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Packers CB Casey Hayward

Packers cornerback Casey Hayward was the 62nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he was among most impactful defensive backs in football last season.

According to Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks had a collective passer rating of 31.1 when throwing at Hayward. And among cornerbacks who played at least 50 percent of their team’s defensive snaps, Hayward came in at No. 3 in the league, sandwiched between Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield.

The rookie went from being buried on the depth chart early in the season–Hayward played just three snaps in the season opener against the 49ers—to being, perhaps, the most irreplaceable part of the secondary.

When veteran Charles Woodson suffered a broken collarbone in Week 7, Hayward’s presence became increasingly important. From Week 7 to Week 14, Hayward played 88.5 percent of the Packers’ defensive snaps.

Coming into the season, Woodson was expected to play safety in the base and bump up to slot cornerback in the nickel. But when Hayward emerged as the team’s most reliable turnover creator, playing primarily in the slot, Woodson’s role was drastically reduced by the time he returned for the playoffs.

This offseason, the Packers decided to cut ties with Woodson, who was set to count nearly $10 million against the salary cap. Woodson, 36, remained a fan favorite at the time of his release, but the presence of a promising young talent in Hayward made the move easier to swallow.  Read more... (1267 words + 1 image, estimated 5:04 mins reading time)

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Who’s Rising on Defense?

Here we are at the start of the 2013 NFL season. Let the great debates roll on!   Sign a FA?  Keep your own?  Difference maker free agent? Hole filler? Last gasp?  Which leads to next big thing, the team has to draft this position this year! { fill in your choice}.

Everyone goes nuts this time of year, I am of the use Free Agency to fill a hole in depth crowd,  but first and foremost keep your own.

From most of talk across the web, Packer fans are screaming for “DEFENSE” and I can’t disagree, but for many, players already on the team are over looked waiting for that big signing. { like that is going to happen in Green Bay in the first place}

So while many are playing fantasy GM with all the if’s, maybes, should have’s, could have’s, lets look at players on the team that are on the way up and will improve the team from the inside.

I consider C.J. Wilson on the way up. He missed games with a knee injury last year, in the eleven games he played, he was looked at as one of the Packers better run stoppers, he had 24 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Nothing to get excited about, but Wilson did improve in his second year, not bad for 7th round pick that played 4-3 DE in college. He is a better athlete then given credit for at 6-3 300# he ran a 4.83 40, 32 reps at #225, 1.67 ten yard time 4.50 shuttle and 7.65 3 cone drill. His best football is still in front of him.  Read more... (720 words + 1 image, estimated 2:53 mins reading time)

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Packers Cornerbacks:  All eyes were on the cornerback group during Training Camp in 2012. This unit, above all others, had some serious competition going on for a starting job. And the result was that this competition continued throughout the season until we ended up with Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, and Casey Hayward as the clear leaders of the secondary.

For expanded coverage of this topic, listen to the podcast using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Tramon Williams (UDFA, 2006)
Jarrett Bush (UDFA, 2006)
Sam Shields (UDFA, 2010)
Davon House (4^th Round, 2011)
Casey Hayward (2^nd Round, 2012)
James Nixon (UDFA, 2012, Practice Squad)

How many teams can say that their top two cornerbacks went undrafted as rookies? The Packers can, though they can also say that their past two draft selections on cornerbacks are also beginning to make names for themselves.  Read more... (936 words + 1 image, estimated 3:45 mins reading time)

• Williams: After a horrible showing in 2011 thanks to an early shoulder injury, Tramon Williams was looking to get back to his championship form of 2010. Unfortunately, he only seemed to get about halfway there. He showed clear improvement but still came up short, especially in key moments. The big question is whether he’ll continue the upward trend or start falling again.

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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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Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson may have played his last down as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Woodson has had an illustrious NFL career up to this point. After winning the Heisman Trophy and being drafted No. 4 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, Woodson spent seven seasons in Oakland before signing with the Packers.

The Packers and Woodson agreed to a seven-year, $52-million contract on April 26, 2006.

After the best season of his professional career in which he recorded nine interceptions and three touchdowns, Woodson was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.

But Woodson has been on the decline athletically the past few seasons, and he missed nine games in 2012 due to a broken collarbone. Per Ian Rapaport of NFL Network, the team is now prepared to cut ties with the 36-year-old defensive back.

Carl Poston, Charles Woodson’s agent, tells me: “They’re getting ready to release him. It’s part of the business.”

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 15, 2013

According to Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal- Sentinel, “Woodson was due a base salary of $6.5 million with a roster bonus of $2.5 million the first day of training camp” in 2013.

Prior to breaking his collarbone against the St. Louis Rams, Woodson was used as a hybrid safety/cornerback. With Woodson out of the lineup, rookie Jerron McMillian and second-year player M.D. Jennings filled Woodson’s duties at safety. Rookie Casey Hayward took over as the team’s slot cornerback, emerging as a key playmaker on Green Bay’s defense.  Read more... (360 words + 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

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Casey Hayward

1) Introduction: As part of the attempt to bolster the defense with talent, the Packers selected CB Casey Hayward in the 2012 NFL Draft with their third overall pick (Round 2, Pick 62). He was the unquestioned leader of the Vanderbilt defense in college, and Hayward was praised by scouts for his athleticism, awareness, and big play ability. Some have even likened him to Charles Woodson with respect to his instinctive style of play.

2) Profile:

Casey Hayward

• Age: 23
• Born: 09/09/1989, in Elko, GA
• Height: 5’11″
• Weight: 192
• College: Vanderbilt
• Rookie Year: 2012
• NFL Experience: 0 years

Career Stats and more

3) Expectations coming into the season: For a rookie, there were actually some pretty high expectations for Casey Hayward. Many fans were hoping he’d be an immediate answer to the concerns at cornerback. As training camp progressed, it was clear Hayward had a shot for the third cornerback position, but second year player Davon House showed better technique and understanding of the defense. When the roster finally got trimmed down to 53 players, it was clear that Hayward would still be battling throughout the season for playing time.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Casey Hayward’s six interceptions were the most by any Packers cornerback in 2012, though his best game came against the Houston Texans when he snatched two of them. And though he was targeted four times in that game, he allowed zero completions. There weren’t many “lowlights” for Hayward, though his failure to complete the sack on Colin Kaepernick in the final playoff game was certainly a stinger.  Read more... (513 words + 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

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Hayward was a candidate for 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year

Many of us are surely still feeling the sting after how the 2012 Green Bay Packers season ended.  It comes with the territory:  one of the most successful franchises in all of pro sports, a recent history of winning and the expectations of winning, perennial postseason appearances and a constantly bright future.

It has been suggested that maybe we have become too spoiled and perhaps have forgotten, a bit, how to stop and appreciate what this team does accomplish each year.

In keeping with that spirit, it’s time to take a brief pause from the “what if’s” and “why not’s” and acknowledge a few of the bright spots from this past year’s team.

On Saturday, the NFL held its annual Honors Awards show and announced the winners of such prestigious categories as Most Valuable Player, NFL Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, to name a few.

The Green Bay Packers had representation in two categories as cornerback Casey Hayward was nominated for Defensive Rookie of the Year and the fake field goal/touchdown play in the week two win vs. the Chicago Bears was nominated for Best Play.  Each warrants a closer look at how it became one of the NFL’s best this season.

Casey Hayward

Hayward was the team’s third draft pick in 2012 and their second selection in the second round.  General Manager Ted Thompson traded up to snag Hayward and while his potential was sky-high, the early expectations for his immediate contributions to a crowded secondary were tempered.  Read more... (659 words + 3 images, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)

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