Some random thoughts about the team moving forward

[RashanGary]

Players up for contract after this year

Peppers - Still can play, but this is probably it
Lang - Top notch player, but the NFL is a young mans game, if we can go younger we should
Perry - Good player. I think we should keep him
Cook - Just now getting on the same page with AR. I think we should keep him.
Hyde - Good player. I think we should keep him
Lacy - Good player. Should be reasonably priced. I think we should keep him
Tretter - Good, young big guy. I think we should keep him
Barclay - I like his versatility, but with Spriggs showing up as a player, if the Packers like Murphy, it might be best to move on.

Players who are good enough to give a deal to a year early

Clinton Dix - Good young player, just coming into his own
Burnett - Solid, experienced player. Glue piece. Would like to see him stay.
Lane Taylor - Good young player
Corey Lindsley - Good young player

Shields' career might be done



I'd like to see Tretter play guard when he comes back. Spriggs has played well, but I envision him taking over for Bulaga in a year or two. If Tretter can play guard, it would make moving on from Lang an easy decision. Spriggs would be the 6th man, and then either Barclay or Murphy as your 7th guy.

With what happened to Shields and Lacy this year, the salary cap looks wide open. TT has the money for another Peppers or Woodson type signing. I could see us going out and getting a CB next off season. I like Randall. Other than that, I like Rollins and Gunter as depth guys. Hyde is a good specialized nickle/dime guy, but would like to see a legit player opposite Randall.

[Bretsky]

Players up for contract after this year

Peppers - Still can play, but this is probably it
Lang - Top notch player, but the NFL is a young mans game, if we can go younger we should
Perry - Good player. I think we should keep him
Cook - Just now getting on the same page with AR. I think we should keep him.
Hyde - Good player. I think we should keep him
Lacy - Good player. Should be reasonably priced. I think we should keep him
Tretter - Good, young big guy. I think we should keep him
Barclay - I like his versatility, but with Spriggs showing up as a player, if the Packers like Murphy, it might be best to move on.

Players who are good enough to give a deal to a year early

Clinton Dix - Good young player, just coming into his own
Burnett - Solid, experienced player. Glue piece. Would like to see him stay.
Lane Taylor - Good young player
Corey Lindsley - Good young player

Shields' career might be done



I'd like to see Tretter play guard when he comes back. Spriggs has played well, but I envision him taking over for Bulaga in a year or two. If Tretter can play guard, it would make moving on from Lang an easy decision. Spriggs would be the 6th man, and then either Barclay or Murphy as your 7th guy.

With what happened to Shields and Lacy this year, the salary cap looks wide open. TT has the money for another Peppers or Woodson type signing. I could see us going out and getting a CB next off season. I like Randall. Other than that, I like Rollins and Gunter as depth guys. Hyde is a good specialized nickle/dime guy, but would like to see a legit player opposite Randall.

I pretty much agree with all of this but I'd add one more

Still can Function, but it's time to move on

Ted Thompson--Melvanize yourself for Eliot Wolf. Step aside, become an advisor, and hire Eliot before we lose him

Dom Capers----Like TT move, it's time for some new blood . He's decent; but it's run it's course

[RashanGary]

Davante Adams expires after 2017. He looked like an absolute animal on that sideline play after he stepped out. Damn! Looks like he's going to have a 1,000 yard plus season. He's just starting to get his identity. We might need to sign him year early to a 10M deal if he blows up the next four games and into the post season (if we make it.)

Nelson is getting old. Cobb is a slot guy. Mongomery too. Adams is our only legit young WR, and AR really doesn't play well with new pieces, so starting over again with a new guy makes me uneasy. I could see Adams resigned too, to a big deal. He could take Shields money. But Peppers money and Langs money is still out there.

[Fritz]

Datone Jones' play has clearly been forgettable, as JH forgot him on his list.

A failed first round pick, that one.

[hoosier]

Why do you think Hyde is worth anything at all? When I am watching the only time I notice him is when he blows a coverage or misses a tackle. What am I missing?

[Zool]

Why do you think Hyde is worth anything at all? When I am watching the only time I notice him is when he blows a coverage or misses a tackle. What am I missing?

Apparently the same thing I am missing. He's the AJ Hawk of the secondary. He's rarely in position to break up a pass, but his guy rarely has YAC. He's very meh.

[RashanGary]

I like him at a couple mil per year.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Apparently the same thing I am missing. He's the AJ Hawk of the secondary. He's rarely in position to break up a pass, but his guy rarely has YAC. He's very meh.

He's got great hands. hahaha

[Fritz]

Players up for contract after this year

Peppers - Still can play, but this is probably it
Lang - Top notch player, but the NFL is a young mans game, if we can go younger we should
Perry - Good player. I think we should keep him
Cook - Just now getting on the same page with AR. I think we should keep him.
Hyde - Good player. I think we should keep him
Lacy - Good player. Should be reasonably priced. I think we should keep him
Tretter - Good, young big guy. I think we should keep him
Barclay - I like his versatility, but with Spriggs showing up as a player, if the Packers like Murphy, it might be best to move on.

Players who are good enough to give a deal to a year early

Clinton Dix - Good young player, just coming into his own
Burnett - Solid, experienced player. Glue piece. Would like to see him stay.
Lane Taylor - Good young player
Corey Lindsley - Good young player

Shields' career might be done



I'd like to see Tretter play guard when he comes back. Spriggs has played well, but I envision him taking over for Bulaga in a year or two. If Tretter can play guard, it would make moving on from Lang an easy decision. Spriggs would be the 6th man, and then either Barclay or Murphy as your 7th guy.

With what happened to Shields and Lacy this year, the salary cap looks wide open. TT has the money for another Peppers or Woodson type signing. I could see us going out and getting a CB next off season. I like Randall. Other than that, I like Rollins and Gunter as depth guys. Hyde is a good specialized nickle/dime guy, but would like to see a legit player opposite Randall.

What I like about this thread is the implication: that, for as fun and rejuvenating as this little two-game win streak has been, in reality it's looking damn bleak for the Packers this year, so it doesn't hurt to look ahead.

The secondary is a mess - even if Randall gets back it still looks shaky this year. Now, with another year and good health, it might be the strength we thought it would be this year, but right now it's not. And with the banged up linebacking corps, the pass rush is non-existent unless there's a blitz.

The team has no speed at wide receiver. With Cook's injuries or his track record, he hasn't had a huge impact. The running game left when Eddie Lacy left.

Yup, it's been a fun little ride, but I think it's going to end in either a non-playoff year, or, at the very best, in a one-and-done playoff. so let's talk about what next year might look like. Why not?

[Zool]

He's got great hands. hahaha

I miss him on punt returns. There was never any thrill at all. Fair Catch Hyde leaves nothing to chance.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Why do you think Hyde is worth anything at all? When I am watching the only time I notice him is when he blows a coverage or misses a tackle. What am I missing?

Hyde's smart and he's Aryan.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Burnett was mediocre in yesteryear. He has lost a step. Can't cover anyone anymore.

[texaspackerbacker]

Hyde would seem a lot like Hawk if he had been drafted in the upper half of the first round. Considering where he was drafted, he's been pretty decent - and I recall a few pretty good punt run backs also.

Pretty much everybody mentioned here is a serviceable mid-level, some would say mediocre players. With the exception of Barclay, it's not a bad idea to keep most of them. The problem is that unlike just about every team, we haven't lucked out or drafted more wisely to get some star-quality players. Is that Ted Thompson's fault, or just bad luck? It's hard to say, but the point with Thompson is he has failed to procure any star-quality players in free agency or otherwise either - not since Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews anyway. Regarding Capers, his scheming has resulted in a generally well above average defense despite having average or below average personnel.

What should happen going forward? The best thing would be to start fresh with a new GM and a new head coach while Aaron Rodgers is still young enough for it to make a difference. I'd try to retain Capers, as IMO, our D goes right down the toilet without his scheming.

[red]

what you really have to look at is, not if those players are good enough to stay, its are those players better then the rookies that would replace them on the roster?

unless things radically change this offseason

[gbgary]

what you really have to look at is, not if those players are good enough to stay, its are those players better then the rookies that would replace them on the roster?

EXACTLY!! the Packers have been on a slow, but steady, downward spiral in the talent department. philosophy, and talent evaluation (possibly due to people going to other clubs), are problems. the team has to get better...not CHEAPER and not YOUNGER!

[pbmax]

From the NFLPA:




Notice how cheap that bastard Thompson is.

[beveaux1]

Notice how cheap that bastard Thompson is.

Looks like the Packers have spent the fifth most dollars during that time period. The question for me has always been "If you need a medium priced free agent to fill a position, or to make a position decidedly better, which of our players at the end of their contract do we decide to let go?"

We always seem to have 7-10 million to spend at the end of a year, but that money rolls over to the next year when our next years crop of players are up for renewal. It's pretty easy today to say we should have signed Josh Norman when he was available, but it's a lot harder when it means you can't sign your LT or your C or your 8 sack OLB. How do we then fill those positions.

Would we really have been better off signing Travathan to a free agent contract and not drafting Martinez? This might have kept us from signing Perry and/or Cook to a show me contract and also might keep us from signing Tretter or Bak for next year. It also would have given us a 4th round draft pick we can use on a Perry replacement or a Cook replacement. How many good pass rushers have been picked up in the 4th round? What about TEs? That's right, we got R Rodgers in the 3rd. Lot more of those than Wittens or Gonzalez'.

Anyway, I'll say it again, be careful what you wish for.

[beveaux1]

The NFL, with the salary cap and the draft ( where successful teams draft later) sets teams up to have good runs followed by bad runs. We've been able to beat the system for a long time now. Enjoy the ride, our time of reckoning will eventually come. We've been able to job the system so far.

[red]

oh come on, just because we are spending more money then everyone else, doesn't mean we are using the cap as effectively as other teams

maybe TT doesn't understand how to play the cap like other GM's do. if players are willing to sign funny money deals, why not use them?

not all that money spent was good money, and a lot of it was wasted on our own home grown crap

look at the patriots at proof of how to play the cap game. they spend about the same as us in cap space every year, are just as good as us, but have spent 83 million less then us over the last 5 years

[hoosier]

oh come on, just because we are spending more money then everyone else, doesn't mean we are using the cap as effectively as other teams maybe TT doesn't understand how to play the cap like other GM's do. if players are willing to sign funny money deals, why not use them? not all that money spent was good money, and a lot of it was wasted on our own home grown crap
look at the patriots at proof of how to play the cap game. they spend about the same as us in cap space every year, are just as good as us, but have spent 83 million less then us over the last 5 years