My nephew buys NBA rookie cards in bulk of the top draft choices and sits on them until the cards of those who become stars appreciate. He was selling some of them during the pandemic for 3-4 K a card (graded 10s)
@FLPACKER posted:My nephew buys NBA rookie cards in bulk of the top draft choices and sits on them until the cards of those who become stars appreciate. He was selling some of them during the pandemic for 3-4 K a card (graded 10s)
I would bet Victor Wembanyama is going to be a bit more expensive to speculate on this year. He's basically being billed as a Giannis with Kevin Durant's jump shot, but I want to see what he does when he's being guarded by guys like Giannis, Robert Williams, Kawhi, Bam Adebayo, etc. before they start making his HOF plaque.
<<attempts to steer car back on to road>>
Any updates on Stokes? Can’t seem to find much about him, his injury(s), or his rehab. I assume he’ll be ready by the summer.
There's been a fair amount of doom & gloom across Packer Nation after the 2022 season ended with a thud.
However, I would like to share the final Sagarin Ratings for the 2022 season and you'll note that the Mighty Green Bay Packers were ranked # 8 in the league.
Which makes them a playoff team. And "better" than 24 other squads.
The window isn't closed, there are upgrades to be made, players develop
The Eagles were 9-8 last season, in the SB this year.
http://sagarin.com/sports/nflsend.htm
One other note about these ratings, they have a column showing each team's record against the Top 10 teams - and you'll note that both of the SB participants ranked very highly in that column. Highly predictive.
The 2022 Packers vs Top 10:
Beat the Cowboys, hung with the Eagles and got handled by the Bills
In 2019, did you predict the Packers would go 13-3 ?
No, you did not
In 2020, did you predict the Packers would go 13-3 again ?
No, you did not
In 2021, did you predict another 13 win season ?
No, you did not
In 2022, did you predict the Packers would crater to 8-9 ?
No, you did not
The point is - you don't know jack-diddly-squat. So when some fans post the 2023 Packers are "not a contender" or that they have "zero chance at competing for a Title..."
- I simply remind myself: You people don't know shit
I know that BK claims X4 copyright privileges to 'you people'.
That's gotta count for shit.
@PackLandVA posted:Any updates on Stokes? Can’t seem to find much about him, his injury(s), or his rehab. I assume he’ll be ready by the summer.
I attended a Packer autograph session at Lambeau just before Christmas featuring Stokes & Alexander. Stokes was still on crutches with no weight bearing on the injured leg.
@mattschneidman: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst just sat down with local media in Indy for 30 mins.
• Aaron Rodgers has not told Packers his plans
• Gutekunst hasn’t spoken with him at length since end of season
“Until we have those conversations, I think all options are on the table right now.”
Gutekunst wants a resolution with Rodgers situation before free agency starts on March 15.
Rodgers’ contract will be restructured if he returns, Gutekunst said.
Gutekunst added he’s “absolutely” comfortable if Jordan Love is QB1 to start the 2023 season.
Couple other tidbits from sitdown with Gutekunst:
• Packers will restructure Bakhtiari to ensure he’s back in 2023
• On Rashan Gary’s ACL rehab, Gutekunst said, “He feels really good … We’re very optimistic there.”
Gary has been rehabbing in Atlanta and Texas.
@TomSilverstein: Gutekunst said he has not received a direct trade offer from anybody for QB Aaron Rodgers. "I have conversations with teams all the time," he said. "I've talked to a lot of different teams about a lot of different things, but actual talking about trades, not yet."
Gutekunst confirmed what PackersNews reported earlier this week that he is working with LT David Bakhtiari on restructuring his contract. He expects the deal to be done soon and Bakhtiari to be back on the team this year. Packers are also working on something with NT Kenny Clark.
@BillHuberNFL: On Mason Crosby, says leg strength was impacted by offseason knee surgery.
Gutekunst gives him credit for starting the season and playing so quickly after his injury. Says they’ll have some things to work through contract wise in the coming weeks.
@ilcuqui posted:@BillHuberNFL: On Mason Crosby, says leg strength was impacted by offseason knee surgery. Gutekunst gives him credit for starting the season and playing so quickly after his injury. Says they’ll have some things to work through contract wise in the coming weeks.
Left knee, right knee or wee-nee ?
Not sure more healing/training time is gonna bring back enough leg strength but there are certain substances available for old men like Crosby.
Parker White is the other kicker in GB, he's getting a rookie deal at $900K
Vet minimum for Mason is $1.1M so there isn't much gap there
The average APY for starting kickers last year was $3M, Mason came in a $4.3M
GB doesn't have $4M for Mason in 2023, but if he wants to take a minimum-ish deal to compete in camp, that's fine.
@ilcuqui posted:@TomSilverstein: Gutekunst said he has not received a direct trade offer from anybody for QB Aaron Rodgers. "I have conversations with teams all the time," he said. "I've talked to a lot of different teams about a lot of different things, but actual talking about trades, not yet."
Thx for posting that summary, greatly appreciated.
Can other teams make an official offer right now, or is that tampering ?
I’ll tell you another thing I found that affects leg strength.
Old age.
Here's a list of 2nd year leap candidates in Titletown.
NFL teams are mostly youngsters these days so the biggest improvement for GB in 2023 is likely going to come from these players - more than from FA or Draft
Its an impressive group below and covers some positions that are high on the draft needs list.
WR:
Christian Watson
Romeo Doubs
Samari Toure
Bo Melton
RB
Tyler Goodson
TE
6'7" Austin Allen
OL
Sean Rhyan
Zach Tom
Rasheed Walker
Caleb Jones
Luke Tenuta
DL
Devonte Wyatt
Jonathan Ford
LB
Quay Walker
Kingsley Enagbare
S
Tariq Carpenter
Comments from Gutekunst about Rasul Douglas playing safety in 2023
"Obviously there's a lot of versatility there, which we really like," Gutekunst said. "I think Rasul, when he was inside, he was getting his feet wet and learning and then obviously Stokes got hurt and we had to move him back outside.
Gutekunst isn't ruling out the possibility of Douglas possibly moving to safety or Savage continuing to play closer to the line of scrimmage like he did at the end of last season, whether that's as a strong safety or nickel cornerback.
"(Douglas) has such good eyes and instincts when he's back there and seeing the whole field," Gutekunst said. "Anytime you move a guy inside, whether it's the nickel or the safety, and you have both sides you really have to worry about, there's a curve there that's going to take some time to really understand that.
But his skill set as far as his eyes, his ability to go get the ball, his angles, his instincts and he's a pretty good tackler, too, he could make that transition if that's what we decided to do."
@Satori posted:Comments from Gutekunst about Rasul Douglas playing safety in 2023
"Obviously there's a lot of versatility there, which we really like," Gutekunst said. "I think Rasul, when he was inside, he was getting his feet wet and learning and then obviously Stokes got hurt and we had to move him back outside.
Gutekunst isn't ruling out the possibility of Douglas possibly moving to safety or Savage continuing to play closer to the line of scrimmage like he did at the end of last season, whether that's as a strong safety or nickel cornerback.
"(Douglas) has such good eyes and instincts when he's back there and seeing the whole field," Gutekunst said. "Anytime you move a guy inside, whether it's the nickel or the safety, and you have both sides you really have to worry about, there's a curve there that's going to take some time to really understand that.
But his skill set as far as his eyes, his ability to go get the ball, his angles, his instincts and he's a pretty good tackler, too, he could make that transition if that's what we decided to do."
Super hard to get excited about these moves when you remember they are going to be coached by Joe Barry.😢
Here's a write up on an in- season addition from 2022
https://www.packers.com/news/5...rs-lb-justin-hollins
The Packers made their third waiver claim of the 2022 regular season to acquire linebacker Justin Hollins a 6-foot-5, 248-pound linebacker
The fourth-year veteran has 97 career tackles, 11 quarterback hits and seven sacks in 49 regular-season games (seven starts). Five of those starts came last season for the Rams.
"I'm just viewing it as an opportunity, a great opportunity," said Hollins on Thursday. "Coming in, I'm preparing to help any way I possibly can and just try to be that light."
He broke into the NFL with Vic Fangio's defense.
As a fifth-round pick by Denver in 2019, Hollins had a chance to learn from two of the game's brightest defensive minds in then-Broncos head coach Vic Fangio and outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley.
EDGE + STs
@Satori posted:Just remind yourself that you don't know jack diddly.
Its easier that way
Good point. I am just going to remind myself that we have the best defensive players and the best defensive coaches and blame the shitty results on voodoo.
@FieldYates: The Packers have converted $13.835M of NT Kenny Clark’s 2023 compensation into a signing bonus, creating $11.068M in cap space, per source.
@Goalline posted:Good point. I am just going to remind myself that we have the best defensive players and the best defensive coaches and blame the shitty results on voodoo.
Or Aaron Rodgers
The Packers are now about $17 million under their 2023 cap number. https://t.co/84KoCmsraM
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 1, 2023
And AR restructure will add significantly more, IMO.
@PackLandVA posted:And AR restructure will add significantly more, IMO.
Or trade
They seem to be enough under the cap right now to pick up all of Rodgers' dead cap this year if he's traded and pay rookies. That would set us up nicely for the future.
Packers now have $16.5M of salary cap space after restructuring Jones, Jaire, Preston, and Kenny
— Ken Ingalls - Packers Cap 💰 (@KenIngalls) March 1, 2023
They need more
$23M is available if they max void Bakhtiari, Campbell, Douglas, Runyan, and O'Donnell
$3M if they extend Gary
This gives them $20M to spend on free agents/trades
NFLPA just put out their Team Report Cards, scroll down the first link to see the Packers grades. But before you do, think about how you think the Packers would be rated by their players in these categories:
Treatment of Families, Nutrition, weight room, strength staff, training room, training staff, travel
https://nflpa.com/nfl-player-team-report-cards
Here, JC Tretter talks about how and why they did this
https://nflpa.com/posts/nfl-te...ayers-by-the-players
One of our core jobs as a union is to improve the overall working conditions for our players. Often, you see our advocacy on “big” issues -- like our push for better field surfaces at stadiums or standardized safety protocols that limit the risk of workplace injuries -- but it also includes the daily experience of players at the team facilities away from the lights and cameras.
For many years, players have brought up the idea of creating a
“Free Agency Guide,” which would contain information that can help illuminate what that daily experience is like for players and their families from team to team. If knowledge is really power, then providing players with information about each club would not only help them make important career decisions, but it would also help raise the standards across each club"
more from Gute - this time on frugal free agency
https://www.packers.com/news/e...-wonders-for-packers
With executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball keeping the books, General Manager Brian Gutekunst and the personnel department have unearthed a pair of All-Pros (De'Vondre Campbell and Keisean Nixon) and several key contributions (Rasul Douglas, Rudy Ford, Dallin Leavitt, and Dennis Kelly) over the past two years.
While high-profile signings often garner the most headlines in March, hitting on the second wave of free agency can be just as crucial for NFL teams. It's a philosophy rooted in lessons Gutekunst learned from his predecessors, Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, in Green Bay
@Satori posted:NFLPA just put out their Team Report Cards, scroll down the first link to see the Packers grades. But before you do, think about how you think the Packers would be rated by their players in these categories:
Treatment of Families, Nutrition, weight room, strength staff, training room, training staff, travel
Those are high marks for Green Bay. Wow...some amazing fails in there, especially in the Nutrition category.
@ilcuqui posted:@FieldYates: The Packers have converted $13.835M of NT Kenny Clark’s 2023 compensation into a signing bonus, creating $11.068M in cap space, per source.
Now, the Packers have $17.526 million of cap space (or $13.618 million after the draft class).
There are a lot of F- grades in that chart. I didn't realize that was actually a thing.
Some teams didn't only merely fail, they really most sincerely failed!
The Arizona Cardinals charge their players for evening meals and off season meals when they eat in the facility. Also have the worst training facility/weight room.
More on the Packers grades from the NFLPA:
It turns out the Packers graded out pretty well, given all A's and B's in seven categories, finishing sixth out of 32 teams in overall ranking.
Green Bay was given an A in nutrition, weight room, travel and strength staff, and they were given an A-minus for training staff. The team's treatment of families was given a B-plus, the locker room a B and the training room graded at a B-minus. The grade in nutrition was tied for first in the league.
"As one of the best ranked teams in our league-wide survey, there are not many things that are drastically wrong here, but there is clear consensus among the player respondents regarding what they would like to see improved," the report said.
"For starters, while the locker room has a ton of space, players believe it can use a refresh and modernization. Second, we learned that players believe that additional physical therapists should be added to the staff; many players noted that they have outsourced their physical therapy due to understaffing.
"As the only team without a private owner, 82% of the players believe that the team is willing to spend the money necessary to upgrade the facility, ranking 22nd in that category."
"For many years, players have brought up the idea of creating a 'Free Agency Guide,' which would contain information that can help illuminate what that daily experience is like for players and their families from team to team," Tretter wrote. "If knowledge is really power, then providing players with information about each club would not only help them make important career decisions, but it would also help raise the standards across each club."