Packers 2024 Season Thread

[yourout]

4 minutes ago, homer said:

Caleb Jones is so big lol

He is a one-man double team.

[homer]

1 minute ago, edfunderburk said:

I like him … Can he make the roster as the primary swing tackle?

pretty sure they've run behind him a ton on this last drive. He's crushing the guy in front of him.

[Joseph Zarr]

Well that was a very enjoyable and mostly crisp first pre-season game. Extremely impressed with the O-Line performance as a whole. They just did not give up much of any pressures. That has certainly not been the case in quite some time. 

[OldHeidelberg]

Jones is interesting, packers have carried him on roster for a couple of seasons so might be higher on him than we think. Maybe they like him as 6th OL in short yardage but that’s not really worth the roster investment. 
 

Williams may be pushing Bullock for starting safety spot. Love to see the depth there as we have struggled to find good safeties. New defense looked great, so far so good.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm hopeful the Packers can work out a trade or two that sends some of their WR depth that simply won't make the PS after cuts this year for DL depth...

If not, then we need a nationwide internet and phone outage ten minutes before final cuts in hopes the Packers get as many players from their preseason roster squeezed onto the PS quietly as possible.  

[yourout]

21 hours ago, OldHeidelberg said:

Jones is interesting, packers have carried him on roster for a couple of seasons so might be higher on him than we think. Maybe they like him as 6th OL in short yardage but that’s not really worth the roster investment. 
 

Williams may be pushing Bullock for starting safety spot. Love to see the depth there as we have struggled to find good safeties. New defense looked great, so far so good.

If we could find one more stud linebacker I'd feel even better about the defense.

[CheezWizHed]

DuBose vs Heath: DuBose put himself on the map last game by showing great hands on offense. Sounds like his run blocking was also strong.  If he continues with any semblance of how he played in Cleveland, I guess he gets the 6th WR spot over Heath.

Calson vs Joseph: I've been leaning towards Carlson for a while, but his tendency to make kicks just inside the upright continues to concern me.  Joseph hasn't been perfect, but it seems like more of his kicks (especially the "easy ones") go right down the middle. 

Joe Wilson vs Ben Sims: Wilson had a statement game with his receiving.  Not sure how his blocking compares, but he certainly put himself on the radar.  Sims seems to be mainly a blocking TE with low ceiling. 

Clifford vs Pratt: Pretty neck and neck.  Clifford stumbled early, but seemed to recover nicely.  Pratt throws a nice easy ball.  Hard to tell who has the advantage at the moment. 

Dillon vs all other RBs: As was said several times... the dude just dances too much.  You are trying to get one yard and are a 250 lb back - drive through someone.  The OL didn't give him much room, but other backup RBs seemed to find space. Wilson looked like his usual pre-season brilliance. 

Backup OL: Someone (especially at T) needs to step up. No one looked bullet-proof out there. 

Backup DL: Really the opposite.  They looked very strong and deep.

Safeties: Certainly, better depth than last year.  Hard to know how well they will fit in when you are playing vanilla D against early offenses, but everyone looks pretty good now. 

[yourout]

Linebacker depth is very suspect. 

I would look very hard at swapping a receiver for a linebacker

[CheezWizHed]

9 hours ago, yourout said:

Linebacker depth is very suspect. 

I would look very hard at swapping a receiver for a linebacker

Any more details there? Starting lineup is probably Walker, Cooper, and McDuffie which is pretty strong.  Wilson has starting experience, Hopper is a rookie so hard to know what we have there, Welch is probably ST only.  

For a position that will have 3 players on the field 15-20% of the time, the depth isn't terrible. Especially when they typically keep the 6th LB for ST only normally. 

I'd prefer a backup T at this point if we trade a WR.  I'm sure Morgan would slide out first for an injury, but the rest of that group has looked really bad this year. 

[BrewerFan]

8 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Any more details there? Starting lineup is probably Walker, Cooper, and McDuffie which is pretty strong.  Wilson has starting experience, Hopper is a rookie so hard to know what we have there, Welch is probably ST only.  

For a position that will have 3 players on the field 15-20% of the time, the depth isn't terrible. Especially when they typically keep the 6th LB for ST only normally. 

I'd prefer a backup T at this point if we trade a WR.  I'm sure Morgan would slide out first for an injury, but the rest of that group has looked really bad this year. 

LBer is fine. If an OT goes down, you're looking at...Newman, Rhyan, Dillard. Maybe Caleb Jones can finally hold up, but you're probably going to be helping and chipping a LOT.

If an OG goes down...you might be in slightly better shape. Easier to cover up for their mistakes and Monk played really well IMO. Some mistakes and whiffs, but he looked great for a rookie. 

I don't know what type of LBer we're going to get for a WR that we'd be willing to trade, the 3rd LB will be on the field maybe 20% as you said. 

 

OL is a bigger issue. You go down the list of players/positions that you're going to really have problems at if you lose a player and none even approach the impact an injury to Tom/Jenkins or really any of the starters has outside of QB. The next closest may be CB, but even there I think you have the depth that you'd be fine.

[BrewerFan]

On 8/10/2024 at 6:05 PM, edfunderburk said:

I like him … Can he make the roster as the primary swing tackle?

Has he been playing LT?

I'd love to see him make the final roster. I think staying healthy is the biggest thing for him. He's also fighting the scheme as he's not an ideal fit in the ZBK, but he can just lean on people and move them in the run game.

[CheeseheadInQC]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens on the O-line. Can Telfort or Jones pass Dillard to crack the top 8? Would they keep one as the No. 9? Can Jennings or Glover show enough to earn the No. 9 spot or do they try to get both back to the practice squad? Do they only keep 8 to leave an extra spot for the defense, given the amount of depth on the D-line and the secondary?

Right now, numbers wise, I've got 2 QB, 3 RB, 6 WR, 4TE, 8 OL, 4 DE, 5 DT, 5 LB, 7 CB, 5 S with one spot left. I'd like for Jennings to impress and grab it, but time is running out.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

It's going to be interesting to see what happens on the O-line. Can Telfort or Jones pass Dillard to crack the top 8? Would they keep one as the No. 9? Can Jennings or Glover show enough to earn the No. 9 spot or do they try to get both back to the practice squad? Do they only keep 8 to leave an extra spot for the defense, given the amount of depth on the D-line and the secondary?

Right now, numbers wise, I've got 2 QB, 3 RB, 6 WR, 4TE, 8 OL, 4 DE, 5 DT, 5 LB, 7 CB, 5 S with one spot left. I'd like for Jennings to impress and grab it, but time is running out.

I'm having trouble coming up with 7 CBs who'll make the roster.

Ja, Stokes, Valentine, Nixon, King...probably Balentine(though I could see that going either way and making the PS, but...not sure). Bullard and Williams can play the slot. But am I blanking on the 7th?

TE-I think you can squeeze the 4th on the PS...depending on the health of Kraft.

I think they'll go with 9OL, maybe 10, and QB...IDK, that's gonna be tough. Pratt seems like he'll make it, Clifford goes to the PS? Will teams want to go after a smaller QB who's got limited arm strength, but is mobile and pretty smart? IDK...teams usually have their QB situation pretty well sorted at the start of the year. They're healthy and ready to go...though, Minnesota with McCarthy injured, they could roster, then IR him, and pick up Clifford. 

I also think they could even go with 4LBers. Is Wilson going to get claimed? I'd be shocked. You just start the year off calling him up from the PS and try and keep the best 53 and then play the game until you have the inevitable injuries?

 

WR...I thought Melton was a near lock and I think he should make it, but will Dubose get claimed, Heath? Those are valuable players. 

 

This may be an unconventional cut-down to try and keep as much depth as possible. We should also look at it more like a 69 man roster as it pertains to players who probably won't be claimed(again, Wilson, maaybe Balentine...

 

[CheeseheadInQC]

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

I'm having trouble coming up with 7 CBs who'll make the roster.

Ja, Stokes, Valentine, Nixon, King...probably Balentine(though I could see that going either way and making the PS, but...not sure). Bullard and Williams can play the slot. But am I blanking on the 7th?

TE-I think you can squeeze the 4th on the PS...depending on the health of Kraft.

I think they'll go with 9OL, maybe 10, and QB...IDK, that's gonna be tough. Pratt seems like he'll make it, Clifford goes to the PS? Will teams want to go after a smaller QB who's got limited arm strength, but is mobile and pretty smart? IDK...teams usually have their QB situation pretty well sorted at the start of the year. They're healthy and ready to go...though, Minnesota with McCarthy injured, they could roster, then IR him, and pick up Clifford. 

I also think they could even go with 4LBers. Is Wilson going to get claimed? I'd be shocked. You just start the year off calling him up from the PS and try and keep the best 53 and then play the game until you have the inevitable injuries?

 

WR...I thought Melton was a near lock and I think he should make it, but will Dubose get claimed, Heath? Those are valuable players. 

 

This may be an unconventional cut-down to try and keep as much depth as possible. We should also look at it more like a 69 man roster as it pertains to players who probably won't be claimed(again, Wilson, maaybe Balentine...

 

I think Rochell might end up taking the designated special teamer secondary spot over Anderson.

[CheezWizHed]

I think CB has some sneaky depth, but I can't see them keeping 7.  Rochelle and Balentine are low ceiling players (though Balentine did fill in nicely last year). I doubt there will be much demand for either one.  Keep one, put the other on the PS and if that one is claimed, grab another CB for the PS and move on. 

I'd imagine they will keep 4 TEs. There doesn't look like a FB/HB type player on the roster, so I'm assuming that will be rolled into a traditional TE.  

I'd prefer to keep Wilson as he is your best option for the 4th starter (when an injury happens).  Hopper needs a year.  Everyone else is a ST specialist. 4 LBs is just too light.

[Joseph Zarr]

I have to say seeing Carlson sitting 80% and Joseph sitting 83 % this deep into TC has me all sorts of: "What the heck are we doing here?" This just feels like an unnecessary recipe for disaster yet again. I will be entirely unsurprised if they ultimately go the route of cutting both and signing a roster cutdown veteran. They've done it before with punters. Do I find it likely? No. BUT, do I want to move on from this 'competition'? Absolutely yes. Now, this being said, nobody missed in the actual games. Perhaps that's more important but, man, I would just love to have a Justin Tucker 😅

[BrewerFan]

17 hours ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

I think Rochell might end up taking the designated special teamer secondary spot over Anderson.

That's...going out on a limb. 

You really think he's that valuable that they couldn't get him onto the practice squad(not me arguing, I've just had a lot more going on and haven't been following every camp report as I have in the past)?

I don't have either of them making it to be honest. Both on the PS, but not the 53 man. I think you risk losing higher ceiling guys in that scenario and...while STs is important, you just spent a draft on young players who should be ST standouts. 

[BrewerFan]

6 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

I think CB has some sneaky depth, but I can't see them keeping 7.  Rochelle and Balentine are low ceiling players (though Balentine did fill in nicely last year). I doubt there will be much demand for either one.  Keep one, put the other on the PS and if that one is claimed, grab another CB for the PS and move on. 

I'd imagine they will keep 4 TEs. There doesn't look like a FB/HB type player on the roster, so I'm assuming that will be rolled into a traditional TE.  

I'd prefer to keep Wilson as he is your best option for the 4th starter (when an injury happens).  Hopper needs a year.  Everyone else is a ST specialist. 4 LBs is just too light.

I'm not saying you go into any games with 4(though...depending on the matchup, you may be able to) but rather you could just promote them from the PS.

I don't think anyone is claiming Eric Wilson at this point...so get your roster set, take the lower ceiling guys(like Rochelle, Wilson) put them on the PS and then just call them up on Gameday. You're going to have guys on IR and the roster crunch always solves itself. 

So you have 3 games. If you have to make a roster move at that point, then you can make one. 

You're definitely going to need 5 vs Philly, so he'd be immediately called back up. I'm just looking at the players on the Bubble.

I may even want 10 DL for that game(so Ford perhaps). 

6 guys can get the call-up. Ford, Wilson, a WR maybe someone like Heath or if Dubose can prove to be a good enough gunner, he may get the call.

 

They'll have a feel for who will make it through waivers though. They always seem to do a good job despite a lot of consternation from fans. 

[CheeseheadInQC]

40 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

That's...going out on a limb. 

You really think he's that valuable that they couldn't get him onto the practice squad(not me arguing, I've just had a lot more going on and haven't been following every camp report as I have in the past)?

I don't have either of them making it to be honest. Both on the PS, but not the 53 man. I think you risk losing higher ceiling guys in that scenario and...while STs is important, you just spent a draft on young players who should be ST standouts. 

Out of curiosity, who are the upside guys who would get cut? (Full disclosure, I am guessing they stash Lloyd on IR to start the season, so if he is ready to go some things would change).

Leaving the offensive line alone for a second, the three noteworthy names I have on the wrong side of the bubble right now are Heath, Ford and Cox. Heath is probably the most likely to get claimed, but he is more valuable for his high floor than his ceiling. There is value to Ford given that Slaton is approaching free agency, but barring a number of injuries, he would be a permanent game day inactive as the sixth defensive tackle, especially considering Van Ness can push inside on passing downs if need be. I know some are more optimistic about Brenton Cox than I am, but personally I am not convinced he gets claimed and also not convinced there is a big enough gap between him and the next guy on the depth chart to make it a significant risk.

On the offensive line, do you see Telfort in year 2 or Jones in year 3 as likely to get claimed? Glover is still fourth string, and as much as I liked the signing of Jennings, he hasn’t been able to show anything yet. I had Telfort vs. Welch for the last spot, so I can see Telfort making it as a ninth lineman, but I don’t think it is a lock.

I also suspect that teams will want a little more continuity on special teams than the practice squad shuttle provides given the rule changes. That is why I think at least one, maybe two of Rochell, Anderson and Welch make it.

[CheezWizHed]

17 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I don't think anyone is claiming Eric Wilson at this point...so get your roster set, take the lower ceiling guys(like Rochelle, Wilson) put them on the PS and then just call them up on Gameday. You're going to have guys on IR and the roster crunch always solves itself. 

Wilson is what Wilson is at this point; he has no upside left.  But who do you have at LB over him?  Going with 4 LBers is too risky especially since Hopper is basically in a red-shirt year.  Wilson isn't a great starter, but he is a decent backup and a good ST player.   The last two years he was active every game he was healthy (or pretty close if not).

[CheezWizHed]

So Bakhtiari is still a FA out there.  I'm not sure what he is expecting or hoping for at this point, but given out backup Ts are bad right now, I wonder if he'd consider a vet minimum for a 1 year prove it year?

Hard to be an LT icon for a team and come back as a backup, but... I'd happily give him a shot right now. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Out of curiosity, who are the upside guys who would get cut? (Full disclosure, I am guessing they stash Lloyd on IR to start the season, so if he is ready to go some things would change).

Leaving the offensive line alone for a second, the three noteworthy names I have on the wrong side of the bubble right now are Heath, Ford and Cox. Heath is probably the most likely to get claimed, but he is more valuable for his high floor than his ceiling. There is value to Ford given that Slaton is approaching free agency, but barring a number of injuries, he would be a permanent game day inactive as the sixth defensive tackle, especially considering Van Ness can push inside on passing downs if need be. I know some are more optimistic about Brenton Cox than I am, but personally I am not convinced he gets claimed and also not convinced there is a big enough gap between him and the next guy on the depth chart to make it a significant risk.

On the offensive line, do you see Telfort in year 2 or Jones in year 3 as likely to get claimed? Glover is still fourth string, and as much as I liked the signing of Jennings, he hasn’t been able to show anything yet. I had Telfort vs. Welch for the last spot, so I can see Telfort making it as a ninth lineman, but I don’t think it is a lock.

I also suspect that teams will want a little more continuity on special teams than the practice squad shuttle provides given the rule changes. That is why I think at least one, maybe two of Rochell, Anderson and Welch make it.

This would assume you only go with 2 QBs. Gute has said he wants to go with 3(or insinuated he'd like to keep 3). Pratt's the guy...I'd think, but Clifford looked really good last year, 5th rd pick, he's mobile and he was good vs Cleveland. 10 of 19 is misleading as there were a couple of drops and then he made some smart decisions on throw-aways. 

RB-I guess Dillon is the guy I'd be the most alright with losing(cutting), but Wilson is the obvious choice. Two locks, one semi-lock(sans IR, but he'd still need to be on the original roster and you'd still have to expose another player). 

At WR you'd have Melton, Duboseand and Heath. I think all have more upside. Melton looked like a legit, well-rounded WR last year, a ,really tough blocker in spite of his size. Just reminded me of Driver. Dubose is big and athletic and Heath is a great gunner, a good, physical blocker and catches the ball in traffic. This is a guy who was active as a rookie for the Packers at the end of the year in the playoffs. 
OL I think Jones would count. I think Glover's going to make the team. He may be 4th on the depth chart, but he's a draft pick, too big, and moves pretty well(I haven't actually seen him, but I've listened to Andy Herman talk about him, so this isn't a hill I'd argue on). 

TE- Maybe Wilson, but I don't know. I think this is a position battle between Sims and Davis and it's similar to Wilson in that you could get one through to waivers or start the year with just 2 TEs on the active roster and promote there as well.

DE- Cox is one of the few I'd say could really be a significant contributor. 

So I'd go Emanuel Wilson, Brenton Cox, the 3rd QB, a couple of the WRs and the OL has a couple of players they need to keep. I'd guess they'd like to keep 10.

 

It's a deep roster...and they'll need at least 3TDs, 5 LBs on gamedays, but just two places I think they can play the PS game. I'd be protecting Wilson(Eric) if you were to put him on the PS(assuming you're confident he'd go unclaimed and I'd think he would). 

[BrewerFan]

4 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Wilson is what Wilson is at this point; he has no upside left.  But who do you have at LB over him?  Going with 4 LBers is too risky especially since Hopper is basically in a red-shirt year.  Wilson isn't a great starter, but he is a decent backup and a good ST player.   The last two years he was active every game he was healthy (or pretty close if not).

You can activate him(and I'm assuming they would) from the PS the first...3 games I believe. By that point, just given the way the season goes, you're not going to have the same roster crunch and you can elevate him.

The only risk is if another team wants him and I think you're safe there.

So he'd be the #4 LBer and a key STs player, just starting on the PS. 

I'm not saying go with 4 LBs for the games though. Same with TE. I think you could get one of the TEs on the PS, do the same. I don't think there'd be a lot of demand for Sims or(I'm blanking right now). 

Almost every year the initial 53 looks a little weird and overbalanced at some positions. It could just be a chance to put Lloyd on IR(which I don't know if that's necessary, but hypothetically). 

 

4 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

So Bakhtiari is still a FA out there.  I'm not sure what he is expecting or hoping for at this point, but given out backup Ts are bad right now, I wonder if he'd consider a vet minimum for a 1 year prove it year?

Hard to be an LT icon for a team and come back as a backup, but... I'd happily give him a shot right now. 

If Bakh is able to play, I think he's shown he's still an upgrade. He may still be better than Tom.

I'm all for bringing him back. I don't know if he'd come back on the minimum, but maybe an incentive-laden deal? That's a move that IF he's healthy, if this surgery to re-grow cartilage actually worked and he can play ~12 games, that transforms our OL IMO. That's well worth the risk.

The Packers would probably be in the best position to know where he stands after looking at his the MRIs or whatever they'd need.

 

This is a wildly unpopular idea with the fans though! I've thrown this out on other forums and it does not go over well. I get it, he got paid and then couldn't really play and it was frustrating...I guarantee it was more frustrating for him as he was on a HOF trajectory. 

I don't think it'll happen unless there's an injury and he's healthy, but I'm all for it. 

[HarveysWBs]

On 8/14/2024 at 4:15 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

I have to say seeing Carlson sitting 80% and Joseph sitting 83 % this deep into TC has me all sorts of: "What the heck are we doing here?" This just feels like an unnecessary recipe for disaster yet again. I will be entirely unsurprised if they ultimately go the route of cutting both and signing a roster cutdown veteran. They've done it before with punters. Do I find it likely? No. BUT, do I want to move on from this 'competition'? Absolutely yes. Now, this being said, nobody missed in the actual games. Perhaps that's more important but, man, I would just love to have a Justin Tucker 😅

Seriously. If this team rosters a kicker that can only muster a low-80s make percentage and we go out in the playoffs because of a missed field goal(s), so help me Gute...

It isn't the 1990's anymore, no one should have to live this way.

UPDATE: And then I go look up Crosby's career percentage and it was...

*pause for dramatic effect*

81.3%!

What do I know? Apparently very little.

[CheeseheadInQC]

7 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

This would assume you only go with 2 QBs. Gute has said he wants to go with 3(or insinuated he'd like to keep 3). Pratt's the guy...I'd think, but Clifford looked really good last year, 5th rd pick, he's mobile and he was good vs Cleveland. 10 of 19 is misleading as there were a couple of drops and then he made some smart decisions on throw-aways. 

RB-I guess Dillon is the guy I'd be the most alright with losing(cutting), but Wilson is the obvious choice. Two locks, one semi-lock(sans IR, but he'd still need to be on the original roster and you'd still have to expose another player). 

At WR you'd have Melton, Duboseand and Heath. I think all have more upside. Melton looked like a legit, well-rounded WR last year, a ,really tough blocker in spite of his size. Just reminded me of Driver. Dubose is big and athletic and Heath is a great gunner, a good, physical blocker and catches the ball in traffic. This is a guy who was active as a rookie for the Packers at the end of the year in the playoffs. 
OL I think Jones would count. I think Glover's going to make the team. He may be 4th on the depth chart, but he's a draft pick, too big, and moves pretty well(I haven't actually seen him, but I've listened to Andy Herman talk about him, so this isn't a hill I'd argue on). 

TE- Maybe Wilson, but I don't know. I think this is a position battle between Sims and Davis and it's similar to Wilson in that you could get one through to waivers or start the year with just 2 TEs on the active roster and promote there as well.

DE- Cox is one of the few I'd say could really be a significant contributor. 

So I'd go Emanuel Wilson, Brenton Cox, the 3rd QB, a couple of the WRs and the OL has a couple of players they need to keep. I'd guess they'd like to keep 10.

 

It's a deep roster...and they'll need at least 3TDs, 5 LBs on gamedays, but just two places I think they can play the PS game. I'd be protecting Wilson(Eric) if you were to put him on the PS(assuming you're confident he'd go unclaimed and I'd think he would). 

Couple of things. The NFL changed the "have to make the initial roster to be designated to return" rule, so that is not an issue.

On the practice squad thing:

1. Several players whose primary value is on special teams were claimed last year, including one by the Packers, so there is no guarantee they make it through waivers.

2. There is no guarantee they re-sign with the Packers practice squad vs. another team's.

3. Protecting a practice squad player, if I remember correctly, only prevents mid-to-late week signings. Everyone is still fair game on Monday.

4. You only get so many call-ups before you have to keep them on the roster. You better have several you feel comfortable streaming if that is the plan.

5. Thanks to injuries, Wilson is the third best linebacker with more than minicamp experience at this point. I can't see them going with just four there.

I'm doubting Glover makes the team at this point. The whole "Green Bay keeps all their picks" thing is overstated (they cut two last year) and I can't remember a draft pick I heard less about in camp than Glover. If they keep 10, which I doubt, it probably means they still have hopes for Telfort or Jones and Jennings manages to somehow win a roster spot in two weeks worth of practice.