APC NFL Mailbag: DL drills, Week 1 games, & Dom Capers in 2017

Hey readers, thanks for checking out this mailbag! As often as possible, I want to interact with you and answer any NFL related questions that you might have. We specialize in Green Bay Packer affairs here at Acme Packing Company, but I wanted to up the football talk a little bit more and broaden the conversation to the entire NFL. If you have a football question to be featured in future mailbags, hit us up on Twitter @AcmePackingCo, include the hashtag: #AskAPC or post in the comments. Let’s dive into some of these questions:

Two weeks ago, I would’ve said Giants-Cowboys, but with Zeke Elliott currently suspended for six games, it’s a little less exciting. Instead, I’m really interested in the other NFC East match up: Washington-Philadelphia.

Both have a chance to prove that they can take a strong step within an already tough division. The Cowboys will be down their leading rusher and I like some moves that Philly and Washington have made. For Philadelphia: the camp talk has heavily involved Carson Wentz and his connection with Alshon Jeffery. It’s easier to not overthrow big recievers, but Jeffrey is on a one-year “prove it” deal and I like that upside. The Eagles defense will also be a Top-10 fantasy D.

The D.C. Grudens’ defense won’t be quite as good, but they have a QB-WR matchup to to keep an eye on too. Both Kirk Cousins and Terrelle Pryor are on one-year deals and my guess is that they’ll be looking to put up big numbers.

At the moment, it would be cool if I could hang out with a Packer and watch Game of Thrones (I’m rooting hard for Sansa and Jaime to do good things). I love that show immensely and it’s keeping me alive until the regular season starts. With that said, I know Aaron Rodgers shares an affinity for Game of Thrones, too. He has some theories quoted to The Ringer so I know that’s something we could bond over. However, I don’t think I would want to sit and tell Aaron why his Thrones opinions/theories are wrong. That’s me being a Thrones snob.

I really want to hang out with new Packer, Martellus Bennett. He thinks outside the box and is a very socially conscious person. We could probably go from talking football to drawing in coloring books and that wouldn’t surprise me. So although I don’t know his feelings on Thrones, he still seems like a chill hang.

I agree that the bench press isn’t always a strong indicator (pun intended) for evaluation. While it can display strength, it is an exercise that can be practiced. The answer here is the squat. Never skip leg day, folks! Linemen on both sides of the ball require a lot of leverage and their upper body strength is essentially useless if their legs aren’t providing power. The squat is great for quads, glutes, hips, calves, and hamstrings, as well as your core. So at the combine, I say they load up the plates at the squat rack and strap on the lifting belt.

Mike Daniels for sure. He’s a big, strong lineman that utilizes unorthodox ways to build strength and improve his on-field performance. He does MMA training and uses a Power Pull machine to help with his explosion. He had better bring the championship belt with him.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

To Packers fans, Dom Capers has to continually prove himself. In recent years, the defense has not quite been up to par. That being said, I think Dom Capers will be in a safe position by seasons end. The Packers are going all in with the Nitro package so if there’s success there, Capers will look brilliant. The defense is also very young so there’s always the patience angle that can be played.

Andrew from Green Bay wants to know: In preseason game 1, we saw Kevin King stop some swing passes at the line with good awareness and tackling form. Is he going to have enough of an impact on the secondary to bring the Pack’s defense up from last year?

The good news is that the Packers defense has no place to go, but up. Including King and Vince Biegel, Ted Thompson put a strong emphasis on shoring up the defense and getting some guys to develop during the early rounds of the draft. Sam Shields was always the guy that could cover the opposing team’s WR1 so if King can take over that role early, it’ll help put the other corners in positions that better suit their abilities.

Yes. And it would be awesome seeing the Greek Freak go 50 yards in 3 strides.

Thanks guys! Let’s do this again soon.