Roster Depth Has Its Costs and Benefits

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            Just as offseason programs got underway, Ted Thompson and the Packers front office opted to bring back DWTS champ and aging veteran receiver Donald Driver. The decision produced mixed reactions from experts as practice squad standouts Tori Gurley, Diondre Borel and Shaky Smithson continue to wait their turn in joining the league’s premier wide receiver corps.

Driver’s resigning doesn’t necessarily shut the door to the youngsters’ hopes in Green Bay; the Packers kept five tight ends on the Week 1 roster last season and – with their emphasis on special teams – could do the same at wide receiver this season. However, any extra receiver retained shares a limited role in the offense for as long as Driver is around.

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Quick Recap of the Packers Draft

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Ted Thompson’s eighth draft as Packers GM may have been the most interesting of them all, adding six straight defensive players before capping off the weekend with an O-lineman and QB.  While both Thompson and McCarthy maintained the notion that selection was based on best player available, the selections fell suspiciously in line with the Packers’ direct needs. Further, Thompson traded up an uncharacteristically high three times.
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Breaking Down the 2012 Packers Schedule

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The 2012 NFL schedule is out and fans are already blowing up hotel receptionists. As Mike McCarthy likes to point out, it’s not always about who you play, but when you play them. In addition to teams getting hot and cold on their own, some tend to fare better at different points of the season. Under McCarthy, the Packers have been very mediocre in the first half of the season, with the exception of 2007 and 2011.

Last season, the Packers played in five prime time games (including Thanksgiving), a tribute to being both good and an exciting team to watch. Not surprisingly, the Packers received another five prime time games in 2012, including one Monday nighter. One interesting thing to note about the Packers’ schedule is that five of their six divisional games come after the bye week.

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2012 Draft Analysis: Defensive Linemen

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When Green Bay Packers fans are asked what was the biggest difference between the 2010 and ’11 seasons, the most common answer is the free agent departure of Cullen Jenkins. The loss of the former starting defensive end is a hole that still needs to be filled and the 2012 draft would be the perfect time for Ted Thompson to address it.

The strength of the 2011 defensive line was starting tackles Ryan Pickett and B.J Raji, but after those two, the Packers didn’t get consistent play from any of the other defensive linemen on the roster.

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