April
Green Bay Packers Offseason Program Set to Begin Next Week
Packers OTAs to begin soon
While fans may have forgotten what an actual NFL offseason looks like thanks to last year’s lockout, the Green Bay Packers are set to begin their offseason program (OTAs) next week.
Teams with new head coaches, such as the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams, were able to begin their programs last week, but Mike McCarthy and crew won’t be able to begin until next Monday, April 16th. Before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed, teams were actually allowed to start their program’s in March.
Within the new CBA, the Packers have only 10 weeks to do their nine-week OTA program. The offseason program is only allowed to work players during the week, and only for four days of that week. For all the updated rules of the offseason program, ESPN did a fantastic job of laying it all out here.
So, what does this shortened period of time mean for a team like Green Bay? With less time than they’ve had in recent years, the shortened offseason program actually works against the Packers.
Considering the fact that Green Bay doesn’t generally bring in many players during free agency, these offseason workouts is where they do the majority of their growing and improving as a team. This is the first time that the key players from the roster can get together on the field and work through things. With less time, and the need to rush their time to fit it into such a small window, the Packers could see a drop in improvement as a whole during this program.
On the plus side, the 2011 draft class will have their first full program due to the rushed offseason from the lockout last year. With players like Randall Cobb, Alex Green, D.J. Smith and Vic So’oto all looking to make a larger impact during the 2012 season, having a full offseason workout could do wonders for their development.
Since the majority of the other NFL teams are in the same exact situation that the Packers find themselves in, it’s hard for Mike McCarthy to complain too much. He doesn’t have to like it, he just has to deal with it.
No Jenkins
No OTAs
No Neal
All led to a bad DL last year.
OTAs-Yes
Neal-No
FA help-Yes
Guy avail-Yes
Draft DL-Yes
Draft OLB-Yes
MM has the makings for a top 5 defense
Like or Dislike:
0 
2
Top 5– VERY wishful thinking. I’d be happy with top 20. I’m sure we’ll draft a DL and OLB, but we gave up the most yards in NFL history last year. If we finish around 10-15, then WE’RE IN BUSINESS!!!
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
What was our defensive ranking the year before last?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Exactly!!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Well said Jim – the drop from 2010 to 2011 couldn’t have been any worse. They need to fix this. Something very bad happened inn 2011 and it was more than the things every other team had to go through. They had a major defect that couldn’t be repaired all season long.
Now is the time to fix it.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
Get Ingram. Problem fixed.
Like or Dislike:
1 
1
You don’t go for a top 5 to a bottom 5 defense in 1 year simply based on one player.
Like or Dislike:
0 
2
I believe you do when opposing QB’s have too much time, which puts the DB’s in a very precarious situation. Only two teams had less sacks and I would wager that we were near the bottom in hurries. Yes, I believe one good edge rushing OLB would greatly improve our whole defense.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I agree, but you have to take into consideration that, coupled with a lot of players regressing considerably from their 2010 form (Woodson, Williams, Shields, Peprah, Hawk, Raji), as well as with almost no player stepping up their game, the loss of an impact player like Jenkins had a big effect.
Of course, blaming solely the defense for the “failure” is misguided, considering the 4 turnovers lost by the offense, with just 1 TD to show for.
As problematic as the defense was last year, it was still a top 10 defense in opposite QB rating. If it can duplicate that, if the players that regressed can step it up (not an unreasonable thing), one competent pass rusher (7-10 sacks) will make a big difference.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
I agree. Melvin Ingram and Clay Matthews = top 5 defense.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Frankly I’m surprised anyone could so quickly forget our 2010 defense.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
“only 10 weeks to do a 9 week OTA program”
Why can’t I see past this? Clouded is the future, always in motion.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0