Last week, we broke down the results of the Acme Packing Company roster surveys for the Green Bay Packers' offense. The results of those surveys found that 23 players are viewed as either locks to make the team or at least likely to do so, leaving just a couple of spots on the bubble and up for grabs.
This week, we do the same for the Packers' defense and the special teams. Click over to last week's post to read through the methodology for assigning players their values before we get into the results below.
Roster Breakdown
Locks
Defensive Line: Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark, Letroy Guion, Mike Pennel, Dean Lowry
Outside Linebacker: Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Kyler Fackrell, Nick Perry, Datone Jones
Inside Linebacker: Jake Ryan, Blake Martinez, Sam Barrington
Cornerback: Sam Shields, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, LaDarius Gunter
Safety: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Morgan Burnett, Micah Hyde
Special Teams: Mason Crosby
There are few surprises here - perhaps the only significant one is the appearance of LaDarius Gunter, who narrowly snuck in over the limit for lock status. Crosby has no competition at this point, so he's sure to make the team as well. The rest of the locks are starters (or projected starters) or players drafted in the first four rounds of this year's draft. A whopping 20 players are viewed to have jobs guaranteed at this point, leaving five or six spots available.
Likely to make the team
DL: Christian Ringo
OLB: Jayrone Elliott
ILB: none
CB: none
S: Chris Banjo
Special Teams: LS Rick Lovato
Three of those 5-6 spots are claimed by "likely" players, leaving us with a total of 23 defensive players who are fairly safe at this point - coincidentally, that's the same number that we saw on the offense.
We also have our second specialist appear here, and if not for his lack of experience, he might be viewed as a lock anyway.
On the bubble
DL: None
OLB: Lerentee McCray
ILB: Joe Thomas, Carl Bradford, Beniquez Brown
CB: Demetri Goodson, Robertson Daniel, Makinton Dorleant
S: Kentrell Brice
ST: P Peter Mortell, P Tim Masthay
Now we get into the interesting battles on defense. Two or three spots should be up for grabs among these eight players, with likely one of the inside linebackers and one of the cornerbacks making the team.
We also find that APC views Mortell as serious competition for Masthay. As you'll see in the breakdown below, Mortell actually earned slightly more support from APC overall, with a surprising 10% of voters seeing him as a lock to make the team. Certainly, some of that is probably personal feelings of disappointment in Masthay coming into play, but it is fascinating to observe nonetheless.
Unlikely to make the team
DL: Tyler Kuder, Brian Price, Demetris Anderson
OLB: Reggie Gilbert
ILB: Manoa Pikula
CB: Josh Hawkins, Randall Jette
S: Jermaine Whitehtead, Marwin Evans
Here are a handful of players who have a shot at the roster, but the odds are long. Look to the defensive linemen or corners for a dark horse among this group of players.
Full Results
Here you have it - APC's readers feel that 23 players are safe on offense, 23 on defense, and two on special teams. That leaves five roster spots truly in question, with one of those being the punter. Here's the breakdown of the voting - note that "n/s" designates results that were not significant - under 3% of the voting.
Defensive Line
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
Mike Daniels | 98.5% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Kenny Clark | 95.2% | 3.1% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Letroy Guion | 82.9% | 15.4% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Dean Lowry | 49.1% | 37.1% | 9.4% | 3.8% | n/s |
Mike Pennel | 43.6% | 48.5% | 6.5% | n/s | n/s |
Christian Ringo | 5.0% | 39.2% | 50.1% | 5.1% | n/s |
Tyler Kuder | n/s | 5.7% | 37.2% | 41.0% | 14.4% |
B.J. McBryde | n/s | 4.3% | 38.1% | 42.3% | 14.2% |
Brian Price | n/s | 5.4% | 35.0% | 42.4% | 15.8% |
Demetris Anderson | n/s | n/s | 20.5% | 46.1% | 30.1% |
Outside Linebacker
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
Clay Matthews | 97.9% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Julius Peppers | 90.5% | 7.1% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Kyler Fackrell | 67.9% | 29.1% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Nick Perry | 58.2% | 32.7% | 7.5% | n/s | n/s |
Datone Jones | 52.9% | 36.5% | 9.4% | n/s | n/s |
Jayrone Elliott | 27.3% | 50.3% | 21.1% | n/s | n/s |
Lerentee McCray | 5.2% | 19.2% | 41.1% | 25.9% | 8.7% |
Reggie Gilbert | n/s | n/s | 22.6% | 44.8% | 28.8% |
Inside Linebacker
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
Jake Ryan | 87.6% | 10.9% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Blake Martinez | 81.5% | 16.7% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Sam Barrington | 72.2% | 25.3% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Joe Thomas | 3.1% | 25.6% | 59.2% | 10.2% | n/s |
Beniquez Brown | 3.6% | 21.7% | 45.7% | 23.4% | 5.7% |
Carl Bradford | 3.1% | 14.1% | 53.5% | 25.2% | 4.1% |
Manoa Pikula | n/s | 5.0% | 27.0% | 44.8% | 21.8% |
Cornerback
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
Sam Shields | 98.7% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Damarious Randall | 98.5% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Quinten Rollins | 97.9% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
LaDarius Gunter | 35.6% | 58.9% | 4.8% | n/s | n/s |
Demetri Goodson | 4.8% | 31.3% | 55.9% | 6.2% | n/s |
Robertson Daniel | n/s | 11.5% | 55.2% | 26.7% | 4.5% |
Makinton Dorleant | n/s | 8.6% | 48.9% | 32.7% | 7.7% |
Josh Hawkins | n/s | 3.8% | 35.1% | 48.1% | 12.1% |
Randall Jette | n/s | 3.5% | 25.6% | 50.8% | 19.3% |
Safety
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | 99.3% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Morgan Burnett | 97.4% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Micah Hyde | 84.8% | 14.5% | n/s | n/s | n/s |
Chris Banjo | 11.8% | 62.2% | 25.1% | n/s | n/s |
Kentrell Brice | n/s | 6.7% | 51.8% | 33.9% | 5.8% |
Jermaine Whitehead | n/s | 3.8% | 36.8% | 46.2% | 12.3% |
Marwin Evans | n/s | n/s | 35.6% | 48.6% | 12.8% |
Special Teams
Player | Lock | Likely | Bubble | Unlikely | Virtually No Chance |
K Mason Crosby | 96.6% | n/s | n/s | n/s | n/s |
LS Rick Lovato | n/s | 31.7% | 55.1% | 7.1% | 3.6% |
P Peter Mortell | 10.0% | 24.4% | 49.4% | 14.3% | n/s |
P Tim Masthay | n/s (2.5%) | 31.7% | 55.1% | 7.1% | 3.6% |
Thanks to everyone who voted over the past two weeks!