Building The 53 - 2015 Preseason Week 1 - Packers/Patriots Review

Going into the 2015 NFL preseason almost everything on offense is settled given that the Packers project to return every starter while almost everything on defense is equally unsettled given that the Packers need to replace at least one starter at both linebacker and cornerback.  Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson will keep a close eye on everything throughout training camp but I am sure there will be an extra focus on the defensive side of the ball given all the personnel changes.  With that in mind, here are a few of my thoughts on how the Packers/Patriots preseason game impacted The 53:

Player that hurt his stock most - Don Barclay: Going into the training camp, I thought Barclay was a borderline lock to make The 53 so I made him one of the nine Most Likelies*.  Barclay is still rehabbing a knee injury that cost him the entire 2014 NFL season and he looked rusty in his first preseason action.  Assuming that all the offensive lineman are healthy, the starters left to right project as follows: David Bakhtiari (LT), Josh Sitton (LG), Corey Linsley (C), T.J. Lang (RG), and Bryan Bulaga (RT).  For the first time in a long time, the Packers actually have some quality depth along the offensive line in Matt Rotheram (G), JC Tretter (C/G), Lane Taylor (G), Jeremy Vujnovich (T), and Josh Walker (G).  It seems crazy to say this but assuming that every offensive lineman is healthy and Thompson keeps eight offensive lineman on The 53 to open the season, Barclay's spot on The 53 could be in jeopardy given the emergence of all the other young pups.

Player that helped his stock most - LaDarius Gunter:  There is no doubt that Gunter turned some heads in practice given the he is the only defensive back with multiple interceptions of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in training camp and he continued his impressive play in his first preseason game action when he picked off backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the 3rd quarter. Despite the fact that Thompson used his first two picks in the 2015 NFL Draft on defensive backs when he drafted Damarious Randall (Arizona State) and Quinten Rollins (Miami University), it still looks like Gunter is going to make The 53 as an undrafted free agent.  Randall sat out against the Patriots with a groin injury but assuming all cornerbacks are healthy and the Packers leave Micah Hyde at safety, here is how the cornerback depth chart currently looks: Sam Shields, Casey Hayward, Rollins, Randall, Gunter, and Demetri Goodson.

Position to watch - Defensive Line: Letroy Guion and Mike Daniels, two of the three presumptive starters along the defensive line sat out the Patriots game due to injury.  That gave a number of backups the chance to show they belong.  Here is a breakdown of the snap counts for each of the defensive lineman against the Patriots: Datone Jones (30), Mike Pennel (30), Bruce Gaston (26), Khyri Thornton (20), Josh Boyd (12), B.J. Raji (11), Christian Ringo (10), and Lavon Hooks (6).  The fact that Pennel and Gaston got more snaps than Thornton is NOT a good sign for Thornton given that this training camp seems to be make-or-break for the former 3rd round pick of the 2014 NFL Draft after he spent the entire 2014 NFL season on injured reserve since there was little chance he would have made The 53 to open the 2014 NFL season.  Given that Jones (suspended for Week 1) and Guion (suspended through Week 3 pending his appeal) will (most likely) be suspended to start the 2015 NFL season, there look to be five spots available along the defensive line for other guys.  If I had to handicap the guys for those five spots, here is how I would hand them out as of today: Daniels, Boyd, Raji, Pennel, and Gaston.  That leaves Thornton and Ringo on the outside looking in at this point but thankfully they have the rest of training camp and three more preseason games to change Thompson's mind.

Final Note: I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing about Deflategate.  If Tom Brady was more forthright, the NFL would have turned the page.  Since that didn't happened, we've been forced to endure one of the most mind-numbing NFL stories in a long time.  If you are a Patriots fan then you think the NFL is out to get you and that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is out to retroactively re-punish the Patriots more for Spygate since many think Goodell let the Patriots off easy given how close he is with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.  If you are a fan of the other 31 NFL teams, you see a dysfunctional commissioner in Goodell that somehow botched what seemed to be a fairly straight forward process.  Ultimately I assume that Brady will NOT miss any games but the fact is that no one wins given how horribly this process has been handled by everyone.

Unless the Packers make any significant roster moves before their next preseason game on the road next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, check back next Monday for my review of how the Packers/Steelers preseason game impacts Building The 53.

Building The 53 - Gaston & Banjo In, Robinson & Lattimore Out

The Arizona Cardinals are currently the top seed in the NFC thanks almost entirely to their defense.  Sure their offense doesn't turn the ball over but they also don't score a ton of points either given that they are currently trotting out Ryan Lindley at quarterback after they lost Carson Palmer for the season and Drew Staton until at least the start of the playoffs.  Why all the discussion of the the Cardinals you ask?  Well after the Green Bay Packers pounded the Atlanta Falcons in the first half on Monday Night Football, their defense struggled in the second half and almost gave the game away.  Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones finished the game with 11 catches for 259 yards and a touchdown.  Every time Jones caught a pass I was having uncomfortable flashbacks to wide receiver Plaxico Burress (11 catches for 215 receiving yards) torching the Packers in the 2008 (following the 2007 NFL season) NFC Championship Game.  Unfortunately for the Falcons, Jones missed the end of the game with an injury, which helped the Packers hold on.  If the Packers are going to make a Super Bowl push, they need to clean things up on the defensive side of the ball.

Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson made two moves on the defensive side of The 53 in the last week.  Unfortunately I don't think either move neither of which will help prevent another Jones-esque performance though.  First, Thompson placed defensive tackle Luther Robinson on injured reserved and replaced Robinson on The 53 with defensive tackle Bruce Gaston.  Second, Thompson placed linebacker Jamari Lattimore on injured reserved and replaced Lattimore on The 53 with safety Chris Banjo.

Robinson was an unlikely member of The 53 that made five appearances and registered just 2 tackles.  Robinson's most notable play as a member of the Packers came in his first game on The 53 against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football when his pressure lead to a hurried throw by Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by outside linebacker Julius Peppers.  I know this will seem like I am asking a ton but the Packers clearly need another 3-4 defensive lineman that can play the run and pass.  Given Robinson's lack of playing time despite that glaring need shows he is not in the team's long-term plans.

The Packers started the season with A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones as their middle linebackers.  After Jones struggled in the season opener in Seattle, the Packers turned to Lattimore.  I honestly thought Lattimore had a chance to become a difference maker in the middle for the Packers because he showed flashes of being the violent presence in the middle that the Packers sorely need.  Unfortunately those flashes were surrounded by tons of nondescript, average play.  Given that Lattimore is set to become an unrestricted free agent, how well Barrington plays to close out 2014 will have a huge impact on whether the Packers bring back Lattimore next season. No matter what, hopefully Sam Barrington and A.J. Hawk can turn into a formidable tandem at middle linebacker for 2014.  Given this is most likely Hawk's last season in Green Bay that will give the Packers a chance to build around Barrington and someone else in 2015 and beyond.

In Gaston, the Packers added a 6'2", 310 pound run stuffing rookie out of Purdue.  Gaston was cut by the Cardinals following training camp and spent time with the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins before he returned to the Cardinals as a member of their 53 before he was was cut and resigned to their practice squad.  Thompson rarely signs players that were member of other team's rosters but clearly Gaston was too good to pass.  Hopefully some of the Cardinals' defensive mojo will come to Green Bay with Gaston.

Last season Banjo spent the entire season on The 53 mostly because of how thin the Packers were at safety.  After the Packers drafted Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and moved cornerback Micah Hyde to safety, all of the sudden that became one of the deepest positions on The 53 with Morgan Burnett, Ha Ha, Hyde, and Sean Richardson in the fold.  Given all that depth at safety, Banjo did NOT make The 53 to start the season but was singed to the practice squad where he spent the entire season until he was signed to The 53 earlier today.  Banjo was a special teams ace last year when he finished second on the team with 10 special teams tackles.  Hopefully that is the only place that Banjo plays this year unless he gets some garbage time snaps on defense with the Packers up big, otherwise that means the Packers suffered a rash of injuries at the safety position.

As I alluded to above, I can't say I am too excited about any of the moves that Thompson made because it basically shuffles the deck at a couple backup spots on defense. I know it is borderline impossible to add a game changer to The 53 in the middle of December but the Banjo move seemed so uninspired.  The Packers know what they have in Banjo and he might actually make The 53 in 2015 if Richardson leaves as a free agent so why not give another player a look.  The Packers do not yet know what they have in Gaston, which makes that move the most intriguing because if Gaston preforms well, it could spell the end of B.J. Raji's tenure in Green Bay

If Thompson makes any more moves, make sure to check back for my full breakdown in this space.