Jermichael Finley's recent tweet and TT drafting of 2 TE's

[packers11]

u think finleys tweets are dumbs???

"“We’ll never know what really happened,” Mendenhall said. “I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”

Mendenhall also expresses sympathy for bin Laden. “What kind of person celebrates death?” Mendenhall says. “It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side.”

[SkinBasket]

The only people saying, "cut him" are the people dramatizing and exaggerating other people's opinions.

[/thread]

You mean like you, you half a butt puppet?

Get your shit straight or shut the fuck up. Running around here like a retarded Partial squawking like a drunk vag fart.

[Tarlam!]

u think finleys tweets are dumbs???

"“We’ll never know what really happened,” Mendenhall said. “I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”

Mendenhall also expresses sympathy for bin Laden. “What kind of person celebrates death?” Mendenhall says. “It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side.”

You know, I like the fact that he can say those things. I'm not sure he knows that if any tyrant government ruled in the USA he couldn't. But, what the heck. He entitled.

[SkinBasket]

You know, I like the fact that he can say those things. I'm not sure he knows that if any tyrant government ruled in the USA he couldn't. But, what the heck. He entitled.

You can like it, but it's indicative of a problem we have here, which is concerning to me, where fucking two-bit half-wit pieces of monkey shit like Mendenhall get their information from rap artists and conspiracy theory "reverends" in Cadillacs with vanity plates that read "GODS WIL." We have a problem of massive idiocy in this nation, and unfortunately, this is just one tiny, small fraction of it. I would, at this juncture celebrate Mendenhall's death, because it would make this world a better, smarter place.

[pbmax]

So how do you know that you aren't just falling for the little lying trick that he has admitted to using since being a Packer?-

...

I'm just being the devil's advocate to the whole "he has matured" thing that people so badly want to believe. He wasn't anywhere NEAR mature as of just over a year ago. People don't usually just change overnight. Almost never. Maybe never. He might be maturing, or he might not be the kind of guy who ever really matures. I'm not buying the "Old Finley and New Finley" shit for a second. If we're lucky, he'll be the same Finley he ever was, but slightly more mature and professional as each year goes by.

Well I am not claiming Finley is mature enough to run a business, coach a professional team or blastoff into space. But he seems to have made progress that writers, his teammates and coaches have noticed. There is no guarantee about the future and he may be fooling everyone. But that doesn't seem indicated by what we currently know.

Given the clamoring that will likely happen early in the 2011 season for the ball on offense, I think we will find out in short order.

[pbmax]

You can like it, but it's indicative of a problem we have here, which is concerning to me, where fucking two-bit half-wit pieces of monkey shit like Mendenhall get their information from rap artists and conspiracy theory "reverends" in Cadillacs with vanity plates that read "GODS WIL." We have a problem of massive idiocy in this nation, and unfortunately, this is just one tiny, small fraction of it. I would, at this juncture celebrate Mendenhall's death, because it would make this world a better, smarter place.

Rap artists and reverends? How about Charlie Sheen and Alex Jones? This kind of crap is everywhere.

[pbmax]

Mostly the problem as that we've seen in the past from guys like Javon Walker or Cletidus Hunt, one good season from a guy is no guarantee that he'll keep it up, guys can always go insane, get hurt, get lazy. Finley hasn't really given us a complete "good season" so while he certainly could become the greatest TE in history, there's a lot that falls into the "wait and see" camp.

Sure wish there was a new CBA in place, so we could be talking about OTAs...

I don't think he has shown any tendency to be lazy like Hunt. And Hunt was lazy prior to the contract year.

Walker just flat panicked and heeded bad advice. He was already older when he entered the league and wanted to accelerate a new contract to cash in. Won't know about this until he makes it through the year at a high level though.

[Lurker64]

I don't think he has shown any tendency to be lazy like Hunt. And Hunt was lazy prior to the contract year.

Walker just flat panicked and heeded bad advice. He was already older when he entered the league and wanted to accelerate a new contract to cash in. Won't know about this until he makes it through the year at a high level though.

Well, the specifics are different in every case but as they say on the TV commercials advertising investment products "past performance is no guarantee of future results." The more Finley produces, the more confident I will be that he can continue to produce.

[Zool]

I'm not especially worried about Finley turning into T.O., but haven't "maturity issues" (things like "missing curfew the night before a playoff game", "lying to coaches", etc.) been one of the concerns about him ever since we drafted him? So I'm hoping that it literally is just a maturity thing and he'll get better as he grows up. But there has to be the concern, not the certainty but the concern, that he may always be a bit of a problem child.

I really only recall this from his rookie season. Wasn't he 20 when he was drafted? The 2010 offseason was filled with sunshine and rainbows coming out of everyones ass talking about how good he was going to be.

[Zool]

You mean like you, you half a butt puppet?

Get your shit straight or shut the fuck up. Running around here like a retarded Partial squawking like a drunk vag fart.

Welcome back ass face. You finally took your panties off to post again?

[prime311]

Dallas Clark is an elite TE. I think this is a silly correlation. Shannon Sharpe and Mark Bavaro have Super Bowl rings. I'd prefer we keep our elite talent at all positions, and see where the chips fall. Yes, Rodgers did go to Finley a tad much early last year, but it's hard to argue with the results. Finley was ridiculously productive per target. However, Driver is slowing down and Jones is likely gone. We are going to need Finley to get back to where he was at the beginning of last year.

Gonzalez and Gates numbers blow away both Clark and Bavaro. This is besides the point though. I of course agree that it would be nice to keep elite players at every position, but what I am saying is that if you have to sacrifice a player somewhere then TE is a good spot to do it because teams don't historically need an elite TE to be successful. They do however need a solid TE that can be relied on to block and be an outlet receiver, but that is something much easier to find.

[HarveyWallbangers]

There are more than just two elite TEs. Mark Bavaro had over 1000 yards receiving in 1986--which was a hell of a number back then. When healthy, Dallas Clark might be the best receiving TE in the game. He had 100 receptions for 1106 yards and 10 TDs in 2009. He was on pace for 100 receptions last year before getting injured. He had 848 yards receiving in 2008 and 11 TDs in 2007. Finley has the talent to do what Clark does for Peyton Manning, and that's open things up for others. Greg Jennings is our Reggie Wayne. Finley can be our Dallas Clark. Then, you can get by with more pedestrian receivers after those two (people like Pierre Garcon or Jordy Nelson). I'd think a lot less of our receiving corps in two years if we have Jennings, Nelson, Cobb, and Quarless or Williams. I'd still think very highly of it if we have Jennings, Nelson, Cobb, and Finley.

However, Finley must prove that he can stay healthy this year.

[Patler]

Finley is obviously an elite talent at TE or WR. He could play either and be a probowler at either.

The problems with Finley are not his talent. The problems with Finley are (resummarizing Patlers points):

1. He's coming of a major knee injury. Who knows how well he comes back
2. I don't know if it's him demanding the ball, but the offense often forced balls to Finley and uncharacteristic interceptions and incompletions happened when throwing his way in double and triple coverage.
3. The offense was more than fine without him
4. He's said some bone head things that make you think he knew more than Rodgers when he was a rookie.
5. He's been known to hang out with VY and when he switched agents there were stories about one agent trying to keep him away from the trouble he seemed to seek out

"....resummarizing Patler's points"?

I made point #1, acknowledged others' making of point #3 and stated that he has said somethings that make you wonder what way his ego might go (somewhat point #4) but I never made any suggestion that he felt he knew more than Rodgers. As to points #2 and #5, I don't believe they are at all related to any statement from me.

I think the single biggest risk with Finley is that he will play out his contract, become a FA and get a ridiculous offer from someone desperate for any receiving options. That doesn't make him a bad guy, or make him any different than many other NFLers who roll the dice in free agency. Someone could make him a WR-like offer. No one thought guards would be paid like tackles, but some in free agency have been. Finley has the potential to put together a season that could make that happen for TEs. If it does happen, I doubt he will remain a Packer.

I think the second biggest risk with Finley is health, either lingering effects from his injury last year or the occurrence of new injuries each year. He just seems to have a style that results in a lot of big hits to his legs.

Issues concerning his ego or personality are of least concern. I think there are a few things that make you wonder about him, but there have been with guys like Barnett, too. It is a little unclear how he might react to a huge all-pro season. It's not a big deal, just a secondary factor that might make the team plan a little more seriously for the position.

I have said time and time again that Finley's attitude change from season 1 to season 2 was marvelous. It really was dramatic. At this point, I'm not at all concerned with the few genuinely dumb things he said as a rookie, unless the "change" we saw from him was not genuine.

[RashanGary]

I like your points, just don't like the order.


Problem 1 - Character worries. I'd give it a 10% chance, but it's scary because he's so darn good and I don't want him to blow up (and I think character goes into whether TT extends players).
Problem 2 - Injury. I feel pretty sure he can get through at least one contract on his knees. He's only 23 or 24 years old.
Problem 3 - Offers from others. We'll franchise him. TE franchise is cheap. Ted doesn't let elite talent go unless it's aging. If he lets Finley go it will be because he doesn't trust him, IMO.


At the end of the day, I think the odds are, Finley is here and plays great. I just think there are other things at play worth discussing. If you think he's more likely to be gone because some other team will pry him away from Ted, I disagree (unless Ted thinks he's a ticking time bomb), but all in all I don't have many points of contention with your post.


I didn't mean to twist your words, was more or less trying to use some of the same points without pretending like I made them up. I threw some of my own in there, not a good tactic in hindsight.

[Patler]

Franchising, if it even remains available, only buys you another year or two, at the most. It's certainly not a longterm solution. A lot may depend on how strong the WR position remains. If the Packers can keep 4 really good WRs, an elite TE might not be so critical, as long as they have a decent one or two. It will all come down to cost.

As for his injuries, I'm not concerned about a premature end to his career, just missing games as a result. It usually only gets worse as they get older.