SB Nation - Alfred Malone

Analysis: Down to 53; Look Who Missed The Roster

Brandon — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:00:30 -0000

by John Russell - AP

I started out by looking at who made the 53 man roster for the Green Bay Packers. But all the talk is about who didn't make the team. It's a big list, with 18 players released and 4 players placed on I.R., but there are three big surprises. I'll be going through the players on I.R. after the jump. Also, it's time to speculate who will make the practice squad.

QB Brian Brohm. It's not everyday a team releases the player who was the No. 57 overall pick less than two years ago. I'm a big fan, I think he's getting better and has a chance to be a good QB, but I can understand why he's out. He doesn't make good decisions and he has trouble throwing the ball deep. He really needs more reps; he'd be a perfect candidate for the old NFL Europe. And I can understand why they weren't able to trade him because his stats during the 2008-2009 preseasons have been bad. Also, GM Ted Thompson probably prefers carrying only two QBs on the roster. He might slip through and find his way back on the practice squad. I couldn't find any legitimate rumor of another team being interested in him.
RB Tyrell Sutton. Mike McCarthy prefers big backs. RB Ryan Grant and RB DeShawn Wynn are big backs. Sutton, at 5'7", is not. His only competition was truly RB Brandon Jackson, and it appears Jackson is a better blocker and receiver. Expect to see Sutton sign with another team very soon.
S Anthony Smith. The former 3rd round pick of the Steelers was a low cost free agent signing. He received no signing bonus, so there shouldn't be a salary cap hit for his release. He's had an outstanding preseason, although he did mix in a couple 15 yard penalties. Then they trade for CB/S Derrick Martin, who seems to be a very similar player, although he can actually play cornerback. I thought Smith had the job as the top backup safety all locked up.

WR Jake Allen. He was on the practice squad last season, but it wasn't enough to get him a good look this preseason. I rarely saw him on the field. He could return to the practice squad once again.
CB Trevor Ford. He was just awful in the game against Tennessee. He wasn't physical at the line and he couldn't keep up with the receivers in coverage. He's the least surprising cut.
OL Andrew Hartline. He had a good preseason, but he just couldn't beat out OL T.J. Lang or C Evan Dietrich-Smith. Although it probably helped Dietrich-Smith that he can play center too. He could return on the practice squad, but it will depend on who else was released around the NFL.
WR Kole Heckendorf. He had a good preseason and it should be enough to get him onto the practice squad.
LB Danny Lansanah. Another 2008 practice squad alum. He's a good player and a big hitter, but there are just too many good inside linebackers currently on the roster. He's another 2009 practice squad possibility.
RB Kregg Lumpkin. The running back everyone expected to be released. I'm still surprised he made the team last season. I'm pretty sure he's not eligible for the practice squad.
DE Alfred Malone. Rinse and repeat: another 2008 practice squad alum who had a good preseason and could make it on the 2009 practice squad.
WR Ruvell Martin. He should have made the team again this season, but he had some preseason miscues. He just didn't offer anything as a receiver that they couldn't get from WR Brett Swain. But while Swain actually showed some promise as a punt returner and as a cornerback (seriously, he wasn't that bad in the Tennesee game), Martin blew his opportunity as a holder and a punt returner (fumbled a punt return at Tennessee). He doesn't seem like a guy who will draw much interest from another team.
OL Jamon Meredith. The 5th round pick had a rocky college career in South Carolina, but the talent has always been there. He played almost exclusively at left tackle this preseason, and it seemed like he's a great run blocker. I'm really surprised they kept Dietrich-Smith over him.
NT Dean Muhtadi. He's under 300 lbs. but he always played at nose tackle. He never seemed like a good fit, but he could be signed for the practice squad.
LB Cyril Obiozor. The undrafted, college defensive end, was always a project, and he got caught in a numbers crunch. Just too many good linebackers in camp. He was probably battling 7th round LB Brad Jones for a spot, and Jones outplayed him. He's another practice squad possibility.
CB Joe Porter. Rinse and repeat: another 2008 practice squad alum who had a good preseason and could make it on the 2009 practice squad.
OL Dane Randolph. The undrafted lineman from Maryland was always a long shot, and he only played 3rd string right tackle this preseason. He's not bad, but there's just no room for him.
DE Ronald Talley. He made a couple plays this preseason, but he got beat out by DE Jarius Wynn, who made a lot of good plays.
NT Anthony Toribio. He spent a lot of time in opponent's backfields this preseason and I was hoping he grabbed one of the final roster spots. He should be playing somewhere in the NFL, but he might slip through the cracks.

Injured Reserve:

DE Justin Harrell. The frequently injured one is the least surprising addition to the I.R. Although this gives him another season to try and rehab, I don't expect he'll ever play for the Packers again.
CB Pat Lee. This sucks. He missed most of the preseason with a back injury, he finally gets healthy for the final preseason game, and he hyperextends his knee. He looked good at cornerback against Tennessee, and he made a great kick off return (on which he hyperextended his knee). With several injured players already in the secondary, they couldn't afford to stash him on the 53 man roster and wait a few weeks for him to return.
TE Evan Moore. He didn't seem hurt in the Tennessee game. He sure didn't play well this preseason (multiple penalties, at least one fumble) so I was expecting his release.
S Charlie Peprah. He played only on special teams in 2007 and 2008, but the coaches apparently like him anyway. He might have been able to return, but as I mentioned with Pat Lee above, they really can't wait.

Position Analysis: Defensive Line

Brandon — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

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One item that has caught my eye when I'm reading reports from practice is that NT B.J. Raji or NT Johnny Jolly are playing defensive end. Jolly is now even listed as a defensive end on the roster at the Packers' website! So is DT Justin "Bustin" Harrell. A 320 lb. defensive end. They are getting serious about adding some bulk on the defensive line to shape up the run defense. And occupy some blockers so the linebackers can make some plays.

These paragraphs on the Packers' awful run defense came straight from my analysis of the linebackers:

Now the Godfather, Dom Capers, is in town. He's brought with him the 3-4 defense, moved DE Aaron Kampman to outside linebacker, and GM Ted Thompson drafted OLB Clay Matthews to revamp the starting lineup around Hawk and Barnett.

Running defense in 2008. They were 7th worst last season allowing an awful 4.6 yards/carry. They also allowed a 1st down on 26.4% of opponent's rushing attempts; "good" for 3rd worst. They also seemed to collapse at key times last season, such as the overtime loss at Tennessee when the Titans just ran right at them on their first O.T. possession to set up the game losing FG.

The run defense was ranked 29th overall by Football Outsiders. The run defense was clearly bad and deserved the bad ranking, but it was good in 2007 (and great in 2006) so it can rebound.

Although I broke up the analysis of defensive line and linebackers, the entire front seven is part of the run defense. The cornerbacks and safeties should come up and help, but often something has gone wrong if someone in the secondary is making the stop on a running play.

The starters are probably set, but since I'm only expecting them to keep six defensive lineman, there should be a heck of a battle among the final six players for that one roster spot (and probably one more spot on the practice squad).

Starters:

NT B.J. Raji. He was drafted to anchor the new and improved run defense. We've got big expectations pinned on him, but he appears to have the talent to reach them. He should be starting on the strong side, over the right tackle. That would make him the left defensive end, but really he's just one of the two starting defensive tackles.

NT Ryan Pickett. If I had to give blame to one player for the bad run defense in 2008, although I do think the it was a group effort, I would blame ex-Packer DT Colin Cole. Good luck with that signing Seattle! But Pickett was M.I.A. for most of last season too. I've been a fan of his in the past, but 2008, for whatever reason, wasn't his year. Although he's a veteran and plays in the trenches, good defensive lineman can often have long NFL careers. Exhibit A: Teams keep signing DT Grady Jackson. Here's to hoping Pickett bounces back in 2009 as continues to anchor the middle of the line.

DE Cullen Jenkins. The only player under 330 lbs. expected to start on the defensive line. He's a great player. I was in shock when he was injured last season with a torn pectoral muscle. He should be able to recover from this injury, but we'll have to wait and see.

Backups:

NT Johnny Jolly. So far in practice, he's been playing a lot as Pickett has missed at least a couple practices. He should be the primary backup in a three-man rotation at NT and left-DE with Raji and Pickett. Assuming his June 26th trial goes in his favor.

DT Justin "Bustin" Harrell. I can't imagine they'll give up on the former 1st round pick unless he completely falls apart in the preseason. But I can't imagine he'll stay healthy for all 16 games either. I would expect he'll see limited time behind Jolly, Raji, and Pickett, which might become significant time if Jolly's legal problems keep him out.

The final backup spot should be someone to play behind Jenkins as the right-DE. Depending on how Jenkins' recovery is going, this player might even find himself as the starter.

DE Michael Montgomery. He was a 6th round pick in GM Ted Thompson's 1st draft (2005) and he's managed to hang on for four seasons. He even managed to start 8 games last season. He checked out the free agent market for a couple weeks before resigning in mid-March. He'd have to be considered the front runner.
DE Jarius Wynn. He might have an advantage as one of this April's 6th round draft choices. He's a talented player who never quite played up to it at Georgia.
DE Alfred Malone. He was listed as a tackle when they ran the 4-3, but now he's an end. He might have an advantage since he spent all of last season either on the Packers' practice squad or active roster.
DE Anthony Toribio. The undrafted free agent signed with Miami in 2008, was on the Dolphins' practice squad for most of the year, and then was signed to the Packers' practice squad last November. He even made it to the active roster in December, although he didn't make it into any games.
DE Ronald Talley and DE/NT Dean Muhtadi. The pair were undrafted in this April's draft. They are probably playing for a spot on the practice squad. The edge might go to Talley since he was signed immediately after the draft, while Muhtadi only received an invite and had to earn his contract during the rookie camp.

Raji's addition alone greatly improves this unit. Otherwise it's comprised mostly of the same players who struggled in 2008. They've got a lot to prove in 2009.

Replacing Nick Barnett with Joe Porter

Brandon — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:58:53 -0000

Well not really.

But the Packers finally put LB Nick Barnett on I.R., along with DE Kenny Pettway. Barnett was injured weeks ago at Minnesota, but there was no rush to use his roster spot. The knee injury to Pettway happened on a kickoff on Sunday vs. Carolina.

Two players were added to the roster from the practice squad.

CB Joe Porter played a bit this preseason and wasn't very good. But with all the injuries at safety (Rouse, Collins, Bigby, and Peprah all have various injuries), another body was needed in the secondary.
DT Alfred Malone is your typical big body in the middle. But after watching all the defensive tackles do hardly anything at all against Carolina, I hope Malone gets some playing time. Might as well see what he can do. He can't do much worse.