How comfortable are we with Casey Hayward taking over for Tramon Williams as a starting cornerback for the Green Bay Packers?
Not very.
While Hayward has a nose for the football, we’ve noted on several occasions that he’s a shitty tackler. And the Packers need another shitty tackler on the field like you or I need a hole in the head.
Now, it’s also been pointed out to me that we used to think of Sam Shields the same way. He hasn’t exactly turned into Dick Lane, but Shields isn’t the liability he once was. So Hayward is going to get his shot and he should get his shot.
The refrain remains the same. He said he could start outside last offseason and he’s saying it again.
“The coaches know what I can do,” Hayward said, “they know I can play outside. Towards the latter part of the year, I was the third man up, so when somebody was going to down, I would be coming in. I proved myself. They know what kind of player they have in me and I know what kind of player I am. I just have to go out there and fulfill the role, whatever they need me to do – whether it’s inside, outside, it doesn’t matter where they want me to be at.”
There’s something of a wild card here, as well.
Two of them actually.
First, this is a contract year for Hayward. Unless he went to the B.J. Raji School of Career Management, you can expect to get at least a top-notch effort from Hayward.
Second, is Micah Hyde.
No one has been talking about the possibility of Hyde starting outside. It has pretty much been a foregone conclusion that he’d be the slot corner. But here’s a guy who opened last season as a starter at safety. When Ha Ha Clinton-Dix took over that role, Hyde was usually the first corner off the bench.
So why couldn’t Hyde start?
The theory is that Hyde isn’t fast enough to play outside. Maybe that’s true and maybe it’s not. What we do know is Hyde is a solid tackler. He also seems to have a nose for the ball. He may not be as fast as Hayward, but is arguably the better all-around player.
So we’ll see how it plays out.
LOL @ B.J. Raji School of Career Management. Or, how about The Letroy Guion School of Career Management.
Isn’t this the same Casey Hayward that got lit up while looking lost and clueless on a 35 yard completion to Baldwin in the NFC Champ game?
Call me unimpressed and concerned.
One play at the end of a game in which the D was on the field for about 15 possessions and caused 4 turnovers…
Thompson’s been drafting for need a lot lately, so I bet the Pack takes a corner in the first round and that player will start, maybe not at first, but maybe by the end of the season. Cornerback is a high value position ($6 million a year for Devon House, wtf?!!), so a first round pick is in order. Thompson won’t draft a tight end or inside linebacker in the first round as these positions are not considered by him to be first round material. The problem is, the corner pick will likely be listed as a 2nd or 3rd rounder on every ones draft rankings and it will look like a reach.
Hopefully,,TT would add more capable CB through the draft.