Packer 2021 Team Discussion (Rodgers Out Vs. Chiefs)

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Will any of the 2021 draft class get cut? Maybe Van Lanen?

Isaiah McDuffie is probably the only other 2021 draftee on the bubble and I think he’s the beneficiary of Kamal Martin’s surprising decline.

 

My gut says the Packers keep Van Lanen over last year’s 6th round pick Jake Hanson because they have more depth on the interior.

 

McDuffie apparently graded out higher than any other Packers defender this preseason according to Pro Football Focus. I think he makes it as a reserve that will eventually see time in some packages on defense.

[nodakfan17]

Hanson had a bad game yesterday. That delay of game inside the red zone at the end of the half was brutal.

Hanson was fighting an uphill battle anyway. He was leapfrogged by Josh Myers and Royce Newman on draft day.

[CheezWizHed]

Hanson isn't competing with Newman (C vs G/T). Perhaps you mean Runyan, who has been playing C? But it doesn't look good for Hanson's future.

 

Van Lanen looked better in the first couple of games but was brutal yesterday. I have a feeling he will be on the PS this year and I don't think it is a bad thing.

 

Taylor looks like he solidified his spot. Funchess looked good, but can't seem to stay healthy. I'm thinking the team just decided to move on from him for health reasons.

 

I'm wondering how many CBs they keep this year... There are 5 safeties that will probably be on the team. (Black, Scott and Uphoff as backups).

 

At ILB, if they keep 4, I hope they keep Duffie over Summers. I know Summers is big on ST, but brings nothing to the D.

 

I had to listen to the Buffalo commentators during the game (NFL app) and there was a lot of talk about the depth of their DL. We have a couple interesting UDFA DL, but I still hope we reach out and grab someone that is a higher upside guy.

[pacopete4]

Comparing Love to 3-time MVP Aaron Rodgers is foolish. But please go compare Rodgers game at year 2 to Love. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the fact that Love might look better or as good so far. And that’s with a complete lost season for Love. And no, I’m not saying he is or will be better. Just a little perspective.

 

 

It doesn't really matter but I checked and Rodgers had a 101.1 passing rating in preseason year 2, he was sacked 9 times. Probably a mix of good and bad in there just like Love.

 

The reviews I am reading this morning are pretty positive on Love, mostly saying he just needs to clean up the mistakes under pressure. I had just never seen him play until this preseason and the bad decisions are probably effecting my opinion more than they should. The reviews note that those problems do go back to college though, its certainly a concern.

 

Link

[GAME05]

I don't see how QB Rating or "if only he played with the first team" matters at all with Love. Does he hold the ball too long? Does he freeze when the pocket collapses? Can he read a defense?

 

It's that little nuance that matters with Love, not that I can really tell one way or another. But whether he throws for 3 or 300 yards in a preseason game doesn't seem to make a difference.

[MrTPlush]

Love really hasn't impressed me, but then again it is pre season. His supporting cast is going to do him absolutely no favors. His INT against Buffalo was a level of dumb that is hard to do, but as long as he learns from it and it isn't a common occurrence I really don't care.

 

Love is a project....and probably likely to fail and never really be much, but that is the life of drafting a QB after the Top 10-15 picks of a draft. Not saying he will or won't...I just am realistic we didn't draft him #1 overall out of Alabama.

[PeaveyFury]

probably likely to fail and never really be much, but that is the life of drafting a QB

 

Fixed it for you....

[adambr2]

probably likely to fail and never really be much, but that is the life of drafting a QB

 

Fixed it for you....

 

I dunno, I mean the last few years have yielded some pretty good QBs. Too early to grade '21, but Burrow and Herbert look like home runs. Too soon to know on Tua but looks promising. Kyler was a homerun and Danny Dimes has been a mixed bag so far but with very little supporting cast. Allen and Lamar have been stars. Mayfield has been at least better than what Cleveland has had. I'm going to withhold judgment on Darnold until he gets to play with an organization that hasn't been the Adam Gase led New York Jets.

 

The only QBs taken since the '18 draft that look like total busts to me are Rosen and Haskins.

[PeaveyFury]

probably likely to fail and never really be much, but that is the life of drafting a QB

 

Fixed it for you....

 

I dunno, I mean the last few years have yielded some pretty good QBs. Too early to grade '21, but Burrow and Herbert look like home runs. Too soon to know on Tua but looks promising. Kyler was a homerun and Danny Dimes has been a mixed bag so far but with very little supporting cast. Allen and Lamar have been stars. Mayfield has been at least better than what Cleveland has had. I'm going to withhold judgment on Darnold until he gets to play with an organization that hasn't been the Adam Gase led New York Jets.

 

The only QBs taken since the '18 draft that look like total busts to me are Rosen and Haskins.

 

Three years of recent draft performance doesn't trump decades of history.

 

Also, as Carson Wentz shows us, a career can end up completely different than the trajectory indicated by the first year or two in the league. As the league figures you out or other things happen, there's plenty of time to become 'just a guy' despite initial success.

[MrTPlush]

probably likely to fail and never really be much, but that is the life of drafting a QB

 

Fixed it for you....

 

Well, yes, even the top of the draft has been pretty rough compared to 15-20 years ago. Still, if we drafted a guy Top 10 I would have expectations they could be a future potential star and help us win a Super Bowl.

 

Barely in the first round? Yah, I don't like the sounds of those odds and pretty much expect fringe starter...anything past that is a bonus.

[CheezWizHed]

Actually, I've been pretty impressed with Love so far. Yes, he has made some horrible throws that were or should've been picked off. But he has made some very nice throws and a lot of good decisions.

 

But all that comes with caveats:

- It is preseason and offenses running against vanilla defenses

- He is going to have to learn how to his limitations, especially when pressured. This is probably the biggest hurdle a college QB has to overcome, so that isn't insignificant.

- He has been running with mostly a #2 or #3 offensive talent against the opposing team's #1 or #2 defense the whole time (a positive caveat in Love's favor), but still moved the ball.

 

I remember Rodger's first preseason was "this guys is terrible, why did we draft him". Second preseason was "ok, there are some signs of life". Third was "Looks like he could be a legit starter". Love's second preseason (even without any games last year) aligns with Rodgers in that way - he has some skills, but needs development yet. Which is pretty much what we expected in drafting him - talent in need of refinement.

[adambr2]

Three years of recent draft performance doesn't trump decades of history.

 

Also, as Carson Wentz shows us, a career can end up completely different than the trajectory indicated by the first year or two in the league. As the league figures you out or other things happen, there's plenty of time to become 'just a guy' despite initial success.

 

It doesn't necessarily trump it, but comparing QB draft picks from decades ago to modern QB prospects isn't accurate either. QBs are better and generally more NFL ready as rookies and 2nd year players in today's league than they were 15-20 and more years ago.

[PeaveyFury]

Three years of recent draft performance doesn't trump decades of history.

 

Also, as Carson Wentz shows us, a career can end up completely different than the trajectory indicated by the first year or two in the league. As the league figures you out or other things happen, there's plenty of time to become 'just a guy' despite initial success.

 

It doesn't necessarily trump it, but comparing QB draft picks from decades ago to modern QB prospects isn't accurate either. QBs are better and generally more NFL ready as rookies and 2nd year players in today's league than they were 15-20 and more years ago.

 

But even if you expand it past 2-3 years into say, 10-15 to include the more modern game, you've got 'top of the first round' QB busts galore....

[roadcrew3]

Actually, I've been pretty impressed with Love so far. Yes, he has made some horrible throws that were or should've been picked off. But he has made some very nice throws and a lot of good decisions.

 

But all that comes with caveats:

- It is preseason and offenses running against vanilla defenses

- He is going to have to learn how to his limitations, especially when pressured. This is probably the biggest hurdle a college QB has to overcome, so that isn't insignificant.

- He has been running with mostly a #2 or #3 offensive talent against the opposing team's #1 or #2 defense the whole time (a positive caveat in Love's favor), but still moved the ball.

 

I remember Rodger's first preseason was "this guys is terrible, why did we draft him". Second preseason was "ok, there are some signs of life". Third was "Looks like he could be a legit starter". Love's second preseason (even without any games last year) aligns with Rodgers in that way - he has some skills, but needs development yet. Which is pretty much what we expected in drafting him - talent in need of refinement.

 

I agree with this. I think Love has actually looked really good going through progressions and delivering balls on time. He looks both confident and poised in the pocket and I've actually been impressed with his ability to move around in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. I think those are all good signs for a young QB.

 

His interception was definitely bad, anybody who has watched 1 second of football can tell you that, which should actually make it a pretty easy fix. I would be much more concerned if the interception came when he was in a clean pocket and he just misread the defense or if he delivered a ball off target.

 

All in all, I think he is capable of being the quarterback of a winning team in the NFL. I'm not sure his ceiling is an Aaron Rodgers level that some people are unrealistically expecting, but I do think he's good enough to make the following an interesting question (after this immediate season obviously): does Jordan Love on a rookie contract give you a better chance at winning the Super Bowl than 40+ year old Rodgers taking up 20%+ of the cap?

[CheezWizHed]

I will say that Love's play, the ball his throws, the way he moves, etc.. reminds me of Dante Culpepper. His height and the way he stands in the pocket are physical similarities, but also his ease in throwing the long ball. He is athletic and can move, but not isn't his main game.

 

Love's arm strength worried me in the first game, but he looked much better in the last game. A couple throws looked like he was hardly putting effort into it at all, yet he throws an easy 30-40 yard pass.

 

As for the rookie QB question, I'll give the short answer:

- CheezWizHed: No

- Peavy: Yes

 

The long answer can found beat to death back on our post history.

[homer]

Bakhtiari on PUP List. He will miss first 6 weeks.

[pacopete4]

Makes sense. They have other good linemen. Make sure he is completely healthy and play the long game.

[homer]

Makes sense. They have other good linemen. Make sure he is completely healthy and play the long game.

 

Yeah it kinda sucks to have to play San Fran and Pittsburgh without him but I'd rather he be ready to go for the back half of the season.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Makes sense. They have other good linemen. Make sure he is completely healthy and play the long game.

 

Yeah it kinda sucks to have to play San Fran and Pittsburgh without him but I'd rather he be ready to go for the back half of the season.

 

Elgton Jenkins is already a star in the making, and the first half of this season is going to prove it. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Jenkins flips over to RT after Bahk comes back, and starts there for the next decade.

[PeaveyFury]

Yeah, with Myers really taking over the center role immediately, the Packers have the luxury of using Jenkins at LT, where he should be a very capable replacement.

[pacopete4]

It's really impressive the amount of talent they have on that offensive line. Great job by the coaching staff and by Gute (and GM Rodgers) to piece all of that talent on one roster.

[adambr2]

The Equanimeous St. Brown era is over before it ever really started.

[PeaveyFury]

St. Brown is the guy that never was, as adam noted. Immense potential, constantly derailed by injuries, and seemed to get in Aaron's doghouse a couple of times. Too bad, but completely unsurprising that they moved on.

[PeaveyFury]

No shocks thus far based on the names that have been released. Have a weird feeling that this is the year the Packers pick up a veteran cut, especially with the extra lead time to the game next week.

[CheezWizHed]

Wouldn't surprise me if they pick up a 6th CB (drop Yiadom), a DL (drop Lancaster), and/or a Punter (drop Just Kidding Scott) after cuts.

 

We seem pretty solid everywhere else.