Packers All Time 53 man roster

[Sanguine camper]

As long as we are waiting for the draft, now is a good time to evaluate the talent that has already played for the Packers. Following is my attempt to put together the best 53 man roster in team history. I've had the pleasure of watching most of the players from the late Lombardi years to today which biases my selection to the past 60 years and not the first 40 years of Packers players. I tried to base my selection on players who had at a minimum 5 to 6 really good seasons with the exception of punters and KR. I went with a tradional offense with a lead blocker FB since most of the Packers teams in the 20th century started a FB. The Packers are absolutely stacked at QB, WR, and Safety. Not so much at DT or OT. I couldn't really make a firm decision for the fourth OT. Is it Earl Dotson, Mark Tauscher or Greg Koch? Same for the final DT or ILB

Defense
Safety- Nick Collins, Willie Wood, Leroy Butler, Bobby Dillon
Cornerback -Herb Adderly, Charles Woodson, Willie Buchanon, Al Harris, Bob Jeter
ILB- Ray Nitschke, Cal Hubbard
OLB - Dave Robinson, CM3, Fred Carr, Bill Forrester
DE- Reggie White, Willie Davis, Ezra Johnson, KGB
DT- Henry Jordan, Kenny Clark, Dave Hanner, Bob Brown

Offense
QB-Rodgers, Starr, Favre
RB-Jim Taylor, Ahman Green, Tony Canadeo
FB- William Henderson, Clarke Hinkle
TE-Paul Coffman, Ron Kramer, Mark Chmura
WR-Don Hudson, James Lofton, Sterling Sharpe, Jordy Nelson, Davonte Adams, Billy Howton
C- Jim Ringo, Larry McCarren
G- Gale Gillingham, Jerry Kramer, Marco Rivera
OT-Forrest Gregg, Bahktiari, Chad Clifton, ?

K-Mason Crosby
P-Tim Masthey
KR-Desmond Howard

 

[Poppa San]

OT-Forrest Gregg, Bahktiari, Chad Clifton, ?

K-Mason Crosby
P-Tim Masthey
KR-Desmond Howard

Ken Ruettgers or Ron Kostelnik I would say Cal Hubbard based on his Canton data but you put him as a LB.

K - Jan Stenerud -- IIRC GB got him near the end of his career. Looking at his entire career he is a great one.
P-Craig Hentrich
KR- Travis Williams

Typically when I look into these "all-time" lists, I try to compare the player vs his peers of the same era. Todays stronger faster year round training athletes would dominate 50 years ago. Heck even "the fridge" from a generation back is only average sized today.

 

[Mondio]

i go back and forth between Crosby v Stenerud

Definitely take Hentrich

 

[Sanguine camper]

Some great players like Stenerud were left off the team because they played a relatively short portion of their career in Green Bay. Cal Hubbard played multiple positions but is credited with being a linebacker in the HOF. Agree, you have to judge players such as Hudson against their peers. Viewing Hudson highlights showed he was a man among boys at the time. His cutting ability and speed left guys in the dust. Some of the players from 50 years ago or more were great athletes and would adjust to the modern game. I have no doubt Adderly, Gregg and Nitschke would be great today.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I have no doubt Adderly, Gregg and Nitschke would be great today.

Nitschke would most likely be suspended more often than on the field in today's game

 

[El Guapo]

I was going to jump on the Craig Hentrich bandwagon as well. He didn't play here long due to free agency, but he's the best punter that I've ever seen in Green & Gold.

Tauscher was definitely better than Earl Dotson.

What about Josh Sitton at guard?

Where I differ from others about Don Hutson, is in how to view him as a WR. He really was an end (as they were all called at the time) that was just much faster & better at catching than he was blocking. He was a liability in the run game and terrible on defense. That said, he re-defined the position and was far and above any of his peers as a pass catcher. He wasn't good at his intended positions but he was great because he could score, which is the main goal. He's got to be on the list somewhere, so I guess WR is the correct spot.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Being that Hudson caught passes thrown to him and he wasn't lined up next to the tackle, his best position in today's football jargon is WR. While he did play defense, he's in the HOF mainly for his amazing ability at the time to separate and run past defenders. He scored a boatload of TD's because of his superior route running and speed that is evident from the grainy black and white highlights. Rated against his peers, he
was awesome. I like Josh Sitton about as much as Marco at guard. Both were really great players. It was a toss up IMO.

 

[OldSchool101]

i go back and forth between Crosby v Stenerud

Definitely take Hentrich

Ryan Longwell was pretty darn good also

66.8% career FG Stenarud
81.1% career FG Crosby
83.3% career FG Longwell

 

[Sanguine camper]

I picked Crosby because he had a longer career than Longwell even though their stats were similar and he had those two massive playoff kicks vs the Cowboys.

 

[lambeaulambo]

speaking of kickers...where is our favourite agitator to discuss kickers....cheese mansiere in London? lol

 

[Poppa San]

He was a liability in the run game and terrible on defense.

Terrible on defense?

In his final six seasons, he swiped 30 opposing passes. Often after scoring a touchdown, he would kick the extra point. In one quarter of a 1945 game, he caught four touchdown passes and kicked five PATs for an amazing 29 points.

 

[El Guapo]

He was too small and routinely got pushed around. I wasn't there of course, but what I read was that Curly had to change the defense. He did get picks because of his great hands, but that doesn't really tell the story.

 

[PikeBadger]

Nitschke would most likely be suspended more often than on the field in today's game

So would Jim Taylor.