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The Green Bay Packers are at a bit of an impasse right now leading up to their week 14 game against the Atlanta Falcons. What appeared in the off-season to be a marquee matchup on Sunday Night Football was flexed back to a noon kickoff as both teams have struggled mightily, the Packers in recent weeks without Aaron Rodgers and the Falcons all season long.
Which Packer would Falcons fans want?
The same question was asked in reverse over at The Falcoholic...give it a click and see which Packer they would want the most.
What cannot be denied is that there is talent on both teams' rosters, and that said talent is not always playing up to its potential. In conjunction with SBNation's Falcons blog, The Falcoholic, we decided to answer once again the question: which member of the other team would you most want on your own? I'll throw out a few suggestions and reasonings, give you my pick, and you can vote in the poll at the end of the article to help decide the APC community's vote.
Matt Ryan
This name wouldn't even be a consideration if Aaron Rodgers were healthy, but imagine Matt Ryan backing him up and coming in for an injured Rodgers over the past five games. It's a safe bet that the Packers would have beaten the Bears, Eagles, and Vikings in that span, and quite possibly the Giants as well, and would be well on their way to the playoffs and possibly even a first-round bye. In the long-term this wouldn't make much sense, but Ryan's presence on the roster could have made a huge difference over the past month.
Julio Jones
Imagine this receiving corps in 2013: Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin...and Julio Jones. Holy crap. If you think Eddie Lacy had some room to run in the first half of the season with Rodgers throwing to Nelson, James Jones, and Boykin, imagine if you added Julio to the mix. He's bigger than any receiver on the roster (6'3", 220), and just as fast (4.38-second 40 at the 2011 Combine). Okay, so he's on injured reserve with a foot injury. But we're already dealing in hypotheticals here, so we'll ignore that for the time being.
Want to look long-term? Okay. Julio's presence would certainly offset the likely departure of Jermichael Finley and could allow the Packers to part with James Jones as well. Getting Randall Cobb's and Jordy Nelson's contracts extended could be a much more feasible project in that case.
Tony Gonzalez
Like Ryan, this one would be an immediate addition with little long-term benefit. However, having a still-talented receiving tight end could be exactly what the doctor ordered for whichever Packers quarterback is taking snaps under center in Rodgers' absence.
Desmond Trufant
The Falcons run a 4-3 defense, and for the time being they don't really have many players on the front seven that seem to be good fits in the Packers' 3-4 (not to mention they aren't playing very well either). Trufant is probably the best player in the secondary right now, and as a rookie first-round pick he's probably got the most potential as well.
The Packers probably don't need another corner right now, but Trufant would solidify the position for years to come and could make a great young core at the position along with Sam Shields and Casey Hayward.
Verdict: Julio Jones
All in all, adding Jones would be a luxury, but would give the Packers one of the deadliest deep threats in the game to go along with Cobb, a terrific slot receiver, and Nelson, who could continue shifting into more of a possession receiver role.
Please vote in the poll below and let us know if we missed anyone that you would pick over these options.
