Do the Packers have the 2nd best roster in the league?

[Deleted member 6794]

Not on board with the first part, but that's subjective. The team stats are almost identical to the individual numbers that I gave, so I'm not sure if I need to argue with you or agree.

Of course I wanted to post that a total of four returns doesn´t offer a meaningful sample size. Sorry, my bad.

In the last 3 years, TT has filled holes at LT, CB, S, C, and #3 WR. Hopefully he has filled some DB and QB depth as well with this last draft. There are still weak spots on the roster - OLB, DE, TE, and OL Depth are all still concerns. You can't fill all your holes and you can't tell for sure where holes are going to spring up each year. I think TT purely drafts BPA and it becomes a matter of luck that one of the BPAs is at a position of need.

I think there is a possibility that they had Ryan rated higher than his draft slot. I certainly thought he would probably be gone by our pick in the 3rd. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do.

The Packers should be fine at OLB this season but with Peppers turning 36 years old in January and Neal and Perry becoming free agents it could be a position in dire need of an upgrade next offseason. In addition I´m fine with the depth on the offensive line. Mike Daniels is a great defensive end but I agree that the team needs someone to step up on the left side.

While Thompson has addressed the cornerback position in this year´s draft it remains to be seen how it will work out opposite of Shields. It seems the Packers had Ryan rated higher than his draft position and I would be excited if he´s capable of improving the position.

 

[Half Empty]

Hey, I've found my first person to ignore, and with only four posts in.

 

[RRyder]

Worth mentioning that when he drafted Hawk, the Packers played a 4-3 defense (so the MLB is more important) and Hawk was widely considered to be a future perennial All-Pro at MLB. I think the Hawk pick was more an outlier than anything else. Scheme has changed and I just think Thompson thought Hawk would be Ray Lewis/Urlacher (different player than Urlacher but as impactful).

Uhmmmm guys. Hawk wasn't drafted to be a MLB he was drafted as a OLB and played mostly at WLB with Barnett at the MLB spot.

Suprised so many people have forgotten what position he played before the switch to the 3-4

 

[D3uc3]

Well, the Packers can't lose to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.



It would really take a lot of time to figure out how succesful Thompson has been in drafting defensive players over his tenure compared to other GMs. The Packers haven't finished in the top 10 in overall defense since winning the Super Bowl though and changing that should be a major emphasis going forward.



Bucky Brooks made a ranking of NFL rosters without taking QBs into consideration with the Packers coming in at 8th.



NFL defenses lined up in subpackages on more than 60% of the snaps last season. With the Packers defense holding by far the highest average lead at the start of a drive in the entire league in 2014 opponents were forced to throw the ball more often and Capers was probably fine with giving up time consuming drives while trying to prevent big plays. That's why he lined up in subpackages more often.



The Packers defense spent an average of 29:27 minutes per game on the field (more than 11 other teams). They could have prevented to stay on the field by forcing some more three and outs or punts, to blame the offense is wrong IMO.
I agree the defense wasn't that great but any Packers fan who watched last season, in a few games such as Buffalo where the offense struggled.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I agree the defense wasn't that great but any Packers fan who watched last season, in a few games such as Buffalo where the offense struggled.

There's no denying the offense struggled in some games vs. really good defenses. It's kind of unrealistic though to expect them to score 30+ points every single game so it would be nice if the defense could step up in games like these and win one for the team.