Time to Look At the Present Packer Roster!

Here is my latest Packer roster as of today:

That is 55 on the roster, 8 unrestricted free agents & 9 exclusive rights free agents = 72 players.

Looks like the 8 unrestricted free agents could be history, we just lost 8 year vet Morgan Burnett.

The exclusive right free agents are probably all back.

So, look at the positions, we need to still sign a free agent or draft in April.  Let us begin with two positions - Tight End on the offensive side of the ball & Cornerback on the defense.

Tight End:
Jimmy Graham - SHOULD be great over the middle & in the red zone!
Lance Kendricks - A grizzled vet, should be the best blocker!
Emanuel Byrd - another very average player
Robert Tonyan - no idea on this guy!
Richard Rodgers - still think we should sign, should be cheap?

I would still draft a tight end round 3 or 4.

Cornerbacks:
Kevin King - should start & if he stays healthy, NEED to see good play!
Quinten Rollins - Rollins, injured last season, should provide some depth
Herb Waters - Should be fighting for a roster spot
Josh Hawkins - Should be fighting for a roster spot
Lanzy Pipkins - Should be fighting for a roster spot
Demetri Goodson - Should be fighting for a roster spot
Donatello Brown - ERFA - Should be fighting for a roster spot
Davon House - UFA - probably gone

This position NEEDS help!  Most of the top free agents have been signed, still should look for help there!  Also, would be good to draft round 1 or 2!  HELP!

Where Are The Packers as of St. Patrick's Day??

First Packer Fans

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Next, what transactions have been made since the first of the year???

Additions to last years Roster?

TE - Jimmy Graham

DT - Muhammed Wilkerson

QB - DeShaone Kizer

RB - Joel Bouagnon

Subtractions from last years Roster?

Jordy Nelson

We still have 9 of  our own un-signed Free Agents out there.

LB-Ahmad Brooks, S - Morgan Burnett, DT - Quinton Dial, G - Jahri Evans, LS - Brett Goode, 

CB - Devon House, WR - Jeff Janis, T - John Ulrick, TE - Richard Rodgers

So, as of today, are we better?????

My first take? A little!  Why?

Compare loss of Jordy & addition of Jimmy?  We are stronger in the middle of the field & the red zone.  A little weaker losing Jordy with the connection Aaron had with Jordy - we are a little ahead!

Back-up QB?  To early to say, but the upper management is telling Mr. Hundley - NOT GOOD!

Our D-line is UP, but our Cornerback situation is DOWN!  This is a wash!

So, we are just a little ahead of last year in my book.  We still need to sign a better than average cornerback before the draft!!!

A MOST Difficult Post - Bye Bye Jordy!

Wow!  If you are an avid Packer Fan, this is a DIFFICULT day!  Jordy Nelson is cut!

First, the stats!

The Packer Buddies, Jim, Bill, & Terry (sorry Phil) are OLD track & field coaches, so
in high school, Jordy was a sprint state champion in Kansas, while in high school!!

Run Jordy Run!

And, Jordy Nelson the farm boy!!!!

    

Next, what is a visual I will always have in my head about Jordy?

Jordy & Aaron pre-game ritual!

Another visual:

What a role model!

And the family man!!!

It is amazing how some athletes quietly go about their careers and how loudly their life makes us all smile!  Jordy Nelson, forever remembered for not only his play on the field, BUT, his career as a Packer off the field!

You will be missed Jordy Nelson!  

I will wear your jersey to every game next year!!!!

Looking at The NFL Draft

Some of my list of players to watch?

1 - Denzel Ward, Ohio State - 5'10 & 190 lbs, position CB

2 - Troy Apke, Penn State - 6'2" & 198 lbs, position S 

3 - Saquon Barkley, Penn State - 6' & 233 lbs, position RB

4 - Harrison Phillips, Stanford - 6'4" & 307 lbs, position OL  

5 - Vita Via, Washington - 6'4 & 347 lbs, position DL 

6 - Kylie Fitts, Utah - 6'4" & 263 lbs, position DE or OLB

7 - Mile Gesicki, Penn State - 6'5" & 247 lbs, position TE

8 - DJ Clark, LSU - 6'3" & 199 lbs, position WR  

9 - Oren Burks, Vandy - 6'3" - 233 lbs, position LB

How about a few more!

Roquan Smith - OLB - Georgia - 6'1 - 225

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

STRENGTHS
 Former high school wideout with elite athletic ability. Speed demon who walks down backs looking to race him to the corner. Fluid and explosive in space. Block-slipper. Praised by his head coach as being a "tremendous leader" who holds himself accountable. Has instincts and football intelligence. Laser-sharp focus to finds the football when sifting through zone reads and jet sweeps. Plays with discipline. Senses when running backs are prepping for screen and fires downhill to stop it. Face-up tackler who sticks his nose in noise. Rare stop-start and change of direction talent. Flips pursuit from one target to the next seamlessly. Gets early bail into coverage against play-fake. Able to mirror and match against the most athletic running backs in coverage. Gets early jumps to join crossing routes and has the speed to carry them across the field. Searches out and squeezes receivers when playing zone.

WEAKNESSES

 Is a little undersized. Has to stay one step ahead of the blocking scheme or he can be engulfed by size. Will need to diagnose and trigger just a hair faster on the next level. Occasionally comes in hot rather than breaking down in space as a tackler. Will need more schooling on hand work when taking on blocks. Needs to do a better job of recognizing oncoming blocker in his periphery. Gets touched up by second level traffic and needs to continue to improve finding more efficient routes to the ball.

My Highlights: - Speed!  Leadership!  Able to match running backs!  Issues? - Undersized?

Arden Key - EDGE - LSU - 6'6 - 231

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

STRENGTHS

 Long-limbed with plus flexibility throughout upper and lower body. Uses long levers to find his way to the other side of a blocker's edge. Good job of timing up snap for a head start. Plays slippery and is hard to keep centered. Disappears from blockers with upper body turns. Unorthodox movement confounds blockers. Earlier in career, would set up tackles with inside jab step that forced them into unbalanced position and allowed him access to the edge. Shows ability as a two-way rusher both inside or outside. Able to lean in and around the edge at top of the rush. Could be scary if he learns to use length consistently. Surprisingly effective change of direction. Has range to rope in running backs who try to scurry around him towards the corner.

WEAKNESSES

 Evaluators are worried about his personal discipline. Left team for four months in spring of 2017 for "personal reasons" and had shoulder surgery during that time. Saw weight balloon up to 270 pounds. Segmented mover and lacks fluidity. Liability in run game. Struggles to dominate tight ends at point of attack. Slow to shed. Tightness in hips as an upfield strider. Lacked juice even after losing 20 pounds during the season. Upfield rush plan was predictable and sluggish in 2017. Shows lead hand early allowing tackles to slap it away before landing. Two-hand swipe ineffective at greasing edge. Telegraphs spin move. Plays with wasted motion on the edge. Uninspired when dropping into coverage. Plays upright and is lackadaisical in zone.

My Highlights: - Size & Long-limbed!  Could be scary!  Issues - Lazy?

Harold Landry - EDGE - Boston College - 6'3 - 250

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

Lacks height, but arm length makes up for it. Fluid athlete with good twitch. Flies out of the gates with no false steps. Long-strider who takes early leads on races to the edge. Uses loose hips and upper body turn to create an angular, leaning target that is hard to punch squarely. Limbo-stick edge-bender. Has flexibility to drop way under a tackle's hands and can corner with a tight turn and plus burst to the quarterback. Expected to show out at the Combine. Willing to attack the throwing arm and not just the quarterback. Creates strip sacks and batted balls with his long, active arms. Uses athletic ability to ramp up a secondary rush and scoop up scrambling quarterbacks. Rangy with plus pursuit speed against the run. Has experience standing and dropping into space. Plays with good change of direction and quick lateral movement to track down bootlegs.

WEAKNESSES

 Burst-oriented rusher in need of a more diverse rush approach. Still learning to string moves together. Primary rush counter is a basic, inside move. Hasn't learned to tie edge burst with hand work to help soften the edge. Long tackles can be a deterrent. Upper body strength is below average. Hasn't shown consistent ability to convert his edge speed into power. Rides on blocks for too long. Lacking consistent grit at point of attack. Would rather chase and tackle than have running play come downhill at him. Can get to tackles but needs to do a better job of wrapping and finishing. Landry's effort level this year didn't seem to match his 2016 tape even before he suffered an ankle injury.

My Highlights: - Speed & good athlete!  Could be scary!  Issues - Needs strength!

As you can see in my mind defense & pressuring QB is critical!!!

Latest NFL News

Today we learned of two very important Packer Details!

Green Bay will pick in the following rounds:

First round, 14th overall

Second round, 45th

Third round, 76th

Fourth round, 114th

Fourth round, 133rd (compensatory)

Fifth round, 150th

Fifth round, 172nd (compensatory)

Fifth round, 174th (compensatory)

Sixth round, 186th

Sixth round, 207th (compensatory)

Seventh round, 232nd

Seventh round, 239th (from the Buffalo Bills for Lerentee McCray

Read more: http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-daily-news-story/article-1/NFL-announces-full-2018-NFL-Draft-order/cb43c815-c0c4-4db5-9f8b-2b4d35595eee#ixzz590OsDchg

Packers, have 12 picks as of today.  Trades are always possible.  Moving up & down the draft may happen.  It will be the first chance for our new GM to shine!


Next, Salary Cap, for 2018 - 177.2 million!

Teams:

Cleveland Browns: $108,692,537

New York Jets: $89,259,293

Indianapolis Colts: $72,700,202

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $69,775,263

San Francisco 49ers: $66,290,382

Chicago Bears: $62,546,933

Houston Texans: $62,383,067

Washington Redskins: $47,727,317

Minnesota Vikings: $47,630,443

Tennessee Titans: $45,974,068

Los Angeles Rams: $38,840,349

Cincinnati Bengals: $33,805,793

New Orleans Saints: $30,263,354

Jacksonville Jaguars: $29,048,410

Detroit Lions: $26,660,005

Carolina Panthers: $26,535,393

Buffalo Bills: $24,267,381

New York Giants: $23,036,234

Denver Broncos: $23,021,711

Los Angeles Chargers: $22,341,346

Arizona Cardinals: $20,236,238

Oakland Raiders: $17,355,013

Green Bay Packers: $15,674,151

Atlanta Falcons: $13,864,422

New England Patriots: $13,127,289

Seattle Seahawks: $12,609,911

Baltimore Ravens: $8,896,861

Pittsburgh Steelers: $5,119,024

Dallas Cowboys: $12,247

Kansas City Chiefs: -$3,289,981

Miami Dolphins: -$8,630,165

Philadelphia Eagles: -$11,214,390

The Packers are 26th, will a little over 15 and a half million, NOT that much!  So, Packer Fans,
not a lot of $$$$ for signing that BIG free agent!  We need our present players to step up & a few Home Runs in the draft!

NFL Combine is Over, Time To Dream!

The College Players were strutting their stuff!  4o yard dash, bench press, vertical jump & many, many drills!  What did you think?  I will randomly look a players & positions that caught my eye!

Here goes..........  first the obvious!

Speed, 40 yard dash - straight ahead speed!

Of all positions, we have 3 people at 4.32 - all d-backs.  My choice would be Denzel Ward, Ohio State.  At 5'10 & 190 lbs, not very big but speed & speed makes up for mistakes!  My surprise, Penn State safety, Troy Apke, running a 4.35.  And he has good size at 6'2" & 198 lbs and (he also had a 41 inch vertical jump)  And last, of course, Saquon Barkley, running a 4.40 at 6' & 233 lbs! (and a 41 inch vertical jump & benched 225 lbs, 29 times!)  So, there is three possibilities.

Top bench press, of ALL prospects?

Remember the weight, 225 pounds.

I will go with the top at 42 reps, Harrison Phillips, Stanford, at 6'4" & 307 pounds.  A Stanford player should be intelligent, more to come!  How about D-line, Vita Via!  "Double V", or "V squared", or just "V-V", the possibilities are endless!!! Plus at 6'4 & 347 pounds!  And, 41 reps!  Need this guy!  And last, Kylie Fitts.  This is a stretch, need more research - but, 31 reps, 4.69, in 40 yard dash and at 6'4" & 263 pounds.  Plus, do you see the theme, GREAT NAME! He was give teams, "FITTS!"

And last, vertical jump!

Get that ball!  Block that pass!  Love vertical jumpers!!!!  My name to start. Mile Gesicki, Penn State, tight end!!  First, he WAS the best at 41.5 inches!  And, he is 6'5" & 247 pounds AND a tight end!  The Packers NEED a tight end!!!  Plus, he ran a 4.54 in the forty!!!!  Next name, DJ Clark, vertical of 40 inches, and 4.34 forty time and at 6'3" - 199 pounds!  And, a wide receiver!!  And last, Oren Burks, at linebacker, jumped 39.5 inches & ran a 4.59 forty and by the way 6'3" - 233 pounds!  That is one athletic line backer from Vanderbilt!

Let's review!

1 - Denzel Ward, Ohio State - 5'10 & 190 lbs, position CB

2 - Troy Apke, Penn State - 6'2" & 198 lbs, position S 

3 - Saquon Barkley, Penn State - 6' & 233 lbs, position RB

4 - Harrison Phillips, Stanford - 6'4" & 307 lbs, position OL  

5 - Vita Via, Washington - 6'4 & 347 lbs, position DL 

6 - Kylie Fitts, Utah - 6'4" & 263 lbs, position DE or OLB

7 - Mile Gesicki, Penn State - 6'5" & 247 lbs, position TE

8 - DJ Clark, LSU - 6'3" & 199 lbs, position WR  

9 - Oren Burks, Vandy - 6'3" - 233 lbs, position LB

More to come!