Green Bay Packers Pre-Season Review and 53 Man Roster
by damnlefty07 | 4 years ago | 0 Comments
Green Bay, Wisconsin
The Green Bay Packers have finished up their pre-season with a 2-2 record, winning weeks 3 and 4 on the road after losing both home pre-season games. After their 4th and final game in Kansas City, coach Lefty had this to say at his day after presser:
"Well it was nice to get a chance to play in all 4 of these games. Our team really needed it after we got a late start compared to the rest of the league and it really showed for a majority of the pre-season. We were simply awful at home weeks 1 and 2. We got nothing done offensively, and our defense showed major rust as we allowed both the Cardinals and Browns to march up and down the field on us. Thankfully we were able to clean some of those things up in weeks 3 and 4 but we are still far from the team that we know we can be. We saw what the starters were able to do and they performed mostly as expected, but before these games we had no idea how our depth players would perform on the field. These games really showed that we have some work to do in roster construction and training up and down the 53 man and we are going to be fully focused on improving this team as a whole by any means necessary. We've been working the phones in the trade market since the pre-season started and while nothing has materialized yet, that does not mean we are not looking over our options and trying to figure out what is best for the team not only this season but moving forward as well. With that, we'll open it up to questions"
What are your thoughts on how Jordan Love played in the pre-season?
"Well first off, we aren't bothered by the interception numbers. We told him to go out there and be aggressive, take some chances, and just see what happens. We felt that was the best way for him to learn what he can and cannot do at this level. Its a huge jump from Utah State to the NFL and it really showed, especially early. With that being said, we need to clean up the accuracy. There were several throws that he simply missed to wide open receivers. I think this pre-season proved that the coaching staff was right to not move on from Aaron (Rodgers) yet because Jordan is simply not ready to play full time. But I also thought he showed some flashes of why we moved up in the first round to draft him. He was able to make a few plays with his legs, and opens up more play calls than having Aaron out there. With him, it really just comes down to consistency. If he can clean up some of the over throws he'll be fine. I think this will be a huge year for him to watch from the sideline and see how a future HOF quarterback plays and prepares."
How do you feel about your starting 22 going into week 1?
"They obviously didn't play much in the pre season but from what we saw we feel they are going to be fine. the biggest concern that I have is the running game stuggled a little more than we expected and that will need to improve as we move forward. It's no secret that our offensive style is ball control, if we cannot run effectively that goes out the window so it's going to be a huge point of emphasis in practice before week 1. Outside of that, the offense will be fine. Davante (Adams) is great and ready to go and I think Devin (Funchess) is going to be better than a lot of people expect. He won't be winning any awards but if he can be a viable #2 to take away some double teams that Davante sees it'll be huge for our offense."
The defense was pretty hot and cold overall when they saw the field. Kenny Clark is going to be an absolute stud for us in the middle of our d-line. He consistently blew up run plays over the course of the 4 games and we can't wait to see what he develops into in the future. The pass rush was a little underwhelming, but we mostly chalk that up to early season rust. We fully expect Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith to be in the opposing backfields plenty when the real games start. Adding Brandon Carr and Tramon Williams really helps our back end as well. They may not be as fast as they once were, but they play smart and are able to cover well enough to get the job done. They really help our depth as now we can play Kevin King and Josh Jackson further down against receivers more on their caliber. Rashan Gary is the 1 player who needs to be better. We know he's raw and lacks the technique to really shine but the physical tools are there. We'll be working with him all season to develop into the pass rusher than frankly this team needs him to be."
How do you feel about your depth players after the 4 games?
"This was our biggest area of concern after completing the 4 games. Our starters will be fine, but if we sustain any major injuries this pre season proved that we don't have many capable players behind them. Our 2nd unit secondary gave up chunks of yards frequently and our 2nd unit OL, while they improved after week 2, still gave Jordan Love little time to go through his progressions. On the positive side, Allen Lazard really stood out. He lead the team in receiving yards and touchdowns and really made a push for more playing time in the real games."
How do you feel about the final 53? Any surprising cuts?
"Not really, nothing that will shake up the league by any means. It's new for us as a coaching staff to not carry a FB on the roster, but we felt that Josiah (Deguara) could handle the job and be the #3 TE when called upon. With the current roster that we have, we don't feel we can be quite as run heavy as we were in Dallas so going without a fullback is maybe not a huge surprise. But outside of that, nothing really of note, we stuck to our norms in positional breakdown and numbers. We were however surprised to see safety Dane Cruikshank on the Texans practice squad this afternoon. We quickly scooped him up and put him on our final 53 as the 3rd safety. We felt he was simply too good to be on a practice squad, and a big improvement for our safety group. Plus, he's still young enough he'll fit in with our secondary group and develop along with the rest of them nicely. He should be a good piece to our secondary for a long time."
QB:
Aaron Rodgers
Jordan Love
HB:
Aaron Jones
Jamaal Williams
AJ Dillon
Tyler Ervin
WR:
Davante Adams
Devin Funchess
Marquez Valdez-Scantling
Allen Lazard
Jake Kumerow
Equanimeous St. Brown
TE:
Marcedes Lewis
Jace Sternberger
Josiah Deguara
Robert Tonyan
OL:
David Bahktiari
Yosuah Nijman
Elgton Jenkins
Lane Taylor
Corey Linsley
Jake Hanson
Billy Turner
Simon Stepaniak
Rick Wagner
DL:
Treyvon Hester
Kingley Keke
Preston Smith
Rashan Gary
Montravious Adams
Kenny Clark
Dean Lowry
Tyler Lancaster
LB:
Za'Darius Smith
Ty Summers
Christian Kirksey
Stephone Anthony
Oren Burks
Curtis Bolton
Tim Williams
Kamal Martin
CB:
Jaire Alexander
Brandon Carr
Tramon Williams
Kevin King
Josh Jackson
Chandon Sullivan
S:
Darnell Savage
Will Redmond
Adrian Amos
Dane Cruikshank
K/P:
Mason Crosby
JK Scott