Packers seem to be finished with Finley

[Tony Oday]

Having ability and potential got him the contract, production would have let him keep the contract. Mouth, rounded routes and drops doomed this kid, he is not a $8 million guy, use that money on producers the Packers arent the federal government they need to pay producers.

[Joemailman]

Yet today two shells/cover 2 defenses are giving the Packer offense fits. I bet throwing to J-Mike over the middle more often would make the offense a litter better. J-Mike has the ability to stretch the field over the middle.

Or....maybe Finley's lack of production over the middle has allowed teams to stay in Cover 2 all year.

[MadtownPacker]

Yet today two shell/cover 2 defenses are giving the Packer offense fits. I bet throwing to J-Mike over the middle more often would make the offense a litter better. J-Mike has the ability to stretch the field over the middle.

You might be right but wouldn't that be because those Ds dont fear finley like before? Rodgers was throwing to him earlier in the season and he kept dropping everything, you saw it yourself. Like you said, he has the ability, if it doesn't materialize into solid production on the field what good is he.

[pbmax]

Actually, he doesn't attribute it to a team official. What he wrote was:



The "sources familiar with the Packers' thinking" could be the very scouts and agents that he usually gathers info from. It doesn't take an awful lot of insight to assume the Packers won't want to pay Finley $8+ million next year when there are more deserving players to sign. A casual comment from a coach, trainer, etc. and the story starts.

We all suspected as much anyway, didn't we? It seemed pretty clear that the two year contract was really a one year last ditch effort to make him into something worth a big contract. If it worked, they would renegotiate a long term deal this off season. If not, he would be gone, more than likely.

That's the $2.50 Sunday edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel question. Did McGinn's source say "they HAVE to be thinking about dumping him" or "they ARE thinking about dumping him". Its a fine line but means entirely two different things.

Being familiar with Packer's thinking means he has heard of their deliberations from someone on their staff. It shouldn't be that if they were in their place, they would be thinking it.

[George Cumby]

Or....maybe Finley's lack of production over the middle has allowed teams to stay in Cover 2 all year.

This.

[red]

We have a spike waiting for you too.

you and your cute little machete don't scare me

[pbmax]

Ok, maybe not a dozen times a game. But Finley knows how to get open. I've seen J-Mike WIDE OPEN plenty of a time only to see Rodgers target someone else or inflate opposing teams' sack total by holding the ball longer than it takes Bob Dole to play a round of golf.

The drops? No big deal. Nelson drops the ball almost as much as Finley and I don't see Rodgers ignoring Nelson like the plague.

Not trying to turn this into a Favre debate, but the awesome gunslinger loved throwing the tight ends. TEs are mostly obsolete under Rodgers. J-Mike would be having a great season statistically with Favre throwing him the ball.

Trash talk with the downtrodden Bears? No big deal. Its like two boxers engaging in a good ole war of words prior to their match to hype things up.

Nelson has a similar number of drops on WAY more targets this year. Not the same thing. And dropping the ball as often as he does is exactly how you earn fewer targets. Then add in verbal gaffes.

If he was on a team with only one other target (say the Panthers) he would see the ball thrown his way 150 times. Not the case with the Packers.

Ever since his contract drive after the injury, he has been living inside his own head. Thinking he has to demand targets and the right to alter routes on his own to increase his chances of success. He started out this year talking about how his new TE coach wouldn't demand he think about the number of steps in a route.

He also might be listening to too many people outside the team and not enough to his coaches.

[LegandofthePack15]

Or....maybe Finley's lack of production over the middle has allowed teams to stay in Cover 2 all year.

Or maybe its b/c J-Mike hasn't been given too many opportunities to make plays.

[pbmax]

If he knows he's in a good coverage and he's the initial receiver, he rounds his routes. That's bc he's in a hurry to get the ball. Watch Gronk or Gonzales, they run precise routes right on the beat.

He also has bad timing with some route adjustments. In one previous game, he cut a sharp angle on a post route to get into a space between LB in front and safety behind. Its the smart adjustment, however, his QB wasn't looking at him and did not expect it. Rodgers threw the traditional route and nearly got picked off.

Jennings has made this adjustment with Rodgers before so it can be done. But Finley seems to be freelancing too often.

[LegandofthePack15]

Nelson has a similar number of drops on WAY more targets this year. Not the same thing. And dropping the ball as often as he does is exactly how you earn fewer targets. Then add in verbal gaffes.

If he was on a team with only one other target (say the Panthers) he would see the ball thrown his way 150 times. Not the case with the Packers.

Ever since his contract drive after the injury, he has been living inside his own head. Thinking he has to demand targets and the right to alter routes on his own to increase his chances of success. He started out this year talking about how his new TE coach wouldn't demand he think about the number of steps in a route.

He also might be listening to too many people outside the team and not enough to his coaches.

Rogers likes to talk about going right back at the recievers after they make a drop. He should heed his own advice and keep targeting Finely. I agree with Bretsky that J-Mike is being misused.

[denverYooper]

Yeah, Patler.

"Sources familiar with the Packers' thinking" could be a fortune teller in Kaukauna.

Finley is still a hog.

If he knows he's in a good coverage and he's the initial receiver, he rounds his routes. That's bc he's in a hurry to get the ball. Watch Gronk or Gonzales, they run precise routes right on the beat. The Fin has improved some of his little things. I've seen him make great blocks and chip perfectly this year. He also is a fuck-up, If his assignment is to chip and roll to the flat, he blows off the chip to get in position to be a receiver.

He's lost the great speed he had as a kid.

He's a good hand, he'll get good pay from somebody, but he'll never sniff a huge contract again.

Thanks KY. I was just about to ask if him being wide open was just a function of his freelancing.

[pbmax]

Rogers likes to talk about going right back at the recievers after they make a drop. He should heed his own advice and keep targeting Finely. I agree with Bretsky that J-Mike is being misused.

He doesn't get open deep like he used to. And they have repeatedly gone back to him and he has repeatedly had multiple drop games. They have tried targeting him early with short throws. And he has caught some of those and then had a drop. In the last two games he has bobbled the first thrown then been good the second throw. A point guard isn't going to keep feeding the shooter if he muffs the pass or gets blocked and there are other options out there. I agree Rodgers has a responsibility to use all receivers, but Finley has a larger responsibility to be open and catch it.

If he was on a team with fewer receiving options, he would see the ball more. But he is playing like a slouch and is not going to get the volume on a team with Randall Cobb, Jones and Nelson/Jennings. The only route he is catching reliably now is the shallow cross. Five yard gains aren't much in this passing attack.

[George Cumby]

Or maybe its b/c J-Mike hasn't been given too many opportunities to make plays.

How many games has he played and how many snaps? I don't know the answer myself, but I would posit that he has had ample opportunity and yet has failed to produce.

[LegandofthePack15]

He doesn't get open deep like he used to. And they have repeatedly gone back to him and he has repeatedly had multiple drop games. They have tried targeting him early with short throws. And he has caught some of those and then had a drop. In the last two games he has bobbled the first thrown then been good the second throw. A point guard isn't going to keep feeding the shooter if he muffs the pass or gets blocked and there are other options out there. I agree Rodgers has a responsibility to use all receivers, but Finley has a larger responsibility to be open and catch it.

If he was on a team with fewer receiving options, he would see the ball more. But he is playing like a slouch and is not going to get the volume on a team with Randall Cobb, Jones and Nelson/Jennings. The only route he is catching reliably now is the shallow cross. Five yard gains aren't much in this passing attack.

Sure, five yard gains aren't much when its 3rd and 10. But short passes are what make the West Coast Offense famous.

Agree with you that J-Mike would be putting up a boatload of stats on an offense without so many weapons.

J-Mike has shown glimpses of catching bullets before. Drops are a matter of confidence. Keep feed J-Mike the rock and he'll get his confidence back in no time.

[KYPack]

He doesn't get open deep like he used to. And they have repeatedly gone back to him and he has repeatedly had multiple drop games. They have tried targeting him early with short throws. And he has caught some of those and then had a drop. In the last two games he has bobbled the first thrown then been good the second throw. A point guard isn't going to keep feeding the shooter if he muffs the pass or gets blocked and there are other options out there. I agree Rodgers has a responsibility to use all receivers, but Finley has a larger responsibility to be open and catch it.

If he was on a team with fewer receiving options, he would see the ball more. But he is playing like a slouch and is not going to get the volume on a team with Randall Cobb, Jones and Nelson/Jennings. The only route he is catching reliably now is the shallow cross. Five yard gains aren't much in this passing attack.

He half-asses a lot of stuff. MM likes to run one receiver thru the zone to clear it. All the other guys run their asses off on those clearing routes to help the other boys. Fin won't bust it on those clears, he just wants the ball,

Finley did radically improve his blocking. He went from a zero to a pretty good blocker, especially on angle blocks. When he was in his first couple years, he couldn't block at all. i don't think he ever did that at Texas.