Ah, the genius of Jon Gruden. Witness it and marvel! When we were talking about the Oakland Raiders fire sale, we mentioned veteran pass rusher Bruce Irvin as a possible target for the Green Bay Packers.
The Raiders didn’t trade Irvin before the deadline. Instead, they released him on Saturday.
That surely sounds pretty stupid and the Raiders have plenty of that — stupid. However, it’s possible Irvin’s $9 million salary was a non-starter for some teams when it came to a trade.
The good news is, anyone can sign Irvin now for whatever they want. Well, almost…
Irvin is subject to waivers. If a team were to claim him, they’d be on the hook for about $4 million in salary over the course of the remainder of the season. Most likely, Irvin will not be claimed. He would then become an unrestricted free agent.
And that’s when the Packers should make a call.
Irvin was miscast with the Raiders this season. They ran a 4-3 and had Irvin at defensive end. Irvin is much better suited to playing a 3-4 outside linebacker. That’s an area where the Packers have been lacking. And yes, I am looking directly at you Nick Perry, you overpaid bum.
Clay Matthews hasn’t been great, but he’s had some moments and played a hell of a game last week. Reggie Gilbert hasn’t come on like expected and Kyler Fackrell is still Kyler Fackrell.
So the Packers could use some juice at the position.
Consider this. The team leaders in sacks are a nose tackle (Kenny Clark), an inside linebacker (Blake Martinez) and Fackrell. They are tied with four sacks. Fackrell got three of his sacks in garbage time against the Bills.
Irvin has three sacks this season, even though his playing time had diminished to almost nothing.
Also, horseface. Irvin currently leads the league in horseface.
Nonetheless, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst best be on the phone to Irvin’s agent tomorrow.
Shoot… that detail about Fackrell’s sacks puts everything in context.
He got three of them against a Bills team playing catch up, which means more long-pass attempts overall, i.e., with the QB needing to hold on to the ball for longer. At the same time, if it was clear it was a pass, he didn’t need to pay attention to the run and fully commit to go after the QB.
Regarding Irvin, could we get him now for those 4M, assuming he would help this team get a shot in the playoffs? Didn’t we free some money by HaHa’s release?
He is off the books after the season, and we would have to renegotiate a deal, assuming he wants to stay.
Kyler Fackrell – proof of the statement, ‘no good deed goes unpunished’.
If we need Bruce Irvin as a means of giving the Packers a shot of getting in the playoffs, what does that tell you about this team?
Better yet, what does signing Irwin accomplish if he gets us in the playoffs? Is he the missing piece to winning the Super Bowl this year, or more likely keeping McCarthy around if we reached the playoffs?
No thank you.
I have no problem with this team going 6-10, absolutely NO PROBLEM. If you feel my view is bullshit because you think this team can get to the Super Bowl, then i can’t help you.
Gute will go get a second punter before he ever looks at the OLB position on this team.
Well you have to pay one but not the other…
Where are all of the Packers fans pounding the table for Jon Gruden to be the Packers’ head coach??? Where did they all go?
Came here to say that.
I don’t recall all that many people saying get Gruden, if some did, consider the source. I commented, as one other person did, that it isn’t our job to find a replacement. Trouble is, under the new current power structure, we really don’t know whose job it is. Maybe Murphy’s, but can any Packer fan tell me that’s a good idea?
But then again, we could stick with the same voice and just keep doing what we are doing. Not getting into the Super Bowl. Doing the same thing and expecting different results, you know the saying.
Broken.
Irvin has never had over 8 sacks in a season. Irvin played in a 4-3 for 4 years at Seattle so to say Irvin was miscast with the Raiders in a 4-3 might be a slight stretch. Irvin is average, but who knows maybe an average rotational pass rusher, if at a low price, may be what the Packers need at OLB.
For next season, if at a bargain.
Halftime…”Josh Spriggs will continue to play for Bulaga and safety ahhh (looks at notes) Kev…Kevin King is also questionable with a hamstring.” – Michelle Tafoya
Do much prep work honey?