Pictures

 I did a few different edits to this picture.  First of all I made it brighter so the red color of the sky and the clouds would show through and jump out.  The other thing I did was crop this photo.  I cropped out the extra space towards the left of the photo so the photo focuses more on the plant and post to the right.  The last thing I did was sharpen up the image to separate the barbed wire and plant from the background a little more.

For this picture I chose to use some touch up methods to show different textures in the grass and a little in the trees above.  Another thing I did was saturate the colors a little more to make it full and solid looking.  The last thing I did was add an antique effect to the picture to make it look a little older and nicer.

In this picture, the sky needed a little more texture so i used the touch up tool to change the way the sky looks.  Also, I boosted the colors a bit after enhancing them.  This made the picture come alive a little bit more.

Draft Outlook for the Packers

The Packers' have been my favorite team for as long as I can remember.  I was born into the idea that the Packers have always been, and always will be number one.  My family mostly lives in Green Bay and even live so close to the stadium that a couple relatives park cars on their property for the game.  My family is also season ticket holders thanks to my grandpa.  He's had these tickets and been going to Packers games since the 1950's.  I usually get to go to one game a year and the atmosphere never fails to impress.  Lambeau Field is the best most historically famous football stadium in the country, and an absolute blast to watch a game in.
So, for me to blog about this team's draft possibilities was inevitable.  The Packers had a fantastic regular season last year.  I have to specify regular season because their immediate flop in the playoffs was nothing short of devastaing and honestly a little embarrassing to me.  I only say this because their regular season was so fantastic.  They were 13-0 at one point while suffering only one loss towards the end of the season.  15-1 they end up, but have nothing to show for it come playoff time.  That's a hard thing for a huge fan like me to deal with.  So 15-2 ends up being their final record.  An awful record to end with given the circumstances of their defeats.  But a new season is on the horizon.  The last one is in the past and now for teams like Green Bay, it is time to step up this offseason, gain valuable talent for the team, and compete for the chance to win a Super Bowl.
The offseason has many ways for teams to improve throughout.  My personal favorite is obviously the draft.  The opportunity to gain young talent right out of college is such a key aspect to the growing of a football organization.  Even the players that aren't used right away can be trained for the future.  Take Aaron Rodgers for example. 

Rodgers slipped by many teams in the first round of his draft, which was completely shocking and unexpected.  I was skeptical when Green Bay took him late in the first round, but Aaron has obviously proved is worth.  He learned behind Favre for years and now he's one of the leagues best quarterbacks.  And without the NFL draft, in may never have happened.  There is definite uncertaintly that the Packers would even have him at all at this point.  Rodgers already has a super bowl ring with the Pack and he is still considered to be a young player.  This is just one of the many unexpected success stories that come from the NFL draft.
So anyway, back to the current draft talk.  The Packers did indeed have a great season regardless of their playoff flop.  So who do we attribute their success to?  Will this aspect of their success be back next year?  Will it be back again and again for many years?  These are the questions that should be thought about when coming up with the possible draft strategy for any team headed in.

What the Packers don't need: Wide Receivers and Quarterbacks

The Pack was known for their offenseive attack last year.  Rodgers led the team with his perfect touch deep passes and quick slant passes that looked like they were shot out of a gun.  But that is not to say that the Pack's receiving corps didn't do any hard work.  All year the Packers' receiving corps was talked about as being the most elite in the NFL.  I may be biased in saying this... But i would have to agree.  With the exeption of a few missed passes that were maybe too hot for the receivers to handle, I would have to say that the Packers' receivers have very good hands.  The chemistry between them and Rodgers took the team down the field like a well oiled machine.  Perhaps the stat that the receivers were best known for was their YAC, or yards after catch.  The positions McCarthy and Rodgers put the receivers in gave their receivers many great opportunities to gain many yards after the catch.  They were doing it all year, and pretty well.  They had a knack for breaking the quick slants from Rodgers off for huge gains.  The only negative thing i would have to say about the passing attack is that this was pretty much all they had going on offense.  Rodger's usually through the ball over 40 times a game, which with their passing success who would blaim them?  But the issue with the running game proved to be a hole in the Packer's gameplan late in the season.  When the passing game wasn't on, what could they do?  The runinng game needed to be stronger, obviously.  When competition really tightens up towards the end of the year it would've been nice to have a different type of attack to fall back on, but instead, the Packer's really had nothing.  They tried to get the running game going and continued to fail.  So who could the packers look at to address this issue in the draft this year?

My realistic solution to this problem would be to take a running back in the first round of the draft, but the draft for running backs this year is very slim.  With the layout of the Packer's picks this year I see a couple of options that could swing in their favor.  The first is Lamar Miller.

Miami's former running back Miller would be a solid choice for the Packer's in the draft this season.  The Packer's could use a quick back like this to hit the hold, make one hard cut, and use his straight line speed to take it down the field.  This type of ability at the running back position hasn't been seen by Green Bay since, in my opinion, Ahman Green.  I don't think he would take Starks spot at running back right away, but I do believe he has what it takes to be a solid back in the years to come.  The second option for running back is Chris Polk from Washington.

Polk is the tight of running back that can stay low to the ground while keeping good forward progress.  He seems to bounce off tacklers in the box and keep his motor running.  The kind of back seems to be exactly what McCarthy is looking for.  He could be a steal in the 2nd round but i wouldn't be surprised if he slips to the third or even early in the fourth.  He's a tough back and recently dropped a bit of weight to improve his forty time for the scouts.  I think he can be a real asset to the Pack if they decide to take him in this year's draft.

The Colts' First Round Pick

Andrew Luck is one of the best quarterbacks to come into the draft in a long time.  Many teams speculate that the Indianapolis Colts will snag him with the first spot in the draft.  Others say the Colts wont spend their time on him and they will trade their number one pick to a different team.  Some experts even say that the Colts will pick Robert Griffin at quarterback instead of Luck.  Both athletes will probably get a top 5 pick in this year's draft at the very least.  Anything can happen on draft day, but here's what i think will happen.



I think the Colts WILL take Andrew Luck as the first overall pick in this year's draft.  It already seems like a done deal.  Luck had an excellent pro day showing off to the scouts, and the numbers he put up his senior season were impressive with just over 3500 passing yards, over 70% on completions, and 5th overall in passer rating with 169.7.  He will hit his targets right where he wants to in a seemingly effortless way.  He proved this by capping off his pro day with a 70 yard bomb in perfect stride to an open receiver.  He is even a good NFL quarterback size at 6 foot 4 inches.  Luck also has great arm strength as he showed in the combine, and he has had a knack for performing even better in games agains't good teams and clutch situations.  There is however, another great college quarterback in the draft to compare him to...



Robert Griffin III was absolutely fantastic this season with his 4293 passing yards, 72.4 passing percentage, and Heisman Trophy win.  Griffin was not only a huge threat through the air but he performs on the field as a complete player.  He can rush for many yards on any team that isn't ready for it.  To me, that is what makes him such a dangerous player to play against.  Griffin could easily be the overall number one pick in a different draft, but because he is in the same draft with Luck, he probably won't be.  But that is ok for his success in my opinion.  The Redskins will probably take him with the number 2 pick and they are a much more organized and playoff ready team than the Colts are.  I can see Griffin starting right away with a great season, assuming he is not slowed down by any injuries or other issues.  The danger in his legs opens up the opportunity to use the ability in his arm, and vice-versa.  I don't see how the Redskins will be able to pass him up.

After the first two picks, in my opinion, the draft seems to be wide open.  There really is no telling what would happen.  Some experts are even saying that a trade away from the first pick by Indianapolis is possible.  Is that really possible?  I highly doubt it.  The Colts are hurting at the quarterback position and I believe that they have no one they are molding for the future.  The Luck pick seems to be a done deal and, in the Colt's mind, can hopefully be a good replacement for Manning down the road.  What would the Colt's do with their pick if they didn't want a quarterback?  They need help at many other positions.  If the Colt's did not want a quarterback in the first round(which is unlikely), I could see them going with a receiver or an offensive lineman.  They need some sort of help on offense, and what better way to get help than draft a possesion receiver or solid well rounded blocker? 

The draft this year will be interesting without a doubt.  If the Colt's trade their pick I would be shocked.  The biggest mystery is how the rest of the top five picks will play out.  The first two picks with the Redskins and the Colt's seem to be done deals to me, but the other three picks to finish out the top five is still a mystery. 

This mock draft has St.Louis in the 2nd overall position of the draft taking Justin Blackmon.  However, this mock draft is outdated because the Redskins are now in that position and the speculation is that the Redskins did so to get Griffin.  As for the other three picks,  this draft is definitely a good representation, analysis, and discussion of how the picks will unfold on draft day.  Justin Blackmon WR, Matt Kalil OT, Trent Richardson RB, and Morris Claiborne cannot be ignored as possible top five picks.  Everything is a complete coin toss after the first two picks.