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Per Ian Rap:

Jimmy Graham appears set to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers for another season.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that when the Packers prepare for the offseason, they do so with the belief that Graham will be back for 2019, a source said.

The tight end is due a $5 million roster bonus on March 15, and the expectation now is they pay it, and he returns, according to Rapoport

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For those who don't recall this, the Packers led the NFL, and when I say led I mean the next team wasn't even a close 2nd in passes to the perimeters of the field. Time and again, MM refused to use the middle of the field. A ton of passes went to the sidelines. 

Guessing MLF, while reviewing the Packers 2018 offense, noticed this and said a lot of "what the fu**'s" and then said let's try using Graham correctly. 

packerboi posted:

Guessing MLF, while reviewing the Packers 2018 offense, noticed this and said a lot of "what the fu**'s" and then said let's try using Graham correctly. 

During Murphy's 20 minute soliloquy before introducing MLF, he said MLF was the most prepared and knew all the Packers players well. There was also that story that he had an iPAD for each (Murph, Gutekunst, Ball) in the interview but they never looked at them. What if those iPADs contained clips of Packers plays, and instead of analyzing what they did on each play, MLF highlighted their missed opportunities?

Last edited by H5
packerboi posted:

For those who don't recall this, the Packers led the NFL, and when I say led I mean the next team wasn't even a close 2nd in passes to the perimeters of the field. Time and again, MM refused to use the middle of the field. A ton of passes went to the sidelines. 

Guessing MLF, while reviewing the Packers 2018 offense, noticed this and said a lot of "what the fu**'s" and then said let's try using Graham 

Watching training camp you could see that MM was only running perimeter plays with the rookie WRs.  Once Allison and Cobb went down it was apparent that is all they were going to run.  Without Cobb they really didn’t have a true slot receiver on the team. Combine this with the lack of Jordy on the slant which was a bread and butter and it’s like half of their passing offense was missing.

 The lack of using Graham was dumbfounding.  In camp his speed at TE really stood out. 

Last edited by GratefulPack

Most fans were disappointed by Graham's production in 2018.  Hell, even he said that his numbers sucked.  With that said, Graham was still the 9th best TE numbers wise in the league with 55 catches for 636 yards for an average of over 11 yards per catch.  My guess is that MLF will get a lot more production out of Graham in 2019.

I don't know if I should post this or not, but after week 6, Graham was on a pace for 72 receptions and 931 yards.  Those numbers would have been records for a TE in GB.  Finley has the reception record with 61.  And West has the yardage record with 834 (I believe).  He might have had more TD opportunities if he had not received so much red zone attention.  But things began to go down when he broke his hand.  

PackerPatrick posted:

I agree Heckler, I doubt Graham was used properly. Yet I also think he has probably lost a step and injury has played a role esp toward the end of the season. I hope that a healthy offseason and new scheme will have him ready to play a larger role this year. Besides, we don’t have anybody else yet.

I hate to blame injuries but I think in Graham's case I think it may have been a factor as the season went along.  I think we will know pretty quickly this year with a new offensive scheme if he still can play or not.

I remember the first game of the year vs. the Bears - Fangio was terrified of Graham, so he doubled/blanketed him on practically every single play.

Yes as season progressed JG also had knee/thumb issues & still played. Hopeful the Pack can squeeze 1 solid year out of him in 2019. 75 catches 800-1,000 yds & 8 TD's would be perfect because the WR's & RB's will take the bulk of the scoring

Brainwashed Boris posted:

I remember the first game of the year vs. the Bears - Fangio was terrified of Graham, so he doubled/blanketed him on practically every single play.

Yes as season progressed JG also had knee/thumb issues & still played. Hopeful the Pack can squeeze 1 solid year out of him in 2019. 75 catches 800-1,000 yds & 8 TD's would be perfect because the WR's & RB's will take the bulk of the scoring

Every time JG gets double covered it opens a possibility for another receiver. He makes a great decoy. And his numbers were not all that bad (except in the red zone). I don’t see him as the threat he used to be but paired with other threats and if he is healthy he is worth another year. After that who knows? I read that his third year has a possible out for the team. But we do need another TE regardless.

and while we are at it why not bring back Lewis back as well? Won’t cost much.

https://packerswire.usatoday.c...s-sense-for-packers/

Last edited by PackerPatrick
Henry posted:

 

GBFanForLife posted:

How do you use a guy correctly that stumbles and falls on most catches? 

 

I wonder if that's the case for all the other TEs that were never used correctly.  

By other TEs do you mean the uber talented TE prodigies like Richard Rodgers and Andrew Quarless? By my estimation there have only been 2 legit TEs (Finley, Cook) MM had been given and bother were seemingly used well enough considering the talent around them that deserved the lions share of touches. There wasn't going to be time for Rodgers to wait for Graham to get open plodding down the seam anyway, which I'm assuming is what everyone means by "used correctly". "Using him correctly" wasn't going to be the difference for this offense anyway, the dysfunction ran deeper than that.  

I'm surprised that they want to keep Graham because this scheme (based on what we've seen of McVay and Shannahan) seems to favor move TE's like Jordan Reed or George Kittle. McVay hasn't utilized a TE hardly at all in LA. Graham is athletic, but more of inline TE like Gronk. 

Pakrz posted:

Most fans were disappointed by Graham's production in 2018.  Hell, even he said that his numbers sucked.  With that said, Graham was still the 9th best TE numbers wise in the league with 55 catches for 636 yards for an average of over 11 yards per catch.  My guess is that MLF will get a lot more production out of Graham in 2019.

I'm not so optimistic.   I didn't see him creating any separation.   Now, with his body type he doesn't need a ton and I think that's why he still got 600 yards, but that seems to be his ceiling now.    There is the factor that there was no scheming him open, but still, with his speed and RAC ability, I would suggest he shouldn't be a focal point.  

One last point, he can't block for shit.   I don't see that playing well with Boots with LeFur. 

Last edited by BrainDed

Shit oline, beat up QB, dumpster fire coaching, general discord.  

I'll wait till next year to form opinions on who did or didn't play well.  The fact Ankles was absolutely crushing it speaks more to how damn good he is vs. anything else that wreck of an offense was doing.

And yes, bring back Lewis but I wonder if he's hanging 'em up.

Last edited by Henry

Graham didn't take advantage of various opportunities we all saw this season.  However he did draw a lot of coverage early in the year until defenses figured out they didn't have to focus on him as much as they were.  The concurrent problem was the WR drop off after 17, predominantly in the slot. OR GB needed to stress both boundaries on plays they wanted to get Graham the ball between the hashes.  Instead, defenses could focus on 17...and then everyone else without worrying about Graham because he wasn't really hurting anyone anymore.  He needs a legit #2 WR as much as the offense does.

Pakrz posted:

Most fans were disappointed by Graham's production in 2018.  Hell, even he said that his numbers sucked.  With that said, Graham was still the 9th best TE numbers wise in the league with 55 catches for 636 yards for an average of over 11 yards per catch.  My guess is that MLF will get a lot more production out of Graham in 2019.

Well 2019 hasn't worked out for shit.  I'll be pretty damn disappointed if Gute brings this guy back, especially at his current salary.  He's terrible at this point in his career. 

This smells like a I'm retiring tweet..



DH13 posted:

Graham didn't take advantage of various opportunities we all saw this season.  However he did draw a lot of coverage early in the year until defenses figured out they didn't have to focus on him as much as they were.  The concurrent problem was the WR drop off after 17, predominantly in the slot. OR GB needed to stress both boundaries on plays they wanted to get Graham the ball between the hashes.  Instead, defenses could focus on 17...and then everyone else without worrying about Graham because he wasn't really hurting anyone anymore.  He needs a legit #2 WR as much as the offense does.

It's not groundhog day yet but I posted this almost a year ago.

These assertions of needing skill position talent are unfounded.

That said, I'm not sure what Graham has to offer at this point.  I would like to see if EQ can come back and continue to grow.  He seemed to be getting a lot of slot snaps and being a tall SOB himself he and Graham could possibly do some damage.  Lazard and EQ are wildcards IMO.  Get a legit #2 and those two guys could come up big.  At minimum they would make a solid 3 and 4 for now.  How Graham plays into it or if he plays into it at all remains to be seen and it would appear Lazard was getting TE looks already (DH13 is a meanie).  Considering how unclear the roles are outside of Adams anything is possible. 

Gmo, MVS and WWJ need to find employment elsewhere along with Graham's cap number.

Last edited by Henry
michiganjoe posted:

My guess is it's pretty much a complete overhaul at wideout beyond Adams. Sternberger blocked much better than I had anticipated and am excited to see what he can do in his second year.

Yep. Sternberger will stick for obvious reasons. I think Lazard, MVS and EQ come in as camp bodies. If they shock MLF and the offense and look worlds better, then wonderful. But I do not believe Gutey is going to assume any of that. He will make whole sale changes regardless, starting in FA.

Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper among a couple of names to replace Graham. Ebron, Hollister, Tyler Eifert, etc are cheaper options as well.      

Tonyan had an injury to deal with but the expectations for him didn't quite work out. Really thought the three drafted receivers would work out a lot better than they did and his whole 2018 draft was pretty disappointing other than the first-round pick.

In retrospect, it's pretty obvious the roster TT handed off to him wasn't as good as many thought.

michiganjoe posted:

In retrospect, it's pretty obvious the roster TT handed off to him wasn't as good as many thought.

Gutey has already gutted most of the defensive talent TT left for him.

He will definitely let Fackrell go without much fight in free agency and my guess from his reaction after the loss on Sunday is that Martinez knows he's not getting paid by GB either.

Thus, after just over 2 years of Gutey on the job, the only defensive holdovers from TT's final roster who will likely remain on the roster as of  March of 2020 are Kenny Clark, Kevin King, and Dean Lowry.

And you got to think that Gutey is kicking himself for giving Lowry a new contract last off-season.

Henry posted:

 

Gmo, MVS and WWJ need to find employment elsewhere along with Graham's cap number.

Gmo is FA, I am guessing he gone.

MVS under contract through 2021 season...granted cutting him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but given his speed, I am guessing they hang on to him one more year at least to see if they can coach his hands up.

Graham's cap number is a problem. So is Linsley's. Linsley would be the 6th highest paid C in the NFL at $8.5M, ahead of guys like Alex Mack, Markeice Pouncey and Travis Frederick.

There is fat to be trimmed.

 

Here's the best site I've found for this. 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/cap/

Graham is set to earn 12 million next year between his salary and roster bonus, but only counts 3.7 million against the cap if they release him. I could see Gute offering him 4 or 5 million to keep him around. He's not worth 12 million, but he might be worth keeping around for an extra 1 million relative to what he'll cost to cut. 

Graham should be gone. I know Rodgers likes him, but he's just not physically capable anymore. I'd rather keep Lewis for a small contract. Tonyan I see as a field stretcher, while Sternberger is probably more well-rounded and a better blocker. In a two-TE set, any combination of the three could be dynamic.

I think we keep Lazard and MVS. They both come cheap and I still think Lazard has some skills our WRs sorely lack, namely toughness and willingness to fight for contested balls. Lazard would benefit by working out with Adams all offseason to learn more about quickness, route-running, and setting up defenders.

Bulaga is a no-brainer to keep, but I wouldn't pay him top, top dollar unless he can stay on the field. If Veldheer is willing to come back, I'd go with him. Hopefully, Madison can push or take over for Turner. Lindsley... I think we're stuck with him. It would be tough to jettison Bulaga and Lindsley and not have Veldheer return. Madison has barely played in two years, and we really don't know if he can play at this level. Taylor is gone -- how fast did he go downhill?!

On D, we're in a 50-50 situation with Tramon. Had a better year than anyone thought he would, but he's closer to 40 than Rodgers is. How much longer can he keep it up and do we want to bet on that? Greene/Campbell are pretty interchangeable. 

While I like Martinez for his field general capabilities, I don't want to have to pay him top-10 coin because he's flat up against his athletic ceiling. If Martinez came cheap, I'd keep him for depth and break in someone new; if he wants $8 million, let someone else pay it. Basically, unless Summers shows something new this spring, we have to start from scratch at the ILB position and we probably need to get some OLBs behind the Smiths.

Big decisions to make...

I feel like Graham was improved from last year.    I don't think he is deserving of his current contract, but I give him credit for buying into the new coaches system, MLF is only 7 years older,  and being a good teammate.  

His blocking improved drastically this year.   He made some off the ball plays that contributed to points / wins.   

Thanks for your time here Jimmy, but you're not an elite pass catcher anymore so GBP can't afford to pay you like you are. 

MichiganPacker2 posted:

Here's the best site I've found for this. 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/cap/

Graham is set to earn 12 million next year between his salary and roster bonus, but only counts 3.7 million against the cap if they release him. I could see Gute offering him 4 or 5 million to keep him around. He's not worth 12 million, but he might be worth keeping around for an extra 1 million relative to what he'll cost to cut. 

To be fair he's making $8M, the cap hit is $12M. Either way he's not a value at either price. I imagine he will call it a career rather than hang on at a lower price or start over with a new team. 

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