Author: Nick Zurich

Draft grades are handed out, immediately, after training camp, during the season, after the season, and so on. There are two methods that should be used when grading a draft, and timing of those methods is important.  Plan Heading Into the Draft In the 2017 NFL Draft, Green Bay had the 29th overall pick, coming off the run to the NFC title game in Atlanta.  They were in desperate need of secondary help, well…defensive help in general.  The Packers had their choice between local boy TJ Watt or the tantalizingly tall and athletic Kevin King.  Choosing to trade down knowing…

It’s been widely covered the Packers haven’t used a 1st round draft pick on a Wide Receiver since Javon Walker in 2002. Since then, Green Bay has been considered to have one of the best receiving corps year in, and year out. How did they go about doing that without using a 1st round pick? Top Receiving Leaders – Not 1st-round Picks Only five of the top 21 receivers (rec. yards) were 1st round draft picks. Extrapolating out, only 14 of the top 50 were announced on the first night of the draft.  In the list, the oldest player is…

As polarizing a topic as Aaron Rodgers has become, the adage of Defense Wins Championships still holds true. Since Packer Nation is dead set on drafting a wide receiver to fill the void of Davante Adams, there’s a major opportunity to add to the defense. If good enough, the lack of receiving depth won’t matter. One player the Packers should target is Jermaine Johnson II. 1. The Best Available Player when the Packers pick at #22 may be an Edge Rusher The top two edge rushers are expected to go in the top five, maybe even in the top three…

The NFL implemented new overtime rules to appease the fans that think losing is unfair. Even further, Packer Nation makes itself feel better by saying their favorite quarterback would’ve won more, as if he wouldn’t have choked in OT. Since Brett Favre took over, the Packers have played in 6 overtime playoff games. They’re on a 5-game losing streak, you do the math. 1. 2003 vs. Seattle W 33-27 (Packers lost the coin toss) The first of which, the only one, they won. Many old enough will remember Matt Hasselbeck’s famous words, “We want the ball and we’re gonna score!” …

Two teams come to mind when you think about franchises who have used extreme patience when dealing with quarterbacks nearing retirement age: the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots.  These are two prime examples of patience paying off. Packers 2005: Aaron Rodgers → Brett Favre Favre’s play was decent in 2004.  He had a rating of 92.4 and a TD/INT ratio of 30/17.  Keep in mind, until the 2010s (highlighted by Rodgers’ care for the football), 30 touchdowns and less than 20 interceptions by quarterbacks was considered “good.”  That season ended with Randy Moss mooning the Packers into the…

The Packers have restructured the contract of their star nose tackle Kenny Clark, as announced by Field Yates on Twitter. This move sets the stage for what’s likely to come.  Expect the 2022 Green Bay Packers to look a bit different, while still maintaining their MVP and Top 2, Not 2 Wideout on offense. What does the extra space mean? The Packers cleared $10.892M in cap space for 2022.  They’ll pay the piper in 2023 and 2024 when the cap hit for their top defensive lineman will be $23,973,000 and $24,723,000, respectively.  Also, the final two years of the deal…

With Nathaniel Hackett officially being hired by the Denver Broncos as their head coach, the speculation can now formally fly on, “Was he hired to lure Aaron Rodgers (and Davante Adams) away from Green Bay?” For Packers fans, this is all too familiar territory – after having lived through Tractor Watch with Brett, finally concluding in 2008 with a trade to the New York Jets. The recent trade between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions proves as a great comparison. Let’s review that for context. LAR sent the following to Detroit for quarterback Matthew Stafford: QB Jared Goff 2021…

It’s well-known that these two teams met earlier this season, in Week 3. Rodgers performed some magic, setting up a game-winning field goal with 0:37 left and no timeouts. There are two things that stand out when re-watching that matchup: the Packers were up 17-0 and in complete control of the game, and San Francisco is extremely physical; that shows on every opportunity that presents itself. Not to be outdone, this was the “coming out party” for the Packers’ defense to show their talent and physicality. Green Bay did win the turnover battle, 2-0. However, they only scored three points…

With the announcement of the 2021 NFL All-Pro team – the best player at each position in the entire NFL, not just each conference – the Green Bay Packers had three All-Pros. They were all placed on the 1st Team. That tied the league lead with four other teams: Indianapolis, Baltimore, Los Angeles Rams, and Dallas. Both the Colts and Ravens had special teamers earn spots. While not minimizing it, the preferred positions to produce on a football team comes from the conventional offense and defense.  The Packers arguably should have led the NFL with four 1st Team All-Pros (possibly…

Seeding is nice and all, but let’s take a deeper dive into how strong these NFC playoff teams truly are, shall we? For this, I took a look at the rankings in each department. For instance, the Packers ranked 18th in rush offense (yards/game), eighth in passing, 10th in total yards and 10th in scoring. I did this for all seven NFC playoff teams, and probably should’ve weighted the rankings differently, but that’s too convoluted. Re-Seeding Teams Using These Categories The categories used are as follows (all ranks in the entire NFL): The Rankings So, a total of 11 rankings…