Packers Sign DE Mo Wilkerson

[Green19]

41 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

Old news IMO, doesn't apply when you have a generational talent. What does CLE have to offer? NBA guys still have taken less throughout the year to play with LeBron.

It puts us at a disadvantage for guys that put their brand over football and want to party. Don't mind we don't get those guys anyway.

Vets that want to win championships? We have as good a shot as any.

Why? At the end of the day these guys are humans, money and location will always be the main drivers. We are talking about 20 year old men.

Green Bay will only get the top FAs if they overspend.... having a generational talent HURTS that because you are paying for that. Also add to that football guys don’t get advertisements and show deals like NBA players so you can’t make the agurement that oh play with Rodgers and get notice and you can make more money in these other avenues.

Green Bay is perfect for quiet, family men, guys that just love football, etc. And their best recruitment is to draft these types of men and let them fall in love with the city over the course of there rookie contract.

Until GB has like 60 million plus in cap space any given year... they will never truly compete in FA... but that’s good too be because it means they have good talent they are already paying.

[CWood21]

4 hours ago, skibrett15 said:

ask @CWood21.  he's the founding member and the only one who can dissolve the cult

Say what?  My opinion has that the price tag has almost always been more than what Ted Thompson was willing to spend.  Does anyone truly believe that Ted didn't even pick up the phone to find out the prices or express interest?

[IrishGreen]

Bs that we tried to sign guys and they just didn’t want to sign here.

At the end of the day, money and the ability to contend almost always wins out. 

Im sure there might’ve been a few guys who scoffed at signing in GB, but sounds like pure bs that none wanted to sign here if the money was right and we had the ability to contend.

Prolly lowballed them and “mysteriously” they didn’t want to sign with us.

[Shanedorf]

Its also hard on many of the wives; they don't get many of the big benefits of playing for the Packers. All they see is a small town in Siberia and you can be sure they are letting their hubbies know how they feel. Happy wife = Happy life.

I have had seats in the players-family section at Lambeau and had a chance to talk to a few of them over the years. And you get to hear their point of view. They aren't rabid Packer fans, they didn't grow up in Sconnie, they have no deep abiding love for the place... and why would they ?

Cleveland and Detroit are at least larger cities and are culturally and racially diverse. Green Bay is as white and provincial as they come and if you're "not from around here", it can be a very difficult transition. Especially for the large number of players/families who come from Florida, Texas and California. Over time, many of them come around - just like Woodson did. But for FAs, there just isn't enough time to win them over and change their perceptions.

Green Bay doesn't actually suck, but they do have an image/perception problem among young millionaires and their families. And you can be sure other teams use that against the Packers in competitive FA situations.

I also understand why some fans push back so hard on this concept and refuse to listen to what Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider have shared over the years. These fans are guided by the mantra that TT sits on his hands, the Packers are cheap etc. And those comments from the Packers front office fly directly in the face of their closely held beliefs. There is no amount of direct evidence that will ever change their minds. So be it

And as PR said earlier, it kind of separates the wheat from the chaff in terms of which players will thrive in GB

[Leader]

2 minutes ago, Shanedorf said:

Its also hard on many of the wives; they don't get many of the big benefits of playing for the Packers. All they see is a small town in Siberia and you can be sure they are letting their hubbies know how they feel. Happy wife = Happy life.

I have had seats in the players-family section at Lambeau and had a chance to talk to a few of them over the years. And you get to hear their point of view. They aren't rabid Packer fans, they didn't grow up in Sconnie, they have no deep abiding love for the place... and why would they ?

Cleveland and Detroit are at least larger cities and are culturally and racially diverse. Green Bay is as white and provincial as they come and if you're "not from around here", it can be a very difficult transition. Especially for the large number of players/families who come from Florida, Texas and California. Over time, many of them come around - just like Woodson did. But for FAs, there just isn't enough time to win them over and change their perceptions.

Green Bay doesn't actually suck, but they do have an image/perception problem among young millionaires and their families. And you can be sure other teams use that against the Packers in competitive FA situations.

I also understand why some fans push back so hard on this concept and refuse to listen to what Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider have shared over the years. These fans are guided by the mantra that TT sits on his hands, the Packers are cheap etc. And those comments from the Packers front office fly directly in the face of their closely held beliefs. There is no amount of direct evidence that will ever change their minds. So be it

And as PR said earlier, it kind of separates the wheat from the chaff in terms of which players will thrive in GB

I agree with this and have for years. Well written and said. It's not an indictment - just a balanced evaluation.

[AlexGreen#20]

15 hours ago, deltarich87 said:

This is the result though when you whiff in the draft. Randall/Rollins in 2015 had a domino effect and none of it was good. The Shields concussion thing was bad luck at the worst possible time

GB may seriously be looking at drafting CB with their 1st pick for the 3rd time in 4 yrs, all while at the same time having to spend in FA to address CB. Ouch

You're absolutely right. Not disagreeing. Just complaining.

[AlexGreen#20]

13 minutes ago, Shanedorf said:

Its also hard on many of the wives; they don't get many of the big benefits of playing for the Packers. All they see is a small town in Siberia and you can be sure they are letting their hubbies know how they feel. Happy wife = Happy life.

I have had seats in the players-family section at Lambeau and had a chance to talk to a few of them over the years. And you get to hear their point of view. They aren't rabid Packer fans, they didn't grow up in Sconnie, they have no deep abiding love for the place... and why would they ?

Cleveland and Detroit are at least larger cities and are culturally and racially diverse. Green Bay is as white and provincial as they come and if you're "not from around here", it can be a very difficult transition. Especially for the large number of players/families who come from Florida, Texas and California. Over time, many of them come around - just like Woodson did. But for FAs, there just isn't enough time to win them over and change their perceptions.

Green Bay doesn't actually suck, but they do have an image/perception problem among young millionaires and their families. And you can be sure other teams use that against the Packers in competitive FA situations.

I also understand why some fans push back so hard on this concept and refuse to listen to what Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider have shared over the years. These fans are guided by the mantra that TT sits on his hands, the Packers are cheap etc. And those comments from the Packers front office fly directly in the face of their closely held beliefs. There is no amount of direct evidence that will ever change their minds. So be it

And as PR said earlier, it kind of separates the wheat from the chaff in terms of which players will thrive in GB

Good post

[Joe]

Did y'all see the Joe Gibbs episode of A Football Life the other night? Prime evidence of Shanedorf's post.

 

as for the OT: I'm glad this is a 1-year prove-it deal. Jets fans were happy to see Wilkerson go, which doesn't settle quite right with me.

[Leader]

Click on the tweet to view the videos.

 

[IrishGreen]

1 hour ago, Shanedorf said:

Its also hard on many of the wives; they don't get many of the big benefits of playing for the Packers. All they see is a small town in Siberia and you can be sure they are letting their hubbies know how they feel. Happy wife = Happy life.

I have had seats in the players-family section at Lambeau and had a chance to talk to a few of them over the years. And you get to hear their point of view. They aren't rabid Packer fans, they didn't grow up in Sconnie, they have no deep abiding love for the place... and why would they ?

Cleveland and Detroit are at least larger cities and are culturally and racially diverse. Green Bay is as white and provincial as they come and if you're "not from around here", it can be a very difficult transition. Especially for the large number of players/families who come from Florida, Texas and California. Over time, many of them come around - just like Woodson did. But for FAs, there just isn't enough time to win them over and change their perceptions.

Green Bay doesn't actually suck, but they do have an image/perception problem among young millionaires and their families. And you can be sure other teams use that against the Packers in competitive FA situations.

I also understand why some fans push back so hard on this concept and refuse to listen to what Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider have shared over the years. These fans are guided by the mantra that TT sits on his hands, the Packers are cheap etc. And those comments from the Packers front office fly directly in the face of their closely held beliefs. There is no amount of direct evidence that will ever change their minds. So be it

And as PR said earlier, it kind of separates the wheat from the chaff in terms of which players will thrive in GB

Good post.

I'm on the side who believes it has some effect, just not as big as it's made out to be. I also don't believe we struggled so mightily and then "holy crap, we just signed jimmy graham and mo wilkerson out of the blue! what a coincidence!". thompson clearly didn't make FA a priority. and i'm not sure how it can be argued otherwise. I guess I still don't understand how some have been happy with what they've being the past several years and aren't welcoming a new approach. I think there's many on here who still wanted to keep Capers; but I'm getting off topic.

RE: Green Bay affecting FA signings. 

We're talking a handful of years max (in most cases), for part of the year, in a family friendly town. most of these guys are millionaires several times over who can afford offseason homes in miami, london, macau, or wherever their hearts desire. Ultimately, most humans, in a vacuum, will take a job that pays the most where they are happy doing what they do. There are countless times when guys have asked for outs in vibrant and diverse places because they couldn't stand their situation. Most of them realize they can keep a second home there or move there when they are done playing. They only get one shot at this professional sports thing. And like you said, the ones that really don't care? They wouldn't thrive here anyways. 

It's naive to think some prospective FAs haven't laughed off GB when deciding where to sign next, but I also think it's silly to think it has so much of an affect that we've been adversely affected in some way; you could probably say that about half of the other cities in the NFL. and i get the "cleveland and detroit have this acceptable level of diversity and things to do" angle, but they're not even in the same stratosphere as places like nyc or la. the new yorks, los angeles, and miamis are always going to be the sexy places to go, but sometimes i think these guys need to be given more credit on the depth of consideration in which they make these decisions. 

so ultimately, i agree with you, but it's pretty laughable to use it as an excuse. either thompson wasn't taking FA seriously, or gute is some kind of other-worldly magician. that's the point.

[MacReady]

^^^I really hate the argument of, "These guys get paid millions, they don't have to live in Green Bay..."

The preseason starts in August.  The regular season lasts until January.  That's not counting training camp and OTAs.  Yeah, they can afford a second house.  They're still living in Green Bay half the year.  Reggie McKenzie literally said that there were a bunch of players who didn't want to go to Green Bay.  There is more evidence to suggest it's right than there is evidence to suggest it's wrong.  "Pretty laughable to use it as an excuse..." Tell that to McKenzie because that's literally what he did. 

[Packerraymond]

2 minutes ago, HorizontoZenith said:

^^^I really hate the argument of, "These guys get paid millions, they don't have to live in Green Bay..."

The preseason starts in August.  The regular season lasts until January.  That's not counting training camp and OTAs.  Yeah, they can afford a second house.  They're still living in Green Bay half the year.  Reggie McKenzie literally said that there were a bunch of players who didn't want to go to Green Bay.  There is more evidence to suggest it's right than there is evidence to suggest it's wrong.  "Pretty laughable to use it as an excuse..." Tell that to McKenzie because that's literally what he did. 

Then why did Reggie White, Charles Woodson, Julius Peppers, Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson come here? You're legit talking 3 HoF players and one in Graham that could be there when it's done.

Guys don't want to sign places all the time for various reasons. No team is going to have 100% interest. Just like recruiting, you're going to cast a wide net and only get 25-30% return.

I guarantee you if you went in with as aggressive a plan as Gute did every year since 2005 we'd have a mid-top tier FA every year. If you have 50% of all FAs say eff Green Bay no way in hell I'm playing there, you're still looking at hundreds of possibilities.

[AlexGreen#20]

1 minute ago, Packerraymond said:

Then why did Reggie White, Charles Woodson, Julius Peppers, Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson come here? You're legit talking 3 HoF players and one in Graham that could be there when it's done.

Guys don't want to sign places all the time for various reasons. No team is going to have 100% interest. Just like recruiting, you're going to cast a wide net and only get 25-30% return.

I guarantee you if you went in with as aggressive a plan as Gute did every year since 2005 we'd have a mid-top tier FA every year. If you have 50% of all FAs say eff Green Bay no way in hell I'm playing there, you're still looking at hundreds of possibilities.

Money, money, money, money, and money.

In order.

[Packerraymond]

Also there were literally reports of Rodgers and Mac not wanting Ball for his attitude on FA and Gute literally drops the "every avenue" line as much as he can to separate himself from Ted.

Ted for all his strengths did not believe in FA unless he had excess cap and a gaping hole he wasn't confident the draft could fix. I'm sure he called FAs all the time, but it was nothing more than touching base, not pursuit

[Packerraymond]

Just now, AlexGreen#20 said:

Money, money, money, money, and money.

In order.

So like I've said all along, if you pay a FA, they'll come to GB?

I think the "well guys don't want to come to GB excuse we hear a lot from former guys here is to keep from saying "Ted doesn't actively use FA" and the controversy that would start. It's an easy and plausible answer, but I don't buy it.