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Reader Q&A: Adjusting without Adams

I asked for your questions on Twitter. Some of them were very good. Let's hope the answers are at least decent.
Bill Huber|
Reader Q&A: Adjusting without Adams
Reader Q&A: Adjusting without Adams

You sound like my dad. No matter how bad things were, he'd always say, "Well, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." 

Raven Greene had the toughness and strength to play in the box. At this point, it's almost as if defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is going to have to scrap the scheme until they can bring Ibraheim Campbell off PUP, because Adrian Amos doesn't seem cut out for that duty. I have no idea about Oren Burks. Is he good? Bad? Somewhere in between? I wouldn't think he'll be ready this week but this will be a big step on his comeback trail.

I came into training camp believing defensive line was the team's best position group. I came out of training camp thinking the same. It's simplistic to say the defensive line is the root of the problems defending the run but that group has to play better. Maybe they were just overworked, with a long day at the office against Denver and a short week against Philadelphia. Kenny Clark is a premier player, Dean Lowry got paid, Tyler Lancaster was a force against the run last year, Montravius Adams was a third-round pick, Kingsley Keke had a strong preseason and Fadol Brown does a bit of everything. I still think that's a good group; now, it's time to play like one.

Yes. Look at what he did last week. I get it, they didn't score in the red zone last week and they wound up losing because of it. But Rodgers looked like himself against the Eagles. He made plays on-schedule. He made plays off-schedule. He made plays in the pocket. He made plays on the move. Rodgers was exceptional. He moved the Packers into scoring position without Davante Adams for that final drive last week. Who knows, maybe going without Adams will wind up being a blessing - a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

They have no choice. I asked coach Matt LaFleur about his level of confidence in the "other" receivers on Monday. Valdes-Scantling has had his moments, Allison made some big plays vs. Philly, and Kumerow, Shepherd and Lazard had strong training camps. His answer to my question, I think, answers your question.

"Those guys are going to have to fill the void if he’s not able to go," LaFleur said. "Obviously, that would create a pretty significant void but it is the next man has got to step up. It’s not like our standards and expectations are going to change. Certainly, we have to be mindful of what we’re asking certain guys to do because when you have a receiver like Davante, I don’t think there’s a route that he cannot run. He’s a dynamic receiver but those other guys, it creates opportunities for other guys to step up and make some plays."

This is where the Cowboys really put you in a pickle. Yes, to stop Elliott, going with the base 3-4 is the obvious way to go. But Dak Prescott is a really good quarterback, and he's got an excellent perimeter group - especially if receiver Michael Gallup is back from the knee injury that sidelined him the past two weeks. If I were Dallas coach Jason Garrett, I'd line up with three receivers, which would force Pettine to run some sort of sub package, and hand it to Elliott again and again.

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Right after you asked this question, Brad Scott (and then others) wanted to know if they should trade for Cincinnati's A.J. Green. So, let's tackle both.

This is what happens when GMs past and present are forced to dedicate draft pick after draft pick after draft pick into fixing the defense. The offensive skill group has gone from exceptional to mediocre (or worse) because there have been no sizable investments in the draft or free agency. It's not a criticism of the current GM, Brian Gutekunst. He had to fix the defense and there are only so many draft picks and so much money to go around.

Green is intriguing. If not for injuries, he would have 1,000-yard seasons in each of his eight seasons. Last year, his nine-game totals would have given him 1,234 yards and 11 touchdowns over 16 games. He's 31 but his contract expries after this season. Because of that contract status making him a one-year rental, I'd think he could be acquired at a decent price in terms of a draft pick. I'd check on his health and then check on the Bengals. Gutekunst has shown a willingness to explore, so I wouldn't rule it out. According to Jason Fitzgerald at OverTheCap.com, if Green were acquired Monday, he'd count $8.45 million on this year's cap.

The Packers have Clark locked up on the fifth-year option through the 2020 season, so there's no urgency to get a deal done. Look at this from the team's perspective. What if it gave Clark a five-year, $80 million contract today, and then he tore his Achilles on Sunday? That's a lot of money - and a lot of guaranteed money - for a player who might never be the same.

The best players who will be free agents at the end of the season are linebacker Blake Martinez and right tackle Bryan Bulaga. Martinez isn't a perfect player but he makes a lot of tackles and will get paid accordingly. Will it be by the Packers, who don't have anyone else at his position? We all know the pros and cons with Bulaga, who will turn 31 on March 21. He was really good the first three-and-a-half weeks and the days are gone when the left tackle took on the best pass rusher.

Here's LaFleur on that subject: "We saw some guys getting out of their gaps and that is the first thing that’ll get you beat in terms of trying to stop the run. If you’re not playing your gap or the right assignment, then it’s a lot easier on the offense. We have to do a better job of being disciplined and staying in our gaps. We always talk about it on both sides of the ball, it takes all 11. It really does."

I think the defensive line and outside linebackers are too good for the poor play to continue. I'd guess the run defense will be better on Sunday and will continue to get better.

Kumerow was wearing a bag of ice on his left shoulder on Monday. You're right, though. If he's healthy, he needs to play. Otherwise, what on earth is the point of having training camp and the preseason?

Barring a trade for Green or some other difference-making receiver, it's just got to be the improvement from within, the comfort level with the scheme, the figuring out of what works. 

Look at the running game. Aaron Jones averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his first two seasons. He's averaging 3.3 yards per carry this year. It's still Jones, it's still David Bakhtiari, it's still Corey Linsley, it's still Bryan Bulaga. They'll get going. Right? Rodgers got going last week. That has to be a good sign. Right?

I go back to what I wrote last week. The Eagles' offense took a big step forward in Year 2 under Doug Pederson and they wound up winning the Super Bowl. Going back further, it took until Year 2 for Mike McCarthy to fix the Packers' offense, and that team got to the NFC title game. 

Remember, Jones didn't play in the preseason. There's so much figuring things out on the fly. I'm not a zone-scheme expert - some would argue I'm not an expert in anything - but it's the continual pressing of the zone runs that allows the cutbacks to happen. Like I said a moment ago, Jones' track record is too good. His history of excellent vision is too good. The history of his blockers is too good. It will click.

Let's see what happens this week, with only Aaron Jones and Dexter Williams presumably available. Tra Carson is the running back on the practice squad. As for special teams, the linebacker that was just signed to the practice squad, B.J. Bello, had seven special-teams tackles as a rookie in 2017.

As for the tight ends, they seem wedded to Jimmy Graham as a receiver, Marcedes Lewis as a blocker and Robert Tonyan as a change of pace. I As long as they continue to roll out Graham and Lewis for a combined 69 snaps per game, I'm not sure I see the point of Evan Baylis, either.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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