| Over a two week span Aaron Ripkowski Color Rush Jersey , Acme Packing Company takes a look at each position group on the Green Bay Packers and provides grades and insight on how they performed in the 2018 season. Today, we examine the safeties, and in this piece we look at the new faces at the position.Going into 2018 the Packers had major questions at the safety position. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had been severely underperforming over the past couple seasons and everyone was hoping for a big bounce back season going into a contract year. Kentrell Brice had showed promise in a small sample size in the previous season and was looking to take the next steps in his career progression this year. Both ended in a dud.Clinton-Dix was traded to Washington at the trade deadline and Brice played poorly and was replaced after week ten. As for replacements, the Packers turned to a variety of newcomers to patch together the back end of the secondary.Tramon WilliamsHow acquired: Signed a two-year $10 million contract, including $4.75 millions guaranteed and a $3.75 million signing bonusStats: 16 games started (7 at cornerback, 9 at safety) 54 tackles, one fumble recovery, two passes defendedTramon Williams was brought back to Green Bay as a veteran presence to mentor all the young cornerbacks on the roster. He started the first seven games at corner before being flipped to free safety for the rest of the season after the trade of HaHa Clinton-Dix. Williams was solid in his starts at corner and continued his solid play at safety. While tackling had never been a strong suit for him at corner, he was not afraid to come up and make a tackle near the offensive line or attempt to make a tackle in open space. The most significant improvement that Williams brought was in coverage. While he didn’t grab an interception, he used his cornerback instincts and techniques to take away the deep middle of the field. While switching to a new position is never easy mid-season, Williams brought stability and consistency to the safety position. Williams is under contract for 2019 but may be a cap casualty as his salary cap hit will be $6.375 million. That may too much to digest if the Packers sign one of the several high end free agent safeties available. Ibraheim CampbellHow acquired: Claimed off waivers from the New York Jets on November 5th. Contract is one-year $705 https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Demetri-Goodson-Jersey ,000Stats: (Dallas, New York Jets and Green Bay) eight games played (one start), 19 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumbleIbraheim Campbell was claimed by the Packers after releasing punter Drew Kaser. Campbell brought some veteran depth after the trade of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. While Campbell has never fully caught on with a team yet, the Packers were his third team in 2018, but he brought some familiarity to Mike Pettine’s defense from when the two shared time in Cleveland.Campbell jumped into Pettine’s defense quickly and became a very good pickup. His snaps and stats increased each week. His best game was his lone start against the Cardinals. He registered most of his season stats with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Unfortunately, Campbell was injured in that Cardinals game and was placed on injured reserve on December 4th. Campbell should get strong consideration in being brought back in 2019.Eddie PleasantHow acquired: Signed a one-year $790,000 contractStats: (Arizona and Green Bay) six games played (one start), eight tackles JK Scott Jersey , one tackle for lossEddie Pleasant was signed on November 28th after the Packers cut linebacker Korey Toomer. Pleasant was cut by the Cardinals prior to coming to Green Bay and he brought another veteran safety presence and some depth to a depleted roster. His signing proved to be well timed as Ibraheim Campbell went on injured reserve a week later. While Pleasant didn’t get the playing time that Campbell did, he was a decent backup to have for Josh Jones and Tramon Williams. He was only on the field for 85 snaps and registered minimal stats during his five games in Green Bay. In a not so pleasant memory for him, his most memorable play in Green Bay was the dropped interception against Arizona that would have stopped the drive where Arizona kicked the game winning field goal. With an influx of young safeties signed to futures contracts at the end of the year, the Packers will have to make a decision on whether or not to bring Pleasant back for 2019. Raven GreeneHow acquired: Signed as an undrafted rookie: Three years, $1.7 million contractStats: five games played, five tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one pass defensedRaven Greene had a great training camp and made the initial 53-man roster. While Greene did not get a significant amount of snaps on defense, he did play a large roll on special teams. Greene’s best game of the season came against Miami. Greene played 30 snaps on defense and gained his sack and defensed pass. On December 8th, his season ended on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Greene figures to be a strong member of the special teams going forward and should continue to improve the depth at safety in 2019. Halfway through the 2018 season Brett Favre Color Rush Jersey , the 6-2 Carolina Panthers looked like a sure-fire playoff team and perhaps a squad that could compete with the New Orleans Saints for the NFC South title. Two games between the two teams in the final 14 days of the season seemed like a tantalizing finish to the year in that division.Fast-forward to today and the Panthers are losers of five straight games, sitting at 6-7 and on the verge of nixing their playoff hopes entirely. Suddenly, they need a win over the Saints at home to just keep any realistic playoff hopes alive. That streak did feature four road games, but there were winnable contests against Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland in that span.Christian McCaffrey has been a hugely productive player, with over 1,600 yards from scrimmage including a 100-100 game (rushing and receiving) against Seattle three weeks back, but the Carolina offense has scored more than 21 points just once in their losing streak. The Saints would surely love nothing more tonight than to put their divisional rivals’ playoff hopes on life support while taking another big step towards home-field advantage in the NFC. They can clinch that status with two wins out of their last three games, thanks to a head-to-head win over the second-place Rams.Tune in tonight for this game as we close the book on week 15.WHO?New Orleans Saints (11-2) vs. Carolina Panthers (6-7)WHEN?Monday, December 17th https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Paul-Hornung-Jersey , 20188:15 PM Eastern TimeWHERE?Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, North CarolinaHOW?TV Broadcast: ESPNOnline Streaming: ESPN.com or ESPN appCommentators: Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Anthony McFarland, Lisa SaltersRadio Broadcast: Westwood One SportsANYTHING ELSE?OddsSaints favored by 6.5 pointsOver/under total: 51.52017 GamesWeek 3 2017: Saints 34, @Panthers 13Week 13 2017: @Saints 31, Panthers 212017 Wild Card: @Saints 31, Panthers 26All-Time Head-to-Head RecordRegular Season: Panthers lead 24-22-0Playoffs: Saints lead 1-0 |
