Anthony Borbely
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Packers keeping the faith with Manuel
Safety was seen as weak link in 2006
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 7, 2007
Green Bay - Two years after general manager Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers hurt their defense by sticking with Mark Roman at strong safety a year too long, they now appear ready to ride the rapids with another year of Marquand Manuel at the position.
It's halfway through the second week of training camp, none of the young safeties has mounted a serious challenge and Manuel looks entrenched as the No. 1 strong safety, the position that he played so poorly a year ago.
Bob Sanders, who coached defensive ends in 2005 before becoming coordinator in '06, said Tuesday that he was more than satisfied having Manuel in the lineup.
"I feel very, very confident in his ability to help this football team," secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer said.
One of the reasons why Schottenheimer lost his first job in Green Bay shortly after the '04 season was Roman's horrible performance. Thompson, who took over in January 2005, eventually signed off on the decision by Mike Sherman and Jim Bates to start Roman for another season.
If Roman was an "F" player in 2004, he might have merited a "D-minus" in '05.
The parallels between Roman's and Manuel's first seasons in Green Bay are eerie. In 2004, Roman allowed 9½ plays of 20 yards or more and 4½ touchdown passes, missed 18 tackles and didn't record a turnover. In '06, Manuel allowed five plays of 20 or more and 5½ TD passes, missed 15 tackles and had one turnover play, numbers befitting of a "D-minus" grade.
Roman, who was drafted as a cornerback, had a faster 40-yard dash time than Manuel, a more rugged player against the run. Coincidentally, Manuel played behind Roman in 2003 for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Packers dumped the final year of Roman's three-year, $2.75 million contract on the eve of training camp in 2006, almost five months after giving Manuel a five-year, $10 million deal. Roman caught on with San Francisco and now is starting at free safety.
Sanders, who was coaching defensive ends during Roman's last season in Green Bay, is convinced Manuel will perform well.
"Well, he started every game for us last year," Sanders said. "He can do what we ask him to do."
The Packers apparently figure that Manuel couldn't possibly perform any worse. At the same time, they say Manuel wasn't right physically in the early stages of '06 because of a groin injury suffered in Super Bowl XL and a calf injury that caused him to miss the first 19 practices of camp and one exhibition game.
"He's moving better," Sanders said. "He's explodin' better on the ball, explodin' better on his breaks. And he picked up right where he left off as far as his knowledge of the defense. His communication is extremely good."
Schottenheimer referred to Manuel as "a different player athletically than he was last year." He added: "He was a victim of circumstances early in the year. He played extremely well down the stretch."
Since the start of camp, it has been Manuel alongside Nick Collins with the No. 1 defense. Behind them, Marviel Underwood and Atari Bigby have been paired second, usually followed by rookie Aaron Rouse and Tyrone Culver, then Charlie Peprah and Alvin Nnabuife.
Manuel's modest speed was exposed blatantly Monday when wide receiver Calvin Russell blew away from him on a go route during one-on-one drills. On Thursday, Manuel bit on a read route by Ruvell Martin, sucked up on a play-fake and allowed a 38-yard touchdown over his head.
Every player, of course, has some bad plays, and Sanders indicated that Manuel's total had not been excessive.
Underwood, 11 months removed from reconstructive knee surgery, has shown no fear of re-injury in his play but doesn't always change direction as well as he did in the past and might again a year from now, according to Schottenheimer.
For his part, Underwood said he respected Manuel's level of experience and tried to learn from him.
Bigby, said Schottenheimer, has the best range of the six backups and can be physical at the line. But both Bigby and Rouse need to show more in coverage.
Rouse, a third-round draft choice, has had his moments as a physical presence in the box, making plays on the ball and as a pass rusher. Sanders doesn't think Rouse (6 feet 4 inches, 223 pounds) is too big to break down in space, either.
"(Rouse) takes notes and is a student of the game," Sanders said. "Very few busts."
Culver, the No. 3 safety a year ago after Underwood's surgery, has had little impact this summer. He and Peprah, a onetime cornerback at Alabama, rely on instincts to compensate for average size, speed and striking ability.
"The (backups) have all done fine but they're so closely wrapped together, it changes daily," Schottenheimer said. "We've got to see where the young guys are but also get your starters ready.
"We know we're going to keep four, obviously. If there's a special-teams issue Mike (McCarthy) may consider five. There are some difficult decisions to be made."
But barring the unforeseen, the decision to stick with Manuel has been made.
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at this.Took me at least a minute to cull this down and I'm still 
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