Total Packers may not be the most highly-credentialed Packers’ news source, but I’ll put our record, as prognosticators and truth tellers, up against any of the-renowned media organizations and on-line sites. I’ve gone back about a month on the TP site, and we’ weren’t the guys who day after day ran long articles or podcasts advocating that Green Bay sign up soon-to-be free agents who were expected to get contracts averaging from $10 to $20 million annually.
Over the past few weeks, various pundits – some dedicated solely to Packers content and others who cover the entire NFL, have tried to lure readers into thinking the Packers were pursuing, or should be, any number of NFL stars who were completely out of the team’s price range.
What follows is a quick list of players who others spotlighted, most of whom were about to become free agents; in some cases the players were under contracts, but the hope was the Packers would acquire them via trades.
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson was thought to be who the Packers needed. The Bears ended up placing the franchise tag, for $18M for a year, on him.
Corey Davis signed up with the cash-rich Jets for 3-years for $37.5M. His cap hit will only be $9M this season, but will balloon to over $15M in 2022.
Will Fuller, after being with Houston for his first five years, was picked up by the Dolphins for one year – his contract price, cap hit, and dead cap were all $10.625M.
Curtis Samuel, a former Panther, on March 18 signed a 3-year $34.5 deal with the Washington Football Team
Defensive Linemen
DE Leonard Williams the 6th overall draft pick in 2015, chose to stay with the Giants. His 3-year deal is for $63M. For the upcoming year alone, he has a cap hit of $11M and a dead cap of $45M.
Five-time All Pro and Pro Bowler J.J. Watt’s 2-year deal was for $28M.
Cornerbacks
Nine-year veteran Stephon Gilmore is in the midst of a 5-year deal for $65M, and he carries a cap hit of over $15M into the 2021 season. The Patriots now say they are not actively shopping him.
Patrick Peterson agreed to a 1-year deal with the Vikings for $10M, including incentives not likely to be met.
Kyle Fuller’s 2-year deal, for $27M, with a 2021 cap hit of $20M was set to expire next year. Instead, the Bears released him and he quickly agreed to a 1-year $9.5M deal with Denver.
Kenny Golladay and the Giants have agreed to a 4-year $72M contract. Golladay’s loss will be a significant one for the Lions.
Others prominently mentioned as being possible signees by the Packers have included CB K.J. Wright, WR Golden Tate, RB Chris Carson (when it appeared Aaron Jones was departing), and WR Emmanuel Sanders (the 34-year-old went to the Bills). While none of these outcomes was or is likely, at least they aren’t sheer fantasy.
Total Packers Coverage
Instead of writing fantasy articles, TP writers have been speaking the truth: the Packers were then, and still are, tapped out due to the salary cap. There was no way Green Bay team was going to acquire players who would command such substantial salaries.
The only possible way, short of releasing, say, David Bakhtiari or Davante Adams, to get such players and remain under the salary cap would have been to resort to even more restructures, which would have jeopardized the team’s prospects for years to come. In my opinion, the Packers reached a nice balance with their restructuring efforts.
As I’ve been saying, the team already has too many star players. So many big contracts – starting with Aaron Rodgers, who has the league’s biggest salary cap hit this season – are the cause of the financial crisis we’re seeing.
We’ve got enough stars. What the Packers realistically need are some solid, middle-of-the-road player additions – guys who can capably man the positions most in need while the front office works its way back to financial solvency.
Back to the Future
Let’s get back to reality. For the team to return to financial health, I can almost guarantee that over the next two seasons, the front office will have to let go or trade at least two more of their current or emerging stars. I doubt that will happen to Rodgerrs, Adams, Bakhtiari, or Alexander, but it might well happen to any of the four who created the problem: the Smiths, Adrian Amos, and Billy Turner.
Other candidates include Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Robert Tonyan in 2022, and Elgton Jenkins, Darnell Savage, and Rashan Garry in 2023. When their current contracts end, these five players all might be in store for deals like the one Corey Linsley just got from the Lions. I’d note that I’m keeping my fingers crossed until April 23, which is the final day another team can make an offer on RFA Tonyan.
It might sound like I blame Brian Gutekunst for the Packers current financial struggles. A good case for that can certainly be made, but I’ve come to terms with the general manager since he came on board in 2018. Gutekunst had a definite plan in 2019, it was risky, and he boldly executed it. That he managed this month to keep Aaron Jones on the team, while only losing one key veteran, was yet another example of bold but brilliant decision making by the GM.
At this point, I’d have to say that Gutekunst’s bold moves have more than offset his blunders. Where the GM has faltered has been in his draft selections. But with 10 draft picks this season, he’ll have a chance to improve on that record in just over a month.
Gutekunst’s moves have resulted in two trips to the conference championship game, and I view a third consecutive trip as likely this season. I’m sure that Gutey had a good idea of what the repercussions of acquiring four upper tier players in 2019 would be in 2021, 2022, and even 2023.
What he didn’t predict was the pandemic, which caused the salary cap going down rather than up. I’m not about to blame him for that.
Breaking News: Kevin King has be re-signed for one year for $6,000,000. I can only hope that King’s enormous drop-off in ability has been largely due to injuries he’s tried to play through.
Golladay is of course a receiver. Of all the inflated deals this season, him getting $18M per year from the Giants seems the most foolhardy – Davante Adams gets only $14.5M per season. Golladay is big but not fast, was but a third-round pick, played for a lesser college (Northern Illinois), and missed most of last season (including both GB games) with a hip injury, and he’ll be 28 in November. He’s not real productive: for his career, he’s caught only 58% of the throws to him. He has averaged over 15 yards per catch in all four seasons, however.
Which should give you an idea of what Davante Adams is going to want in his new contract.
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It should be noted that one of the side effects of the Packers not addressing the receiver position is that Adams holds all the leverage in negotiations.
Exactly; and they’ll find out that Alexander will have all the leverage when it’s his time for negotiating. Good luck;;; Gute !
The further we get into this, watching the Packers kicking the salary cap can down the road to next year….
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I don’t see the Packers having the luxury of having a decision on Rodgers next season. I think the decision has recently been made already.
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They will have no choice but to deal him, and free up 22 million in cap room.
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Of course they could still restructure him or extend him, and i would be proven dead wrong.
Like i was that one time back in 2007.
But waiting after giving him a roster bonus makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
(Unless) they sandbagged the payment (IF) they are negotiating.
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Decisions had to be made concerning the crunch this season of the salary cap
The decision that was made is that they were going to keep as much of this team as intact as they can.
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Unfortunetly…it will be a costly proposition effecting next season, and beyond.
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My final thought on Rodgers….Appreciate what you have, while you have him.
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I might not be Howard….but i can fake my way through this shit as if i knew what i’m talking about.
:)
Rob; I agree with many points here. We all know we can’t blame Gute for the covid situation. The bill will come due when it’s time to pony up for the Smiths, Amos and Turner. It will also come due when it’s time to re-sign Alexander, Jenkins, Savage and others, while still being strapped with the Rodgers and Adams deals. I especially agree with your comment on; “guys who can capably man the positions most in need with solid players, while the front office works its’ way back to financial solvency” Gutes’ shortfall in regards to the draft gives me very little confidence in finding those solid players come April. He has pulled off some bold moves in FA, but to turn around and spend high draft picks on the same positions that he spent big on in FA; is downright perplexing, especially when other dire needs are present. Let’s hope he does improve on his draft record next month, or I’m in doubt about that 3rd NFCCG hope fizzling out. I do give him credit for not further damaging the salary cap future by over paying for some of these FAs’ for a quick fix.
So many thoughts on this article. Not much time. The easy items first.
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I will wait to see the specifics of King’s contract before I say to much. I sure hope the contract has a low base, very little in guaranteed money, and most of the total cost is hard to achieve performance and game day roster incentives. This does have the stench of the one year deal with Nick Perry when Perry didn’t live up to his draft status in his first four years.
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Pop quiz what is worse making the super bowl and losing four years in a row (Bills) or making the NFCCG and losing—?— years in a row.
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I did say that I would know the Packers were all in when they signed some quality free agents to short term deals and put in void years to lessen the salary cap impact this year. I did not mean the Packers would exclusively do such with players currently under contract. I think the Packers now have 3 players they have added void years to spread out salary cap impacts into future years beyond those players current duration on the field. Amos, Turner, and Crosby.
I would think-(hope); that Kings’ contract is incentive laden based on performance. After all, he has yet to stay healthy for an entire season. Plus, we’ll see if the rumor is true that he played down the stretch with a nagging back injury. It sure is puzzling that depth wasn’t good enough to replace King knowing that his back was ailing! Kind of says it all about the depth at that position.
A five year contract with 4 void years. This is not what I had in mind when I mentioned that the Packers should sign some quality free agents and put void years in their contracts. This looks like a 5 million dollar contract for one year of service.
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I wonder when the NFL is going to put a lid on the practice of void years, or at least a maximum number of void years. Who is to say that a team can’t add 10 + void years?
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How many remember when the Packers (wolf), 49ers (Walsh), and the Dolphins (Shula) started completing trades that would include the language certain player for future considerations, or certain player for past considerations. I liked the idea, but it did not take the NFL long to put a stop to trades with that type of language.
Like anything, politically or legally, it takes time to close loopholes because one side views something as an advantage vs a disadvantage.
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The NFL needs the NFLPA’s agreement and vice versa, for policy changes
Howard….if you will…
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If he plays 11 games will he get an additional 2.75 million on top of the 5 million?
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Per Game Active Bonus: $250,000 (11 LTBE)
I’m fairly certain 250,000 is the maximum that can be earned based on a 16 game season. So you would divide the 250,000 per game active bonus by 16 games. That would factor out to $15,625 per game. King is only likely to earn (LTBE) 11 of those pay days. 415,625 x 11 games = $171,875 and that amount is included in this years contract total under the roster bonus amount. If King is active for all 16 games then an additional $78,125 could be added onto next years dead cap amount. Below is part of an excerpt from the NFL that explains probably better than I did.
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“For example, in a 16-game season, a player with a $1.6 million per-game roster bonus for being on the game day roster would earn $100,000 for each game he is active.”
Oops that should have been a $ sign instead of a 4. $15,625 not 415,625.
OK, thanks
Before we start calling someone’s moves “brilliant” i think maybe we should wait for the results. I’m a goof…i know.
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“Gutekunst’s moves have resulted in two trips to the conference championship game,”
I’m more apt to give Rodgers and LaFleur that credit but sure….why not.
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I’m trying to decipher what an upper tier player is, but he sure as hell isn’t Preston Smith.
I think most of us felt Smith would be gone, one way or another, instead he was just another restructure of half the team.
Still not sure who the starter is…Gary or Preston.
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Rob, one other player to bring up, Alexander gonna wanna get paid sometime this season.
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We may want to take a look at what all these restructures mean to next years salary cap.
Restructure = delaying the inevitable (See Dallas Cowboys).
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If the goal is trying to keep the team intact, then i think Gute is succeeding sans Linsley and Wagner
Frankly….maybe we had a couple players we didn’t want to keep intact, but we kept them anyhow.
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I’m not so sure keeping the team intact is really the objective. I always thought improvement was the objective. But hey, maybe we can get better, relying on a rookie draft class.
In other words….can we draft any starters please?
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If anyone wants to have at next years cap space, have at it…it isn’t pretty.
But i know how they can gain a quick 22 million…. and so do they.
I kind of believe in the theory———– If you’re not improving; you’re falling behind.
We are falling behind.
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Many of you i’m sure remember me commenting about the team regressing in the past.
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I would point to the fact we had more team needs than the year before.
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It has everything to do with the draft and…..ignoring those needs.
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Everything Gute has done so far is to keep the team intact.
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Gute also fixed our negative cap situation, by pushing it off to a year from now.
Trust me when i tell you, next year will also be the same salary cap clusterfuck as this year.
Maybe more so.
Adams and Alexander want their money.
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We didn’t need to trade up for a QB
We didn’t need to draft a rb
We didn’t need to draft a project edge rusher with the 12th pick.
We didn’t need another tight end.
Those are all picks Gute could have used to improve the area’s of the team, that needed improvement.
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Bottom line….HE….CHOSE NOT TO.
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But there has been talk lately…that Gute will be targeting starters….in this years draft.
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Gee….what a great idea!! Pure genius!!
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Thinking outside the box!!
Agree 100%!
The high cost of having a franchise QB, is too much to field the players it takes to get all the way. Much more credit is due to our Gutekunst, than is being given. This team was one or two plays or players short last season. I highly doubt that had we beaten Tampa Bay, that the Chiefs would have stood a chance against us. We did better than last year. With just a slight bit of better play this season, our chances are about as good as they can be. We have to be thankful for Gutekunst and LaFleur, for putting us as close to the top as anyone.
There’s people that backstab these guys, and say there is better. I highly doubt that these naysayers could put better men in their places. This outfit is run with the best.
Go Pack Go !
I don’t think the aim of the naysayers are knocking the 2 men you mentioned above; but what they . are knocking is the choices they make in the draft. The same reasons GB lost in the Niners CG, is the same reason they lost this past one. (To a point) My point is, the 2020 draft did hardly nothing to fix the “one or two plays-players that was needed to get over the top.. Everything else you mentioned above, I totally agree.
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Exactly….if people like “Stephon” thought the Packers were one or two players away from winning a Super Bowl
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Then why aren’t they upset that Gute didn’t try to obtain that player or two?
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You can’t have it both ways.
Bak (or maybe even Veldeer) being healthy could have been the difference in the game — 5 sacks without a left tackle.
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Granted, Gute should have taken a CB in the first two rounds — but all us experts (me included) thought we needed a WR in order for the offense to score more points!
Keyword: ALL
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Nobody, and i mean nobody….predicted (or saw) what the offense would turn out to be.
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LaFluer, Rodgers and company made it hum regardless, with others picking up the slack, like Tonyan.
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But that doesn’t mean we didn’t know that corner was a liability, or that Gute should have known and addressed it.
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Current indications are that Rodgers and the Packers get one more swing at it. I wish i could be more optimistic than i am.
My thoughts about PF4L saying where to get 22 million. This is a reboot of the NFL. I think teams don’t want players like #12 making millions. They would rather have a guy in his rookie contract like this Love kid. I think #12 is gone sooner than later. I’ve been saying it for as long as I’ve been on here. Money talk’s and bullshit walk’s
I agree…bullshit walks.
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There is NO doubt teams would love to have a budding franchise QB during his rookie contract.
But…lol…this following comment is just wrong.
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“They would rather have a guy in his rookie contract like this Love kid”
NO!…C’mon man….lol
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Correction:
They would rather have a guy like Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes in a rookie contract.
When I say the words Kenny King and $6M in the same…..yep it happened again…threw up in my mouth.
You could get a kid picked at random from the closest park to your house who’d also allow long touchdowns like King but I bet the kid would do it for some bubble gum.
Keeping King tells us all that, despite TT nominally being in charge for that draft, it was actually Gute who drafted King. He’s still hoping his pick will turn out.
I hear Rogers is pissed and scared, thinks this is his lame duck final year, and that Gute the Bad has set it up (contracts, the salary cap) to get rid of him at the end of this year.
He’s right. Not that I feel sorry for him.
As long as Love sits on the bench, Gute is a laughingstock. He has to get rid of Rogers after this year to justify trading up to draft Love, undermining the team elsewhere. Gute has to do it to try to save his job.
2021. Rogers’ last year with Green Bay.
I see your following my proclamation this is Rodgers last year..
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S’allright, i ain’t even mad bro.
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Yes…It’s possible Love could save Gute’s job. It’s also possible every action, has an opposite reaction.
Just stay away from that “kid picked at random from the closest park to your house”.
That’s how you’ve gotten in trouble in the past.
LMAO……almost too easy
See…maybe i should have read the whole thing, or paid attention…lol
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Regardless, lets try to keep it about football people.
“would do it for some bubble gum”
Oh man…….seems to natural for him.
You hear? From a 13 year old on the video game chats? And it’s Rodgers.
“When Will the Packers Draft a WR?”
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Gute: What’s your hurry? It hasn’t even been 4 years yet.
PF4L
March 25, 2021 at 12:40 pm
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Update: Rodgers and Packers restructuring rumor
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As i proclaimed…i thought Michael Silver was blowing smoke last Monday announcing that the Packers and Rodgers were negotiating.
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I found that hard to believe citing his 6.8 million roster bonus would have been paid out, thereby negating almost 5 million in cap savings of having done so before the roster bonus deadline. That made no sense.
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The only loophole i could think of that made any sense, was if the Packers and Rodgers agreed to delay the roster bonus…while they were negotiating.
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As it turned it, it was bs. because apparently Rodgers roster bonus was dispersed to him last Friday.
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So what happened? Michael Silver got some attention, twitter hits, and his name mentioned a lot as the source of the story. So he got the attention he was seeking.
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As i have previously stated, enjoy Rodgers last season. This is it folks. The writings on the wall.
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PF4L…Not, just another pretty face.
The below is what I thought of Silver in 2018 when I in part said:
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Howard October 30, 2018
By the way who is this fuck Michael Silver who wrote the article about what a player(s) and coach said. Then mocked Ty after he was traded today. Fuck You Silver, report your story then stay the fuck out of it. What a fucking hack that writes a story then rubs it into a player that is impacted. The Packers or the Packer players Should throw that fucker out on his head if he came near the team.
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I think you also questioned Silver at the time. I don’t believe anything Silver writes, but he does seem to receive some information from Packer players. Not sure who those players are?
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Sorry for the language. My opinion of Silver has not changed.
I have to admit…i enjoy it when you throw down the occasional F-bomb :)
Whatever happened to James Jones breaking Rodgers news? lol
PF4L
March 25, 2021 at 03:01 pm
Interesting point coming from Shannon Sharp….
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He states that Rodgers wants assurance’s of his future in Green Bay. I don’t dispute that for a second. Because he truly wants to finish his career in Green Bay. I haven’t heard anyone dispute that.
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But he goes on to say…that isn’t what the NFL is all about. “The league today is…can you help me win….today?”
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So, i’m thinking….are there different standards for players, and the front office?
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Has the President, a board member, or anyone from the Executive committee approached Gutenkunst and asked him…”Are you doing all you can in helping us win…today?
I know, i know……..Gute has to plan for the future…blah blah blah blah.
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The Packers have disrespected Rodgers over the years in various aspects.
If you don’t already know that, or you are confused by my statement, you are a semi casual fan, at best.
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The VERY day that Rodgers inevitably leaves the Packers, the comfort and warmth of front office job security will dissipate, with each passing game
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1) Packer fans are accustomed to excellence at QB
Just because the drafting of Love bears some similarities to how Rodgers was drafted….that is NOT a future indicator of how good of a QB Love may, or may not be.
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2) A LOT of the new Packer fans of the last 30 years will be like….”hey…this isn’t what i signed up for”.
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The money train won’t stop, but it will surely lose some payload.
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As always….free of charge.
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You’re welcome.
Something just dawned on me, that i didn’t think would ever happen. To be clear…this isn’t a goodbye, but….
I’ve always said this is my only Packer website i visit, that has changed. As some of you have figured out, my accident (surgeries) have given me more time to talk about my favorite subject…The Packers.
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It came to me that i might be slowly transitioning to a new room down the hall where i seem to spend more time. I’m making friends there at a rapid pace, out of hundreds of readers there, i’ve already made 2 friends :)
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The reason is simple. It’s busy, truthfully…almost to busy for my taste. Some where in the middle of there and here, would be perfect for me as far as activity.
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But waiting for a week for a new article, gets pretty old, pretty quick. Or coming in and not seeing even a new comment from anyone.. I mean….
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I love this place as it’s been my “only” Packer home for 9 years or so.
I love this place because most of the people here are highly knowledgeable and do their own thinking.
I’ve always enjoyed and respected that through the years.
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It is Rob, in the first paragraph of this article where he speaks of the integrity of this site and i agree with him.
I also respect all the writers (especially Rob) here for their content, and for taking shit from us readers and i’m more guilty of that than most.
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I bother to make this statement because, as you can see, i’m starting to copy and paste my thoughts, instead (of course) typing the same post twice.
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There really isnt a lot to report now. I mean…we could talk about the lewis resigning I suppose…but rest assured…this place will be busier once gute fucks up the draft.
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I’ve dabbled in Packers reddit before…but its basically a Kool aid drinking competition sprinkled with shitty dog and baby photos wearing packers gear…or staring at a tv with a packer on it.
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Its very hard to find a group of objective people and this is one of the few places that remains. Even Killer is more knowledgeable of the packers than 95% of the dipshits on reddit.
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Keep in mind..on Reddit..Russ Ball is widely regarded as a “cap genius”…..They think Jk scott is a good punter…..and so on and so forth.
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To the defense of the packers board on reddit…there is a pretty cool thread every week called X’s and O’s that someone like Howard would appreciate.The game is discussed objectively and they will remove the idiot posts from the conversation. A majority of the posters in that weekly thread would fit in nicely on this site.
This is Jason’s site so he can do as he sees fit. I have wondered why Jason does not along with the very fine articles by Rob, Paul, and others put out a daily open thread. There is always breaking Packer news or notes each day or most days that some would like to comment on. With an open daily open thread we also do not clutter up Rob or Paul’s very fine articles with comments that do not relate to their articles.
Thank you, Stiggy!
Not real sure that was a compliment.
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It might have been slanted more towards your obsession..
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But Fk it…since your here, fill us in on your Packer knowledge.
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Is Rodgers still gay or is this new relationship for real?
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Could it be just another beard?
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How is he getting along with his family
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Please update us on your Packer “knowledge”
Bubblegum?
PF4L
March 25, 2021 at 04:05 pm
The Lass Word: Are the Packers Better Than Tampa Bay?
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Tough one….
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Who has the Lombardi trophy?
I see the Buccaneers have been doing very well in keeping their team intact. They know what they have; we know what they have and the rest of the NFL knows what they have. Barring injury to key players, or complacency on the their team; (which Brady won’t allow), this team is primed to repeat. We all know father time is undefeated but Brady is kicking ass as long as he can. Gotta admire the mans will.
I’m old school.
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If you’re the Champion, you’re the best, until your not.
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That’s just how it works.
PF4L
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March 26, 2021 at 08:41 am
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You can blame Kings coverage problem on other factors, but it’s damn foolish.
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Watch his technique on Miller, it’s a 40 yard pass play…re-watch the play.
King is looking back at Brady for the first 30 yards, then turns his head to isolate on Miller.
The problem was…..Miller had already beat him.
His attention to the ball is reversed, he should run with the receiver for 30 yards, THEN turn back and play the ball the last 10 yards.
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This stuff is fairly basic.
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I’d explain his poor technique against Evans, but damn man….watch it for yourself. It’s easy to see, i shouldn’t have to explain every play.
Watch the play….you’ll get it.
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How about the holding penalty? Listen close……
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Kevin King is a liability…he won’t win you a game, but he can lose it for you.
Yes sir! This is a 4 year vet, a 2nd round pick; and to think that they re-signed him for 2021; shows you one of the problems with “the Packers way”. Back issue or not, doesn’t excuse him from not focusing on Miller, period!
I agree King is a liability. I still believe Redmond was not in the position he was supposed to be on some of those plays. To me there was a reason Redmond after the half played maybe only one or two plays as the single high safety the rest of the game. In the first half Redmond was the high safety on several plays.
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I know LaFleur wanted to see Pettine have the corners play more aggressive. Pettine did such in the NFCCG. King and Sullivan were in man coverage most of the game. With Alexander showing he can cover his man deep, the safety help should have been shaded to King’s side of the field. For most of the game the deep help was shaded to Alexander. TB forced some of that by flooding the middle to left side of the field with receivers. TB knew Redmond is slow in his reaction time and would not get over to help King.
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There is a reason Pettine is gone and Redmond was not tendered as a restricted free agent.
Amen!
I don’t disagree Howard, but because King’s technique is so bad, i can’t stomach blaming others, even though they play a part and it’s a team game.
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Brian Gutenkunst is a long time NFL talent evaluator. Did he not know sometime during Kevin Kings 4 years…that he was a liability.
Maybe that’s why he swung and missed on Josh Jackson idk. But he did nothing after that.
Other than Kings miscues, concerning the others, either you have the wrong players, or the wrong coaches.
The bottom line is you have a G D problem.
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The problem is you are 0-4 in NFCCG’s
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That is a pattern.
The other problem is that sans Amos’s pick….your expensive free agents did almost nothing in that game.
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It harkened me back to the Mike Daniels era of big bad ass talk…..but impotent results on the field during NFCCG’s.
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The reason it’s so damn frustrating…is because after this season, chances are we won’t have to worry about any more NFCCG’s, for who knows how long.
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Like i posted elsewhere…we have one more swing at it.
I saw that King’s deal only uses $2M in cap space. Let’s hope those dollars are on the bench to use only in emergency.
Bad news. I think King will be a starter to begin the season unless one of the two rookie drafted corners develop very quickly. As the season progresses hopefully one of the drafted rookie corners will push King to the bench. If not injury(s) at some point will keep King on the bench.
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Good and bad news is King will be paid the rest of his contract (3 mil.) over the following 4 years and he won’t be a Packer.
I think you’re right Howard. King will start, unless they get a top pick; ready to start now talent. I don’t believe the future starter at that position is on the roster right now.
Nobody does.
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It’s rare for a drafted corner to beat out, or replace a starter, but it can be done, as we know.
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But no matter how good a player is, there is almost always a learning curve and growing pains.
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That’s why you want to fill needs as soon as possible, so a player has at least a year under his belt instead of trying to depend on a rookie.
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There are only so many Jaire Alexanders to go around.
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Example: If we draft a receiver this year, he’s raw….vs if we had drafted one last year. Or the year before, or the year before.
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There comes a time when you wait too long to fill needs…all of a sudden you realize…it’s too late for your window.
PF4L
March 26, 2021 at 08:14 am
Nice work putting that article together reynoldo
I may be wrong but…..
When you say the Packers 2022 cap liability is currently at 205.7 million, that is true, but i believe that only accounts for 30 players under contract next season, correct?
So you can imagine where that is going to end up.
As you said, that is without Lewis, Adams, Alexander.
But i also see 22 million in cap savings when they deal Rodgers.
All the restructuring that has been done has cap implications in the future.
It’s the Dallas Cowboy way of saying…..i’ll deal with it tomorrow.
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STIGGY…..There is always something to talk about
PF4L
March 27, 2021 at 07:38 am
Let me see what i can do here.
It’s a subject worth discussing and it’s definitions.
Nice job Corey, this discussion was needed.
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In the Packers case, since Gute took the GM job, i’ve wanted to see a “win now” mode more so than going “all in”.
There is a difference. Let me explain….
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Although i disagree with the theory that the Packers went all in picking up Rison. Corey says something else that is a far more accurate qualifier.
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“Going all-in is sacrificing the future for a ring right now. ” – Corey
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That’s the definition right there.
That is different than being in “win now” mode.
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Mike Ditka went all in, sacrificing a draft to obtain Ricky Williams
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Teams go “all in” sacrificing multiple draft picks of the future.
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Teams could also go “all in” putting themselves in a financial burden in future years, to go all in.
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Those are definitions of going all in.
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I have advocated a “win now” mode. Which is not “going all in”.
I didn’t advocate that Gute sacrifice the future to win now. Far from it.
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As a GM, if your strategy is to draft for future years, you are NOT in a “all in” mode, or…a “win now” mode.
I don’t know how to make it any clearer than that.
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Being in a win now mode has nothing to do with sacrificing the future. You draft for “the now” vs drafting for future years.
That isn’t sacrificing anything in the future.
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Gute made choices, his choice was to draft for the future, not to win now. This is no gray area there, it can’t be both ways.
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Gute spent 4 or 5 high draft picks on the future without dispute.
Now if that isn’t bad enough.
He did so at the peril of the current team by blatantly making a choice not to use those picks to correct needs on the current roster.
That is undisputed.
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Now if you want to give me some thumbs down because i have an opinion on Gute, then have it at, enjoy yourself.
After that, pour yourself a big tall glass of kool aid and play with your Brian Gutenkunst bobble head while you tell yourself he’s done everything he can to win now.
You’ll get no thumbs down from me Bud; in fact; it’s 2 thumbs up! I’ve heard in the past from some previous GMs’ and personnel guys talk of how they sometimes out-smart themselves. This isn’t rocket science; it’s football. Teams can either run the ball; pass the ball; catch the ball; block; tackle; game plan; and on and on,,,,,,, or they can’t! Coaches can coach; GMs’ can acquire talent;;;; or they can’t! Teams can plan for the future, or the now. Gute outsmarted himself last April planning for the future prematurely, and now is in a pickle; with #12 winning the MVP, and the window is closing.
Thanks Mick.
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Like they’ve done here over the years with the small minority of a handful of us speaking the truth.
They are starting to come around over there…lol, slowly :)
As i noted back when, Rodgers threw a wrench in Gute’s business plan.
I would be willing to bet that the possibility of Rodgers having the season that he had, never entered his mind.
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In somewhat of a defense of Gute’s thinking, i don’t think anyone of us imagined the season he would have either. Especially after the draft a year ago.
PF4L
March 27, 2021 at 08:16 am
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Murf….isn’t it a little late for the Packers to decide to go (in your speak) “all in” now vs during the last 3 years.
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The Patriots did the opposite of going all in.
1) They never traded away a bunch of future draft picks, they were the masters at receiving extra picks through trades
2) The Patriots don’t overpay, they are frugal. They have your worth set at a number, if you don’t agree, they move to plan B.
3) They almost always had money and room to pick up players on go, without sacrificing their future.
4) They also drafted well, traded well.
5) They were good at picking up a key free agent here and there.
6) They didn’t live with their mistakes for years.
7) If they had a problem area, it got addressed.
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The Patriots were the farthest thing from going all in. They didn’t have to.
Yea, I agree! Another good thing the Pats’ have always done under Belichick; is they always acquired players to fill positions of need. If those acquired didn’t pan out; he cut bait and moved on to the next one. They very seldom sign players to a 3rd contract, with Brady being obviously an exception. He didn’t care what your contract situation was; or how good of a player they were; if they didn’t perform, they were gone. When Belichick needed a tackle, he went for a tackle; not another TE because that TE was a bargain. Sorry PF4L if I’m stating what you’ve added above;;;;;; just adding some perspective!
That was in response to a comment that the Patriots go all in, every year.
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Ironically, after i posted what i did, he came back and conceded he was wrong about that.