triggered Kurt Warner, they also had no sacks.

Capers said the defense discovered its identity about halfway through last year, and he has a good feel for his personnel and what blitzes work best.

With this scheme, weve always been a top-sack team, Capers said. At four different places weve been either first or second in sacks (in the league at least one season). I just feel like theres a natural progression of them understanding the scheme, and it has to come down to what you see on the field and gain confidence in terms of calling. The more confident you are, the more pressures youre going to call. We did that as we progressed.

The Packers also have talked this offseason about using alternative outside rushers on passing downs.

On draft weekend, coach Mike McCarthy talked of possibly rushing inside linebacker Brandon Chillar from the outside on occasion, though Chillar has minimal experience as a pure outside rusher. Last year, he shot gaps as a zone-rush blitzer and never lined up against tackles and tried to beat them with defensive-end rush techniques such as dipping his shoulder and turning the corner.

More likely, if the Packers arent getting enough pressure from their outside rushers as the season goes on, Capers on occasion might line up defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins at end on obvious passing downs and let him rush with his hand on the ground.

But Capers mostly will look to his scheme to generate rush. He suggested Chillar and Nick Barnett will blitz more this season Chillar had two sacks and two quarterback hits last season, Barnett four sacks and nine hits and named cornerback Charles Woodson (two sacks and three hits) as one of the teams best rushers.

Nick can rush from either inside or outside, Capers said. Weve got some different combinations, it might not be a 3-4 outside linebacker type or defensive end type, so we might have to seek it by different means.


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bozz_2006
14 years ago
He's slippery. lol. I like that. In a season where teams learned to pick on Kampman, they weren't able to do that once Jones came in. He wasn't outstanding, but he was serviceable. If he can put on a few pounds to toughen up against the run and chip blockers, and bring a little more in his pass rush I think he will be fine. Would I love to have a top-tier player at this position? Sure. Do I feel better about the ROLB coming into this season than I did last season? Oh yes!
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zombieslayer
14 years ago
Brad Jones was a pleasant surprise. I didn't really expect much from him as he was a 7th round pick, and now he's a starter, and a solid one at that. Would like to see more of what he can do in pass rushing situations.

I'd actually put Jones above "serviceable" and put more of a "solid" tag on him. In only 7 games started, he registered 4 sacks and if I remember correctly, he was used more in coverage than rushing.

He played a lot smarter than a rookie too.

More likely, if the Packers arent getting enough pressure from their outside rushers as the season goes on, Capers on occasion might line up defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins at end on obvious passing downs and let him rush with his hand on the ground.

But Capers mostly will look to his scheme to generate rush. He suggested Chillar and Nick Barnett will blitz more this season Chillar had two sacks and two quarterback hits last season, Barnett four sacks and nine hits and named cornerback Charles Woodson (two sacks and three hits) as one of the teams best rushers.

Nick can rush from either inside or outside, Capers said. Weve got some different combinations, it might not be a 3-4 outside linebacker type or defensive end type, so we might have to seek it by different means.



I really liked this part of the article. Dom's obviously aware that one of our biggest problems last year was the lack of pass rush. If we have to blitz more, then blitz more. I'd rather see us die fighting than die rushing 3 people and at the very least, I want to see the opposing QB sore.
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Rockmolder
14 years ago
I'd put him down as servicable.

The big problem is this. When some teams actually put a RT on him, he was lost. Best example is our second game against Chicago. And he didn't look that impressive against TEs or RBs, either.

I'm hoping that he really has become much stronger and has worked on his leverage technique etc. like Dom said. It'd be great to have two guys who can get to the QB.

I'm just not sold on this group yet, though.
14 years ago
I'm expecting a big leap in Jones' second year. There is no reason to think otherwise. That he was even able to hold his own as an undersized rookie speaks volumes of his potential.

The statement early on in the article about "spending a high draft pick" is just shoddy journalism. Unless he means we should have taken an OLB in place of Bulaga, he has absolutely no case. There were NO high round OLBs left by the time our 2nd round pick came up.

I can't stand it when they try to make the same played out point without even looking at the facts. That's lazy writing.
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Zero2Cool
14 years ago
I'm not expecting anything big from Brad Jones. I think fans are over rating him.
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Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago

If an inadequate pass rush prevents the Green Bay Packers from advancing deep into the playoffs, then the general manager will shoulder most of the responsibility because he didnt spend a high draft pick or free-agent money on an outside linebacker.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:



Ugh. I didn't get much farther than this statement. Can we get ONE fucking article free of spin from these snide Gazette reporters? Leave the agenda to O'Reilly and just give me the fucking facts -- you know, like a reporter is supposed to do. I'm a reasonably well-educated adult; I can think for myself and come to my own conclusions.

I fear the age of journalism is gone forever. All we have nowadays are professional essayists.

And yes, I know I bitch about this too much.
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zombieslayer
14 years ago

I'd put him down as servicable.

The big problem is this. When some teams actually put a RT on him, he was lost. Best example is our second game against Chicago. And he didn't look that impressive against TEs or RBs, either.

I'm hoping that he really has become much stronger and has worked on his leverage technique etc. like Dom said. It'd be great to have two guys who can get to the QB.

I'm just not sold on this group yet, though.

"Rockmolder" wrote:



Well, maybe it's because I compare him to Kampy, who was just plain bad in that role and compared to Kampy, he looked solid.
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tromadz
14 years ago
Brad Jones was a good OLB.

What else could you want? A great OLB? That's a fair point, sure. Considering Brad Jones was a rookie nobody expected anything out of and was a GOOD olb...jesus, not every LB is gonna be CM3.

He was GOOD.

AND HE SHOULD ONLY GET BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE WAS A ROOKIE!!!!!!!!

MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK!!!!!!!!!

He was a rookie who stepped in and played some good OLB. It's his job to lose and I would be SHOCKED if he didn't improve and even if he doesn't, then we're "stuck" with a GOOD OLB opposite CM3.

I think I could live with that.

With that said, if someone outplayed him, I'm all for it. I'm all for someone outplaying someone else and improving any position. Jones isn't a flashy player but he gets the job done. He wasn't perfect. He wasn't CM3, but expecting that from a late round rookie is silly.

Anyway...you get my point. The kid is good, should get better. We're more than fine at OLB.
all_about_da_packers
14 years ago
Interesting to look at the stats of Jones... In 8 starts last year (all after Kampy went down) he had 4 sacks, 5 QB hits, and 10 QB pressures.

Compare that with Kampy: in 9 games as a starter, he has 4 sacks, 12 QB hits, and 11 QB Pressures.

Those stats are similar, which is important when you consider that both Jones and Kampman had almost identical pass-rushing snaps (201 for Jones vs 208 for Kampman).

You'd like to see the hits go up for Jones, but other than that over a course of 16 games as a rookie he projected to tally 8 sacks. That's not bad at all. With a year of getting stronger and more tutelage from Kevin Green (if I'm not mistaken, Jones missed part of Training Camp last year) you expect him to improve.

I'll echo Trom's sentiments: we're fine at OLB. If Jones produces at exactly the same level he did last year, we'll have okay production. But you expect him to improve, and thereby also improve his production too.
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Zero2Cool (14-Feb) : Packers are hiring Luke Getsy as senior offensive assistant.
Martha Careful (12-Feb) : I would love to have them both, esp. Crosby, but either might be too expensive.
Zero2Cool (12-Feb) : Keisean Nixon is trying to get Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams lol
Mucky Tundra (11-Feb) : Yeah where did it go?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : or did you resctrict access to that topic?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : why did you remove the Playoff topic?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Tua’s old DC won a Super Bowl Year 1 with Tua’s former backup
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : *winning MVP
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Funny observation I've heard: Carson Wentz was on the sideline for both Eagles Super Bowl wins w/guys supposed to be his back up winning
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : NFL thought it would get more attention week preceding Super Bowl.
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Yes, the Pro Bowl. It was played Sunday before Super Bowl from 2010-2022
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : pro bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : From 2010 to 2022, it was played on the Sunday before the Super Bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : They moved it to the BYE week before Super Bowl several years ago.
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : it was always after the SB.....
beast (10-Feb) : Though I stop following pro bowl years ago
beast (10-Feb) : I thought the pro game was before the Super Bowl?
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : ok now for the Pro Bowl Game in Hawaii
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : If I was Philly I would try to end it instead of punting it
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : VICTORY! We have (moral) victory!
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Hey they mentioned that we 3-peted
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : seems to me the 49ers should have traded Aiyuk when they had the chance
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : if the Eagles get it down to the 1, do they Tush Push or give it to Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : 49ers have a money problem if they want to sign their QB
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Wait for real? Didn't he just get an extension two years ago?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : 49ers gonna trade Deebo. Interesting
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Replays always never seem to show the holdings
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Great throw by Hurts
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Where Carter falls prey to bad off the field influences (to be clear, not saying he'd clip someone though)
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Had Carter not gone to Philly were they already had a lot of old college friends, he ends up in a similar spot to Aaron Hernandez
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : I think some of his coaches told scouts to stay away
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : the street racing incident+conditioning and motivation problems
beast (10-Feb) : Then Carter was street racing, where the other car crashed and people died... and other teams were scared to pick Carter for some reason
beast (10-Feb) : I think the Saints traded up, giving their next year 1st to the Eagles, and then they sucked and Eagles got the 10th overall pick
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : wtf Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Getting Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 was pretty darn good
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : for some reason i'm thinking of a draft where the Eagles where in the mid 20s and a top player fell all the way to them
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think so. I would need to look it up. Think it may have been Carolina's pick.
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : i'm not sure who i'm thinking of now
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : oh fuck me i messed that up
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Jordan Davis was 13th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Carter was 9th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles had 15th and 10th selections, moved to 13 and 9 to get Davis and Carter back to back
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles traded up for Carter, didn't they?
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Obviously he was a huge risk but getting a top 5 talent on the dline in the mid 20s is fortuitous
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Jalen Carter falling into their lap certainly helps
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : And we could only wish to have this type of D
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : It's not like Philly has had low draft picks, but has managed to get themselves a top notch pass rush. We spend so much draft capital of D
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : another crap halftime show
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think it is over, but then I think of Atlanta and want Philly to go in with the same intensity in the second half
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