Lee » Packer Update

Ted’s best and worst of 2010

Posted by Michael Rodney at 1:35 pm 9 Responses »

Dec 312010

Rookie corner has played well

When a football team places 14 players – including six starters – on IR during the season and still has a chance to win 10 games, it’s going to be hard to find fault with the work of the general manager. That’s why it took us twice as long to come up with Ted Thompson’s five worst moves of the year as it did to come up with his five best. Here they are:

Best

1) Signing Sam Shields and Frank Zombo – Two rookies nobody wanted on draft weekend have wound up playing significant roles for one of the league’s top defenses. Thompson paid a combined $11,000 for Shields and Zombo. As it turned out, he could’ve spent first and fourth round picks on the two and nobody would be batting an eye today.

2) Not trading Desmond Bishop – Thompson turned down a number of offers for his No. 4 inside inebacker during the spring and summer. By fall, Bishop was starting. By winter, he was one of the best players on defense. By next spring, he’ll be a very rich young man – either in Green Bay or someplace else.

3) Signing Charlie Peprah – Thompson’s only free agent signing elicited nothing but yawns in April. Six months and 10 solid starts later, it deserves a big thumbs up. And even though Peprah is probably only keeping the seat warm for young Morgan Burnett, he has proven to be an upgrade over Atari Bigy.

4) Claiming Howard Green – Thompson seldom adds veterans to the roster during the season, but he deviated from form and claimed the 31-year-old off waivers from the Jets in late October. The journeyman has proven to be a godsend after Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins missed substantial time with injuries.

5) Keeping Daryn Colledge – It would’ve been easy to dump Colledge after his poor ’09 season, but Thompson decided to hold on to the veteran guard. It was a wise decision. Colledge has enjoyed a bounce back year and his value to the team became evident when he was injured a few weeks ago in Detroit.

Worst

1) Not finding a return man – We’ve been begging Thompson to acquire a legitimate returner for years, but he continues to accept mediocrity at this important position. Even worse, Green Bay was forced to use Shields and Tramon Williams on returns. Neither has been good, so the reward hardly equaled the risk.

2) Not drafting an outside linebacker - The three most important positions in a 3-4 are nose tackle and outside linebacker. The Packers are set at nose tackle (B.J. Raji) and at left outside linebacker (Clay Matthews), but they’re just fooling themselves with Zombo and Brad Jones. As impressive as Matthews and the defense have been this season, both will be that much better once this need is finally filled.

3) Not signing Ryan Torain – Thompson needed to add a running back after Ryan Grant got injured and he chose rookie Dimitri Nance over veteran Ryan Torain. The former spent nearly three months learning the offense before finally getting on the field. The latter, who impressed Green Bay officials in a workout in Nov. 2009, signed with the Skins and has rushed for 681 yards (4.7 average) and scored 6 TDs.

4) Not acquiring picks – Five players released by the Packers on Sept. 4 were claimed off waivers within 48 hours. Thompson almost certainly could’ve picked up a late draft choice or two had he been willing to make trades a week or two prior to cutdown day. Instead, fearing injuries, he played it conservative and got nothing in exchange for commodities that proved to be in demand around the league.

5) Keeping Donald Lee over Spencer Havner – Like the one above, this was hardly a huge mistake (it ain’t easy coming up with worst moves). Still, it was obvious during training camp that Lee had next to nothing left. And while Havner is hardly the second-coming of Jason Witten, he would’ve offered more in the passing game after Jermichael Finley went down. He also would’ve helped more on special teams.

Tale of the tape at tight end

Posted by Michael Rodney at 1:04 pm 4 Responses »

Aug 132010

Numbers add up to Quarless making the final roster

The battle to capture the two or three roster spots behind Jermichael Finley is as close today as it was 15 practices ago. In fact, with the surprisingly strong showing of little-known Tom Crabtree, things are even more competitive than anticipated. The following is a detailed breakdown of Crabtree, Spencer Havner, Donald Lee and rookie Andrew Quarless – based on their past performances and their current work in training camp. We analyzed and graded the tight ends in five categories – blocking, hands, intangibles, play making ability and route running.

BLOCKING: Crabtree has been impressive in one-on-one drills. He takes a lot of pride in this part of the job and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the preseason (7). Havner‘s blocking isn’t bad for an ex-linebacker, but he’ll need to improve dramatically now that he’s a full-time tight end. He still struggles to sustain and keep his feet (5.5). Lee‘s never going to be a road-grader, but he can positional-block and steer defenders. This is the part of his game that could keep him around in September (8). Quarless has been OK in one-on-ones, but he’ll probably look better once the real bullets start to fly. He was a solid in-line blocker at Penn State who often moved defenders off the line (7.5).

HANDS: Crabtree is more of a blocker than a receiver at this point. He simply drops too many passes (5). Havner has surprisingly good hands for a former linebacker. However, he’s a bit tight-shouldered and does not have a great catching radius (7.5). Lee has been more sure-handed this summer than he was last season, but he still bodies the ball too frequently (6.5). Quarless‘ hands were a huge problem at the NFL Combine and during the offseason, but he’s been slightly more reliable this summer (6).

INTANGIBLES: Crabtree is young, hungry and cheap. Those are three things every team is looking for in a third or fourth tight end. On the other hand, the fact that h’s eligible for the practice squad probably hurts his chances of making the final roster (5). Havner showed potential last season and he’s effective on special teams, but he’s had a quiet summer after missing the entire spring with a broken shoulder. His ability to play linebacker in an emergency works in his favor (6). Lee has long been one of coach Mike McCarthy’s favorite players. He’s a leader who’s willing to do whatever is asked of him. His age and salary are negatives (7.5). Quarless is a talented fifth-round pick, so he’ll have to play his way off the roster. There’s no better intangible than that (8).

PLAY MAKING: Crabtree runs under 4.8, but he doesn’t play that fast. He may not possess the speed to separate downfield or the athleticism to make people miss after the catch (5). Havner has marginal speed and foot quickness, but he’s a bit niftier with the ball in his hands than expected. He also showed a nose for the end zone last season (6.5). Lee flashed some play making ability when he first came to Green Bay, but those days are long gone. His 7.4 yards per catch average since 2008 is proof of that (5.5). Quarless is easily the backup tight end with the most potential to make big plays. He showed that in last week’s scrimmage by getting behind the linebackers and into the end zone. Unfortunately, it’s only a big play if you make the catch (7).

ROUTE RUNNING: Crabtree is too mechanical when running his routes. Whether that’s due to inexperience or a lack of athleticism is difficult to tell, but it could be a combination of both (6). Havner is fairly precise with his patterns, but he’s not a sudden mover or quick into and out of his routes (7). Lee‘s experience makes him a polished route runner, but he lacks burst to separate out of breaks. That’s why so many of his catches are contested (7.5). Quarless can get a little lazy with his routes at times and he’s still thinking too much, but he’s improved dramatically at this part of the game since May (6.5).

OVERALL: Lee (35) and Quarless (35) finished with the most points. Havner was third (32.5), and not surprisingly, Crabtree (28) came in last. But with numerous practices and four preseason games left before final cuts, anything can happen to change the pecking order.

-Mike Tahan and Ted Norman contributed to this post.

Not enough bang for the buck

Posted by Michael Rodney at 9:05 am 19 Responses »

Jul 252010

Bush beaten again. Thompson is paying $4.5 million for this?

General manager Ted Thompson has been prudent when it comes to spending money. Long gone are the days of handing lucrative long-term extensions to broken-down veterans and lavishing millions of dollars on other team’s castoffs. Instead, Thompson has rewarded players on his own roster – usually with contracts that ultimately proved to be fair for both sides. The deals given to Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Nick Barnett, Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins are perfect examples of this. But Thompson hasn’t been infallible. He’s pulled a few “Shermans” of his own. Here are the six worst (in alphabetical order):

Jarrett Bush – Thompson didn’t actually pay the backup corner $4.5 million over three years. The Titans did (in the form of an offer sheet), but he chose to match it on Mar. 16, 2009. To be fair, quite a few teams were interested in Bush when he hit the restricted free agent market. Then again, none of those GMs had the opportunity to watch him up close and personal for three years.

Brandon Chillar – Since his four-year, $21 million extension was signed only seven months ago, is it fair to already call it a mistake? After watching the veteran linebacker for the past two seasons, the answer is a resounding yes! Chillar’s a versatile defender and a core special teams player, but $21 million? It’s hard to imagine that he could’ve made anything close to that amount on the open market.

Bubba Franks – One of Thompson’s first moves as GM turned out to be one of his worst. On Aug. 24, 2005, he put an end to the tight end’s month-long holdout by handing him a seven-year deal worth $28 million. The money seemed awfully high for a player coming off two fairly pedestrian seasons. Nevertheless, nobody could’ve predicted just how little Franks had left in the tank. He was gone three nondescript seasons later.

Donald Lee – The tight end was signed as a street free agent in September of 2005 and quickly began splitting snaps with Franks. Thompson gave him a four-year extension worth $11 million on Nov. 5, 2007. Since that day, Lee has averaged fewer than 8 yards per reception.

Marquand Manuel – The safety was given a four-year contract worth $10 million to leave Seattle as a free agent on Mar. 14, 2006. He played one disappointing season with the Packers before being unceremoniously dumped at the end of training camp in 2007. It’s still hard to believe that Thompson could be so wrong on a player he knew so well. The pair was together in Seattle for two seasons.

Brady Poppinga – The journeyman was handed a four-year deal worth $13.5 million on July 24, 2008. He did nothing to merit such a deal prior to that and he’s done nothing to justify it since. Thompson, who toiled as a fringe backup linebacker and core special teamer for 10 years in the NFL, seems to have a soft spot for Poppinga – a try hard but physically limited player himself.

These six players were awarded contracts totalling approximately $87 million. And while that’s not much bang for the buck, it doesn’t look so bad when you consider that former GM Mike Sherman once spent $59 million on defensive linemen Joe Johnson and Cletidus Hunt. Say what you will about Bush, Chillar, Franks, Lee, Manuel and Poppina, but none has left or figures to leave town with their tail between their legs. At least Thompson spent unwisely on quality human beings and not losers who were more interested in getting high than getting sacks.

Three’s too much company at FB

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:51 am 10 Responses »

Jul 232010

Hall is one of three fullbacks likely fighting for two jobs

Hall is one of three fullbacks likely competing for two jobs

Fans and members of the media were shocked when Green Bay decided to keep three fullbacks on the active roster last season. At a time when many teams have only one player at the position, holding on to John Kuhn, Korey Hall and rookie Quinn Johnson seemed excessive. But there proved to be a logical reason behind the move – Johnson simply wasn’t ready to play and GM Ted Thompson didn’t want to risk placing him on the practice squad. Ironically, this exact scenario could unfold again this summer – albeit at a different position.

Don’t be surprised to see Green Bay keep four tight ends on the 53-man roster in 2010. Barring something unforeseen like an injury or a trade, it’s hard to imagine Donald Lee, Spencer Havner and rookie Andrew Quarless not making the team. Lee is vastly overpaid at $2 million, but he’s long been one of coach Mike McCarthy’s favorite players. And while the 29-year-old clearly regressed as a receiver last season, he does provide capable blocking and a willingness to throw his body around on special teams. Havner literally hurt his chances to make the team by breaking his shoulder in a motorcycle accident a few months ago, but as long as he’s healthy in time for training camp, it’s hard to imagine him not sticking around. The former linebacker showed potential in his first year on offense, and at age 27, he should only get better.

The wild card in the equation is Quarless. Since teams rarely release talented fifth-round draft picks (don’t tell Jamon Meredith that), he’ll have to play his way off the roster. Based on his work during the offseason, that could happen. The former Penn State star dropped way too many passes, and truth be told, he didn’t look nearly as athletic as advertised. Still, he’s far more talented than either Lee or Havner, so as was the case with Johnson a year ago, it’s unlikely that Thompson would risk sending him to the practice squad.

Should all four tight ends manage to make the team, one of the fullbacks will almost certainly have to go. Conventional wisdom points to either Kuhn or Hall being the odd man out since they are very similar players. And while that’s probably how things will work out, don’t hand Johnson a roster spot just yet. The former LSU star, who will never be as good on special teams as either Kuhn or Hall, didn’t have an overly impressive offseason. That said, he appears to be one of those players who’ll always look better in pads than he does in shorts. That’ll need to be true if he wants to keep his No. 45 jersey because the competition will be fierce and the days of collecting fullbacks appear to be over.

Raji’s back where he belongs

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:54 pm 6 Responses »

May 202010

Organized Team Activities (OTAs) are usually noteworthy more for who’s not there than for anything that actually happens on the field, but that wasn’t the case yesterday. Some big news came out of Wednesday’s practice and it had absolutely nothing to do with no-shows Atari Bigby, Johnny Jolly and Tramon Williams. The team has decided to move Ryan Pickett to left defensive end – a decision that will allow B.J. Raji to take his rightful place as the starting nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers. No disrespect to Pickett, who did a solid job in the middle last season, but Raji has a chance to be one of the NFL’s premier nose tackles and it was almost sad to see him flailing away at end as a rookie. Here’s some more news and notes from practice:

-In another position change, Will Blackmon will move from cornerback to safety. This makes sense for a couple of reasons. One is that the former Boston College star has undergone surgery on his foot and his knee, so he’s probably lost some speed and quickness. The other far more important reason is that he couldn’t cover anybody at corner.

-Journeyman Brady Poppinga lined up ahead of second-year man Brad Jones at left outside linebacker. The guess here is that the defensive coaches simply want to see if Poppinga is worth keeping around for another season. If the former BYU star is starting on Sept. 12 at Philly, general manager Ted Thompson will have a lot of explaining to do.

-Rookie Morgan Burnett started alongside Nick Collins at safety. The former Georgia Tech star has a chance to keep that job if he performs well. Don’t think for a second that the coaches are satisfied with Atari Bigby’s play or his decision to stay away from the OTAs.

-Patrick Lee was back on the field. The oft-injured cornerback saw most of his work in the nickel packages, but he’ll move ahead of Jarrett Bush, and perhaps even Brandon Underwood, by the time camp opens in late July. When healthy, Lee’s skill-set is far more impressive than that of any other young corner on the current roster – including Williams.

-While both punters were OK, neither one jumps out at you. There are some punters who you just know are going to be quality pros the first time you see them kick, but that’s not the case with either second-year man Tim Masthay or former Australian star Chris Bryan. For what it’s worth, ex-Packer Jon Ryan was more impressive upon first glance.

-It’s amazing how much bigger the offensive line has gotten over the past two or three years. Instead of a bunch of bulked-up tight ends masquerading as tackles and guards, players like Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and rookies Bryan Bulaga and Marshall Newhouse actually look like players who could physically whip the opponents lined up across from them.

-Green Bay can develop Breno Giacomini for another 10 years and he still won’t be a quality tackle. He lacks functional football-playing strength, he’s not quick enough to stay with speed rushers and he’s not strong enough to stymie power rushers. Other than that, he’s fine.

THE KIDS HAVE TO BE ALRIGHT

Posted by Michael Rodney at 2:05 am 4 Responses »

Apr 242010

KEY PLAYER

With the first three rounds of the draft now history, it appears as if the Green Bay Packers will have to make do in 2010 with primarily the same cast of characters at cornerback and outside linebacker that were on the roster in 2009. That certainly doesn’t mean all is lost, but it does mean that youngsters Brad Jones, Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood are going to have to grow up in a hurry.

By not franchising Aaron Kampman or adding a significant outside linebacker through free agency or the draft, GM Ted Thompson is showing an awful lot of faith in Jones. “They really like the kid,” said a person close to the situation. “The fact that he was able to hold his own as a 235-pound rookie really impressed the coaches – especially coordinator Dom Capers. The feeling is that Jones will be a more consistent pass rusher once he gains some size and upper-body strength. He already has plenty of athleticism and tenacity.”

Lee and Underwood will likely open camp as the No. 3 and 4 corners, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them stay in those roles for at least the early part of the season. “At least one of those young players is going to have to step up,” said the source, “and the coaches seem to have more faith in Underwood being that guy than they do Lee. In fact, they believe Underwood is a better prospect than any of the corners that will be drafted on Saturday.”

It’s hardly surprising that the organization has so much faith in its young players. After all, that’s how Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy have built the Packers over the past four years. And that philosophy has worked more often than not. “Thompson has tremendous faith in his coaching staff’s ability to get the young guys ready to play,” said the source. “He firmly believed that when it came to Nick Collins, Greg Jennings, Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews and he was proven correct.” Of course he also believed that when it came to Allen Barbre and Jeremy Kapinos, so you really never know.