Green Bay Packers Pre-Draft Thoughts
The best indicator as to what the future holds.
For those of you who have read my previous posts, you know that I take a lighthearted approach to all the mock drafts that are fabricated based on insights garnered by Magic Eight Balls and it is the sole reason why I still believe the Packers will draft some college kid that plays football.
You also might recall that I predicted that the Green and Gold would go 0-16 this next season because that way anything better than that is a positive. There were a few of you who did not find the humor in that.
Now as we move into the remaining days leading up to the draft and with the 2013 NFL schedule released I felt the necessity to offer up some of my more profound insights (well that and I have a $1.99 bonus in my contract that pays out if I can write more than two articles on a day that ends in “y”) as to a few things that are just a tad irritating.
The first area I would like to address is some of the negativity and general attitude towards Nick Perry. Many pundits and bar stool general managers have questioned his physical ability to play the game. Yes, I do understand that he professed to not want to play outside linebacker in our current defensive scheme. I also understand that some scouts questioned his intensity and that he was not giving it 100 percent on every play.
Nick Perry, NFL bust after six games? Photo by Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Yet I wonder how so many of these people have come to such final conclusions. I even read the article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Tyler Dunne, where he quotes one scout as saying, “When I saw Nick, I saw more of a Vernon Gholston, said the scout, referencing the sixth overall pick in 2008 who is now out of the NFL. ”
The guy played in six games before going on IR with a knee injury and it was also noted that in the season opener against San Francisco he injured his wrist, on which he eventually had surgery. So how can anyone professional or otherwise consider this guy a bust?
What we have seen in a total of six games is a total of 18 combined tackles, two sacks and one pass defended. All of which was done with an injured wrist and a bad knee.
Now I am not saying he should get a passing grade for an incomplete season but what he did show was the ability to be a presence and make some plays. Considering he was also learning a new position as well as upgrading to the speed of the NFL, I am just irritated beyond most points of common sense to comprehend how this guy is being written off as a bust and non-factor.
Not every player is going to be a Clay Matthews and to write him off after six games is downright absurd. Give it a year or two and if he does not perform the way he should have or was projected to, then call it a bust and move on.
Another one of those tidbits that has gotten under my skin is the projections and speculations of the upcoming season. I just cringe when I hear that the Packers have a rough schedule based on their opponents’ records last year.
Breaking News … what happened last year is last year, it does not count for anything this year. Yes I was the guy who joked that the Packers would not win a game. But the point of all that was to show how silly it is to try and predict what is going to happen in 2013.
Is it fun, sure. Is it worth getting all worked up over and yelling and screaming when they lose to the Lions and beat San Francisco? No. I am passionate about each and every game. Some may even say that I have crossed the line into a realm that may question my mental stability on Sunday afternoons. But in the end, predicting what may happen is just as foolproof as predicting the winning lottery numbers.
Worst case scenario, Aaron Rodgers lost for the season. Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Let me paint this scary picture. In the third pre-season game, Aaron Rodgers goes down with a knee injury that puts him out for the season. What do all those preseason predictions mean at that point? Not a thing. In fact, my prediction of 0-16 has a greater probability than most of the 12-4 predictions I have seen. All I am saying is why get your undies in a bundle over something that we have no control over. Can we say Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning lost for a season?
The NFL schedule is a crap shoot with any one team winning on any given day so don’t worry about it and enjoy the season as it unfolds.
Finally, I am just tired of hearing about the draft and who we are going to pick or why we should pick this guy over that guy. I am the type of fan that does not get all geeked up putting together my draft board or tryinbg to figure out who is best for our team.
I am the lifelong fan who remembers the excitement that came with drafting Tony Mandarich (not that it lasted all that long), the signing of Reggie White and the glory years of Brett Favre. I enjoy looking back at the story of Aaron Rodgers as he fell into our lap and what he has accomplished since then.
For me the season starts after we make our draft picks and sign the undrafted players. Then we can start to see what we (the Packers Nation) have brought to the table and start to get into the development and determination of what we might just have and how it will help.
Truly CRAZY after all these years!
Now I am not trying to put down those fans that get into all of the draft and details that go along with this time of the year. It is just not my thing. I want to see the pads on and the guys hitting each other.
So please, someone, wake me when the real fun starts, because this time of the season just drives me crazy!