Official Packers Offseason Thread

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I think it's safe to say we've got some work today. Defense needs to be revamped quite a bit.

 

I'd mention an overhaul on offense after that performance against the Giants... but sometimes you just can't stop those kind of games happening once or twice a year.

 

Anywho...

 

DRAFT

Need to look at DE, S, OLB, and QB.

 

Don't really have any names that I want to see in the Green and Gold, but will post them when I come across them. A lot of draft work to be done in the near future.

 

 

Offense

Again, not a whole lot to change.

 

Clifton will probably be gone and Sherrod will be thrown in at LT.

 

Jermichael Finley is a FA, and I really do hope he isn't going to be back. We don't have the cap room, and he isn't worth the trouble. Even though he is a huge mismatch against most teams.

 

DD might be retiring.. If he does, I don't expect much to change. Jennings, Nelson, Jones, and Cobb will be great for us.

 

Defense

Lack of pass rush killed us all year. Definitely need to find an answer at OLB opposite Clay.. And an explosive, play making DE.

 

Hopefully Nick Collins fully recovers from his neck injury. He's a game changer for us every single week and just entering the prime of his career. We really need him back.. And if he isn't.. We need to find another S to add to the roster, because Peprah isn't the answer.

 

 

ST

MUch better than years passed. Cobb is a nice returner, although fumbles / muffs a little too often. Crosby really bounced back and Masthay looks to be the punter of the next 10+ years... Lookin good.

 

 

And I will post other stuff as I think about it. Namely the coaching staff.. but we won't know about that until we lose some of our guys.

[badgers 380]

Right so we lost in our first playoff game with a shitty ass effort. Congrats Packers. Following the loss of coach Philbin's son you couldn't at least put forth a better effort than 8 dropped passes, 4 fumbles, terrible passes and terrible coverage. Can't say I didn't see it coming though. I predicted us to win of course because I never pick us to lose in the playoffs but, can't say I'm not surprised with this loss.

 

Just didn't think we'd make ourselves lose.

 

Our pass protection today was great. Rodgers was never hurried (except for maybe 1 or 2 plays) never sacked but stripped once. No excuses for his terrible passing.

 

Dropped balls there are never excuses, but some I can say they're fine. The one where Finley got hit in the helmet (wasn't called) I won't hold it against him.

 

Our run defense was superb today but I expected that. We've been pretty decent all year at run D except for that Christmas evening game. Once again, we couldn't rush the passer and that left their receivers wide open every single play because even cornerbacks as talented as ours can't cover a guy all day.

 

Peprah played terrible. He didn't tackle Nicks on that one play where he went 66 (?) yards for a TD. Right, let's just smack Hakeem Nicks and expect him to fall over. Then he also was covering Nicks on that hail mary that he caught. Hail Mary's are not rocket science. The ball is going to come from the sky. Just knock it to the ground. I have no idea why nobody was in front of Nicks on that play.

 

As for the so called "Home field advantage" we have, I think we can agree that Lambeau is not a home field advantage anymore.

 

Fuck this team. What a terrible effort and I have never been more embarrassed to be a fan of this team before...

 

 

---

 

 

Right well now that we are officially done, I'll talk about what we have to do this offseason.

 

There are NO free agents that will help us so we can rule out free agency as an answer to our issues.

 

I'd like to get a defensive lineman who can rush the passer in the draft. Our ROLB always looked good last year because of the pressure that Cullen Jenkins (our old RE) was able to get. CJ Wilson didn't do terrible (after the Mike Neal experiment epicly failed). I don't watch college ball though so the only name I can give you is Fletcher Cox, a DE out of Miss St? Just cuz a lot of people have us picking him in our mock. We were 32nd pick though in those ones, so idk if we get him at 27 or whatever we'll be.

 

I'd like to pick up some interior OL later (LATER, TED) in the draft. Just some depth for Wells who is 32 or something. Not sure how long he'll be.

 

Finley should be gone. That's a plus.

 

Matt Flynn will be gone as well but since it doesn't really concern our future I won't really make a prediction on where he ends up.

 

AJ Hawk needs to take a pay cut. He didn't do too bad today but all season long he was a major liability in pass coverage and he misses so many damn tackles. Can't rush the passer either. Only thing he did well for us this season was direct our front 7.

 

I'd like to see a safety picked in the draft because Peprah isn't bad as depth but he can't carry the load. Burnett wasn't very good either but he was out of his normal spot all year long. I only hope to god that Collins can return at full strength. If he can't, a safety is a must (first 3 rounds).

 

We MUST re-sign Ryan Grant. Starks did nothing all year. He had 1 or 2 good runs this game and that was the best he's played all year. Grant on the toher hand played bad today (other than the fumble he was decent) but all year had been solid. I don't want 2 injured running backs next year.

 

Assuming there are no trades:

 

1. DE

2. S

3. LB

4. LB

5. DE

6. C/G

7. QB

 

Next year's starting lineup.

 

QB: Aaron Rodgers

RB: Ryan Grant* - Hopefully we realize that he is still our best RB and bring him back

FB: John Kuhn

WR: Greg Jennings

WR: Jordy Nelson

TE: Finley* - We'll franchise tag this bitch I'm sure..

LT: Chad Clifton

LG: TJ Lang

C: Scott Wells

RG: Josh Sitton

RT: Bryan Bulaga

 

RE: Fletcher Cox* - Assuming we do draft him in the first round, as per multiple mocks I've seen

NT: BJ Raji

LE: Ryan Pickett

ROLB: Brad Jones

ILB: AJ Hawk* - Assuming DJ Smith doesn't beat him out, who I am 100% positive is better than him

ILB: Desmond Bishop

LOLB: Clay Matthews

CB: Tramon Williams

CB: Charles Woodson

FS: Nick Collins* - No way in hell is he not starting if he can play

SS: Morgan Burnett

 

K: Mason Crosby

P: Tim Masthay

R: Randall Cobb

[BigBen07 285]

Our pass protection today was great. Rodgers was never hurried (except for maybe 1 or 2 plays) never sacked but stripped once. No excuses for his terrible passing.

 

Rodgers WAS sacked I think.

[badgers 380]

Was he? I turned the game off pretty early.

 

Oh yeah he was. On some 4th down play later in the game that I didn't see but heard from the other room.

[BigBen07 285]

Was he? I turned the game off pretty early.

 

Oh yeah he was. On some 4th down play later in the game that I didn't see but heard from the other room.

 

Yeah he got hit a few times. No worries

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

The conclusion is still the same.. from my perspective, anyway. The line held their own MOST of the night. A couple of breakdowns.. Can't say I didn't expect those. But Aaron HAD the time to throw the football, which is the important thing.

 

Moving forward, I really like our Oline. Might need to look for a center, because I am not sure how long Scott Wells will play this well... But for the ost part...

 

Sherrod - Lang - Wells - Sitton - Bulaga

 

is looking very good.

[badgers 380]

I don't see Sherrod starting the season at LT, unless he really beats out Clifton during TC. I don't see how PD2010 thinks Lang is bad. He's the most improved of the bunch imo. Wells has always been good and underrated, Sitton finally started getting respect last year (had a bad start this one but picked it up after his injury) and Bulaga played really well this year as well.

 

For the first time in almost 10 years I really like our offensive line.

 

Also,

 

I have to say I am happy with how our season went and how our future looks. We've got a really bright one, despite this depressing end to our 2011 season.

 

It's just really disappointing that a loss had to come on a night where we played so terribly.

 

I know a win would have really meant a lot to the Philbin family and it's really depressing that we couldn't at least take them down to the line and show that we were trying to win it.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I don't see Sherrod starting the season at LT, unless he really beats out Clifton during TC. I don't see how PD2010 thinks Lang is bad. He's the most improved of the bunch imo. Wells has always been good and underrated, Sitton finally started getting respect last year (had a bad start this one but picked it up after his injury) and Bulaga played really well this year as well.

 

For the first time in almost 10 years I really like our offensive line.

 

Also,

 

I have to say I am happy with how our season went and how our future looks. We've got a really bright one, despite this depressing end to our 2011 season.

 

It's just really disappointing that a loss had to come on a night where we played so terribly.

 

I know a win would have really meant a lot to the Philbin family and it's really depressing that we couldn't at least take them down to the line and show that we were trying to win it.

 

 

Ya... I am just not sure Clifton doesn't retire.. If he DOES come back, he has to take a pay cut for sure. And he was missing most of the season anyway. May as well just move on.

 

I'd still LOVE to try out Bulaga on the left if Sherrod doesn't work out.. He's just SO good (Bulaga).

 

And I was kind of pondering that to myself all game long....

 

Would I rather lose like this... Where we don't look like ourselves with 8 drops and 4 fumbles? Or would I rather play well and lose a heartbreaker at the end...

 

I couldn't tell ya the answer... but I know I felt as badly as the Packers were playing tonight.

[Packers Dynasty 2010 116]

Such a fucking horrendous effort by the Packers today.

 

My wishlist:

1) Fire Dom Capers. He has only had one good year, the other two season the D was very subpar. He failed to confuse Manning at all today and constantly thought rushing 3 would be a great idea. If not fired, at least make it very clear that it is go big or go home next season.

 

2) Re-sign Scott Wells and Grant. Good underrated center but is getting up there in age so a short-term contract would be wise. Grant turned it on towards the end of season and I believe a committee between him and Starks is the best option. He shouldn't cost much

 

3) Release Clifton, costing too much and would rather have Newhouse or Sherrod lined up

 

4) Make a splash in Free Agency. The last big splash made in free agency was Charles Woodson and that turned out great. We need help at ROLB, DE and even safety if Nick Collins is done. There are only a few options for FA but can Thompson at least try for a guy. It would be amazing to get Mario Williams.

 

5) Have an all defensive draft. Need two DEs, a ROLB, CB depth, and possibly a safety

 

6) Lowball Finley, if he declines then let him walk. Although I do not trust our current TEs behind Finley, no reason to overpay him this offseason.

 

7) Keep Jarrett Bush but make sure he never sees the field as a CB. Great special teams player but horrendous DB.

 

As for TJ Lang, he has improved greatly from the beginning of the season so I don't mind him anymore.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Packers Dynasty 2010

[badgers 380]

Such a fucking horrendous effort by the Packers today.

 

My wishlist:

1) Fire Dom Capers. He has only had one good year, the other two season the D was very subpar. He failed to confuse Manning at all today and constantly thought rushing 3 would be a great idea. If not fired, at least make it very clear that it is go big or go home next season.

 

2) Re-sign Scott Wells and Grant. Good underrated center but is getting up there in age so a short-term contract would be wise. Grant turned it on towards the end of season and I believe a committee between him and Starks is the best option. He shouldn't cost much

 

3) Release Clifton, costing too much and would rather have Newhouse or Sherrod lined up

 

4) Make a splash in Free Agency. The last big splash made in free agency was Charles Woodson and that turned out great. We need help at ROLB, DE and even safety if Nick Collins is done. There are only a few options for FA but can Thompson at least try for a guy. It would be amazing to get Mario Williams.

 

5) Have an all defensive draft. Need two DEs, a ROLB, CB depth, and possibly a safety

 

6) Lowball Finley, if he declines then let him walk. Although I do not trust our current TEs behind Finley, no reason to overpay him this offseason.

 

7) Keep Jarrett Bush but make sure he never sees the field as a CB. Great special teams player but horrendous DB.

 

As for TJ Lang, he has improved greatly from the beginning of the season so I don't mind him anymore.

 

Ban.

[Thanatos 2,847]

I'm just going to point out: The Giants did get quite a bit of pressure on Aaron. Not enough to get the win on that basis, but enough to make him make some bad throws- throws that he usually hits, but the hurries got to him enough that it messed him up just a tiny bit.

 

Also, they sacked him four times.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Such a fucking horrendous effort by the Packers today.

 

My wishlist:

1) Fire Dom Capers. He has only had one good year, the other two season the D was very subpar. He failed to confuse Manning at all today and constantly thought rushing 3 would be a great idea. If not fired, at least make it very clear that it is go big or go home next season.

 

2) Re-sign Scott Wells and Grant. Good underrated center but is getting up there in age so a short-term contract would be wise. Grant turned it on towards the end of season and I believe a committee between him and Starks is the best option. He shouldn't cost much

 

3) Release Clifton, costing too much and would rather have Newhouse or Sherrod lined up

 

4) Make a splash in Free Agency. The last big splash made in free agency was Charles Woodson and that turned out great. We need help at ROLB, DE and even safety if Nick Collins is done. There are only a few options for FA but can Thompson at least try for a guy. It would be amazing to get Mario Williams.

 

5) Have an all defensive draft. Need two DEs, a ROLB, CB depth, and possibly a safety

 

6) Lowball Finley, if he declines then let him walk. Although I do not trust our current TEs behind Finley, no reason to overpay him this offseason.

 

7) Keep Jarrett Bush but make sure he never sees the field as a CB. Great special teams player but horrendous DB.

 

As for TJ Lang, he has improved greatly from the beginning of the season so I don't mind him anymore.

 

 

He shouldn't be fired... but I do think we need to add some stuff to the playbook. I think we've been using the same plays for the last 3 years without any new additions.

 

And I really don't agree with re-signing grant. If he takes a LOW offer, no harm in that. But he can't pick up the blitz and he has no use in the screen game. I'd like to see him back.. but with only 5 million in cap space, I don't think we can stretch even 1 mil per year.. especially with having to sign other draft picks and what not.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I'm just going to point out: The Giants did get quite a bit of pressure on Aaron. Not enough to get the win on that basis, but enough to make him make some bad throws- throws that he usually hits, but the hurries got to him enough that it messed him up just a tiny bit.

 

Also, they sacked him four times.

 

 

Aaron has the best passer rating against a 4 man rush in the league (or until tonight he did). He flat out missed like.. 3 throws. As in.. all on him, bad throw. And I am pretty sure EVERY QB has a couple throws like that a game. So.. to say the Giants induced those throws is... Eh. I'm not buying it.

 

Especially because one of those sacks is in quotes, "sack" (the FF)... And another couple hurries and a sack came on the very last drive.. down by 3 scores. Those were good plays by the giants to get a sack, a pick, and some pressure... But when you are in obvious desperation mode.. I don't find it 100% fair to grade the oline on an uncurved scale in those circumstances.

[Packers Dynasty 2010 116]

Maybe firing is a little too intense but something needs to change. There's no reason for such a huge dropoff between last year and this year, even with Collins and Jenkins gone.

[badgers 380]

I think some of it had to be the fact that opposing offenses were willing to lay it all on the line to beat the defending champs.

 

They all wanted to throw the whole kitchen sink at us to see what we could handle. Our defense bent...A LOT. But it never did break. In the end, our offense was the reason we lost two of our 17 games this year. Defense played well in both games.

 

37 points is bad yeah but, come on. With all the opportunities NY got, you had to assume they were gonna keep putting them up.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I think some of it had to be the fact that opposing offenses were willing to lay it all on the line to beat the defending champs.

 

They all wanted to throw the whole kitchen sink at us to see what we could handle. Our defense bent...A LOT. But it never did break. In the end, our offense was the reason we lost two of our 17 games this year. Defense played well in both games.

 

37 points is bad yeah but, come on. With all the opportunities NY got, you had to assume they were gonna keep putting them up.

 

 

Now.. when you say "well" you mean better than most of the season right... right? Because I do agree they played better for the most part... Even though we have no pass rush, we actually had a COUPLE plays that produced pressure, which is more than usual. The run was... dominated.

 

But we still gave up too many points. Too many big plays. Left wideouts wide open... Same old story.

[badgers 380]

Yeah.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Although.. with all of the offenses turnovers and drops... We did put our D in a bad spot most of the night.

 

I was ready for that one to be over.

[badgers 380]

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

And ya know... PD may be really fail in wanting Capers fired... But maybe we have to find a new DC anyway? What if Capers takes the job in Oakland? What do we do then?

 

I think Mike Nolan would be AWESOME.

[Packers Dynasty 2010 116]

How can you say the D played alright or well compared to the rest of the season? The run defense was great but there is no reason to allow New York to pick up so many 3rd downs, especially when they are long 3rd down conversions. The defense was able to generate pressure when we brought people, especially Bishop. But the majority of 3rd downs, the defense would only send 3. Give Eli Manning as much time as he wanted to find an open guy. No corner can cover a receiver forever. Yet Capers was content on letting Manning have an eternity to throw. The offense was horrible as well with multiple drops and 4 turnovers but the D wasn't exactly helping beside a few times they forced a FG and those 2 3 and out in the 3rd quarter.

 

I want to see what Green Bay does this offseason as the defense needs work. The offense is great when clicking but the D needs to improve if the Packers wanna become a dynasty like they are capable of.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Packers Dynasty 2010

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

How can you say the D played alright or well compared to the rest of the season? The run defense was great but there is no reason to allow New York to pick up so many 3rd downs, especially when they are long 3rd down conversions. The defense was able to generate pressure when we brought people, especially Bishop. But the majority of 3rd downs, the defense would only send 3. Give Eli Manning as much time as he wanted to find an open guy. No corner can cover a receiver forever. Yet Capers was content on letting Manning have an eternity to throw. The offense was horrible as well with multiple drops and 4 turnovers but the D wasn't exactly helping beside a few times they forced a FG and those 2 3 and out in the 3rd quarter.

 

I want to see what Green Bay does this offseason as the defense needs work. The offense is great when clicking but the D needs to improve if the Packers wanna become a dynasty like they are capable of.

 

The defense was given a short field to work with wayyy to often. But of course they had their own issues. Guys left wide open, Manning have 30 seconds to find a guy to throw to. Converted too many 3rd and longs.

 

But that was the norm for us this year. Manning wasn't the first QB to rape us without mercy. However, he will be the last (this season). Thankfully the Giants just put us out of our misery.

[Bangy 19]

Well I am not going to lie last night was the most disappointed that I have ever felt after watching a game.

 

I think the thing about the difference in the defensive performance is that with the amount of injuries we had a lot of players come in with the feeling that if they played well enough that they could oust the starter. To me it seems that players like Walden got lazy as they where too comfortable.

 

What the pass D this year did I don't know, the turnover amounts where great but the yards given up to get them was unacceptable and needs sorting out epically.

 

At OLB Courtney Upshaw would be a nice upgrade over Walden, I actually want Smith at MLB over Hawk. I love Smith's work effort and when it came to stepping up as a leader with both Bishop and Hawk out he did just that.

 

I still want Capers as DC but he does need to show different looks, Finley an go an get gone as I am happy with the Smith and Quarlees tandem. An want Collins to return.

 

I am going to be a bit of a homer here but I would love LaMichael James as a chance of pace back. Sproles and Bush both showed what they are capable given when given a good line and decent set up.

[Packers Dynasty 2010 116]

It seems like everyone wants Finley gone but looking at we have behind isn't very appealing. Quarless has showed nothing last season as the starter and this year as a backup before his injury. He is coming off a serious leg injury. DJ Williams may be good but is a bit undersized and we haven't seen much from him. While Ryan Taylor and Crabtree are both good run blockers but no chance they have too much of an impact as a starting TE. I hate how cocky Finely is at times and his damn drops but we hardly have anything behind him and he helps this offense quite a bit. If he can mature some more and go through what James Jones went through to improve his catching, he can be great.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Packers Dynasty 2010

[badgers 380]

It seems like everyone wants Finley gone but looking at we have behind isn't very appealing. Quarless has showed nothing last season as the starter and this year as a backup before his injury. He is coming off a serious leg injury. DJ Williams may be good but is a bit undersized and we haven't seen much from him. While Ryan Taylor and Crabtree are both good run blockers but no chance they have too much of an impact as a starting TE. I hate how cocky Finely is at times and his damn drops but we hardly have anything behind him and he helps this offense quite a bit. If he can mature some more and go through what James Jones went through to improve his catching, he can be great.

 

James Jones only improved a minor degree.

 

It just seems like he improved more because he saw less action. I'm sure if he was playing Nelson's role in our offense we'd be more frustrated with him cuz he'd drop a lot of balls.

 

Regardless, between Jones and Finley (I know you didn't mention this but I'm just saying) I'd take Jones.

 

Finley I have a feeling we franchise tag him. And tbh I'm perfectly okay with him being on the team as long as he gets rid of his attitude and actually earns a big paycheck he wants. So far he's shown exactly the opposite, though.

 

And Finley said he was going to use the game Sunday to prove that he can turn on the jets and be a team player. Unfortunately he didn't really get a fair shake, Rodgers didn't throw him the ball much. He dropped 2 passes, one I won't blame on him because he got a hit to to the head but it wasn't called.

 

I think Finley's impact on our offense is more of an empty threat than it is actual production. But that empty threat seemed to have worked most of this season, helping us get 35.5 points per game. How much is Finley's threat worth?

 

Edit- Oh and Bangy I agree that I want Smith to see more ILB action. He really impressed me and I think he's a better player than Hawk, but his lack of experience works against him.

 

As for Capers I agree, keep him at all costs but he needs to get a new plan. His gameplan worked for 2 years but now people are figuring us out. And we aren't like Pittsburgh, we don't have Harrison, Farrior, Woodley, Kiesel, Polomalu. That group of 5 is much better than Matthews, Bishop, Raji, Woodson, and Pickett at rushing the passer. We don't have the pass rushing talent that they do, we have like, 2 guys who are great pass rushers and the rest who do well situationally. So it's hard to use Capers primary scheme with the lack of talent in the front 7. Raji, Matthews, and Bishop are locked in. The other four positions in our front seven are up for grabs imo...or at least they should be.

Edited January 17, 2012 by badgers