A rookie Ka'dar Hollman Jersey 2019 , a journeyman, and a veteran all joined the Packers this year and found small roles to play."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections The APC PodcastPackers Film RoomFantasy Football AdviceCSTShareTweetShareSharePackers 2018 ILB Acquisitions: Oren Burks’ career starts slow, Antonio Morrison finds a roleBenny Sieu-USA TODAY SportsOver a two week span, 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 inside linebacker group.The Green Bay Packers added four players to their inside linebacker group in the 2018 season, a group that consisted of one draft pick, one undrafted rookie, one journeyman Ka'dar Hollman Jersey Mens , and one last minute veteran. All were added with specific roles in mind, and to varying degrees, they filled their roles. None stood out as stars or immediate impact players. Still, with Blake Martinez leading the NFC in tackles, role players were pivotal.Oren BurksHow Acquired: Third-round pick in 2018 NFL Draft (No. 88 overall)2018 Stats: 24 tackles (18 solo)Burks came in with some high expectations. A third round pick is generally expected to see the field a fair amount. Burks hurt his shoulder coming out of training camp and did not get a fast start. He managed just four starts through the course of the season. He is a smaller linebacker and the hope was he could be involved in the pass game. If he can stay healthy, then he still have a chance to be a valuable player, but he has not found a way to be an every down player yet.Antonio MorrisonHow Acquired: Trade with Indianapolis Colts (Aug. 26th)2018 Stats: 48 tackles (27 solo)Morrison joined the Packers late in training camp Youth Ka'dar Hollman Jersey , coming over from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for cornerback Lenzy Pipkins. Morrison started 15 games for the Colts last year and started eight games for the Packers in 2018. He found a role as a run-stuffer in the Packers’ defense, but was not an every down player. He managed to help around the line of scrimmage and clean up plays in the run game.Korey ToomerHow Acquired: Signed as unrestricted free agent (Sept. 3)2018 Stats: 3 solo tacklesToomer was added just after final cuts for his ability to play special teams. He did see 12 snaps on the defensive side of the ball, but was mostly cast as a special teams player. He had a limited role on the team and was eventually released in late November.James CrawfordHow acquired: Undrafted rookie free agent signing2018 Stats: 9 tackles (8 solo), one fumble recoveryAfter playing in the second halves of preseason games on defense, Crawford ended up making the team thanks in large part to a dominant special teams performance in the fourth and final exhibition game. He became a core part of Ron Zook’s units, and although they were arguably the worst special teams in the league, Crawford was not necessarily a reason for it. He lined up on the field for over 70% of the team’s special teams snaps White Ka'dar Hollman Jersey , and the front office may view him as a core special teams player moving forward into 2019. During last year’s 8-7-1 season, the Vikings lost prime-time games against the Rams, the Saints, the Bears, and the Seahawks. This year, the Vikings have five more night games on the schedule.So why do they suddenly struggle under the lights?“I think it’s just because when you play in prime time everything’s magnified,” tight end Kyle Rudolph recently explained Adrian Amos Jersey , in a visit to the #PFTPM podcast. “Unless you’re going out there and winning every game in prime time, which is difficult because if you’re playing in prime time you’re probably playing against somebody that’s pretty good. For us under Coach Zimmer we’ve been pretty good in prime time games over the course of the last five years. You do so much to try to keep your routine and whatnot but at the end of the day it’s just football. We’re going out whether we’re playing at noon or 7:30 at night. You go out there and play football and try to be better than that team that night.”Rudolph has a point about the quality of the competition; the Vikings four prime-time losses in 2018 came against playoff teams, including the two NFC finalists.This year, the Vikings have some time to get their footing before playing football at night. The first prime-time game happens on a Thursday night against Washington, after seven regular-season games have been played.Then comes a Week 10 visit to Dallas, followed by a Week 13 trip to Seattle, a Week 16 trip to L.A. to face the Chargers (subject to flexing) Billy Turner Jersey , and a Week 16 Monday night game against the Packers.By the time the Vikings hit that stretch, the team will have developed its identity. And that’s another point Rudolph made: In 2017, the Vikings had a clear identity. In 2018, they didn’t. This year, they won’t have to worry about playing in prime time while they establish one, or while they don’t.
