Packers High-Fives: Disappointing Developments
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Ready or not, the Green Bay Packers will kick off their 102nd season on Sept. 13 at the Minnesota Vikings.
And, really, who’s going to be fully ready? With no offseason practices, an abbreviated training camp and no preseason, profound challenges await general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur. “I think you’re running on faith a little bit,” Gutekunst said in regard to Saturday’s roster cut from 80 players to 53. Meanwhile, when the Packers line up in Week 1, they’ll do so without the key players going through any live tackling. “We want to have all our horses for the race coming in two weeks,” LaFleur said of the tradeoff between getting battle-tested but staying healthy.
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With a hybrid week blending the final days of training camp with a jump-start on the Vikings coming up, here are five troubling developments.
Right Tackle: Not All Right
It would be also impossible to not be worse at right tackle. Bryan Bulaga was excellent last season, a wildly underrated reason why the Packers reached the NFC Championship Game.
With Bulaga joining the Chargers in free agency, it’s been Billy Turner against Rick Wagner for the starting job. A battle royale it is not. Turner, who started at right guard last season, looks like a potential standout at times. During Friday’s one-on-ones, he beat Za’Darius Smith twice. During Sunday’s one-on-ones, he beat Preston Smith twice. But that excellence doesn’t show up on a regular basis.
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Wagner, who struggled through an injury-plagued 2019 season with Detroit, missed time recently with an injured arm but is back at practice. So, with three practices to go until attention turns fully to Week 1 against Minnesota, Wagner and Turner will battle for the starting job.
“I think that’s still very much in play right now,” LaFleur said on Monday. “We’re still working through those combinations and, until we feel like we’ve got the right five, we’re going to continue doing it that way. But even as we progress into the season, just because we pick a starting five doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way. You’ve got to go earn your spot each and every day. I love competition because I do think it elevates people’s play.”
Sternberger: Time to be Concerned?
The Packers used a third-round pick last year on tight end Jace Sternberger. His rookie year was derailed by a concussion early in camp and an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve. His second season was delayed after testing positive for COVID before camp.
Sternberger has done little to show he’s worthy of considerable playing time to start the season. Is that because of his delayed start to training camp or is it because maybe he’s not good enough?
Raven Greene: Hurt Again
Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine loves his dime defense. Last season, he used six-plus defensive backs on 52 percent of the snaps, according to Sports Info Solutions. Making that work requires a safety with the physicality to handle the rugged work of a linebacker. With his rocked-up physique, Raven Greene is the man for the job. However, his resume includes more trips to injured reserve (two) than starts (one). He has logged only 113 career snaps. Greene spoke to reporters on Aug. 22, with being healthy a central part of the conversation. He hasn’t practiced since.
Oren Burks: Also Hurt Again
General manager Brian Gutekunst traded up into the third round to land linebacker Oren Burks in 2018. A safety-turned-linebacker at Vanderbilt, Burks presumably had the athleticism and coverage skill to fit the mold of the modern linebacker. However, Burks missed most of his first two training camps due to injuries and played only 122 snaps as a rookie and 57 last year. He’s hurt again, and while the severity is not known, it’s certainly not going to help his chances of beating out rookie Kamal Martin.
Josh Jackson: Inconsistent
Jackson was a second-round pick in 2018. As is the case with Burks, it’s time to wonder if the pick was a mistake. After starting 10 games as a rookie, Jackson played less than 10 snaps in 10 games last season. Would Year 3 be a fresh start? Perhaps not. Here’s Jackson’s training camp, neatly summarized in a span of five plays on Sunday: Pass broken up, pass interference, went for an interception but gave up a touchdown. He’s the unofficial leader in pass breakups this summer but also probably has given up the most big plays.
“It’s just doing it on a consistent basis,” LaFleur said. “He’s got to stack those good practices back to back to back. The more he can showcase his ability to do that, I think the more trust he gets from our coaching staff and hopefully that can translate to game day.”
