DEAR TRADER TED.....HERE'S AN IDEA

[Bretsky]

http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns/post/_/id/17494/dismayed-joe-thomas-may-seek-new-team-in-2016

[pbmax]

Rand said he has been terrible and beat up.

[Bretsky]

This is impossible anyways; Ted has left us pretty short at talent at too many positions so we can't afford to give up draft picks

[esoxx]

Not only that, Ted rarely makes trades outside the draft. Not his MO.

[pbmax]

This is impossible anyways; Ted has left us pretty short at talent at too many positions so we can't afford to give up draft picks

C'mon, you know better than that. They will get three replacements from bodies on the roster. One position will go undermanned because the draft doesn't fall right or is light in good prospects.

And he'll find two immediate guys in the draft. The worry isn't can you fix the list in the offseason. The worry is can you fix in this offseason what will go wrong next August.

[Bretsky]

C'mon, you know better than that. They will get three replacements from bodies on the roster. One position will go undermanned because the draft doesn't fall right or is light in good prospects.

And he'll find two immediate guys in the draft. The worry isn't can you fix the list in the offseason. The worry is can you fix in this offseason what will go wrong next August.

I think what is painfully clear right now the gaping hole at the receiving position we have

We should not go from one of the best offenses in the NFL to jackshit because of Jordy Nelsons loss. I know we have had OL issues but the heart of the problem is our personell that is trying to get open.

Adams runs a 4.7 forty, rounds his patterns off, and drops balls. If he wasn't a 2nd round pick he'd have been on the bench long ago. He may just be Da Fraud #2.

James Jones runs a 5.5 forty, rounds patterns off, and is as good as he can get off of the back shoulder grabs and lobbed balls against crappy corners.

But Neither get open

Cobb is what he is ....a #2 WR who still only gets open sometimes before the routes go to free lance.

We don't play Abby or Janis so we have to assume they are sub par or MM has a love fest with I wish I were Allan Robsinson .....Adams............

Wide receivers sucking aside, we have made no effort to get a legitimate pass catching RB and our TE's who play run about a 6.5 forty and can be covered with AJ Hawk like talented LB's.

So we are left with a squad devoid of players who can create mismatches on defense regardless of whether there is protection or not.

Teams play us man to man and dominate us while Rodgers wanders around getting hit multiple times throwing nearly every pass with high pressure because nobody gets open.

And we still sit there with Clay Matthews being misused as a ILB....which is really all this defense needs.....a LEGIT ILB to allow Clay to begin to dominate anymore.

Do you have faith the lucky free agent signings will fix any of this ? It has not yet.

Most GM's analyze the draft and consider free agency as a source to help fill holes.

So when the draft does not fall our way we just end up the same holes......TE/ILB...etc....that has not worked lately.

[mraynrand]

Who knows? Thomas sounds dispirited and disenchanted much of the time. He could revive elsewhere, but then what of Bacteria? Move to RT and have Bulaga be a backup? Maybe, but seems a stretch. Ted will want to draft, but it would be nice to have a draft like 2000 instead of the Sherrod pick.

[mraynrand]

As long as we're talking about possible reclamation projects, how about Mario Williams? He doesn't like where he's at; he's a better 3-4 guy, and Peppers isn't getting any younger.

[pbmax]

I think the receiver issue is an easier one to deal with because you can find a decent one in nearly any part of the draft. Also I think part of the issue has been around for some time and involves some changes in scheme.

You also get Nelson and Monty back.

I am a little worried here but its not my chief concern. More worried about O line and maybe getting another starter in front 7 on D.

[pbmax]

As long as we're talking about possible reclamation projects, how about Mario Williams? He doesn't like where he's at; he's a better 3-4 guy, and Peppers isn't getting any younger.

Yep. He liked a 3-4 in Texas with Phillips and the Schwartz defense in Buffalo. Seems to have had a problem with Rex's multiple 4-3 this year.

Just like Peppers, would need him to meet with Dom to be sure, but its definitely worth a call. Ty Dunne has been saying if Rex stays he doesn't think Mario does.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Rumor is that he'll be released by Buffalo in the offseason. He's got a 19.9M cap number. No way TT (or anyone really) trades for that.

[mraynrand]

I think the receiver issue ....involves some changes in scheme....I am a little worried here but its not my chief concern. More worried about O line and maybe getting another starter in front 7 on D.

I agree. I think the answer is to shake up the O staff. Maybe let both Clements and Bennett move on and bring in a new guy with different experience. If Clements stays, pay him well and have him focus strictly on the QBs. Get a Strong WR coach (it might be The Pelt, but might be someone else). In any case, Stubby has to admit to himself that the offense is stale. My prediction is that he will attribute everything to injuries and will change virtually nothing, hoping the return of Nelson, the return of Lang, Sitton and Bacteria, a new offseason program for Lacy that involves less couch and fewer meals - and perhaps a new tackle in the draft - will solve everything.

[pbmax]

^ Along with the return of Monty, that would solve most everything. However, it still leaves them vulnerable to very good defenses who can man up and pass rush with 4 or 5 while keeping Rodgers in line.

While that does seem like a limited O, its also the definition of the League best offense. Once a decade there is an offense that cannot be stopped by anyone. Even this year, the Cardinals were shut down by the Seachickens.

I just want him to solve the man coverage problem because its going to be the first thing good Defenses do to the re-constituted offense. Why force the D and ST to win the game when you know about the matchup problem ahead of time?

Their analytics people should be able to show them the decrease in production versus man.

Its kinda odd, because there was a time, as recently as 2009, where thought Rodgers and his receivers had trouble figuring out how to agree on attacking a zone with two safeties back.

[3irty1]

I think what is painfully clear right now the gaping hole at the receiving position we have

We should not go from one of the best offenses in the NFL to jackshit because of Jordy Nelsons loss. I know we have had OL issues but the heart of the problem is our personell that is trying to get open.

Adams runs a 4.7 forty, rounds his patterns off, and drops balls. If he wasn't a 2nd round pick he'd have been on the bench long ago. He may just be Da Fraud #2.

James Jones runs a 5.5 forty, rounds patterns off, and is as good as he can get off of the back shoulder grabs and lobbed balls against crappy corners.

But Neither get open

Cobb is what he is ....a #2 WR who still only gets open sometimes before the routes go to free lance.

We don't play Abby or Janis so we have to assume they are sub par or MM has a love fest with I wish I were Allan Robsinson .....Adams............

Wide receivers sucking aside, we have made no effort to get a legitimate pass catching RB and our TE's who play run about a 6.5 forty and can be covered with AJ Hawk like talented LB's.

So we are left with a squad devoid of players who can create mismatches on defense regardless of whether there is protection or not.

Teams play us man to man and dominate us while Rodgers wanders around getting hit multiple times throwing nearly every pass with high pressure because nobody gets open.

And we still sit there with Clay Matthews being misused as a ILB....which is really all this defense needs.....a LEGIT ILB to allow Clay to begin to dominate anymore.

Do you have faith the lucky free agent signings will fix any of this ? It has not yet.

Most GM's analyze the draft and consider free agency as a source to help fill holes.

So when the draft does not fall our way we just end up the same holes......TE/ILB...etc....that has not worked lately.

I think you've correctly identified the team's biggest problems, but I disagree with the solutions.

I honestly think we could make no changes to the WR group and the offense would be right back where it was in 2014. The Jordy injury changed everything, but it seems like injuries everywhere else among the receivers and OL have kept our most reliable guys ineffective if not just barely on the field. It will surprise nobody when a collective 5 pounds of bone chips is surgically removed from our starting offense this offseason. Meanwhile Abby has shown enough to be in the mix next year and appears to have broken free from the concerns that he's a slot-only guy who can't get off the line. Janis would make the team as a nothing but a gunner so his tantalizing upside is icing on the cake. I'd love to see what Rodgers could do with a physical 6'4" WR but the market for those guys is so crazy that I can't fault Ted for filling the roster with technician-types instead.

Dickrod is a fine TE but I'd say supplementing that position with the right guy somewhere in the draft is a priority. As much as Finley was a disappointment I think we all see the value now. If you have to throw it to a guy who isn't open, a guy like that is the difference between having an offense or not.

I can't imagine Lacy not making weight next year although I can't imagine how he didn't this year either. He was too ineffective to even play his way into shape. The offense may have been better in 2013 with no Rodgers but Lacy running wild. He's the mismatch this offense needs IMO. I think as a GM you have to approach this the way you did with Morgan Burnett: your best option is to just hope he bounces back unless the draft falls right.

To me the biggest offseason priority is the same as it was last year. ILB is the biggest need. Maybe even 2 of them. We need Matthews to return to the job we're paying a premium for. This year was an incremental improvement despite the injury to Barrington. With what we already have I think this year Ted can afford to swing for the fences on an athletic centerpiece for this defense.

[mraynrand]

^ I agree. ILB and Tackles. Then whomever falls to them.