[tps_title]3. Inside Linebacker[/tps_title]
Free agents: Jamari Lattimore, Robert Francois
Entering final contract year: None
Where to even begin?
We might as well start with our whipping boy, A.J. Hawk. He’s slow, unathletic, can’t get off blocks, takes bad angles and rarely ever makes any sort of game-changing play. The Green Bay Packers’ brass knows all this, but they also know Hawk is durable and a hard worker. That blue collar bullshit is enough for them.
Then there’s Brad Jones. He received a new contract last offseason. Then he went out and played worse than Hawk. Jones was so bad that he was benched on third downs in favor of Hawk. Yes, the same A.J. Hawk who has never been able to cover anyone.
Jamari Lattimore and Robert Francois may or may not return. However, neither guy is ready to take over as a full-time starter. Lattimore showed some flashes of playmaking ability as a spot starter in 2013, but he also was too aggressive at times, which left him out of position.
The wild card of the group is 2013 seventh-round pick Sam Barrington. He barely played in 2013 before going on injured reserve, so the Packers really don’t know what they have, if anything.
When you look at this group as a whole, it’s clear the Packers could do without any of them. They could plug in some random veteran nobody and not really get any worse.
That’s definitely not a good thing. The Packers haven’t had a playmaking inside linebacker since Desmond Bishop was healthy.
Wouldn’t you like to see a guy who could blow a play up working the middle for the Packers for a change? We surely would.