Football Outsiders sees reasons for optimism with Packers guard J

ustin McCray The Green Bay Packers underwent an offseason of change not seen since 2006. The front office got an overhaul Color Rush Muhammad Wilkerson Jersey , as Ted Thompson handed over the reins to Brian Gutekunst and several longtime scouts departed. The coaching staff also looks very different after Mike McCarthy made changes at the offensive and defensive coordinator positions.There are also several spots in the starting lineup that will change from 2017, with some replacements coming internally and others resulting from new player acquisitions. Today, we will look at one of the former situations at the right guard position. Football Outsiders is known for their excellent work in football analytics, including the advent of the DVOA and DYAR stats (among many others). Once again, the analysts at FO have graciously agreed to hold a Q&A with us at Acme Packing Company, as Scott Kacsmar takes on our questions about the Packers.Stay tuned for the Q&A series running all week and check out Football Outsiders' website and store, where you can find their 2018 Almanac.APC: Justin McCray appears to have the inside track to start at right guard this season. How did he perform at guard last season, and what do you believe to be reasonable expectations for him in 2018?It's encouraging to think that McCray can be significantly improved with a full offseason of focus at a single position. Last year he was probably overvalued by the casual fan simply because he was able to perform adequately as an emergency replacement (few if any saw him even making it through final cuts). However, his level of play was little more than replacement-level overall.Still, McCray might well end up a plus run blocker, and if he can at least be adequate in helping to keep Rodgers upright, that is probably enough. Furthermore Youth Kevin King Jersey , Bryan Bulaga's early return from ACL surgery puts McCray squarely between a pair of veteran players who are among the best pass blockers at their positions (center Corey Linsley being on his other side).All told, don't expect McCray to contend for an All-Pro honor, but there is reason to hope that he will be solid enough to justify the Packers' decision to allow Evans to fade away towards retirement I stead of bringing him back for another run._Stay tuned for part two of our Q&A on Tuesday._Jalen Ramsey doesn’t think Aaron Rodgers sucks, which is pretty high praise In his two years in the NFL, Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey has quickly become one of the league’s most vocal trash-talkers and outspoken young players. His belief in his own ability is astronomical, and his stats (and honors) bear that out.In those two seasons, Ramsey has started every game while recording a total of six interceptions and 31 pass defenses. He also earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2017.However, Ramsey is not one to hold back his opinions about anyone — whether that’s himself, opposing receivers, or quarterbacks around the NFL. In an interview with GQ Magazine that was published on Wednesday, Ramsey made waves with his criticism of a multitude of signal-callers around the NFL.Ramsey started in on the rookie class, first criticizing teams for passing on Lamar Jackson before moving on to Bills draft pick Josh Allen. “That’s a stupid draft pick to me http://www.authenticsgreenbaypackers.com/cheap-bryan-bulaga-jersey ,” Ramsey said of Allen, who went 7th overall; “If you look at his games against big schools it was always hella interceptions, hella turnovers.” Going back to Jackson, who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, Ramsey brought up Joe Flacco and had one specific word for him: “Flacco sucks. I played him two years in a row. He sucks.”Packers fans might be wondering what this has to do with the Green and Gold, but Ramsey’s very next comment was telling. When asked “who are the quarterbacks, in your opinion, who don’t suck?”, Ramsey immediately went to the Packers’ two-time MVP. “Aaron Rodgers does not,” he said. “Tom Brady doesn’t. I gotta think now, about all the teams...”When you’re asking the league’s most vocal defensive player about which quarterbacks don’t suck and the first name he comes up with is your team’s QB, that’s a good sign. That’s especially so when looking at some of the other quarterbacks on his hit list. From Jimmy Garoppolo — “He didn’t beat us ... it was literally all schemes” — to Eli Manning — “I won’t say Eli’s good http://www.authenticsgreenbaypackers.com/cheap-david-bakhtiari-jersey , I’ll say Odell’s (Beckham, Jr.) good” — to Ben Roethlisberger — “I played him twice last year, and he really disappointed me” — Ramsey has a low opinion of plenty of them.Perhaps the quarterback given the most damning criticism, however, is Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. “I think Matt Ryan’s overrated,” Ramsey said. “You can’t tell me you win MVP two years ago, and then last year, you a complete bust, and you still got Julio Jones? There’s no way that should ever happen ... was it really you, or was it your coach?” Indeed, Kyle Shanahan left his job as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator after Ryan’s MVP season to take the head coaching job with the 49ers, where he was responsible for those “schemes” Ramsey referenced about Garoppolo.Returning to Rodgers Color Rush Jimmy Graham Jersey , it is also worth mentioning that Ramsey’s first regular season game came against him, as the Packers opened the 2016 season in Jacksonville. In that game, Rodgers completed 20 of 34 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, and he ran for a third score as the Packers won a 27-23 contest. Ramsey made three tackles in that game and was called for a holding penalty on special teams. He also landed on the highlight reel, getting a handful of Rodgers’ jersey on an unblocked blitz, but Rodgers was able to evade the tackle attempt and threw to Davante Adams for one of his touchdowns. APC ranked that play our #4 best Packers play of the 2016 season.It would be interesting to see Ramsey square up against Rodgers once again in the near future, now that the young cornerback has further elevated his game. However, the next opportunity — barring a Super Bowl matchup — would come in 2020. But at least we know that Rodgers doesn’t suck, unlike most of the rest of the NFL.