packfanfb Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 2 hours ago, Outpost31 said: This is the type of conversation I'd like to have in person. That way I could challenge somebody to name 10 other starting inside linebackers in the NFL. It's also not a very fair question. Are you referring to pass coverage or run coverage or both? Because if you're honestly afraid of Martinez handling the run, you really haven't been paying attention to him. Then what about the teams with purely coverage linebackers that can't stop the run? Also, even the great linebackers aren't as effective as Martinez will be this year purely because of Blake's help. Kenny Clark kinda makes ILB easier. If you don't understand that concept, I really wish you would. Even Hall of Fame ILB can't do much without a good DL. Ray Lewis even admitted that himself. They drafted Ngata and suddenly he was dominant again. Surprise. Considering all of that, our ILB group is probably closer to average than worst. I mean the eye-test is pretty clear on this one though. We currently have a single healthy ILB who is playable on Sundays. No one is disputing whether Martinez is a solid player, it's about the group as a whole. Here are your options: 1. Burks -- first, you can't even breathe on this guy and he gets hurt. He makes King look like an ironman. Second, in the limited time he has played he's shown next to nothing so we really don't know whether he's any good or not. 2. Bolton -- probably our 2nd best ILB right now which says a lot considering he's a rookie who 32 teams passed on for 7 rounds in the NFL draft. Not that it matters because he has a serious knee injury and isn't available. 3. Crawford -- to put it politely, he sucks at ILB. Good ST guy who shouldn't play a down of ILB. 4. Summers -- I like the guy but he's not ready for regular season action. Asking him to play year 1 is malpractice on our part. He should be in the weight room getting ready for 2020. 5. Sheldon -- actually if I had to pick a guy to start next to Martinez Week 1 against the Bears, I'd probably pick Sheldon and that's how bad our ILB group actually is... We just added a few more JAGs to the group. Go find me a worst squad in the NFL...you won't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
{Family Ghost} Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 6 minutes ago, packfanfb said: I mean the eye-test is pretty clear on this one though. We currently have a single healthy ILB who is playable on Sundays. No one is disputing whether Martinez is a solid player, it's about the group as a whole. Here are your options: 1. Burks -- first, you can't even breathe on this guy and he gets hurt. He makes King look like an ironman. Second, in the limited time he has played he's shown next to nothing so we really don't know whether he's any good or not. 2. Bolton -- probably our 2nd best ILB right now which says a lot considering he's a rookie who 32 teams passed on for 7 rounds in the NFL draft. Not that it matters because he has a serious knee injury and isn't available. 3. Crawford -- to put it politely, he sucks at ILB. Good ST guy who shouldn't play a down of ILB. 4. Summers -- I like the guy but he's not ready for regular season action. Asking him to play year 1 is malpractice on our part. He should be in the weight room getting ready for 2020. 5. Sheldon -- actually if I had to pick a guy to start next to Martinez Week 1 against the Bears, I'd probably pick Sheldon and that's how bad our ILB group actually is... We just added a few more JAGs to the group. Go find me a worst squad in the NFL...you won't. It's really pretty bad .. I'm not sure how it could even rate as league average as some are saying? Outside of Martinez it's a bunch of question marks and fringe roster riff raff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannondale Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 1 hour ago, packfanfb said: Here was the simple answer at ILB. You assume he would have made the switch to ILB. He said all the right things when he filled in, but you could tell he hated it. The shampoo commercial in him wanted to stay outside. Also easy to say he would have taken a cheaper price after he found out there was no market for him. I have my doubts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
{Family Ghost} Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, cannondale said: You assume he would have made the switch to ILB. He said all the right things when he filled in, but you could tell he hated it. The shampoo commercial in him wanted to stay outside. Also easy to say he would have taken a cheaper price after he found out there was no market for him. I have my doubts Pretty sure Matthews wouldn't have been on board with it .. he thinks of himself as a pass rusher. I'm also not sure he can really run all that good these days. It was just time to move on. Edited August 26, 2019 by {Family Ghost} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossibleCabbage Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) Let's not forget that money was tight, what with the "signing 4 FAs" thing. They cut Mike Daniels largely because they wanted that money to pay Dean Lowry. Edited August 26, 2019 by PossibleCabbage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibrett15 Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 cutting tramon for matthews seems like a no-brainer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasquatch Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, cannondale said: You assume he would have made the switch to ILB. He said all the right things when he filled in, but you could tell he hated it. The shampoo commercial in him wanted to stay outside. Also easy to say he would have taken a cheaper price after he found out there was no market for him. I have my doubts Matthews says here that we was willing to play both (ILB and OLB): https://mavensports.io/packers/news/matthews-would-have-filled-packers-gaping-hole-at-inside-linebacker-3T4fm-2I3UeItYO65rW3EQ/ “I feel like I can do both,” he said in December. “This scheme actually has asked us to do a multitude of stuff that I was doing back when I was playing inside linebacker – just from an outside linebacker perspective with the games we run, dropping into coverage and all that goes along with it. I’m not opposed to anything. I feel comfortable. It’s not like when I switched to inside linebacker that I wasn’t comfortable playing it. It was just different. If you’re heading into a season knowing that’s what expected and that’s what you’re going to excel at, then so be it. I still think I can rush the passer. Obviously, the numbers are down this year but … I’m not too worried about the numbers. When you put on the film, you can see that I can play in space and I’ve had success there doing it and backed it up and, at the same time, I’ve had success on the edge. It just depends on if the Packers or anyone else wants a multidimensional guy that, yeah, is 32 but still has a lot of ball in me. If genetics show anything, I have a few more – several more – years.” Edited August 26, 2019 by Sasquatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReadyToThump Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 I'm on the "bring back Antonio Morrison" bandwagon and I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanfb Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 1 hour ago, cannondale said: You assume he would have made the switch to ILB. He said all the right things when he filled in, but you could tell he hated it. The shampoo commercial in him wanted to stay outside. Also easy to say he would have taken a cheaper price after he found out there was no market for him. I have my doubts I have my doubts about the extent of the "hometown discount" for sure. However, I think Clay would have been an asset to keep if the money was right. Not surprised Gute didn't go that direction because he moved up in the draft for Burks and doesn't want to look foolish for making what I think will end up being a foolish draft pick. Hope I'm wrong and Burks can prove to be a player but his inability to stay healthy alone, combined with the fact that he was a project from day 1 are concerning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanfb Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 49 minutes ago, ReadyToThump said: I'm on the "bring back Antonio Morrison" bandwagon and I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks! You'd hope our front office could do better than that, but at this point, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Mason Foster is still available yeah? See this is why I hated letting Ryan walk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReadyToThump Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 1 hour ago, packfanfb said: You'd hope our front office could do better than that, but at this point, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Him, Tony Brown and Kenny Clark were the 3 players that continuously showed grit and heart to me on the defense when the going got tough last year. That means a lot to me. If it weren't for him getting into an argument over luggage on a plane, he very well could still be a Packer, and starting next to Martinez. Not saying he was great or anything, but the dude was always ready to thump! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incognito_man Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 10 minutes ago, ReadyToThump said: Him, Tony Brown and Kenny Clark were the 3 players that continuously showed grit and heart to me on the defense when the going got tough last year. That means a lot to me. If it weren't for him getting into an argument over luggage on a plane, he very well could still be a Packer, and starting next to Martinez. Not saying he was great or anything, but the dude was always ready to thump! You get the football for the self-reference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighCalebR Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Bring in eric berry. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOnlyThing Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 3 hours ago, Joe said: Mason Foster is still available yeah? See this is why I hated letting Ryan walk... Jake Ryan suffered a "setback" on his recovery from ACL surgery and is currently on the NFI list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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