The Green Bay Packers were supposedly interested in outside linebacker Connor Barwin since he got released from the Philadelphia Eagles.
But no.
We’re done signing free agents for this year and any other year Ted Thompson is on the face of this earth! Because we draw lines in the sand that cannot be crossed, goddammit!
Barwin agreed to a 1-year deal with maximum of $6.5m, source said.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 16, 2017
I’m so sick of saying this. Here’s a guy who could have helped, who the Packers could have afforded and… shit the bed.
Hey, maybe Barwin is washed up. Maybe he’s a loser signing. I don’t really care. The Packers’ defense isn’t getting better by marinating. At least add some damn competition!
You can say it with me, like The Exclusive Company.
Ted Thompson can go f*ck himself.
Bottom 1/3 Defense
– 3 quasi-starters
+ 0 new FA signings
___________________
= Distaster
I like the move for Bennett and Kendricks, leaving Cook behind, otherwise this offseason is a mystery. How is defense going to be BETTER?
ATL was clearly superior at year’s end and they’ve made efforts to improve, but GB has regressed. How can the organization say it is trying to improve? If Rodgers gets hurt in the opener then we are on the clock for 2018 draft.
Yes sir, if Rodgers gets hurt in any game, we’re on the clock…….
Yea Monty agree big time. I’m so sick of this shit. Nothing done to improve D again. In fact we’re fucking worse on D today. How the fuck does Barwin or Poe not warrant interest? Poe was fucking begging for another team to jump into his sweepstakes with all the traveling he did this week. I’m so fucking pissed.
TT is an incompetent fool. Without Rodgers the team is the Browns.
Gave up checking for big splash news years ago when it became crystal clear the only thing Ted does each and every year is suck dick and watch Ellen Degeneres religiously. This team is actually worse than the Browns without AR! All been said over and over, but guess what, not a fucking thing will ever change as long as the freak is running the show….so deal with it! He fucked Favre over and doing the same to Rodgers. He’s got a dick in his ass right now murmuring “I like our guys”
It is time for change I don’t know else to say it… this team will be judged in June.. but my problem with Ted is he doesn’t really scout power 5 conferences… he reaches and now he can’t keep his own players…this could be a bad year.. time will tell but we are dead last I believe with free agency compared to all of the NFL teams…. Ted and Murphy should be shown the door if this backfires… and ticket prices are increasing…lol..
Didn’t you guys know that Bennett will make the defense better too? After we’re done developing him he will be the best damn mediocre OLB conversion project in the league!
The NFL and the NFLPA have forced teams to evolve into college programs in the player acquisition department. In the draft, including undrafted players, teams are only allowed to sign a player for 3, or 4 years. In the case of a first round pick teams get an option for a 5th year, if the player has proven his worth. Free agent signings or contract extensions are very seldom over 5 years and are usually 3 to 4 years in length.
In college first year players are usually not ready to play so they are red shirted. NFL rookies are in many ways not ready to play in the NFL so many do not produce in the first year or are limited in their play. Free agents are a different story. Most have developed physically, mentally, and in their technique. They are no longer freshman or sophomore players, they are seasoned 4 or 5 year seniors. Some may even be of the blue, red, or gold+ type.
many of the top college teams procure several blue and red chip players. Those teams are usually seen playing in the last college game of the year. The only thing limiting those college teams from stock piling all the blue chip players is the limit of 80 something scholarships. The only thing limiting NFL teams from stock piling all the blue chip players is the salary cap and their ability to draft the best player available at the time of their pick.
I think Ron Wolf said you need 18 to 20 Blue, red, or gold+ players to be a Super Bowl team. I just don’t see that TT has compiled, or retained that quantity of blue, red or gold+ players at this time after the start of free agency. Sure some first and second year players may make that jump, the drafted players may have some of those types, unless they are “red shirted”.
Right now it does not appear the 18 to 20 solid to elite players are on this team. I hope I am wrong. I do wonder though how many college teams that play those final college championship games have open scholarships that are not used on blue chip players. I don’t think any.
I understand needing to keep some rainy day money in the salary cap bank. I don’t understand not trying to retain or obtain blue, red, or gold + players in free agency when you still have several scholarships left to hand out.
You are correct on all the facts about draft picks. A lot of that was negotiated in the 2010-11 CBA talks. The owners wanted to reign in the escalating salary’s of 1st round pick. In that exercise, you have to give up, to get.
You’ll probably remember Bradfords rookie deal guaranteeing him 50 million, or J Russell fleecing the Raiders out of 36 million.
Also, if you keep 8-10 millions EACH year, under the salary cap. That is then money, never spent.
We don’t need to overpay for another Mike Neal! Your wished for desperation signings would only accomplish making us perennial losers with no cap room. Meanwhile, the players we’ve lost to free agency that you are panicking about are the same mediocre players that you complain aren’t good enough to play with Aaron Rodgers. We definitely have key positions to fill yet, but screaming the sky is falling is unbecoming of any Packer faithful.
That’s good stuff Mark. But let me ask you….
When the Falcons were up 31-0 in the 3rd quarter, you didn’t feel the sky falling?
In that same game, to go to the Super Bowl, while watching the defense give up 500 yards and 44 points, you didn’t feel the sky falling?
The problem with Ted is that he fixes today’s problems a year or two late. And by then, we have that year’s holes to patch up. So we are always lagging behind and not seriously contending.
A year or two is being kind. How many years did it take to get our 0 line solid? Aren’t we still looking for that standout LB?
Not only did Ted not make any REAL improvements on defense, he created a major problem again now with the 0 line. I won’t fault him about Lacy, but we still have a rb need.
Oh, that’s because I am very kind. Getting something fixed doesn’t mean it has now to be league leading. At least for me it means that it is no longer a glaring weaknesses, like our dynamic duo of Brad Jones and AJ Hawk. Our new guys may not be earth shattering, but they are acceptable. Now we have a void in our O line and at CB. The RB position needs one more guy, and he doesn’t have to be the lead back. Between Montgomery, Rip and this hypothetical new guy they can split the carries. And Monty may have improved his pass protection.
I don’t recall anyone saying the new guys had to be league leading, including myself. But it seems, speaking for other people is now in vogue here.
I guess being acceptable is a judgement call. I wouldn’t call Martinez being benched a standard of being acceptable. but it’s your world.
We’ll have to see if Montgomery’s blocking improves, but he has a long way to go from very raw.
I can relate to the frustration being shared by ardent Packers fans so candidly on these posts. I dare say, that Aaron Rodgers is partly to blame. He been playing lights out since 2009, and in so doing, has covered the blemishes of Packers Defense and TT’s acquisitions. Remember 2009 playoff vs. AZ our defense gave up 51 points. And unfortunately that has continued except for 1 year when the Packers finally assembled a solid defense – the year they won the SB. But since then, every year, without any doubt, the defense has been the Achilles heel for the Pack. I always felt we should have been more aggressive and added Peppers when the Bears signed him for 4 years before that especially since we lost Cullin Jenkins on defense. That would have been a Reggie White type move but we waited 4 years. Even so, 4 years later, Peppers played lights out the first year but we lost due to Special Teams play vs Seattle, or we would have made it to the Superbowl in 2013.
That brings me to my point, that last year I feel AR should not have thrown the desperate hail mary’s to kill Detroit which then got us into the Playoffs. At least then we could have built up with some higher draft picks. And maybe this year too. As long as we keep making the playoffs, TT will not change his ways. Even if we don’t make the playoffs, we will simply benefit from higher draft picks since TT is loath to making aggressive acquisitions in FA.
I respect your post and your thoughts in it.
We can’t “blame” Rodgers for playing well and covering up sins of the team and still making the playoffs. But i will say a lot of very intelligent football people have been saying that same thing for years. players, coaches, GM’s and some talking heads.
In other words, they are saying that this team is nothing without Rodgers. Anyone disagreeing with that is a fool to me. One GM recently said, about the Packers success, i’m paraphrasing…How can this team not be successful with 2 HOF QB’s the last 25 years. Something i’ve been saying for awhile.
It’s not easy these days…but keep the faith brother.