Playing catch-up...

It's been a few days.

Here are the updates:

1) Collins and Pickett get the long term deals they were looking for. (4-years apiece I believe)
2) Tauscher signs a 3-year deal.

My thoughts:
1) Good and it is about time. They have been nothing but solid since their arrival in Green Bay and the team couldn't expect to be better without them. There is no one better readily available at either position.  I see Collins being quite good throughout his career, and Pickett transitioning to #2 NT behind Raji over the course of the coming year.

2) I feel this is the smartest move the Packers can make at this point.  Things got better when Tauscher came back. Despite his age, he is coming off of knee surgery, and typically, a player plays better their second season after the surgery. So, a quick run-down of the current state and why re-signing Tauscher is the best decision:

    a) There are arguably no better free agents at the RT position.
    b) The alternatives are to trust players from our current roster to step up, or rely on a rookie.
    c) Tauscher will be further removed from surgery.

So, there aren't any better, more readily available options. Last year showed us that guys we thought were ready, were not. T. J. Lang has shown some promise, but he was our only healthy and capable backup last year.  He may eventually fill the shoes of the RT spot (I'd prefer to try him at center as many scouting reports pre-draft said he would be capable of), but for now, I don't think there is any good argument for not re-signing Tauscher. We now get to go into the new season, with everyone back except for Kampman (where Jones filled in quite well, considering he was a 7th round pick). So in theory, our offensive line should be the same, or slightly better than the end of 2009.  We get Spitz back, and everyone healthy. Unfortunately, all three of our division rivals now possess equal or better defensive lines than last year.  It's a good start, and the starting point we need going into the draft.  We still need to find our future linemen, but the Pack has done the right thing thus far.

From here, and I know I sound like a broken record, but try to swing a deal with the Saints for Jermon Bushrod.  He wasn't absolutely stellar last year, but he filled in at LT well enough to help the Saints to the Super Bowl.  That has to count for something.  He is young, and experienced.  If I were Ted, I'd offer the Saints something like a conditional 3rd rounder in the 2011 draft based on Bushrod's playing time.  If he plays enough, they get our 2nd rounder.  This preserves all of our picks in this years supposedly deep draft class, gives us an instant depth upgrade and possibly our future LT, gives the Saints something since they have a rare excess of young tackles, and gives Bushrod a much brighter future as Clifton has been injured a bit more lately and he doesn't have to wait behind a 28 year old, two-time Pro-Bowler (Jammal Brown).

The above move would help keep the temptation of reaching due to need out of the upcoming draft. I still think it would be a great idea to draft an OT if one of the first-round type of guys is available at number 23 and no one else has really dropped. But I think it would be far better going into the season feeling as though we have some capable depth and a team ready for the future.

As for other guys from the draft I'd love to see in green and gold, three other players are standing out in my mind during mid rounds.  Eric Decker, WR, Minnesota, and Jordan Shippley, WR, Texas.  I know we have some good depth at receiver, but Driver is unfortunately aging a bit, and you can't continue to expect him to go over the middle and sacrifice his body as much as he used to. Decker and Shippley are not really speed demons, but they are excellent route runners and show no fear going over the middle.  Combine that type of receiver with Jennings and Finely and the rest of our WR corp, and you're going to really give defenses a hard time for the next few years. Either one could be available in the third round and would be worth serious consideration.  The other guy that really comes to mind is Myron Rolle.  I still really like Bigby, but he hasn't been very durable.  Getting a guy like Rolle, in say, the fourth round, would be great because he needs a little time to get into football shape (which he'd have behind Bigby), and he's incredibly smart (which is extremely important in a 3-4). In time, it could develop into a nice rotation between he and Bigby, with Rolle playing more passing downs, and Bigby playing the run downs. 

As for guys I don't want to see the Packers take, there aren't too many.  Bruce Campbell jumps to mind.  He's a workout warrior and a great athlete.  He could stand to put on a few pounds if he wants to play tackle at the pro level.  But, his smaller size and athleticism may draw the Packers toward him with their zone-blocking scheme.  I would like to have this guy on the team and I think he would be able to fill in, but after seeing some tape on him, I just feel his chances of becoming an elite, franchise LT are slimmer than those of some of the other projected first round LTs.

How about you guys? Anyone out there you would love to see in green and gold?  How about some names you don't think would be a good fit?

Bringing things up to speed

Rather than make all of the previous little posts about what happened since, I decided to just bring this blog up to speed in one post.

The Packers have:

1) Tagged Ryan Pickett.
2) Tendered offers to all restricted free agents except for Kapinos and DeShawn Wynn.
3) Let Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, and Aaron Kampman test the free agent market today.
4) Have yet to make any free agent signing news of their own (big surprise right?)

My thoughts on all of these situations:

1) Good move. Pickett hasn't signed the offer sheet (as far as I've heard) so that means both sides are still trying to work out a long term deal.  Pickett and Raji give some good depth at the keystone position of the 3-4 defense.

2) All good moves.  High tenders on all the right guys.  Kapinos is probably getting a little too much blame for the lackluster special teams performance last year, but he wasn't special enough to hang on to.  Not tendering Wynn could have a few implications.  Either they feel he isn't recovering well enough, financially it doesn't make sense, or we'll be seeing Ahman Green, or a veteran FA in the backfield next year.

3) These were all poor choices. Clifton is in Washington right now, with a coach and team looking for an experienced, zone-blocking LT.  Washington's own, Dan Snyder also has some deep pockets and will probably over pay for him if Shanahan wants him. This is terrible with the news today that Julius Peppers and Kyle Vanden Bosch just entered the NFC North.  Not having a solid LT will more than likely mean more of Aaron Rodgers running around trying not to get crushed. I don't see any logic in Ted's thinking here. I bet Clifton is a Redskin by the end of the weekend.  As for Kampman, I can't see him resigning with the Packers.  He has too many teams that want him at his natural position. And Tauscher has probably had it with the Packers front office.  I don't blame him.  He has been solid and came back from injury well. Things are not looking good for the Packers OL this year.

4) Not really surprised here.  Ted never seems to play the game on the first few days.  Truth be told, there isn't much out there that would help the team anyway that would be worth the price.

Offseason, 2010

>Originally posted on 2/17/10<

I thought about starting this blog mid-season last year, but decided to wait until the offseason.  Fresh start and fresh blog.

To recap, the Pack lost in a crazy-exciting overtime wildcard playoff game.  Was I upset? Sure, but I don't blame the refs or anything like that.  Truth is, overtime never should have happened.  Rackers missed a kick that he shouldn't have missed.  If the Packers would have scored one more touchdown in the first half, they could have won the game.  All in all, it was a great season.  It started a little ugly but finished well and the transition on defense was beautiful.  I don't know that it could have gone much better.  Yes, they got torched by a couple of veteran elite QB's, but those QB's are the kind that pick apart a well-oiled, established, and healthy defensive scheme. So for the first year of the transition, I'm content. 

So now, here we are in the offseason with lots of things to consider.  Here's a list of our UFA and RFA:

UFA:

Chad Clifton T
Ahman Green HB
Aaron Kampman OLB
Ryan Pickett DT
Mark Tauscher T

RFA:

Nick Collins, S
Johnny Jolly DE
Daryn Colledge G
Atari Bigby S
Jason Spitz C/G
Derrick Martin S
Will Blackmon CB
John Kuhn FB

Rather than break this list down,  I'm going to look at the current roster situation and give suggestions for improvement and reasons for those suggestions.  So here we go:

QB:  No change.  The reason I say this is because Matt Flynn is really shaping up to be a good QB.  I was really amazed by the changes he made.  He looks like a serviceable backup QB.  The Packers could look to add a QB for the sake of depth, but I doubt it will be a veteran.  They didn't bring one in before, they won't bring one in now.  Plus, Flynn is in the system.  If he makes the kind of improvements he made last year, the Packers should be ok if Rodgers goes down temporarily.

HB: Two words on this one; Free Agency.  I see a lot of stuff about the Packers drafting a HB this year.  I'm not saying that is a terrible idea if we can get a good deal, but this year, there are a lot of good complements for Grant available in the FA market.  Some of these are RFA but could still be available:  LaDanian Tomlinson, Leon Washington, Jerious Norwood, Darren Sproles, and Willie Parker.  These guys all would provide a nice change of pace from Grant, and all are an upgrade from Brandon Jackson.  We don't need to be spending a high draft pick on a guy who only gets maybe 10-15 touches a game.  Grant is the work-horse making work-horse money.  Green at HB3 for two reasons: veteran leadership and cheap.

FB: Keep two of the three. Kuhn looked good this year, but Hall and Johnson are young.  I don't think there would be any huge consequences no matter which two you pick.

WR: Last year I would have driven to Green Bay and smacked Ted across the face if he had drafted Crabtree. After this year, I won't be as upset if he gets a WR.  Jones and Nelson have shown some flashes of light, but I thought last year one or the other would have really shined.  Unfortunately, neither wow-ed me. Driver is getting older and while he may have some good years left in him, his cap number is getting pretty high as well.  This is the one position where I will actually throw out two names:  Eric Decker WR, Minnesota, and Jordan Shippley WR, Texas.  Why? Both show no fear going over the middle. The Packers need Driver's eventual replacement and one of these guys would be perfect.  The other bonus is one or both of these guys will probably be available around our third round pick, and if that's the case, lock one of them down.

TE: No change. If they are smart, they extend Finely now, or early in the season before he hits superstar status.  Lee will be a blocking tight end and has better hands than most blocking TE's in the league.

T: Position needing immediate improvement.  It starts by resigning Clifton and Tauscher.  Should be done before FA starts because they are the top of this years list at UFA.  Can't go into the offseason without something there. Even if they only become insurance. If anyone good becomes available for a decent price either through trade or tendering, the Pack should get him.  If they could get one guy before the draft that they think can come in and compete at the tackle position, and then draft one high, they should be in a lot better shape next season.

G: There's a few more of these who are UFA than tackles, so I think you'd have to at least look there.  Jeremy Bridges only has 6 years under his belt, and proved decent for Arizona this year.  Might be worth a look.  Otherwise, drafting one is an option.  But if Spitz and Colledge return to good form, they could fill the G spot opposite Sitton (who was the bright spot for the Packer OL this year btw).

C: I'm not convinced Wells or Spitz are great centers.  Not much out there in FA that would be an upgrade.  Drafting one here may be the way to go.  One other thought? Try T.J. Lang out here. Scouting reports on him said he has good hand quickness and people argue he's not physically equipped to play T and should be playing inside.

DE: Not much of a change here.  Jolly and Jenkins both transitioned beautifully to 3-4 DE's.  It's not a glory position, but their names were called out quite frequently on Sundays for making big plays.  The Packers need to lock Jolly down.  Wynn looked ok as a backup, but it may be time to draft someone to keep depth.

DT: Re-sign Ryan Pickett. Raji is the future, but Pickett is too good not to resign.  And he's happy in GB. It guarentees depth.  The only other move that I would love to see here is a trade with the Patriots for Ron Brace.  He's a big guy and provided the Patriots re-sign Wilfork, Brace would be a great second DT for years to come behind Raji.

OLB: People are getting down on Jones for his end of year performance, but this guy was drafted in the 7th round.  To fill in the way he did was huge. But all in all, I'd try to get Kampman back.  I doubt he'll come back, but he was starting to get the hang of it and although he wasn't quite getting the stats, he was getting some good pressure on the QB.  Some FA to look for should they become available for the right price would be Merriman(change of scenery might be all it takes to wake him up), Thomas Howard, and Derrick Johnson. Drafting one is also a possibility.

ILB: No changes.  People squaked about Hawk, but he's fine.  He and Barnett handled the inside quite well.  True, Hawk may not be playing up to #5 pick expectations, but when you sit back and look at it, he's a solid ILB.  Not worth spending a draft pick here and not worth the money it would take to bring in an "upgrade".

CB: Draft one.  Not much in the FA market this year.  Depth after Tramon Williams is poor.  Pat Lee may come back and surprise us, but I think its safe to say Bush and Underwood don't look to be the long term answers.

FS: RESIGN NICK COLLINS. PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY. I consider him, Tauscher, and Clifton(followed closely by Pickett) to be the high priority resignings because there is no one behind them ready to take over.  Collins is a ball hawk. I wish he was a little more like Ed Reed, the way Ed Reed blitzes, but Collins has been a solid Pro-Bowl selection and is putting up stats close to Darren Sharpers first years. PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY.

SS: Bigby is solid when healthy but seems to be injured a lot lately.  I love the way he plays the game, but drafting a S might be a wise insurance policy this offseason. That and acquiring another one that is at least serviceable as a backup.  There are a lot of UFA safties out there that would provide nice security if Bigby gets injured again.

K: Crosby has potential.  I don't know what happened to him this year. I don't know what happened to a lot of kickers this year. Fact is, there are a lot of potentially good kickers out there in FA.  Bring in a few to hopefully push Crosby.

P: Not much out there in FA. Maybe a late draft pick?


The Packers two biggest negatives from last year:
Rodgers didn't have enough time, and Grant didn't get enough holes. (Improve the offensive line.)
Got torched by elite veteran QB's. (Improve pass rush or coverage)

Two biggest positives:
Went from 6-10 to 11-5.
Had a great first year implementing a new defensive scheme.


Questions, comments, or thoughts?