The Green Bay Packers continue to focus on other team’s defensive linemen in free agency. The latest guy they’re showing interest in is Oakland’s Vance Walker.
Walker is will visit Green Bay, unless the Chiefs sign him first. He’s in Kansas City today.
That’s how things went with another defensive lineman, Pittsburgh’s Al Woods. The Packers were supposed to have him in today, but he visited Tennessee on Wednesday and they signed him. That’s pretty much the Packers’ free agency M.O. — a day late and a dollar short.
You have to wonder if they don’t just offer to fly guys in knowing they’re going to sign somewhere else first to appease the fans. “Hey, look everybody! We’re being active in free agency!”
Conspiracy theories aside, the Packers have seemingly been looking long and hard at ways to improve their defensive line. That doesn’t say much for the guys who started there last year — B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett and Johnny Jolly. All three are free agents and we haven’t heard a thing about any of them — from the Packers or any other team.
The Packers, meanwhile, have been linked to Oakland’s Lamarr Houston, Baltimore’s Arthur Jones, Woods and now Walker. The first three all have new teams who are not the Packers, of course.
Walker is pretty interesting. We haven’t heard a lot about him, but his production has increased during each of the five years he’s been in the league. In 2013, he had 40 tackles and three sacks.
If you combine Raji and Pickett’s 2013 numbers in those categories they would not equal Walker’s. That’s right, I said combine. That’s because neither of those clowns even reached 20 tackles and neither had a sack last year.
Walker is 6-2, 305, and played last season under a one-year, $2 million deal.
Teddy well on his way to spending all the cap money on the stars that helped us go 2-5-1 when AR went down. Absolutely no reason to add any additional talent like everyone else is. He’ll get Raji next, just watch. What a fruit cake
The worst part about the offseason is you forget the changes you were going to make this time, put guys on notice, all that shit to stir the pot a little bit on that side of the ball. Looks like Ted got reflective and still thinks these guys can play which means the defense will be shit for going on year 6 and we will be having this same conversation next March.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, I feel Rodgers will have a career just like Bert. Early success where the sky is the limit, then years of mediocrity and what could have beens. What if he had a better defense…a better line…shouldn’t these be addressed? Is the money that good and the jobs so secure that Packer’s executives can sit back and not give 2 shits? I don’t care how rich I was, I care about winning.
Remember the defense was suppose to be fixed when all they drafted was D two years ago? Shouldn’t these draftees developed by now?
Definition of insanity….?
yeah…
“(…) the Packers have seemingly been looking long and hard at ways to improve their defensive line”.
How?!!
I don’t see anything….
Well, he signed with the Chiefs. Back to the drawing board, I guess. – Los
I agree with you all. Ted has been an absolute disaster building a defense. Almost every move he’s made on that side of the ball in the past 3 years has been worse than awful. Weak players continue to get rewarded while producers are shunned.
Let Cullen Jenkins go sign but signed unproductive AJ Hawk to a crazy extension.
Let Bishop go but signed unproductive Brad Jones.
Signed unproductive Morgan Burnett to an extension.
Offering unproductive Raji any type of contract.
Kept unproductive MD Jennings and MicMillian on the roster for several years.
It’s pretty sad when the fan base is better at evaluating defensive personnel than the GM.
Say what you want, but I don’t think this defense is all that far away from being decent.
Decent, not stellar.
Dudes I expect to take a significant step forward in 2014:
Datone, Perry, Neal
Guys I expect to become contributors:
J Boyd, Jerel Worthy
Guys on the cusp of being big difference makers:
M. Daniels, M Hyde, S. Sheilds
Finally, guys I expect a significant bounceback from:
M. Burnett and C Matthews:
Via FA or draft,,,where we need one more addition at
Def End and ILB.
This defense is 1 or 2 additions away from being decent.
For the costs, Arthur Jones and Lamar Houston were not the missing link.
Be patient, there is a plenty of value left to be had.
Normally I would agree not to break the bank for a free agent, but this defense needs a spark, a kick in the ass to put guys on notice and get something going. I feel like they are going backwards on that side of the ball and going into this year crossing their fingers again. Shit I said that two years ago though.
“This defense is 1 or 2 additions away from being decent”.
Decent in not good enough to another SuperBowl…
It’s a shame to throw away A-Rod best years.
I don´t see GB in the SuperBowl any time soon…
We are wasting Brett/A-Rod’s best years. That is one of my favorite moronic myths.
Joe Flacco, of all fricking people, won a Super Bowl with a 17th ranked defense. Drew Brees did it with a 27th ranked defense.
Packers Defensive Rank, on average, since TT took over:
14th
Defensive Rank of Super Bowl Champion, on average, since TT took over:
12th
Doesn’t quite vibe with the fantasies being suggested here.
I fail to see the logic of blaming TT for the defense while giving him no credit for the offense. Essentially that is a zero sum argument.
No, no GM has ever been hired, fired or awarded Executive of the Year based off the ranking of their offense or defense. Instead, its called WINNING.
I’ll gladly do 2011 over again. I don’t give a shit if you win with the 1st ranked offense and the 32nd ranked defense or the 1st ranked defense and the 32nd ranked offense. JUST WIN, BABY.
Ah, so you don’t need a great defense to win championships. It’s all starting to make sense to me now. Why not sign AJ Hawk, Brad Jones and Morgan Burnett to extensions if it that’s truly the case. Heck, why did we let MD Jennings go?
In case you missed it we haven’t been “winning” the last three years in the playoffs. In fact we haven’t even competed well on the defensive side of the ball. I’m sure you’re one of the folks that will be happy for life that Ted was part of that one Super Bowl win. Keep up the good work of trashing Ted bashers.