Tramon Williams 2014 Report Card – Packers Player Grades

Green Bay Packers Report Cards, Player Grades
Tramon Williams

1) Introduction: The elder statesmen of the group, Tramon Williams has been one of the steadier cornerbacks on the Packers after a spectacular 2010 campaign.  Would Williams keep his productivity going or would Old Man Time finally get the better of him?

 

 

2) Profile:

Tramon Vernell Williams

  • Age: 31
  • Born: March 16, 1983 in Houma, LA
  • Height: 5’11”
  • Weight: 191
  • College: Louisiana Tech
  • Rookie Year: 2007
  • NFL Experience: 8 

Career Stats and more

3) Expectations coming into the season: Keep up the level of play as Williams has been one of the better players on the Packers defense and is now the veteran voice in the defensive secondary.  With cornerbacks only having a shelf life longer than running backs, William is inevitably going to see a decline at age 31 so staying healthy and competitive in a young man’s game was vital for Williams.  While Tramon Williams also saw a drop in PFF grade between 2013 to 2014 much like Sam Shields and Micah Hyde, he saw a much smaller decrease, going from +3.3 in 2013 to +1.2 in 2014, which while not good also is somewhat expected from an older, established player.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Williams’ highlight was definitely in week 2 against the New York Jets where he recorded the first of his 3 interceptions for the season and also recorded 2 quarterback hurries and 3 tackles.  On the flip side, Williams and the rest of the defense fell apart against the New Orleans Saints and graded out poorly in run defense and pass coverage.

5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Average.  While Williams will never be confused with Richard Sherman, Williams is a good cornerback; in 2014, PFF graded out as the 34th best corner out of 108 qualifying players and was the only Packers cornerback outside of Casey Hayward to garner a positive grade.  With Sam Shields having a poor year and Davon House a mystery even in his contract year, having a steady presence in the backfield with Williams might do more for the Packers secondary than just his ability.

6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: Williams played every snap on the playoffs minus one and surprisingly Williams did terribly against the Cowboys but then redeemed himself against the Seahawks.

7) Intangibles: At this point you have to wonder just how many years Williams has left in him and while he started out as a nickel corner alongside Charles Woodson and Al Harris, Williams is definitely the Packers most consistent perimeter corner and the Packers don’t really have much depth in that regard unless Micah Hyde or Casey Hayward ultimately switch to the boundary.

Season Report Card (Player Grades):

(C-) Level of expectations met during the season

(C+) Contributions to team’s overall success.

(C) Contributions to team during the playoffs

Overall Grade:  C

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Thomas Hobbes is a staff writer for Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com.

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9 thoughts on “Tramon Williams 2014 Report Card – Packers Player Grades

  1. I hope that TW finds a way to come back at a number in line with his body of work since 2010. If he doesn’t, the Packers are going to be in trouble. There’s no one behind him that can even begin to think about playing man coverage for an entire game.

    1. The options aside from signing TWill are to (1) promote from within, but Hyde and Hayward are really slot guys, Goodson is an unknown, and House’s contract is also up, (2) sign House and play him, (3) sign another FA CB and play him, (4) draft a CB and play him.

      I’m somewhat partial to House as I think he’ll be relatively inexpensive and I like his size, but he has real lapses in coverage. My guess is that it will be more pricey to sign a FA CB not named house or TWill for similar production. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take a CB very early in the 2015 draft either way.

      In all, I think they’ll offer TWill a contract–maybe 2 years–at whatever value they think he has and will let him test the waters. If he goes for it, great. Hopefully they can keep their options open, otherwise, in the event that TWill walks. Whatever the case, the world won’t end if he leaves.

      1. They definitely tried to put Hayward out in the boundary during the preseason games so I think that’s their real hope at the moment. I don’t really recall how well he did but he did get hurt afterwards which sort of threw a wrench into that plan.

    2. I think the bigger issue is that while he hasn’t played to the value of his contract, he also hasn’t played so poorly that you would have an easier time redoing his deal. Also, it’s pretty rare for the Packers to redo a deal, in recent memory I can only think of AJ Hawk; I have a feeling that the Packers’ MO in terms of contracts is that while we may offer you a below average deal, we don’t typically ask for paycuts and what not later on.

  2. One should take into account that GB typically used Burnett near the LOS with Hyde early in the year and Clinton Dix later as a single high safety. Neither helped cover up too many of the mistakes made by GB corners, though Clinton Dix got better. In other words, GB put their Cornerbacks out on an island far more often than other teams did, so the PFF grade should be taken with a grain of salt. GB generally got pretty good pressure on the opposing QB, though.

    I agree with Savage that there is nothing behind Tramon. Shields is the only legitimate starting CB who is signed, and there isn’t a #3 CB either. CBs drafted at #30 or #62 are almost never plug and play, and would divert resources from ILB, TE, OT. Capers certainly could not leave a rookie out on an island like he did this year. I don’t know what the market is for Tramon and House. Some suggest 2yrs. @ $4 million/yr for Tramon, and 3 yrs. @ $3.5 million per year for House. If you think GB is close to the super bowl, TT might have to stretch and bring both back. Hayward has problems in man. Hyde isn’t suited for being a boundary CB. Goodson, anyone? Rolle would have been a nice #3 or #4 CB.

    1. On the flip side, as a 3-4 zone scheme, cornerbacks don’t traditionally have to play as much man coverage, which is supposedly harder. I think Hayward probably has the best chance of succeeding on the boundary, I will say its not as if Williams was a world beater by any means.

  3. Tramon Williams is the WORST tackler in Pack’s secondary and most likely to give up a TD to an opponent. Want to lose a game? Just allow Williams to cover one on one against an opponent’s WR and you lose–don’t believe it, check out Seahawks game, Lions game and others. When the game’s on the line, Dom Capers is a FOOL if he’s got Williams lined up one on one without a safety over top–they proved it against Lions in last game that determined the north division and against Hawks in title game. P.S.—Williams earned about $8 million last season, at age 32 this season, Thompson’s NOT gonna pay that kind of money and Williams will be looking for THAT last big contract–he’s gonna be playing in a different uniform next season.

    1. Whether or not Williams will be looking for that kind of money is largely irrelevant, what really matters is how much the Packers are willing to pay and how much the rest of the league is willing to pay. You are indeed correct that Ted Thompson likely won’t pay that much for Williams and that Williams might be looking for a last big pay day, but in reality, both sides likely know that Williams is an older player who hasn’t performed as well as his contract implies and Williams will likely have to take a lower-tier, veteran type contract to stay in the NFL. If some other team wants to pony up to Williams’ wishes that fine with me, but I’d bet that Williams will come relatively cheap next year.

      1. Thomas, I think you’ll find several teams out there, Raiders for one, that have BIG money in cap space to sign FA’s–I’d bet Williams is in Raiders’ black and silver before he’s in Packers’ green and gold again. I’ve heard reports Pack might offer $4 million-HALF of this season’s salary, I think he’ll get more money on the market. I think Packers will attempt to re-sign House, he’s younger with potential to get better.

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