Packers Strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi has been fired.
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Packers Strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi has been fired.
Packers have signed a kicker. Not wasting any time sending a message.
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/202...source=twitter
Quote:
The Green Bay Packers are signing kicker Jack Podlesny to the offseason 90-man roster, according to Bill Huber of Packer Central.
Coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers were open to competition at kicker for Anders Carlson, who missed a 41-yard field goal during the team’s NFC Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers and ended the season with misses in 10 of the final 12 games, including the postseason.
For now, the competition will be Podlesny, who went undrafted out of Georgia in 2023. He spent part of training camp with the Minnesota Vikings but was released in mid-August.
The Packers worked out Podlesny (along with Parker White) in September.
Over three seasons at Georgia, Podlesny made 60 of 73 field goals (82.2 percent) and 182 of 184 extra points (98.9). During his redshirt senior season in 2022, Podlesny missed only four kicks (26 of 29 on field goals, 73 of 74 on extra points). During the College Football Playoffs in 2022, he made 3-of-5 field goals and 12-of-13 extra points. He missed from 47 yards and 52 yards but his extra point gave Georgia a 42-41 win over Ohio State in the semifinal.
Podlesny, a two-time national champion at Georgia, participated at the Senior Bowl ahead of the 2023 draft.
From https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2...t-team-all-sec
Per wikipedia (I know I know) here's Mason Crosby's college numbers:Quote:
As a redshirt senior, Podlesny was named both a First-Team All-SEC kicker and the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Year. His career totals at Georgia were 61 field goals made out of 74 attempts (82 percent) with a 64 percent touchback percentage (86 of 134). For perspective, Carlson was 79 of 110 (72 percent) on field goals with a 58 percent touchback percentage (183 of 313) during his SEC career.
66 of 88 FG (75%), 109 of 117 XP (93.2%) and138 TB on 203 KOs over 50 games, with a reputation for kicking in the clutch (10/10 FG in last 8.5 minutes). Also hit FGs of 56, 58 and 60 yards.
There's just so much more pressure on a kicker in the NFL than there is on kickers in college. Every kick is magnified because the games are closer. Packers had 8 games this year decided by 4 points or less. You don't really know what you have in a kicker going from college to the NFL until the pressure is on.
Agree. there's a lot of scrutiny and pressure.
Also the hashes are different in pros, the size and speed of the players too (obvs).
I don't think so, unless you are facing a really clever ST coach who schemes up wacky block or return calls.Quote:
Does the opponent matter when you’re kicking field goals? I would think your snapper and holder are more impactful than whoever is lined up on the other side. I suppose the one block a year could factor in, but barely.
I would think things like weather conditions, field conditions, and even altitude would be more important.
The kicking "operation" - snapper & holder - are most important. We learned that from Bojorquez and Hunter Bradley.
Yeah, that pressure was what I was talking about. Georgia against some other high level SEC team is about the nearest you can get to the way it is in the NFL.
Bringing in this guy is a start, but I hope they bring in several more and start the competition out even, no advantage for Carlson.
Outside of QB the only guys who generally play well into their 30s are the big men. I think Clark has another contract in him to be honest. Not a "top dollar" deal, but a pretty good one regardless. Plus I think he was drafted about as young as you can be. Don't feel like googling his age. Big talented DL and OL who take care of themselves often play to 33/34.
The NFL is a completely results driven institution. Whomever can kick the best will get the job.
High drafted players may get preferential treatment the first year and a half but after that if he can't get it done, the coach isn't going to put someone out there who is going to lose games and possible cost the coach his career.
Clark is signed through next year. He’ll be 29 during his last season. There are still 40M dollars left to absorb in cap hit.
I’m with Joe that he’s probably due for a 3 year extension. Which is a 4 year deal including the last year of his current deal.
22M is the going rate for a top tier DL not named Aaron Donald.
He’s due 15M in base this year, so the up-front money will have to be a good chunk more for his agent to want to sign. We’ll say 40 of the 60 new is guaranteed and/or up front.
3 years, 60M in new money
1 year, 40M existing
4 year, 100M total cap hit
His current cap hit is 27M with dead cap next year of 13M
Cap hits on the new deal would look like this
Age 29 17.5M
Age 30 22.5M
Age 31 27.5M
Age 32 32.5M
At his age it’s a risk. Similar to the way Bakh was. It’s always risky to sign non QBs over the age of 30. But like bobble said, really good big guy DL play well into their early 30s.
MLF firing two of his four coordinators (DC, S&CC) is certainly putting a thumbprint on your operation. Here's hoping he makes the right hires.
Gino BetOpenly.com
@Gino_BetOpenly
Gotta love seeing this as a #Packers fan[/B]
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GE0a-nnW...jpg&name=small
GREAT ARTICLE; DIDN"T KNOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS
That leaves the ugly David Bakhtiari contract situation. He is set to earn $21.5 million cash in the final year of his contract, but his initial signing bonus and three straight years of cap restructuring have now piled up into 2024 creating a whopping $40 million cap hit -- by far the largest on the roster, $12.5 million ahead of second place.
Important to note: Bakhtiari has intentionally not allowed the Packers to use void years in his restructures the past three seasons in to have full leverage of his future in the final year of his deal as the Packers now cannot lower his 2024 cap hit (outside of cutting, trading, or retirement) without David's cooperation. There is zero chance Bakhtiari will play in Green Bay on his current contract as written and the Packers have a big decision to make with their former All-Pro left tackle. No doubt, when healthy and available, Bakhtiari is still one of the best in the business, but of course his health and availability have been wildly unpredictable the past three years. If Bakhtiari himself doesn't want to stay in Green Bay or doesn't like the Packers' offer he can just refuse a restructure and force the Packers to either risk paying him $21.5 million to play and stay healthy at a $40 million cap hit, be outright released for no compensation, or risk carrying his contract into 2024 in a complex trade landscape -- none of these are great options.
Let's start with what cannot change -- there is $19.1 million of dead cap which 100% will count on the 2024 Green Bay salary cap before Bakhtiari gets a penny of contract cash in 2024. This hit cannot move out of 2024 for any reason and is comprised of past seasons' cap-kicking now coming due. It's safe to predict that once all the team's offseason moves are complete David Bakhtiari will still own the highest 2024 cap hit for the Packers -- even if he is no longer on the roster. If the Packers want to keep Bakhtiari it would have to be at a significant pay cut and restructure from his current $21.5 million cash due, but how much is Bakhtiari willing to agree to play for, in Green Bay? If Bakhtiari is willing to take a deep ten-figure pay cut and add more into at-risk incentives and per-game bonuses, then maybe he returns for 2024.
Technically an extension could happen, but I don't see a world where the Packers commit any more money unless they are 5000% certain his medical issues are behind him. If the Packers release Bakhtiari before the start of the 2024 season in March, they would gain $20.9 million of cap savings from his contract as a starting point. If he does not pass a physical before getting released, the Packers would have to pay him at least $2.05 million of his 2024 salary, of which $1.23 million would count on the 2024 salary cap as injury protection benefit. There is a fringe legal case where Bakhtiari could file an injury grievance over his entire 2024 salary, but I won't dive into that here. However, if Bakhtiari is on the Packers roster after the start of the 2024 league year and later released this grievance scenario becomes much more possible and poses a significant cap risk for the Packers. In other words,
I strongly feel the Packers need decide on David Bakhtiari before March 13th and not allow his "as-is" contract to hit the books for 2024. The Packers could seek to trade Bakhtiari but comes with complications. The new team would have to clear him medically after his multiple 2023 knee surgeries and be willing to give up draft picks for his $21.5 million contract. Also, trades cannot happen until after March 13th so the Packers would have to carry his contract into the 2024 season which is risky (see above) all while being cap compliant with his $40 million deal still on the books. I doubt Bakhtiari would agree to lower his salary to aid a trade unless he controls where he will go. The worst case would be agreeing to a trade, having the new team fail his medicals, then landing back with the Packers scrambling for a way forward. I tend to believe the Packers can no longer afford to take a "wait and see" approach and a hard decision needs to be made here before March 13th resulting in an outright release.
I wonder how much Ted Thompson Gute will show now that Rodgers is gone. If Ted had a position of need and no player dropped to him in the draft, he’d count on his scouts to dumpster dive and find something worth keeping. This was incredibly frustrating to fans who really focus on the “right now” aspect and don’t consider the possibility of getting lucky in the dumpster dive.
Gute could go full ted and patch the safety position together with whatever he can find at the local thrift store.
Gute's been a pretty good bargain hunter. De'vondre Campbell was a late signing, Rudy Ford, Keisean Nixon, Rasul Douglas and Bo Melton off practice squads. He'll need to do it again as they won't have a lot of cap room. Actually Gute does this more than Ted. Ted was more likely to just rely on UDFA's.
I think the expanded practice rosters (16 domestic + 1 international development next season) mean a different kind of scouting is needed. I'm not sure what or how, but now the best 496 players not on an active roster are on someone else's practice squad.
Can you watch other teams' practice squad players, or just in pre-season and what you get in training camp film?
I'm guessing Guter's going to pull from the Ron Wolf/Ted Thompson draft strategy: draft a few guys at a position of need and hope at least one works out. Hell, during the rise of Randy Moss, Wolf once drafted defensive backs with his first three picks in a row. Only the third-round guy, Mike Mckenzie, really worked out. If I recall, his first round guy was a safety who did not like to hit, and his second round guy was traded to Seattle (his first name was Fred, I think) for some fumble-prone running back named Ahman something-or-other...
A little less drama this year.
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Rob Demovsky
@RobDemovsky
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst will hold his season wrap-up press conference on Thursday at noon.
How long untill we get a new DC?
Uh . . . . yes?
You're asking an awful lot of me here, Joe. Trying to get me to be consistent and all.
As for the free agents, I'd like to see them try to keep Nixon. He's got value both as a returner and as at least a backup slot. He's not too bad out there. At least he's not afraid to tackle.
I know Dillon is beloved in Door County and all, but I just don't see the value of keeping him.
pretty sure he did that this season. The 5th year on Savage was exercised the year prior and probably regretted it. They had to work around that 8M albatross with castoffs like Ford and Owens.Quote:
Gute could go full ted and patch the safety position together with whatever he can find at the local thrift store.
Before he got hurt I thought Ford was playing the best of all the Packers safeties. And I think the Packers originally signed him because he was a ST stud. So I think they'll try to bring him back. And Anthony Johnson Jr. will be back. The rest I don't much care about. Safety is a position where I expect Gute might be looking in FA.
With our cap space, I question whether we'll be able to afford any significant safety upgrade with our cap issues. We still have a ton of dead money, and a Top 7 or 8 quarterback to extend. But if Gute sounds confident, it makes me wonder if he has more cuts or restructures in mind than some of us are thinking.
I think this team would do well in focussing on defense, defense and more defense in response to the needs of this team.
On offense we have a feeding frenzy at wr and te looks good with kraft and Musgrave just reps reps and more reps...
The offensive line is in my world the most misunderstood because these guys had Love running for his life and he honestly looked like tarvaris Jackson God rest his soul, at times. Elgton is the only name and Myers has never really developed like I hoped linsley and even EDS did, at the moment it's not a position of strength and consistency but it seems like the talent might be in house for at least 3 spots..
Kenny Clark leaving would suck. He's a poor man's Chris Jones but he's our poor man and if you got nothing better give him an honest reflection of his worth and then let him make a decision..
Devondre Campbell has not been worth the investment in some ways and I wouldn't be surprised he's gone. Preston too, he's been great but I think LVN gotta play more and establish himself..more talent outside that can make an impact immediately is the most essential thing for this team..
Secondary just need a good safety and savage has been inconsistent so I don't think he returns unless circumstance.
Carlson actually annoys me a lot. His brother is good. But nobody remembers Jordan Rodgers
Joe Whitt finally getting his shot. Good for him. Kinda surprised he didnt stick around in Big D with Big Mac. Do you think Al Harris gets a shot at the job, or do they bring in somebody else and cut Al free? Would be cool to see him in GB as press coverage extraordinare in some capacity. Kinda think he could still play in a pinch.
To his credit, the kid did come back from his misses. That's a sign of resiliency.
I don't follow the money side of the NFL very well, so I have no idea if any of the top free agent safeties would be affordable to the still-cash-strapped Packers, and I don't know if any of them have the skill set needed for either of the safety positions the Packers now will feature.
Anyone out there with more knowledge care to comment?