Thoughts From My Couch As We Head To Final Preseason Game

(Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

The last game of the preseason is for the coaches and the scrubs. The starters will play one series except for the big uglies and a few others. But even they won’t get big minutes Thursday night in Nashville.

The Packers have their starting line-ups essentially set, at least on offense. There are a few questions still on defense, but with injuries we may not know the answers until midseason anyway.

Win, lose, or draw this has been the most exciting and encouraging preseason in sometime for Packers fans. The offense has done whatever it has wanted and the defense has turned over opponents at a startling rate.

Additionally, the 3-4 transition has been much better than expected and as long as some of the soft spots in the coverage can be covered up to some degree, Peter King’s prediction of an NFC Championship appearance doesn’t seem far fetched.

Since the game against the Titans means nothing in the standings and will show us little to nothing in terms of what the season might bring, I want to shine a light on a few players, coaches, and elements that you ought to be pay attention to.

Starter with the most to prove

A.J. Hawk’s name would appear here if not for the fact that he was a top 5 pick and the coaches insist he has graded well in the preseason despite being second to last on the team in tackles for starters. So, in his stead, the man who was last on that list: Atari Bigby.

Bigby may have been the worst fit into the 3-4 because he just isn’t a playmaker in coverage. He can play near the line of scrimmage, but his instincts in the passing game are about hitting not playing a receiver. He was a key cog in the defense’s improvement in 2008, but he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency since.

His potential replacement, Anthony Smith, has been outstanding, making plays with interceptions while showing a knack for being around the football. Smith is a better cover safety and despite his slight frame, he can lay the wood.

He was the gem of the 2009 Ted Thompson free agent class (not that it’s a long list), and Smith should get plenty of run in sub packages anyway. But if Bigby doesn’t step up early in the season, he could be back on the bench.  

Familiar name most in danger of being cut

I’m not sure Tyrell Sutton has shown enough after that Browns game to make the team, but even though he has gotten plenty of ink in the media, he’s not a familiar name with the average Packer fan (More on him later).

The man I’m thinking of has been a starter for the last couple seasons and really played well, but has lost his job for one reason or another.

Scott Wells wound up on the second team behind Jason Spitz after some injuries, but not poor play. If Spitz can play guard (which he has) I don’t understand going with Spitz over Wells rather than play them together unless they like Josh Sitton that much, which they reportedly do.

However, the line-ups have been set and Wells will be a back-up. You can’t pay almost $2 million for a back-up center. If he’s not going to play he has to either be traded or cut. That is the bottom line.

Yeah, he’s great insurance, but Spitz can play multiple positions, so can T.J. Lang and Daryn Colledge, so it just doesn’t make sense to keep Wells if he’s not starting.  

Coach with the biggest load to shoulder

This is another no-brainer: Kevin Greene. Arguably the best 3-4 rush linebacker ever, Greene was tasked with teaching a 4-3 team how to play the 3-4.

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