Jimmy Graham (80) looks on against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
For years now, the Packers have been shopping for bargain-basement receivers. When will it stop? In my previous post I listed draftees including: Charles Johnson and Kevin Dorsey (Round 7, 2013), and tight ends like D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor (Round 7, 2011), and Andrew Quarless (Round 5, 2010).
Outside of the draft room, the team has also has tried to bring in a host of marginal players for Rodgers to throw at. How about, roughly in order from now going back to 2012, Max McCaffrey, Emanuel Byrd, Michael Clark, Justin Perillo, Brandon Bostick, Jarrett Boykin, Ryan Taylor, Chris Harper, Jeremy Ross, Jake Stoneburner, Myles White, and Tom Crabtree.
I left out Geronimo Allison, though I’ve never felt he’s got solid athleticism. Also, Jake Kumerow, Robert Tonyan, and Lance Kendricks, who still have some chance of providing real value to the offense.
Speaking of receivers, the Packers made a whopper of a blunder in 2016, and they are still paying for it. They went out and got Jared Cook, a large and very athletic tight end who in my eyes had proven himself over seven years in Tennessee and St. Louis. Though hampered by injuries, his talent showed again in his year in Green Bay.
The Packers should have signed Cook up for three years, but they apparently didn’t want to take such a risk. Cook left for Oakland after his one-year deal expired. In 2017, he had 54 catches for 688 yards, 12.7 yards per catch. In 2018, he had 61 catches for 825 yards, 13.5 YPC, and six TDs. And this was with a terrible team, and quarterbacked by Derek Carr.
Meanwhile the Packers blew it in 2017 by quickly trying to fill the void with Marcellus Bennett, and didn’t do much better with Jimmy Graham in 2018. Both players were also highly overpaid.
Of course I’ve already proposed one way to bring in a quality receiver this season: Jordy! (see here)
I would agree with Tonyan and Kumerow, but i’d have to say with Lance Kendricks, he is what he is, He’s like Nick Perry in a way. If he didn’t play, no one would notice.
With Cook, according to everything i’ve read, and people i’ve heard. It wasn’t about the Packers unwillingness to take a chance on Cook. It was more about negotiations with Cooks agent vs. Ball and/or Ted. Cooks agent was trying to overplay his hand, so the Packers paid more to get Bennett to square the agents ass. Which they did. But….was it in the best interest of the team, or was it just more personal?
Good write up Rob.
Side note….i’ll repeat myself one last time. Usually people get considered for promotions and raise in pay, by excelling at their job, they earn it. What did Ball do to earn consideration to be the GM? Does he even have player scouting back round? Is he somehow qualified in any other way that he possesses the skill to evaluate player talent? The only thing i’ve seen Russ Ball do, is over pay and structure bad contracts. but regardless of that, his buddy Murphy wanted to make him GM, instead he gave him new job title promotions and i’m sure a raise in pay. Did Murphy do this in the best interest of the team (like he preaches)? Or is he helping out, like he did with Ted (pay him and send him back to Texas) and McCarthy (sneak in a 1 year 9 million dollar extension and keep it a secret). All for the good of the team? I don’t think so.
Also, as i have also stated before…..When you have a cancer, you don’t just remove 60% and keep your fingers crossed. You have to remove 100% of it, and hope that any residual after that doesn’t come back. Well, they dismissed 3, that’s 60%. It’s high time the rest of the disease (Ball and Murphy) are eradicated, if there is any hope of a full recovery.
TICK TOCK
Touche’ with Fans like you there is hope for the future. Why is this asshole russ von Low Ball in the building??
Let’s see here…
Martellus Bennett- $8mil for seven games and next to nothing for production
Jimmy Graham- $18mil within his first year for two touchdowns
Cobb- $40mil for a #3 receiver and a bag of dicks
Good thing they got rid of that overpaid Nelson guy who was willing to take a pay cut. This team needs to save all the money they can. Maybe they should ask Rodgers to give up some of his money so they can build a better team around him, LOL. With these decision makers?? Are you kidding me??
How long before these two, Ball and Murphy, are shown the door? One more bad season? Do they ride it out until Rodgers calls it quits? Do they make it beyond that? Is Murphy stuck in his position because of the Titletown development and they don’t want to axe him right in the middle of it? Is Murphy still trying to take over for the Ginger Hammer? Will the NFL even let him do that with how bad his public speaking is? If one thing is clear, it’s that Ginger Gap Tooth and the Ginger Hammer don’t give a shit about anything but money. Our team or league is a complete mess but fuck it, at least our numbers are up!
Arguing about coaching vs player acquisition is only part of the picture. The other part is contracts and I’ll admit that is something I know very little about other than noticing when someones production grossly mismatches their pay, which unfortunately happens quite a bit in GB.
I hope Rodgers’ morale is not broken to the point of him sayin “screw this, we are not getting even at screaming distance of a superbowl”. He could have waited his contract out and then resigned with any other team with contending aspirations. JAX, for example, had a great team minus a capable QB at that time.
Just like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson? I guess we’ll find out after this year with what kind of hope the new coaching staff brings to the table. Then again, it’s not just the coaching staff. It’s player acquisition and contracts also. We can’t be drafting multiple conversion projects in the first round and paying them $11mil after one decent season out the last five.
Or 58 million after one decent season.
Yea MJ, i previously wondered about Rodgers saying fuck this, and wanting a trade. And if you can keep a secret, i wouldn’t have minded that much and wouldn’t have blamed him at all. Please don’t tell anyone i said that.
Thanks.
Lol Cheese….” Is Murphy stuck in his position because of the Titletown development and they don’t want to axe him right in the middle of it?”
I’ve wondered that same thing myself.
Ya know fuck it…i’ll just say it. I’d consider it a miracle if the Packers got to another Super Bowl with Rodgers. This team is so far away in talent compared with the 96 and 2010 team it’s almost a joke.
So much damage done, some still being done. It would take an act of God to recover from this in a short time frame.
Murphy should have been removed first, his replacement hires the new GM and the rest takes care of itself. the disease is still in the building. I don’t think most fans completely understand the (actual) current state of this Franchise.
Tick Tock
Watch, all this new “development” is just job security for Murphy, which means job security for just about everyone. The more they keep developing, the longer the Murphy Mafia keeps their jobs. Better continue buying up all that real estate!
Yeah, I couldn’t think of what Perry’s total contract was and didn’t really care to look. Add it to the pile of financial blunders.
Unfortunately i know most of that shit off the top of my head. i knew it was about 58 million and just figured it’s close enough.
I don’t think Murphy has much time left. the fire is close to him, and he’s next in line as being the fall guy. There is no one left.
Under Murphy’s close watch….this team’s goal is now just to make the playoffs after missing two years in a row. He can no longer stand in front of a camera, puff out his chest about how many consecutive playoff appearance’s. If we don’t make the playoffs this season under his new structure, he should be fired at the sound of the gun at the end of week 17. If we made it but end up one and done, it should be the same.
Stick a fork in him unless Rodgers skill can once again provide him with the luxury of being unaccountable.
If this team, continues to not show any improvement year to year. Next year if Murphy doesn’t get fired i might… end up in Brown County Jail. I will wear a shirt with big letters PF4L, so ya’ll will know to bail me out :)