@michiganjoe posted:Eric Stokes is doing the number 21 justice when it comes to run defense. I haven’t seen anyone care less in run support since HHCD.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) October 28, 2022Ouch
You could mix HHCD and Sharper together and wouldn't match the piss poor effort on that one long Washington run near the goal line.
Herman really ripped Stokes in his podcast. Was his lowest rated defensive player. Said they had to take him off the field near the end of the game because Washington kept running at him.
@BrainDed posted:Jaire had good coverage on the TD he gave up. It was perfect ball.
The big 3rd down conversion, that was one you expect your top paid CB to break up or pick off.
If you have a Pro Bowl level WR going up against a Pro Bowl level CB, all the rules favor the WR. Even on the third down conversion, it wasn't like McLaurin roasted him on the route. Heinicke thew great balls on both plays and, as Jaire basically said, there is a reason McLaurin got 53 million guaranteed.
Contrast with the Packers WRs, who are either too far past their prime or too inexperienced, to win matchups even against decent CBs.
@michiganjoe posted:Eric Stokes is doing the number 21 justice when it comes to run defense. I haven’t seen anyone care less in run support since HHCD.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) October 28, 2022Ouch
His Pass D has not been what it was last year either. He plays like he is scared to get hurt, like somebody else I know also . #26
What has happened to him this season? WEIRD
@michiganjoe posted:Eric Stokes is doing the number 21 justice when it comes to run defense. I haven’t seen anyone care less in run support since HHCD.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) October 28, 2022Ouch
On the other hand, we've had some other guys wear #21 recently that played the run pretty well.
And this is why players shouldn't be anointed "awesome" after one season. This board fell in love with HaHa after his first season, and he ended up being garbage.
@PackLandVA posted:And this is why players shouldn't be anointed "awesome" after one season. This board fell in love with HaHa after his first season, and he ended up being garbage.
Could not agree more and guilty as charged.
Saw HHCD make a couple of plays at S as a rookie in 2014 that helped wipe away the M.D. Jennings/Jerron McMillian stain from 2013 and thought we had something there. I was wrong.
Same with Stokes.
Very pleasantly surprised by his play as a rookies and by no means am I writing him off yet, but it is hard to overcome playing "soft" football especially on defense and Stokes seems to have unfortunately adopted the SOFT approach to playing defense that we have grown so accustomed to seeing in Green Bay.
If & when the re-build begins in earnest, it must include an organizational-wide re-think of how the Green Bay Packers play defense, because the mediocre to poor play has now transcended GMs, Defensive Coordinators, and players -- including far too many unsatisfactory 1st round picks.
Behind a Paywall, feeling better about him and what also happened with his sophomore "slump" in 2022.
Also interesting the Packers are not putting him in a starter just yet.
After his spiraling second season ended with knee and foot injuries, Eric Stokes wants to start having fun again
GREEN BAY – It was a walkthrough period, and Eric Stokes wasn’t formally invited. He’s been running on his own for only a couple of weeks, ditching the wheelchair he sat in through the end of last season, the crutches that felt like an anchor and the dour mood accompanying those entanglements.
He’s soaring now, though, his spirit lifted, and it showed as Tuesday’s first open session of organized team activities started. As the Packers implemented their early walkthrough installation, Stokes couldn’t stand still. He backpedaled behind the defense, working on his footwork and timing, absorbing each rep.
“It’s little things,” Stokes said later at his locker, “that you miss like that. That you take for granted.”
Stokes doesn’t know when he’ll be cleared to practice, but he wants to be ready. Needs to be ready. Even before his second NFL season ended with a Lisfranc injury and torn meniscus at Detroit last November, requiring surgery on both his foot and knee, Stokes was spiraling.
He was a revelation as a rookie. A first-round draft pick who started immediately and flourished, contending for a handful of all-rookie teams. His 14 defended passes in 2021 were three more than Jaire Alexander had in his rookie year. His 935 snaps were most among all Packers cornerbacks, and even with Alexander missing most of that 2021 season with a shoulder injury, Stokes held a starting spot when Alexander returned for the playoffs.
Then his second season began and, instead of building on the success of his rookie year, Stokes regressed. He was riding the high of a good introduction to the NFL, overconfident by his own admission, and it showed on the field. Stokes allowed four catches of at least 20 yards and two touchdowns in nine games, often appearing lost as he wandered the secondary. He missed seven tackles in 33 chances, the worst tackle rate in the Packers secondary.
“I absolutely hate looking at that film,” Stokes said. “But it’s just something I’ve got to do. I’ve just got to learn from it. It’s pretty much just the smallest details that you miss, it’s the small, little stuff that you take for granted, small, little stuff like simple, little things. Like getting ready. Just getting lined up and being ready.
“One thing thThe ball kept finding Stokes last season over and over again. When a cornerback struggles, there is nowhere to hide. Not when New York Jets receiver Corey Davis beat him for 41 yards down the right sideline. Not when Stokes covered the wrong receiver in Washington, allowing a wide-open touchdown to Antonio Gibson. Not when his holding penalty nullified a Rasul Douglas scoop-and-score fumble recovery later in the same game.at (former defensive backs coach Jerry Gray) taught me before he left was just having your gun ready, especially as a corner. You’ve always got to be ready because the ball can easily find you, no matter what, no matter when, whatever. The ball easily finds you.
It was one calamity after another.
“Just trying to be Superman,” Stokes said. “Just trying to do everything and all that stuff, when that’s not required. The only thing that’s required from me is guard the man in front of me. Bump everything else. The thing in front of me is the only thing I need to worry about. Not the bigger picture, not anything. Just stopping the man in fThere was no returning from the Lisfranc injury. When Stokes fractured the plate-like joint on the top of his right foot, he knew it would be a long recovery. Stokes had never missed a game because of injury in his football career. He was in denial at first, unable to comprehend his season was over. It wasn’t until he saw the MRI a week or two later that Stokes understood the realityront of me.”
Stokes couldn’t stop much through the first half of last season. Then the spiral stopped.
When Stokes’ right foot planted in Ford Field’s turf as he tackled Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams, his torn meniscus wasn’t the primary problem. “The meniscus was easy,” Stokes said. “If it was just the meniscus, I would’ve been back probably before the end of the season.” On its own, Stokes’ timeline for the knee injury would have been four to eight weeks. That likely would have put him on the field for the Packers finale against the Lions, giving Stokes a chance for redemption.
Stokes had surgery on his foot and knee in November. He got out of his wheelchair a week after the season ended, but still needed crutches. He didn’t start running until earlier this month. A week ago, Stokes said, he laced his cleats for the first time.
“Eric had a pretty substantial injury,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said, “and he’s on the road to recovery. He’s been in the building every single day. It’s great to see him walking around and just being here.”
Stokes isn't penciled in as a starter this season
Stokes’ eagerness to get back on the field doesn’t only come from his long recovery in the training room. The Packers are hedging their bets this offseason, crafting a starting lineup that doesn’t include their 2021 first-round draft pick. Alexander and Rasul Douglas are starting on the perimeter, where Stokes would line up. Keisean Nixon is their slot cornerback, ideally keeping Alexander and Douglas from lining up inside.
This season, Stokes knows he’ll need to earn every snap he gets.
“It’s May,” Barry said. “All that stuff will sort out.”
Stokes doesn’t know when his opportunity to start scaling the depth chart again will come. He won’t participate in OTAs, but he isn’t ready to dismiss a chance to return in training camp. When he is cleared, Stokes said, he’ll have a different approach.
He’s learned from his mistakes. No matter how much he hated watching the tape.
“I was out there having fun my rookie year,” Stokes said. “I didn’t care. I didn’t care what came. I didn’t care anything. I was just out there playing ball. I was out there too much in my head last year. It is what it is.
“This year, it’s just learning how to just be you. That’s something I took away from it, just learn how to be you again.”
@PackLandVA posted:And this is why players shouldn't be anointed "awesome" after one season.
Can't be said enough. Randall and Rollins both looked like pretty good picks after their rookie years.
Whatever Demons
Did he play last night?
He is still in his 21 day practice period. They haven't activated him yet.
Stokes on Day 1
Sure would be nice to have all of his injury shit in the past, when he came out his best traits are a good fit for what Hafley wants out of his CBs. He's the forgotten man right now- and for good reason. We'll see what the Packers think of his return based on what they do in the draft.
Time will tell.
You can never have enough CB's. For me....cornerstones of the team.
QB
LT
CB
And CB & LT can be switched in certain cases.
so boss, you think Dean Lowry would make a great CB or you thinking QB.
6 of one in my mind
A terrific long-snapper! 20 year career
@Satori posted:Stokes on Day 1
Sure would be nice to have all of his injury shit in the past, when he came out his best traits are a good fit for what Hafley wants out of his CBs. He's the forgotten man right now- and for good reason. We'll see what the Packers think of his return based on what they do in the draft.
Stokes to me is the wild card for the Packers draft. IF he is truly healthy maybe they wait for a later round to grab a CB.
Maybe I am missing something but the last I heard about him was when he was going with Watson to see a specialist about their hamstrings. IMHO even if he is healthy I see the Packers have to still taking a CB because of the recent injury history.
@The Heckler posted:IMHO even if he is healthy I see the Packers have to still taking a CB because of the recent injury history.
Indeed
It just means GB can probably grab one of the talented press-CBs in later rounds vs spending a top pick on one.
Stokes' medical "mismanagement" contributed to the changes in the strength & conditioning coaches, with Aaron Hill and Todd Hunt taking over.
Hafley's defense invites the pass, so having (2) outside CBs you can trust without Safety help is critical- and Stokes could be the answer. Fingers crossed
I don't recall if the Pack exercised his 5th year option? Would they based on his history injury?
Nope, they haven't exercised 5th year (so far) I'd be really surprised if they did
Nothing I can back up, just a SWAG, but I suspect Stokes' rehab didn't go as well as suspected.
I have no reason to think he slacking off, so it's logical to think it would be a trainer/doctor problem, but they may not necessarily be at fault.
Their injury care/rehab history wouldn't indicate that to be the case.
In any case, Stokes needs some good luck in regards to his injuries.
He's missed a lot of time. That surely has to stunt his development.
The #Packers are declining the fifth-year option for CB Eric Stokes, source says. The 29th pick in 2021, Stokes played well as a rookie but has battled injuries the past two years. He’s slated for free agency next spring and can make a case for a big payday if he stays healthy. pic.twitter.com/oAjQlCeGfn
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) May 2, 2024
Apparently learned a little something from the Savage option.
Gotta wonder if they go the same route if Valentine isn't on the roster? With Savage they weren't prepared to move on to another safety.
Couple of decent FA CB available if they think Stokes isn't ready for prime time...although I would guess Packers would look to fill spots with UDFA if things with Stokes went south.
Higher end CB...Stephon Gilmore and Xavien Howard
Middle tier CB...Adoree Jackson and Steven Nelson
Lower tier CB...Akello Witherspoon
If Stokes plays great here in 2024 & Jaire plays like Jaire....I like where this is headed!
There are a lot of teams that will probably backup the Brinks truck for Stokes if he has a Pro-Bowl type season. Starting with the purple pricks in MN
Someone's being dramatic.
@Chongo posted:Couple of decent FA CB available if they think Stokes isn't ready for prime time...although I would guess Packers would look to fill spots with UDFA if things with Stokes went south.
Higher end CB...Stephon Gilmore and Xavien Howard
Middle tier CB...Adoree Jackson and Steven Nelson
Lower tier CB...Akello Witherspoon
I'd love to have Gilmore but the price is probably too steep. I'd actually like to see any of those 4 High or Middle tier guys for depth and vet presence. I still think we need 1 more decent vet CB.
I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't like the idea of relying on Stokes to be available. Plus we don't know how well he's even going to play.
Contract year $hould $toke$ a fire in him.
MLF said Stokes is 100% and ready to go, this season.
Apparently the 2025 draft class is deep at CB in case Gute needs to focus there...
Even when healthy and on the field in 2023, Jaire was pretty bad and not even close to what's expected with his contract. Then factor in his diva attitude with a young locker room. Wish we kept Rasul instead actually
It would be huge if K King is this season's Valentine (or even close)
Jarrian Jones was there at the end of the third and Gutekunst chose Hopper instead.
@Herschel posted:Jarrian Jones was there at the end of the third and Gutekunst chose Hopper instead.
Maybe because Hopper is a LB while Jones is a CB. Hafley 's defense will utilize LBs, a lot. This draft class was not very deep one, for LBs so maybe Gute wanted to make sure he took another LB, after he grabbed Cooper, for Hafley's scheme and for depth at the LB position.
@mr21mr21 posted:Apparently the 2025 draft class is deep at CB in case Gute needs to focus there...
Even when healthy and on the field in 2023, Jaire was pretty bad and not even close to what's expected with his contract. Then factor in his diva attitude with a young locker room. Wish we kept Rasul instead actually
It would be huge if K King is this season's Valentine (or even close)
Maybe we should refer to Kalen King as just Kalen. Just to avoid all the forum wide indigestion.
I'm just going to call him "Kevin" 
Maybe Gutekunst didn't rank Jarrian Jones as a 3rd rounder?
