RealGM

Several roster battles - IF you had to choose between...

RB - wynn or lumpkin

FB - hall or kuhn

TE - humphrey or moore

OT - barbre or beno

DL - malone or soi

LB - thompson or hunter

S - smith or rouse

Lumpkin if he's healthy.

Hall. Better special teamer, pass catcher.

Moore - Bigger (6'6), better pass catcher, much more upside.

Toss up between Breno and Barbre.

Toss up between Malone/Soi.

My guess is that both Thompson and Hunter make it.

Smith - Seems a bit more consistent than Rouse.

The only two I have any real opinion on I guess would be Wynn over Lumpkin and Smith over Rouse. I have always kind of liked Wynn and have always disliked Rouse.

Wynn showed some real promise as a rookie and Rouse seems to make boneheaded plays (although you could argue smith calling out the Pats wasn't very smart, haha).

Guys - with all due respect -you flunk as GM. Gotta make hard decisions. No toss ups or both make it. Sure injuries and such could change things but if it was cut down day and you HAD to choose...

Wynn
Kuhn
Moore
Breno
Malone
Thompson
Rouse

Rouse is my other pick to have a breakthrough season.

eagle13 wrote:Guys - with all due respect -you flunk as GM. Gotta make hard decisions. No toss ups or both make it. Sure injuries and such could change things but if it was cut down day and you HAD to choose...

Why would we want to choose now when this question includes players that have yet to step on even a practice field for the Packers, Babre has yet to try it at RT, and Malone, Hunter, and Thompson likely will be playing new positions given the change in defense?

Sorry, but it strikes me as a dumb question to ask this soon besides i guess the Hall/Kuhn battle.

eagle13 wrote:Guys - with all due respect -you flunk as GM. Gotta make hard decisions. No toss ups or both make it. Sure injuries and such could change things but if it was cut down day and you HAD to choose...

I just can't speak intelligibly about the players that I put in the toss-up categories. Haven't seen quite enough of them. If I had to guess, I would say Breno is more likely to impress in camp (if healthy) and so is Malone, but I honestly don't have a strong feeling either way.

Dude - excuse me that this thread does not meet your high intellectual standards. Maybe you could just ignore that which is beneath you rather than insult.

What major additions do you expect? Maybe Carter and ???

Its called predicting. And I anticipate very few - if any - significant additions and that most of these will be the choice.

BTW how is the kuhn/hall choice any different? except that you already gave that opinion (apparently dumb) in another thread. Quinn Johnson could get hurt or bust making that choice mute also. So its no different than the others.

Its simple which player do you like better? Is that so hard?

DrugBust wrote:Rouse is my other pick to have a breakthrough season.

You and me both

To me, the most interesting camp battles will be:

Flynn vs. Brohm - I really expect Brohm to take a significant step forward and overtake Flynn this year.

#5 WR spot - Ruvell Martin is sure to get some heat from Jake Allen, Brett Swain, and Jamarko Simmons.
Simmons abusing Illinois and Vontae Davis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5DcT8bE ... re=related

Evan Moore vs. Humphrey - I really want Moore to win this. At 6'6, he has better hands (better red zone target) and, if he shows anything as a blocker, should beat Humphrey easily.

Right tackle - Lang, Meredith, Giacomini, Barbre, and Moll will all be considered there. Meredith probably has the most raw ability, but might be the least consistent at this point (excluding Bush).

Dime back - Pat Lee, Will Blackmon, Brandon Underwood, Joe Porter, and everybody's favorite: Jarrett Bush, are all candidates. One thing is certain: The back end of our secondary is stacked in terms of physical talent.

Wade-A-Holic wrote:#5 WR spot - Ruvell Martin is sure to get some heat from Jake Allen, Brett Swain, and Jamarko Simmons.
Simmons abusing Illinois and Vontae Davis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5DcT8bE ... re=related

I never saw Simmons play before, I've only read about him. I heard he was big, but when I saw this I thought I was watching a DE catch passes across the middle

Yeah, I'm excited to see what he can do in the red zone. Looks like the type of guy who can just box a corner out and then go up and get it.

eagle13 wrote:Dude - excuse me that this thread does not meet your high intellectual standards. Maybe you could just ignore that which is beneath you rather than insult.

What major additions do you expect? Maybe Carter and ???

Its called predicting. And I anticipate very few - if any - significant additions and that most of these will be the choice.

BTW how is the kuhn/hall choice any different? except that you already gave that opinion (apparently dumb) in another thread. Quinn Johnson could get hurt or bust making that choice mute also. So its no different than the others.

Its simple which player do you like better? Is that so hard?

Deep breathes there eagle, no need to get so bent out of shape

How do you expect people to make any kind of informed opinion on players that we've never even seen play before? Then you say to others

Guys - with all due respect -you flunk as GM. Gotta make hard decisions.

Do any GM's make decisions before ever watching a guy play or practice?

The Kuhn/Hall situation, fans actually got to watch them play a lot last year, not hard to have an opinion on them. I like Kuhn better as a FB, but didn't pay much attention if there was a sizable gap in their special teams play which may end up being the key factor in who stays. Same for Lumpkin/Wynn. We got to actually see both play, just to a lesser degree than Kuhn/Hall.

Outside of what's been said about Anthony Smith in the paper, how are we supposed to make a "hard decision" on him without seeing him play at all? Flip a coin and heads i think he'll look good in camp/exibition games, tails he'll look poor? Same for Evan Moore.

Who here has watched Brian Soi play before? Giacomini played a handful of snaps before getting hurt last year and Babre has played guard pretty much since being drafted. Without hearing any reports about how they both look at RT in camp and/or see them in some exibition games, what more beyond a pure flip of a coin guess would any fan at this point be able to form a reasonable opinion on who will be the better player this year at RT? I guess you could say Giacomini has a better shot to win the job because he has the more prototypical size you'd want at tackle and Babre supposedly isn't the brightest bulb in the room. Other than that at this point, what logical argument would anyone make for either guy besides pretty much guessing?

At least with our high draft picks, we've been able to watch them play in college quite a bit. They've also been analyzed closely by scouts and GM's around the league who commented on them. I've seen Johnson play when watching LSU and watched clips on the net, it's easy to see the guy is at least very good blocker.

Of the battles you listed,

Hall/Kuhn--I like Kuhn a bit better than Hall from watching them play, but that's strictly as a FB and special teams will be a huge factor. Hall is good in that area, but i didn't pay attention to how Kuhn was on ST.

Wynn/Lumpkin---I like Wynn's upside better than Lumpkin from what i've seen of the two

Humphrey/Moore---- Humphrey strikes me as pretty much just a guy. Don't remember seeing Moore play before, but i'll take a guess and choose him because he's taller. Special teams will be important for each, but i have no clue on if Moore can be or is a productive special teams player. Does anyone here know about his special teams ability? Don't know if Moore will be much of a blocker. Anyone here know if he should be a good blocker? ST and blocking ability likely could be the deciding factors given Lee/Finley should be the main pass catchers.

Malone/Soi-----I read Capers likes Malone as a good fit going from a 4-3 DT to a 3-4 DE. Beyond that and he has a nice body type for a 3-4 DE, what would anyone use for a basis to say he'd be a better fit for a roster spot than Soi who i doubt many or any fans have ever watched play before? I'll play along though and pick Malone since supposedly Capers in the past was intrigued by Malone as a 3-4 DE and it's hard to envision three NT's being kept unless Pickett starts at DE.

Thompson/Hunter--- Thompson i'd guess would make it over Hunter mainly because Ted used a 4th rounder on him. That said, Hunter has been a valuable special teams player and maybe the mix of being able to drop some weight and rush the passer from a stand up position would make him not suck as bad as a defensive player. Neither guy has ever dropped into coverage as a player. I'm curious to see how both look at OLB, but don't really know what to expect from either at this point.

Rouse/Smith----- Rouse i'm no fan of. He seems dumb, often takes terrible angles as a tackler, and is a long strider. That makes do for straight line speed, but he is stiff in the hips and doesn't change direction well. Smith i never paid any attention to while he was a Steeler besides that often shown clip of him running his mouth about guaranteeing a win vs the Pats and then he got roasted in the game. I'll take Smith simply because i don't like Rouse.

Wade-A-Holic wrote:
#5 WR spot - Ruvell Martin is sure to get some heat from Jake Allen, Brett Swain, and Jamarko Simmons.
Simmons abusing Illinois and Vontae Davis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5DcT8bE ... re=related

Thanks for the clip Wade, Simmons sure does look intriguing. Once he gets going after the catch, he looks like he can be tough to bring down.

As for Martin, i've always liked him. I really will be curious to see when he gets on a new team, will Ruvell be able to get say a 3rd WR role and put up some pretty nice numbers? I think he will.

El Duderino wrote:Malone/Soi-----I read Capers likes Malone as a good fit going from a 4-3 DT to a 3-4 DE. Beyond that and he has a nice body type for a 3-4 DE, what would anyone use for a basis to say he'd be a better fit for a roster spot than Soi who i doubt many or any fans have ever watched play before? I'll play along though and pick Malone since supposedly Capers in the past was intrigued by Malone as a 3-4 DE and it's hard to envision three NT's being kept unless Pickett starts at DE.

Thompson/Hunter--- Thompson i'd guess would make it over Hunter mainly because Ted used a 4th rounder on him. That said, Hunter has been a valuable special teams player and maybe the mix of being able to drop some weight and rush the passer from a stand up position would make him not suck as bad as a defensive player. Neither guy has ever dropped into coverage as a player. I'm curious to see how both look at OLB, but don't really know what to expect from either at this point.

I think that third nose tackle will probably be Jolly - certainly not a pure nose tackle, but able to play end or nose and can step in if Pickett or Raji gets hurt. Malone probably has a much better chance than Soi of making the cut.

I think Thompson and Hunter both make it. A lot of 3-4 teams carry between 8-10 linebackers, which for us could look like Kampman, Matthews, Hawk, Barnett, Thompson, Hunter, Poppinga, Chillar, Bishop, and Lansanah.

This one game has more highlights of Simmons than Jordy Nelson had his whole college career.

eagle13 wrote:Several roster battles - IF you had to choose between...

RB - wynn or lumpkin

FB - hall or kuhn

TE - humphrey or moore

OT - barbre or beno

DL - malone or soi

LB - thompson or hunter

S - smith or rouse

Wynn
Hall
Neither
Breno
Malone
Thompson
Rouse and Smith

eagle13 wrote:Guys - with all due respect -you flunk as GM. Gotta make hard decisions. No toss ups or both make it. Sure injuries and such could change things but if it was cut down day and you HAD to choose...

You do realize that these guys are brought into camp to compete and raise the level of their performance, right? The GM brought these guys in to play against one another and then let the coaches decide who is best by watching them... So the Packer's coach and GM cannot yet decide which one is best, but you are calling people incompitent for not being able to decide even before they can?

Wade-A-Holic wrote:

El Duderino wrote:Malone/Soi-----I read Capers likes Malone as a good fit going from a 4-3 DT to a 3-4 DE. Beyond that and he has a nice body type for a 3-4 DE, what would anyone use for a basis to say he'd be a better fit for a roster spot than Soi who i doubt many or any fans have ever watched play before? I'll play along though and pick Malone since supposedly Capers in the past was intrigued by Malone as a 3-4 DE and it's hard to envision three NT's being kept unless Pickett starts at DE.

Thompson/Hunter--- Thompson i'd guess would make it over Hunter mainly because Ted used a 4th rounder on him. That said, Hunter has been a valuable special teams player and maybe the mix of being able to drop some weight and rush the passer from a stand up position would make him not suck as bad as a defensive player. Neither guy has ever dropped into coverage as a player. I'm curious to see how both look at OLB, but don't really know what to expect from either at this point.

I think that third nose tackle will probably be Jolly - certainly not a pure nose tackle, but able to play end or nose and can step in if Pickett or Raji gets hurt. Malone probably has a much better chance than Soi of making the cut.

I think Thompson and Hunter both make it. A lot of 3-4 teams carry between 8-10 linebackers, which for us could look like Kampman, Matthews, Hawk, Barnett, Thompson, Hunter, Poppinga, Chillar, Bishop, and Lansanah.

I think Bishop will move up the LB depth chart this year. Might leap frog over Chillar and Poppinga.

blueedwards wrote:I think Bishop will move up the LB depth chart this year. Might leap frog over Chillar and Poppinga.

After the four probable starters I didn't put them in any particular order. Honestly, It wouldn't surprise me if Bishop challenged for a starting spot. Him being more impressive and a better fit inside in this defense than Hawk or Barnett isn't far fetched, and Capers is a fresh set of eyes who doesn't care where these guys were drafted or what they've done in the past.