H
HardRightEdge
Guest
That's an interesting read. A couple of things stand out for me:
"The multipositional knowledge that players like the Smiths possess is also valuable for another reason. It allows Pettine to grant them the autonomy to line up wherever they please in certain packages. Before the snap, almost on a whim, Preston can tell Za’Darius that he feels better about the right side or the left. “That’s rare,” Za’Darius says."
That's the kind of thing that makes a rookie season difficult. Veteran chemistry isn't just QBs and WRs.
"The front office gave [Pettine] a list of 15 or so [edge rusher] names being considered, and as Pettine and outside linebackers coach Matt Smith went through, two stood out above the rest: Preston and Za’Darius Smith. “We made our recommendations, and it was funny,” Pettine says, “as a coach you just figure, we’re just gonna sign one.”
Free agency aside, the idea of allowing a coordinator to pick from a list of players sounds foreign to the Thompson way of doing business.
"According to Martinez, every member of the defensive starting lineup has spoken up at one point or another during practice. The Packers used to be defined by a few scattered voices; now, they have an 11-man chorus that works together in unison. 'It’s never been like that,' Martinez says. 'It’s always kind of been one guy saying something, and after Week 8, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this dude keeps saying the same stuff over and over again. Whatever.’ Now every person wants the same thing.”
I would guess that one guy was Daniels because that had been my reaction.
