Tripp becoming core special-teams player
Inside linebacker playing with 1st group on all units
GREEN BAY - Jordan
Tripp didn’t play a defensive snap for the Green Bay Packers last season, but he left a strong impression.
An inside linebacker by trade, Tripp quickly became one of the Packers’ top special-teams players after they acquired him from the Seattle Seahawks in December. He finds himself in a favorable position early in camp, playing with the first group on all specialteams units.
It gives Tripp a genuine chance to make the 53man roster, should he hold onto all four specialteams jobs. Core special-teamers line up for kickoff coverage and returns, as well as punt coverage and returns.
Tripp said he caught onto special teams coordinator Ron Zook ’s schemes “right away” after arriving last season.
“You either catch on quick,” Tripp said, “or you don’t get a chance. That’s how this league is. You have to take advantage of your opportunities and make it happen. Because if you don’t, they’ll find someone who will.”
The Packers had three traditional inside linebackers take defensive snaps last season: Jake Ryan, Blake Martinez
and Joe Thomas. Many teams with a 3-4 base defense keep at least four at the position, making inside linebacker an ideal position for the Packers to keep a core special-teamer.
There’s still a long way to go in camp, but Tripp picked up where he left off last season. If it continues, don’t be surprised to see him on the final roster.
“Just continue to maximize every single shot that you get,” Tripp said. “If you have an opportunity to block a punt, you have to block a punt. If you have an opportunity to block your man, say you’re able to shoot that guy free for a long return or a touchdown, you have to do that. Whatever it is, you have to execute it with the proper technique, and make sure you do it when it’s crunch time. Because you don’t get a second chance.” No comparisons: Coach Mike McCarthy has no interest in making comparisons, no matter how much he — or players in the Packers’ locker room — appreciate the defense they will face to start the season.
Mike Daniels, the Packers’ defensive line leader, has made his admiration for the Seahawks’ approach no secret this off-season. McCarthy admitted the Packers need to “take a big step” on defense but stopped short of making any comparisons for his ideal blueprint.
“We don’t need to be like any other team,” McCarthy said. “We need to focus on the best Green Bay Packers defense with the proper attitude, energy, focus and so forth. You know comparables, I’m not into. Seattle’s got an excellent defense, and they’ve played great defense in this league for quite some time. So we need to take a big step in that area.”
McCarthy said the Packers defense “definitely improved” its tackling last season. He wants the unit to make more plays
“Our number of opportunities, takeaway opportunities, is clearly not where it needs to be,” McCarthy said, “and I think that speaks to the energy and the attitude and the aggressivenss of your defense. So we need to do a better job there.”
That’s not to confuse making big plays with being boisterous, McCarthy said. Attitude, he said, comes secondary to execution.
“When I look at my background and the way you grow up,” McCarthy said, “when you’re in competitive sports, I was more focused on the guy that wasn’t saying anything. I think when guys do say something, how they say it, when they say it, there’s a place for verbal interaction or excitement or energy. Definitely, it’s part of it, but that’s
not going to make you a good defense.
“I mean, we jump up and down, scream and yell and say a bunch of bad words. I mean, it’s really what goes into it. They can scream and yell, they can not say anything, but when they cross the line it needs to show in our action and the tenacity in what they’re doing to the other guy.” On the nose: Ricky
Jean Francois is 6-foot-3 and 313 pounds, but he has not made his living lately as a nose tackle.
And he doesn’t intend to.
But Jean Francois has had to play the position some in the Packers’ defense and is willing to fill in when starter Kenny
Clark and whoever his backup is need a break. At age 30, however, he’d like to preserve his body.
“I laugh about it to (defensive line coach) Mike
(Trgovac) sometimes,” Jean Francois said. “I can play nose. I haven’t played it in a while. I still got it. You have to believe me, I can go in there and bang with the best of them.
“If they need it OK, but not on a regular basis.”
Francois was signed as a free agent because of his versatility and decent pass-rush ability. He can play end, nose tackle or three-technique and will be vying for some time rushing the passer on third downs.
With Letroy Guion suspended for the first four games, the Packers don’t have a true backup nose tackle.
Second coming: The Packers have brought back one of their former offensive linemen, who often was described during his playing days as a “free spirit,” to replace
Rob Davis as director of player engagement.
Grey Ruegamer, who played 11 seasons in the NFL, including three years (2003-’05) with the Packers, was named to the position Monday. He won two Super Bowl rings, one with the New York Giants and one with the New England Patriots.
He was known for his practical jokes, dry humor and unusual stories, including one in which he claimed to have held a job on a Basque farm castrating lambs in a very unsavory manner. He maintained that he had been paid in beer.
After his NFL career ended, he served as an assistant coach at the University of Washington. He moved back to his home state of Montana and worked as a health and wellness coach.
Part of his new job will be helping Packers players acclimate themselves to the community, finish their education and prepare for life after football. Davis held the position for 10 seasons before departing during the off-season.