Jordy Nelson signed to 3 yr extension

[Guiness]

I'm not too concerned about it. I expect that next year they will be the #2 and #3 receivers, and Driver will be gone. Besides, these are short term contracts (3 years) with not a lot of bonus money. Anytime there is a viable cheaper alternative than the current salary, they can simply release the player with little impact to the salary cap. It would also make them relatively easy to trade, signed to a lower cost, short term contract. For example, if Cobb develops well as a receiver, Jones could be a good trade value since a team getting him would have him for two years but at a not outrageous cost.

The salaries however do relate to other comments about having to make choices at some point. Because of our O, these guys are important, so some money is spent there, and I happen to like that choice. Does it mean we may come up short somewhere else?

Something that helps us is the lack of dead money the Pack has on the books. Is there any right now? Maybe a little from Barnett, he had 2 years left on his contract. It's a lot worse to have guys not on your roster chewing up the space than guys who are actually taking the field!

[Patler]

Its hard to argue that the team couldn't be successful without Finley, but last year was a struggle at a lot of times without him. Part of that was the running game and Tauscher plus four games where it seems Rodgers was affected by a concussion (Redksins, Dolphins, Lions, Pats). But a lot of the time it was a lack of a sure thing on 3rd down.

I think it would be a simple matter of time to replace Wells and line calls. It might take someone harder to find to reach block as well as he does, but again, the Packers don't do anything in the run game that is unheard of elsewhere.

Short term losing Wells probably makes the Packers look like the Jets last night. But longer term, the offense has to morph again without Finley and that puts more pressure on Rodgers.

I suspect there will be struggles at times this year, too. But Quarless should be better than he was last year, and Cobb brings a lot more to the offense than Swain did. MM would just have to get creative again if they lose Finley, but he would have more weapons to do it with than he did in the middle of the season last year. Somehow, I can't help but think they are planning to go on without Finley, with all of the TEs kept this year. A lot will depend on how they feel about Quarrless (or others) by the end of the year (and whether Finley has been available for 15 or 16 of the games).

If Spitz had held up, and/or McDonald had progressed as hoped, Wells would have been an afterthought in their roster planning. But they seem to be starting over at finding a replacement, unless Sampson Genus turns out to be the one.

[Smeefers]

There are two other factors I thought of.

1. Do they see Finley as unstable, hard to handle?
2. Larry Fitzgerald makes 15 million per year. Top TE is 7. Finley has WR type effect at TE price.


The thing that kind if irks me about Finley. . . . He went off and lost weight, worked on being a WR, said he was going to stand up more. . . . Jennings has been playing the lone weakside wide receiver position for however many years he's been here for the most part. He's drawn doubles for a really long time. He's so detailed and in tune with Rodgers, he's been able to dominate with that type of attention paid to him. Finley gets tossed on the outside, exactly where he wants to be and now he's whining because he's getting double coverage and they're not throwing to him. One friggin game and he's whining. Talent or not, we won the SB without him. Jennings is a pro. He'll be around for a while. Nelson is turning into a hell-of-a WR. Cobb looks fantastic at first glance. We have a couple young TE's with high potential. If Finley is a diva, I don't know that he's worth the headache. Resign Clay Matthews with that money, then Extend Rodgers. If Finley is selfish, if he's not happy with 4-0, 73% completion percentage, record scoring. . . . . Maybe he's not the right guy here. When AR and MM were appeasing Finley last year, we were losing games, throwing picks into double coverage and stumbling on offense. Bah, he's great and all, but we have a lot of great players. It's not worth it if he fucks up hte offense with his selfish demands.

To be quite honest, the couple snaps Cobb had inside, he looked as (or more) dangerous than Finley. Maybe Finley can go up and get it, but Cobb looks like he's going to be a Jennings-esque route runner so he doesn't need to fight for the ball. Great route runners get open, the way Jennings does. And I like Cobbs chances at breaking a long TD better than Finley. I love Finley's talent, I'm just sick of hearing him talk. I don't want him here with that attitude.

I never thought I'd hear something like this from you JH. You gotta be pissed at the dude. I agree though, Mathews over Finley.

[pbmax]

I have nearly forgotten about Quarless. Crabtree is out there all the time to block, but Quarless sightings have been few and far between.

Not sure about the stable of TEs. Taylor I believe was mainly targeted to help ST. Offense is optional with him for a year or two. DJ Williams has had a few snaps, but not much. He is a different type of receiver altogether.

A sturdier Quarless and Cobb might make the transition easier this year, yes. But I will be surprised if they don't offer Finley a market value deal.

[pbmax]

JH, Finley spent considerably time outside last year too. Not much has changed, if at all.

[Patler]

The salaries however do relate to other comments about having to make choices at some point. Because of our O, these guys are important, so some money is spent there, and I happen to like that choice. Does it mean we may come up short somewhere else?

Something that helps us is the lack of dead money the Pack has on the books. Is there any right now? Maybe a little from Barnett, he had 2 years left on his contract. It's a lot worse to have guys not on your roster chewing up the space than guys who are actually taking the field!

Sure, every salary relates to every other salary, so it could be an issue. But these guys are on the field a lot, so I think it is money well-spent. After the starters and 3rd cornerback, they might be the most important positions.

Besides, Jones might just be keeping some money warm for Finley this year!

[Patler]

I have nearly forgotten about Quarless. Crabtree is out there all the time to block, but Quarless sightings have been few and far between.

Not sure about the stable of TEs. Taylor I believe was mainly targeted to help ST. Offense is optional with him for a year or two. DJ Williams has had a few snaps, but not much. He is a different type of receiver altogether.

A sturdier Quarless and Cobb might make the transition easier this year, yes. But I will be surprised if they don't offer Finley a market value deal.

I really wish there was good salary cap data available like there had been before the uncapped year. It used to be really easy to look ahead a year or two to see what might be available for signing players. When I think about having to sign Raji, Matthews, Rodgers and Jennings in the following year, Finley just starts looking less important by next year.

They'll never find another Finley on their current roster, but the question is if they really have to, or if they can simply do something different.

[mmmdk]

Jordy Nelson is a great signing/extension at a fair price; Cobb is the future # 2 WR and Packers know this. The Finley extension will be a big hurdle and might get too expensive when all is said and done. I do hope the latter gets resolved as well.

[retailguy]

Ya, I assume TT will go out and sign that replacement FA first thing in the off-season!

HILARIOUS. And so true...

[Joemailman]

Maybe he'll do something crazy like drafting someone to replace a veteran. Nah, that won't work.

[ThunderDan]

Ya, I assume TT will go out and sign that replacement FA first thing in the off-season!

But drafting at the end of round 1 can bring a lot of quality Cs into play. Look at Pouncey on PITT and the center from WI Konz might be there in that range after this year.

[ThunderDan]

But drafting at the end of round 1 can bring a lot of quality Cs into play. Look at Pouncey on PITT and the center from WI Konz might be there in that range after this year.

OK not really a lot. More like 1 or 2 a year.

[pbmax]

I really wish there was good salary cap data available like there had been before the uncapped year. It used to be really easy to look ahead a year or two to see what might be available for signing players. When I think about having to sign Raji, Matthews, Rodgers and Jennings in the following year, Finley just starts looking less important by next year.

They'll never find another Finley on their current roster, but the question is if they really have to, or if they can simply do something different.

The only number I have committed to memory is that they expect to be above $160 million after 2014 and the new TV deals.

[Brandon494]

Well, if I was the GM right now and I could take one and only one of Wells and Finley, I would take Wells for the reasons I gave in my previous post. The TE position this year without Finley is better than it was last year without Finley, and with Cobb at WR that position is better than last year, too. Finley is even more of a luxury this year than last.

LOL you would pick Bush over Finley.

[Patler]

The only number I have committed to memory is that they expect to be above $160 million after 2014 and the new TV deals.

I meant information regarding every player's contracts. The cap limit is easy to find, and individual player contracts as they are signed, but I'm too lazy to put it all together in a spreadsheet. I always relied on others to do that! Many had done it for years and years, to the point that there information was amazingly accurate.

I suspect they lost touch of accurate information last year, when contract details weren't always well reported.