Packers chat with Ryan Wood
Dec. 26 transcript
3rd & 7 37yd
3rd & 7 37yd
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Hey, everybody. Hopes you all had a Merry Christmas. It's title week in the NFC North. For the fourth straight year, the Packers will play a winner-take-all division championship game on Week 17. It's the second time in three years that game has been played against the Detroit Lions. Let's get to your questions.
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Hey Ryan, The debate over who will win the Most Valuable Player Award is in high gear. As always, people disagree over who is more deserving and which player positions get more preference. What are your personal criteria for winning the award? Do you tend to favor one position over another? What say you?
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I think, just looking at what the award is, the MVP is really the NFL's most outstanding player over the course of a season. In terms of true value, Aaron Rodgers might be the MVP of the league this year. He hasn't been the most outstanding. If I had a vote, it would probably go to Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. I think most people view it in a similar light, favoring most outstanding over most valuable. In terms of value, however, it's hard to find a player who's been more. relied on than Aaron Rodgers, especially when you consider the lack of a true running game for weeks on end and the defensive struggles.
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Ryan, thanks for taking my comment. I don't know about you, but the Pro Bowl to me couldn't be more irrelevant. I think this has a lot to do with the fact it happens in the middle of the Super Bowl hoopla. I know it probably won't happen, but I would like to see them move it to the middle of the season. That way, players who are in the Super Bowl won't miss it and you truly will have the best players (theoretically). To make up for it, they could shorten the time between the Conference championships and Super Bowl (again NOT gonna happen, I know!) to one week. What do you say? I read Rodgers' comment that "It's nice to be honored, but I don't plan on playing in it". I took that to mean he intends to be in the Super Bowl, right? Or do you think he'll skip it because of injury?
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You are right that Aaron Rodgers' comments about not intending to play in the Pro Bowl were because he expects the Packers to be in the Super Bowl. As for moving the Pro Bowl to the middle of the season, that'll never happen. There isn't a single person involved with the league from an ownership, executive, coach or player level who would be OK with risking injury in a meaningless exhibition that potentially keep star players out of real games.
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I think you have good reason to be worried. The secondary might have played better than it did in Chicago, but it still allowed Sam Bradford to have his best game of the season, and Adam Thielen to look like an All-Pro. Because of Sam Shields' injury, what was supposed to be a strong on this team has turned into perhaps its biggest weakness.
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He's already rocketed past fifth-round rookie Trevor Davis and third-year vet Jeff Janis on the depth chart. Geronimo Allison isn't the speed guy the Packers need opposite Davante Adams with Jordy Nelson working mostly in the slot, but he makes plays. That's what's most important.
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year... WOW!!! Who would have thought we'ld be sitting where we find ourselves now??? I read with interest the article about Jordy being a "skookum" slot receiver - and I have to agree. With Jordy getting up in age (by NFL standards...) and Randal Cobb in line for a HUGE payday... How do you see this playing out? Also... You've got to like what we're seeing from Geronimo ~ methinks...
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Merry Christmas to you too, George. You never know what Ted Thompson is thinking, but if you're asking me (and, clearly you are), Jordy Nelson's best position going forward is the slot. His ability to produce in the middle of the field has helped diminish the catastrophe the Packers have at tight end, with Jared Cook the only viable weapon. With how the game is played today, a slot receiver can have real value. With that said, you don't pay two slot receivers $10 million annually apiece. That's what they'd be doing with Nelson and Randall Cobb. The Packers find a lot of value in Cobb. They love his versatility, love his toughness. But it's hard to see how Cobb isn't a Nelson duplicate moving forward, and an expensive one at that.
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I think our offensive line is as good as any in the NFL. Why wont MM see that only running the zone run game with no counter play allows the lb's to fly play side and not allow the initial double team to get movement. The double man has to get off the double far to early to try to block the second level. Also, the inside zone play would counter the fast flow from the inside linebackers.
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Well, this entire offensive line was drafted specifically with the zone blocking scheme in mind. It's what they're built for. By that, I mean they have the athleticism to zone block. They're not necessarily downhill maulers. That's why they run the scheme they run, and to a man I think each offensive lineman understands that's their unit's strength in the run game. As for the other part of playing offensive line, I think the Packers have shown to be one of the finest pass pro units in the league, no matter what the sack numbers say.
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Jared Abbrederis didn't give the Packers game-day roster anything when he was here earlier this season, and that had nothing to do with Trevor Davis. The rookie, unlike the third-year vet, still is viewed as a legit prospect with clear upside. That's why Davis is here.
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Ryan, thanks for hosting our Q's. Many have called Rodgers the most physically talented qb. Then he himself said that the game "slowed" down for him against the Viking, and we saw him pick apart a good defence -- finding open men, following progressions, lofting to good matchups -- like we haven't seen in a while. Do you think that a lot of his problems before stemmed from a regression in the mental part of the game?
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I really wish I knew, Ken. Because Aaron Rodgers could not have played two more opposite games against the Vikings this season. He's clearly in a zone right now, mentally and physically. He's sharper in every aspect. Why does even a great player's game fluctuate so much? I'd really like to know too. But right now, Rodgers is playing like the best player in football.
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For the right price, I think Eddie Lacy is back next year. You still want a true workhorse running back on the roster. Even though Ty Montgomery's transition to running back hasn't been a surprise to some scouts, I'm not sure any team was evaluating him before last year's draft as anything more than a change-of-pace, third-down tailback. That's a guy who can complement Eddie Lacy better than the aging James Starks, but not necessarily replace Lacy.
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With the terrible start the Packers had at the start of the regular season, what are the chances the coaching staff will approach the preseason games differently next year? Maybe playing the starters a little more. Rodgers passing was terrible , his timing with the receivers was way off, or the receivers routes were off? what do you think?
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There's a chance, maybe. But I think it's unlikely. You have to remember, Mike McCarthy adjusted his preseason schedule specifically with December in mind. He was tired of seeing a key player have a season-ending injury in August. He wanted two things: to be healthy at the end of the season, and to have his team playing its best football. Look around. That's exactly what has happened. Whether it's because of the preseason schedule, I don't know. The Packers certainly didn't avoid major injuries this season (see: Lacy, Shields), but they're playing their best football when it counts.
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You root for Detroit. The Lions would clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Cowboys, though I doubt that really affects them one way or another against the Packers. They would still want the home-field advantage and division title. But a Lions would also would eliminate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, setting up a scenario where the Packers could clinch with a Washington loss to the Giants.
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Dallas has 3 fine RBs in Elliott, McFadden, and Alfred Morris.
KC has 3 also with Charles, Spencer Ware, and Charcandrick West. Those 2 teams run the ball as well as anyone.
Who do you see as the Packers 1-3 RBs next year, among:
-Lacy
-Michael
-Montgomery
-Starks
-Crockett
-Talented fast rookie? -
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While watching the Vikings game, Rodgers showed no issues with that hindering calf & hamstring injury. That "juke" he made on the touchdown run was impressive! Do you think we are going to see a very balanced Packers team on Sunday night or do you feel there is a glaring weakness on the Lions that will be exploited?
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The Lions actually have a slightly better run defense than pass defense, at least if you look at the league rankings. Both areas are middle of the pack. Mike McCarthy talked today about honing in on his team's strengths, not dictating it based on opponent. I think the Packers keep the football in Aaron Rodgers' hands, allow him to check into runs when necessary, and ask him to win a game. So just like every other weeks, basically.
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We are basically winning shootouts which will not happen throughout playoffs. You need defense to step up when the offense isn't doing its part. I never hear scouts or other coaches questioning Capers scheme. I have been unimpressed with the Defense even prior to 2010. Do you hear anyone in the profession saying Capers defensI've schemes no longer are effective?
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No. That's really just a fan's rant. I don't know what you want him to do, buy a new No. 1 cornerback? This defense has problems, but there isn't a scheme that's going to fix them. When you lose a Sam Shields, when your best pass rusher is injured half the season, when the few inside linebackers you have deal with injuries for a few weeks at a time, you're going to give up points and yards. If the defense doesn't play better, it certainly could cost the Packers in the playoffs. I don't blame it on scheme.
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Aaron Rodgers has been on a torrid run since the Atlanta game. The Packers could very well be 11-4 or 10-5 at this point if the defense had done its job against Atlanta and Indianapolis.
What do you believe is the biggest contributing factor to the entire team's burst of energy/momentum these last five weeks? -
I'd actually go back a little further, and say Aaron Rodgers has been on a torrid pace since the second half of the Packers first game against Chicago. The Packers treated their quarterback like a struggling volume shooter in basketball. Just jack up more shots, or, in this case, passes. Rodgers threw himself out of his slump.As for their momentum now, I think health is the biggest plus. The Packers had terrible injuries hit at the worst time, just as they were getting into the teeth of their schedule in November. But confidence helps too.
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Don't know if I'd go as far as calling it a blessing in disguise yet. Eddie Lacy appeared to be back on track early this season. He had perhaps his best opening month before injury. And I still wonder if the lack of a true workhorse running back will come back to bite them. So far, it hasn't.
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