10 Questions The Packers Will Start To Answer During OTAs & Mini-Camp

While they remain one of the top teams in the league, the Green and Gold have plenty of questions to answer. 

The Green Bay Packers are one of the best teams in the National Football League. 

That's a fun sentence to write and, I'm guessing, a fun sentence to read. There's nothing like knowing the team you support is one of the best in the game, and there can be little doubt that is indeed the case when it comes to the Green and Gold. 

They have arguably the best player in the game in Aaron Rodgers. 

The number one scoring offense in the league in 2014 returns in tact. 

Special teams have been given a new return weapon in Ty Montgomery. 

And the defense has enough talent to start the year much stronger than it did in 2014. 

Of course, despite all these things, there remain plenty of issues for Mike McCarthy and company to work out starting this Wednesday when the Packers begin their official Organized Team Activities. 

Let's look at a few of the questions facing the Packers heading into the 2015 season, in no particular order. Feel free to chime in with some of your own in the comments below. 

1. Who will play where in the secondary?

To me, this is the biggest question that McCarthy and his defensive coaches need to sort out. The addition of Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins will certainly add a bit of intrigue to the competition throughout the spring and summer, but ultimately I expect things to shake out pretty much as I expected them to prior to the draft.

Shields and Hayward will most likely be your starting corners outside with Hyde playing in the slot. Of course, all it takes is Randall, Rollins or even Demetri Goodson to flash early in camp for a good old fashioned camp battle to play out. But I still think we end up seeing Shields, Hayward and Hyde as the top trio. 

2. Will Richard Rodgers overtake Andrew Quarless? 

Absolutely. People may forget, but Rodgers was the starter on opening night against Seattle last year. Yes, he had a tough go of it early in the year, especially in the running game, but his growth throughout the season tells you what kind of a worker he is.

It's pretty clear that the quarterback has a soft spot for Quarless, but the Rodgers-to-Rodgers combo is going to heat up in 2015 and the young tight end out of Cal won't be looking back. 

3. How can McCarthy and Clements ensure the offense doesn't get stale? 

This is probably one of the bigger questions of the offseason. When you score as much as the Packers did in 2014, opposing defenses are bound to take extra time to try and work out how you did what you did. You can bet McCarthy and his offensive staff are working extensively on finding new wrinkles like the adjustment they made to the running game late in the year.

Expect to see a liberal dose of the pistol formation much earlier in the season. 

4. Can Guion and Raji hold down the middle of the defense?

Are the Packers getting the B.J. Raji who flashed early on in camp last year? Because if so, the combo of Guion and Raji can absolutely hold down the fort when it comes to the middle of the Packers' defense. Of course, there's no guarantee when it comes to players coming off of injury, and for as good as Raji may have looked last summer, he looked downright putrid for much of 2013.

As for Guion, he was one of the biggest surprises of the 2014 campaign. Once he got his playing legs under him after missing almost all of training camp, he was one of the better players up front for the Green and Gold. If he and Raji can stay healthy and play to the level they're capable of, the defense should be fine. But make no mistake, this is somewhat of a "hold your breath" area on the Packers roster. 

5. How much will Clay Matthews need to play inside?

A lot. I know there's a lot of optimism around 1265 Lombardi in regards to guys like Joe Thomas, Carl Bradford and rookie Jake Ryan. But let's be honest, none of them are going to come close to giving the Packers the dynamic athletic presence that Matthews does from the middle of the defense. I have no doubt we'll see Thomas, Bradford and company get their shot in camp. Hell, Ryan may prove to be a gem of a find and play a bunch on early downs. But I'll be shocked if Matthews isn't playing more than half his snaps from the inside linebacker position. 

6. Who will emerge in the offensive backfield?

Obviously things are set with Eddie Lacy and James Starks. Are things as set at fullback with John Kuhn? His knowledge of the offense and ability both from scrimmage and on special teams will make it hard for rookie Aaron Ripkowski to make much of a dent in Kuhn's playing time, but it's not an impossible task.

Kuhn has never been a clear-them-out road grader at the fullback position, and Ripkowski certainly seems to posses that ability. But the fact of the matter is if the rookie can't pick up pass protection quickly, it will be a moot point.

Protecting the franchise is job #1 and McCarthy and company can't afford to have guys back there who can't get the job done. (In fact, they're already giving Starks a bit of a pass in that department.) As for the third running back, don't be surprised for a second if John Crockett supplants Rajion Neal. 

7. What affect will Tom Clements calling plays have on the offense?

My hunch is: Not much. You'll still see a great deal of packaged plays and the same "check with me" stuff we've gotten accustomed to with Rodgers at the line of scrimmage. McCarthy will undoubtedly still speak up when he wants to take a shot down field, when he wants to hurry up and go for it on 4th down, etc.

What I will be interested in is if Clements is able to throw in a few more creative looks, things like screen plays or reverses. Also, I'm anxious to see how much Clements gets away from Mike's desire to run on first down, which the Packers did a whole lot of last year. 

8. Can the personnel overhaul and Ron Zook's promotion help improve special teams?

Nowhere to go but up here. Actually, if you go back and watch the first half of the 2014 season (and you're lucky that I'm as obsessed as I am because I do these types of things so you don't have to) the special teams was actually pretty damn good.

Things just fell apart during the second half of the season and Slocum paid for it with his job. Thompson's draft sure looks like it's provided some reinforcements for the beleaguered unit. Here's hoping Zook can get them pointed in the right direction sooner rather than later. 

9. Who emerges as the #4 wide receiver on offense?

This is one of those training camp competitions you get to Ray Nitschke Field early for. As if it wasn't exciting enought to see Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis battle it out, now we can throw Ty Montgomery into the mix.

McCarthy talked up Janis big time earlier this offseason, but I tend to think Abbrederis was by far the better prospect prior to being injured. Of course, Abbrederis couldn't afford to lose one second of speed and if the inury has robbed him of even a fraction of a step, he could be done before he begins.

Montgomery is intriguing, but I tend to think he's a year away from scrimmage, though I don't doubt he makes an instant impact on returns. 

10. Is there adequate depth along the offensive line?

Much was made, and rightly so, about the performance of the offensive line last year. McCarthy said on several occasions that it was the best the unit had been in his time in Green Bay. And while that is certainly true, it's hard not to notice how shaky things got when backups were called into duty.

Whether it was Lane Taylor coming in for T.J. Lang in New Orleans or Derek Sherrod and/or J.C. Tretter coming in for Bryan Bulaga in Seattle or Buffalo respectively, the dropoff was considerable. In fact, Taylor noticeably effected how McCarthy chose to call the game.

The return of Don Barcaly is somewhat reasuring, but even though he has starting experience in the offense, the drop off when he comes in at tackle is considerable. (He's fine along the interior.) There's not much to say here other than Thompson clearly thinks what he has on hand can work as this was the first year he hasn't drafted an offensive lineman since 2010.

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.

__________________________

0 points
 

Comments (30)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Icebowler's picture

May 26, 2015 at 12:13 am

Clay was awfully effective on 3rd down, rushing the passer from OLB last year, when the opponents LT hadn't faced him on earlier downs. I say Clay plays at least 1st down on the inside. He also got good push up the middle on second down passing plays. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

0 points
0
0
Amanofthenorth's picture

May 26, 2015 at 03:06 am

I have no problem with run heavy first downs. Seems like two plus years ago Rodgers got sacked about 30% on first down. They surprise nobody unless you run on first down. Pack can. Pack does. Pack wins

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

May 26, 2015 at 03:42 am

I grant that all of the questions need to be answered. Who will play where in the secondary, Do we have adequate depth on the offensive line, and will Adams continue to develop or will someone else emerge are the biggest questions. The first question is the elephant in the room.

0 points
0
0
TKWorldWide's picture

May 26, 2015 at 06:44 am

I thought the "elephant" was a hybrid OLB/DE.

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

May 26, 2015 at 07:04 am

Well played.

0 points
0
0
NickPerry's picture

May 26, 2015 at 06:37 am

All good questions, ILB and the Secondary probably the biggest though I tend to agree with Aaron about Matthews, at least early in the season.

I'm of the opinion Montgomery is going to see the field on more than just PR and KO. I think MM see's a bigger version of Cobb and could use Mongomery to either run the ball or run those little short routes we saw Cobb run so often.

Hopefully Barclay comes back fine and Tretter progresses. Then I know that the Packers OL has some decent depth. Maybe Lane Taylor will go to the Vikings.

0 points
0
0
jeremyjjbrown's picture

May 26, 2015 at 07:36 am

Raji always seams to start camp strong and then he fades pretty quickly. Hopefully a return to NT and splitting reps with Guion will keep him going. I'm not going to get too excited about him until after I've seen a few regular season games.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

May 26, 2015 at 08:09 am

For the most part those the questions that I have.

For me the biggest question is how will the secondary shake out. Going into the season I do believe it will be Shields, Hayward as the starters, with Hyde playing the Nickel and either Rollins or Randall in on the Dime. However I could see this being like last years Safety position or the RB position 2 years ago, where by the middle or end of the season we see the Rookies taking over a starting role or at least a bigger role.

The next question I have is how will the ILB shake out. Barrington looks like a lock at 1 starting position. I expect Mathews to play some ILB, but possibly more of change of pace type of thing. But who else emerges as a starting caliber ILB? I think there are 3 really good players that could all emerge. Bradford, Thomas and Ryan. Right now I think Bradford will be penciled in as the best chance to win the starting role. He basically had a red-shirt year to learn the position. But don't be surprised if Ryan becomes this years Linsley.

For me those are the 2 biggest questions.
I am really looking forward to see who emerges at WR. I have a hard time right now not seeing 6 WR's making the 53.

Also I am really looking forward to seeing how the 2nd year players come back. Most players take their biggest jump from year 1 to year 2. So who takes the biggest jump this year?

And how do the rookies come in? Following possibly Thompsons best draft class from top to bottom, how does this years compare?

0 points
0
0
spin's picture

May 26, 2015 at 08:44 am

JEREMY VUJNOVICH wins the swing tackle competition over Don Barclay.

0 points
0
0
Idiot Fan's picture

May 26, 2015 at 08:44 am

Man, training camp can not start soon enough for me. I am so pumped to see this team in action.

I'm interested to see if RRodgers can turn into that seam-splitting threat that we have lacked, but I'm equally interested to see if he has improved his blocking. I can recall several critical plays last year that got blown up by him getting dropped on his butt by the defender, like the safety in Detroit and one goal-line play in Seattle. If he can become an adequate blocker, I'll be more excited about his potential.

I may be crazy, but I almost prefer Clay in the middle. One of his biggest assets is his motor, and when you turn him loose in the middle he can cover so much area. That said, I'm eager to see if any young ILB step up to give us the flexibility to move Clay around.

As far as receivers go, I'm almost more interested to just know who makes the team. It seems like we have more than 5 capable receivers.

I am also very pumped to see what Montgomery can do for us. I'm expecting big things.

[Side Note: Dear Brewers, all I ever ask of you is that you be interesting enough to distract me until July 30th. Is that too hard to do???]

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

May 26, 2015 at 09:26 am

"I may be crazy, but I almost prefer Clay in the middle."

If that's crazy, we can go to the nut house together.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's picture

May 26, 2015 at 08:12 pm

Agreed. He could be the best ILB in the league... and still get double digit sacks i bet.

0 points
0
0
NickPerry's picture

May 27, 2015 at 08:50 pm

Everybody keeps talking about Matthews should play outside. He had what, 2 1/2 sacks after week 8 last year and 8 1/2 after the bye? The run defense was better by far. I'm crazy right there with you Aaron.

0 points
0
0
Handsback's picture

May 26, 2015 at 03:12 pm

This will be the most competitive training camp since the mid-90s.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

May 26, 2015 at 03:34 pm

I kind of think it's not very competitive at all, actually, Like 90% of the roster is already set. We're talking starting ILB, yeah, but otherwise what spots are really open to competition? Backup tackle, 3rd string RB, #4 and #5 WR?

CB starting opposite Shields, I suppose, too, but I think that's going to be Hayward from day 1.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

May 28, 2015 at 11:48 pm

I'd amend it to something like a year with some of the hardest cuts to make. I'd suggest that the talent level at the last few spots on the roster will be high and some of the guys who don't make it will end up on other team's rosters.

0 points
0
0
Allan Murphy's picture

May 26, 2015 at 06:29 pm

Clay is clay cut him loose Naglers all ways write !

0 points
0
0
TKWorldWide's picture

May 26, 2015 at 07:56 pm

Is there an interpreter in the house?

0 points
0
0
Tundraboy's picture

May 26, 2015 at 09:08 pm

That was funny!!! Lost on that one.

0 points
0
0
Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

May 27, 2015 at 09:22 am

Can't wait to watch this all shake out. If injuries are minimal, we'll be cutting some good ballplayers. I predict that the biggest winners of this year's Packers training camp and pre-season will be the Vikings.

0 points
0
0
Zola Davis's picture

May 27, 2015 at 11:17 am

Forget the brewers.

The excitement of seeing new players & general antipation of the new season has us all on edge. Enjoy the nice banter, soon Ben will return from camp & re-imitate cow

I do think growth of 2nd yr players is more important than rookies.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

May 27, 2015 at 11:38 am

Maybe we can help Ben out and give him some players that would be worth trading for Lamichael James.

0 points
0
0
zeke's picture

May 27, 2015 at 11:40 am

"I do think growth of 2nd yr players is more important than rookies."

This, times a hundred. One of the more interesting questions (for me) is who makes the bigger jump: Davante Adams or Clinton-Dix?

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

May 27, 2015 at 12:27 pm

You guys are correct.
The year 2 guys are what will push our team ahead of others this year. Last years rookie class was really good. Basically 4 immediate starters.

Clinton-Dix was playing really well down the stretch. With a NFL offseason I think he will really take off next year.
Adams showed flashes of brilliance. I think he is really going to make a big jump in year 2.
Richard Rodgers I think will be more comfortable in the offense. He might not put up huge numbers but I think he will become a favorite target of Rodgers in key situations. 3rd downs/Redzone. I expect him to improve a lot as well.
Linsley I don't know how much of a jump he will take because he played so well last year. But with him as our starting Center and playing a year between Sitton and Lang he will only get better.

We need those guys to take jumps to improve our team. But if we can get a bigger contribution from the remainder of the draft class that could really make our team better.
We got basically nothing out of Thornton (3rd round) and Bradford (4th round). If we can at least get playing time out of them it will help.
Also Abbrederis, Janis and Goodson could all benefit from having an NFL offseason program to improve.

Don't forget about some of the promising undrafted players too. Jayrone Elliott, Mike Pennel both played last year and could make jumps. Adrian Hubbard, Joe Thomas, Rajion Neal were all promising undrafted free agents last year, and could surprise us this year.

I really like our group of 2nd year players. Any number of them could make a huge leap into year 2.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

May 28, 2015 at 02:37 am

Agree, RC. I'd also mention that Sitton and Lang both played hurt, though both were still good of course. Bulaga too played hurt. Ah, Bakhtiari - love to see him improve as a run blocker.

0 points
0
0
Tundraboy's picture

May 28, 2015 at 10:23 am

That is how I am looking at things. I expect that one or some of the 2nd years and last years UDFAs to make a mark and none of this years rookies to. If the latters happens, great and look out! Otherwise I just want good health, talent will take care of rest along with the pain from last year.

0 points
0
0
zeke's picture

May 28, 2015 at 10:51 am

Perhaps wishful thinking, but I'll be surprised if Montgomery doesn't make an impact on special teams.

0 points
0
0
AndrewInAtlanta's picture

May 27, 2015 at 01:08 pm

I am interested to watch Tolzien's progress. We have a history of A-Rod being hurt or down for several years running now so its a good bet Scott sees action during the regular 16. No more Flynn so I hope Tolzien is ready, improved, confident

0 points
0
0
Oppy's picture

May 28, 2015 at 05:30 pm

Re: Tom Clements and Creativity, reverses, etc:

I won't rule it out as possible, but I would caution that the only prior experience Tom Clements has as an OC in the NFL, he was earmarked as being "overly conservative", and that was with the ever-so-historically flashy offensive stylings of the Buffalo Bills.

0 points
0
0
lou's picture

May 29, 2015 at 10:39 am

Excellent points but you missed their most critical area they need to improve on, scoring inside the 10 yard line with 1st and goal. With the talent they have, no one would expect that to be their #1 issue but it is.

0 points
0
0