#2 Most Important Player on the Packers

[AlexGreen#20]

7 hours ago, skibrett15 said:

so a player doesn't play in the pressure package?  Because he isn't good at pressure.  And that makes him a better player than I believe him to be.

 

It's just the nature of the position.  It's not that valuable unless you're capable of pressuring as well.  He's great at what he does.

He's 300+ pounds and a DL who has serious run responsibilities. In the pressure package, you want OLB types on the field. They're faster, they stunt better, they are more versatile players. Only truly elite elite UTs of the JJ Watt variety would have carried pressure package snaps last year with this roster. Not being a better pure pass rusher than Datone Jones (in an ears pinned back scenario) isn't an indictment that somebody isn't a good pass rusher. It just means he's not as good as a former first round pick who focuses on nothing else. 

Daniels needs rest also. When he sits, you struggle in the nickel and base looks. He's just miles better than the next best UT on this team. If one of Ringo/Lowry were capable of eating so many snaps, you probably would see Daniels carry more pressure snaps. It's just the way that the team was built last year. Far bigger drop off from Daniels to Lowry in base/nickel than Daniels to Jones in the pressure looks.

[Cheesehawk]

16 hours ago, skibrett15 said:

To me, the only choices are Perry or Matthews.  Big plays turn football games, and both are big play creators.  Who do you think is better? It's close, so choose that guy.

Perry, maybe. 2016 Perry, absolutely. If what Perry showed last season is a sign of things to come then I would have no problem putting him slightly above Daniels on the defensive side of the ball. Problem is, we don't know. I am remaining optimistic that he is going to be a gamechanger for us and be a vital piece of our pass rush. Clay on the other hand, based on what we have seen recently, is nothing more then a splash player right now. Sure it could be injuries. But it is tough to watch him get washed by average T's on the regular. If you are saying strictly defense I would go:

1. Daniels
2. Perry
3. House
4. HaHa
5. Matthews

And I would have no problem with Perry over Daniels.

[skibrett15]

8 hours ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

In the pressure package, you want OLB types on the field. They're faster, they stunt better, they are more versatile players. Only truly elite elite UTs of the JJ Watt variety would have carried pressure package snaps last year with this roster.

This is the crux of the argument.  It's not the player, it's the position.  Only an elite UT would be more valuable than an impact edge.  Perry/Matthews are impact edges.  They aren't elite edges.

If you don't impact the game on 3rd down, and you have serious run responsibilities, then I think we can survive with a "next man up" more than the edge guys.

[Cheesehawk]

25 minutes ago, skibrett15 said:

This is the crux of the argument.  It's not the player, it's the position.  Only an elite UT would be more valuable than an impact edge.  Perry/Matthews are impact edges.  They aren't elite edges.

If you don't impact the game on 3rd down, and you have serious run responsibilities, then I think we can survive with a "next man up" more than the edge guys.

Perry, sure. I don't know about Clay being considered an "impact" edge anymore. 11.5 sacks and <100 tackles over the past two seasons is just average. Tack on the fact that he's 31.

[Cadmus]

How the hell did Bakhtiari win this poll when we have both Bulaga and Spriggs? 

Don't get me wrong... There's a very good argument for him to be among the candidates for the 2nd best player on the team. 

However, 2nd most important player? Huh? 

[AlexGreen#20]

3 hours ago, skibrett15 said:

This is the crux of the argument.  It's not the player, it's the position.  Only an elite UT would be more valuable than an impact edge.  Perry/Matthews are impact edges.  They aren't elite edges.

If you don't impact the game on 3rd down, and you have serious run responsibilities, then I think we can survive with a "next man up" more than the edge guys.

Disagree. Daniels plays in the pressure package on most teams and plays in the pressure package more this year. We were just in a very blessed spot last year where we had a ton of those guys. 

Also, not playing in the pressure package does not equate to not having an impact on 3rd down. 3rd and less than 5 and Daniels was still in the game depending on personnel. It's not like Daniels didn't play a lot of snaps last year.

He played 664 compared to 606 for Perry and 479 for Matthews.