Analysis: Down to 53; Look Who Made The Roster

by Brandon on Sep 5, 2009 7:28 PM CDT in Green Bay Packers News

The Green Bay Packers roster was at 75 players and they had to get down to 53, so 18 players were released and 4 placed on injured reserve.

I'll start by looking at the players who won the final spots:

WR Brett Swain. Maybe it helped him that he played some cornerback in the final preseason game. He was a star during practices, but he didn't have too many receptions during the preseason games. He did look good on punt returns. He was a 7th round pick last season and spent all of 2008 on the practice squad, so they've been watching him a lot over the past two years. He was the beneficiary of a poor preseason from WR Ruvell Martin.

CB Will Blackmon. He's played well as a punt returner, but never outstanding as a cornerback. His latest injury might have been the end for him, but apparently he'll be back soon, they won't find a better punt returner, and need depth in the secondary.

FB John Kuhn, FB Korey Hall, and FB Quinn Johnson. These three were watched for weeks because it seemed unlikely they'd keep three fullbacks. Instead of making a tough decision, they decided to keep all three.

CB Brandon Underwood. The 6th round pick wasn't outstanding this preseason, but they saw enough potential in the lanky 6'1" defender to keep him around.

S Aaron Rouse. After an injury filled 2008, and another injury this preseason, his roster spot seemed in danger. But he is another lanky defender (6'4") who GM Ted Thompson favors, so he keeps his spot too. Apparently his injury isn't too serious otherwise he should have been put on I.R.

TE Spencer Havner. After spending last season on the practice squad, I hadn't given him much of a chance this preseason, but his blocking is great and he's got good hands. It helps that he can play LB too, but he's better at TE. It also helped that three other TEs were placed on I.R. at various times this preseason to thin out his competition.

LB Brad Jones. The 7th round pick has played great this preseason, although I thought he would be squeezed out by the numbers. Instead they kept nine LBs, 10 if you include Havner. His pass rushing ability was a real eye opener.

C Evan Dietrich-Smith. I had no idea the undrafted rookie would earn a spot. He's the biggest surprise.

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Comments

I’m shocked and disappointed Sutton was cut, especially with Lumpkin gone and Jackson hurting. And to keep three FBs? I bet TT will be watching for RBs to come on the market.

by Squatbulk on Sep 5, 2009 7:45 PM CDT reply actions

Im not dissapointed in Sutton, he would have had one rush at best and we overrate our 4th RBs anyways

Brohm and Meredith were shocking though, especially with who they decided to keep instead (3 centers)?

On that fly to right-center
I kinda expected JD to plow into Rios with an ATV.

EVERYBODY PICK US FOR 3RD OR 4TH SO I DINK WE DOIN POOTY GOO
Sox Machine
by Sox Machine on Aug 17, 2009 7:35 PM PDT reply recommended Unrec 3

by blackoutsox on Sep 5, 2009 7:57 PM CDT reply actions

Smith was also suprising

over Rouse and Underwood

On that fly to right-center
I kinda expected JD to plow into Rios with an ATV.

EVERYBODY PICK US FOR 3RD OR 4TH SO I DINK WE DOIN POOTY GOO
Sox Machine
by Sox Machine on Aug 17, 2009 7:35 PM PDT reply recommended Unrec 3

by blackoutsox on Sep 5, 2009 7:59 PM CDT up reply actions

agreed

when you have injuries in your secondary you do not cut a man who played well in preseason and knows your new system – then keep three Fullback and three centers – odd choice. On a side note – sad to see Ruvell get released over 800,000, he is a much better receiver than Swain. I hope Driver and James stay healthy.

by Paul_chi on Sep 6, 2009 4:46 AM CDT up reply actions

I am sure that someone said this somewhere in this post...

But do not forget that the Packers traded for a safety also, which helps explain why they would go youth-over-experience in another safety roster battle.

by NYCPac on Sep 6, 2009 8:28 AM CDT up reply actions

But

Smith is young as well. I think he is only 3-5 years in the league. He knows they system, can come up and make a big hit, and had 2 impressive INTs in the preseason. Cutting him really makes no sense too me.

by packallday555 on Sep 6, 2009 9:58 PM CDT up reply actions

FB

Hey Props too… ME!!! LOL I predicted here and on other boards that the Packers would keep 3 FB. Hall and Kuhn just proved to be too good to release. I would not be a bit surprised though, if a trade is made in the next few days regarding one of them. Even if there isn’t, they are both extremely important and productive ST players, which is a common theme this year.

Deitrich-Smith is a surprise. Wonder if a trade might be made w/ him. Seattle needs a center… A. Smith seemed to play well enough to get a roster spot. I would have kept him over Rouse any day. Neither did anything on ST to help themselves and Smith did play better. Apparently, the Martin kid gets the nod over Smith as well.

My misguided attempt at predcting the 53 turned out to be an utter waste of time. Other than keeping the 3 FB that is…

by Strohman on Sep 5, 2009 8:09 PM CDT reply actions

I hope we can get Obiozor and Meredith to the practice squad

Two guys with a lot of potential…
-Sutton had a fine preseason and showed he’s NFL material…he just isn’t top 3 material on our team. He’ll probably play somewhere else though.
-Speaking of good rookie RB’s who got cut, Ian Johnson was dropped by the Vikings. I think cutting Sutton is a signta we go after him, but It’d be nice to have an RB with his versatility and play-making ability.
-Swain did end up beating out old-reliable Ruvell…Pack probably didn’t want to take a chance of sneaking him to the practice squad interesting to see how much he contributes this year.
-Cutting Smith was definitely a shocker
-I can’t say I saw Moll for Martin coming, but I figured Moll was gone one way or another and I also expected us to get some help for the secondary from outside
-Brohm….blah.

"stay (green and) gold"

by Green and Bold on Sep 5, 2009 8:19 PM CDT reply actions

I think Martin was hurt

by the progress of Finley. With as good as Lee and Finley have looked, and with the strength in the FBs, we are not going to see much 5 WR sets this season. Martin was a safer way to go, but Swain seems to have upside that might allow him to be a contributor after Driver retires.

I would be shocked if we keep 3 FBs all season. I suspect that TT has a trade of some sort in the works and was involved in a game of “chicken” with the approaching cuts (I am not cutting one… yes you are… no I am not…).

I am dying to see who makes it onto the practice squad…

by NYCPac on Sep 5, 2009 8:40 PM CDT up reply actions

Actually the smith cutting isn't so bad when you think about how we kept two other borderline safetys

and we did trade for another

On that fly to right-center
I kinda expected JD to plow into Rios with an ATV.

EVERYBODY PICK US FOR 3RD OR 4TH SO I DINK WE DOIN POOTY GOO
Sox Machine
by Sox Machine on Aug 17, 2009 7:35 PM PDT reply recommended Unrec 3

by blackoutsox on Sep 5, 2009 8:48 PM CDT up reply actions

another potential RB to go after

is Dominic Rhodes…he could be a good goal line back for us to go out there for those tough carries and to keep Grant fresh. He was released by Buffalo today.

by TrevorR on Sep 5, 2009 9:58 PM CDT up reply actions

My jaw was on the floor with a few of these...

Quarterback Brian Brohm – While I don’t disagree, to leave ourselves with ONE quarterback as a backup who is a second year player is a little scary. Maybe we go after Garcia though which would be a nice upgrade as a #2 QB
Wide receiver Ruvell Martin – He’s been around for a while and likely has some rapport with Aaron. But he was outperformed and has a long injury history.
Tackle Jamon Meredith – Shocked…never saw this coming
Safety Anthony Smith – Was fighting for the starting gig and comes with 3-4 experience…NEVER would have predicted this. Would have been a great experienced backup.
Running back Tyrell Sutton – Guess will try to sneak onto the practice squad but got a lot of attention drawn to him so I doubt he’ll be around. Either way he was a rookie and we’ll probably be fine without him.

by TrevorR on Sep 5, 2009 9:46 PM CDT reply actions

...and another thing.

THREE fullbacks? That is just a bad move…they must be looking to pull a trade and needed some more time. There is NO way they start the season with three of them!!

by TrevorR on Sep 5, 2009 9:47 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree, in theory

There is NO way they start the season with three of them!!

But, maybe they look at them as good special team players, as well.

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Sep 5, 2009 11:51 PM CDT up reply actions

WHAT!?

I gotta say I’m really, really disappointed by some of these cuts.
Jamon Meredith- I don’t get this one at all. He was said to have 2nd round talent when we drafted him in the 5th round. He is big and long and seemed to have some great potential.
Tyrell Sutton- The quick, shifty back, that could be very useful in situations. Just shocked by this.
Anthony Smith- Biggest shocker for me. I personally think he is better then Bigby. He has 3-4 experience. He is a big hitter (like Bigby) but is WAAAAYYYYY better in coverage then Bigby is.
3 FBs- Why? Hall and Kuhn are the EXACT same players. Why we need 2 of the EXACT same players I don’t know. Could have used this position to keep Smith on the team.

I’m really kind of disappointed about the cuts we made. Of course I’m not an NFL GM like TT is, so hopefully his decisions all work out the way he wants them too.

by packallday555 on Sep 5, 2009 10:52 PM CDT reply actions

I am totally with you about the three FBs and Smith. My ONLY justification is that there are some teams interested in a fullback and they want to make a trade. Losing out on Smith is BAD news though!!

by TrevorR on Sep 5, 2009 11:41 PM CDT up reply actions

Good thought

That would make sense. Hopefully we do trade either Hall or Kuhn, as we should get something decent in return, because their both pretty solid FBs.

Really disappointed about not keeping Smith. He is twice as good as Peprah, and I think probably just as good as Bigby. The difference is he has experience in the 3-4.

by packallday555 on Sep 6, 2009 12:08 AM CDT up reply actions

Utterly shocked by Bhrom and disappointed with the Maritn release

I looked at Martin as a poor mans Driver. Driver was a low draft pick who didn’t see much time his first few years and I thought Martin might develop as similar. Though, I’ll admit, Driver is way better.

Sad to see Martin go. With Flynn being hurt (as far as I know right now) I see them picking up a veteran QB soon and possibly trading one of the three fullbacks.

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Sep 5, 2009 11:54 PM CDT reply actions

Whoops. Second line should start, "Sad to see Brohm go"

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Sep 5, 2009 11:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Martin and Driver

Their kind of exact opposites. Martin is just a big body, and someone to throw to in the redzone. I do like him more then Swain though, as he is probably a better run blocker.

by packallday555 on Sep 6, 2009 12:10 AM CDT up reply actions

I just really liked Martin, A LOT, more than probably is rational. But the guy seemed to make the plays...

at the right time. Just a solid pass catcher, not the quickest by any means, but I trusted him being out there. I hope Swain makes me a believer of him, as well.

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Sep 6, 2009 12:23 AM CDT up reply actions

Folks, keep in mind

Some of these cut players will wind up on our practice squad. I think that many of these cuts were based upon who they thought that they could sneak onto that 5 man list.

by NYCPac on Sep 6, 2009 8:34 AM CDT reply actions

Few quick thoughts

There seems to be an emphasis on ST play with the backups which I like.
Sutton is probably just a guy. If there were a single team that thought he was worth a 7th round pick, he would have been traded.
I though Brohm would get one more year, but maybe they think they can get him to the practice squad. If so, they can just go with 2 QB’s.
Swain had Brohm throwing to him in the preseason games.
*3 centers were kept but Spitz means that Wells is basically a backup at both guard spots.
3 FB’s were kept but Kuhn was a college half back.

Always assume the coaches/GM know more than us. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Marques Anderson looked like an all-pro for a game or two.

by grant76 on Sep 6, 2009 9:17 AM CDT reply actions

New millenium Estus (Useless) Hood

How could Smith be set loose while keeping the Lowlight Reel specialist, Jarrett Bush?
Has there been a player who has done more to sabotage games? Has there been a player who has been confronted more frequently by the coach after boneheaded plays?
Estes Hood used to make one play every preseason and keep his job – BAD MOVE.
Here we go again.

by pakatak on Sep 6, 2009 11:39 AM CDT reply actions

Martin for Smith

So is Martin an upgrade on Smith? Apparently the scouts thinks so. Given the injuries in the secondary, I hope they’re right. Smith’s interception against Arizona is still engraved in my mind. Sorry to see him go.

Will this be a repeat of the punter switch last year, or the trade for Grant? Nobody seems to have any information on Martin.

by 50 years and Counting on Sep 6, 2009 1:26 PM CDT reply actions

Good question

Rouse is back at practice, so with Jarrett Bush playing primarily at safety, it seems like they needed cornerback help more than safety help. So Martin is so much replacing Smith; they needed another cornerback more than they needed another safety.

by Brandon on Sep 7, 2009 11:56 PM CDT up reply actions

Good point

But the thing is Bush is absolutely horrendous. There really is no aspect of his game that he does well. All I have really seen him do is get stupid-ass penalties (A LOT) and blow coverage assignments.

Totally agree that we needed another CB though.

by packallday555 on Sep 8, 2009 12:39 AM CDT up reply actions

Blackmon out for the year?

You have your two starters and your nickel. The next piece would be a CB almost ready to play and a new guy in training. That would be Blackmon and Underwood. Now if Blackmon is hurt for any length of time, then you have a problem. Are you saying you know he’s out for the long haul?

If not, then I don’t see a problem.

As for Bush, I might buy the argument that GB is wrong to keep working on him if the Titans hadn’t also offered to hire the guy. Given two sets of professional see something, I guess I’ll go with their opinions.

by 50 years and Counting on Sep 8, 2009 7:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Huh?

I haven’t heard Blackmon was out for the year. I just think we should have kept Smith over Bush, especially if we plan on using Bush at saftey. Smith showed much more then Bush did this preseason.

by packallday555 on Sep 8, 2009 10:02 PM CDT reply actions