Random Packer News & Notes

[Leader]

2 minutes ago, HyponGrey said:

Could be the next Ryan Taylor/Tom Crabtree

He's certainly a big enough dude. 6'5 / 250? That probably wont tear off down the seams, but could certainly move some bodies around and be an intermediate / RZ target.

[Cakeshoppe]

Tim Masthay is now a soccer coach

 

[HyponGrey]

7 hours ago, Cakeshoppe said:

Tim Masthay is now a soccer coach

 

He looks like someone who enjoys being around children.

[Mr. Fussnputz]

21 hours ago, Leader said:

He's certainly a big enough dude. 6'5 / 250? That probably wont tear off down the seams, but could certainly move some bodies around and be an intermediate / RZ target.

Based on 40 times, Richard Rodgers could run circles around this dude. Let's not get too excited.

[Leader]

26 minutes ago, Mr. Fussnputz said:

Based on 40 times, Richard Rodgers could run circles around this dude. Let's not get too excited.

Ahhhh.....never looked at that info but thats not a good thing in today's NFL. He looked more the blocker type TE on the videos......perhaps a picture does tell the story. 

[Shanedorf]

On 1/5/2018 at 9:51 AM, Acrid Josher said:

Not saying it's true of everyone but in general as a fan base we know so little about the qualifications of these internal candidates and yet most of us have passionately staked our wagons to somebody as the obvious future savior when the other candidates will undoubtedly ruin us. In a way it's a Rorschach Test for fans: pick the couple surface differentiating features we know about each candidate and pump up the importance of that thing based on what you value. Do you want the experienced steady hand who represents a continuation of the past, a young phenom, or someone in between? Do you want a self-made man or someone who has the job in his veins? Do you want the jack of all trades who'd have to listen to his specialists, or the specialist who'd have to learn all the other facets on the job?

Yeah I know this is all part of being a fan but at least with players you have more to go off of in terms of job performance (game film) so you can at least pretend to have an informed opinion about who the best choice is- but with internal management they are usually so tight lipped about who is responsible for which moves that it's so much more speculative trying to predict which of these candidates will end up being better for a job they've never held. Very much a 'Dunning-Kruger Effect'.

I don't feel like I can possibly have a good opinion on who the best choice is right now, so I'm just anxiously hoping for the best and I guess we won't know for 2-3 years minimum if the choice was promising or not (unless we pick The Worst Ever or someone that just makes obvious blunders).

This all just seems to come down to whether you trust Murphy and McCarthy and the rest to make the best decision. I'm not sure that's an altogether comforting thought but I do think they are in a much better position than I am to make this decision.

Good post from Acrid Josher back in January

We've had Das Gute for a couple of fairly busy months now. One FA period, one Draft, one UDFA scramble. While the final report card won't come for some time, I think he Aced the first semester of grad school and is looking like a viable PhD candidate for the Packers.

 And based on today's' news it sounds like they are real close on a new blockbuster deal for Rodgers

That's a hell of a start to a GM career. 

[vegas492]

1 hour ago, Shanedorf said:

Good post from Acrid Josher back in January

We've had Das Gute for a couple of fairly busy months now. One FA period, one Draft, one UDFA scramble. While the final report card won't come for some time, I think he Aced the first semester of grad school and is looking like a viable PhD candidate for the Packers.

 And based on today's' news it sounds like they are real close on a new blockbuster deal for Rodgers

That's a hell of a start to a GM career. 

I dig your optimism, don't doubt that at all while reading this...

If I were to play Devil's Advocate....he did not handle the Jordy situation appropriately.  In free agency, he scored a great deal with Mo, but Mo has huge red marks against him.  That one is a risk.  He got Graham at tight end and paid a lot for him.  It isn't like we are getting a mid 20's, pre-injury Graham here.  Dude has labored in obscurity in Seattle for a few years.  He too is risky.

Cobb and his giant salary are still on the books.  Despite recent rumblings, no new deal with Rodgers has been reached yet.  Matthews is still there at the high salary, and to an outsider looks like a nice one to extend.  Morgan Burnett was signed for near peanuts...could have been retained.

Draft wise, he fleeced NO...yes.  He did that.  Took Alexander about where he should be taken.  Had the stones to double dip with Jackson.  Questionable trade up to get into the third round for a guy who hasn't played the same position for 2 years in a row yet.  Took some nice size/speed WR's...finds the lovechild of Sitton and Tauscher for the o-line, and drafts a punter to go with a long snapper....amongst others.

Had Thompson drafted a punter AND a long snapper in the draft, I think this site may have melted down.  Had Thompson left the WR corp one hit on Adams away from starting Trevor Davis, Cobb and Allison?  With no WR drafted till the 4'th?  Another meltdown.

So I'm not ready to give him a PhD just yet.

But, I'm sitting here in reality...and I dig the draft.  I think we were meh (average) in free agency.  For sure he's shaking things up.  For sure I am excited.  But for sure, he took some serious risks here, we shall see how they pan out.

[Dubz41]

22 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

I dig your optimism, don't doubt that at all while reading this...

If I were to play Devil's Advocate....he did not handle the Jordy situation appropriately.  In free agency, he scored a great deal with Mo, but Mo has huge red marks against him.  That one is a risk.  He got Graham at tight end and paid a lot for him.  It isn't like we are getting a mid 20's, pre-injury Graham here.  Dude has labored in obscurity in Seattle for a few years.  He too is risky.

Cobb and his giant salary are still on the books.  Despite recent rumblings, no new deal with Rodgers has been reached yet.  Matthews is still there at the high salary, and to an outsider looks like a nice one to extend.  Morgan Burnett was signed for near peanuts...could have been retained.

Draft wise, he fleeced NO...yes.  He did that.  Took Alexander about where he should be taken.  Had the stones to double dip with Jackson.  Questionable trade up to get into the third round for a guy who hasn't played the same position for 2 years in a row yet.  Took some nice size/speed WR's...finds the lovechild of Sitton and Tauscher for the o-line, and drafts a punter to go with a long snapper....amongst others.

Had Thompson drafted a punter AND a long snapper in the draft, I think this site may have melted down.  Had Thompson left the WR corp one hit on Adams away from starting Trevor Davis, Cobb and Allison?  With no WR drafted till the 4'th?  Another meltdown.

So I'm not ready to give him a PhD just yet.

But, I'm sitting here in reality...and I dig the draft.  I think we were meh (average) in free agency.  For sure he's shaking things up.  For sure I am excited.  But for sure, he took some serious risks here, we shall see how they pan out.

Watching Gute's moves leads me to admire his confidence in HIS evaluations of talent.  I read that part of the GM interviews for Green Bay they were to bring in their write ups on the draft selections over the last three years.  I heard that Gute's evals were right on the money.  That being said, we can deduce that Jordy was NOT in the future plans at all.  It is a business and I'm a little surprised at how butt-hurt some of the fan base is over Jordy.  Yes, I'll miss him too, but he looked OVER.  Old and done with.  I don't think they wanted him back at all.  Same for Burnett.  He was NOT a playmaker.  Slow and steady is a parable, not an ideal comment on a NFL player.  Both tough cuts, but necessary to move on and get better.  This draft showed that he understands how the draft works and isn't afraid to move around.  His selections weren't immediately poplular, but they did reflect the confidence of someone who is doing what they think best.  He's playing the odds with late round picks, three 3rd days WRs and chances are one will work out, maybe two. The punter and LS? Headscratchers for sure, but both positions could use upgrades. 

My point is that Gute took some unique steps that showed he is taking his own direction moving forward.  Of course if we don't make the playoffs he will come under fire and rightly so.  With ARod as you QB you don't rebuild. I think he filled our biggest needs and I fully expect us back in the playoffs.  With just some contributions from the last two drafts we are getting better.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Dubz41

[packfanfb]

Meh, it's way too early to even speculate whether Gute's first off-season will pay dividends. So far, I'm okay with it, but it hasn't exactly been a revelation or very different even from TT's typical off-season, which is somewhat disappointing. Still about four months between now and the start of the season, and hopefully Gute intends on continuing to improve the roster. 

Few points: 

1. The Jordy situation is a debacle as of right now: When Gute cut Jordy I was fully behind it. Guy is 32 years old, looked 45 when Hundley was playing QB and was basically a red-zone guy at this point of his career. That being said, Jordy was still a savy veteran, liked by Rodgers, and it appears he would have been willing to play another year here for cents on the dollar. As such, when Gute made the move I liked it because I assumed it was made with the guarantee that we would be upgrading at the WR position. To date, that has not happened. Instead, we drafted three guys on Day 3 of the draft and we'll cross our fingers that one of them can contribute early on in the season. Good luck because it doesn't happen very often. To me, letting Jordy go without a real effort to retain him on a cheap deal is downright dumb unless we plan to replace him, even on a 1 year basis. Still plenty of time to add another WR and let's hope Gute does so. 

2. The Fuller deal: Not Gute's finest moment. There were plenty of good CBs in FA this year and the only one we reportedly offered a big contract to was the one guy we had a 5% chance to sign, Kyle Fuller. Basically, we negotiated the Bears' deal for Fuller for them. Amateur hour for Gute on that one. On the one plus side, at least Gute was willing to take a shot a big-name FA and show that he's not afraid to throw a big contract at a player -- that makes me feel better about him going forward. 

3. No EDGE defender: This is a problem and I'm not buying the bologna that simply relying on Biegel, Gilbert and Fackrell behind Perry/Matthews is going to be good enough. I'm already reading the news articles about "Pettine's going to have manufacture pressure" etc. We have ignored the EDGE position for years now and I fully expect we will struggle there again this year absent some type of move at the position. So far, Gute hasn't solved that problem and IMO hoping that Vince Biegel is the answer seems very cavalier. 

On the flip side, I like the other moves Gute has made in FA, adding Graham, adding Wilkerson and adding depth to the CB position with Tramon/House. Safety position still worries me a bit because I'm not a Josh Jones guy (I think he's a better ILB than safety), but we'll see. Overall, I liked the draft as well, but it's way too early to grade Gute's draft right now. 

Here's hoping Gute has a few more moves in him this off-season to bolster the WR and EDGE position. If he does, I think we are right in the Super Bowl conversation this year. 

 

[Leader]

 

[Pugger]

On 5/1/2018 at 6:57 AM, Reaper said:

I liked callahan but mostly because he looked like a kid on the playground running for his life. Im not sure if I ever saw him complete a pass in rythm it seems like they were all after everything broke down. Perhaps thats because those are the ones that stick out. 

I saw the Eagles signed Callahan.  I doubt he'll get much playing time over there either (or make that roster) behind Wentz and Foles.

[HyponGrey]

1 hour ago, Pugger said:

I saw the Eagles signed Callahan.  I doubt he'll get much playing time over there either (or make that roster) behind Wentz and Foles.

Good news! Wentz might not be back on the field for the opening game of the season. Plenty of preseason reps to go around.

[Leader]

Some one time shopping data. Rookie Camp is a go

[Leader]

 

[Leader]

A clean start. Mark that down.