Adios Smitty... 
One more coaching staff note: OLB coach Mike Smith is leaving the Packers to pursue other opportunities, a source said.
â Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) February 18, 2022
This did not come out of the blue and has been in discussion for a while, per the source. The team agreed to let him do that and will have a new OLB coach.
That sucks. I have a feeling he had a huge role in how well Gary developed. Joe Barry will have some calls to make.
I read he's a Pettine guy and likely going to Vikings.
@packerboi posted:That sucks. I have a feeling he had a huge role in how well Gary developed. Joe Barry will have some calls to make.
Barry himself is a LB guy so they should be alright.
I guess that his contract was up. Yet itâs surprising to me that he would leave.
@packerboi posted:Completely agree. But here's a question: Does MLF have the balls to do it? And if yes, would Rodgers listen or just do whatever the hell he wants?
Then again, re-signing AR and moving on from Adams solves that problem. But I also cannot see Rodgers here in 2022 without #17.
I don't think he does. Just like he didn't have the stones to address the special teams situation. Instead he ignored it (completely inept approach) and it cost us the season.
@Henry posted:The interesting thing about the Clements hire to me is the FO and Rodgers know Clements, Mayo doesn't.
Really curious as to how much input Mayo has on coaching hires. Probably about as much power as Gorf has as a legit GM.
Right? I get the feeling even though Muphy didn't give the GM job in title to Ballz because of the building perceived backlash on that decision, the backroom deal Murphy made is that Ballz is really the GM and Gutey's essentially a scout. Gotta love that brilliant minded Murphy.
@packerboi posted:In the last NFCC game where he had Tonyan and MVS, he targeted them 4 times. 4.
Adams? Try 15 times.
Look, had they won, no one would give a damn. But Rodgers fixates to a fault to Adams and will at times ignore the open guy and the one the defense is giving him. Coaches like Shanahan are fully aware of this and that is why inferior QB's like Jimmy G are consistently able to beat him in the playoffs.
That Rodgers would have tried to "spread the ball" around with Adams playing is simply delusional.
Which is probably why we never lost when Adams was out. Even though the rest of the receivers are meh. But they are a package deal, I guarantee it.
@The Crusher posted:Brady won a SB with Edelman as his #1 WR and James White as his #1 RB. That's why he's the GOAT. If your QB is good enough they make due with what they have.
FUCK YEAH!!! This is why you are the goat on this board. No way Brady's team gives up 13 points only for him to lose a playoff game. No way.
@Chongo posted:That's been my concern with MLF from day one...does he have enough asshole in him to be an effective NFL HC?
Well, he did get AR to buy into his offensive system...until the post season anyway.
So Henry is a meme?
Much like when I stopped watching Happy Days when Fonzie jumped the shark, I stopped reading Henryâs posts when he started giving nicknames to the nicknames of Packer people he was trashing.
Who am I kidding?
I still watch Happy Days.
@The Crusher posted:Brady won a SB with Edelman as his #1 WR and James White as his #1 RB. That's why he's the GOAT. If your QB is good enough they make due with what they have.
Yeah, that Gronkowski guy is garbage.
Rebrovich was with the Jaguars from 2017-20, most recently as DL coach where he helped develop Josh Allen. Before that he on the Bills staff from 2013-16 in various defensive capacities including OLB and DL coach.
â Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) February 18, 2022
I just don't get why all these former Packer coaches want to go to Minnysoda. They have had a front row seat witnessing that shitshow but want to go there anyway. I don't care how much you change GM, head coach, whatever. A fish rots from the head and that would be the Wilfs. Shit team, shit stadium, shit fans.
But great off -seasons..
I have a feeling Smith is miffed he didnât get the DC position when they moved on from Pettine and MLF went with Joe Barry instead. Smith also left KC because he wasnât getting promoted there either. Not sure why, but some seemingly talented coaches have a hard time moving up.
Cutting Z Smith is an obvious move under any scenario. Same thing with Cobb and Lowry.
The restructures can get can a little tricky for Bak and Kenny Clark simply because of backloaded risk especially for 69 given the issue with his knee.
But yeah, if they want to basically be completely fucked in 3-4 years with no Rodgers and a bunch of dead money on the books then go right ahead and do everything they are suggesting.
Somewhere, thereâs a more real and practical approach. Extend Rodgers but you leave Bak and Jones and Kenny deals alone. Extend Jaire. See if Preston and Amos and Turner will rework their deals if not buh bye. Adams has to be extended and they need to at least bring back MVS or Lazard and Tonyan. Campbell should return but not sure if they can afford him. Douglas would be awesome as a 3rd corner but like Campbell not sure he can or will be retained.
Hope for a hell of a decent draft to replace some of the departures but I have faith in Gute.
In the end, itâs a thought provoking concept for sure, but that article half assed it by missing a lot of puts and takes of ârunning it backâ
@Blair Kiel posted:Who am I kidding?
I still watch Happy Days.
Still read Henryâs posts too.
I don't even read my posts. Otherwise I'll just have to report my reply and then write myself a strongly worded letter. It makes me all verklempt.
@Tschmack posted:See if Preston and Amos and Turner will rework their deals if not buh bye.
What the fuck is your obsession with getting rid of Amos? He's their second-best d-back at a position that's hard to re-stock in the draft this year. Do you really think going with a Henry Black opposite Savage is in anyway competitively viable?
If Turner is going to stay, he will definitely have to restructure or they work out a deal on an extension. I don't think the Packers can afford his $9+M cap hit.
However, the team has to realize his only value is at RT. I think history shows he can't handle LT, and there's too many young guys that play the G positions and at C, of course.
Give Nijman another shot at LT (he'll be cheap) until/if Daktari makes it back. It'd be nice to pick up another LT in the draft.
Amos is a higher priority, and based on his last contract, he will likely get $10M to $12M avg/year salary. I would even be willing to lose P Smith, if needed, to keep Famous.
You save 20M in cap space by releasing P Smith and Amos. If they arenât willing to restructure you absolutely consider cutting them loose. Everything needs to be on the table to get Jaire and Adams and Rodgers to return.
Amos and P are solid players, but the other 3 guys are elite.
Pretty sure you didn't read that article at all. Why would a player pass up getting a signing bonus vs. a roster bonus exactly?
Potential savings: $8 million
Smith bounced back in 2021, producing 62 pressures and 9.5 sacks over 16 games. Heâs usually productive and reliable, and always available. The guess here is that the Packers wouldnât move on from both the Smiths, so Preston stays on an extended deal. Considering his (lack of) injury history, heâs the safer bet on a new deal.
Potential savings: $4.7 million
Releasing Amos would keep him on the cap at almost $7.4 million in dead money. No thanks. Heâs a solid player and a respected leader. Converting most of his $7 million base salary into a signing bonus is one way to lower his cap number and keep him on the roster for at least another year.
Potential savings: $3.5 million
Turner is a little bit like Amos. Would you rather cut him and keep $5.8 million of dead money on the cap, or restructure to free up space and keep the player? Heâs a versatile and valuable lineman. Converting base salary into a signing bonus is the play here.
So when should I put my takes and take my puts?
Anymore talk of cutting Dean "The Difference Maker" Lowry and you get blocked
Was looking at Spotrac. If P Smith is released after 6/1 they save 12.5M on the cap. Same scenario with Amos and they save 7.9M. Yes they owe dead money in both cases, but they need to free up money in 2022 to resign and extend more important guys.
Keep in mind the players and their agents have to be agreeable to convert dollars into bonuses. Itâs possible they might.
Why wouldnât players want to convert salary into bonus?? Bonuses are guaranteed, salary isnât.
It depends on the nature of the restructure. In a lot of cases, I think players would rather take the converted bonus money. That would mean moving a larger chunk of guaranteed money into the future. For many players, they may get more security because the potential cap hit to release a converted player is higher. But other players may actually want an out sooner and may not mind being a cap casualty as it allows them the ability to go to another team.
Age, injury, and length of years remaining on a deal are going to influence matters as well.
I guess my view is you have to assume extending Jaire and Rodgers and Adams means lower money this year but backloading a lot more of their deals do make it work. So you canât just go Madden 2022 and pull the same trick with all or most of the other guys listed in that article. Not unless you want to box yourself in later on once Rodgers leaves.
I have to believe Ball and Gute have a plan to try to keep most of the team together in a way that retains most (but not all) of the 2021 team intact. But I would have liked to see the article talk about who else stays or goes to run the traps on the net result of the dollars.
@Tschmack posted:I guess my view is you have to assume extending Jaire and Rodgers and Adams means lower money this year but backloading a lot more of their deals do make it work. So you canât just go Madden 2022 and pull the same trick with all or most of the other guys listed in that article. Not unless you want to box yourself in later on once Rodgers leaves.
Should Russ Ball write the article? It's offseason speculation and numbers according to what we know.
This is exactly what's going to happen, contracts are backloaded/voided. Not a mystery. Play to win now, then go full rebuild and eat a couple of years. Quit with the constant "build for the future" and win nothing. Pretty much been the argument from the get go.
Why not both? Or something close to that?
Theyâve been winning. Itâs the playoffs that havenât quite worked out.
Taking the Packers credit card and pushing 80M down the road isnât very smart and it wonât happen. What may happen is a lesser version of pushing some of that money down the road.
Of course, itâs all contingent on Rodgers wanting to return and committing to the team for the next several years. Until he does, itâs all speculation.
