Were in year 3 of Gute and the guy he drafted in year 1 looks like an all pro! I realize patience with draft picks isn’t something fans can typically deal with, but we don’t know shit about shit yet. Even the players who are playing well as rookies or even 2nd year guys who dominated last year that we “passed over” won’t be dominant forever. Things level out eventually, it’s why contracts are 4 years. King vs. Watt isn’t even a debate, that shit is settled science at this point, no one was/is on the other side of that debate. Gute didn’t even draft Kevin King btw, so it doesn’t really apply.
well this seems to be going sideways. anyways, i came in here bc krys barnes seems to be pretty dang good. if kamal martin is 1/2 that guy, we are good. even though i vote for queen...oomf
We need to rename this forum, Keen Hindsight.
We like drafts, players, coaches and GM's till we don't.
But, we always love THE GREEN BAY PACKERS.
@Blair Kiel posted:We need to rename this forum, Keen Hindsight.
Bad drafting causes 20/20 hindsight.
True fact.
Press Gazette has a subscriber's only story today that starts this way:
Who would have guessed in August that an undrafted rookie would be one of the defensive players the Green Bay Packers had to have on the field in the home stretch of the 2020 season?
Last Saturday night, Krys Barnes’ performance, along with what happened when he was out of the game, showed why this undrafted inside linebacker from UCLA has moved ahead of Christian Kirksey on the Packers’ depth chart and is now their starting inside linebacker and wearer of the green dot signaling him as the defense’s play caller.
In fact, at this point in the season, Barnes and fifth-round pick Kamal Martin are the Packers' two best inside linebackers and should be getting the huge majority of playing time at the two inside positions. The Packers are not a particularly physical, hard-hitting defense, and among other things those two bring more of that element to coordinator Mike Pettine’s group than veteran Christian Kirksey.
There are times where I don't know if TT and Gute really understand/stood what Dom and Pettine want at ILB.
If you had told me back in September that Kirksey would end up playing SAM I would have assumed we had a ton of key injuries at LB.
Those two ILBs seem to say Gute and Co. guess better than they choose.
Martin and Barnes are kind of the same guy. Both are probably best suited to the traditional Mike position as they’re fairly stout but not that fast. Of course getting a versatile guy who is both stout and fast would require a premium pick at the spot.
Martin was a decent LB at Minnesota. The problem is unless you are an elite talent with off the charts measurables and physical abilities playing at a big time program it’s easy to get overlooked and fall in the draft. Plus, it’s not like ILB is a sexy position to begin with. OLB, CBs, WRs, DEs, OTs, and obviously QB are the key positions. Basically anyone throwing or catching the ball or protecting the player throwing or catching it. On the other side, sacking the QB and preventing pass catches is the name of the game.
You see White in TB as sort of the unicorn LB. He’s fast enough to cover just about anyone, and he’s stout and tough enough to stop the run. And he can sack the QB. Plus he’s from L$U. Not tough to figure out why he was taken top 10. I’d argue he’s not really an ILB anyway. He’s basically an oversized safety that plays LB.
I actually see that type of hybrid LB or S as the future of the NFL defense. Traditional run stuffing safeties or backers or DL aren’t as versatile and can’t play every down.
Martin's injury probably caused him to drop. As for Barnes, he appears to be a guy that just fell through the cracks in what remains a very inexact science.
I've generally tried to balance the "Pettine-hate" but one criticism that he should own is Kirksey. He played the Will position for Pettine at Cleveland. Pettine knows better than anyone the demands of the Mike position & he should know the strengths / weaknesses of Kirksey better than anyone. His calculation that Kirksey could play Mike was wrong (insinuated in recent presser that Kirksey did't have the type of mental acuity that Mike demands). Give him credit for finally admitting that it wouldn't work and Barnes / Martin are better options, but he should have known it wouldn't work before bringing him to GB.
I will give him the same amount of credit as I would give a person who admits getting hit in the head with a hammer may not be a good thing after they have experienced repeated hammer shots to the head.
@Tschmack posted:Martin was a decent LB at Minnesota. The problem is unless you are an elite talent with off the charts measurables and physical abilities playing at a big time program it’s easy to get overlooked and fall in the draft. Plus, it’s not like ILB is a sexy position to begin with. OLB, CBs, WRs, DEs, OTs, and obviously QB are the key positions. Basically anyone throwing or catching the ball or protecting the player throwing or catching it. On the other side, sacking the QB and preventing pass catches is the name of the game.
You see White in TB as sort of the unicorn LB. He’s fast enough to cover just about anyone, and he’s stout and tough enough to stop the run. And he can sack the QB. Plus he’s from L$U. Not tough to figure out why he was taken top 10. I’d argue he’s not really an ILB anyway. He’s basically an oversized safety that plays LB.
I actually see that type of hybrid LB or S as the future of the NFL defense. Traditional run stuffing safeties or backers or DL aren’t as versatile and can’t play every down.
That's a good breakdown. But that type of hybrid has been around for at least 5 years. Not widespread because of D schemes but wasn't that ILB/S in ATL the first one that got talked about in that way? Deion Jones?
I would argue Washington did it 10+ years ago with Sean Taylor, Pittsburgh as well with Polamalu. Arizona was truly the first to use a true Safety in that role (at least in this decade) with Deone Buchanan. Seattle did it better with Kam Chancellor. Devin White is the same size as Bobby Wagner (~6’, 240), he’s just a LB who is just freakishly fast with great instincts and trigger. The hybrid position isn’t about finding that right h/w/s guy, if it was then Josh Jones would be the captain of our D right now, it’s all about the specific player and their instincts/vision. I would put Savage up as a hybrid guy, despite his size, because he has the instincts and trigger to attack the ball. Dropping him into a deep quarter is a waste.
More analysis.
He played 95% of the defensive snaps yesterday.
Mentioned it in another thread: loved how a Titan caught a pass in the shallow middle last night but Barnes was right there to immediately bring the guy down for a short gain. Last year that guy gains another 10 yards before he's tackled and it's by a DB. Plus his getting the green dot as a rookie UDFA says a lot about him, and I wonder how much leeway he gets to change calls on the field?
An update: Barnes finished second on the team in tackles with 80 despite missing three games due to COVID, and was third on the D in tackles for a loss at 6.5. Had a career best 14 tackles against the Bears including 8 solo tackles.
If we can get another decent DL to pair with Clark in the nickle D he loves to play with 2 DL... I think Barnes and Martin are good enough.
I agree. DL and OT are tops on my draft list. Maybe C if we lose our true all pro there.
Always need DL and OL... but GB will need a young CB as well. I would love a heat-seeking missile at MLB but agree that Barnes and Martin look to be a young pair of dudes that can get it done.
Barnes has been a good find. Seems to have really settled the D since taking over the green dot.
#Packers #51 ILB Krys Barnes had to have a club cast put on his injured left hand, but DC Mike Pettine still wants the undrafted rookie running the defense. Coaches had to help him put the radio helmet on because he coudn't do it himself with the injured hand. @1250AMTheFan pic.twitter.com/ml0oC5XzhX
— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) January 16, 2021
Don't know what exactly injury is, but the cast certainly inhibits ability to tackle.
Hope he has a smaller club next Sunday so he can hold onto a Brady INT
I would think that pretty much guarantees he will still need a cast to play?
He'd probably have more interceptions than King if it wasn't for the club on his hand.
He would've had one yesterday if it weren't for the club.
From JSO:
*One of the reasons undrafted rookie Krys Barnes has upgraded the Packers’ inside linebacker position is his sound pass coverage. One play that was easy to miss was in the third quarter, after the Packers had scored to go up 25-10. On second down, Jared Goff was flushed from the pocket and wanted to check the ball down to running back Cam Akers in the flat in hopes of setting up a short third down. But Barnes had Akers blanketed so Goff threw the ball away, and on third down Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary sacked Goff to end the possession
Yeah, I saw that, and on his almost INT he didn't have coverage, just jumped in front of the target.
Hope they can give him a hand he can work with Sunday....