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that's exactly what i said on draft day. and it looks like we're both right. he spent a good portion of his first day in camp lining up as an inside linebacker.
With Pick 2 in Round 2 GB Selects Josh Jones Safety NC State
- Thread starter Mark87
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that's exactly what i said on draft day. and it looks like we're both right. he spent a good portion of his first day in camp lining up as an inside linebacker.
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http://www.packersnews.com/story/sp...y-safety-jones-linebacker-disguise/101332724/..
The Green Bay Packers, strictly speaking, didn’t need a safety high in this year’s draft.
Yet, their first minicamp practice drove home that Josh Jones, a safety, was very much a need pick by general manager Ted Thompson in the draft’s second round.
On Friday, it became clearer than ever that Jones is an important part of the Packers’ plans to upgrade their pass defense here and now, as well as the embodiment of how coordinator Dom Capers’ defense is changing with the times.
For a good chunk of the practice Friday, Jones played inside linebacker. He did it in nickel in seven-on-seven work against the offense, and he even worked with the inside ‘backers when the team broke off into individual drills in the middle of the session.
That says plenty.
NFL teams aren’t in the business of wasting precious time and reps any time they take the field. So having Jones drill at inside linebacker in his first NFL practice is a pretty good sign of the Packers’ plans, or at least initial hopes, even if Jones worked some at safety, too.
It’s also the clearest sign yet of the direction Capers and coach Mike McCarthy are moving the Packers’ defense after finishing last season ranked No. 26 in defensive passer rating (95.9). The NFL is becoming more matchup oriented in the passing game by the year, so defense is now all about nickel and dime personnel, and getting faster at every position in the back seven, especially linebacker.
The days of a true linebacker playing down after down are long gone. Morgan Burnett started lining up there more in the nickel late last season, and McCarthy has promised even more of that this year. Drafting Jones demonstrates just how strong that commitment is, and working him there in his first practice means Capers and McCarthy are looking for the rookie’s help now.
Not that long ago, if you had two linebackers who ran in the mid-4.6s, you were OK in the nickel. Now that’s not even close to good enough for matching up with the best passing schemes, which feature roles for slot receivers, running backs and fast, skilled tight ends.
Burnett ran a 4.51 coming out of college. Now age 28, he’s probably not quite that fast, but close enough.
And then there’s Jones, whose 40 at the NFL scouting combine was electronically timed at 4.41 seconds. At 220 pounds, he’s also 11 pounds heavier than Burnett. So he’s faster plus better built to handle the run responsibilities that go with playing near the line of scrimmage.
The Jones pick was essentially the inside linebacker Thompson badly needed but hadn’t drafted high the last several years. And with the way the game has been evolving, it makes sense that he didn’t take a traditional linebacker, even a well-regarded one, in the first couple rounds.
To justify being picked that high, a linebacker has to be exceptionally fast for the position. Because if he isn’t, it’s getting tougher and tougher to keep him on the field.
To wit: At the draft, McCarthy said Capers’ defense was in nickel or dime on more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps last season. That’s only going to go up in the coming years.
So it’s easy to envision the different players Capers will work with in his various nickels and dimes, depending on circumstance.
On first down in nickel, he might play Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan at linebacker to help stop the run. On second down, Burnett or Jones could replace one of the two. On third down, we might see four safeties — Burnett and Jones at linebacker, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Kentrell Brice deep. Or, Capers could go with a more traditional dime, but with Burnett or Jones as the lone linebacker, and the other back at safety.
Capers’ plan in part will depend on how much Jones can learn in a short period of time. Jones said he played some linebacker at North Carolina State, in a package called “grizzly” that the team used extensively against Miami last season.
“I’m a very versatile safety,” Jones said after his first practice. “This is all about taking coaching and doing what they tell you to do.”
But Capers’ scheme will be more complicated, so the coordinator might want to work Jones more at one spot than the other. In that case, my money’s on linebacker. And the Packers can only hope Jones is the self-starter he sounded like after Friday’s practice.
“I go by the motto 'no handouts,'” Jones said. “I don’t want anything handed to me. I want to work for it. Our country, that’s what we pride ourselves on, hard workers. Nothing is handed to us.”
No, but much is expected of this second-round pick. And the Packers clearly are looking for his help right now.
The Green Bay Packers, strictly speaking, didn’t need a safety high in this year’s draft.
Yet, their first minicamp practice drove home that Josh Jones, a safety, was very much a need pick by general manager Ted Thompson in the draft’s second round.
On Friday, it became clearer than ever that Jones is an important part of the Packers’ plans to upgrade their pass defense here and now, as well as the embodiment of how coordinator Dom Capers’ defense is changing with the times.
For a good chunk of the practice Friday, Jones played inside linebacker. He did it in nickel in seven-on-seven work against the offense, and he even worked with the inside ‘backers when the team broke off into individual drills in the middle of the session.
That says plenty.
NFL teams aren’t in the business of wasting precious time and reps any time they take the field. So having Jones drill at inside linebacker in his first NFL practice is a pretty good sign of the Packers’ plans, or at least initial hopes, even if Jones worked some at safety, too.
It’s also the clearest sign yet of the direction Capers and coach Mike McCarthy are moving the Packers’ defense after finishing last season ranked No. 26 in defensive passer rating (95.9). The NFL is becoming more matchup oriented in the passing game by the year, so defense is now all about nickel and dime personnel, and getting faster at every position in the back seven, especially linebacker.
The days of a true linebacker playing down after down are long gone. Morgan Burnett started lining up there more in the nickel late last season, and McCarthy has promised even more of that this year. Drafting Jones demonstrates just how strong that commitment is, and working him there in his first practice means Capers and McCarthy are looking for the rookie’s help now.
Not that long ago, if you had two linebackers who ran in the mid-4.6s, you were OK in the nickel. Now that’s not even close to good enough for matching up with the best passing schemes, which feature roles for slot receivers, running backs and fast, skilled tight ends.
Burnett ran a 4.51 coming out of college. Now age 28, he’s probably not quite that fast, but close enough.
And then there’s Jones, whose 40 at the NFL scouting combine was electronically timed at 4.41 seconds. At 220 pounds, he’s also 11 pounds heavier than Burnett. So he’s faster plus better built to handle the run responsibilities that go with playing near the line of scrimmage.
The Jones pick was essentially the inside linebacker Thompson badly needed but hadn’t drafted high the last several years. And with the way the game has been evolving, it makes sense that he didn’t take a traditional linebacker, even a well-regarded one, in the first couple rounds.
To justify being picked that high, a linebacker has to be exceptionally fast for the position. Because if he isn’t, it’s getting tougher and tougher to keep him on the field.
To wit: At the draft, McCarthy said Capers’ defense was in nickel or dime on more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps last season. That’s only going to go up in the coming years.
So it’s easy to envision the different players Capers will work with in his various nickels and dimes, depending on circumstance.
On first down in nickel, he might play Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan at linebacker to help stop the run. On second down, Burnett or Jones could replace one of the two. On third down, we might see four safeties — Burnett and Jones at linebacker, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Kentrell Brice deep. Or, Capers could go with a more traditional dime, but with Burnett or Jones as the lone linebacker, and the other back at safety.
Capers’ plan in part will depend on how much Jones can learn in a short period of time. Jones said he played some linebacker at North Carolina State, in a package called “grizzly” that the team used extensively against Miami last season.
“I’m a very versatile safety,” Jones said after his first practice. “This is all about taking coaching and doing what they tell you to do.”
But Capers’ scheme will be more complicated, so the coordinator might want to work Jones more at one spot than the other. In that case, my money’s on linebacker. And the Packers can only hope Jones is the self-starter he sounded like after Friday’s practice.
“I go by the motto 'no handouts,'” Jones said. “I don’t want anything handed to me. I want to work for it. Our country, that’s what we pride ourselves on, hard workers. Nothing is handed to us.”
No, but much is expected of this second-round pick. And the Packers clearly are looking for his help right now.
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If Capers is changing with the times I would say, it's about time.
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Looking at my original statement, I guess I was talking about Don....some other fantastical alter ego. These smart phones and my lack of re-reading sure make me look not so smart. I agree though and it'll be interesting to see these adaptations.
It's the world we live in Bud... I'am super guilty of not slowing down and reading peoples posts too fast.
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i just assumed you were talking about his brother, don.
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I wish the combine had players do their timed and agility drills with a full uniform on. A lot of guys are speed merchants until they put the pads on, and their times become very pedestrian.
I coached a kid once who was by far the fastest on our team, without a uniform on. As soon as he put it on, he was slower than our huge, lumbering, offensive linemen.
No matter what we did, he never got faster, and ended up being an undersized lineman on both sides of the ball. He wasn't even fast enough to play STs.
It's too bad it happens, but that slight added weight can have a big effect on some guys.
I coached a kid once who was by far the fastest on our team, without a uniform on. As soon as he put it on, he was slower than our huge, lumbering, offensive linemen.
No matter what we did, he never got faster, and ended up being an undersized lineman on both sides of the ball. He wasn't even fast enough to play STs.
It's too bad it happens, but that slight added weight can have a big effect on some guys.
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It's a difficult coaching situation. Most coaches don't identify with it because they don't recognize it. They think the kid is loafing, and he's not. He just needs to be trained to work with the additional weight. One of the things I loved to use was a truck tire, a rope, and a harness. I'd have them pull the tire like it was a sled, for 40 yards. You do it three times at the beginning of practice, and three at the end. You set goals for them to get the number of pulls reduced to one and one. It usually took about eight to ten practices and these kids would be running like deer. It's retraining the muscles to work under load, instead of just straight speed.
But, I had all those who had no leg injuries doing one and one for each practice, just to keep them toned.
But, I had all those who had no leg injuries doing one and one for each practice, just to keep them toned.