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Matthews and Perry will anchor the Outside Linebacker spots in 2013

Packers Outside Linebackers:  This is a group that had a lot of promise heading into 2o12 but after an injury to rookie Nick Perry and an underwhelming season from 2011 incumbent Erik Walden, there wasn’t nearly as much production as the defense needed nor wanted.  The Green Bay Packers enter the 2013 offseason with some questions at this vital position.

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

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Clay Matthews III (1st round)

Nick Perry (1st round)

Erik Walden (UDFA)

Dezman Moses (UDFA)

Frank Zombo (UDFA)

Jamari Lattimore (UDFA)

Matthews was, once again, the steady rock of this group.  He had has second-best season, posting 13 sacks despite missing several games with a hamstring injury.  Not much more can be said of Matthews other than he makes the entire Packers defense better and he has to be a top priority of the team to retain when his contract expires at the end of the 2013 season.

Perry had high expectations after being drafted in the first round.  He showed some flash early in the season but was shelved after just six games due to an injured wrist ligament that required surgery.  It’s hard to say what Perry’s impact would have been but the team will enter the 2013 season program with him slated to start at left outside linebacker.  Read more... (1517 words + 3 images, estimated 6:04 mins reading time)

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Dezman Moses

1) Introduction:  Packers outside linebacker Dezman Moses was another of General Manager Ted Thompson’s undrafted free agent gems.  He was signed in spring of 2012 and immediately impressed during the team’s organized team activities.  He was invited to training camp where he continued his surgre and earned a roster spot both with his solid play and when veteran linebacker Frank Zombo was placed on the physically unable to perform list.

2) Profile:

Dezman Mirrill Moses

• Age: 24
• Born: 1/4/1989 in Mount Holly, NJ
• Height: 6’02″
• Weight: 249
• College: Tulane
• Rookie Year: 2012
• NFL Experience: 1 year

Career Stats and more

3) Expectations coming into the season:  Moses was expected to provide depth and outside linebacker and contribute on special teams.  The team hoped he could provide a spark while spelling the team’s starters.  Moses’ solid work ethic and high motor provided hope that the team would finally have a solid rotation of pass rushers and run stoppers at the outside backer position.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Moses played sparingly and had his best games in week seven at St. Louis and in the team’s wild card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.  In the St. Louis game, Moses had a jarring hit in pass coverage on the ball carrier that was ruled a hit on a defenseless receiver.  Replay showed the call was questionable but left everyone realizing that Moses could bring the wood when needed.  During the wild card playoff game, Moses had three quarterback hurries and kept Joe Webb scrambling for options most of the evening.  Unfortunately, Moses lived in anonymity most of the season and was very average during this time on the field.  His worst statistical game of the season came against the Detroit Lions in week 14 when Moses posted a terrible -7.8 rating by Pro Football Focus.  Read more... (482 words + 3 images, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

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The injury to D.J. Smith was one of many among the Green Bay Packers linebackers.

When the injuries started compounding for the Green Bay Packers this year, fans didn’t seem to flinch. Too fresh in their memories was the story of 2010, when the Packers overcame several key injuries to become Super Bowl champions. “Next man up” became the rally cry for the team, its fans, and the media.

The motto’s resurgence in 2012 showed the confidence of Packers Nation in Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy’s ability to add and develop depth throughout the team. While concerns still brewed in the back of our minds, they were overshadowed by what we’ve come to expect from Green Bay’s second string players.

No more Desmond Bishop? Bring in D.J. Smith. Now Smith goes down? Get Brad Jones in there. Lose Cedric Benson, James Starks, and Brandon Saine? Promote Alex Green and DuJuan Harris, then re-sign Ryan Grant from free agency. Even undrafted rookie Don Barclay surprised us with his ability to take over for Bryan Bulaga and not get Aaron Rodgers killed.

The specific team building philosophy of Thompson and McCarthy have allowed the Green Bay Packers to succeed even when some of their best players end up on injured reserve. Many other teams would struggle to handle such losses, whereas the Packers push through, fill in the holes, and still win their division.  Read more... (778 words + 1 image, estimated 3:07 mins reading time)

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Last week’s Packers Drive Rewind highlighted how a seven-play drive that featured all running plays buried the Lions. Watching it made you want to pound your chest and yell. Loudly.

This week, we’re going to stay with the tough-guy theme and highlight how the Packers defense stood tall with a goal-line stand after Ryan Grant fumbled.

The Situation
Third quarter. Packers 21, Bears 7. Grant just fumbled away a chance to blow the game open. The Bears are on the Packers’ 5-yard line after a 53-yard pass interference penalty against Morgan Burnett.

The Result
Matt Forte can’t get in the end zone on three straight runs and a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery on fourth down is nullified by offensive pass interference. The Bears settle for a field goal.

Play 1: Forte up the middle for 4 yards

Ryan Pickett gtets stood up by Chris Spencer, but doesn’t get erased from the play. Forte ends up basically running back toward Pickett and getting swallowed up by the big guy. Forte had James Brown pulling to the outside. Morgan Burnett and Sam Shields do a nice job of setting the edge. However, I wonder if Forte would have had better luck following Brown to the outside and taking on Shields near the goal line instead of running back into the teeth of the Packers’ defense?

Play 2: Forte up the middle for no gain

 Read more... (586 words + 1 image, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

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Not even Randall Cobb could rescue the Packers against the Giants.

I’ve been doing the Packers Stock Report weekly for over two years now. Most of you know how it works.

But just in case, it’s important to know this while you’re reading and agreeing/disagreeing with my selections:

I don’t base the rising/falling/steady selections solely on the most recent game. The most recent game receives the most weight, but I typically factor in the last three games, sometimes more.

For example, if Donald Driver would have caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown on Sunday (we can dream, right?), I still probably wouldn’t have put him in the rising category. One good game out of 11 does not necessarily mean you’re rising. It means you had one good game.

I’m trying to identify more long-term patterns or trends that might play out over the next couple of weeks. While it seems like the rising category should be empty this week, remember that I’m factoring in more than the debacle against the Giants.

NOTE: For expanded coverage, listen to the Packers Stock Report Podcast (links below)…

Anyway, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to this weeks report:

Rising

Dezman Moses
He’s done enough to enter the rising category. By no means have we forgotten about Clay Matthews, but it’s nice to see Moses making a few plays with the opportunities he’s had the last few weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing Moses and Matthews on the field together. Fewer snaps for Walden will probably keep him fresher, too.  Read more... (919 words + 1 image, estimated 3:41 mins reading time)

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A typical scene for the Packers against the Giants Sunday Night.

Pathetic, flat, uninspired and unemotional.

These are a just few words that could be used to describe the dud that the Green Bay Packers put up against the New York Giants on national television Sunday night.  It was a game many fans had circled on the calendar since the schedule was released in spring.  The Giants ended the Packers’ season in the playoffs last season and many a player and fan were eager to get some revenge on the Giants in their own house.

Instead, by a score of Giants 38, Packers 10, salt got added to the wound and boy does it burn.

Here’s who stood out and (more likely) stunk it up during the Packers’ fourth loss of the 2012 season.

Game Balls

WR Jordy Nelson

At times, it seemed Nelson was the only wide receiver that showed up to play.  Yes, Randall Cobb made a couple plays out of the backfield but Nelson was really the only one that got anything going downfield.

By “anything going,” I really refer to only one play.

Nelson’s beautiful 61 yard touchdown that tied the game at 7 was really the Packers’ lone highlight of the night so in a sense, Nelson gets a game ball by default.

The good news is that the play Nelson made on the sideline was similar to the plays he made last season during his breakout season.  Hopefully the Packers can get more plays like that from Nelson now that he is healthy again.  Read more... (983 words + 1 image, estimated 3:56 mins reading time)

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So I’m going to do something a little bit unusual from the usual Packers Playbook series; first off I’m going to breakdown a special teams play, namely Davon House’s blocked punt which turned into a special teams touchdown, but ru because I want to hear your rationale for running this play because frankly I don’t really understand it.

The Situation: The score is 7 to 3 in Green Bay’s favor and the Packers defense has just forced a 4th down.  The Jaguars have stayed in the game longer than most people had predicted but it’s probably more because the Packers seem to be off rather than any offensive firepower displayed by the Jaguars.

The Formation: To be honest I wasn’t able to find any of the position names for any of the positions, so I will be using my best approximations.  Naturally first off is KR Randall Cobb (18), who for obvious reasons is not in the picture and since this is a blocked punt play, is irrelevant to the play.  In the gunner/jammer positions are CB Davon House (31) aligning to the top of the screen and CB Jarrett Bush (24) and CB Casey Hayward (29) aligned to the bottom of the screen.  In terms of linemen (are they called linemen?), at RDE is ILB Jamari Lattimore (57) and at LDE is OLB Dezman Moses.  In the “middle” at DT is ILB Robert Francois (49) and TE Ryan Taylor (82).  In the “backfield” are SS Sean Richardson (28) and FS MD Jennings (43).  Read more... (941 words + 9 images, estimated 3:46 mins reading time)

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