The first two parts of this series have been offensive-minded. That’s because, well, most of the major pre-camp battles exist on that side of the ball.
By our count, there are only two that exist in the areas of defense and special teams – one in each, in fact.
And here they are:
Right outside linebacker
The combatants: Jeremy Thompson (23 years old, 6-feet, 4-inches, 270 pounds, second NFL season), Brady Poppinga (29 years old, 6-feet, 3-inches, 247 pounds, fifth NFL season), Clay Matthews (23 years old, 6-feet, 3-inches, 245 pounds, rookie NFL season), Brandon Chillar (26 years old, 6-feet, 3-inches, 243 pounds, sixth NFL season)
Sure, you could say there are battles along the defensive line, between players like Johnny Jolly, Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji (RAJI!). But the Packers will likely utilize rotation there anyways, so it’s not really a battle other than a battle to win the prize of hearing your name called along with the rest of the defensive starters.
Same goes with the secondary. Sure, Aaron “Sega Genesis” Rouse could give Atari Bigby a run for his money at strong safety. But, for now, Bigby is firmly entrenched as the starter.
Really, the only questions exist at linebacker and the topic of whether or not Aaron Kampman will be able to make the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker has been covered to death during the offseason.
But an equally important question regards who will be lining up at the other outside linebacker spot. After all, the two OLBs are most responsible for rushing the passer in the 3-4 scheme.
Each of the four candidates have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Thompson, who showed some flashes of potential at DE last season, has the quickness and pure pass rushing abilities to play the position. Apparently, he’s also looked fairly strong in pass coverage in the minicamps and OTAs, a key responsibilty for the position. But he’s new to the linebacker spot and is only in his second year.
Poppinga played the position in college at BYU, so there wouldn’t be as much of a learning curve. He’s a solid run stopper and, in my opinion, could be a strong pass rusher if given the opportunity. However, he’s been a total liability in the coverage game.
Clay Matthews played OLB in a hybrid 3-4 scheme – which the Packers will be running – at USC, so of all four, he probably knows the most about the system heading into camp. He was very good in all three areas (stopping the run, rushing the passer and coverage) in college. He suffered a hamstring injury during the minicamps/OTAs portion of practice so he’s probably not as far along as the coaches would like.
Chillar, like Matthews, is a very good coverage man and showed some flashes of ability as a pass rusher last season. He’s not very good against the run, however, and might find his nitch as a sub-package player, better fit for certain situations.
In the end, I think Thompson will win the job in a close battle with Matthews. The skill level is roughly the same, but Thompson has already gone through life as a rookie and I think that will push him over the top.
Punter
The combatants: Durant Brooks (24 years old, 6-feet, 204 pounds, second NFL season), Jeremy Kapinos (24 years old, 6-feet, 1-inch, 230 pounds, second NFL season)
Okay, okay, I’ll give you a minute to stop laughing.
But, seriously, punter – as we found out all too harshly with last year’s Derrick Frost debacle – is sort of an important spot. How many games did Green Bay lose where lack of field position was a direct factor?
That needs to change this year and finding a punter who can help is crucial.
Brooks won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter during his last year at Georgia Tech in 2007 (which is good because B.J. Sander also won…you know what? I’m going to stop there before I get sick).
However, as a rookie with the Washington Redskins last season, he was far too inconsistent in hang time and distance and was ultimately released before season’s end. The Packers signed him to the practice squad in December.
Kapinos took over for Frost – who is hopefully helping Sander clean gutters in hell right now (I’m kidding…kind of) – for the final four games of last season and was decent enough. Seven of his 17 punts landed inside the 20 and he had an average of just under 40 yards (39.2, to be exact).
Both punters seem to have some upside, yet both are also fairly spotty. Kapinos wasn’t awful punting in harsh conditions late in the year and the guess here is that he will win the job. Plus, he wears the No. 7 jersey made famous by Don Majikowski. You think the Majik Man is upset that his jersey was given to a punter?
-Chris Lempesis
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