WALDEN'S PLAY.................DUE FOR A RAISE

[Bretsky]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-walden-due-for-a-raise-jb7ilmb-178262421.html

didn't see this posted.
he's given us nice play with Perry joins our first round injured core

[Lurker64]

That reads like it was written by Walden's agent.

[packrulz]

He's had some good games, we'll see how he does without Clay in there. The last couple years he has disappeared at times. He needs to prove he can do it all season long and in the playoffs before they give him a raise.

[KYPack]

Walden has finally avoided (so far) his infamous tendency to "zone out". In the past, he'd have a game where he just wasn't there mentally. He did that down in Miami, he had a game where he was the FB on the punt kick team. Two times in a row, he let the lead middle rusher go free to the punter and block the kick. Walden gave the guy a glance, but just ignored his assignment. The Fins cut him on Monday & we got him.

For us, he had his infamous KC game where he ignored his contain and let KC run unfetterered to his side.

He hasn't had one of those this season.

GB is waiting to see if they can trust him, good games or not.

[Spaulding]

Walden's body of work is incomplete. A partial season doesn't warrant a raise. Article is fluff and Walden needs to keep his head down and continue to produce before any real discussion on contracts should be discussed.

Agree with Packrulz in that Walden needs to prove his worth when Matthews is out. Otherwise we're looking at another Ray Edwards (i.e. who feasted off having Allen at the other end).

Focus right now for raises/extensions should be on Rodgers/Matthews as they are elite.

[Fritz]

Yeah, it's a bit early to crown Walden Mr. Extension. It's going to take a full season's work to erase the memory of him biting on inside fakes time after time and getting trapped while KC running backs roamed free to the outside.

[Patler]

Walden played fairly well last year until Thanksgiving. After that it went downhill. In addition to his arrest and subsequent legal problems, they disclosed after the season that he also had had an extended illness during December that caused him to lose a lot of weight, strength and endurance. Sounds somewhat like Moses during TC, but probably not quite as severe.

I don't expect any deal for him during the season. They will get a good look at Zombo and Moses, then decide how many and who to have in next years TC. I believe Zombo's contract is up this year too. His lack of availability during his 1st 3 years probably puts him well-behind Walden in the Packers evaluations at this point.

All that said, it all depends on what the team thinks of Perry, and if they saw enough of him to believe he will be the primary player at the position. They might be getting to a time when for backup linebackers they will have to rely on young, cheap guys in their first contracts (like Moses) or veterans who will not command much over a minimum salary (like Zombo).

Walden has done a good, not great job, and has earned another contract somewhere. Not a blockbuster deal, but something better than the minimum salary he is playing for now. He's not likely to get a huge bonus, or get a real long contract, so the contract won't hurt too much from a potential dead money hit if he is cut during a multi-year contract. But it still might be more than the Packers want to spend on a reserve linebacker.

[mraynrand]

That reads like it was written by Walden's agent.

Thank goodness we were able to sign him and get him back, I really think he's a good football player.

Maybe Dom Capers is his agent?

[sharpe1027]

"Ryan Pickett, Tramon Williams and Matthews have been more valuable than Walden on defense, and maybe Morgan Burnett as well. But that’s about it."

Wow, let's not go overboard here. I admit that not much was expected out of Walden and that he's played well above his contract. But, as far as being more valuable than other starters on defense, I'm not so sure.

Raji may have had a down year by his standards, but he's still very valuable. Case Hayward has been outstanding. Shields is still very important. Woodson was valuable before being hurt. Hawk, Bishop and DJ have been very important. Even Brad Jones has come up big for the defense.

Walden has done a good job, but he doesn't stand out unless you factor in expectations and salary. Is he the 5th best player on the defense? Not in my book.

[Brandon494]

Walden played fairly well last year until Thanksgiving. After that it went downhill. In addition to his arrest and subsequent legal problems, they disclosed after the season that he also had had an extended illness during December that caused him to lose a lot of weight, strength and endurance. Sounds somewhat like Moses during TC, but probably not quite as severe.

It was Manning who had the illness, Moses was a beast during training camp.

[Patler]

It was Manning who had the illness, Moses was a beast during training camp.

Yup, I typed the wrong name.

[rbaloha1]

Is this due to the money year or reaching potential?

Given Perry's situation Walden should be signed for a good deal. Not worth big $ imo.

[Pugger]

We all better hope Walden comes ready to play today with Clay out.

[mission]

Give him 3/7.5 total... 1.5/2/3.2, 800k signing bonus. I like Walden, but I dont want to see a Chiller contract here.

[Brandon494]

bump