Clay has a place on this team. He can still produce if he is used right.
Especially after they decide to keep their flags on their hips. I'm not sure if he ever recovered from those early and mistaken calls. He was disruptive until then.
Especially as a 3rd down specialist. I know Clay would excel if not over used .
heyward posted:That's my point. Gutey wasted money on Graham last season and now he's doubling down on that mistake.
What? How is drafting a potential stud TE doubling down on a FA bust? Which hasn't happened yet, I should add.
No, doubling down on a mistake was signing Graham a year after the Martellus Bennett fiasco.
If anything, Gutey seems to be more than willing to send mistakes packing.
See Dix
See Dumbarius
See Ty
See Perry
See McCarthy
See the rest of the coaching staff sans Pettine
I'd prefer to see them move on from Graham but apparently he's getting one more shot. Would you prefer they put all their eggs in that broken down basket or move on to plan B for what is supposedly a pretty important piece in this new offense that's being installed?
Doubling down by keeping Graham for another season.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I figured he was gone. Not sure what the cap hit for cutting him was vs. keeping him this year but I though the deal was set up in a way that they could walk away from the contract after 1 year and not get beat up too much.
I really don't expect him to be worth whatever they pay him this year but maybe the new scheme will work. I'm not counting on it. I'm more optimistic about getting some value out of Lewis.
Graham's best years are behind him. Graham himself stated his numbers weren't where they needed to be last year. That said, in a year where GB was abnormally bad, Graham was the 9th ranked TE in the NFL with 55 catches for 636 yards. A top 10 TE... we could be doing much worse.
The biggest play of the year (IMO) Rodgers throws a perfect strike to Graham in the endzone vs. the Bears. The ball bounced off Graham's facemask & turned a TD into Rodgers first INT breaking the 300+ pass .streak without an INT.
That play was a microcosm of the entire Packers season wrapped up in a nice bow for everyone.
I still think Graham can be a red zone threat. I have also heard he's pretty good in the locker room. LR is probably the biggest reason they kept Graham around.
Pakrz posted:Graham's best years are behind him. Graham himself stated his numbers weren't where they needed to be last year. That said, in a year where GB was abnormally bad, Graham was the 9th ranked TE in the NFL with 55 catches for 636 yards. A top 10 TE... we could be doing much worse.
Exactly. I don't expect him to break out huge next year but to say he can't be a solid contributor in an offense that isn't completely dysfunctional isn't much of a stretch. Still overpaid? Maybe but I'll give it a year under someone who isn't McVince.
The draft is still priority.
This team needed an infusion of talent & Gutey provided it via FA.
Now they have some draft picks they need to nail. If they do....the Pack will be a tough out in the playoffs.
Yup, a tough out this year and a not out the next. All in for the next couple of years, the future is now.
It's often said that FA is the price you pay for poor drafts. There is little doubt that rings true. With the upcoming draft, Gute has the opportunity to fill some significant holes not only for now, but the future. At 12, Gute may very well choose to take a DT knowing that Daniels is a FA (And 30 years old) next off season. Hell, he may take OL there knowing you can't push Bulaga much further down the road. Lots of things to think about....
What I like about the signings is they are all young guys with clean bills of health.
All investments are risky, but Gute went with the percentages --the actuarial data with a greater chance of success. Good call.
Look at Turner: People say, "Well he's mediocre." The thing is, they know he can play. They know he can start and not be a liability. That's more than we can say about some of the current linemen on this roster.
And it can't be said at all about draft picks. I mean, who thought Spriggs would suck? His resume and measurables looked like he would develop into an NFL starter.
These FA's are young guys you know can play. Yes they cost money but yes we needed them.
And they look happy as clams to be in GB, which is kind of a nice bonus. Welcome to Titletown let's get another one hey.
Nickname schtick approved. "I am Gute".
Can't believe I missed that one and now I have to give Pistol credit.
Best and worst day ever.
Boris posted:This team needed an infusion of talent & Gutey provided it via FA.
Now they have some draft picks they need to nail. If they do....the Pack will be a tough out in the playoffs.
Nail the draft.
Saying anything about playoffs with a complete overhaul at HC is a bit starry.
Never mind. I just read what I wrote. I take that back.
The #Cowboys are hosting FA WR Randall Cobb on a visit today, source said. One of the top veterans available.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2019
Former Packers’ WR Jordy Nelson is scheduled to visit the Seahawks on Tuesday, per source. They were interested in Nelson last year; GM John Schneider loves Nelson.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2019
Other interested teams at this point include: Patriots, Titans, Chiefs, Raiders.
Oh....so the Raiders are interested in Nelson but at a reduced cost. F*** them.
Wouldn't be surprised if the Seahawks sign him.
It sure would be cool to see him back in Green Bay. He might be an excellent 3rd down option.
Former Packers CB Bashaud Breeland is signing with the Chiefs, a source told ESPN
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 18, 2019
Sucks to lose Breeland to FA, he would have been a no brainer keeper on a cheap deal. Gute will have to grab a corner in the draft, maybe even 2.
Until King can prove he can play a full season, the assumption has to be he can't
Greedy Williams will be long gone by 30, but UGA CB DeAndre Baker and PSU's Amani Oruwariye will both be available. If you pass on those guys, then you're probably looking at more marginal talent like Kentucky's Lonnie Johnson or ND's Julian Love. Not a terribly great year for CB.
Breeland is apparently getting something in KC the Packers were unwilling to offer- the chance to start. The beginning of the Tony Brown era?
So essentially they'll start King ahead of him and when he goes down in two games we're back to UDFA scrubs?
It’s a 1-year, incentive-laden deal that can be worth a max value of $5M, source said. A possible starter for the #Chiefs.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2019
Not much money.
Burflick finally cut by the Bengals. Vikings should tell Barr they changed their mind, cut him, then go sign Burflick.
Damn, had a candle lit for Breeland. Bummer.
Guess they won't be converting Jackson to safety just yet. High hopes for Tony Brown, but is he ready to get consistent PT ?
Frankly, would've preferred they dump Tramon if it meant signing Breeland.
As Week 2 of free agency begins, some notable players available:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 18, 2019
* TE Jared Cook
* OLB Justin Houston
* DT Ndamukong Suh
* DE Ziggy Ansah
* K Stephen Gostkowski
* CB Darqueze Dennard
* WR Randall Cobb
* LB Clay Matthews
* LB Jamie Collins
* DT Darius Philon
* DT Cory Liuget
Henry posted:Makes zero sense.
Yup. They could have really solidified their depth by signing him. Now we're back to "iffy on the back fifty".
The bad thing about losing Breeland is losing the leadership, but I actually think we're heading in the right direction at CB. Lots of IFs, but IF guys stay healthy and build on what they did this past year I think there's a lot to like. I wasn't impressed with Jackson, but his college resume is impressive and he's a guy (like Casey Hayward) that you give time for development. He's a guy I could see breaking out in year 2 after getting time year 1 to adjust to the NFL (some guys adjust more easily than others). Brown did some good things year 1 to build on, I'm not ready to label him as anything yet, but he's another one that could break out in year 2. Alexander obviously did a lot of positive things to build on, he's trending toward elite CB status IMO. This is a young group that needs some veteran leadership in the room. Tramon is good, but I think a vocal Charles Woodson-esque leader could be the difference in these guys developing into JAGs or stars.
Again, with OLB locked down I'd like to see an early pick at CB. Another Alexander back there could be a difference maker at CB in the short term and long term.
Buccaneers sign former Packers safety Kentrell Brice to one-year deal. Visited Texans last week
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 18, 2019
Won't miss him at all.
Ketchman had an interesting point on his blog this morning. He is pretty confident that Gute must have determined on his board that an elite edge guy would not be there at 12 which resulted in his signing 2 OLB FA's. He also thinks Gute will go heavy O in April.
Bad Bob doesn't like Z'D, calls him Perry 2.0 and GB overpaid for him. He does really like Preston though.
Gravedigger:
Again, with OLB locked down I'd like to see an early pick at CB.
It's Ground Hog Day all over again!
DH13 posted:Ketchman had an interesting point on his blog this morning. He is pretty confident that Gute must have determined on his board that an elite edge guy would not be there at 12 which resulted in his signing 2 OLB FA's. He also thinks Gute will go heavy O in April.
Bad Bob doesn't like Z'D, calls him Perry 2.0 and GB overpaid for him. He does really like Preston though.
Quite possible we did overpay but I highly doubt he's as useless as Perry has been. I will be shocked if a TE isn't picked in the first two rounds.