If you keep trading away draft picks. You're down 1 person that can help. 1 guy they couldn’t find.
Gutey likes speed on Defense. The guy that wears, under wear. Not Pads.
Hitters?- No. Tacklers? -No. IQ? - No. It’s the sleeper quality he’s attracted too.
So we're going to blame the Coaches right? The schemes that haven’t changed for 15 years now.
And a copy-cat system in the NFL. Forget the Dynasty. Gutey had his 3 years. Trust the Refs.
Critical needs- #1.
Safety- I don’t know why he drafted a safety, when a Veteran presence was his first fix. (AMOS)
So now after the Failures of Dix and Savage. Try to draft A hitter at SS. TWO! And get a vet a FS.
They don’t have to be First rd. Picks. Regardless- Don’t spend money on Amos. Try Nixon.
Critical Needs #2
Edge- Can’t fix it. Until you fix the DL. And now that we're picking around #15. Forget EDGE! LB is the better choice.
Because the next DC is going to scrap the 3-4-4. P. Smith and Gary, are now Questionable because of age and injuries.
Remember the best edge guys are gone by the 15 pick. OLbs are not!
Critical Needs #3
Tight End- We don’t have the Luxury of wasting a #1 on a TE. Truthfully; do you want Gutey wasting more picks, and money on a Te?
I don’t. He hasn’t got the TE position right since he was a GM. This draft is Deep at TE. My favorite is Kincaid-Utah .

Amos is 29. That’s a little early to be “showing his age” at a position in which careers are often longer than most on D. Moreover, he hasn’t looked consistently slow. At times, like his big take down last Monday, quite the opposite.

Savage looked decent till Barry arrived. Barry has changed how the safeties are used. Savage particularly, but Amos as well, don’t seem to be well suited. Amos is in a contract year and, unlike most, wasn’t extended despite good play until this year. Could it be that he just wants away from Barry?

Savage has just fallen off the cliff. Could that also be a morale issue? No one else has consistently thrived in this secondary either though. Amos and Savage aren’t alone. All have seemed worse than last year too, except Alexander who barely played then. Even he has seemed out of sorts.

The more I see, the more I think that Barry is perhaps not in synch with Gray and that it certainly looks like he’s not using players to their abilities and also not in a way that they are enthused by. Im concerned that what we are seeing is the product of the coaching. The lack of success only being an accelerant.

That’s one reason why I think it was particularly important to move on from Barry. That would have shed light on his role in this, if any. As it is, we are left guessing, but I find myself believing that the coach and scheme are the main drivers, not age. I think Amos rebounds away from Barry. Savage may do too.

Moreover, the general disarray or confusion extends beyond them it seems, to the entire backfield. Not an environment that suggests any will thrive, which lends support to the coaching being the common thread and primary cause.

This is why, sometimes, it’s positively harmful to retain failed leaders not merely for current results, for future player decisions. Barry should have been removed. When he is, for me all bets are off as to what Amos and Savage are worth. Whatever that is, it’s more than we are currently getting from them or their colleagues.

It was nice while it lasted at the safety position.

After years of Clinton-Dix not wanting to tackle (despite some splash plays and INTs), and years of draft busts like Jerron McMillian, Josh Jones, etc.....I will NEVER understand why on the Earth the Packers let Micah Hyde walk.

They didn't even bother to make an offer. So the one freakin' time we find a safety in the draft (in the 5th round no less) -- the Packers let him walk. He's been named 2nd Team All-Pro twice and to the Pro Bowl once since being on the Bills. Maybe he didn't have a great RAS score or 40 time, but boy could he play the position like a veteran, he could return punts and kick-offs, but for whatever reason, the Packers did not appreciate that or recognize his value.

Asked TT about no offer for Micah Hyde: "Micah is one of my all-time favorites. Sorry it didn’t work out. We’re happy he seems to be happy." - Ted Thompson, March 2017 source: @ByRyanWood (Twitter)

In spite of that, I was pleased with the Adrian Amos signing. He gave us 3 really good years and 1 very mediocre year this year. Savage seemed to have the off the charts athleticism the Packers always like, but for whatever reason, the mental side never caught up.

Per Bleacher Report, I found some interesting stats:

Pro Bowl rates among first-round picks, 25-year sample:
Position Drafted Pro Bowlers Pro Bowl rate
S 35 18 51.4% - ranked 1st (highest hit rate)
TE 28 13 46.4% - ranked 2nd (for hit rate)
CB 91 35 38.5% - ranked 8th

So the sad irony here is that Safety and TE have the first and second highest hit rates as 1st round picks for becoming Pro Bowlers.

TE: Everyone's looking for the next Jimmy Graham. He's a unicorn. Mark Andrews (1st rounder) and Travis Kelce (3rd rounder) are outliers. TE is simply a crapshoot, so I'm glad the Packers haven't blown any 1st rd picks on a TE.

Corner: It's obvious the Packers love high RAS scores and athleticism at this position. Guys who are fluid and sudden in their movement, good ball skills, etc. What' inexplicable is how Stokes can play so well as a rookie, but then regress in his 2nd season.

Corners who play in press, what you can't do in the NFL - is a tendency to rock back on their heels as their first reaction to a receiver's move when playing press. Corners can get away with that in college, but not in the NFL. There are just certain things college corners can get away with, but the NFL is just another level and it generally takes time to adjust to the higher level play, and assumes there's quality coaching in place as well.

The Packers have historically always looked for ball-hawks and not players who are fundamentally sound or have great instincts. There are 2 safety prospects i am especially fond of in this draft, Brian Branch of Alabama and JL Skinner of Boise St, both of whom would profile best at SS

Branch is one of the most fundamentally sound safeties you can find. He is an amazing tackler (nfl draft buzz gives him a 100 tackling rating) and he is great in coverage. He doesn't make a lot of big plays (interception wise), but he does his responsibilities and does them extremely well. Very consistent, and he reminds me a lot of Adrian Amos in his prime. He can also play every position in the secondary, which the Packers may find attractive.

Skinner is my personal favorite Safety prospect. At 6'4, 220 lbs, he is a beast, and can intimidate smaller receivers. He's got long arms, too, which he uses to make plays. He is a good, not great tackler, and delivers strong, hard hits, but what I like most about him are his instincts. Look at Tariq Woolen, the Seahawks' rookie CB who leads the NFL in interceptions. He had great instincts coming out of college. You see those same play-making instincts with Skinner, evidenced by him making 4 picks.

In 2018 the Packers had the 14th pick and could have selected Derwin James, but traded with New Orleans to get an extra pick. The Packers made out okay by selecting Alexander who has been a great cornerback for us. James has made every pro bowl since he was drafted and seems to be on a hall of fame path thus far in his career. But I'm certainly satisfied with Alexander and can't imagine what out backfield would look like without him.

This just in - the Packers have extended Elgton Jenkins to a 4 year, 68m deal at an average of 17m yearly

News Flash! Acme Packer has reported that the Packers have extended Jenkins for 4 years for $68 million. Good move by the Packers.
TGR check it out when you get a chance. Thanks, Since '61

overall poor play by the entire secondary, has to be coaching cant be a coincidence they all forgot how to play football, even Alexander although he made the pro bowl he still has had an off year, hopefully Jim Leonhard ( my Christmas wish )brings in a new staff overall.

It is really hard to evaluate anyone on this current defense as long as Barry and his entire staff are in place. They all need to be let go at season's end. Let the new DC come in and hire his guys. After all Joe Barry and his staff made Zach Wilson look good. That is a tough trick to pull off.

Why can't the Packers draft better back-end defensive players? Good question, so I'll give three suggestions:

1) the front office and coaching staff aren't on the same page, i.e., drafting players that are better suited to man coverage and then expecting them to adapt to a lot of zone.

2) the front office being seduced by raw athleticism instead of fundamentals, instinct, proficient tackling ability.

3) this is somewhat speculative, but not differentiating between the offensive and defensive mentality; in the case of defensive players, you don't mind a little brashness and a chip on their shoulders. Enjoying contact and doling out punishment is a prerequisite (although this is obviously true for offensive players such as FBs and TEs). You want multiple players with leadership ability who are able to coalesce the unit into one that's determined not to be beaten.

I have always really liked & appreciated this website but the negative articles of doom and gloom are getting a bit old. I know you need to be objective but you paint a much dire about this organization than currently exists, How about letting Gutey's draft classes fully develop before final determination is made. He has drafted Alexander on the corner who is an all pro and I for one believe Stokes will be a very serviceable CB as well. Savage appears to be a whiff but the Amos signing was very good but has probably ran its course. If your going to hold him accountable in your article maybe only go as deep as his draft year, he had nothing to do with Rollins, Randall, Dix, Jackson or Jones. Last years draft appears to have yielded 5-6 competent NFL starters .

Lets go in with a mind set and belief we can win the remaining 3 games and at least have a potential to get into the playoffs and address the offseason when it comes.

The biggest move this team can make in the offseason is ridding them out from under the horrendous Rodgers extension as much as possible and let Love grow with core of young WR group we now have.

GO PACK GO.

Total big picture....

Gutes overall (big picture look) 2nd round - 7th round picks have been abysmal. With round 3 seemingly being non existent.

You'd have better luck blindfolded throwing a dart at a draft board in the 3rd round.

There is also the question as to why the Packers seem to hire incompetent assistant coaches, and then expect good results. And that the talent evaluators on the team seem to miss on what players can perform their jobs at a high level, and who can't. The OL was abysmal for the first few weeks of the season, until they put in guys who were obviously better from seeing them in the pre-season. Why did they stick with Amari Rodgers as a returner, long after they must have known he couldn't effectively handle those duties? This just scratches the surface of some of the head scratching decisions this team has made, and continues to make.

Watching the steelers who should have a so so team but still in the playoffs because they drafted well. Look at the names on the defense and they were all early first round picks who were standouts at top colleges.
That is what separates the Packers, we won and ended up at the end of the first round where lets be honest the pickings are slim for great defensive players.
There are seven top defensive players on the steelers who keep them in games. our defense is horrid compared to them. Its all about bundling picks to move into the early first round and getting quality.

"Now let's review the pathetic rogues gallery of Savage, Kevin King, Josh Jackson, Josh Jones, Damarious Randall, Quniten Rollins, Ha Ha, etc."

Ha ha etc. How fitting!