There's a very weird group of #Packers who are CORE backups but have essentially no chance to start short of injury.
I wrote about them today on @TheLeapGB@twitter.com
There is a consensus top 4 (I would say top 5) in the NFL at QB right now.
If Jordan Love can be in the conversation after it -- and he can -- the #Packers can win the Super Bowl.
The #Packers used Cover 2 last year in part to protect their CBs, but also because they were good at it.
According to TruMedia Green Bay lead the league in EPA generated from Cover-2.
And only the Vikings created more turnovers in C2.
Xavier McKinney had 8 interceptions last year, second-most in the NFL.
Just ONE came on a play when the #Packers blitzed.
Not schemed-up chaos, just a wildly instinctive player who range and ball skills.
I know it might be hard to believe, but there was nothing fluky about the #Packers defense last year.
Plus why we might need to pump the brakes on the Wicks hype train.
Circling back on this idea the #Packers defense was held together by Xavier McKinney INTs:
From Week 9 through the playoffs, GB was 5th in EPA/play defensively and McKinney had 2 interceptions in that stretch.
If you fully exclude turnovers they fall to ... 5th
And I know everyone wants Dontayvion Wicks to be the #Packers answer to man coverage, but last year, Wicks was the least efficient WR in the NFL vs man.
His 5.3 YPC vs. man was the worst by a MILE among WRs.
Second-worst was Wan'Dale Robinson at 7.1 YPC.
Tucker Kraft was 4th in the NFL among pass catchers in reception % vs. man coverage last year via TrueMedia
You want the #Packers man beater?
He wears 85 on the field and blaze orange off it.
There's a group of #Packers who could either push for starting jobs this August and/or also be cut in the final 53.
We talk about those players today on @TheLeapGB@twitter.com in our latest player rankings list.
Really flew under the radar the #Packers defense went from 26th against the run by DVOA to 7th last year.
Also flew under the radar the T.J. Slaton, who finished 1st in ESPN's Run Stop Win Rate, walked out the door with no obvious replacement.
Seems like something.
Has anyone been to #RockyFlats South of #Boulder and North of #Golden #Colorado recently? We were there ten years ago when the bar was a #Packers bar and they used to sell these excellent T-shirts that said "I got #nuked at Rocky Flats" with a mushroom cloud in the background. I'm still mad at myself that I didn't buy one when we lived there.
Do they still sell those shirts?
There are a lot of #Packers fans who wish Green Bay's front office would stay as aggressive pursuing a title as teams in the NBA (like the Bucks).
But the NFL doesn't really work this way ... and there's crucial reasons for that.
Who knows who is really available but it’s time for the #Packers to find out.
Test the will of one of these teams with an unhappy pass rusher and make the big move for TJ Watt.
The #Packers are going to be in the mix for the NFC crown in 2025, but what players are part of their long-term core? Who can elevate them beyond where they’ve been?
And how big a superpower can their depth be?
How good does Jordan Love have to be for the #Packers to win a Super Bowl?
I discuss that question plus whether or not the Packers are being disrespected and a lot more with @BDPeacock@twitter.com and @WilliamsonNFL@twitter.com
I am fascinated by what the #Packers do with their OL: cross-train all their young players, throw a million things at them, and make them compete every rep.
@joethomas73@twitter.com joined me on the show today to explain why that's exactly how it should work.
It looks like Christian Watson could be back sooner than we expected and that has all kinds of ripple effects for the #Packers from rookie roles to potential trades and fast-tracking this Green Bay offense.
The #Packers have a star safety and a bunch of lunchpail guys in their secondary.
I understand why it's hard to believe they're a very good group ... but they are!
For all the focus and questions about Lukas Van Ness, the guy most likely to transform the #Packers pass rush this season is a different former first-round pick.
Don't freak out, changing presidents isn't going to actually change much for the #Packers.
