Corey Williams

[twoseven]

Re: Corey Williams

He could be playing his last game at Lambeau. Hope the fans remember and give him a big hand.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=708924

Green Bay - Corey Williams said it hadn't crossed his mind, but when it was brought to his attention that he could very well be playing his final game at Lambeau Field on Sunday, he couldn't help being overwhelmed by the thought.

"I know it's going to be tough after the game on Sunday, regardless of what the situation is," Williams said Friday. "It's going to be kind of tough on me, man. My main thing is leaving all my teammates and stuff like that, knowing that if I don't end up signing back here, then I'll be going to someplace else."

Williams is in the final year of a four-year contract. With a glut of defensive tackles and a lot of money invested at the position, the Packers might be priced out of the market for Williams.

But Williams, who said his agent and the Packers have had some contact of late, said he might be willing to give Green Bay a slight hometown discount for his services.

"I love being here in Green Bay," Williams said. "The only thing I can say about that is I just want to be treated fair. If that means where I would have to take a little cut or whatever, like I said, I just want to be treated fair."

Williams is hoping he can get another contract from the Packers after the season concludes. But if it doesn't happen, he'll leave thinking fondly of Green Bay.

"If it comes to an end, one thing I can say when I leave here is that I had a great time," Williams said. "I felt like I was loved here. If it is my last game, I would love to leave here as a winner, holding up that trophy, going to the Super Bowl. You can't beat that."

Treated fair? He's going to be paid much more than he is worth in FA based on how consistently he showed dominance this year. If he were paid just fair by any team, considering those games we didn't hear from him at all, I don't think he'd be too happy. But that's nice of him to give GB a 'little' discount, sheesh. I would imagine there might be some underpaid players on our team, or maybe in FA, that would relish playing for a winner in CW's stead with a little more passion than CW appears to be sporting as he eyes his payday, just my opinion.

Jolly for me, and I'd rather see CW's money thrown at Grant, Bigby, etc.

[RashanGary]

Jolly because he is a bigger body who has more potential. He is younger and more stout against the run which is what our defensive system calls for. He's also more versatile.

I agree, for the same reasons.

Right now Williams is our 3rd best DT by my estimation. Next year he'll be 4th if he stays. I'm thinking Harrell will pass him some time next training camp. Harrell seems to hunker down better now and he's a kid playing with men.

I'm opening up more and more to letting him go. He's good but we have better and TT keeps digging up more and more.

He did say he's willing to take a slight home town discount. To me that shows he's willing to work with us. That said, Ted's lack of aggressiveness to get something done early like he did with other players shows he might not be as open to keeping Cdub even close to UFA value. Maybe Ted feels he can do better. Whatever Ted does, there is an element of trust because of how well he's done so far.

[RashanGary]

I think he's gone only because he doesn't really fit here and that will lower the $$ that we are willing to pay him. You have to keep or get the guys you really want/need on UFA.

[Bretsky]

Jolly is probably on a 4 yr deal, but he'll get a very nice raise if he can stay healthy

[RashanGary]

Pickett seems like one of the rare huge guys that can stay healthy. Maybe he stays on after his contract is up as a run stuffing specialist. By then I'm sure Ted will have young up and comers but Pickett is good enough at what he does to stay around as an aging vet.

[RashanGary]

I'm excited to see both Harrell and Jolly next year. I think they are going to be the future at DT with Pickett fading into being the best backup DT in the league.

[b bulldog]

Heard an interview with Larry McCarren with Harrell and Harrell stated that he won't be leaving GB all offseason and he will be living in then weight room. He also stated that next season fans should expect a lot out of him.

[swede]

I pose this to anyone willing to answer:

If you had to pick between Corey and Jolly who would you pick and why?

I'm a Williams fan, but stopping the run up the middle is Job #1. Jolly's more stout against the run and therefore is likely to regain his starting role next year.

That's why Williams and the Packers are in a very tough situation. I'm sure they'd love to re-sign him, but I think both Williams and the Packers realize it would create a domino effect of roster problems down the road.

It's difficult to justify paying a backup as much more than a starter as would be the case here. After Jolly demands more money after next year, then the DLine cost relative to the rest of the team gets even worse.

Vince, as a former GM/Coach you once again have seen this problem in its proper perspective.

TT will look at CW, look at his other DT's, and he will decide how much he wants to deviate from the financial plan in order to keep a valuable player.

Is there a team that remembers an ass-whipping from CW? They may want to overspend for his services.

I hope Corey has 16 highlight film sacks, tackles for loss, and game-changing tackles in the next two games. That will make the loss of his services seem bittersweet. But he'll always be welcome to come back home and look at the big, shiny VL trophy!

[Fritz]

Good analysis here. As fans we think about as far ahead as next year most of the time, but TT has to be thinking further down the road, and how much can you pay a guy who'll be in the rotation but not your starter when you've got Jolly's contract coming up down the road?

My sense is that the two sides will negotiate, but some other team will way, way overpay Williams to come and be a star. He'll sign, move on, and get lambasted when he doesn't turn into a superstar but plays at a high level - but one not as high as the contract he's going to get will suggest he should.

[Packers4Glory]

no reason NOT to lock him up. championships are built on the O line and D line. as we have learned this yr you can never be too deep on the D line. dont let the guys you develop into solid good pro's walk. We are not a team that spends big in FA, so there is no reason not to sign your own guy to keep him off the street.

[twoseven]

Good analysis here. As fans we think about as far ahead as next year most of the time, but TT has to be thinking further down the road, and how much can you pay a guy who'll be in the rotation but not your starter when you've got Jolly's contract coming up down the road?

My sense is that the two sides will negotiate, but some other team will way, way overpay Williams to come and be a star. He'll sign, move on, and get lambasted when he doesn't turn into a superstar but plays at a high level - but one not as high as the contract he's going to get will suggest he should.

If we're going to throw the kind of money out for one DT that Williams may garner, personally I'd rather see a little extra on top of that for Haynesworth, rather than CW. I believe AH could bring the presence against the run that Pickett does and pressure straight up the field that none of our DTs can bring. That's if we're willing to spend healthy on a DT, otherwise you stay on the cheap with Jolly and Harrel and cross your sausage fingers. Just my 2 cents.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Is their any way we put the transition tag on him for say a 2nd rounder?

[The Shadow]

Jolly will be next year's Williams.
Harrell will eventually assume Pickett's role.
The realities of the cap dictate that you can't keep everyone, so the trick becomes trying to project the end product.

By the way, I will be the next Favre.

[Patler]

Corey Williams is bigger than Johnny Jolly.

Jolly was the starter only because he was the one selected for their base defense. When both were healthy, Williams actually played more plays per game than Jolly did. The knock on Jolly coming out of college was that he he was active, disruptive and got himself in position to make plays...but then did not make them. In a defense designed to occupy blockers with d-linemen to free up linebackers to make plays, these are good attributes. That is why Jolly played in the base defense. But he will never give the pass rush that Williams does.

Jolly was drafted lower than he might of been because he was injured as a Senior. Now he has missed 16 of 32 regular season games due to injury and finished both pro seasons on IR.

Williams has not been injured and is a consistent performer, with 7 sacks and 26 solo tackles in both 2006 and 2007. Williams can also play and has played DE for the Packers.

If I had to pick only one, and money was not a consideration, I would take Williams. DTs who can generate a pass rush are just as valuable as a specialist as the KGB type DE who can rush from the outside. Even if they don't get there, they prevent the QB from stepping up in the pocket. It keeps the QB in place for a hurry or sack by the DE. The best way to avoid the rush of Kampman or KGB is for the QB to step up and throw. Williams makes that more difficult even when he was not getting sacks, and if the QB does step up, Williams gets him.

If Williams leaves, which I think is likely, KGB and Kampman will have more trouble getting sacks unless another DT can force things up the middle as Williams has.

We had good debates about how much KGB is worth as a non-starter. It is even a more difficult question with Williams, who played more snaps per game than Jolly even when Jolly was starting, and who is a much more versatile player then KGB. If Jenkins or Kampman were to go out with a long injury, I would not be surprised to see Williams at DE in a base alignment.

[Bretsky]

Heard an interview with Larry McCarren with Harrell and Harrell stated that he won't be leaving GB all offseason and he will be living in then weight room. He also stated that next season fans should expect a lot out of him.

That is GREAT news if it's true