WR Thoughts

[Guiness]

more thoughts on this from a couple of weeks ago

http://packerrats.com/showthread.php?24252-Uh-oh-Early-sign-that-Jennings-won-t-be-re-signed

[Tony Oday]

Concussions are a bitch, as a Wild fan so many games were lost because of them. I guess I never realized that GJ was 30. It is interesting that we could get rid of or not sign out #1 and still have a great WR corp.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Concussions are a bitch, as a Wild fan so many games were lost because of them. I guess I never realized that GJ was 30. It is interesting that we could get rid of or not sign out #1 and still have a great WR corp.

I don't think it would be great. Jennings being a good #1 is a big part of why our receiving corps is considered great. Jordy is a great #2, but would probably be an average #1. Jones as the opposite starter would be pretty average. Cobb in the slot and Finley at TE would be good. It would still be decent, but not great.

[Joemailman]

Concussions are a bitch, as a Wild fan so many games were lost because of them. I guess I never realized that GJ was 30. It is interesting that we could get rid of or not sign out #1 and still have a great WR corp.

For the record, Jennings will turn 29 on September 21.

[Joemailman]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...e-Family-Night

“I hit my head on the ground, split my nose open, but it probably was a little bit before that on Wednesday, because I started getting headaches Wednesday — got hit Wednesday and finished practice,” Jennings said. “The next day, (had) headaches during practice, didn’t think anything of it. Then Friday, Family Night, I probably reaggravated it or whatever. I make it sound like it was minor, but it really wasn’t, honestly.”

He had headaches for 2 days after a hit in practice and played on Family Night where he made it worse? He's a great guy and a great player, but that wasn't very smart.

[Tony Oday]

For the record, Jennings will turn 29 on September 21.

So 30 just before contract time. Any stat gurus know when the WR cliff is?

[mmmdk]

This is why Packers should keep 6 WRs; GJ could command too much money. On another WR note! Is Driver worth a roster spot versus younger WR talents?

[ThunderDan]

This is why Packers should keep 6 WRs; GJ could command too much money. On another WR note! Is Driver worth a roster spot versus younger WR talents?

None of the guys that we had hoped last year would make the leap up (Gurley et al) have done anything in camp to secure a roster spot. Drvier is safer than safe at this point. It would have been an interesting position to watch if one of the young guys had a stand-out camp.

[Brandon494]

This is why Packers should keep 6 WRs; GJ could command too much money. On another WR note! Is Driver worth a roster spot versus younger WR talents?

Yea tell me again how those younger WRs have been tearing it up in training camp. You are also right about GJ, he is such a diva so you know hes going to wait big time money.

[BobDobbs]

Just looking at the board, we're kinda at a lull in camp with not alot to talk about. This is a good one to revisit, because it might have been the most talked about position in the off season. All the talk though has kind of fizzled.

At this point we only have 5 wide receivers playing well enough to make the team. At least that's what the first two games have looked like to me. I think that us keep Gurley and Borel last year was more about our situation last year(late in the season, heading to the playoffs, injury insurance) than it was about this season. They definitely liked them and wanted them back for this year, but I doubt they had them penciled in for a roster spot.

Part of it has been injuries, but Borel and Gurley haven't done much in games and have only gotten talked about a little bit in practice. They're both getting healthy and there's a couple more weeks and games, so they still can make a push. I feel like a 6th WR has to legitimately make the team and not get a red shirt roster spot like an OL would. There's a ton of recievers in the League.

From the 2 preseason games Boykin looks like he knows how to get open better than anyone else on the bubble. Curenski Idon'twanttospellhislastname impresses me the most physically. By that I mean just from watching the game and going "Who is that guy?", he's big, fast, and has a little fluidity. Even Brewer was running around doing stuff against the Browns. If we end up with those guys instead of the other ones I won't be worried.

As far as the guys who are really going to make a difference this year and next. Greg Jennings is big time. To my eye he's better than everyone else we have and has been consistently for a few years. He makes everyone else better by demanding that the D pays attention to him and he can attack the field in multiple ways. Jordy is stepping up, but he is still most dangerous attacking the edges. Cobb gives us the ability to have a swiss army knife type player. Jones and Driver are both good pros. We're good at receiver let's sign Greg.

Also, the other four guys are all affordable for the next couple of years and I think Greg's contract was around 8 mil a year, so if we bump him to 11 the receiver group as a whole is still affordable. Jay Caspian Kang wrote an interesting article over at Grantland:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...veryone-sports

He makes a couple interesting points, but one of them is basically 'You as a fan don't have enough information about your team's finances to make a clear decision from that perpective. So instead of playing owner, why don't you just argue for what you want?"

In that vein, I have no idea what they project the salary cap to become. Or Aaron Rodgers next contract, or Matthews, or Raji's. Or if they have a plan for Woodson next year. So, what do I want? I want a team that plays entertaining, competitive football with a chance to be dominant. And that means that Aaron Rodgers needs a massive amount of weapons to throw to. And if you have guys like Greg, Finley, and now Jordy they will make a ton of plays. Then the next tier of guys like Driver, Cobb, Jones, and Williams will see their numbers bounce because teams just can't focus on them individually.

You know after writing this, I really want to see our #1 offense play on Thursday.

[Upnorth]

Would we still be an above average WR group without Jennings? Yes. Is it the best in the league with Jennings? Yes. Is Jennings worth the projected 3ish mill per year more? Considering Driver will likely be gone and Finley still has some question marks then I think we need Jennings to make this Offense the amazing machine it is. Without him there are too many variables, and lets face it having Jennings is worth more than Jones (who costs 4 mil). If it wasn't for Driver leaving eventually I may have a different thought, but our WR corp without Jennings and Driver is more pedestrian than we would like to admit.

[Tony Oday]

See that is what I always thought that GJ made Jordy but I dont know I could just be biased against white WR. I dont think GJ is a diva by any means and I think he stays for reasonable money just like I think AR wont sign a record contract(which he deserves). I seriously think that this team of young guys wants to stick together and for lack of a better term Patriot it for the next 10 years.

[Smidgeon]

Jay Caspian Kang wrote an interesting article over at Grantland:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...veryone-sports

He makes a couple interesting points, but one of them is basically 'You as a fan don't have enough information about your team's finances to make a clear decision from that perpective. So instead of playing owner, why don't you just argue for what you want?"

In that vein, I have no idea what they project the salary cap to become. Or Aaron Rodgers next contract, or Matthews, or Raji's. Or if they have a plan for Woodson next year. So, what do I want? I want a team that plays entertaining, competitive football with a chance to be dominant. And that means that Aaron Rodgers needs a massive amount of weapons to throw to. And if you have guys like Greg, Finley, and now Jordy they will make a ton of plays. Then the next tier of guys like Driver, Cobb, Jones, and Williams will see their numbers bounce because teams just can't focus on them individually.

You were right. That was an interesting article. Good read. Thanks for passing it along.

But I also want to point out one of his base assumptions for the argument that he mentioned in passing but that seems to have merit when considering the NFL: the salary cap. In MLB, there is no cap. They can spend what they want. And therefore, the affordability of a player is arbitrary at best. In the NBA, I'm not entirely sure how it works, but there's apparently enough leeway to offer similar arbitrary comparisons.

But the NFL has a hard cap. You can only spend a certain amount of money on your players' salaries. And while I miss the dynasties that have gone the way of the Siberian Tiger (i.e. near extinct, but not quite yet) due to the salary cap, it's what sets the NFL apart. And whereas comparing salaries to athletic value is arbitrary in MLB, it's core vital in the NFL. You can't keep everyone, so value to cost becomes incredibly important. And as fans of the NFL, that matters as much. The rhetorical, "Who would you rather keep?" becomes less rhetorical in this setting.

But overall, I think there's a parallel point that does apply to the NFL team, and things you already pointed out: we don't know how the cap is structured. We don't know how dramatically it will change going forward. We don't know if any of the talented core players will suffer injury or give a hometown discount to keep the team together. We don't know if TT can draft the next Jennings (he seems to do well with WR--Cory Rodgers excluded). So there's a large bit that is arbitrary. But I do think we as NFL fans have more justification for arguing value versus cost than fans of other sports.

That being said, I really want to see the #1 offense play on Thursday too, and I want to see them well-oiled.

[mmmdk]

I want GJ to stay a Packer but not at any price! Just to make that clear.

[BobDobbs]

You were right. That was an interesting article. Good read. Thanks for passing it along.

But I also want to point out one of his base assumptions for the argument that he mentioned in passing but that seems to have merit when considering the NFL: the salary cap. In MLB, there is no cap. They can spend what they want. And therefore, the affordability of a player is arbitrary at best. In the NBA, I'm not entirely sure how it works, but there's apparently enough leeway to offer similar arbitrary comparisons.

But the NFL has a hard cap. You can only spend a certain amount of money on your players' salaries. And while I miss the dynasties that have gone the way of the Siberian Tiger (i.e. near extinct, but not quite yet) due to the salary cap, it's what sets the NFL apart. And whereas comparing salaries to athletic value is arbitrary in MLB, it's core vital in the NFL. You can't keep everyone, so value to cost becomes incredibly important. And as fans of the NFL, that matters as much. The rhetorical, "Who would you rather keep?" becomes less rhetorical in this setting.

But overall, I think there's a parallel point that does apply to the NFL team, and things you already pointed out: we don't know how the cap is structured. We don't know how dramatically it will change going forward. We don't know if any of the talented core players will suffer injury or give a hometown discount to keep the team together. We don't know if TT can draft the next Jennings (he seems to do well with WR--Cory Rodgers excluded). So there's a large bit that is arbitrary. But I do think we as NFL fans have more justification for arguing value versus cost than fans of other sports.

That being said, I really want to see the #1 offense play on Thursday too, and I want to see them well-oiled.

That's true. The NFL has much easier salary rules to follow. The NBA is like the tax code, I don't even know if the people who write know how it works.

Also, people have various reasons for enjoying football. Some people played, some people like to watch something that alot of other people watch, some people enjoy the numbers crunching side of it. I just like watching the sport. I don't gamble, I don't play fantasy. Really, I don't have time to follow the league that much. So, when I'm looking at who I want to make the team alot of times its based on who I like to watch play football.

And I love watching Greg Jennings play football.