“Face to face,” will you bring a stool into the dressing room? FYI, I’m on your level. I was in a restaurant once and the OL was there. I was just coming out of the bathroom when Frank Winters walked in and I was face to face rather than face to face with him and he was a “little” lineman.
Soccer players are big people, but I’ve also covered 7-foot basketball players and 5-foot wrestlers. On the surface, height is never really something I think about a lot. But watching the combination of size, speed and physicality at the field level is what I find most impressive. If you have the means, try to get field-level tickets to an NFL game just once in your lifetime. It might even be pre-season. It gives me heart palpitations watching the game this way. It’s some of the strongest, toughest, and fastest living humans going into battle in real-time. I wouldn’t be able to gain a single meter.
Yes, Vic famously said that there are a dime a dozen recipients. But that was a few years ago and inflation has set in. Today he would say there were a quarter of a dozen. I believe that a great quarterback can make an average receiver a star more than a great receiver can make an average quarterback a star. What is your opinion?
It’s true what you say, but it’s fun when you get the best of both worlds like the Packers had with Rodgers and Jordy Nelson and Rodgers and Adams.
Darren of Wakefield, MI
Hello Wes! The ball distribution in the passing game should be interesting this year. Do you see the TEs getting more involved and is Josiah Deguara likely to get more opportunities in the first half of the season with Bobby out? He’s still my guy who I think will have a breakout season if given the chance.
A year after knee surgery, Deguara will be more involved on offense this season, but it’s worth noting that he’s more of an “F” tight end than Tonyan. So I wouldn’t necessarily judge his performance on 100 yards and two touchdowns. However, Deguara is an important part of the offense. He is versatile, aggressive and plays to the whistle.
Mark from Iron Mountain, MI
To anyone who thinks signing or trading a Free Agent WR is the way to go. All you’re going to get is a malcontent or a player on the downside of his career. Design a few WRs and you can have them for several years without wasting money or designing picks.
There is some gray area between those two extremes, but I agree with the underlying premise of your posts. Design and development is not dead. It is alive and well. A year from now we might look back and realize that this was the answer to the questions fans are asking right now.
Tom from Stevens Point, WI
Let’s roleplay. Let’s say the season starts today. Who are our starting wide receivers?
Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard and probably Malik Taylor as No. 3. People forget how fast Taylor is. If you’re asking for an ’11’ staff formation, I’d put Taylor in that MVS role for now.
I just want to get this in before it actually happens. The Packers and Will Fuller V will soon agree on a deal. He’s got the speed the Packers want and should be cheap after his stint in Miami and his injury history. The Packers also showed interest a few seasons ago.
II Ombudsmen, put a pin in it for later.
Jameson Williams (fast and productive) is the guy who starts with the first pick on the first lap. Yes, he will miss a month or two, but it will be worth the wait. The pack may have to jump ahead of the Pats (currently ranked 21st) to get him. Would #22 and one of her Fourth Scientists pull this off?
I wouldn’t mind drawing Williams. He’s a game changer and well worth the risk of injury if he slips into his 20s. Based on DraftTek’s Draft Value chart, both fourth picks (856 points with the #22 pick) could be needed to pass New England. Pittsburgh’s #20 pick is rated at 850. Williams or no Williams, the good news for Green Bay is that receivers aren’t in short supply this year. This design class has it all. There is a WR perspective for each type of crime.
I’d much rather go with the big guy to start the draft. It’s not a sexy choice, but it’s the better philosophy. I think finding another stallion rotating on the DL or OT to push Yosh Nijman and Elgton Jenkins is a better first round investment than a WR who needs to become the guy to justify the 22nd pick . Winning two WRs in the second round sounds good to me, both will be complementary plays building a solid career. Sounds good for the II GMs?
This is what makes preparing for the NFL Draft both compelling and silly. Over the next month we’ll be talking through all of these scenarios and 99% will be deleted in a snap on April 28th. But it’s fun to talk about.
Gentleman: As a former high school football coach, I’ve wondered why the 40-yard dash time is so important for lineman. I asked a former NFL father and son player from our hometown, wouldn’t 4-foot dash time be more important? Both agreed. If you don’t get to the defensive lineman first, you’re in for long possession.
Up to a point I agree. But you also have to recognize a guy like Terron Armstead, who made his mark with a 4.71 in the 40 at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine. He has since gone from a small school third-round pick to a three-time Pro Bowl left tackle. Everything counts in the preliminary design process. You just have to take each part with a grain of salt.