Packer 2013 Draft

For the next few months one of the topics that I will tackle is the decisions that pertain to the NFL Draft.  Over the past few years I think the overall success has been more positive then negative.  Let's begin by going back to last year and the decisions made in the 2012 draft.

1 - LB Nick Perry - Round 1
2 - DE Jerel Worthy - Round 2a
3 - CB Casey Hayward - Round 2b
4 - DT Mike Daniels - Round 4a
5 - S    Jerron McMillan - Round 4b
6 - LB Terrel Manning - Round 5
7 - T   Andrew Datko - Round 7a
8 - QB BJ Coleman Round 7b

The good news is all the above are still on the roster.  The bad news is the impact that the players from this draft had was limited during the 2013 season!  As a Packer Fan, here is what I observed:

The player with the most impact - Casey Hayward!

     NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month - October
     All Rookie Team - Pro Football Weekly
     Packer Team Leader in Interceptions!!! - 6  (#5 in NFL & Led Rookies!)
     Played entire season!  Stayed healthy!  Played a lot of plays!

Casey appeared to be a great "cover guy".  And the interceptions - WOW!  A definite plus!  With his size - 5'11 & 192 lbs, he will never be an intimidator!

Biggest disappointment - Nick Perry!  Played 5 full games & was injured.  I am always leery of players that are injured.  Hope it was a freak injury & he has a chance to bounce back next year!  He stats for 5 games were not very impressive - 2 sacks, 17 tackles.  Next year will be critical to the future, my philosophy for a number one draft pick in they must be a IMPACT player!

The defensive tackles Daniels & Worthy each played 14 of 16 games,  Worthy was injured for the playoffs.  Each had two sacks (not enough!).  They did provide much needed depth, but I question if they are athletic enough!(This is one of my biggest concerns of the entire defensive line!)

The rest of the 2012 draft had little impact this season.

Overall I would rank this draft - C minus - a little below average!

Blog Design Change

Trying to change the design on my blog!


This is to make my blog look more like a Packer Blog!!!

Time to Plan for Next NFL Season - 2013

OK Packer Buddies!  It is time to lick our wounds and plan for next year!  As a stock holders, here are my suggestions!

Let's start with Free Agents!  Who should we bring back??

2013 Free Agents List

RB - Cedric Benson

TE - Tom Crabtree

OL - Evan Dietrich-Smith

WR - Donald Driver

LB - Robert Francois

RB - Ryan Grant

WR - Greg Jennings

LB - Brad Jones

CB - Sam Shields

LB - Eric Walden

LB - Frank Zombo

Here is who I would bring back - Greg Jennings, Tom Crabtree & Sam Shields.  That's it.

Jennings - still is one of the best in the league - Driver is older & did not help this year.  With Nelson, Cobb, & Jennings it will keep the passing game as one of the best in the NFL!

Crabtree - Like Kuhn, he is what Packer fans love.  Blue collar tight end & special teams.  Deserves more touches, only had 8 receptions and I'm sick & tired of Finley!

Shields - I think he has proved himself as a starting corner.  I would still draft a corner to push him, but has showed improvement that passed few years!

What do my Packer Buddies think?  Next we start to look at draft needs & choices!

Packers Second Half Failure

OK, I have had a few days to calm down!  The Packers failure to finish the game Saturday against the 49er's was very difficult to watch!  Let's analyze what I think happened and what we can do next year to eliminate this for the 2013 season!

As a retired high school football coach, I am not an expert!  But, common sense dictates my observations - this is not ROCKET SCIENCE!!!

1 - Packer Defense

The Running Quarterback.  The NFL is going through changes in quarterback responsibilities. The play that hurt the Packers is nothing new, many teams are running it!  To allow the QB to run, untouched, seemed to be a breakdown in game plan & adjustment during the game.  The outside containment was not there!  Matthews & Walden at times were crashing, the safeties pursuit angles were horrible!  The interior linemen were not athletic enough to deal with the offense!

Suggestions

a.  Is is time to change defensive coordinator?
b.  Draft - more athletic defensive linemen
c.  Have a better defensive game plan!
d.  MUST have someone to complement Matthews!

2 - Packer Offense

Overall, the Packers had a great season.  The offense can move the ball & score!  At times, there are certain defenses that cause the Packers problems.  It seems that 2 Deep, bump & run, rushing 4 lineman at times will frustrate the offense.  The better defenses, Giants, Seahawks, give many teams issues!

Suggestions

a.  Why not draft a great running back?
b.  Sign Greg Jennings!
c.  Give up on Jermichael Finley
d.  Run more crossing patterns & "pick" plays!

3 - Special Teams

The special teams had a good year, but a bad last game.  It was difficult to have Jeremy Ross fumble during the playoff game!  I can see giving Randall Cobb a break, but he had an entire year to rest, I would have had him back there for punts & kickoffs!  And Mason Crosby needs competition!  He must step it up next year!

Suggestions

a.  Bring in competition for Crosby.
b.  Draft a wide receiver or defensive back that returns kicks.
c.  Trick plays are great, but think about game situations!!

Still love the Pack!  And overall it was a great year!!!  The fans, the stadium, and the leadership seems to know what they are doing.  But, unless you look to improve & improvise, the NFL will leave you in the dust!

Go Pack Go!

The Plan

OK!  Time to plan the Blog!  Here is what the Packer Packer Blog will tackle!!

1 - Of course, the Packers!!  We will analyze the games,  second guess the play calling, evaluate the players, scrutinize the draft, and do what all great fans do - SECOND GUESS!!!!

2 - Attending games!  One of the joys or retirement is having the time & money to attend Packer games!!!  Of course, Lambeau Field is an amazing experience!  And visiting other NFL cities!  We will look at travel plans, great places to visit in the Green Bay area, and compare Green Bay to other NFL cities!

3 - The advantages of being a Packer Fan!  When we travel we are always amazed by the people we meet!  Every trip we have new stories, travel adventures, and reasons for going on new excursions!

Welcome to Our Packer Blog!

Here we are the PA & NJ Packer Backers!!!!!

Phil, Terry, Bill & Jim

Our first post & more to come!