They should be better this year too which is awesome. We all KNEW the Packers weren't bring in any FA with the cap issues they have, but it's great to see they've brought back "Bisaccia's Guy's" to keep the Packers ST Units moving up the ranks.

Sorry but I have to say it...

We're 20 days from the draft and now we're hearing about all these other possible trade partners on different Packers sites. Just this morning I saw two, one with the 49ers, one with the Ravens. Obviously the Packers love rumors like this, it motivates the Jets or other teams to up their offers and get it done.

I don't really care anymore where Rodgers ends up. Personally I think he could go to the 49ers and STILL fuck up that chance to win. Afterall, he KNOWS better than any HC he's ever been with.

I went there to say this... I still believe a deal gets done before the draft. WITH those additional picks the Packers can address the TE and WR positions and get Love the MUCH NEEDED help at the skill positions. Right now the Packers ST Unit is probably the best unit on the team, and IMO the best coached unit on this team as well. Bisaccia has been around a long time and with his new title as an assistant HC, hopefully MLF leans a little more on him.

Keeping Bisaccia was the counterweight to keeping Joe Barry. Opposite sides of the see-saw.

" A case can even be made that special teams outperformed the offense and the defense last year. "

As I was reading, Bruce, I was thinking the same thing. One step forward two steps back.

I think this season, with a full camp and healthy lines that won't be getting shuffled around as much, we can take some surprising steps in the NFC North. Can't believe I just wrote this! Guess I was being generous with the "two steps back". More like two jumps back.

"Packers (Finally) Building On Special Teams Success"

Nothing like waiting until your HOF QB leaves to decide to build the whole team. Also, now would be a great time to draft a WR in the first round and a TE in the 2nd round.

I do really like that they have brought back their core special teams players. Obviously the biggest one being NIxon. He was electric as a return man. But the other players they brought back are key players. Ford was a great gunner. Leavitt was a special teams leader. Wilson when he was brought in was really good. Its good to see them paying attention to the special teams.

I would not mind, one bit, if the Packers drafted Tre Tucker, WR/ KR, from Cincy, in the late rounds of the draft. The kid would be a back up for Nixon at KR and could help the offense as a slot receiver. I look at him more for his STs abilities than his WR abilities. The CHTV Draft Guide lists him as a KR. Another weapon for Bisaccia. GO PACK, GO!!!

It’s interesting that, given our almost non-existent free cap, we have prioritized these resignings. Could this be a quid pro quo for retaining Bissacia? I certainly wouldn’t blame him were that the case.

Of these, it looks like Nixon will “start” in the middle as well as returning. In my assessment he earned that opportunity for what he did on D . Davis is supposedly a prospect that they have some belief in at TE. I thought he failed to make progress as a TE last year, but who knows if the Packers think this will be the year. Wilson actually looked like decent depth as 4th ILB. I certainly don’t see him as a liability as that, which is a step up over most recent seasons. Leavitt seems to be a pure ST proposition, but also to be very clearly the unit leader.

We have also brought back or brought in guys like Benjie Franklin, Corey Ballentine, James Wiggins and Tyrelle Ford who seem to be good ST candidates (not just on for return depth) in addition to perhaps having upside on D.

That’s a very deep core pre draft, particularly one with multiple 7th round picks. Ballentine has returned 35 kickoffs in the NFL for 855 yards (24.4 avg.) with a long of 66 yards. Tyrelle Ford was a returner in college before a year in the CFL where he returned one punt for 17 yards. He made 40 kick returns in college for 733 yards and 82 punt returns for 1,139 yards and three touchdowns. Wiggins also returned kicks and punts in college.

Even without considering the ST play of Tarvarius Moore or Melton, that’s a a pretty deep pool of STers in place, covering pretty much all aspects other than the blocking from linemen. So how will that affect what we do in the draft?

What I’m hoping is that it means we can ignore STs later on and stockpile options at weaker positions purely on an ability to help now or upside on O or D. Instead I’m hoping it allows us to restock the pipelines and maybe increase role depth competition now, irrespective of ST acumen or athletic fit of player or position.

I had some random thoughts on this.
True, we resigned some great ST’s players but not to long term deals.
Next, we promoted Rich to assistant HC and I wonder how much say he actually has in the rooms.
Right now Crosby has not been resigned so I wonder who will be the kicker.
We have a bunch of later round picks who normally play ST’s and I wonder if there will be room for them on the roster.
Finally, how many of these ST players can step up to be starters down the road?

I really like RB's coaching style. Basic football. Coverage, blocking & tackling. Skills vacant in today's "entertainment".

I think RB will be head coach this year instead of Rodgers!

Now if we can just find a young replacement for Crosby who can be accurate on FGs/XPs and kick the ball deep, we should be set. Deep kickoffs are important because it means less work for our guys on coverage and less potential injuries for both sides.

What a concept. Instead of hiring retreads and incompetent coaches, you actually bring in someone who knows what they are doing. Of course, that may cost a bit more, but if you want to win football games, sometimes you need to spend some money to bring in people who know what they're doing. Now, if they could just hire a defensive coordinator that might cost more, but could bring in a staff to bring out the best in your players, and design a defense to fit their skills, rather than stubbornly trying to make the players fit into a scheme that doesn't match their strengths.

I would say rich b has more influence on the roster than lafluer which is absolutley the right call.

Matt L has made the greatest error of them all. He has risked his career by keeping joe berry not a bet most 8 yr olds would make.

Great thing is Rich B should be the head coach after this yr and bring in his own guys.

Lafluer and you can tell he is backpedlung saying chance he gets not to expect much from this team lower your expectations which is a smart move to cover his brear end .

U fortunatley when the defense falls into the bottom of the league becuase he retained an absolute pathetic d coor thats on him .

Rodgers departure will mean a diminished ability for the offense to win games. The defense hopefully will help win a couple via turnovers. Special teams now will be counted on to assist the new offense with a few scores (field goals & punt/kick-off returns) and field position. Their importance has increased with the expected struggles on a JL led offense and it's smart to build the ST (players and coach) to the point where they can have a meaningful impact during the post-Rodgers transition. Their impact will be necessary for any success. Should be interesting to watch.

I wonder if Rich’s past experiences can help all the rooms? I read his background and he has a ton of experience. But he does not get retained. Some of the time it’s been because of promotions but other times it has not. It’s a puzzle.

1. Packer punt and kick coverage seemed better, but I have not looked at the numbers year to year.

2. Packer punt returns and kick returns all improved once Nixon was put in the game. That is obvious.

3. Kick offs were the shortest in the league - that is documented - but I would keep Crosby for field goals and a boomer on the roster to handle kickoffs.

4. Packers were still having trouble stopping the opposition from blocking punts - remember the Jets and the Vikings next to last game (probably others) - and field goals and extra points. Did not look at the number relative to last year, but I would bet it is the same or worse.

5. I see another long snapper has been brought in to compete, maybe to solve #4

Bisaccia should be the Head Coach…he doesn’t strike me as weak.