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Jones has garnered much interest in free agency. If he departs, Jones could create a big void at inside linebacker for the Packers

With free agency somewhat underway in that teams are free to contact players’ agents to discuss a deal, much of the talk in Green Bay has centered around wide receiver Greg Jennings.  Jennings is unquestionably the marquis name out of Green Bay that has very solid potential to be wearing a different uniform this next season.  He has even been debated as the top free agent receiver on the market with Pittsburgh receiver Mike Wallace the other half of that conversation.

But lost in the shuffle are some of the other free-agents-to-be in Green Bay, one of which is linebacker Brad Jones.  According to a piece published by Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel, at least eight other teams have already contacted Jones’ agent.

Jones filled in for the injured DJ Smith in week six last season and remained the starter for the balance of the season.  He did an adequate job in that role and gained some valuable playing time in the defense.  With 2012 being Jones’ fourth in the team’s defensive scheme and with his contributions on special teams, Jones has become a stronger veteran presence on this roster.  Read more... (886 words + 3 images, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)

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Alec Ogletree

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: ILB Alec Ogletree

Player Information:

Alec Ogletree, ILB Georgia
6-2, 242 pounds
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia

STATS: College stats

NFL Combine:

40-yard dash: 4.70 seconds
Bench press: 20 reps
Vertical jump: 33.5 inches
Broad jump: 122 inches
3-cone drill: 7.16 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.39 seconds

News and Notes:

Suspended the first four games of the 2012 season for violating team rules. … Played safety as a freshman. … Moved to LB for sophomore season and missed six games with a broken foot. … One of the most athletic LBs in the draft. … Had 111 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and three sacks his final season. … Also broke up five passes, had an interception and blocked a field goal. … Twin brother Alexander played fullback at Georgia.

 What they’re saying about him: 

{pick comments from any draft site you like}  Read more... (662 words + 1 image, estimated 2:39 mins reading time)

• NFL.com: “Despite playing the last two years at inside linebacker in the Bulldogs 3-4 defense, it would not be surprising to see Ogletree make the switch to weakside linebacker in a defense that uses a four man front. The reason being is the junior struggles to get over top of blocks but does his best work chasing and closing. Expect the Bulldog to be a three down player if he cuts down on wasted steps. Since Ogletree is expected to impress in workouts, expect him to be a top-50 pick.

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Aaron Rodgers and Josh Sitton are two of the Packers “blue chip” players.

Now that my fellow staff members and I have completed our annual player evaluations and report cards, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the Green Bay Packers’ impact players. Taking a page from Michael Lombardi, former NFL Network analyst who now works in the front office for the Cleveland Browns, I have categorized the players into representational colored chips.

I’ve added a couple more categories beyond the usual blue and red chips, but for the latter groups, I have taken some of the qualifications as used by Lombardi. While some players might have fallen short of their expectations this past season, I have attempted to look at their entire body of work and where they stand going into 2013.

One thing I did notice in this exercise was the lack of playmakers on the defense, which Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Dom Capers need to work on correcting.

Feel free to chime in with any agreements, disagreements, or additions to the lists!

Blue Chip Players:

» Demonstrates rare abilities and creates mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game.
» Is a premier player in the league and a weapon on the field.
» Combines competitiveness and skill to provide a consistent championship-level performance.  Read more... (914 words + 1 image, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)

• Aaron Rodgers – One of the best quarterbacks in the modern NFL era, Rodgers is the heart of this team. His exceptional football intelligence, technique, and work ethic make everyone else around him look better.

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Cut him or keep him? The Packers might just stay uncomfortably married to AJ Hawk.

The topic of A.J. Hawk gets debated to death by Packers fans every offseason.

Some fans view Hawk as an overpaid bust who has no business on the field. Others view him as a serviceable player even though he hasn’t lived up to his status as a high draft pick. A few delusional fans even think some other team would trade a first or second day draft choice for Hawk.

If I were in charge of the Packers, I’d release Hawk. If released after *June 1, it would save $5.45 million against the salary cap — money that could be used to extend Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji — and cut ties with a player who hasn’t forced a turnover since 2010 and didn’t break up a single pass in 2012.

Hawk has always been a ho-hum player. I believe the Packers committed to him because they weren’t sure about their other options. The Packers were the 35-year-old woman who married a guy that wasn’t quite perfect, but time was running out and the other options were iffy. Settling on Hawk was better than being left alone and vulnerable (with a house full of cats).

Here’s the big question regarding Hawk’s future in Green Bay: Are there finally some other options for the Packers this offseason?  Read more... (572 words + 1 image, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

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Packers Inside Linebackers:  If nothing else, the 2012 team showed us how deep we are at inside linebacker. After losing two starters in Desmond Bishop and D.J. Smith, the Packers were still able to keep things together with Brad Jones in the lineup. The caveat, however, is that while the group is deep, there are no real “blue chip” players to be found.

(Note: Listen to the combined linebackers podcast at the end of this article:)

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

A.J. Hawk (1st Round, 2006)
Desmond Bishop (6th Round, 2007)
Brad Jones (7th Round, 2009)
Robert Francois (UDFA, 2009)
D.J. Smith (6th Round, 2011)
Jamari Lattimore (UDFA, 2011)
Terrell Manning (5th Round, 2012)

For all the talk of the deficiencies at defensive line and outside linebacker, we seem to forget about the fact that inside linebacker is leaving us with something to be desired. It’s not a horrible group by any means, but there’s also nothing special about it. Desmond Bishop is currently the best player of the bunch, A.J. Hawk isn’t worth his contract weight, D.J. Smith was a bit of a disappointment this year, and despite his solid play, Brad Jones wasn’t much of a playmaker either. Terrell Manning seems to be the current roster’s last shred of hope among an otherwise lackluster crew, but he needs to make it onto the field first and foremost.  Read more... (1586 words + 1 image, estimated 6:21 mins reading time)

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Pickett is currently the oldest player on the Packers roster at 33

Since the Green Bay Packers’ 2012 season ended, the team has lost three of their oldest veterans in that of Donald Driver (37, retired), Jeff Saturday (37, retired) and Charles Woodson (36, released).  That makes defensive lineman Ryan Pickett their oldest player at 33 and the only veteran on the current roster with 10 or more years of experience.

It’s impossible to say what the team’s average age will be come the end of this year’s training camp, but it is clear that the team is headed for a youth movement for the next year or two.

The Packers being one of the league’s youngest teams is nothing new to most of us who will recall that from 2006 – 2009, they were the NFL’s youngest.  In 2011, the Packers were third youngest and in 2012 they were fifth youngest roster in the league.  In 2013, the Packers will be strong contenders for the “youngest” label once again.

Here is a list of players , courtesy of ESPN, that were on the roster during the 2012 season.  I don’t expect the team to bring running backs Cedric Benson nor Ryan Grant back in 2013.  That leaves John Kuhn as the only player currently 30 years old or more.  Several players are set to turn 30 this year; AJ Hawk, Aaron Rodgers, Tramon Williams and Greg Jennings.  Read more... (910 words + 3 images, estimated 3:38 mins reading time)

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A.J. Hawk

1) Introduction: Everyone knows the story of A.J. Hawk, because it’s how people have measured his reputation and performance. As the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Hawk was supposed to be more than he has been. Being “assignment sure” has become more of a condemnation of his skills than an emblem of solid play. Still, Hawk has been the consistent force at inside linebacker. In his seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Hawk has only missed two games.

2) Profile:

Aaron James Hawk

• Age: 29
• Born: 01/16/1984, in Centerville, OH
• Height: 6’1″
• Weight: 242
• College: Ohio State
• Rookie Year: 2006
• NFL Experience: 7 years

Career Stats and more

3) Expectations coming into the season: A.J. Hawk has never been much of a playmaker. While Dom Capers would argue that Hawk’s role is to make sure other guys can make plays, it doesn’t quite appease the desires of Packers fans. The dismal performance of the 2011 defense also didn’t help Hawk’s cause, especially as the “quarterback” of the unit. After six years of seeing him play, was there really much more we could expect from A.J. Hawk in 2012?  Read more... (525 words + 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

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