The Detroit Lions at least spared us the 10 minute wait to announce the pick we already knew was coming. Thanks. So the Lions have a quarterback of the future, ditto the Bears and Packers. Will the Vikings join the party by trying to get a quarterback today? I doubt it, they would have to move to the mid-teens probably to get a guy like Josh Freeman, and I don’t think the Vikings have the ammo to do that, so there are pretty much stuck with T-Jack and Sage. Good luck with that. Rams are on the clock.
3:17 PM: Rams take Jason Smith, no surprise there. Solid safe pick. Chiefs are on the clock, we could get the first trade here.
3:30 PM: Tyson Jackson to the Chiefs at three. This guy soared up the draft boards recently. Amazing, one guy had him the 48th best player in the draft. I thought he would be there for the Packers at nine for sure. Shows how much I know.
3:34 PM: Geez, we moving right along. Seahawks take linebacker Aaron Curry. Another safe pick.
3:39 PM: The Jets trade up. Got to be the quarterback.
3:41 PM: So the Jets replace Brett Favre with Mark Sanchez. This could be big for the Jets, I like Sanchez better than Matthew Stafford. The Jets are going all-in this offseason since firing Eric Mangini.
3:55 PM: Andre Smith is gone. Good, I sure as heck didn’t want him in Green Bay. Good luck in Cincinnati.
3:58 PM: Darrius Heyward-Bey goes to the Raiders. I heard rumors of that happening. Now it’s looking like Crabtree might be there at nine. If he is, I think the Packers will take him.
4:05 PM: The Jags take Eugene Monroe. Packers are on the clock and Crabtree has got to be the pick. Raji is still there, though. The Packers have a tough decision to make. I would have loved had Monroe slid one more spot.
4:14 PM: It’s B.J. Raji! I have to say I am not unhappy with Raji. I just thought Crabtree would have been a great addition and given Aaron Rodgers some unbelievable weapons with Greg Jenning and Jordy Nelson. Now Crabtree just went to the 49ers. Good pick for the Packers. If Justin Harrell can pull off a miracle and actually get healthy, the Packers have the makings of young, strong defensive line that so lacking last year when the Packers couldn’t stop anybody.
I loved it when the pick was announced you could hear the Packers fight song playing in the background – Go Pack Go!
5:32 PM: The Lions added tight end Brandon Pettigrew and the Vikings wide receiver Percy Harven. The NFC North is stocking up on playmakers, good thing the Packers did take Raji, they might be thinking defense again when they pick at 41. Seeing what the Lions and Vikings are doing on offense has to factor in a little. Thank God the Vikings don’t have a quarterback. The Lions are doing things the right way today, a far cry form the days of Matt Millen. While they are probably a year or two away from competing in the division, the Lions are raising a few eyebrows today.
5:53 PM: Ted Thompson trades for a first-round pick? What is the world coming to? This is amazing. Who does he want that bad?
6:01 PM: Now we know why Thompson doesn’t trade down. Wow, a second and two thirds for Clay Matthews? I’ve seen Matthews rated anywhere from 90th best in the draft all the way down to 12th, the later by Bob McGinn of the Journal-Sentinel. Very interesting. The joy of Raji now brings bewilderment. Not saying I don’t like the move, apparently Thompson doesn’t see value in rounds two and three. Maybe there is more wheeling and dealing to be done too, but this was an out-of-character move for Ted Thompson, that is for sure.
With the background of that Matthews family of his dad Clay and uncle Bruce, hopefully his genetics don’t fall far from the original DNA.
Hey Larry – Underwood is the flyer I thought they’d take at DB…Ohio State top recruite who couldn’t cut it academically, so transferred to Cincy.
Matt Hayton Says:
April 7th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Larry-
They are set at CB -Harris, Woodson, Williams (nickel) and Lee (2nd rounder) are locks…and I don’t see them cutting Blackmon since he had 2 return TD’s…and has shown some flashes…which brings me back to Bush.
If they draft Jenkins, they would need to cut Bush, which would cost TT $2 million in cap dollars, since that is what he just signed him for…don’t think he’ll do that either…
My guess is that maybe they take a flyer in the later rounds…Michael hawkins type talent and see if they can bring him into camp, then sneak him onto their practice squad…and try and develop him to compete for a roster spot next year…
Al- I love the new GM…whale of a draft IMHO.
My complete take will come tomorrow, but first impressions are favorable. And I must give a shout out to our Wisconsin boy Jerry Kelly, a huge Packers’ fan and today the winner of the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. A sign of good things to come maybe?
After looking over the late rounds of the draft on ESPN, it appears Ted got a steal with Jamon Meredith at #162; Scouts, Inc. gave him an overall rank of #66 and #8 in his position group. I wonder what made him drop so precipitously?
I’m guessing he’s satisfied with his TE group, as he selected FB Quinn Johnson when Cornelius Ingram (Scout’s Inc rated him the 44th overall prospect) was still available. That’s really the only pick that was a head-scratcher for me; there were still some highly rated players available and you’ve got to wonder who else was interested in Quinn Johnson. I’m assuming we’ll find out in the days to come…
ESPN’s Mel Kiper gives the Packer’s draft a grade of “A”.
CBS’s John Czarnacki gives the Packer’s draft a grade of “C”
Too funny…
Funnier yet is Bearce w/ a B. Because they got Cutler, too rich.
Meredith apparently had “problems” with his coaches. But I’ve had problems with bosses, but continued to work my ass off. On paper you gotta give TT a lot of credit. As they say, the proof of this pudding comes down the road, but I think we’ll see improvement on defense from Raji and Matthews immediately. Lang and Meredith are good prospects who could develop into the next Tauscher and Clifton.
Larry, by all accounts the Bears did an excellent job on Day 2. I can’t claim to know much about the players but I have read multiple accounts praising the Bears choices.
I am giddy that the Vikings got Harvin. Hopefully his suspensions start this year.
I am scared that Kiper gave us an A. He is pretty douchey.
USA Today gave us an A and in terms of need so do I. Has anyone heard if we signed an undrafted punter, we could use some help there. My prediction is an interesting year of ups and downs untill the new players can get settled into new spots. We probably now have the talent to go back and forth between 4-3 and 3-4 but I hope we can settle on an O-line early and stick with it even if we have to take our lumps. In two years I expect us to be back on top.
I like our draft, but can not give a grade. Who knows about the mid-late rd choices. Thats where drafts are made.
Mark, USA Today gave us a B+ not an A. Not that it matters- it is the McPaper.
What rock do the people rating the GB draft as an F live under? The packernet poll always brings out a few I guess!
I wouldn’t worry too much about the national media. They are usually wrong on the details when it comes to the Packers. Listen to the local guys around Green Bay Milwaukee. They know what’s going on. After all the national media has no idea who Tramon Williams, and Patrick Lee are and think we need help at corner. Just an example of how much they miss when it comes to the Pack.
Another FYI, Mel Kiper was way off on his mock draft. I think he got less than 5 correct in the first round. Not saying he doesn’t know anything about football just saying the experts don’t know everything.
I have just compared the new defensive personnel to th 1996 Carolina Panthers featuring Kevin Greene and coached by Dom Capers. That team was long on experience and quite slow. This incarnation of the Pack has a chance to be downright scary.
I have watched the 1996 NFC Championship Game several times and I took these things away from that game. #1 Capers entire game plan was to shut down the West Coast offense. Holmgren countered with an emphasis on screens and running the ball.
The Pack ran 35 times that game! The Upfield Rush that generated so much pressure became undone because Sam Mills,Kevin Greene etc were far too old chase down screen passes and draws.
Fast forward to 2009 and enter AJ, Nick Barnett, Clay Matthews , Nick Collins etc
This team should be able to chase down anything.
If the offense can score points and force the opponent to pass last year should be a faint memory
4205 Says: April 27th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
“What rock do the people rating the GB draft as an F live under? The packernet poll always brings out a few I guess!”
Do not underestimate the venom spewed by the TT haters. Either that or there’s been an influx of Viking fans today…
Come on Iccy, I am as big of a TT hater as anyone and think that the Packers deserve a B or better. But I also think it is stupid to grade a draft right afterwards. That being said, I would disagree with JeffN about the local vs national media. Well, somewhat-depends who you are talking about. The local media has no NFL experience and many of them don’t really seem to understand football. Just because they know the 53rd person on the roster does not mean they know what the hell they are talking about..
Patrick Lee? Wow. Who the hell is that? Oh yeah, our 34 yr old 2nd year corner who wasn’t good enough to get on the field last year. I call him Patrick Harrell. We absolutely need corners. If not this year, then certainly next.
Did they draft Matthews because Greene was feeling nostalgic? Him and Hawk need to cut their stinky hair.
How stoned do you think Raji is right now?
Too many reach arounds happening here-had to throw in some balance.
Icy, I agree with you on the spewing venom after reading Lew’s post here.
Lew, I guess I am drinking the TT kool-aid and the local media kool-aid while you are drinking the National media and TT hater kool-aid. Let’s just call it even for now.
Lew, you compare Patrick Lee to Justin Harrell because he was buried in the depth chart last year. Remember when Donald Driver was buried on the depth chart his first 3 years in Green Bay and didn’t get on the field? I’ll compare Pat Lee to Driver. Pat Lee will become a starter when our 2 pro bowlers retire. That’s the way I see it.
Lew, Harry Sydney and Johny Grey understand football. They are local media and they both played in the NFL and had long careers. They know football and they know this team way better than any national media guy.
TT settled the account with me yesterday. OT check NT check OLB Check FB Check
Here is the only problem, TT got aggressive after 6-10. TT did get good groceries MM better cook a very good meal
Pack4, gotcha! But………How agressive does a GM get after 13-3, set starters on O and D, with a QB thats ready to take over from a HOFer, and a pretty good stable of RBs and WRs? Sure, the bottom fell out, and I know why. Just shows the luck factor involved, and we had luck in ’07 too; only ’08 was the bad kind. Many posted that TTs most glaring failure was the OL, but in ’07 you had to figure in that neither OT had had serious injuries since Cliffy/Sapp. This is a much happier place since yesterday.
Lewie, Lewie: So you think it’s stupid to grade a draft immediately after the fact but Patrick Lee was a bust because he didn’t get on the field during his rookie season?
I think the majority of folks would agree that most collegians take several years to develop NFL skills, hence you rate a draft three years after. The 2006 Packer draft features four full-time starters (Hawk, Colledge, Jennings, Spitz), one more likely starter next season (Moll) and two more contributors (Jolly, Blackmon). I don’t think there’s a GM in the league who wouldn’t consider that successful. It’s way past time for you haters to give the man credit…
I see that the national scouting service projected Lang at guard not tackle. It’ll be interesting to where he finally lands. Tauscher will be gone, Scotty Wells has probably snapped his last snap unless he becomes an expensive backup.
Iccy Says:
It’s way past time for you haters to give the man credit…
Come on 24 hours isn’t “way past time”…very good draft…kudos to Teddy.
He painted himself in a corner with this draft needing 2 impact starters, by not being active in FA, and it would appear the man got the job done. Raji and Matthews look like those 2 impact guys…Meredith or Lang could be our RT (sad day if Tausch is done in GB, and it looks that way…); Johnson will be our FB; kid is a beast. YouTube him and watch this kid pancake people. sick…Grant’s job just got a little bit easier. I’ve been wanting a bruising FB and a 3rd & 1 back since they cut Henderson…and now they got one. Major upgrade over Kuhn and Hall.
There’s a chance TT got 3, maybe 4 day one starters in this draft. We’ll see what happens in August and beyond, but looks pretty good right now.
It is a sad day that Tauscher is gone. Its sad that Mike Sherman didnt go for on fourth and short which led to 4-26th. A reporter asked MM did this signal a return to power football. MM smiled wider than I ever saw. The finese garbage will not work against the Tommy Harrises, Williams boys in MN and playoff teams. Grant is a back, Wynn is a power back. Its funny if the Pack split those close games 3-4 rather than 0-7 we are still in trade down mode.
Ok, fair enough point on P. Lee-But if he can’t beat Blackmon out as the 4th corner this year it is a problem. He is old for a 2nd year player.
And you are right that there are some actual knowledgable local media members. But to just say no national media understand is silly. Certainly not al “experts” are actually that, but I guarantee Jaws understands the Packers offense way better than any local member. Dude just watched coaches tape 18 hours a day.
Iccy, I do have to take issue with your draft analysis. Just because a player starts doesn’t mean he should. In the draft you talk about, Hawk needs to severely step it up this year or he will be flirting with Bust status as the #5 pick. Obviously Jennings is a stud. Moll will be cut this year, NOT starting. Blackmon is an injury prone corner who can’t cover. He is a 5th corner/Special Teams player. Jolly took a big step back last year and I think the jury remains out (no pun intended). Spitz is a so-so starter. Colledge sucks. I know everyone is plugging him in as the LG, but when did he go from crappy to solid? Was it after the season?
Not saying it was a bad draft, but it was nothing special as implied. Hell, Jennings almost makes that draft.
Plus, Like I said I like thw ’09 draft. It was just too much of a love fest in here. What fun is that?