Author: Paul Edwards

Rumors are circulating that the Houston Texans are in the process of cutting wide receiver Kenny Stills. Houston is his third team in an eight year career. A 5th round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2013, Stills signed a four year free agent deal with Miami in 2017 and will be a free agent when the current season ends in March, 2021. He ran a 4.38 forty at the NFL combine and finished his rookie year with 32 catches for 641 yards and 5 touchdowns. Stills improved his numbers his sophomore year to 63 catches for just shy…

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…

A game that looked like it may turn into another Packer runaway was derailed by Packer turnovers and poor execution in the second half. Green Bay led by 14 points at the half, but followed that with the poorest performance in any third quarter in memory and allowed the Colts to take the lead in the fourth quarter, 31-28. Packer fumbles were a key to this game. The Packers followed last game’s special teams punt return TD with a special teams fumble that set up the Colts to take their first lead in the second half. Darrius Sheppard lost the…

Teams that lose the turnover battle usually don’t win in the NFL. Teams that give up a special teams touchdown usually don’t win on Sunday, either. Teams that do both in the same game? That stat just got blown up by the Packers in a 4th quarter comeback victory snatched out of the jaws of self-induced defeat. Once again our Packer defense gave up a 100 yard performance to a running back at over 4.5 yards a carry. But this game had a yin for every yang, and it was the defense that sealed the victory with back to back…

Krys Barnes currently sits on the Packer designated Covid list, sequestered from the rest of the team. While his first concern is his health, odds are he is hoping to be on the field for an additional reason on Sunday; payback for his 2019 college encounter with QB Jake Luton. In 2019, both Oregon State and UCLA struggled to win games. Barnes was easily the Bruins’ best defensive player. His name and stats were highlighted in UCLA pregame press releases. Prior to the Oregon State game against Luton, Barnes was leading the Bruins with 42 tackles and 6.5 tackles for…

Before the 2020 NFL draft most Packer fans expected the Packers to draft an offensive tackle. The Packers had lost talented but often injured Bryan Bulaga in free agency. No other Packer lineman had shown proficiency at the position, although Billy Turner had spot started for the Broncos and Packers with mixed results. When the Packers waited until the sixth round to draft an offensive lineman, and then quickly announced that Jon Runyan projected as a guard, there were a few pundits that joined fans in scratching their heads, wondering if Brian Gutekunst and company knew their own team. Two…

This victory was supposed to taste sweet. Admittedly, there are no excuses that determine playoff rankings in the NFL. This win could help the Packers with playoff seeding. So why do Packer fans feel this win lacks the taste they have been craving? The Packer first team defense kept the Niner’s out of the end zone. The offense was only stopped by one third down drop and a pass interference call that was missed by the referees on Davante Adams. This was a game of total domination. Aaron Jones played well early and Aaron Rogers to Davante Adams repeatedly burned…

It is an old sport adage: “That’s why you play the game.” When the Packers play the Vikings you can throw out all the pundit predictions. Give credit where it is due; Mike Zimmer can still assess his talent and put his defense in the best scheme to stop his opponent. On Sunday, he threw away his defensive play book from the first Packer-Viking game and played to his defensive strengths, his safeties and linebackers. He game planned to take the Packers best playmaker, Davante Adams, out of the game and make the Packers defense stop the run. He got…

The Green Bay Packers could still taste the sting from last week, a humiliating defeat in Tamp as they lined up for their first offensive snap in NRG Stadium. The week of practice between games brought more adversity. Their all-pro left tackle, David Bakhtiari did not recover from a second half injury in Tampa and was ruled out. Their star running back and offensive juggernaut, Aaron Jones, was ruled out late in the week with a leg injury. On defense, three starters including two starters in the secondary, did not suit up for the game. The injury report had more…

The Green Bay Packers rode into Tampa Bay on an offensive train that some said could not be stopped. The offense was the first to go four straight games to open a season scoring at least 30 points a game without a turnover. Their offense has scored on every opening drive in 2020. Their offensive dominance continued in the first quarter. The Packers led 10-0 at the end of the opening quarter. The Packers had two scoring drives, 21 total plays 10 points and just over 12 minutes in time of possession. Call it the shoe dropping, call it the…

Packer fans have spent time, angst and plenty of words lamenting the Packers’ choice not to draft a wide receiver in the 2020 NFL receiver rich draft. The Packers are 4-0 and lead the league in scoring. The wins and points have lessened the sting, but the loss of the team’s top two receivers keeps the conversation simmering on the back burner. Much of the conversation is hypothetical. To really know what the Packers gave up at receiver for Jordan Love and A.J. Dillon we need to review the 5 game sample of every receiver Packers passed on in the…

This was not the way Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur planned to solve the Packers inside linebacker deficiencies. Only 28.2 percent of players drafted in Rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7 were retained at the end of their first contract. Seventh round picks have the lowest retention rate of any round of draft picks. By your third year, odds are your seventh round picks are no longer with the team that drafted them, or on any NFL roster. A seventh round starter in year two? You’re better off buying a lotto ticket. The Packers 2019/2020 offseason tried to focus on…

When a quarterback has a pass catcher secure every throw targeted to him, sound strategy dictates that you keep throwing him the football. That strategy didn’t pigeon hole Aaron Roger’s options on Monday night as TE Robert Tonyan, RB Jamaal Williams and RB Aaron Jones combined for 19 completions on 19 targets. Those 19 targets produced 233 yards and 4 touchdown catches in the victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Robert Tonyan had his biggest day as a pro, 3 touchdowns on 6 receptions for 98 yards. Williams complimented Tonyan with 95 yards on 8 receptions, including a beautiful high point…

Kingsley Keke was targeted by the Packers as a player that needed to take positive steps in his play to earn his role on the Packer’s defense in 2020. A fifth round pick in 2019, he showed flashes as a rookie but no meaningful game impacts. Sunday night in New Orleans, Keke had himself a personal Mardi Gras, posting the first two solo sacks of his young career. Keke played only 28 defensive snaps, but he made his presence known and earned some respect from the vaunted Saints offensive line. A break down of his 28 plays details his impact.…

In 2019, Packer GM Brian Gutekunst drafted two defensive players with his top picks, trading up to secure a second first round pick. Drafting with an emphasis on the defense in early rounds is a pattern the Packers have followed for over a decade until 2020, when they drafted QB Jordan Love. In 2018, the Packers drafted defense with their first three picks. In 2017 they went defense with their top four picks. In 2016 they went defense with their first pick, Kenny Clark, and three of their next four picks. In 2015, the Packers went defense in rounds one,…

Brian Willis Gutekunst has now conducted three drafts as GM of the Green Bay Packers. In his first two years as GM, Gutekunst, much like Thompson, has seen a long tenured coach fired, and hired a new coach with minimal previous head coaching experience. As a scout and executive trained in the Ted Thompson system, he has already stepped out of Thompson’s shadow with a heavy investment last year in top tier free agents Za’Darius and Preston Smith. While Thompson has been criticized for his lack of interest in free agency, he had long term success in the draft. Gutekunst…

There are great debates currently raging with Packer fans and sports writers on the 2020 Packers draft. Did the Packers secure an All-Pro quarterback for the foreseeable future? Did they forfeit winning another Super Bowl with Aaron Rogers by focusing on future needs and leaving holes in the current roster? Long term impacts will take years to resolve. The short term impact will play out on Lambeau Field in 2020. General Managers in the NFL have a limited number of draft picks and salary cap space. Each team has different strengths and GM’s must prioritize team needs. Each plan includes…