"Fore" Needs a Getaway

Ol' Brittfarr: Gun slinging. Being a kid out there. Wranglers. Sears. Southwest?

My first attempt at the world of video nerding. Inspired by Page1...this one's for YOUUUUUUUUU (Pat Bowlen voice).

Packers 2010 NFL Draft Wish List

Things to keep in mind…

-Provided below each description is the player whose roster spot will be taken by the incoming draftee.

-This is a very preliminary list as we’re only in mid-January. I’d say half of a prospect’s draft stock is made up of in-season performance, with the other half post-season all-star games and workouts. It’s an extremely fluid process, which makes it fun to look back come April and laugh about the fact I had Javier Arenas going 3 rounds earlier than he did.

-I don’t know 80% of the players pegged to go beyond 3^rd round, so I picked the few guys I’ve heard of, or just Google-imaged them to see if they had the look of a good football player (Barry Church).

Rd. 1: Bryan Bulaga – OT, University of Iowa

Everything about this pick feels so obvious that I feel like it cannot actually happen. If Bulaga is available at #23 – many peg him a mid-20’s prospect – the Packers will take him because everything about him fits in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher will be brought back on one-year deals, allowing Bulaga to gain experience as a back-up (chances either Clifton or Tauscher miss time is ~100%) and not have to be thrust in immediately to protect the blindside of a 26 year-old franchise QB. The hope then would be that the boy from Crystal Lake, IL will step into the starting left tackle role beginning in the 2011 season and continuing for a decade.

Round hole meets round peg

At the expense of: Breno Giacomini. The project is over, and you’ve failed.

Rd. 2: Javier Arenas – CB, University of Alabama

What makes Arenas so attractive at this spot is his ability to immediately fill two gigantic holes in the Packers’ roster that were exposed in Arizona: secondary depth and competent return man. Assuming Al Harris is back as starter or #3 corner, Arenas can immediately take the position of #4 CB away from whatever trash the Packers have floating around back there. The hope is he ascends the CB depth chart, but his primary focus right away will be on special teams. He will take both kick-off and punt returns away from ACL-less Will Blackmon and ensure that Jordy Nelson will never, and I mean EVER, have to return another kick again.

For our sake, let's hope he's not related to Gilbert

At the expense of: Trevor Ford or Josh Bell or one of their other infinitely replaceable defensive backs.

Rd. 3: O’Brien Schofield – OLB, University of Wisconsin

An obvious homer pick here, but truth be told this O’Brien fellow can play a little football. At this stage, Round 3 seems likely for Schofield, although if he gives the scouts a display of that elite athleticism many believe he has, watch out for him to jump up a round. He was successful as a DE for the Badgers, but one look at him tells you the Flying Spaghetti Monster put him on this Earth to rush the passer as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Packers will be very lucky if he’s available this late.

As you all know, I’m the driver of the Brad Jones bandwagon, and I still believe my Braddy will only get better as a pro, but no GM would go into a season without giving a 2^nd year, 7^th rounder some heavy competition. This is all under the assumption that we’ve seen the last of Aaron Kampman in Green Bay. I’ve always admired Kampman for the way he played, but from a football perspective it benefits both the Packers and Kampman to go their separate ways.

Usually don't resort to this type of language, but this picture makes me think one thing - fEsTiVaL!!!!

At the expense of: Jeremy Thompson. It looks as though J. Thompson will be forced into retirement – either because of the serious neck injury sustained in December or his total lack of football skills.

Rd. 4: Dexter McCluster – RB/WR, University of Mississippi

Is Dexter McCluster a NFL running back, wide receiver, or neither? I don’t have the answer to that, but what I can tell you is he is exactly the type of home-run hitter that Packer fans crave. We have a very explosive offense without any truly explosive players, and the addition of McCluster’s sub 4.4 speed for select plays might bring some added pop to their already potent line-up (baseball terminology!). End-around here, bubble screen there, nothing major, just enough to add a dimension the offense severely lacks – speed. Unlike Spiller, Best and McKnight – who will all be long gone by this point - McClusterfuck has zero chance to ever assume the role as starting RB, but adding this type of weapon in round 4 is still solid value.

Too crazy for Boys-Town, too much of a boy for Crazy-Town

At the expense of: Ahman Green. Love you to death, Ahman, but we both know it’s time. Congratulations on the All-Time Packer rushing record.

Rd. 5: Barry Church – S, University of Toledo

The Packers are extremely thin at safety, with literally nothing behind Collins and Bigby (although Bigby can be considered nothing as well). Not that Barry Church will save the day, but adding depth here is a must. Plus, after any big Barry Church play, we can all scream “Let’s take ‘em to Church” or some variation thereof.

Already getting excited about his inevitable nickname, Barry "non-denominational" Church

At the expense of: Matt Giordano. Good riddance.

Rd. 6: Zoltan Mesko – P, University of Michigan

Will they use a 6^th round pick on a punter? Probably not. Do I really want to sift through names to find the small-school offensive guard that Thompson will end up taking here? Definitely not.

Kiss it baby, yeaaaaahhhhhh

At the expense of: Jeremy Kapinos. Didn’t really secure a roster spot by rating last in most of the important punting statistics.

Rd. 7: Anonymous 300+ pound man – DE, University of ____________

This is the traditional “In Case Johnny Jolly Goes to Jail” draft pick. What would a Packer draft be without it?

I heard this guy has some free time on his hands

At the expense of: Korey Hall. John Kuhn lives to fight another day.

Post-Mortem

Well, that was brutal. Although the wounds are still fresh, let's try to make lemonade out of Sunday's lemon-

In Our Front Pocket (Positives)



-25.70: The average age of a Green Bay Packers player going into this season, making them the youngest team in the NFL. (and most inexperienced, at a clip of 3.81 average years) This is the fourth consecutive year the Packers have held these two distinctions. Pending Thompson's personnel decisions (Kampman, Pickett, Clifton, Tauscher, Colledge), next year could be another step back. Although the nucleus is promising (Rodgers, Grant, Jennings, Finley, Matthews, Collins, Jenkins, Williams are all just entering or currently in their respective primes), can a team be expected to grow if they continue to get younger? I'm skeptical to say the least.

-Aaron Rodgers, Resident Festival: Not much needs to be said about Rodgers' performance this year. He set the franchise mark for passing yards, displayed versatility in leading QBs in rushing, played in two of the most highly-anticipated regular season games in NFL history, bucked the "anti-clutch" label by cobbling together several stirring late-game comebacks, made the playoffs, and cemented himself as the leader of the franchise, all while playing behind a sieve of an offensive line that threatened to send him the way of Joe Theismann. In his second year. We're in good hands.

-Leadership: While I'll admit to having previously led the anti-McCarthy/Thompson bandwagons, both have done an admirable job in the past year. Thompson and his scouting team expertly fitted last year's draft to Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme, getting excellent value in trading back into the first round for Pro Bowl OLB Clay Matthews and grabbing a key piece to the defensive puzzle with NT BJ Raji. Teddy also merits high marks for signing back veteran Mark Tauscher in the regular season to salvage the offensive line, and re-upping with half-Desi Brandon Chillar on the cheap. With a deep draft on the horizon and a better idea of the kind of defensive pawns the Packers have to work with, there's no reason to believe Thompson won't be able to continue building the team he ultimately envisions McCarthy leading- a championship one. From a coaching perspective, as McCarthy began to increasingly trust Rodgers with run-pass options from the line as the season wore on, the Packers had much more of a pulse. With Tom Clements returning to continue Rodgers' evolution from in-the-closet puss-arm to gigantic wang-wielding dong-thruster, and Capers back to continue the 3-4 project, Green Bay has the right people at the top.

-NFC North: As of today, it's very possible Minnesota will run the table and win the NFC. Still, the Vikings have a ton of question marks. Will Four be back? And if not, how will that affect one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL (Rice, Shiancoe, et al)? Is Bryant McKinnie's Barbre-esque blocking in the latter quarter of the season a permanent concern? What's the status of Percy Harvin's chronic migraines? How effective will EJ Henderson be manning the inside next year coming off reconstructive knee surgery? Minnesota could very well be in line for a drop-off. Chicago has no draft picks this year to supplement Jay Cutler. It's tough to imagine a new offensive coordinator (who would be the Bears' third choice, or worse), defensive coordinator, plus the return of Brian Urlacher equaling the four- or five-game improvement likely to be required to win the division next year. (Of course, I said the same thing about the Packers after last year) Long term, Detroit could be dangerous several years down the road with the Stafford-to-Megatron connection, but right now they have more holes to fill than a Murn-Lawn-Drunk Whoooore threesome. Green Bay should go into next season as a consensus favorite to reclaim their playoff spot, and at least challenge Minnesota for the division title.

Shopping List!



-Offensive Tackle: Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton valiantly anchored the edges on James Campen's bend-but-don't-break line, but with both turning 33 before next season's onset, there's little doubt that in order to preserve the health of their franchise quarterback, Thompson's biggest offseason need is to make an immediate impact in free agency or early in the draft to supplement or supplant the aging duo. TJ Lang showed flashes, and Breno Giacomini has been a project forever, but it's time to give Rodgers the protection he needs to realize his potential as an elite QB in the NFL.

-Strong Safety:

My, oh my, does Atari Bigby suck. Not enough is made of the problems the Packers had from their deep coverage personnel. An instinctive, heady safety with speed to compensate when Green Bay's physical corners are beat would do wonders as a complement to Nick Collins' hard-nosed, ballhawking style.

-Pass Rush: Too often, Dom Capers had to dial up complex blitz packages to overcome the fact that Green Bay's only pure pass rush threat is Clay Matthews. Nick Barnett was nothing short of heroic this year, but he isn't getting any younger in the middle, and who knows how his battle-ravaged body will hold up in 2010. AJ Hawk progressed, to only slightly below average, but is still a colossal liability in coverage and is slow as molasses. Brandon Chillar is solid in coverage but lacks consistency and athleticism in the run game and as a pass rush threat. Brad Jones is raw and may be too slight of frame to ever be enough of a threat to start in the NFL. Aaron Kampman effectively whined his way out of town. In order to give Capers the flexibility necessary to truly maximize the effectiveness of the 3-4, the Packers must make a front-five pass rusher a priority this offseason.

-Cornerback: Al Harris, Pat Lee and Will Blackmon will all (presumably) return from injury by training camp, but the latter two have proven nothing in terms of legitimacy to be a starting corner in the future. Lee was drafted to contribute from Day One, but has never played a meaningful snap, while Blackmon has the athleticism to star but has not taken advantage of his limited opportunities. Harris and Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson will likely start next year, with Tramon Williams serving as an adequate, but not shutdown, corner to step in if necessary. Thompson and Co. need to have an eye to both the immediate and long-term future- a playmaking corner with the ability to return kicks, and potentially serve in the dime in the upcoming season, should be atop the Packers' draft needs list.

-Playmaker: Ryan Grant somehow flipped the switch from lackadaisical plodder to explosive cog in the season's final few games. Still, it'd be nice to get a versatile RB/WR/return man that adds a big play dimension to Green Bay's offense and cellar-dwelling special teams, perhaps in the mold of a Dexter McCluster, Jahvid Best, Noel Devine, or Golden Tate.