Round 1 No. 22 (From LV) ILB Quay Walker Georgia

@Satori posted:

A big part of Campbell's ascension was reportedly how Joe Barry deployed him and took advantage of his skillset. There were articles along those lines last fall, noting that ILB was kinda Barry's specialty

IF that's the case, then we can move beyond superstition and plan for another excellent season from him.

Nothing to do with superstition, Stevie.  I was implying more than Campbell's type of year (after a history of being average) happened in part because of things he was doing in our D that nobody had any tape on (both Barry's D and the way Campbell was used in it).  And with a seasons' worth of film, will he have the same success?

@PackerHawk posted:

We actually have two 3 down ILB's. Who were the last to make that claim? I'd say Hawk and Bishop.

That’s……rather generous including Hawk. I would have liked to see the Barnett/Bishop tandem.

Probably have to go back to 1991 and Brian Noble/Johnny Holland.

@Goalline posted:

After week one it is clear. Quay Walker is already really good. Man, he flies around the field making tackles and his ability to take on linemen is so surprisingly good for a young LB.

https://youtu.be/Qbcf1DHnNfc

But how is his body lean?

Very lean. Not an ounce of fat on him.

I want to apologize publicly about what happened Sunday night. I reacted off of my emotions again and take full responsibility of making another stupid decision. Since then I’ve questioned myself on why did I do what I did when the trainer was doing his job!! I was wrong!!

— Quay (@QuayWalker_) January 9, 2023

Kid's young. This shit cannot continue in 2023 and I feel like he will have a come to Jesus moment in the offseason and this isn't the stuff we'll see moving forward.

His position coach and DC will also go a long way in emphasizing what is acceptable and what is not.   

You do need some bad asses on D, one of the things this D has lacked for many years.  Now they have some.  Obviously there is a line between badass and dumbass and guys like Quay need to walk on the right side of that line.  He could be a game changer in a good way if he can learn to check his emotions in situations like that.

Appreciate that he gave a REAL apology like a man and not some half-assed "sorry if you were offended" apology non-apology.

Now he just needs to pull his head outta his ass and not have it happen again.

I like the way Quay Walker played as a rookie inside linebacker for the Packers.

A lot.

But I cannot fathom his "thinking" in pushing an out of uniform spindly trainer trying to assist a fallen player ... even if the trainer did nudge him out of the way.

That it happened just 6 days after the Damar Hamlin tragedy in a nationally televised game is going to mark him for a while.

He has a LOT of growing up to do before the 2023 season.

He didn't think before he acted.  He reacted before thinking.  That was just dumb emotion.

He stepped up and made a sincere apology

I think he’s gonna be great.   We need a coaching staff to step in and do a better job with these young men

and what the hell was Douglas doing playing official out there with the football

lack of discipline

I wondered that same thing about Douglas, but someone was explaining that the center moved the ball so if he touched it that brought a penalty. Can any rules experts help on that? I've never seen anything like it. Someone else said him touching the ball didn't draw the flag, but him pushing back a Lion who touched him after he did that was why he was penalized.

That’s going to be an expensive play for some packer players. Reed, Walker and Wyatt with the dip shit nudge  the end

If Walker wants to better himself as a player and a man, he's got to leave "street behavior" behind.
The same goes for Wyatt.
That shit doesn't fly at a professional level. Much less 1st round pick level.

ESPECIALLY for someone who represents the Green Bay Packers.

@DH13 posted:

You do need some bad asses on D,

I thought everyone wanted good bubble.

@packerboi posted:

Kid's young. This shit cannot continue in 2023 ...

Next up? Cheerleaders!

The play OOB earlier in the year, the body slam and this are next level dum.  Add in Rasul with an epic stupid play and you have players reflecting their coaching. 

I hope Quay can learn from this, but it really should have been pretty fucking obvious not to shove a trainer in the first place.

@Iowacheese posted:

Cheri Oteri was hot! 

But I C fails to tell us he is on the left.

@YATittle posted:

I wondered that same thing about Douglas, but someone was explaining that the center moved the ball so if he touched it that brought a penalty. Can any rules experts help on that? I've never seen anything like it. Someone else said him touching the ball didn't draw the flag, but him pushing back a Lion who touched him after he did that was why he was penalized.

The Packers called a T O before he hit the ball. An OL gave him a shove and Rasul hit him in the face mask. Flag.

@SteveLuke posted:

That it happened just 6 days after the Damar Hamlin tragedy in a nationally televised game is going to mark him for a while.

There’s a HoF player that killed someone (allegedly) and was a SB MVP the following season. So good/great play can remove a “mark” pretty quickly.

The hammer

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/01...hoving-lions-trainer

Pretty light punishment, if you ask me, especially for a second offense. If I were him, I'd just keep quiet, pay the fine, and learn my lesson -- hopefully.

Is that fine a tax deductible education expense?

Quay selected to PFWA All-Rookie team.

Regardless of experience, 42 linebackers had at least 100 tackles in 2022. According to Sports Info Solutions and its judgment of coverage responsibilities, Walker’s 50.0 percent catch rate allowed was the second-best behind only perennial 49ers Pro Bowler Fred Warner. He was fifth in that group with six passes defensed and 10th in missed-tackle percentage (14 misses; 10.4 percent).

Jets hold Offense AND Defensive rookies of the year; Wilson and Gardener.

@PackLandVA posted:

Will be interesting to compare Quay to Devin Lloyd over the next couple of seasons.  Just about everyone had Lloyd in or very near the top 32 picks.  Quay was a late riser since the combine.  With both available at #22, hopefully Gute & co. got it right.

So I posted the above the day after the draft.  Here are their stats:

Walker - 17 Games, 73 Solo, 46 Assist, 119 Total, 5 TFL, 1.5 Sacks, 0 INT, 3 FF, 7 PD

Lloyd - 17 Games, 59 Solo, 56 Assist, 115 Total, 0 TFL, 0 Sacks, 3 INT, 0 FF, 8 PD

Those numbers are pretty damn close to being identical.  The 3 FF versus 3 INTs offset.  The big difference is snap count where Lloyd had 926 defensive and 85 STs. Quay had 846 defensive and 78 STs.  So the stats could skew towards Lloyd.  But they played similar percentages of snaps (80% & 20% Lloyd, 82% & 18% Walker). Of course, Lloyd hadn't been thrown out of any games, whereas Quay....well, we know what happened.

So I'd say after year 1, it's a push for both teams.  They both got really solid rookie seasons from their picks.

Really difficult to really compare / assess based on stats for ILBers, especially tackles, since they don't distinguish from a tackle in the hole for a 1 yard gain, and a tackle 5 yards beyond the LOS (insert AJ Hawk reference). I looked at PFF scores, and Walker & Lloyd were equally poor, both finishing in the bottom 10 of all ILBers. Quay has a ton of potential but was really poor defending runs between the tackles. He is much more comfortable running down plays to the hashes. Inside he is slow to trigger, which allows o-lineman to get out on him, and when they do he has a difficult time getting off blocks. Hoping that this will improve. I see that Patrick Queen, who I thought the Packers were going to take instead of Jordan Love, had a significantly better season this year, which gives me hope for Quay.

Walker has speed and athleticism that can't be coached.  You either have it or you don't.  If he takes the same approach to honing his skills like Gary did at OLB, he's going to be one helluva MLB in GB.  

The talent and skill is obvious and should improve with coaching.  Of course I have no faith in Barry.

Also, Quay needs to stop the stupid shit, refs will be watching him closer this year

Walker 2 ejections

Lloyd 0

Advantsge Q

I really liked Queen on draft day too. Many torched him his rookie season saying he was horrible and a bust.

Quay has the length and strength to keep OL off of him. He needs to learn technique and really hone his craft. He also brings nasty to a D that has historically lacked it. Dumdum flags notwithstanding.

@"We"-Ka-Bong posted:

The talent and skill is obvious and should improve with coaching.  Of course I have no faith in Barry.

Also, Quay needs to stop the stupid shit, refs will be watching him closer this year

Wouldn't be Walker's position coach to teach him?

@Iowacheese posted:

Walker 2 ejections

Lloyd 0

Advantsge Q

PacklandVA: Lots of research

Iowacheese: 13 seconds.

Advantage... ?

Quay Walker's rookie year reminded me of Devin White's in Tampa.  Both super athletic players who had rough rookie years due to lack of experience in diagnosing plays.  But the athletic talent is obvious, so hopefully he dedicates himself to film study this offseason and improves on the mental aspect of the game.  He sheds blocks and moves in space in a way that I don't remember seeing from a LB in Green Bay in my time as a fan (since 1992). If he does that and controls his emotions on the field, I don't see why he can't be an all-pro. 

More from Larry -

This time a chat and some clips from PFWA All-Rookie team-  Quay Walker

https://twitter.com/packers/st.../1650575836557238285

Was he also the only first round 2022 rookie to get ejected from two games for doing dumb shit that could’ve been easily avoided?

Are you the only Yooper that hasn't moved on yet?

Nope.

I'll repeat what I posted in the Wyatt thread:
The single biggest factor for their 2nd year performance will be mental maturation.

Walker has a problem. One PF that causes an ejection, not to mention a fine, can be an anomaly. Two indicates a trend.