TimesFour

Opinion

The 2012 Green Bay NFL Draft

by on Apr.16, 2012, under Commentary, NFL Draft, Opinion

by Ghost of Lambeau

Introduction:
I have been doing this since 2005. I enjoy putting this together. It allows me to do the things I like to do – think and analyze. Just so everyone understands, I am not a professional scout. In fact, I am limited to the same media most of you have access to. I don’t get to talk with any player. And, the goal is to find players that would benefit the Packers. Not any other team. Last year, 4 players from my list made the Packer roster. That is about par for the course.

This year GB will have some draft needs due to; the possible career ending injury to S Nick Collins, replacing free agents who signed with other teams like Scott Wells and QB Matt Flynn, and will need to address injury situations such as S Nick Collins. OT Derek Sherrod and RB Alex Green are also coming back from serious injuries. OT Chad Clifton and WR Donald Driver are still in GB. And RB Ryan Grant is still unsigned. Then there are those defensive improvements the Packers need to make. This all makes for an interesting draft. I think that the Pack will focus on ROLB first, followed by the DL and safety. That is my prediction and I’m sticking to it – until I get surprised in round one that is.

Offense:

At this point it looks like Finley, Clifton, & Driver will all be back. Flynn & Wells are gone. and Alex Green & Sherrod due to injury, the needs on the offensive side of the ball could be small. The bet is that Green and Sherrod come back healthy. At least on the surface a backup QB, OC, and maybe a RB should do it. But we usually find out that there are deeper things going on in the Packer pre‐draft meetings.

QB:
Flynn won’t be a Packer next year. Assuming Graham Harrell takes over as the number two guy, GB will need one. They have
signed Nick Hill as a QB replacement candidate who was on my 2008 draft list. The appropriate candidate will have to be willing to wait & develop. Luck and Robert Griffin won’t be available for GB. Ryan Tannehill was a WR before playing QB and he has started only 19 games. He will be a project no matter where he is taken. There is a good chance he won’t be there in the first and GB won’t be looking at QB in the first even if he was there. So who’s left?

1) Kirk Cousins, MI St, 6‐3, 202 – Key stats – 151.3 eff. Rating, 65.1% comp, 24 TD’s, 7 Int. He is a 2nd or 3rd round pick. He is mobile, smart, accurate, and careful with the ball. That is this year’s mantra for available QBs. He is a 3 year team captain and the is the QB with the most wins in Michigan State history.

2) Russell Wilson, WI, 5‐11, 21 – Key stats – 201.6 eff. Rating, 72.5% comp, 31 TD’s, 3 Int. He is a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Had only one offseason to learn the Badger offense and lead it. He was also voted a team captain. He is a student of the game. He is very mobile, smart, accurate, and careful with the ball. Like Moore, he lacks ideal height. But he does everything well.

Russell Wilson tries to make it in the NFL

3) Kellen Moore, Boise State, 6‐0, 191 – Key stats – 176.7 eff. Rating, 74.1% comp, 41 TD’s, 7 Int. He is a 5th or 6th round pick. He is also the all time QB win leader with a 50‐3 record. He is very mobile, smart, accurate, and careful with the ball. He knows his offense and football in general – considered a coach on the field. He is a very high character guy. Height is his only major problem.

4) Case Keenum, Houston, 6‐2, 210 – Key stats – 177.8 eff. Rating, 71.7% comp, 45 TD’s, 5 Int. He is a 7th round pick. He is the QB with the most wins in Houston history. And he is the most productive passer in NCAA history. He is very mobile, smart, accurate, and careful with the ball.

5) Jarrett Lee, LSU, 6‐4, 210 – Key stats – 152.0 eff. Rating, 62.3% comp, 14 TD’s, 3 Int. He is an UDFA. He started some games early for LSU. I thought he looked good. I would take a chance on him – especially since he won’t have to play right away. He has enough tools to work with and develop.

6) Alex Thiry, St. Scholastica, 6‐4, 190 – Key State – 218.14 eff. Rating, 70.48% comp, 37 TD’s, 3 Int. He is an UDFA. When he talks in a press conference, he sounds like Rodgers. Carful with the ball, needs more arm strength, but that can be fixed. He studies film. He reads defenses at the LOS. Very high character guy. The play book will be a bit thicker in the pros, but I think he can pick it up.

7) Alex Tanney, Monmouth IL, 6‐3, 216 – Key State – 182.0 eff. Rating, 71.50% comp, 38 TD’s, 8 Int. He is an UDFA. He is a very high character guy. And it doesn’t hurt he is a very good QB. He should get a chance somewhere. All he did at Monmouth was win games.

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The Slant (9) Weak 8 NFL Picks

by on Oct.24, 2008, under Game Previews, Opinion

Sorry I’m a little late with this weeks picks…stupid job and family got in the way. I’m pretty sure I can cut back on one of the two….just not sure which.

In a bold move, the NFL will now list the Detroit Lions weekly opponents among the Bye teams on their official schedule

Other Byes: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota

Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens
Raiders 23 Ravens 21: Raider win the game on Sebastian Janikowski’s 58 yard field goal as time expires. Janikowski admits after the game that being Polish he has a huge advantage in kicking since that kick was only about 53 meters.

Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
Panthers 23 Cardinals 19: Cardinal QB Matt Leinhart steals starting

Week (Weak?) 8 in the NFL

Week (Weak?) 8 in the NFL

QB Kurt Warner’s uniform and plays the entire game as Warner. He would have gotten away with it too, but he panicked and admitted his ruse when he realized he would have to go home to Warner’s wife.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys
Buccaneers 24 Cowboys 21: After another loss distraught Cowboy owner Jerry Jones signs Michael Irvin, Moose Johnson and Troy Aikman to contracts. The Cowboys don’t get any better but many unemployed football analysts rejoice.

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The Slant (8) Week 7 NFL (now fewer laughs) Picks

by on Oct.18, 2008, under Commentary, Game Previews, Opinion

Here are my week 7 picks. It is getting harder to come up with enough different story lines each week. I’m just going to need to watch the NFL network a lot more than I currently am. I really shouldn’t have wasted all that time watching the presidential debate this week. Did anyone else notice Jeff Triplett calling McCain for a false start?

Last Week: 43.65 – 1
Season Total: My debt – My IQ

Byes: Arizona, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Philadelphia: The NFL is currently trying to use themes for its bye weeks this season. This week is Bye Bye Birdies week. Which reminds me, I need to put some more corn into my Jaguar feeders.

San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills
Chargers 24 Bills 21: In a throwback Sunday

NFL Week #7

NFL Week #7

both teams wear their old uniforms. The Bills go back to their 2006 uniforms and the Chargers dig into their bag of old uniforms and wear their uniforms from week 1 of 2008.

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Saints 30 Panthers 21: Drew Brees continues to put up good numbers throwing to 27 different receivers.

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The Slant (7) NFL Picks for Week 6

by on Oct.10, 2008, under Game Previews, Opinion

Here are my week 6 picks. In a non-result prediction, I am going on record as saying that ESPN will put up a graphic this week during the Monday night game saying that that game is the first in NFL history to have “A td rushing, a td passing, a field goal, a wide receiver catching a pass with the initials BE, the wind out of the east at more than 5 miles per hour, a cheerleader with a lisp, 2 players with hiccups and a hot dog vendor who had the mumps at age 7.”

Last Weeks Picks: 547 – 5
Season Total: Dow Jones 2 weeks ago – Dow Jones now (best winning percentage ever)

Byes: Buffalo, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Tennessee

NFL Week #6 Slate

NFL Week #6 Slate


Three of these teams have injured QB’s and really benefit from the bye. Kansas City actually does not have quarterback on their roster. Though, on a positive note, Larry Johnson does get more yards rushing this week than last.

Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons
Bears 23 Falcons 16: The Bears miracle season continues. If Kyle Orton keeps performing at his current level, it won’t be long before he has Bear fans forgetting about Henry Burress and Moses Moreno.

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The Slant (6) Week 5 NFL Pickifications

by on Oct.02, 2008, under Game Previews, Opinion

NFL - Week #5

NFL - Week #5

There were a lot of upsets last week. Heck, after the Packer game alone, there were 4 people, 1 dog and 5 pieces of furniture upset. I think I have a pretty good handle on the picks this week. If they don’t start getting funnier, I may have to start claiming that I am actually trying to pick the right teams.

Last Weeks Picks: 143-7
Season total: 2.45 x 10^3-29

Bye Teams: Browns, Jets and Raiders go 0-0 this weekend. Rams still manage to lose.

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens
Titans 23 Ravens 16: After the win, Titan quarterback Kerry Collins celebrates by letting the entire team use his senior citizen discount at Denny’s for a celebration supper.

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The Slant (5) Week 4 NFL Picks

by on Sep.26, 2008, under Commentary, Game Previews, Opinion

Ok, I admit it. I’m really not that psyched about this week’s pick column. I’m not sorry about it or anything. I’m sure even Charles Dickers had his bad days…..I mean, Barnaby Rudge…are you kidding me? In fact the whole prediction thing was going so bad this week that I resorted to going with an all “In a related story” theme. Still it’s the best I can come up with for this week so have a look. I promise to do better next week, unless I get too busy playing Bejeweled. Now there’s something I’m always good at. At least the byes will help my winning percentage.

Week 3 Results:10-6
Season Total: 30-18

Colts receive a Bye: Ha!!! I’m 1 and O already for this week. In a related story: Peyton Manning has filed suit with the FCC complaining that with the large number of political commercials being broadcast this time of year he is falling far short of his usual being in 33% of all commercials aired each Sunday.

Dolphins receive a Bye: 2-0 Baby. In a related story, with last week’s success running the single wing, the Dolphins are considering going back to an even less complicated offense, the old grade school “everybody go out” offense. They hope to have it installed after about 5 minutes of practice.

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