Sam Barrington or Jamari Lattimore?

[FrankRizzo]

For Brad Jones, who do you want to see starting alongside AJ Hawk next week vs New Jersey?

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BARRINGTON: 6' 1", 240

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports the Packers "like the prospects" of second-year ILB Sam Barrington.
Barrington was the 232nd overall pick in last April's draft and played just one snap on defense before landing on injured reserve with a hamstring injury in November. We can't see the Packers liking him enough to start, however. He ran a 4.91 at the Combine and is just 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds. Apr 15 - 12:55 PM
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette

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LATTIMORE: 6' 2, 229

Brad Jones is expected to keep his starting job next to A.J. Hawk, but his role in base packages could be reduced. Lattimore made four starts filling in for Jones last year and was an upgrade against the run. He could see semi-regular snaps as a rotational player this season. The Packers were among the worst teams in the league at defending the run in 2013, allowing 125 rushing yards per game. Jul 5 - 2:36 PM
Source: ESPN.com

Good article about this hole> http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rs-a-scouts-take-on-linebacker-sam-barrington

My vote goes to the bigger stronger Barrington.
I don't know if he's going to be like Desmond Bishop was, who fans were calling for long before he got his chance.
But I do believe Sam is the most physical among those 3 (Lattimore, Jones, and him), that I believe he's our best chance to plug the middle of our defense with some physicality.

Brad Jones should have, finally, lost his job last night. If performance matters, it should be a no-brainer.
Or maybe his hamstring was the problem. If so, WTH was he in there then?

It's also why many mock drafts had us taking Mosley or Shazier. They were both gone though, but remember many of us wanted Borland in the 2nd round. SF took him later.

Anyway, what would YOU do with this for the Jets game?

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[Leather&Lacy]

Barrington, but move Hawk to MLB.

I just don't understand what the coaching staff sees in Jones.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I would like the Packers to give Barrington a chance vs. the Jets. Don't drop him in coverage though as he's not fast enough, he should be able to support the run defense though.

 

[easyk83]

I would like the Packers to give Barrington a chance vs. the Jets. Don't drop him in coverage though as he's not fast enough, he should be able to support the run defense though.

He kinda reminds of Desmond Bishop, very physical between the tackles.

 

[7thFloorRA]

Does this staff ever bench anyone? I feel like it doesnt happen often if ever and only injury or free agency gets a guy promoted. I want to say newhouse , who was only in for an injury to begin with, is the only guy they have made take a seat for poor play.

 

[easyk83]

Does this staff ever bench anyone? I feel like it doesnt happen often if ever and only injury or free agency gets a guy promoted. I want to say newhouse , who was only in for an injury to begin with, is the only guy they have made take a seat for poor play.

Raji got the bench in favor of Boyd last season.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

First, GB plays a 3-4 defence, so that means 3 down linemen and 4 linebackers . 2 linebackers play the 2 middle positions.
Second, with 3 down linemen, they take on more of the D-line duties. As a result, plugging the run gaps and leading the pass rush becomes an even more challenging job. That is why the largest man on 3-4 defence teams is so highly valued. Raji earned his new contract because he was solid in the middle of the line. With his injury, the D-line is not as good as it could be.
Third, the Linebackers are having to stop more of the runs in the A gaps. Also with TE's being covered by outside /inside Linebackers, the d-line play takes on even more importance. The most successful teams always have the best D-lines.

Debating the Linebackers is as valid as any other thread, but the truth is often more than missed/not missed tackles.
Are quality players being recruited ?
Are trades with other teams being explored ?
Is the Defensive Coaching staff do their jobs ?

I would agree that retaining quality players is not easy, but creative thinking and through research can do wonders .

 

[rodell330]

Jones is the worse starting linebacker in the NFL. The Drfense will continue to stink with him and Hawk both out there together... One has to sit down plain and simple. Should be jones.

 

[7thFloorRA]

Hawk is slow but he knows where he should be....he just can't always get there in time. Jones looks like he has no idea where the hell he is supposed to be at any time. I don't know what they see in him in practice that gets him on the field but he looks brutal when he is on the field.

 

[melvin dangerr]

Barrington, but move Hawk to MLB.

I just don't understand what the coaching staff sees in Jones.

cheap salary maybe?

 

[melvin dangerr]

would like to bench the head coaches maybe the assistants can be more creative and a lot less patience with repeat bad performers..

 

[Deleted member 6794]

cheap salary maybe?

Brad Jones signed a three-year, $11.75 million in 2013. His contract counts $3.925 million vs. the cap this season (10th highest on the team).

 

[Dblbogey]

Green Bay's coaches ( MM or is it Capers decision) fail to hold players accountable. Jones is a good example. He obviously is a weak link but they won't give someone else a shot. Maybe it's a salary thing, they are way overpaying Jones so he plays for that reason? They waited way too long to give Desmond Bishop a chance, and there are many other examples of not holding players accountable, and benching them when they consistently fail to perform.

 

[Einstein McFly]

People can grouse about the contract all they want, the problem is that Jones isn't playing as well as he did when he got that contract. He's never looked like Patrick Willis out there, but even times this preseason he's looked WAY better than he did in that game. MM said it was his quad injury, which is a perfect excuse to not be at your best but if you can't play better than that then start someone who's healthy for christsake. Jones has had lousy games in the past and then come back and played well when he was healthier, but until then we can't put him out there. I'd go with Barrington at this point, but I'm not a professional coach and I don't see what goes on in practice every day.

 

[adambr2]

People can grouse about the contract all they want, the problem is that Jones isn't playing as well as he did when he got that contract. He's never looked like Patrick Willis out there, but even times this preseason he's looked WAY better than he did in that game. MM said it was his quad injury, which is a perfect excuse to not be at your best but if you can't play better than that then start someone who's healthy for christsake. Jones has had lousy games in the past and then come back and played well when he was healthier, but until then we can't put him out there. I'd go with Barrington at this point, but I'm not a professional coach and I don't see what goes on in practice every day.

To be honest, my recollection is that most of us were saying WTF about the contract at the time he signed it.

I think most of us were pretty happy with the Morgan Burnett contract, which doesn't look too good anymore, and from what I see we are usually pretty happy with almost every Packer extension (Nelson, Lang, etc).

Jones was a definite exception to that, so it's not just hindsight. I think the general consensus was that it was a bad deal when signed.

 

[gopkrs]

Voted for Latimore but really ... try both of them. Jones had a so so year as a rookie at outside backer and never has been any better than that. I think Hawk could have a really good year if you put someone beside him that could play a little football. Sometimes I think the coaching staff gets so enamored with their draft picks that they have blinders on and give "their" guys the nod instead of playing the better player.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

GO PACK GO !!

 

[ExpatPacker]

Revisiting the 2014 draft, Chris Borland was available in round 3 although the Packers would have had to trade up 9 spots before SF took him at #77. Seems Borland is not only going to make the squad, but he has a chance to start in place of the injured Navarro Bowman. Meanwhile, the Packers took Khyri Thornton in round 3 and Carl Bradford in round 4. And they waited until the last game of preseason to try Bradford at ILB since he was doing nothing at OLB.

 

[7thFloorRA]

That really ****** me off. They could have had Borland but instead have 2 bad players that shouldn't be on an NFL roster.

 

[easyk83]

Green Bay's coaches ( MM or is it Capers decision) fail to hold players accountable. Jones is a good example. He obviously is a weak link but they won't give someone else a shot. Maybe it's a salary thing, they are way overpaying Jones so he plays for that reason? They waited way too long to give Desmond Bishop a chance, and there are many other examples of not holding players accountable, and benching them when they consistently fail to perform.

The coaching staff had good reason to wait on Bishop. The guy had a knack for making plays on the ball. But he was a little too impetuous with leaving his assignments.

 

[DaveRoller]

The coaching staff had good reason to wait on Bishop. The guy had a knack for making plays on the ball. But he was a little too impetuous with leaving his assignments.

Very true Bishop was far too aggressive and instinctive.

What this defensive staff values is being assignment sure. That apparently is why they love AJ Hawk so much.

What I have never been able to understand is why they assign AJ to avoid taking on blockers and instead to pile on a tackle 10 yards past the line of scrimmage on running downs and instruct him to stay 3-5 steps behind receivers on passing downs.

 

[rodell330]

Jones is garbage plain and simple. TT had a chance to take Borland but passed on him just like he had a chance to take Bobby Wagner and passed on him so.,, now you're stuck with sorry ilbs so it'll be another long season vs the run , we better all pray that the offense can carry is and we play with leads because if we get behind teams will run the ball down our throat plain and simple.

 

[rodell330]

jones couldn't do anything vs Seattle.. Couldn't cover or bring the boom in run support and this is the answer at ilb? Another over payed "starter" on this roster. He wouldn't start anywhere else

 

[DaveRoller]

Completely agree the top 2 inside linebackers were gone by the time the Pack's turn was up in the first round.

I also wanted no part of Chris Borland.

But I have to ask, knowing your returning starters at inside linebacker are Hawk and Jones is it not negligent to perhaps pursue a veteran to at least provide some competition for this dynamic duo?

I know Thompson disdains free agency, but man hearing about how we are going to wait until next year to "fix" the inside linebacker position sounds a lot like last year at this time when we had to wait until the 2014 draft to fix the pathetic safety play of Jennings & McMillian.

 

[Ogsponge]

Revisiting the 2014 draft, Chris Borland was available in round 3 although the Packers would have had to trade up 9 spots before SF took him at #77. Seems Borland is not only going to make the squad, but he has a chance to start in place of the injured Navarro Bowman. Meanwhile, the Packers took Khyri Thornton in round 3 and Carl Bradford in round 4. And they waited until the last game of preseason to try Bradford at ILB since he was doing nothing at OLB.

I am not sure how much he played or what he looked like but Borland had 1 tackle against the cowboys