This Season is Officially: OVER!

[Tarlam!]

As of now, we are out of the playoff race. Anybody on an infusion of Kool Aide will disagree, but "them's the facts".

As of now, rest all vets and start rooks/journeymen. Get 'em ready for 2007/8. Brett can play all he wants, 'cause he's Brett.

As for the rest? Start only guys you're building on. Use the vets as backups and give 'em the year off to get themselves into the best shape of their lives to make a run next year.

We'll get a great draft position, our youth will have time to mature and learn - our vets will no longer have to play broken (Cliffy, Green Driver???).

Now is the time for TT to come out and say "We're rebuilding". We will attempt to win, not in points, but in experience.

[australianpackerbacker]

Why not go down swinging and give your new head coach and your young players something to look forward to instead of taking the easy way out just for some college punk who might turn out to be a bust. I believe you play hard all the time and you play to win, the rest is in God's hands. What sort of message would that send to the young players about our new HC?

Quitter.

[Tarlam!]

Nice that I finally got you out of the lurkers closet!

I never said quit. What I said was, play to win experience, play to future strengths that you develop now. Rest your vets.

Cliffy's knees are shot. So are Green's hammies. Why waste what' left of them this season? If they are going to be playing on bear metal, let it be for a good cause.

[australianpackerbacker]

Green will have nothing left by next season, he will be 30 y.o and your also assuming both players wont lose any talent by next season. Clifton does not fit the ZB scheme, thats why hes struggling, that and his knees are bum, he'll definetley have surgery at the end of the year and who knows how he'll recover from two surgeries.

I also fear that Driver will begin his decline next year, which is a perfect reason to go for the best player available theory in the draft, if there is any chance we are in a postion to select calvin johnson, however i have faith that this team will continue to improve so im predicting a 7-9 season as my final outcome, barring any major injuries to key players of course(i.e Jennings, Favre, Collins, Kampman)

[Tarlam!]

What exactly is the benefit of a 7-9 season if we play Cliffy and Green till they drop and they won't be around next year?

The answer is the fans get to cheer six wins between now and January. Come April, when we draft at 10 spot instead of 3rd, I know I'll be delighted we went that way.

I am not suggesting we set out to lose games. I am suggesting we set out to win experience. look at how improved our guards are playing after only 5 games.

[australianpackerbacker]

What exactly is the benefit of a 7-9 season if we play Cliffy and Green till they drop and they won't be around next year?

The answer is the fans get to cheer six wins between now and January. Come April, when we draft at 10 spot instead of 3rd, I know I'll be delighted we went that way.

I am not suggesting we set out to lose games. I am suggesting we set out to win experience. look at how improved our guards are playing after only 5 games.

You're making it sound like the fans would be the only one to benefit from a 7-9 season, and you're still assuming that green and clifton will be the same players next year as they were THREE years ago.

What exactly was the benefit of Green Bay winning its last four games against division rivals four years ago in shermans first year as head coach? wouldnt it have been better for us to go 5-11 and shoot for a top pick? I know they are slightly different situations but football is a mental game as much as anything else, if your players believe they can build on a strong finish than half your work as a head coach is already done.

By you recognising the improved play of the guards, you should also recognise that after around 12 games this football team does have enough talent, it really doesnt bother me if we pick 10th or 3rd because in my mind i believe TT can find good quality players anywhere in the draft, he has an eye for talent that i havent seen in GB, ever. Criticize me all you want but in 3-5 years GB will be a powerhouse, depending on the play of the QB that is.

Here's hoping it happens sooner, a.k.a next year.

[Kiwon]

Re: This Season is Officially: OVER!

Now is the time for TT to come out and say "We're rebuilding".

We have Europe and Australia represented so I think I'll register another opinion from a third continent (Asia).

Tarlam!, I had thought about starting a poll about in what week of the season that TT will come and use the dreaded 'R' word (rebuilding). It's obvious that's what is taking place and I really don't understand his hesitancy to say so.

I wouldn't shelve the vets as you suggest, but I would provide promising players the opportunity to prove themselves as much as possible. Yes, the Packers are not a good football team this year, but that doesn't mean that they won't be next year. In fact, they might be the Chicago Bears of 2007(Well, that might be stretching it a little ).

[australianpackerbacker]

i would have supreme confidence in this team next year if i was more comfortable about McCarthy and his play calling. Im so sick of the three and outs, the one thing i miss about Shermans play calling is that at times he was totally unpredictable, and he would run the ball in shotgun formation on 3rd and 7 with Green. The problem was the play calling got dry once the opposing teams played us more than 3-4 times, and Sherman stuck with the same thing that worked, which ended up not working.

Sometimes with McCarthy i dont know whether he knows how to use this offence to the strengths that it has, or maybe favre just doesnt have enough time to throw behind this line yet for McCarthy to open up the offence. He seems like a smart coach but he should try to trick and throw the defence off balance a little more, it would mix up our offence and give the defence something more to think about.

[Tarlam!]

...it really doesnt bother me if we pick 10th or 3rd because in my mind i believe TT can find good quality players anywhere in the draft, he has an eye for talent that i havent seen in GB, ever. Criticize me all you want but in 3-5 years GB will be a powerhouse, depending on the play of the QB that is.

Firstly, just because I disagree on the motives to play the rest of this season does not mean I am criticing you. I hope you're right about GB becoming a power house, it's just that I hope it won't take up to 5 years.

I agree, TT has a knack for finding talent, especially in the 2nd round. But, he can deal his way down from 3rd to 10 and have another 2nd rounder to pick, or, he might have a stud to pick at 3rd.

But the draft is secondary. What is important is getting more young players on the field. Why demand that my vets play injured when the team simply can no longer make the play-offs? What is the point of torturing Cliffy? Shortening Ahmad's career?

Kiwon, shelving the vets isn't how I would choose to put it. I just think a healthy dose of realism could do this team the world of good.

[Kiwon]

It's a young team and a young head coach. I think that everyone is doing a lot of "on-the-job" learning.

[Tarlam!]

It's a young team and a young head coach. I think that everyone is doing a lot of "on-the-job" learning.

Couldn't agree more and I would, in fact, accelerate this process so that we leave it behind in THIS season and not carry it into next.

[Rastak]

It's a young team and a young head coach. I think that everyone is doing a lot of "on-the-job" learning.

Couldn't agree more and I would, in fact, accelerate this process so that we leave it behind in THIS season and not carry it into next.

Tarlam, using your logic wouldn't the QB of the future head the list of those you'd want to play?

[australianpackerbacker]

...it really doesnt bother me if we pick 10th or 3rd because in my mind i believe TT can find good quality players anywhere in the draft, he has an eye for talent that i havent seen in GB, ever. Criticize me all you want but in 3-5 years GB will be a powerhouse, depending on the play of the QB that is.

Firstly, just because I disagree on the motives to play the rest of this season does not mean I am criticing you. I hope you're right about GB becoming a power house, it's just that I hope it won't take up to 5 years.

I agree, TT has a knack for finding talent, especially in the 2nd round.(1.) But, he can deal his way down from 3rd to 10 and have another 2nd rounder to pick, or, he might have a stud to pick at 3rd.(1.)

But the draft is secondary. What is important is getting more young players on the field. (2.)Why demand that my vets play injured when the team simply can no longer make the play-offs? What is the point of torturing Cliffy? Shortening Ahmad's career?(2.)

Kiwon, shelving the vets isn't how I would choose to put it. I just think a healthy dose of realism could do this team the world of good.

(1.) Yes, but why sacrifice the morale of your team for the sake of more draft picks, sure it will do more good in the long term but will a first year head coach recover from benching two of his blue chip players? What would that say about his drive to win? It would reflect poorly on the GM and the organisation, and in essence it would tell the whole world we are "rebuilding", even if that is not the goal. And look at how much hot water TT is in for making a few mistakes that almost every GM makes(i.e Blackmon, wahle etc..)

(2.) Again, you're assuming that Ahman is the same player he was three years ago, and as players get older they slow down, so what good will sitting him for a year to get him healthy do when he'll most likely lose another 15-20% of what he had three years ago(IMO)?

Once again i do not believe that Clifton fits this scheme, and i guarantee you at the end of the year both his knees will be operated on. So in that situation, dont you think it would be a good idea to get everything out of these players this year, try and win NOW so that the rookies can grow with the vets, see how they do things and learn as much as they can before the coaching staff realises that they have two past their prime players, one who will be coming back from two knee surgeries?

IMO, i don't think shelving the vets will do any good for anyone, moslty the head coach.

[Tarlam!]

Yeah Ras, that would be correct. But we aren't talking about any QB. We're talking about Favre. Just being on the field with him is a huge benfit for our youngsters.

I did make this exception in the lead post of this thread, BTW.

[Tarlam!]

...dont you think it would be a good idea to get everything out of these players this year, try and win NOW so that the rookies can grow with the vets...?

IMO, i don't think shelving the vets will do any good for anyone, moslty the head coach.

No, because it must be downright frustrating losing games like we did against NO and STL. And I wouldn't make a horse in pain work a field if the crop had little chance of growing, why would I ask a LT to do it?

If Cliffy needs operating, put him on IR and let him get it done NOW. He aint gonna miss much.