NFL Team Report – Green Bay Packers – INSIDE SLANT
Winning three straight division titles for only the third time since the 1970 league merger and advancing to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive January wasn’t enough.
Not by Green Bay’s current standards for excellence, no matter the incredibly trying circumstances this season.
“We have one goal here, a couple goals — one is to win the division, and the other is to win the Super Bowl,” veteran receiver Jordy Nelson said. “So (for this season) to be a success, no. I think we can take positives from it. A lot of young guys can build off of it. But, I wouldn’t say it’s a successful season.”
The Packers’ 23-20 loss to visiting San Francisco in the wild-card round of the playoffs Sunday was symbolic of the woulda, coulda and shoulda that defined their unusual season.
What could have been possibly a go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter instead resulted in Green Bay settling for a score-tying field goal after it failed to get the football in the end zone on goal-to-go from the 49ers’ 9-yard line.
What would have been, if not should have been, an interception by nickel back Micah Hyde in San Francisco territory moments later instead kept alive the 49ers’ fateful drive that ended the game with a field goal after Hyde dropped the football.
“It’s a play that, out of our (position) room, we expect our guys to make,” cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt said. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t make it. … That could have been one of those signature plays that could have finished the game for us, and especially a playoff game against a very good football team.”
Of course, that the Packers were even in the playoffs and on the doorstep of knocking off one of the NFC’s top teams came unexpectedly in what Mike McCarthy classified as “clearly the most challenging season” in his eight seasons as head coach.
As Green Bay transitioned to an earlier-than-usual start to the offseason this week facing an uncertain future since 17 of its players are due to become unrestricted free agents in March, the wounds from having 15 players end the season on injured reserve still were fresh. The injury casualties were far greater, none bigger than franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
He suffered a broken collarbone in the opening series of what turned out to be a Monday night home loss to the rival Chicago Bears on Nov. 4. That became the start of a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) for the Packers, who suddenly transformed from a 5-2 team that looked to be hitting on all cylinders and a viable contender for the best record in the NFC to foundering to 5-6-1 and being an afterthought in its division.
“I think it could have been,” McCarthy said during his season-ending news conference Wednesday, when asked if Green Bay had the makings of becoming one of his best teams pre-Rodgers injury.
“I hate doing this, especially because I call the plays, (but) I felt that this was going to be the best offense that we’ve ever had here,” he added. “I thought we were going to go past (the) 2011 (team)” for scoring and yardage records.
Thanks in part to the emergence of second-round draft pick Eddie Lacy giving the Packers a vigorous running dimension they lacked the previous three seasons, including their Super Bowl-winning 2010 season, Green Bay had the complete package on offense. That is, until it was seemingly done in by Rodgers’ bone fracture on his non-throwing left side.
The Packers rolled through four starting quarterbacks but caught fire just in time with Matt Flynn behind center. In his second stint with the team, Flynn guided Green Bay to a comeback victory over Atlanta on Dec. 8 that ended the winless slide, then came back the next week to engineer an improbable comeback from a 23-point halftime deficit for a 37-36 win at Dallas.
When Rodgers finally received medical clearance to play again for the Dec. 29 regular-season finale at Chicago, the Packers needed to only win to leapfrog the Bears for first place in the NFC North.
True to how the script played out for the team the final month, Rodgers authored the biggest comeback of them all this season, throwing a 48-yard touchdown pass to previously injured receiver Randall Cobb on fourth-and-8 with less than a minute left for a 33-28 victory.
“We feel like we fought our asses off to get to this game, to get in the playoffs, and we felt like it was our time,” veteran left guard Josh Sitton said after the bitter loss to the 49ers on Sunday. “We’ve got Aaron back, and we’ve been confident. It’s frustrating. We thought we could make a run here.”
After conducting exit interviews with the players Monday and Tuesday — “A lot of things said … were very informative, emotional,” McCarthy admitted — the head coach turned his attention to his staff. They were to pore over the video of the last game, and then McCarthy planned to take a couple weeks to evaluate the coaches.
McCarthy gave the impression at his news conference Wednesday that he won’t be making any drastic changes with the staff, particularly with Dom Capers. The longtime defensive coordinator came under fire again this season as the Packers ranked 25th in total defense and rush defense and 24th in pass defense and points allowed.
“Dom Capers is an outstanding football coach. No one will be evaluated today,” McCarthy said. “We’ll go through (the evaluations) just like we did last year. I’m not looking to make big changes.
“I think Dom Capers is an outstanding football coach, and I’m glad he’s on our staff.”
And, as he awaits his fate, the 63-year-old Capers isn’t interested in walking away.
“I have no plans of not coaching, I’ll say that,” Capers said Wednesday.
Just don’t ask McCarthy to give an evaluation of his own job performance after keeping the decimated Packers alive to the end of the season and taking them back to the playoffs, finishing with an 8-8-1 record.
“That’s probably a question for (general manager) Ted (Thompson),” McCarthy said. “What did I do? I didn’t win the last game, so I didn’t do a good enough job.”
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NFL Team Report – Green Bay Packers – NOTES, QUOTES
–The Packers made several assistant coaching hires.
Green Bay named Ron Zook assistant special teams coach, Sam Gash running backs coach, Alex Van Pelt quarterbacks coach, Winston Moss assistant head coach/linebackers, Scott McCurley assistant linebackers coach, Jason Simmons defensive/special teams assistant, John Rushing defensive quality control coach, Luke Getsy offensive quality control coach and Chris Gizzi strength and conditioning assistant.
“The offseason is progressing with the finalization of adjustments and additions to our coaching staff,” coach Mike McCarthy said in a statement. “Every day and every decision has the focus on bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay. The evaluation process will continue with a vision to change, adjust or emphasize any aspect of our program to help us reach the attainable goal of another Super Bowl championship.”
Zook, the former Florida coach, had been out of coaching since he was fired from Illinois in 2011 after seven seasons. He coachED the Gators for three seasons after succeeding Steve Spurrier.
Zook, 59, also coached in the NFL as the Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coach (1996-98), Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach (1999) and New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator (2000-01). McCarthy was on the Saints’ staff as offensive coordinator.
Gash was the Detroit Lions’ running backs coach from 2008-12. He was a teammate of Van Pelt with the Buffalo Bills.
Van Pelt replaced Ben McAdoo, who left to be the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator.
–Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews had the pins removed from his surgically repaired right thumb the week of Jan. 20, according to FOXSports.com.
Matthews originally injured his thumb in Week 5 against the Detroit Lions and then had surgery, missing the following four games. He reinjured his thumb in Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matthews missed the final week of the regular season and the wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I need to get healthy,” Matthews told FOXSports.com on Tuesday. “Rehab my thumb and get it back to 100 percent so that way there is no setback starting next season.”
Matthews had the second surgery in late December and the thumb had been immobilized. He is now working to strengthen his thumb and get movement back.
“Little exercises as far as finger mobility,” Matthews said. “I have a physical therapist who helps with loosening up those joints because it was immobilized for so long. A lot of those ligaments and tendons become real stiff along with the surgery.”
–The Packers announced Jan. 17 that outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene resigned.
Greene, a former NFL pass rusher and a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, spent the past five seasons on the Packers’ coaching staff. In that span, the team had 204 sacks, which is fourth in the league. Outside linebackers accounted for 91.5 of those sacks.
Green Bay’s defense ranked second in the league in 2009, Greene’s first on the staff.
“I am stepping away from the NFL at this time in order to spend more time with my wife, Tara, and our children, Gavin and Gabrielle,” Greene said in a statement released by the team. “I will miss coaching and will try to return after our kids move on to college if a team will have me.
“My experience here with the Green Bay Packers has been nothing but positive. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity that (coach) Mike McCarthy and (general manager) Ted Thompson have blessed me with. I have a peace about the productivity that I helped bring forward in all of the fine young men that have been entrusted to me these past five years. I am most proud of all their accomplishments and the fine young men they’ve become in this league.”
Under Greene’s tutelage, linebacker Clay Matthews was selected to four straight Pro Bowls (2009-12). He became the first player in franchise history named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the league.
“Kevin approached me recently to express his desire to step away from coaching so that he could spend more time with his family,” McCarthy said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank him for all of his contributions and hard work over the past five seasons with the Packers.
“Kevin provided an incredible amount of energy, passion and knowledge each and every day he was with us. The dedication he showed to maximizing the potential of his players was clearly evident to anyone that worked with him, and he will be missed. I want to wish Kevin, Tara, Gavin and Gabrielle nothing but the best in the years ahead.”
–In a refreshing break from the 24/7/365 chatter about quarterbacks, the Professional Football Writers of America selected Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy as NFL’s 2013 Rookie of the Year.
The PFWA named San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen as Offensive Rookie of the Year and Buffalo Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso as Defensive Rookie of the Year.
–Eddie Lacy was also added to the Pro Bowl roster, replacing Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson informed the NFL he is unable to participate due to injury. Peterson ended the season with a right foot injury.
“I was extremely excited to hear that I am getting to go to the Pro Bowl after my rookie season,” said Lacy. “I feel like it gives me a great opportunity to thank my teammates, especially the offensive line, and coaches, for working with me and helping me accomplish what I did on the field this year.”
–Given ringing endorsements by head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Ben McAdoo is on the move for trying to land a high-profile job with another team.
McAdoo, a Green Bay assistant since McCarthy’s first year in 2006 and its quarterbacks coach the last two seasons, is being wooed by at least two teams.
The 36-year-old reportedly was in Cleveland on Wednesday to interview for the Browns’ head-coaching vacancy.
Depending on how fast the Browns act on filling that position, McAdoo has an interview scheduled this weekend with the New York Giants for their opening at offensive coordinator, according to reports.
“He’s prepared himself for opportunities potentially that are out there,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “I think the world of Ben. I’ve been with Ben a long time and seen him diligently prepare himself to move forward. So, whatever opportunities that do come by, he’ll do a phenomenal job.”
McAdoo has coached in the NFL ranks since 2004, all on the offensive side, but has never been a coordinator, let alone a head coach. McCarthy moved McAdoo from tight end coach to quarterbacks coach in 2012 after former quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was promoted to offensive coordinator to succeed Joe Philbin, who was hired as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach.
Interestingly, Philbin could be interested in bringing McAdoo to South Florida as his next offensive coordinator after the Dolphins fired Mike Sherman.
Rodgers said on his weekly radio show on ESPN Wisconsin that he texted McAdoo to let him know to give the quarterback’s name as a job reference during his interviews.
“He’s a guy who works extremely hard,” Rodgers said. “He’s a guy who really puts the time in. He has an incredible work ethic, and I think he’s really worked hard to become a better coach in the time that we’ve spent together.”
–One of McAdoo’s former pupils in the Green Bay tight ends room is continuing his recovery from a career-threatening injury.
McCarthy said in his season-ending news conference Wednesday that Jermichael Finley is doing rehab work. Finley underwent spinal-fusion surgery Nov. 14, a little more than three weeks after he sustained a bruised spinal cord after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit on a pass play over the middle against the Cleveland Browns.
“I haven’t seen Jermichael in probably about two weeks,” McCarthy said. “I know he’s going through rehab. He’s splitting his time between here and Minneapolis,” where Finley has an offseason home.
Finley, 26, is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He said after sustaining the scary injury that he plans to play again.
Also headed toward free agency is defensive lineman Johnny Jolly. He, too, suffered a significant injury this season.
Jolly, who turns 31 on Feb. 21, suffered a bulging disk in December and missed the final three games as the team placed him on injured reserve.
Speculated surgery for Jolly apparently has been put on hold.
“I talked to Johnny on Monday,” McCarthy said. “He was going to (get) a second opinion in Chicago. I have not heard the news of that.”
–After missing the entire season with a torn ACL he sustained in the team’s preseason scrimmage in early August, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga is hopeful of being ready for the start of next season but refused to predict when he will be back on the field.
“I can’t put a timeline on it. I won’t put a timeline on it,” Bulaga said after Green Bay’s season ended with a 23-20 loss to San Francisco in the wild-card round of the playoffs Jan. 5. “I’m at a little over four months (since having surgery), and everything has gone smooth so far with the rehab, and as of right now, I haven’t had any setbacks. We like where we’re at right now.”
Bulaga revealed he started his rehab work at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., during the season.
While Bulaga was away from the team, rookie David Bakhtiari started every game at left tackle, where Bulaga had been moved from right tackle last offseason before suffering the knee injury.
With the coaches high on Bakhtiari’s performance this season, Bulaga may wind up having to go back to right tackle to reclaim a starting job. Don Barclay, a second-year player, was the right tackle this season and had mixed results.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” said Bulaga, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2010. “That’s going to have to be something that Coach McCarthy and everybody (in the front office) will have to evaluate. Wherever they need me to play, I’ll play. That’s not something that’s even on my mind currently.”
The Packers face a potential logjam with starting-caliber tackles going into their spring and summer workouts. Derek Sherrod, the first-round draft pick in 2011, is healthy again after missing the entire 2012 season because of a broken leg.
McCarthy was noncommittal about how things would shake out for Bulaga, Sherrod and even presumably Barclay at right tackle if the decision is indeed made to stick with Bakhtiari at left tackle.
“Talking to both Derek Sherrod and Bryan Bulaga (in McCarthy’s exit interviews), I told them both that as we go through this evaluation process as soon as we decide how we’re going to set reps as far as positions and the identity that I’d get back to them but I don’t have an answer for you right now,” McCarthy said.
The Packers signed eight players to futures contracts after the season finished.
They include six players who ended the season on Green Bay’s practice squad: running back Orwin Smith, receiver Alex Gillett, center Garth Gerhart, offensive tackle Aaron Adams, guard Andrew Tiller and cornerback Antonio Dennard.
Also signed were the first-year tandem of offensive tackle Jeremy Vujnovich and linebacker Chase Thomas.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Thomas was on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad most of this season. He originally signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie out of Stanford last spring and also spent time with the Oakland Raiders.
The 6-5, 300-pound Vujnovich was in Green Bay’s rookie orientation camp on a tryout basis last May after he went undrafted out of Louisiana College.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Hell, yeah! Don’t you think so? My goodness, yeah. I can’t even believe you asked me that. You guys got on me about (not) running the ball forever. We run it as good as anybody in the league. (And) we’ve got the best quarterback in football. I’d put our offense up against anybody’s. We’ll play anywhere — cold, hot, rain, snow. We’re built the right way is my answer.” — Head coach Mike McCarthy, when asked whether he feels the offense is built to excel in late-season cold and snowy conditions in the wake of the Packers’ falling 23-20 to San Francisco in a frosty wild-card playoff game at Lambeau Field on Jan. 5. Green Bay has lost three of its last four postseason games at home since 2007 under McCarthy.
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NFL Team Report – Green Bay Packers – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
FREE-AGENT UPDATE
Players expected to be unrestricted in March:
–QB Matt Flynn
–QB Seneca Wallace
–RB James Starks
–RB Kahlil Bell
–FB John Kuhn
–TE Jermichael Finley
–TE Andrew Quarless
–WR James Jones
–C Evan Dietrich-Smith
–OT Marshall Newhouse
–DE/OLB Mike Neal
–DE C.J. Wilson
–DT Johnny Jolly
–DT Ryan Pickett
–DT B.J. Raji
–LB Robert Francois
–CB Sam Shields
UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS
QUARTERBACK: Starter — Aaron Rodgers. Backups — Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien. Injured reserve: Seneca Wallace.
The Packers felt the immense pinch of losing arguably the best player in the league when Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone on his non-throwing left side in the opening series of the Nov. 4 loss to Chicago. Counting that night, Green Bay went winless in five straight games and was on the verge of not returning to the playoffs. Yet, after missing essentially eight games because of the injury, Rodgers showed his incredible worth by returning for the regular-season finale at Chicago on Dec. 29 and throwing a clutch fourth-and-long deep ball to a wide-open Randall Cobb for a game- and NFC North-clinching touchdown in the last minute.
Green Bay’s bizarre season ended a week later when Rodgers played so-so in extremely cold conditions at Lambeau Field against a formidable San Francisco defense in the first round of the playoffs. That the Packers repeated as division champions and wound up back in the postseason was nothing short of remarkable as they went through four starting quarterbacks.
What saved them after veteran journeyman Wallace and young prospect Tolzien were ineffective in four games as Rodgers’ initial replacements was the heady play by Flynn in his second go-around with the team. Flynn kept the quarterback spot warm for Rodgers by leading the offense for 4 1/2 games and directing big second-half comebacks that resulted in a tie and two wins, including the improbable triumph at Dallas on Dec. 15 after Green Bay trailed by 23 at halftime. Flynn will be a free agent but should be of interest to bring back and pair with Tolzien as Rodgers’ understudies going into next season.
RUNNING BACKS: Starters — HB Eddie Lacy, FB John Kuhn. Backups — HB James Starks, HB Kahlil Bell. Injured reserve: HB Johnathan Franklin, HB DuJuan Harris.
Lacy was everything the team’s powers that be envisioned and then some for his first pro season. He is a front-runner for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after establishing himself as a top-10 running back and providing a huge lift for an offense that played half the season without Rodgers and also lost playmaking receiver Randall Cobb for 2 1/2 months. Lacy’s battering-ram running style that made him tough to bring down enabled him to set team rookie records with 1,178 rushing yards (4.1 per carry) and 11 rushing touchdowns. He was honored as an All-Pro second-team selection by The Associated Press.
Injury-prone Starks held up for most of the season and provided a change-of-pace complement to Lacy with 493 rushing yards and a potent average of 5.5 yards per carry. Franklin, a fourth-round draft pick last year, and Harris, a first-year player, would battle for the No. 2 job in the offseason if Green Bay lets Starks walk as an unrestricted free agent. Harris, a key contributor late in the 2012 season, was felled by knee complications in the preseason. Franklin, who suffered a concussion late in the season, provided a one-game glimpse of his potential by stepping in for an injured Lacy and Starks and rushing for 103 yards in only 13 carries in the Week 3 loss at Cincinnati.
Bell, a fifth-year player added late in the season, didn’t contribute on offense. Kuhn, a free agent-to-be at age 31, still has value to the team for his gritty work as a blocker on third down, running the ball in short-yardage situations and his special-teams contributions.
TIGHT ENDS: Starter — Andrew Quarless. Backups — Ryan Taylor, Jake Stoneburner. Injured reserve: Jermichael Finley, Brandon Bostick.
The playing future of Finley is in serious doubt. He sustained damage to his neck and spine on a helmet-to-helmet hit in the Oct. 20 win over Cleveland and underwent surgery a few weeks later. Finley expects to play again, but Green Bay and any other team for that matter could be taking a big risk by considering to give him that shot as an impending unrestricted free agent.
Quarless (career-high 32 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns) also is headed to free agency. The fourth-year player helped his stock, particularly if the Packers are inclined to bring him back, by being productive late in the season as the fill-in for Finley.
If the team decides to move on without Finley and Quarless, Bostick can fit the bill as a capable pass catcher who can stretch the field. The first-year player suffered a broken foot late in the season. Taylor and Stoneburner, an undrafted rookie, were primarily special-teams contributors.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters — Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb. Backups — James Jones, Jarrett Boykin, Chris Harper. Injured reserve: Myles White, Kevin Dorsey, Sederrik Cunningham.
Even after Greg Jennings bolted for rival Minnesota in free agency and Donald Driver retired last offseason, Green Bay didn’t lose its distinction as having one of the more enticing receiving units in the league. The numbers weren’t as tremendous this season, however, because of not only having Rodgers sidelined but also losing Cobb for 10 games with a broken leg and Jones for two games with a knee injury.
Nelson didn’t suffer any as the model of consistency, playing every game and setting career highs with 85 catches and 1,314 receiving yards, along with eight touchdown receptions. Boykin, a second-year player, filled the void as well amid the injuries and had breakout-type numbers of 49 catches for 681 yards and three touchdowns. His emergence gives Green Bay insurance as a No. 3 wideout should Jones leave as a free agent after seven seasons.
Harper, an undrafted rookie picked up during the season, didn’t have any catches in limited time. Dorsey (hamstring), a seventh-round draft pick, and Cunningham (wrist) went out in the preseason, and bit contributor White landed on injured reserve late in the season with an unspecified injury.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters — LT David Bakhtiari, LG Josh Sitton, C Evan Dietrich-Smith, RG T.J. Lang, RT Don Barclay. Backups — OT Marshall Newhouse, OT Derek Sherrod, G Lane Taylor, C/G JC Tretter. Injured reserve: OT Bryan Bulaga, G/C Greg Van Roten.
Head coach Mike McCarthy made the bold move of flipping his starters on both sides of the line last offseason but never saw the facelift fully on display this season. That’s because Bulaga, switched from right tackle to left tackle, suffered a torn ACL in the team’s preseason scrimmage in early August and was lost for the season. With Bulaga expected to be fully recovered by summer, it likely could mean a return to right tackle and a battle with fellow first-round draft pick Sherrod and incumbent Barclay for the starting job. Bakhtiari, a fourth-round pick last year, looks to be entrenched as the key protector on the left side after solidly manning the spot with only a few hiccups the entire season. Bakhtiari benefited in his initiation to pro ball by having Sitton beside him.
Sitton’s successful transition from a Pro Bowl right guard to the left side was underscored by his All-Pro second-team selection. Lang settled in well at his new spot on the right side. Dietrich-Smith was a worthy successor to the retired Jeff Saturday in his first full season as the starting center and should be a priority for the team to re-sign as an unrestricted free agent. Former starter Newhouse, also a free agent-to-be, regressed in his fourth season when called upon to fill in for an injured player.
Rookies Taylor and Tretter, the latter of whom recovered from leg injuries sustained in the spring organized team activities and was added to the roster late in the season, are intriguing prospects in the interior of the line. As is Van Roten, who went on IR at midseason with a foot injury.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters — DLE B.J. Raji, NT Ryan Pickett, DRE Mike Daniels. Backups — DE Datone Jones, DE C.J. Wilson, DT Josh Boyd, DE Jerel Worthy. Injured reserve: DT Johnny Jolly.
Perhaps the team’s most improved unit at any position this season could be in a state of flux in a few months. Regular starters Raji, Pickett and Jolly are headed to free agency.
Jolly’s playing future is uncertain after he suffered a bulging disk in his neck and missed the last three games in an otherwise inspiring season as he returned to football after a three-year layoff because of off-the-field issues.
Pickett ended the season as Green Bay’s oldest player at 34 but wasn’t any worse for the wear after playing every game for the second straight season and being a reliable run stopper at the nose position. Raji’s return to the Packers seems questionable. Even a switch to primarily playing end didn’t elevate the 2009 first-round draft pick’s production in Dom Capers’ 3-4 front. Raji had just 32 tackles, zero sacks for the second straight season and no turnover-producing plays. The powerful Daniels is plenty ready to assume a bigger role in the defense after the second-year player tied linebacker Clay Matthews for the team lead with 7 1/2 sacks, including the playoffs. Jones didn’t make an impact as the team’s 2013 first-round draft pick after being slowed at the outset of the season by a high ankle sprain. Wilson and Worthy also were held back by injury factors. Boyd, a fifth-round pick last year, flashed potential as a sturdy run stopper late in the season when he jumped in for the injured Jolly.
LINEBACKERS: Starters — LOLB Mike Neal, BLB A.J. Hawk, MLB Brad Jones, ROLB Clay Matthews. Backups — OLB Nick Perry, OLB Andy Mulumba, ILB Jamari Lattimore, OLB Nate Palmer, ILB Victor Aiyewa. Injured reserve: ILB Robert Francois, ILB Sam Barrington.
Injuries ruled the roost for the linebacker corps from training camp through the final day of the season. Green Bay was down to one outside linebacker (Perry) for a portion of the playoff loss to San Francisco after Neal and Mulumba suffered knee injuries at different parts of the game. Defensive leader Matthews missed the last two games after reinjuring a broken right thumb that cost him four games earlier in the season. Neal exited his productive season (career-high five sacks) in his conversion from end to primarily a stand-up linebacker confident he didn’t suffer significant damage to his right knee. That would help his cause to re-sign with the team as an unrestricted free agent and be in the picture to challenge Perry for a starting job again opposite Matthews.
Perry, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2012, was too inconsistent with his production (five sacks) as he battled through a foot injury the last half of the season. Mulumba showed promise as an undrafted rookie in occasional fill-in duty for the array of injured guys. Hawk led the depleted inside ‘backers with his best season in his eight-year career — team-high 153 tackles (112 solo), career-high five sacks, one interception, one forced fumble. Jones had an up-and-down season, in part because of four missed games for hamstring and ankle injuries. Lattimore replaced Jones in the starting lineup for those games, but the tantalizing third-year player needs more refinement. Francois, a versatile player on defense and a dependable special-teams contributor, suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in Week 5. Barrington, a seventh-round draft pick who was strictly a special-teams player, missed the second half of the season because of a hamstring injury. Aiyewa was a first-year player who filled a roster spot the final six weeks.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters — LCB Tramon Williams, RCB Sam Shields, SS Morgan Burnett, FS M.D. Jennings. Backups — CB Micah Hyde, CB Jarrett Bush, CB Davon House, S Sean Richardson, S Chris Banjo, CB Jumal Rolle. Injured reserve: CB Casey Hayward, CB James Nixon.
Of Green Bay’s 17 players who are due to become unrestricted free agents in March, Shields looms as the one the team can most ill afford to let get away. Losing him to a knee injury on San Francisco’s second play of the game in the playoff matchup was significant. Shields stands out as the Packers’ top coverage guy, although veteran Williams came on late in the season to tie the former for the team lead with four interceptions, including the postseason. Hyde, a fifth-round pick last year, was thrust into the nickel-back spot when a hamstring injury prevented 2012 rookie standout Hayward from being ready at the start of the season.
Hayward returned for three games at midseason but ultimately succumbed to the bad leg. Bush made some noise late in his eighth pro season as the dime back. House was on the outside looking in with playing time late in the season after he struggled in a brief starting stint. He led the team with 12 tackles on special teams. Rolle, an undrafted rookie, spent a bulk of the season on the practice squad before being elevated to the 53-man roster the last week of the regular season. Nixon, a first-year player, suffered a knee injury in November after playing only three games in a special-teams role.
Green Bay’s safety situation was a mess most of the season after the team bid adieu to stabilizing veteran Charles Woodson in the offseason. The Packers signed Burnett to a four-year, $24.75 contract extension in the summer, but the would-be top safety faltered. His maddening inability to make plays on the back end was central to Green Bay not having one turnover created at the safety spots. Jennings wasn’t good, either, and had numerous missed tackles in the open field. He wound up splitting time with Richardson, who returned to the field after suffering a severe neck injury in November 2012. Banjo, an undersized undrafted rookie, earned playing time on defense early in the season and was a consistent special-teams performer, ranking second on the team with 10 tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS: K Mason Crosby, P Tim Masthay, KOR/PR Micah Hyde, LS Brett Goode.
From the worst of times to the best of times is how things turned out for Crosby. The seventh-year player bounced back from a career- and NFL-worst percentage of 63.6 on field goals (21-of-33) in the 2012 regular season by ranking as one of the league’s best with a conversion rate of 89.2 (33-for-37). Crosby, who tied the team record for field goals made in a season, also connected on both of his field goals in the playoff game. He reclaimed his usual role of kickoffs after special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum experimented with the similarly strong-legged Masthay at the start of the season.
Masthay had an exceptional fourth pro season with his ball-placement skill set. He averaged just 44.6 gross yards but broke his previous team record of 38.9 net yards in 2012 with a mark of 39.0, putting 22 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
With Cobb taken off the return duties before he suffered his leg injury, Hyde handled most of the work. The rookie averaged a solid 12.3 yards on punt returns, highlighted by a 93-yard touchdown in the Oct. 27 win at Minnesota. He averaged just 24.1 yards on kickoff runbacks with a long of 70. The abundance of injuries throughout the season had an adverse impact on Green Bay’s return and coverage units, the latter of which allowed substantial averages of 13.1 yards on punt returns and 26 yards on kickoff returns, including a 109-yard touchdown by Vikings rookie Cordarrelle Patterson. Goode has been Mr. Reliable for six seasons as the long snapper.
