It is time...to move on to 2015.

Seahawks at home, Cowpies at home, Denver in disarray...I like our chances

First things first. 

 

Have to to pay Cobb, Guion, and House. Would love to see Bulaga stay after a great year. But it also may be time to hand RT over to Barclay with Tretter as the backup. Tramon won't be back.

 

Richardson and Barclay are RFA's that need to remain in GB.  

 

Draft has to be ILB and TE early. Bostick will be gone. Can't stay on the field. Rodgers will take Quarless spot as 1 on the depth chart. Would like to see another DL as well. OL for depth. 

 

Look ok at the bright side. GB will open 2015 as the favorite to win the Super Bowl. 

 

Seems like a long damn wats away though. 

Gotta get a stud NT. Guion has done well and Daniels is a good rotational guy, but we need a true NT in the middle. I like Washington NT Danny Shelton. He's huge, he's very active and his production was solid. Reminds me of Haloti Ngata.

The 2010 Raji would fit the bill at NT.

knee jerk reaction 1. Capers and Slocum gone 2. Bostick/Quarless gone 3. Gotta find a way to keep Cobb and Buluga (Barclay and Tretter look like a good back up plan if not feasible to resign BB).  4. Spend a crap ton of time "self scouting" the red zone offense 5. Draft ILBs, NTs, DEs and TEs.

 

My hope is that the team recognizes that this was a total TEAM loss, offense defense and ST only to bring them together for what should be a special season.  My fear is that there is all sorts of back and forth finger pointing that tears this team apart.

Cobb must be re-signed. Really need a pass catching fast TE. 

 

I keep Bulaga and Barclay if possible. Packers were extremely fortunate not to lose any of the starters after Bulaga came back. Need Barclay for G/T depth, he's a battler but let's not kid ourselves. Tretter needs more weight room work. Need to keep this OL together while Aaron remains productive.

 

I worry if Tramon leaves. House is inconsistent and Casey Hayward isn't best suited for the outside. I could see a CB drafted high depending on free agent decisions.

 

I think Raji wants to stay in GB. A group of Guion, Raji, Boyd and Pennel is nice.

 

Clay should stay in the hybrid role. Even if Packers add a legit ILB or two his production rocketed after the move. Would not be surprised if over time he takes more snaps on the inside than out, before the position shift his edge production was down. Another edge rusher is needed, Jayrone Ellis sure has potential but need another.

1. Fix coaching by deleting Slocum and capers

2. Someone said it but 'closing the order' and scoring is a problem when it matters so whether that's new personnel or fixing some calling of plays etc I don't know

3. Draft draft draft we had hugely positive impact from s and te this year so next pulled be hitting on cb and ilb and a punt returner

4. I would say sign a nt that's already played so we have a relatively known commodity not for some reason is hard to find

5. Keep Cobb bulaga peppers and house with maybe using tender or franchise tag

 

yoga yoga and mandatory stretching classes because it's all mute if we get a rash of injuries

Forgot to ditch 50 and 59

Personally I've never thought of Raji as an elite or even necessarily as a legit NT or DT. We need an elite player in the interior DL.

Some tough FA decisions for TT:

 

- Does Peppers come back?  If so, it has to be at a lower salary than 12 million.

- Williams or House.  I can't say here.  It's too hard to judge House with how the defensive staff has handled players (example: Hawk and Jones being starting ILBs).  I think Tramon is on the decline.  He had a so-so year, and his tackling is suspect.

- Barclay is an RFA, so he'll be back.  I wouldn't rely on him at the starting RT, though.  He's got limitations in pass pro as an RT.  I do like him as a 6th OL.

- I think Raji will be back on a one-year deal.

- Cobb must be re-signed.

- Gotta cut Hawk and Jones.  Just gotta.  Complete liabilities.

Peppers salary is a tough nut.  Assuming he fountain of youths it another year, he will have a year of OLB under his belt now and could be even better.  Just fighting father time at this point.

 

 

I love Shelton but fear he will be long gone by the time we pick. 

Players are deflated and angry. Coming back in the spring with the same coaching staff will only seem like the same old. There is talent on this team both on offense and defense. A lot of talent. The need now is to give the players hope and just adding a few draft choices won't do it. Making coaching changes might. 56 minutes of good D has now seemingly saved Capers job, if it ever was in jeopardy with this coach and general manager. But Capers needs to go, if only for one thing, rushing 3 on 3rd and 19. In fact it was two with one spy. That should disqualify him from ever coaching this team again. McCarthy and Thompson aren't going anywhere so Capers and Slocum need to be replaced just to give the players a new outlook, some excitement and anticipation. Will their replacements be any better?... who knows, but we do know they have both failed in epic proportion in big games over the last few years. It is time.

Along the lines of draft and develop, Richard Rodgers, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, and Jared Abbrederis need to step up their games.  In Abbrederis' case it sounded like he was having the best camp among rookie WRs before the injury, let's hope he's back at 100%.

 

In particular, Janis could be a red zone target, he's 6'3" with a 37 inch vertical.  He's an athlete that needs to take the next step to help the sub-par red zone offense.

 

I tend to agree that maybe it's time for an upgrade over Quarless and Bostick at TE.  A talented athlete to complement the slower Rodgers would be nice, and might help the red zone woes.  Rodgers isn't a great athlete at TE, but he's a big body with good hands.  I hope he can maximize what he has and use that big body and solid hands to improve that red zone performance, both as a blocker and as receiver.

During the game yesterday. I got all confused and turned around on the Clay sack/Sweezy late hit 15 yarder. I vaguely remember thinking briefly, "that spot can't be right" but play went on, 3rd and 19 happened! Fake FG happened and the rest of the game sucked.

 

What I completely missed was the Sweezy late hit was ruled to have taken place "during" the play not at the end of the play. So GB was forced to decline the penalty and take the sack. 

 

Essentially, instead of being 2nd and 45 Sweezy got a free cheap shot at Clay after the sack.

 

Today really sucks. 

Watching that guy run and having visions of the bigfoot video from the 70's makes me wonder how in the hell that guy ever played WR for a D1 school.

Quarless & Bostick appear just too immature to trust. I agree, a quicker TE to exploit the deep middle seam would help vs. cover 2. 

I think he was about 30-40 pounds lighter when he played WR...but still must have been a "possession receiver" 

I agree FLPACK, I'm not sute he makes it to the high 20's.

I've said it before, but Miami ILB Denzel Perryman would be my pick. Someone could fall in love with him and pick him higher, but he has some flaws that are pushing him down right now with height being the biggest one. He's the most instinctive ILB I've seen in college football since Pat Willis. I think Luke Keuchly was a better overall LB, but Perryman is more instinctive and aggressive.

..funny you mention him.....the "fanspeak" draft simulator has us taking him in second round! Have us taking an OT in first.  

Perryman, Benardrick McKinney, or Erik Kendricks. One of them will be available and any of them would be a massive effing upgrade in the middle. 

 

Maxx Williams in round 2. Clive Walford is plan B at TE. 

 

A solid ILB upgrades this team instantly. 

That thing once had us taking TEs from Rounds 4-6. I think the computer is drunk.

Funny that a few tweaks and we are back in it from a talent pov - coaching is another topic...

Why Hawk was even around this long is strange. That we have not been able to find someone better is stranger. Because better isn't much of a leap.

 

Can Datone Jones provide anything of lasting value in his third year?

 

 

 

And that was BS. Wilson was on the ground with Matthews bringing him down; that play was over. How they ruled it was a continuation is beyond me.

 

On the fake FG, you can't allow that. You don't let anyone from the Seahawks get off the line, let them kick the FG. Dumb.

 

TE? We've got Bostic.

Who?

This guy:

 

Bostick faced reporters last night and back in front of his locker today. Impressive young man. 

I'll give him that, but this is just one of those situations where he has to go.  There's simply no way he'll ever succeed in GB.  He's been nothing but a tease at best to this point anyway.  

 

I think Dick Rodgers can be your Chmura-type TE going forward, especially with an offseason in the conditioning program and a year of experience under his belt.  After him, AFAIC you can clean out every other stiff in the TE room and start over.  None of them is worth a damn.  Get a seam-splitter and a mashing blocker to go with Dick and you're in good shape.  

Agree he's probably played his last snap in GB. Kid stood there and admitted he made a mistake and answered every question. Admirable stuff. 

If Bostick just wipes the floor with Matthews Jordy squeezes it and we're talking SB point spreads today. 

 

Think I'll go run my nuts over a belt grinder. 

 

 

This loss could either make the team more resolved or breed discontent and be a negative turning point.

 

I do think MM and staff failed to instill the killer instinct.   Players were yucking it up on the sidelines beginning the celebration early.   There has got to be resolve to crush and finish every game!   

 

We need Peppers back, although wtf did he signal Burnett to get down?

 

I like Rodgers as a TE, but agree we still need help.  

 

 

We can laugh/cry/implode about that pic of Bostick but Jordy had the exact thing happen to him last week vs. DAL on a pass play.

 

Definitely a fork in the road for MM&Co.  He has shown the ability to learn but also to be stubborn to his death.  Will he change and improve or stick to what he knows?

GBPG talked to several of the Packers' pending free agents.

 

http://www.packersnews.com/sto...-to-return/22007179/

The Packers... must decide what they want to do with several free agents, most notably wide receiver Randall Cobb. The list also includes cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Davon House, right tackle Bryan Bulaga and special teams ace Jarrett Bush.

Cobb, Bulaga, House and Bush all said they want to be back with the Packers. But each one also pointed out the business of the NFL and, in some cases, it might not be possible.

Cobb said he's made it obvious he wants to return, but he stopped short of guaranteeing it.

"Yeah, I don't know," Cobb said. "I hope. It's a business, so we will have to wait and see."

House wants to come back and said money isn't the biggest thing because he's never considered himself a money-hungry guy.

"I value so many other things: Team, family, most importantly God," House said. "My heart is here. I don't want to play nowhere else, but at the same time. … I don't want to say if I'm not wanted here, but if things don't work out here I just know there is a business side of things. I appreciate that everyone in here wants to be a Packer forever, but the reality is that it's not going to happen."

Bush said he "bleeds green and gold" and wants to get as many teammates back from this season so they can make another run at the Super Bowl.

"I've been here nine years now, and we were so close to getting back to the big game," Bush said. "Hopefully, we can rally up some of the guys. Julius Peppers, myself, Tramon, who are free agents and take another run at it. We have the group, the veterans, the leadership and the playmakers as well to get back to the big game."

Bulaga was happy to end the season healthy for a change and insisted he's not worried about free agency. Instead, he's still trying to get over the loss in Seattle.

"I don't look into that," Bulaga said. "That's really not my decision. That's what happens, that's why guys have agents and people upstairs negotiate deals. At this point it's out of my hands. I'm just more focused on spending time with the guys these last couple days before my wife and I head out and kind of just try to get over what happened the other day. That's really all I'm worried about."

Packers can save $3.75M on the cap by releasing Brad Jones. Can save $3.5M by releasing A.J. Hawk.

 

If both of these don't happen quickly (so the money can be devoted to more worthy players), there ought to be an investigation.

Bush's sentiment is admirable - to get as many FA's back as they can (I admire that dude, too - he does bleed green and gold).  But let's face it, it will be difficult to expect similar production from a one-year older Peppers and Williams next season.

I think Cobb is gone.  Guy is a great luxury to have, but market will be to high to make it worthwhile.  Rodgers makes wide receivers, not the other way around.  

A bunch of good ideas here, but the #1 job the Packers must do this year is

FIRE DON CAPERS.