![]() ![]() Joe Reitz has generally played well, and Denzelle Good could push for a starting job after playing well on a small sample size as a rookie. Mewhort’s move to guard was a big success, and Castonzo has been an above-average left tackle. The changes made this offseason have brought an air of optimism to Indianapolis, with Jahnke grading the Colts offensive line as the 16th-best heading into this season: Left tackle Anthony Castonzo told Michael Marot of the Associated Press (via the Journal Gazette) he held the offensive line responsible for what happened with Luck last season: “Anytime your quarterback gets hurt-if he tried to scramble, he shouldn’t have had to scramble, he should be able to stay in the pocket. Obviously, we want to play as well as we can, so that’s the goal. They drafted Ryan Kelly out of Alabama in the first round and Le'Raven Clark out of Texas Tech in the third round. He led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, including a run to the AFC Championship Game in 2014 after throwing for a league-high 40 touchdowns in the regular season.Īfter neglecting the offensive line for years, the Colts did take steps to address it this offseason. ![]() When Luck is healthy, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reported in January that Luck's injuries were worse than originally stated when he tried to return for four games in the middle of the season. That drubbing finally caught up to Luck last season, as a lacerated kidney and an abdominal tear limited him to just seven games. That doesn't include the number of times he's been pressured or decided to run with the ball. The Packers have to find inside players who can help plug that area of the defense after they allowed 119.1 yards per game on the ground in 2015.Īndrew Luck has taken a beating in his NFL career, having been sacked 115 times in 55 games. Yet Matthews is not as dynamic on the inside because he's not great at defending the run. Matthews was a pass-rushing force with 61 sacks in his first six seasons, but his 6.5 sacks last season were the second-lowest of his career. It's almost as if the Packers are in a no-win situation. Matthews graded above-average in just under half of his games at inside linebacker. In 10 career starts, Barrington only received an above-average run-defense grade in one game. The current projected starter opposite Ryan in the base defense is Sam Barrington, a player who started seeing playing time in 2014, but missed most of 2015 with an ankle injury. Yet certain negatives go with taking Matthews away from the inside, as Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus noted:Īs a rookie, Jake Ryan was the highest-graded inside linebacker on the roster against the run (64.1 on 1–100 scale), but Matthews is likely their best option at the other inside linebacker spot. Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy said in January that his "goal" is to move Matthews back outside to take advantage of a player he called "so destructive," according to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal. The Packers did finally address the interior of their linebacking corps in the fourth round of this year's draft by selecting Blake Martinez out of Stanford. The coaching staff tried to solve some of those issues by moving Clay Matthews from his usual spot as a pass-rusher off the edge to the inside, though that took away from what he does best. Inside linebacker has been a source of frustration in Green Bay for years. The Packers will be thrilled to get wide receiver Jordy Nelson back on the field to boost an offense that was out of sync most of last season without him, but their key to reaching the heights they are capable of is improving on defense. ![]()
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