My Take -> Preseason Week 4

Greetings, G-Force.

I am finally on board. There is no reason to play more than two preseason games. I’m sick of seeing serious injuries in games that do not have relevance on the season.

As I write, I listen to Phish’s 9/2/18 show. Each year - Phish spends Labor Day weekend in CO. I’m amped for this. I sip a Crooked Stave 2013 Nightmare on Brett. It still brings a pungent sour punch. The carbonation remains powerful. Whiskey aged, it buzzes.

Here are my quick vibes from the last week:

This really hurts to say, but the Kizer experiment might be a bust. I believed in him. I thought he was a legitimate NFL prospect. I thought he was a talented back-up QB who could be groomed into a starter. That might still be the case, but he’s nowhere near ready to be the #2 QB. There’s no doubt that Tim Boyle is more game-ready today. It feels like it’ll be really difficult for the Packers to keep 3 QBs on the roster this year since two of them would be developmental prospects.

The Curtis Bolton injury is gutting. It felt like Bolton was a lock for the team. It seemed as though Gutekunst might’ve uncovered an UDFA gem that could contribute in Year 1. I’m worried about the severity of the injury.

Dexter Williams showed glimpses of the burst that he can bring to the position. If he has the blocking to get through the DL, he could be a dangerous weapon. But, stay focused, Dexter!

With Lancaster, Keke and Adams; the Packers appear to have three young, hungry and quick defenders who are extremely comfortable playing in the rotation. I wish Fadol Brown has been healthy as he also fit into the mold. Even though we haven’t seen much of Brown in camp, I’m hoping that there is a roster spot for him.

It was nice to see Gary bringing his hunger to the field again. He didn’t get home, but he forced the QB off of the spot. I’m grateful that the injury doesn’t seem too serious.

Cole Madison is highly inconsistent. He’s clearly still getting reacclimatized to the game. I still believe that he has the potential to develop into a starting NFL Guard when he kicks off the rust.

I’ve read speculation that Lane Taylor could be traded or released. To me, that’d be silly. Taylor has a team friendly cap number and has been battle tested. It finally feels like the Packers have a little depth on the offensive line. I would not part ways with Taylor. I would be willing to trade Lucas Patrick or McCray for a late round pick though.

Going into Training Camp, it was easy to think Gutekunst wanted to enter the 2020 NFL Draft with 10 picks. With the Reggie Gilbert trade, he now has 9 picks. I’d think he’s trying to add another. If he’d have been able to grab one for Daniels, he’d be all set.

The ESB injury complicated things for the Packers. He’s deserving of a roster spot and I suppose that the Packers could IR him, but it’s a big bummer.

Chandon Sullivan has been a bright spot all camp. He’s around the ball, he’s aggressive and he plays with confidence. He’s awfully tough to cut. I have to imagine that he’s in contention for a roster spot. King and Hollman have been banged up and TMon showed last year that he is not the same player on the perimeter any more.

Will Redmond and Natrell Jamerson are talented training camp bodies. They’re intelligent, quick, versatile football players who can play the slot, Safety and be contributors on special teams. One should make the team and the other should be on the Practice Squad. Both are ascending, versatile players that play with high end football speed.

I was hoping Gutekunst could muster a late round pick for Josh Jones. What’s painful is that Jones had played best when he was an attacking ILB. With the injuries to Burks and Bolton; Jones’ strengths are exactly what we need! Now, Gutekunst will either have to work magic to acquire a capable ILB or Raven Greene will have to elevate into the role.

Markus Jones does good things in the run game. I like the way he initiated contact and separates off of a blocker.

I was starting to anticipate that Ka’dar Hollman would have an impact on the roster this year. I’m happy he’s back from injury. Would like to see him play this weekend.

If I were the GM, here’s the roster that I’d select, thus far. As a note, it came down to Sullivan, Lazard and Patrick for two spots.

K: Crosby

P: Scott

LS: Bradley

QB: Rodgers and Boyle. I wish I could keep Kizer, but the numbers don’t work and it’s starting to look like Kizer is a really long term project. At this stage, he’s clearly the third best QB on the roster.

RB: Jones, J Williams, D Williams, Vitale. Carson might be more reliable than D Williams today, but there’s no question that D Williams has higher upside. For me, it’s not even close, this spot goes to D Williams.

TE: Graham, Lewis, Sternberger, Tonyan. If any of the other TE’s showed that they could be an effective blocker, Lewis would not be on the team. I really want to see a healthy Sternberger.

OL: Bakhtiari, Taylor, Linsley, Turner, Bulaga, Jenkins, Madison, Light, McCray. Lucas Patrick was a really tough cut, but the secondary depth forced me to keep an additional CB and I like Madison’s long term upside.

WR: Adams, MVS, G-Mo, Lazard, Kumerow, Davis. ESB goes to IR. Lazard has size that you can’t teach. He earns a spot over the continuously impressive Shepherd. Davis earned himself a roster bid in Winnipeg.

DL: Lowry, Clark, Adams, Lancaster, Keke, Brown. Brown’s versatility to slide to the outside helps with the numbers game. The rest should all be guaranteed roster spots.

EDGE: ZSmith, PSmith, Gary, Fackrell. I’d keep Fadol Brown who can also slide to the outside on early downs to hold the point and to give our offseason investments an occasional breather.

ILB: Martinez, Burks, Summers, Crawford. The Bolton injury hurts. We will see a lot of Greene at ILB until Burks is ready. Summers and Crawford can’t be trusted as every down players.

CB: Jaire, King, Josh Jackson, Tony Brown, Hollman, TMon, Sullivan. Sullivan makes the team. Too many injury concerns. Need depth. CB has been a position of strength.

S: Savage, Amos, Greene, Redmond. All along, I expected Jamerson to do what Redmond has done. As I wrote last year when Redmond was added; prior to his injury in college, Redmond was a top tier NFL prospect. With Campbell likely going to the PUP, either Jamerson or Redmond belongs. As of now, I’m tending Redmond.

PUP: Campbell and Roberts.

Practice Squad: Wilkins, Shepherd, Jamerson, Jones, Ramsey, Ford, Nijman, Ento, Looney, Roberts.

Throughout the season, I'll do my best to include a weekly Mock Draft for the 2020 season. I'll do my best to mix up the players on a weekly basis. I have done very little work on the OL prospects and as always, if I haven't studied them, I won't comment.

Round 1: Derrick Brown, DL, Auburn.
Round 2: Trajan Bandy, CB, []_[].
Round 3: Paddy Fisher, ILB, Northwestern.
Round 4: Khalid Kareem, EDGE, ND.
Round 5: Jon Greenard, EDGE, Florida.
Round 6: Khaleke Hudson, ILB, Michigan.
Round 7a: Asmar Bilal, ILB, Notre Dame.
Round 7b: Danny Davis, WR, WI.
Round 7c: Nate Childress, DL, Toledo.

It’s important to go heavy on the Practice Squad at the EDGE position if there are only 4 kept on the active roster.

This week - it’s the Chiefs. At Lambeau. To wrap up the preseason.

Health is the #1 concern. Run a vanilla attack. Keep the ball on the ground and the clock moving on 1st and 2nd down. Then, on 3rd down, look to Sternberger, Lazard and Shepherd. Let the kids do work.

Lazard impresses again!

I wouldn’t play Tonyan. I’d give Sternberger a full game of action. I want to see him work the middle of the field. Look for him to grab 3 balls.

I wouldn’t play Fackrell and Gary. I’d give the game to Jones and Ramsey.

Look for Fadol Brown to be a man on a mission disrupting the line of scrimmage.

Boyle again shows he’s the 2nd best QB on the roster.

Dexter Williams rams his way through the hole.

Sullivan grabs an interception.

Packers 20.
Chiefs 19.

Go Pack Go!

Talkin’ S-Mac.
Talkins-Mac.blogspot.com