My 'wishful thinking' is that coach Pettine will actually show us that (maybe) some of the defensive personnel aren't as bad as some believe! I like Gilbert and have high hopes that Biegel will do well this season as they both have "high motors" and will play to the whistle. Time will tell but I'm always optimistic this time of year. Heck, it's easy to be negative all the time but WAY more fun to be optimistic. Go Pack Go.

Here's something that bewilders, and frustrates me.

Most of us were thinking Edge rusher early in the draft, round 1 or 2 probably.

But much of that is because we all expect the two USC guys to get hurt. As they often do.

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, they pretty much counted on and had Bud Dupree and TJ Watt available all year long last year. Why aren't they expecting them to do down? Why doesn't everyone expect them to need Edge #4, #5 guys like we feel like we need 3 good backups?

If Clay & Nick can just stay healthy, I'd rank that duo top-10 or even top-5 in the NFL.

We should be okay there.

And Biegel better step up. He was drafted for that reason.

I like Reggie too, but I and many others also thought Jayrone Elliott would blossom too, and instead he blossomed outta here, and even didn't stick in Dallas.

Maybe the plan this year is to basically use Clay and Perry on third down situations only , there will be more pressure coming from the middle and hopefully better coverage down the field so I think the ideal situation will be to use Clay and Nick Perry as third down specialists, fresh legs less wear and tear .

Let's hope he steps up and plays well. We need obe of the edge rushers to do so.

Last year during the preseason many of us felt that Gilbert simply outplayed Fackrell and that between the 2 Gilbert should have been on the 53 whereas Fackrell should have been on the PS. Fast forward to the end of the year when they promoted Gilbert any of us felt that way were shown that he should have been on the 53 all year. He was really impressive coming off the edge.

Whoever made the decision to put Gilbert on the PS should be very thankful no one else came and got him.

This year we assume that Pettine will run some sort of a 3-4 defense. That is just an assumption and we really don't know what the defense will look like. Regardless of what look they use on defense I think we will have a lot more pass rush coming from the DL. Daniels has been a good rusher already, and Clark came on big time late in the year. He was good prior but didn't get actual sacks until late in the year. If he continues his upward trend look out. They also added Wilkerson who can rush the QB.
Another thing with Pettine is he will do more blitzing. Blitzing from different people to keep offenses guessing. The problem with Capers was when he blitzed it seemed like everyone knew it was coming. The defense became predictable. That won't be the case with Pettine.

As far as OLB's, we have Perry and Mathews who when healthy are our best rushers and can make game changing plays.
Behind them, we have Biegel and Gilbert. Biegel essentially had a reshirt rookie year. Gilbert basically spent the last 2 years on the PS. Both players played late last year and had some really good moments.

I really expect big things out of both players.

We can expect improvement from Biegel and Gilbert. But to expect them to make meaningful jumps to producing quality snaps on a weekly basis is about as likely as expecting Sam Shields in 2010 to become a solid CB3 right away. One meaningful contribution by a rookie UDFA in 15 years tells all you need to know. Fact: It takes a LOT of time for 4th round picks through UDFAs to produce, and the odds are very much against one particular player making that jump. Most don't work out, and I would challenge anyone who thinks differently in this situation to check their fan goggles. What would you say about, say, the Vikings defense, if this was the predicament that team found themselves in? You'd be excoriating them, and IMO rightly so.

Look, I know I'm going to get hammered for this, but it's more likely than not that our starters at OLB will be mediocre when healthy and hurt/dinged up for half the year each. Further, it's more likely than not that Biegel, Gilbert and Fackrell behind them are not just below average starters, but are extreme liabilities.

If we are going to get pass rush this year, it will either come from interior pressure on the DL, or be schemed from the secondary. Our OLBs are just not likely to be able to win man up battles.

That doesn't mean that our defense and team can't be successful. We have positions of strength elsewhere. It just means that, the importance of pass rush, when combined with the youth of the secondary means unit is very unlikely to be anywhere near a top 10 unit, and more likely than not, will be a libility.

I'm still expecting ARod to have to wizard his way to 30 points to beat good teams. Down vote away. ;)

I'm trusting Pettine completely. he had a look at the talent available to him before the draft and during the free agency period, he was right there with Gutekunst telling him what he needed and where he felt comfortable. It may not have been what we as fans expected, and he may not have gotten all of his wishes. But one thing we've known since Pettine was hired was that his primary focus was going to be with the secondary.

All that aside, I can still see a productive pass rush unit emerging and I am confident that Gilbert has proven to be a part of that unit, and possibly Biegel. His ability to come in and allow Matthews to move inside on occasion as he did in 2015 with success and good health will create all kinds of versatility once again in the pass rush. That alone opens the door for various attacks on different gaps using slants and stunts. You will see plays where Mo Wilkerson will be setting the edge as Matthews stunts inside for a B gap blitz, and vice versa.

The key to this front seven will be alignment and unpredictability. That's already a huge improvement on last years front seven.

"There's reasonable and sensible optimism to expect a healthy second-year jump from Vince Biegel, "

Can I readjust your wording:
There's reasonable and sensible optimism to expect a second-year jump from a healthy Vince Biegel,

Just like several other edge players for the Packers, the dude's gotta be able to stay on the field.

I think Packers decide not to go with EDGE/OLB in this draft because this season class was weak... You had 2 or 3 players and after that all are prospects for the future (like Davenport is!)...

On the other hand you have several young guys with high upside - Vince Biegel, Chris Odom and Reggie Gilbert. Also, you know exactly who is Fackrell (and he is excellent ST player!) - so I believe that is the logic behind not going to waste draft picks on future prospect when you are almost "full" with them on the roster... And Packers obviously estimated other players more valuable than in the draft offered OLB/EDGE...

Reggie Gilbert will be a rotational player in Pettine's defense and how much he plays will be based on how much improvement he shows during the preseason. The same goes for Fackrell and Beigel.

I expect that with Pettine, we will rarely see much if any of the 2 or 3 man pass rush. He believes in getting after the QB and he will expect his DBs to play man to man on their own islands. This means at least 5-6 pass rushers on most passing downs. The question will be where will they come. The edge, up the middle with Josh Jones and Birks, or from the middle and the boundary etc.?

Pettine's approach will vary from week to week based on the opponent. Also he will have 3-4 games early in the season with plenty of unscouted looks. Then opposing OCs will adjust and he and his players will need to adjust accordingly and on it goes.

Professional sports is about consistently making adjustments effectively. The best teams and the great players excel at adjustments. How well Pettine's defensive players adjust will tell us whether it was lack of talent, Capers, or both that caused poor defensive play for so long.

First, we need our players to remain relatively healthy, then we can assess them fairly and go from there. Thsnks, Since '61

I can't say that the new scheme, the new coach or a player like Gilbert is the complete answer, but from what I saw of Gilbert last year he could be part of the solution.

I'm also feeling very confident that whatever talent we do have on the roster that Pettine is going to find ways to use it more productively.

Way too much to read in the posts today to be able to respond In a respectful way. I agree that Gilbert will be playing more and Fackrell may be gone. Donnerson as a gunner would be better in a couple of ways. But I’m not telling y’all!!! I’m pouting today because the sub contractors for the Public Service are putting another guy line in my yard for a pole and upgrading the main lines and I won’t have power for 4-5 hours this aft!!! No notice from WPS and I’m too angry to post a positive comment! Maybe venting here will help a tad but, I doubt it! I don’t do any antisocial media as I’ve said; I’m only on this blog site and it’s a good one so now I’m going to go scream in the back yard... just sayin’!!!! ;-(

I had Gilbert making the team last camp in place of Fackrell. I guess I was just a year early. When they finally did bring him up and he showed what I expected from him, that just pissed me off more. I hope Pettine also brings an end to some of the bad personnel decisions of the last few years.

Mostly I want opponent offenses not to know what’s coming. No more smirking Matt Stafford at the postgame mic. I like the deer-in-the-headlights Matt Stafford much better.

"It was his first regular-season appearance, and given the untapped potential he put on film, it would seem as if the Packers should've gotten him on the field sooner rather than that December meeting."

This is why Ted and Dom are gone..... They discounted the eye test for too long in favor of draft status. Fackrell's snaps should have been Gilbert's snaps all year last year... But nope, and now Dynamic Dom is unemployed..