Green Bay Packers Off Season To Do List: Hard Lesson Learned
By Editorial Staff
Green Bay Packers off Season Check List
2011 Outcome (15-1)
How quickly things can change. At 13-0 the Packers were thinking about being 16-0 and winning the Super Bowl and being one of the best football teams in NFL history. Than a loss to the Chiefs showed the Packers had a weakness in their run game, their offensive line, and a defense that needed turnovers to stop anyone. Packers still finished 15-1 and secured Home Field Advantage through the playoffs but the damage was done. They were no longer unbeatable and than the Packers did the cardinal sin of resting their players for the last game of the season. Giving players 2-3 weeks off is a bad idea since rust develops. That is what happened when they played the Giants. One team was on fire and a roll while the other was too rested and out of sink. Packers are a great team and will compete next season but I hope they learned a lesson this season: play your starters and defense and a run game is needed to win in January.
Coach Seat Temperature
MikeMcCarthy is a great coach and a great fit for this team. He works well with General Manager Ted Thompson and is a great play caller/mentor for Aaron Rogers. OC Josh Phelbin left to coachMiamiand will was replaced by the Packers QB coach Tom Clemment. DC Dom Capers had a great initial impact with the team but needs to get back to the drawing board after a horrible season last year.
2011 Draft Class Rating (C)
This is a wait and see class. Derrek Sherrod shows talent but needed a season to be coached up. Sherrod also got injured late in the season but should be healthy for camp. Randall Cobb showed promise but was very inconsistent. I think in year 2 he will show he can be a huge weapon in this offense. Alex Green appears to be a bust as did Ricky Ellmore. The rest need time to develop.
2010 Draft Class Rating (C+)
OT Bryan Bulugua cannot seem to stay healthy. He has shown both good and bad film and needs to stay on the field to improve. Year 3 is a big year for him. Same can be said about DLMikeNeal. Morgan Burnett is a solid starting Safety. Quarles is a solid backup TE andJamesStarks is a solid backup RB who lacks the burst to be more than that. Marshall Newhouse was a revelation this season and could be the LT of the future. CJ Wilson was a solid DL depth player.
2009 Draft Class Rating (A)
When you can draft 2 Pro Bowl talents you have done well. NT BJ Raji and OLB Clay Matthews are both amazing talents. TJ Lang showed great versatility playing both RT and OG at a high level. The rest are ST and depth players.
Current Needs
Offense: RB, TE, OL
Defense: DL, OLB, CB, FS
Current FA
Matt Flynn: Flynn is gone. He made a ton of money in his game againstDetroit. He will be pursued aggressively by teams such as the Dolphins, Browns, Seahawks, and Redskins. With Philbin coaching inMiami many think the Dolphins are the favorite to land Flynn.
Ryan Grant: Age and injuries have made Grant expendable. I think he will be left to a team that needs a RB because of injuries.
Donald Driver: Driver is on his last legs and might retire. Packers have too many young talents to be giving Driver playing time.
Jermichael Finely: Finley is a huge talent and has a promising future. He needs to play more consistent and he needs to stay healthy. Packers will Franchise this guy and need to work on a long term deal.
Scott Wells: Wells is the Packers most consistent Offensive Lineman. Packers must resign him first before moving on to Finley and the others.
Current Mock
1. Andre Branch DE/OLB Clemson
2. DavidWilson RB VT
3. Shaun Prater CB Iowa
4. Gerrell Robinson WR ArizonaState