Competition Already Brewing at Lambeau

Mark87

Mark87

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From our blog today: Competition Already Brewing at Lambeau

Competition already seems to be brewing on the back burner now that all of the rookie picks have finished with OTA practices for the Green Bay Packers. As is always the case, it is too difficult to say which players will be "Pro Bowl" bound and which will not even make the roster. There are always 7th round gems in the rough (Donnie Driver comes to mind) and 1st round busts (Justin Who-rell?). After Ted Thompson made his selections, I became intrigued with these Packer match ups. Remember, this is premature and players have to prove themselves on and off the NFL field.
Damarious Randall and Quinton Rollins vs Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde. Need I say more? Rookies have a difficult time covering NFL wide receivers, much less trying to unseat veterans, who finally get a chance to start (now that Tramon Williams and Davon House have left the house). Neither Randall or Rollins will start, but both will have an impact when they are finally assigned special roles on the Packer defense and special teams.

Ty Montgomery vs Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis. Quite possibly the best competition in camp this year. It promises to be a good one between these three players. I look for all three receivers to make the 53 man roster this year. In addition, all are in contention to be the kick/punt returner, and possibly the 4th "go to" wide receiver for the Pack. In my eyes, Ty will surprise and the 3rd round selection will beat out both Janis and Abbrederis, respectively.

Jake Ryan vs Carl Bradford. Doesn't matter which 4th round pick wins the ILB position opposite Sam Barrington, so long as one of these two guys wins the position so that Green Bay can finally move Clay Matthews back to the outside edge rushing, which is what he was built to do. Bradford may surprise people. Don't forget....he may have been a "healthy inactive" last year, because guys like Hawk, Lattimore, and Jones were in his way (taking up roster spots). As it looks right now, nobody stands in his way for a roster spot or for that matter, a starting position. On the other hand, I believe hard hitting Jake Ryan, the 4th round pick out of Michigan, will have something to say about that by the end of camp.

Brett Hundley vs Scott Tolzien. Off the cuff, Tolzien will be the winner and back up Aaron Charles Rodgers, because he knows the playbook, the routine of the daily grind and how the receivers run their routes. While Hundley is cramming and on the hurry, Tolzien will be relaxed, poised and confident-looking.

With the exception of Justin Perillo, Kennard Backman seems to have little competition as the third tight end behind Richard Rogers and Brandon Quarless. However, he will have to earn his keep by playing special teams. The same could be said for Aaron Ripkowski, the big bruising fullback from Oklahoma. Ripkowski could end up ripping a job away from the beloved John Kuhn, but I doubt it.(Fans cheering "Rip! Rip!" instead of "Kuhn! Kuhn?" Hmm...) Nonetheless, the Packers keep both guys on the squad, because they are both definitely big time special team players.
With most of the roster already set, I wish the newest additions all the luck in the world. Competition is the key ingredient for the Packers winning formula; has been for quite some time. If you ask me...given Ted Thompson's 2015 draft picks, there are already some great battles and competitions a-brewing....and it's not even July and training camp time yet!

Which battles will you be watching ?
 
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The LB battle will be interesting and think the number 3 RB is up for grabs. Really can't wait for camp to start. pc)
 
I see some interesting position battles, but not a ton of roster battles. That's a bit unfortunate.

The #4 WR battle may be the most heated with the 3 guys mentioned above all battling.

The nickel CB spot may be a 3-way battle for awhile, but I suspect Randall and Rollins will be the real competitors for that spot by preseason game #3.

ILB looks like the only other real serious competition, between Ryan and Bradford, and to some degree CM3. If the position is just best manned by CM3 because he's head and shoulders better than the other 2 then I think they will just go that way for the sake of the overall defense.

Beyond that I don't see any serious battles. Unless Crockett really comes on in pads it looks like Neal will grab the #3 RB spot (with Crockett to PS) and may challenge Starks for the #2 spot, especially if he continues to demonstrate ability in the passing game.
 
I'll be watching the RB battle. A lot of people feel Starks will stay on as #2 by default. But TT likes to keep the roster young. And Starks is what he is. If Neal and Crockett show any ability to block and some promise then Starks will be gone. I bet Crockett doesn't make it to the practice squad if he's cut.

Kuhn? hmmm.. Fan favorite, but just as above, he isn't getting any younger. If Ripp shows promise then I think we've seen the last of Kuhn.

Keeping aging veterans at the end of their game over younger guys who show promise would not be wise.
 
Agree about Starks, no reason to think he can't be pushed out if he doesn't have a strong camp. Neal has better hands, Crockett may have more upside, both will be cheaper.

I really don't know what to expect at ILB. We keep talking about finding a starter next to Barrington but all indications are that MM is going to use CMIII there, end of story. So whatever Ryan and Bradford do, they figure to get limited snaps and the impact there may be more on ST.
 
rpiotr01 said:
Agree about Starks, no reason to think he can't be pushed out if he doesn't have a strong camp. Neal has better hands, Crockett may have more upside, both will be cheaper.

I really don't know what to expect at ILB. We keep talking about finding a starter next to Barrington but all indications are that MM is going to use CMIII there, end of story. So whatever Ryan and Bradford do, they figure to get limited snaps and the impact there may be more on ST.
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Everyone hates on my boy Starks. I don't think these scrub RBs can unseat him unless he's lost a step. He's got another year in him.

I think Ryan has the edge on Bradford at ILB, but Bradford may have more "versatility," which this staff loves. He's not very good outside, but he knows the system well enough to theoretically fill in if necessary.
 
I'm not hating on Starks, I like him just fine. But it's a young man's game and a young man's position, and MM/TT love to get younger and cheaper at the bottom of the roster. Starks doesn't bring anything all that special, so I can see him being cut this year if he doesn't have a good camp, or if Neal and Crockett have a very good camp. Not rooting against him :)
 
The good thing for Starks is that there aren't a lot of miles on his legs. He's still "younger" from that perspective. With the way MM values the passing game Crockett will need to show he can catch a little and pass block. If he can do that, then yes, I see him displacing Starks. Absent that, I don't know if he makes it onto the roster. With RB being such a devalued position these days, I still think he could make it onto the P.S.
 
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