Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson made some interesting moves in Building The 53 so far this season. The most curious decision was keeping just 52 healthy guys on The 53 for almost two weeks. This all started when outside linebacker Andy Mulumba suffered a season ending injury in the Packers/Jets game. Thompson waited five days to place Mulumba on injured reserve, which opened a spot on The 53 just a few days before the Packers traveled to Detroit to face the Lions. Despite having 10 guys on the practice squad, Thompson left an open spot not only for the Lions game but also for the next week on the road against the Chicago Bears.
Thompson finally filled every spot on The 53 when he promoted defensive lineman Luther Robinson from the practice squad to The 53 just hours before the Packers hosted the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Thompson was essentially forced to promote Robinson to The 53 from the practice squad because he only had five true 3-4 defensive lineman on The 53 and defensive Josh Boyd was not healthy enough to play against the Vikings. That meant that if Thompson didn't add Robinson to The 53, they would have faced the Vikings with just four healthy defensive lineman.
I've long advocated for a better short-term injured reserve set-up, for The 53 in the NFL because without it there is a negative waterfall effect on The 53. A perfect illustration of that phenomenon is Thompson's most recent change to The 53. Thompson cut tight end and former special teams standout Ryan Taylor in order to add wide receiver Kevin Dorsey to The 53. With Taylor no longer on The 53 that leaves just three guys drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft still on The 53: offensive tackle Derek Sherrod, wide receiver Randall Cobb, and cornerback Davon House. That also leaves the Packers with just three tight ends and six wide receivers.
Some might find that odd that Thompson would decrease the number of tight ends on The 53 but that is all due to wide receiver Jarrett Boykin's health. With Boykin hobbled the last few games that left the Packers with just four healthy wide receivers. There is chance that Boykin will be back next week but given that the tight end position has been marginalized this season without Jermichael Finley, clearly Thompson wanted to add a wide receiver to The 53 even if it came at the expense of a tight end. Besides Dorsey, Thompson also had the option to add wide Myles White from the practice squad to The 53. I am sure that White is bummed to lose out to Dorsey but I would have a hard time choosing between Dorsey and White too. Back to my original point. If the Packers could have put Boykin on a short-term injured list they would have promoted Dorsey to The 53 till Boykin was healthy and then tried to pass Dorsey through waivers to resign him to the practice squad again. Instead Thompson was forced to cut Taylor, which hurt the depth that the Packers had at the tight end position The 53.
With the moves to The 53 out of the way, let's close with my thoughts on the practice squad. The Packers lost cornerback Jumal Rolle off the practice squad when the Houston Texans added Rolle to their 53. You could make the argument that Rolle deserved a spot on The 53 ahead of rookie cornerback Demetri Goodson. Leaving that aside, even though Thompson signed cornerback Tay Glover-Wright to the practice squad to fill Rolle's spot, the Packers still only have eight of their ten practice squad spots filled. I am not sure if Thompson is becoming a penny pincher but I would hope that he keeps The 53 and 10-man practice squad filled for the rest of the season.
Showing posts with label Demetri Goodson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demetri Goodson. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
The 53 - Initial Player Rankings for 2014 GBP
Welcome to the 5th and final part of my "season preview". I put season preview in quotes because I wanted to rank The 53
before the Green Bay Packers played the Seattle Seahawks on the road to open their 2014 season so that I was on the record with my initial thoughts about The 53 but work got in the way. As a result, I am going to factor in how the Packers played in their loss to the Seahawks to the rankings but that barely changed my initial thoughts.
Just as a refresher, these rankings take into account age, skill, contract, and positional depth. Going forward, I plan to post updated rankings of The 53 as often as possible. For each iteration of this post I will not only rank the players 1 through 53 but I will write about the players whose rankings change drastically from the previous iteration of the rankings. Without further adu, here are my thoughts on a few players from The 53:
3. Eddie Lacy (RB): I am not sure how many concussions Lacy suffered before he joined the NFL. We know that he suffered (at least) one last year against the Cincinnati Bengals and suffered another this season against the Seahawks. Let me be captain obvious when I say that concussions are no laughing matter. What worries me specifically about Lacy is that his punishing running style is what made me love him so much going into the 2013 NFL Draft but at some point you have to wonder whether the concussions will lead to Lacy changing his running style to run with less authority.
7. Mike Daniels (DE): Even before the Packers lost defensive tackle B.J. Raji for the season with a torn bicep, Daniels was the leader of the defensive line. That is quire a rise for a guy that was drafted in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Although Daniels can play both the run and the pass as a defensive end in the 3-4 despite his short stature, with how little the Packers line-up in the 3-4, I actually see Daniels having the biggest impact as an inside pass rusher in passing situations this season.
11. Randall Cobb (WR): This is a good illustration of how the rankings work. There is no question that Cobb is one of the best players on The 53 but he is only signed through this season, which decreases his trade value. Plus, Cobb plays wide receiver, which is a deep position on The 53. Given Cobb's injury issues, I don't blame the Packers if they have him play out the season before signing him to a contract extension. If the Packers do that, they need to realize if Cobb stays healthy for all of 2014 that he will sign a Jordy Nelson-eque contact (four-years, $39 million with $11.5 million guaranteed).
17. Bryan Bulaga (T): Missed all last season after he tore his ACL in the preseason. Unfortunately Bulaga left the season opener early with another knee injury. Don Barclay started at right tackle in place of the injured Bulaga last season but tore his ACL this preseason so the Packers were forced to turn to Derek Sherrod against the Seahawks. As expected, Sherrod was quite underwhelming in place of Bulaga so it is going to be a daily Bulaga healthy watch leading up to the home opener this Sunday against the New York Jets.
36. Carl Bradford (MLB): Now that Bradford made The 53 by the skin of his teeth, his value shoots up mostly because he was a 4th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, thus he has one of the most favorable contract on The 53. Following the 2013 NFL Draft I said the Packers should give Micah Hyde a look at safety but his measurables projected him more as a safety than a cornerback. For some reason the Packers waited a year and now they have a starter at safety in Hyde, just a year later than they should have. The same applies to Bradford, his measurables project him more as a middle linebacker than an outside linebacker. The Packers tried Bradford at outside linebackers all preseason where he struggled. Thankfully the Packers gave Bradford a look at MLB instead of cutting him. Keeping in mind that Bradford is getting an earlier look at middle linebacker due to injury and ineffectiveness of middle linebacker Brad Jones. Hopefully Bradford can show something at middle linebacker because the Packers desperately need an upgrade at that spot.
38. Jeff Janis (WR): At 6'3" and 219 lbs, the Packers look like they found their next Jordy Nelson. No this is not based on race, it is based on body type because both Janis and Nelson are sneaky big. What I mean by that are they are both 6'3" but are never mentioned as physically imposing wide receivers in the NFC North with the likes of Alshon Jeffrey, Calvin Johnson, or Brandon Marshall. Sure all of those other NFC North receivers are bigger guys but the Packers usually target smaller wide receivers so I am glad they took a chance on Janis because his combine and preseason performance, I think the Packers found a gem in Janis.
53. Demetri Goodson (CB): If you applied my thought process just discussed for Bradford to Goodson, you would think that Goodson would not be the last spot on The 53 given that Goodson was a 6th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The difference between Goodson and Bradford is that Goodson is more of an acclaimed basketball player than football player. Plus, Goodson is dealing with the effects of a concussion he suffered in the preseason too so I have low expectations for the Packers getting any real production out of Goodson in 2014.
I am going to the Brewers/Reds game on Saturday night and the Packers/Jets game on Sunday afternoon with Gaber, Sug, and Uncle Patty so make sure to check back next week for my thoughts on the games.
| Review of The 53 |
| Initial Review of the Roster Initial Review of the Practice Squad Five Most Overpaid Five Most Underpaid Initial Rankings of the Roster |
Just as a refresher, these rankings take into account age, skill, contract, and positional depth. Going forward, I plan to post updated rankings of The 53 as often as possible. For each iteration of this post I will not only rank the players 1 through 53 but I will write about the players whose rankings change drastically from the previous iteration of the rankings. Without further adu, here are my thoughts on a few players from The 53:
| The Initial 53 |
| 1. Aaron Rodgers (QB) 2. Clay Matthews (OLB) 3. Eddie Lacy (RB) 4. Sam Shields (CB) 5. Josh Sitton (G) 6. Jordy Nelson (WR) 7. Mike Daniels (DE) 8. T.J. Lang (G) 9. Micah Hyde (S) 10. Julius Peppers (DE/OLB) 11. Randall Cobb (WR) 12. David Bakhtiari (T) 13. Casey Hayward (CB) 14. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S) 15. Morgan Burnett (S) 16. Mike Neal (DE/OLB) 17. Bryan Bulaga (T) 18. Tramon Williams (CB) 19. Datone Jones (DE) 20. Davante Adams (WR) 21. Josh Boyd (DT) 22. Richard Rodgers (TE) 23. Tim Masthay (P) 24. Jarett Boykin (WR) 25. A.J. Hawk (MLB) 26. Corey Linsley (C) 27. Nick Perry (OLB) 28. James Starks (RB) 29. John Kuhn (FB) 30. Davon House (CB) 31. Brandon Bostick (TE) 32. Jarrett Bush (CB) 33. Andrew Quarless (TE) 34. Matt Flynn (QB) 35. Mason Crosby (K) 36. Carl Bradford (MLB) 37. Jamari Lattimore (MLB) 38. Jeff Janis (WR) 39. Scott Tolzien (QB) 40. DuJuan Harris (RB) 41. Brett Goode (LS) 42. Letroy Guion (DT) 43. Brad Jones (MLB) 44. Ryan Taylor (TE) 45. Sean Richardson (S) 46. Andy Mulumba (OLB) 47. Mike Pennel (DT) 48. Sam Barrington (OLB) 49. Jayrone Elliott (OLB) 50. Derek Sherrod (T) 51. Lane Taylor (G) 52. Garth Gerhart (C) 53. Demetri Goodson (CB) |
| Injured Reserve - Designated for Return: J.C. Tretter |
| Injured Reserve |
| 1. Don Barclay (T/G/C) 2. B.J. Raji (DT) 3. Jared Abbrederis (WR) 4. Nate Plamer (LB) 5. Khyri Thornton (DT) 6. Aaron Adams (T) |
7. Mike Daniels (DE): Even before the Packers lost defensive tackle B.J. Raji for the season with a torn bicep, Daniels was the leader of the defensive line. That is quire a rise for a guy that was drafted in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Although Daniels can play both the run and the pass as a defensive end in the 3-4 despite his short stature, with how little the Packers line-up in the 3-4, I actually see Daniels having the biggest impact as an inside pass rusher in passing situations this season.
11. Randall Cobb (WR): This is a good illustration of how the rankings work. There is no question that Cobb is one of the best players on The 53 but he is only signed through this season, which decreases his trade value. Plus, Cobb plays wide receiver, which is a deep position on The 53. Given Cobb's injury issues, I don't blame the Packers if they have him play out the season before signing him to a contract extension. If the Packers do that, they need to realize if Cobb stays healthy for all of 2014 that he will sign a Jordy Nelson-eque contact (four-years, $39 million with $11.5 million guaranteed).
17. Bryan Bulaga (T): Missed all last season after he tore his ACL in the preseason. Unfortunately Bulaga left the season opener early with another knee injury. Don Barclay started at right tackle in place of the injured Bulaga last season but tore his ACL this preseason so the Packers were forced to turn to Derek Sherrod against the Seahawks. As expected, Sherrod was quite underwhelming in place of Bulaga so it is going to be a daily Bulaga healthy watch leading up to the home opener this Sunday against the New York Jets.
36. Carl Bradford (MLB): Now that Bradford made The 53 by the skin of his teeth, his value shoots up mostly because he was a 4th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, thus he has one of the most favorable contract on The 53. Following the 2013 NFL Draft I said the Packers should give Micah Hyde a look at safety but his measurables projected him more as a safety than a cornerback. For some reason the Packers waited a year and now they have a starter at safety in Hyde, just a year later than they should have. The same applies to Bradford, his measurables project him more as a middle linebacker than an outside linebacker. The Packers tried Bradford at outside linebackers all preseason where he struggled. Thankfully the Packers gave Bradford a look at MLB instead of cutting him. Keeping in mind that Bradford is getting an earlier look at middle linebacker due to injury and ineffectiveness of middle linebacker Brad Jones. Hopefully Bradford can show something at middle linebacker because the Packers desperately need an upgrade at that spot.
38. Jeff Janis (WR): At 6'3" and 219 lbs, the Packers look like they found their next Jordy Nelson. No this is not based on race, it is based on body type because both Janis and Nelson are sneaky big. What I mean by that are they are both 6'3" but are never mentioned as physically imposing wide receivers in the NFC North with the likes of Alshon Jeffrey, Calvin Johnson, or Brandon Marshall. Sure all of those other NFC North receivers are bigger guys but the Packers usually target smaller wide receivers so I am glad they took a chance on Janis because his combine and preseason performance, I think the Packers found a gem in Janis.
53. Demetri Goodson (CB): If you applied my thought process just discussed for Bradford to Goodson, you would think that Goodson would not be the last spot on The 53 given that Goodson was a 6th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The difference between Goodson and Bradford is that Goodson is more of an acclaimed basketball player than football player. Plus, Goodson is dealing with the effects of a concussion he suffered in the preseason too so I have low expectations for the Packers getting any real production out of Goodson in 2014.
I am going to the Brewers/Reds game on Saturday night and the Packers/Jets game on Sunday afternoon with Gaber, Sug, and Uncle Patty so make sure to check back next week for my thoughts on the games.
Monday, September 1, 2014
The 53 - 2014 Green Bay Packers Initial Practice Squad
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson finalized the first incarnation of The 53 for the 2014 NFL season.
As I discussed in my initial look at the practice squad last year, after Thompson picked The 53, he had to sift through all the other practice squad eligible players to put together the initial practice squad. Those that follow the NFL closely know that the NFL increased the size of the practice squads from eight to ten this season. The rule change is very helpful for the Packers given that I've always thought Thompson could fill three practice squads with how well he identifies undrafted rookie free agents that could play in the NFL down the road. As a preview of how The 53 post is going look each week, whenever I rank players, I am going to only write about the most notable from the group. Here are my thoughts on a couple of the players on the initial 10-man practice squad for the 2014 Green Bay Packers:
1. Chris Banjo: This might feel like a slap in the face to Banjo given that he was on The 53 for the Packers all last season but in just a few months the Packers went from thin to flush at safety after they moved Micah Hyde from cornerback to safety and drafted Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Early this season I could see a safety needy team attempting to scoop Banjo off the practice squad, which will present a tough choice for Thompson. Whether to add Banjo to The 53 or let him leave.
| Review of The 53 |
| Initial Review of the Roster Initial Review of the Practice Squad Five Most Overpaid Five Most Underpaid Initial Rankings of the Roster |
1. Chris Banjo: This might feel like a slap in the face to Banjo given that he was on The 53 for the Packers all last season but in just a few months the Packers went from thin to flush at safety after they moved Micah Hyde from cornerback to safety and drafted Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
| Practice Squad |
| 1. Chris Banjo (S) 2. Myles White (WR) 3. Jumal Rolle (CB) 4. Michael Hill (RB) 5. Garth Gerhart (C) 6. Adrian Hubbard (LB) 7. Kevin Dorsey (WR) 8. Justin Perillo (TE) 9. Luther Robinson (DE) 10. Jeremy Vujnovich (OT) |
3. Jumal Rolle: What a 24 hours it has been for Rolle. Some were surprised that cornerback rookie Demetri Goodson made The 53 over Rolle given how well Rolle played in the preseason and the fact that Goodson is dealing with a concussion. After Rolle was cut, somehow Thompson did not sign him to the original practice squad. Thankfully Thompson rectified that error by releasing wide receiver Alex Gillet from the practice squad after less than a day to make room for Rolle. If Goodson is out long with a concussion, look for Thompson to place Goodson on injured reserve and promote Rolle from the practice squad.
5. Garth Gerhart (C): The Packers went into training camp with JC Tretter as their starting center and Don Barclay as their backup at all five offensive line positions. Early in camp the Packers lost Barclay for the season with a torn ACL. Towards the end of camp the Packers lost Tretter for up to a month. With Tretter and Barclay out, the Packers turned to rookie center Corey Linsley. If Linsley gets hurt, the Packers will be forced to add another center to The 53. Since Thompson cannot travel back in time to resign center Even Dietrich-Smith, instead of letting him leave via free agency. Gerhart is the logical choice if they are going to promote from within. If Grehart is taking first team snaps in the regular season then the Packers in trouble.
With my initial look at The 53 and ten player practice squad out of the way, make sure to check back soon for my look at the five worst contracts on The 53.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)