When the Packers picked Elgton Jenkins with the 44th Pick of the 2019 NFL draft many Packer fans were disappointed. A college center didn’t seem like a smart move with a prime pick when the team had a near all-pro at the position. Yes, there was talk of moving him to guard and he had played a year of college tackle early in his career but few fans thought he would ever take competent reps at left tackle protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blind side.
Jenkins was the 11th offensive lineman picked in the 2019 NFL draft. He wasn’t even the first college center picked. The Vikings took Garrett Bradbury with their first round pick at 18. Cincinnati took the first offensive lineman, guard Jonah Williams, with the 11th pick. The Packers picked two defensive players, Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage Jr. before sending in the card to Roger Goodell with Jenkin’s name on it. Although he was passed up in the draft by his own team twice and every other team with a pick in the league, he is building a case that he could be the best Packer draft pick since David Bakhtiari. If he stays healthy, he could even give Bakhtiari a run for his money.
In the last ten years the Packers have drafted some quality starting players. Bakhtiari, Kenny Clark, Bulaga, Aaron Jones, Linsley, Jaire Alexander, and Davante Adams all could be nominees for the best pick. According to PFF, Linsley, Adams, and Alexander along with Rodgers are the top players at their position. Jenkins may not be ranked number one at his position yet, but part of the reason could be he keeps playing different positions during games. Against the Colts, Jenkins took over for an injured Linsley and played well. He has performed admirably at all the line positions this year and is the Packers’ de facto backup left tackle. Perhaps his most amazing accomplishment is that he has done it all in 26 regular season starts.
If fans were to argue the best draft pick in ten years, it is no more than an educated guess whether Bakhtiari has the athleticism to excel at guard and center. While debating over the value of “skill position” players versus lineman can be entertaining, no one can argue that the consistency of the Packers current offensive line, through a multitude of key injuries has been nothing short of amazing. O-line coach Adam Stenavich and his assistants deserve a lot of credit, but no one can argue that Jenkins has been the glue that has kept the Packers running and passing efficiently.
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In a recent presser Lafleur announced that the packers defense has recognized you can’t play 15 yards off on 3rd and 7.
Super bowl here we come.
I saw that interview. I think this is the second time LaFleur has said something similar. I’m glad the reporters have asked that question. In this case LaFleur said, in part, that the coaches were discussing that very subject earlier in the day.
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I think LaFleur is putting it out to the media some of the reasons why he will terminate Pettine at years end, if things don’t change drastically on defense. LaFleur has also put out the poor tackling, and not swarming to the ball. All of those issues can be corrected by coaching, yet they are still issues. I would guess that LaFleur has spoke to Murphy about the defensive issues, as I believe the news reports from last year that Murphy forced Pettine on LaFleur. Let us not kid ourselves many of the issues have carried over from last year. I don’t think LaFleur is sold on a 3-4 defense, but I feel very confident he is not sold on a passive/prevent 3-4 defense.
The question is…are you sold on our personnel in 3-4? I’m not.
We have an elite corner who can play man..Clark could be absolutely dominant playing an Aaron Donald type role….Gary is a 4-3 end miscast as an olb…Amos and savage would be better suited for their skillets…especially savage as a center fielder…they didn’t draft him to play man and support the run…he’s the fastest safety in the league and he’s forced to play slow. Z Smith would thrive in a 4-3..and theh got enough bodies to fill out the d line. Its a no Brainer.
Howard most likely has it correct about LaFleur concerning Pettine. The more LeFleur speaks like this, the more i’m convinced Pettine wouldn’t be our Def. Coordinator right now if it had been up to him. But….Mark Murphy apparently is in charge and knows best.
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Also…i think at this point it’s worth pointing out that the reporters are more comfortable with a less abrasive and more personable LeFleur. Some of the questions reporters ask him this season, wouldn’t have been asked with McCarthy. So that’s a positive, concerning accountability.
Agree with everything Stigg said.
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It’s well known that Clark is our best Def. Lineman. But i, myself…wouldn’t be so quick to include Clark with the likes of Aaron Donald. No knock on Clark, but he isn’t in Donald’s league
No one is in Donald’s league. He is one of the best defensive players of all time. I love me some Kenny Clark, but he is not a generational player
Thanks for clearing that up.
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In other news…water is wet.
I think it is way to early to say Jenkins is the most valuable draft pick in the last ten years. I do think it is safe to say that Jenkins is the most versatile player or offensive lineman the Packers have drafted in the last ten years.
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Jenkins has looked like he is not overwhelmed at any of the positions he has played to date. Jenkins no doubt is a young offensive lineman that can only get better.
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I think it is good to bring up the offensive line coach as there has been a lot of juggling with the offensive line this year. I think Runyan so far has not looked totally overwhelmed in his emergency appearances at both right and left guard. Deforest Buckner did beat Runyan a few times, but what guards in this league has Buckner not beat? It was a good learning experience for Runyan and no one got hurt.
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I want to say again that to me the hiring of Milt Hendrickson by Gutekunst was a plus. Hendrickson was the national scout for the Ravens and one of Hendrickson’s responsibilities was scouting offensive lineman. You have heard and seen over the years that the Ravens offensive line is one of the best. Jenkins so far looks very good. Runyan shows promise, and putting in a NFL offseason should help his anchor and strength. I will not be floored that once Stepaniak is able to play from his college injury you will see another solid Packer guard.
Right on Stiggy and Howard! Both Pettine and Capers would try to put square pegs into round holes. They drafted Datone Jones,a DLman in college and have him play OLB, it failed. Then the next year, they do the same with Nick Perry (a DLman in college) and it failed. Gary was a DLman in college now playing OLB. Gary seems to be adapting to his role because he has something the others didn’t——(speed). Whether you want to run a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense you need to draft the proper athletes for the position. That’s why I hate the “draft the best athletes on the board” strategy. Sure, you bolstered up another position, or added depth that will sit on the bench, but, you didn’t fix the obvious problem. I would like to see a 4-3 defense in GB. Having 4 DL on the field would bolster the run defense and 4 rushing the passer. I think we have enough vets, and enough athletes on the team right now to do the makeover to a 4-3. Even if you need a couple pieces to make it work; address it in the next draft, or FA. Enough of this shit that Pettine is trying to make work.
Sometimes I think 3-4 defenses were invented to find a place for guys that didn’t fit the NFL mold exactly for certain positions, but were very good athletes. How many knew that both of the Smiths were defensive linemen in college. The difference is neither were drafted in the first round. P. Smith 2nd, Z. Smith 4th.
The difference was…. back when Ted was on his game, he gave Capers burly big run stoppers up front, whether through the draft, or free agency. That’s when it “worked”. Albeit for a short period, but long enough to win a Super Bowl, which is what ultimately matters. Plus he drafted well up to that point, not to mention hitting on 2 UDFA’s. Ted did it very, very well back in his first 4,5 years.
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Gute hasn’t learned the lesson of…you do what it takes”
You don’t just give up and throw in the towel.
If anyone doesn’t agree with that and thinks Gute/Murph is/are doing everything he/they can for this team, you can just keep chuggin that kool aid.
What pisses me off the most is every time I want to label savage a bust I realize he has been put in a position to fail.
The packers drafted a guy who was supposed to play like (not comparing him to) players such as earl Thomas…ed Reed etc. Watch his highlight tapes from college and watch his closing speed in the pros.
He could cover both sides of the field as a center fielder if theu used an appropriate scheme and weren’t forcing him to play so close to the line cause they get shredded on run defense.
The more I think about savage the more I see him becoming Micah Hyde or Casey Hayward when he’s free of this shit.
The guy is literally one of the fastest players in the NFL and tbrh have him on fucking run support.
Thats not entirely true. They drafted Datone to be a 3-4 DE which he was he just sucked at it in the NFL so they tried to save face a couple years into his career and see if he had any value as an OLB which he didnt there as well. I AM DAT ONE was known for his famous quote that he announced his first day in Green Bay, “Im going to be the next Reggie White.” lol.
As far as Jenkins being the best draft pick the last 10 years. I wouldn’t venture there.
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Not when you have active picks like Bakhtiari, Adams, Alexander hanging out.
I think all 3 could take that statement/question as an insult.
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Lets not forget our “build for the future bench player” draft picks of Love, Dillon,Gary.
To be fair, if Pettine wasn’t a moron, he would make Gary the starter over Preston Smith, as he has outplayed him this year, and it’s not particularly close
One odd thing about Jenkins at center. I thought during the game that Bakhtiari came out of his stance early a few times. I thought the refs were going to throw flags a couple of times. I also thought a couple of other offensive linemen moved a tick early. In looking at the game again it looks like Jenkins was actually snapping the ball a little late on several plays. If Jenkins is going to play center this week He needs to sync up his snap better with Rodgers cadence. I’m sure the coaches saw the late snaps on film and will get it taken care of, if Jenkins is needed at center.
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Overall I thought Jenkins had one of his rougher games in blocking, and that should be expected when you get put in that position with very little if any practice. If Linsley can’t go this week I wonder if the team would consider starting Patrick at center?
Not that we needed to be convinced of how bad our special teams are but, take a look at the article on Packers Wire titled; “Packers special teams are statistically awful again”. Mind numbing!
Haven’t read it, probably don’t need too, but let me guess the synopsis…..
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Broken?
You guessed right; and you probably don’t need to read it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I think we’re already convinced, by what we see!
I’m just amazed it finally gets brought up, besides from me, maybe a couple others.
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I mean…how many years needs to go by before someone thinks it’s a problem?
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Now if….the team could just come to terms with it. Instead of thinking, we have Aaron Rodgers, everyone eats.
They treat it like their run defense. They pretend the problem doesn’t exist.
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Lets run it by the highest authority in the land. Lets run it by the man with decades of NFL football operations know how, to make the right decisions based on his vast experience……
Lets ask the guy in charge.
What say you Mr. Murphy?
Howard…any thoughts on the NFL pushing the Steeler/Ravens game from Thur. night to 12:15 PM Sunday because of more Covid outbreak in the Ravens camp, you think the NFL is throwing the Ravens a bone?
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As a fan i selfishly think it sucks , but only because it was the best game to look forward to on Thursday.
Steelers vs Ravens is usually a very good game between two physical teams. I may have looked at the other games off and on. I planned on watching the entire Steelers and Ravens game. So yes it sucks to have the game moved.
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I think you know how I feel about the NFL moving games because of Covid. I did not want the Packers and SF game moved. It was bullshit when the NFL moved the Patriots game because Newton was positive.
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With all that said 6 players and 5 staff is substantial. That was close to the amount the Titans had out early in the season and the game was moved. Both of those games had a direct impact on the Steelers schedule and Steelers bye week. If I was the Steelers I would be really pissed. If I recall correctly I thought the NFL can make teams forfeit games if they are shown to not be taking proper precautions to avoid Covid outbreaks. I guess the NFL believes the Ravens were not negligent in there actions, or inaction? Or maybe the NFL is just trying to protect the quality of their product? Forfeitures, or diluted pools of quality players on a short week does not help the product quality.
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Speaking of product quality, the NFL at one point said it may add an 8th playoff team if some games are cancelled. If the NFL does add an 8th playoff team I believe it would dilute the quality of their product. In addition the teams with the best record in their conference earned the bye week, and I don’t care who those teams might be.
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The NFL may announce the details, and the changes made. But i don’t think they make the decision. I think they follow the advice of the medical staff they have hired to advise them. Yes, you could say it’s the NFL’s decision. But i think they go by whatever advice they are given by the experts. I don’t see a scenario where they are advised to move a game, and they disregard it and play it anyway.
They may announce the move, but they don’t decide the move.
Sitting in the cheap seats, it makes absolute sense that they postpone it because they need more time for testing and contract tracing.
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I doubt the Ravens are thrilled about it because the Ravens only have a 3 day turn around before they play on Thursday night next week.
It’s been noted that the Steelers aren’t happy about it either…but for a peculiar reason. We all know how much teams hate playing on Thursday right? I guess some Steelers and Ju Ju Smith feel differently.
“First the NFL takes away our bye week because another team can’t get their (COVID) situation together, now they take away our Thanksgiving primetime game for the same reason. Smh,” receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wrote on Twitter.
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Just to be clear, the Steelers did have a bye week, but it was unplanned and moved
Ju Ju can say whatever he wants, he’s just not mature enough to see the big picture. Multi millionaire’s in their 20’s syndrome.
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I don’t think the NFL liked moving the game either. That was the best game of the day. they still have a National audience on Sunday at noon, but they will not pull in anywhere near the numbers as on Thanksgiving night.
So all in all….nobody’s happy about it.
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Here is what i am happy (thankful) about…..
It’s week 12 and the NFL is running, and running strong on it’s way to completing a season.
A chance not so any people gave it.
When the Nation is in a free fall with Covid cases…in record numbers, this league is still going strong.
Wisconsin in recent weeks has a positive rate of over 30% of all people tested, testing positive. If that happened to the NFL, the season would have been shut down in week 1.
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So big picture……the NFL has done one hell of a good job dealing with this pandemic. When i say NFL, that means everyone, from the Commissioner, to team stadium personnel to the players, coaches, and staff.
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The NFL and it’s teams will lose a shit load of revenue over this season, but the game must go on, and it has…passing so far with flying colors.
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So….next spring…when Goodell walks up to the stage to announce the start of the 2021 draft…maybe the crowd there should give him a standing ovation, instead of the hillbilly mentality of booing him, which is exactly what the hillbilly’s will do anyway.
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NFL, Commissioner, teams, staff, players…..Job well done.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all reading this. May happiness and health be yours.
I agree with you that the NFL probably follows the advice of medical experts that they have hired, at the strong advice of their legal council. The thing that bothers me is the Ravens were scheduled to play on a Thursday and I believe they have 6 players test positive or have close contact. The Packers and SF play on a Thursday and the teams have 7 players test positive or have close contact.
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In the Thursday Packer/SF game there was the same limited time for testing and contact tracing as the Steelers/Ravens game. Yet the Packers/SF play and the Steelers/Ravens don’t play. I thought the Packers/SF game should go on.
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I think the red flag may be when multiple staff on teams have tested positive along with players. That occurred to both the Titans and the Ravens and both of those games were postponed. I think having multiple staff test positive along with players shows the virus has spread in the facility.
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I will always question the motives of the NFL for postponing the early NE game because Newton tested positive. I guess to be fair it was early in the season and the NFL was dealing with a big unknown, so they did not want to take any chances? Overall the NFL and all those under their shield have done a very good job keeping the season going.
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Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
This Pandemic situation sometimes can be it’s own worst storm. It is neither fair , nor just. but the thing is, decisions come from many factors. 90% were probably not privy to.
I can understand your cynicism on it’s surface. But at the end of the day, decisions about Covid can’t be based on fairness, they have to be based on science and health.
They may have made a decision in the past, and realized later it was the wrong decision, sometimes we learn as we go. this pandemic is no different.
Trust me when i tell you, i’m one of the most cynical people i know sometimes. But there are times when you just don’t have enough information, to even be cynical. So i have chosen to just have faith in the league and it’s medical staff to be doing the right thing. Judging where the NFL sits here today in week 12, they may not have down everything right, but they’ve sure as hell have done most of it right. As a true NFL fan…i’m grateful for that.
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I also have faith in the vaccines coming out to end this nightmare.
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KEEP THE FAITH
The Ravens are now up to 12 players testing positive. It is hard to believe they play Sunday.
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https://nfltraderumors.co/ravens-shutting-facility-down-until-monday-at-earliest-due-to-covid-19-outbreak/
Yea, that’s bad.
After the intial positive test, they did report a possible coach was going to be disciplined
I figured what happened…seemed to have happened.
A Ravens coach there (allegedly) failed to disclose he had symptoms, or actually had Covid, and he’s being dealt with by the team.
I don’t think it ends there…as clubs have been firmly warned, especially with the new protocols that were recently announced.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the NFL are going to make an example out of the Ravens. they may want to send a message to the rest of the clubs that if they are careless dealing with this pandemic, the hammer will fall with losing draft choices…possible fines? I wouldn’t disagree…citing the amount of money at stake, players income, and the income of all team employee’s can be effected, simply because a person/people were irresponsible, selfish and/or careless
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Unfortunately for the Ravens, they are ultimately responsible for the conduct of their employee’s…hence the punishment.
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If this strength and conditioning coach is in fact guilty of breaking protocol. My belief is he has no regard for anyone else and shouldn’t coach again…at any level.
If the game still gets played, and the Ravens lose by 50 and just gets hammered, then so be it. The Steelers did nothing wrong.
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If they have to forfeit the game…again, so be it. I’m guessing they have to call the game off and declare a forfeit.
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Thursday, Nov. 19: A strength and conditioning coach for the Ravens tested positive, according to a source. He didn’t report symptoms and didn’t always wear a mask inside the team facility, the source added. To make matters worse, the coach didn’t wear his tracing device at all times, which made it more difficult to determine “high-risk” close contacts. – Jamison Hensley
ESPN Staff Writer
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The Ravens have said to have disciplined this coach.
The “only” discipline should be an exile from the NFL and coaching. Too harsh?
He didn’t kill anyone…….but his actions could have.
Back in August, how many people were thinking we’d still be playing in week 12? Sure, we were all hopeful. But not even the NFL execs were confident. Sure, there were kicks in the shin along the way but, kudos to all who have made it possible for us to be watching football on Thanksgiving. Most of all, let’s give thanks to all of the caregivers, doctors, EM techs; scientists and anyone else working on cures for this damn virus. Good health, good luck and Happy Thanksgiving to all!
According to Packers News .com, Packers have a tryout scheduled this week for veteran WR – KR Tavon Austin. If signed, it might spell the end for Shepard. Also, they are gonna try out DL Brian Price; who they signed as an undrafted FA back in back in”16″.
Does Austin have anything left in his tank, or tread on his tires? It is worth an inspection. Agree, if Austin is signed it probably means Shepard is released. As it is an odd year, the Packers could sign Austin to the practice squad, get him familiar with the play book for a week or two then elevate him to the game day roster for a couple of weeks before signing him to the active roster.
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I believe the Packers claimed Anthony Rush (DL) off waivers from the Bears earlier this week. I think the Packers have to get Rush through the Covid protocols and physical before they announce the move. Rush is a big boy at 6-4 or 5, and 330 to 350 pounds. Rush is a gap plugger in the run game. Rush played last year for the Eagles and earlier this year for the Seahawks. Rush actually holds up fairly well in the run game. You can expect little from him in pass rush. I do like that Rush has practiced and played along side the likes of Fletcher Cox, has practiced and played on a Pete Carroll defense, and practiced with the bears defense. Rush has had around a couple of hundred snaps in the last two years, mainly on run downs.
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The Packers apparently tried to trade for a big defensive lineman from the Giants, Dalvin Tomlinson. On Monday the Packers tried to sign Snacks Harrison off the Seahawks practice squad. The Packers then claimed Rush, and now bring in Price. I wonder if the Packers believe they have a problem stopping the run? The odd thing about Rush is I believe the Seahawks released Rush because Snacks Harrison was finally ready to be elevated on game days (football shape) from the Seahawks practice squad. I still believe the Packers should give Billy Winn more snaps and reduce Lowry’s snaps.
Agreed. I have seen more than enough from Lowry.
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Regarding Austin, I think it not only is a move for kick returner, but for the offense as well to be a motion guy. The Rams used him quite a bit in jet motion. We are quickly finding out that Ervin is not a very durable guy and they need another option for that role. For whatever reason, ESB isn’t filling that role.
Ya, I think Lowry gets moved off the line of scrimmage to easily. I also would like to see Wynn play more, and hopefully, this Rush kid can get up to speed. With M Adams out for the year, help is needed in there. I’m not up to speed on the Price kid but; depth is always needed. Adding more beef along the DL should help make the defense as a whole better. Let’s see how Pettine works that in!
Agree with both of you on Billy Winn. He’s here, he’s familiar, and he shows that he wants to be a player.
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From what i understand from the cheap seats, Snacks didn’t want anything to do with signing with the Packers, but idk.
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At this point in the season, unless your bringing in a blue chip, or former blue chip, i just question your net gain with him if your signing him in week 12 or week 13.
It’s a little late in the season to start analyzing your weakness’s and finally trying to address them.
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The answers to why the Packers still have weak segments…are sitting on their bench, because when it was time to deal with issues on the team, they clearly chose a different path. Now they want to put forth some effort to fix things in week 12? I don’t want to hear it.
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I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, just like Murphy concerning football operations….Gute is in over his head.
Packers opposing qb rating ranking;
Zone coverage- 28th
Man coverage- 3rd
Hmmm.
Matt Patricia just got fired. Might be time for the Packers to kick those tires?
Hmmmm! I like your thinking Kato. Also, word has it that Chargers coach Anthony Linn is on slippery turf. He’s another good defensive guy.
Opinions from the outside looking in…….
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Charles Woodson: “Packers could have made moves (to make a Super Bowl)”
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Gilbert Brown: Defense wins championships, and (the Packers) don’t got it right now.
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Opinions from the inside (what do we expect them to say right?)…………
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Bakhtiari: We are a Super Bowl contender.
( you and thirteen other teams brother)
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Part of the reason for enthusiasm, is that LeFleur and Rodgers offense are clicking in their 2nd season. We don’t know how good it could be right now if we got pass catching help somewhere in the last 3 years. ESB is back….but it’s painfully evident from the braintrust, that he won’t be a part of this teams plans . If your a ESB fan, enjoy him now….tick tock.
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But regardless… the offense has increased it’s scoring from 23.5 PPG in 2019, to 30.8 PPG in 2020. A fairly healthy increase.
It would mean more…but unfortunately…………
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The 2019 defense gave up 19.6 PPG, that has increased to 25.8 PPG in 2020. Giving the team a net difference of only 1.1 PPG.
The defense lost it’s one gain in scoring defense from 2018 of 25.0 PPG, reduced to 19.6 PPG in 2019.
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To summarize……………….
The gain the offense provided over last season, is almost completely neutralized by the increase in def. scoring this season over last season.
Sure…the team still had a net gain 1.1 PPG…and that’s going to get you where?…..to a Super Bowl?
If…the defense could’ve have held last years scoring average, maybe even improved it by a point or two, then you are looking at a net gain of 7-9 points over last season…..that’s (real) improvement.
What does a Championship defense look like?
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Take the Patriots last 15 full seasons, they never had a defense that gave up more than 21.4 PPG in that time. Only 3 or 4 seasons over 20 PPG.
The Patriots average scoring defense during those 15 years…18.5 PPG. Yep….wow.
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Put Rodgers or Bree’s with those defenses and see what happens.
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That’s why you can’t judge a QB on SB wins.
Tom Brady knows this when he speaks so highly of Rodgers. Frankly…i’ll listen to Brady’s assessment of Rodgers over anyone’s.
I never once heard Brady say that Rodgers has lost it, or the Packers should bench him like the dumb shit post we read on here. But then again, i’ve never heard Brady talk that stupid.
The last time we had a defense good enough; and it might only be my opinion, was in 2014. (the Bostick fiasco). I believe, if we would have won that Seahawks game, we would have had a great chance at beating the Pats in the super bowl. Since then, we haven’t had a decent defense – or special teams for that matter. That’s 6 years running, and showing no improvement. You don’t have to have the best defense, or offense to win a super bowl. But, your chances are slim to none; if you’re not in the top 10 on either side of the ball. The opinions from both Gilbert Brown and Charles Woodson are more on cue, and more realistic than Bakhtiaris” is. And, management is to blame!
Mick, I tend to agree with what you are saying about teams needing to be in the top ten on both sides of the football to get to the Super Bowl. However; there have been several teams in the last 9 years who have advanced to the Super Bowl with defenses outside the top 20! Those teams include the 2011 super bowl champion Giants ranked 23rd in opponents points per play and giving up 25 point per game (PPG). The 2013 Denver Broncos ranked 21st. The 2016 Falcons ranked 22nd and they gave up 25.4 PPG. The 2018 Rams ranked 24th and they gave up 24 PPG. All those stats are regular season stats.
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When it comes to offense, and points per play, the only team close to the 20s was the 2015 Broncos ranked 20.
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The problem right now is the Packers defense is ranked 26th in opponents points per play and are giving up 25.8 points per game.
Over the last 10 years several teams that have made the Super Bowl have been in the top ten in points per play margin. Points per play margin is the combined rankings of points per play (offense) and opponents points per play (defense). In fact several super bowl teams have been in the top three in points per play margin. In 2010 GB and the Steelers were #2 and #3. In 2013 Seattle and Denver were #1 and #3. In 2014 Seattle and NE were #2 and #3. Guess who was #1, our Packers!. In 2016 NE and Atlanta were #1 and #2. In 2017 NE and the Eagles were #2 and #3. In 2019 The Chiefs and SF were #2 and #3.
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The lowest ranked team in points per play margin the last ten years to make and win the Super Bowl was the 2011 Giants ranked at 17. The Packers currently are ranked #10 in points per play margin thanks to a very strong offense.
I did an extensive study on SB winners concerning their defensive rankings in the regular season. The papers laid around for awhile and i get tired of looking at them after a year or so…lol.
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But i went back 30,31 years, and “overall” if you don’t have a strong defense, forget about it, I’m NOT saying it can’t or never happened. I’m just saying it’s more of an anomaly.
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If i remember correctly, the Falcons defense relinquished a 28-3 lead after halftime, as we’ve discussed, the offense not scoring after halftime and bad clock management didn’t help.
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My point with the Patriots is they put themselves in the optimum position to win Championships. They didn’t win all those SB’s because they cheated, or they just got lucky. They won because they were better prepared to win than most (all)..
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I didn’t (won’t) do the research of the Packers defense the last 15 years, but i’m guessing their average def. scoring was about 23-26 PPG. In 2010 the Packers defense gave up 15 PPG. I don’t have to tell you what happened.
Thanks Howard; I never took into consideration of points per play on offense. Interesting stuff! Like you said, the problem, as of now; is our 26th ranked defense.
2005 Super Bowl: Steelers vs Seahawks. Steelers 21…Seahawks 10
The winning QB was 9/21 passing….123 yards…0 TD’s…2 interceptions…22.6 passer rating.
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The Steelers Def scoring in 2005…16.1 PPG.
I know some people think Kyler Murphy is something special. But i’m watching him and he looks to me like an accident waiting to happen.
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Same hype as the RG3’s, and Kaepernicks of the world. One dimensional.