The third preseason game for the Packers wasn’t pretty. Maybe it was the flight out west that messed with the players, maybe it was the field conditions that made the Packers think they were playing the Athletics and not the Raiders. No matter the cause, quite a few players made their roster spots a lot more tenuous as the preseason starts to wind down. There’s only one game left and it’ll be up to some notable names to perform or risk punching their ticket out of Green Bay.
On the other side, with the struggles of Oakland still in the memory, a few guys may have solidified their spots on the roster. Whether it was due to good play on their end, or poor play by the guys they’re competing with for a spot, here are three guys who may have locked up a roster spot after Week Three.
Ahmad Thomas
With Oren Burks injuring his shoulder during warmups, Thomas got significant snaps early and often in the game, and played the majority of it, showing the traits that have many people thinking that he’ll be the more souped-up version of Joe Thomas. Thomas in this game was more instinctive and natural near the line of scrimmage while continuing his impressive work in coverage. He’s at this point the perfect backup to Burks and should be a special teams mainstay as well. It’s hard to see any way that Thomas isn’t on the roster come Week 1.
Vince Biegel
The Wisconsin-native has had a quiet camp and has drawn a lot of questioning about his play strength and effectiveness as an edge rusher. This writer personally felt that he would be better in the Clay Matthews circa 2014 role as the roving middle linebacker (same with Kyler Fackrell, but that’s neither here nor there). But against Oakland, Biegel put together his best game as a Packer. He was extremely instinctive in sniffing out running lanes and his pursuit angles were significantly better when chasing down quarterbacks. He was able to shed blocks a lot more efficiently as well, using a powerful initial punch to keep tackles off balance. This was the Biegel that fans were hoping to see and hopefully is the first step toward solidifying his Packers spot.
Jason Spriggs
Our final name is one that will frustrate a lot of people, but Jason Spriggs is the #3 tackle in 2018. Against Oakland, he was decent at his natural spot on the left side. He had his moments of inconsistency for sure, namely getting bull rushed straight back because of him being way too upright in his stance. But the good far outweighed the poor in the game and compared to the struggles of Kyle Murphy, Adam Pankey, and the other linemen in the game, Spriggs looked like Chad Clifton. His talent is evident on some plays, while his technical issues also at times raise their head. But he likely has jumped Murphy on the depth chart and will be the primary backup to David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga.
——————Mike Wendlandt is originally from Iola, Wisconsin and graduated from Drake University in 2015 with a degree in History. With a significant journalism background both in writing and broadcasting, Mike can be heard as the play-by-play voice of Central Wisconsin High School sports on WDUX FM 92.7 and on Twitter @MikeWendlandt.
Mike Wendlandt is a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for PackersTalk.com.
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4 responses to “Three Packers Who Locked Up Roster Spots Against the Raiders”
totally agree on Ahmad Thomas.. dude has had a strong camp and preseason. Biegel and Spriggs – because the competition is so weak at those position groups.
i do think there should be discussion, somewhere, about the possibility of trying Fackrell on the inside. he just doesn’t seem to be able to set the edge or have the strength to consistently challenge NFL tackles; however, Fackrell’s strengths include pass coverage and getting to the QB when he has a somewhat open lane. might Fackrell be a strong blitzer up the middle? now that ILB has an opening, and, Reggie Gilbert has stepped up at OLB, perhaps it would benefit the team to move Fackrell inside a la Clay Matthews circa 2016. alternatively, Fackrell could be cut in favor of someone not currently on the roster.
Beigel secured spot? Please, spare me. He’s too light and not strong enough. Aside from the original staters the Packers are weak. Gute has not done well with the non starters; average at best. Offense will be very good with starters, and of course Rodgers. Other then the starters we have very weak, slow offensive lineman, and we still have no run threat with Williams and Jones out two games.
In other words, we’re screwed if Bulaga or Bakhtiari get hurt because we don’t have another starting caliber NFL tackle. A couple of injuries and we’re going to be protecting Arod with a rookie UDFA.
Concur with Thomas…..ideally, he’d have been our #4 guy. Now he’s about a twisted ankle from starting.
I think we can keep four OLB on the active 21 and 1 more on the 53. After Perry/Matthews/Gilbert we need a guy who’s healthy and available , who can play special teams, etc……and then one more in case one of the first four is I think you keep both Beigl and Fackrell. on the 53 and use Matthews as the 4th ILB if needed.
And right now I think our 3 ILBs that we activate on gameday include Martinez, Burks, and Thomas.
A shoulder dislocates during warm ups. That indicates structural problems potentially requiring surgery. Will be interested in Burks status if communicated on Monday. If Packers need extended playing time with Spriggs and Biegel… heaven help us.