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Ryan Grant will have plenty of competition in Packers training camp.

With the NFL’s longest work stoppage in league history in the rear view mirror, the Green Bay Packers will begin their 2011 training camp on Saturday, July 30th in De Pere, Wisconsin. It will be the first step in the Packers Super Bowl title defense, and like most training camps, it should provide a framework for how the organization’s roster will look heading into the 2011 season.

But it will also be home to several intriguing and important positional battles that will determine who starts and who rides the bench to open the year. Let’s go in-depth to breakdown some of the Packers best battles to watch during training camp.

RUNNING BACK

This will be the one everyone watches. 28-year-old Ryan Grant is returning from a season-ending ankle injury, and as the leading man to start each of the last three seasons, Grant still believes he is going to be the primary carrier. Grant claims the ankle is 100%, which is more then conceivable considering he believed he could have played in the Super Bowl if not on IR. He’s also the most experienced and accomplished back on the roster, as Grant rushed for over 3,400 yards and 23 touchdowns from 2007 to ’09.  Read more... (2649 words + 1 image, estimated 10:36 mins reading time)

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The 2011 NFL draft is now officially over, and its time to take a look at what the Packers did.  Over the next couple of weeks, fans and analysts alike will sit in front of their computers and grade each team’s draft class; in my opinion this is completely absurd for two reasons.

For one, these players haven’t played a single snap in the NFL yet and no one knows exactly how these players are going to pan out; if anyone did the draft would be a pretty boring affair.

And second, the inherent flaw in grading is that it’s based on a big board typically made by an analyst or the fans themselves.  There are only a few people privy to the actual boards of the 32 teams, and I’m willing to bet that none of the boards you see online are even remotely close to the real things.

Nevertheless, one fact that must be true is that every team drafts with a logical purpose; whether drafting purely on talent, athleticism, speed, need or value, it would be simply foolish for a team to draft a player without an idea of what to do with him and how that player fits into the team.  With that in mind, in the following article I hope to analyze what the Packers were thinking when they drafted each player.

Overall Impressions:  Read more... (580 words + 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

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In this next installment of our 2011 Draft Prep series looking at the Green Bay Packers’ needs by position, we are going to analyze how the outside linebacker position currently stands. Strengths, weaknesses, depth, and uncertainties will all be examined to determine the urgency of need in regards to next season.

This series is meant to help us figure out the needs of the team and how the draft could be used to improve the weaker areas. While Ted Thompson largely uses the “best player available” (BPA) approach, his decision to trade up or down the board is affected by what position players he would prefer to have. Additionally, the picking up of players in the later rounds and in undrafted free agency is often based on need, since the talent is less defined.

CURRENT PLAYERS:

#52 Clay Matthews
24 yrs. old / 2 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2013

#51 Brady Poppinga
31 yrs. old / 6 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2012

#93 Erik Walden
25 yrs. old / 3 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2011

#59 Brad Jones
25 yrs. old / 2 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2012

#47 Diyral Briggs
25 yrs. old / 2 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2011

#58 Frank Zombo
24 yrs. old / 1 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2012

* Contract information acquired from RotoWorld.com

POSITION STRENGTHS:

I can’t tell you how many times the past two years that I’ve heard or said, “Clay Matthews is a beast.”  Read more... (1301 words + 1 image, estimated 5:12 mins reading time)

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1. Profile

Akeem Ayers

College: UCLA

Position: Outside Linebacker

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 255 lbs

Birthdate: July 10, 1989    Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

2. High School/College highlights:

In high school Ayers was named a Super Prep All American and was chosen as a four-star recruit at defensive end by scouts.com and rivals.com .  Also played on offense in high school catching four passes for 132 yards.  At UCLA, he was named honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2009 and placed third in voting for the Dick Butkus award honoring college football’s best linebacker in 2010.  Ayers also was a team captain in 2010 and finished as a second team All-American.

3. College stats: After three seasons: 183 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 29.5 tackles for a loss and six interceptions

4. NFL Scouting Combine results:  4.81 40 yard dash, 7.49 three cone drill, 4.28 20 yard shuttle, 18.0 bench press, 31.0 vertical jump, 116 broad jump.

5. Strengths/Weaknesses: Ayers plays a very fast brand of football, as can be seen in his 40 time despite his size.   He has a very good burst and is an excellent pass rusher.  As a rookie, he would bring immediate impact to any team looking to significantly improve its blitzing ability.   He also has strong intangibles and was very honest about where he needed to improve during interviews at the NFL Combine.    College players that enter the NFL not expecting to light the world on fire right away often have a higher success rate than those who think they will take over the league in their first year.  Read more... (579 words + 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

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1) Profile:

Von Miller

College: Texas A&M

Position: Defensive End/ Weak Side Linebacker (Hybrid)

Height: 6′3″   Weight: 246 lbs.

Born: March 26^th, 1989 From: DeSoto, Texas

2) High School / College Highlights: Von Miller joined the Aggies in 2007 as the Rivals 29^th ranked weak side linebacker in high school but first saw action as a defensive end in the 4-2-5 defense and was voted Freshmen All-Big 12.

After a disastrous 2007 season lead by head coach Dennis Franchione which was headlined by a newsletter scandal and several crushing defeats, Franchione resigned midseason and subsequently former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman was hired.

Sherman installed a 4-3 defense and Miller was moved to weak side linebacker under defensive coordinator Joe Kines.  2009 was his break out season, where Miller played in all 12 games, leading the NCAA with 17 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss (4^th in the NCAA) and garnering First-team All-America and First-team All-Big 12 honors.

After 2009 Joe Kines retired and was replaced with Tim DeRuyter, who installed a 3-4 defense where Miller played the outside linebacker position.  Miller suffered a foot injury but still managed to record 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss as well as garnering First-team All America, First-team All-Big 12 and the Butkus award, given annually to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker.  Read more... (686 words + 1 image, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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1) Profile:

Justin Houston

College: Georgia

Position: OLB (3-4), DE (4-3)

Height: 6’3″   Weight: 260 lbs.

Born: January 1, 1989 From: Statesboro, GA

2) High School / College Highlights: According to his Georgia bio, Houston was a class 4A All-State Honorable Mention his senior season, and was All-Region in both his junior and senior years.

Coming out of high school, Rivals.com ranked him as their No. 21 defensive end prospect, ESPN had him at No. 27, and Scout.com ranked him No. 42. During his junior season, Statesboro High won the class 4A State championship.

Houston decided to stay home and attend the University of Georgia. Like many mid-level freshman recruits, Houston began his college career by redshirting in 2007. He played in 13 games (2.5 sacks) the next season, but 2009 was the year that he really broke out. In 10 games, Houston had a team-leading 15 tackles for losses and 7.5 sacks, and was awarded with AP Second Team All-SEC honors.

While still somewhat of an unknown before last season, Houston stamped his name among the draft’s top pass-rushers with a dominant 13-game showing. He racked up 10 sacks, 18.5 tackles for losses and 44 quarterback pressures on his way to being named an AP First Team All-SEC selection. Originally slated in the middle rounds, Houston’s play last season shot himself into the first round discussion.  Read more... (681 words + 1 image, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

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