Priority #1

[nick20]

Favre was never sacked more than 40 times in a season. that season where he was sacked 40 times? the SB year of 1996. Rodgers has been sacked 40+ times 3 times - 50 tim,es in 2009, 51 in 2012 and 46 this year. he has not been sacked less than 20 times in a year since becoming a full time starter- 28 in 2014 was the fewest over a full year. hes been sacked 306 times already in his career, an average of 30.6 sacks a year. in 2004 Brett was sacked just 12 times. ALL season. in all brett had 3 seasons (2003-19, 2004, and 2007-15) where he was sacked under 20 times in a season. in fact you combine those 3 seasons and you get 46- the same number aaron was sacked thuis season. favre was sacked 525 times in his career, or roughly 26 a season. Big Ben is tyhe active leaer with 439, meaning hes 87 sacks away from breaking bretts record. considering Big Ben had 4 straight seasons from 2006-09 with 45+ sacks I think this a record bens going to break.

[TW]

No doubt about it. Rodgers gets hit way too often. Especially when we hear how great our offensive line is from the Packer mouth pieces. I'm afraid that has gotten old.

The reality is, we are essentially weak at both tackles (Bulaga is injured too oftne), and our only real strength with Tretter on the bench is our guards. That said, if Tretter is in, at center, we need tackle help. Bulaga would be fine, as long as he stayed healthy. A good sub, when he's hurt, is essential. On the left side, Bakhtiari will never be a solid LT. His footwork is horrible. He steps across his plant foot, and that puts him off balance. He also can't seem to play in a crouch, which is essential, to avoid being bowled over. He needs to rear plant a foot to keep from being pushed back. I could talk about more of his problems, including his lack of upper body mobility to position himself so holding don't look like holding.

[happypacker]

Bak. is the best LT we have , but like said is not all pro by any means. the packers need to draft in first round a NFL ready top lt,,, or trade for one, this season would be a good year to trade for a good lt, because both free agents, from the Packers, Williams and House have played pretty good for there new teams, thus giving us two higher rounds picks COMP. CAN NOW BE USED0 TT will never go that way , but should look into it if any good LT's are in this years draft,(i have not looked into the draft yet)

[TW]

I think the best coming out, at LT, is Tunsil of Mississippi. He may be a bit over rated, but I think he can do a good job at LT. Everyone else that they seem to think will be decent look like good RTs to me, to be honest.

To me, it's footwork, and the agility to make the moves needed to keep a defender in front of you. Nearly every LT who comes out in the draft is more of a guard type, or RT.

I guess that's pretty much why I figure that moving Tretter out to LT, where he excelled over the short time, might be a good idea. Then they could go after a center/guard type, who could eventually replace Linsley, in a year or so.

I want to see upgrades in the line, not regression. Just my thoughts on the situation.

[happypacker]

center is solid with Linsley and tretter as a back up. Guards, both Lang, and Sitton are very good guards. Bulaga is a very good RT , he is injured a lot though.
and at LT we need that big fast footed great leverage player, like Long from the Bears, he would make a good LT or RT. but we need to upgrade soon because we have not much time remaining with Bulaga. Bak. is solid but not quick enough with his feet and balance to become a all pro LT. need to find that 6'6" 330 lb quick balanced LT.

[TW]

The big problem with Bakhtiari is that he's a lousy pass blocker, and has let Rodgers take a pounding. The coaches graded Tretter out for his play at LT and he graded higher than anyone else has in quite a few years. This was despite the fact he essentially had less than one week practicing at the position.

The reality is that you either have the foot speed and agility, or you ain't going to do well.

[lambeausverybest]

Hello fellow Packer fans.  I come from Packer Report as an ousted moderator named packershrine.  

I've learned that there's a lot of politics running an internet Green Bay Packer board.  I have lots of regrets leaving, the biggest one was playing the Head Master's right hand man for almost 3 years.  I stood loyal as complaints came my way, never once being the unprofessional moderator.  It wasn't until I began to speak up (in private) about my criticisms that I was ejected out of my seat.  It didn't matter how many thousands of mod moves I made, as soon as I spoke out of line I was gonzo.  My good friend Oakleaf said to me that there's some giant egos at play over there. Oh boy is that true.

 

Can't help but thinking of Bob Dylan's tune entitled, "The times They are a-Changin.'   It's the last verse of the tune that comes to mind:

As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

[lambeausverybest]

I agree with you guys who say priority #1 must be to protect Aaron Rodgers.  Our QB was running for his life for pretty much the entire season.  We were fortunate Tolzien wasn't playing.    

[nick20]

welcome packershrine. we're glad to have you aboard. and yes keeping aaron's shirt clean must be a priority.

[happypacker]

I wondered what happened to you at that site. It is run by two Hitler like people who want to be known as the best educated,smartest,know it all people on this earth, They both had in the past written many statements about how "dumb" lacking in comprehension ability etc. they can curse and they can ramble off topic and they can stab you in the back behind the site. I have noticed that they have lost many posters over the last few years, Hopefully, they all will wise up and see and let that site crash and start over with some good people. did you read where Hyatt wrote to B. Huber on a thread that he is not close to being a good writer and that he needs to get "educated by Hyatt" and that is put mildly from the way he wrote it.
I see that A. Rodgers had Knee surgery,,,that could explain why some of his tosses were off one way or another. I hope we find a better LT this coming season. The team is really i think only a few players away from making a good challenge for the SB. AND welcome to a really great site

[TW]

Welcome aboard Lambeau. I'm sorry to hear you had a problem over there. It's too bad that the people who own the board don't see what's actually happening at board level, and make changes.

But, rest assured, you are more than welcome here. We believe that every point of view related to the Packers has the right to be aired, and discussed.

As time goes on, we'll be getting more of our old members posting. If there are good posters that you know, feel free to tell them to ask to join our group and we'll let them in. The more we have, the better it is.

[countrytime]

With what we know right now, this next season, 2016, is probably the last year the window to get to a championship will be wide open. After that, I can easily see it narrowing. If Rodgers has more seasons like this one, I could even see it closing before he's done playing here.

Offense

QBs: Rodgers and Hundley are under contract. Tolzien is a FA, but my best guess is that he's back. I don't think anybody's gonna make a go at him. They have their TC QB lined up in Ryan Williams, who they signed to a futures deal. We won't see any new QBs in Green Bay this offeseason.

RB/FB: Kuhn, Starks, and Crockett are FAs, though Crockett is exclusive. That leaves Lacy and Rip as the only backfield players under contract. I would guess Crockett will be around for TC, and between Kuhn and Starks, my $$ would go towards Kuhn being the one who stays. Starks had problems holding onto the ball, and while he's been injury free for 2 whole seasons, I wouldn't trust that to hold out again. Crockett takes his place next season and the Packers draft a speed/third-down type back.

OL: Every starter comes back for one more season together. And this is the area which leads me most to believe that 2016 is the last shot for MM, Rodgers, and TT. Bakhtiari, Lang, and Sitton are Free Agents after next season, Linsley is a FA after 2017, Bulaga is locked up til 2020. The depth outside of Tretter is garbage (sorry Barclay, you're probably back, but we know your limitations (and Tretter is a FA in 2017 as well)). I don't think the Packers hold on to all three FA OLs after 2016, so drafting OL this year will be key. The offensive linemen taken this year have to have the ability to be good starters, in case we lose a guy up front. In my mind, the issues that exist on the o-line and d-line have to be of the utmost importance this offseason, because if you can't win at the line, you won't really win that many games.

WR: JJ is gone, thanks for the help, but it would border on lunacy to bring him back next season. Nelson and Montgomery will return from injury, Abbey and Janis have some game experience, and hopefully Adams is healthy and over whatever plagued him this season. The top five guys are here through 2018 (Abbrederis' contract info wasn't up on rotoworld), but I'd still like to see them go after a speedy receiver who can play on the outside.

TE: Backman, Henry, Perillo, and Richard Rodgers are all probably here at least through TC, which is a shame because this is the position in most need of an upgrade. Quarless is gone. He's a FA and I see no reason for TT to bring him back. If they can find the right kind of talent to bolster this roster spot, this and a speedy pass-catching RB are what will keep the window open on offense a little longer. Maybe we can trade Tretter, a pick, and Adams to NE for Gronk?


Defense

DL: Boyd, Daniels, Jones, Pennel, and Ringo are the only guys who we know right now will at least be here for TC next season. As a number one pick, Jones is a disappointment due to his draft position, but has flashed good talent, and did play fairly consistently this past season.
Guion and Raji are both free agents, but I think Guion is gone. Raji, keep him, keep him at the nose, but don't over pay him. He did ok up front this year, but I think it was the athleticism of Clay Matthews at the ILB spot that helped make the interior DL look good this year.

LB: Barrington comes back from injury and has one more year under contract. Bradford, Elliot, and Palmer will be here for TC. Matthews and Ryan are under contract through 2018. I would imagine we keep Peppers another season unless someone wants to make an offer for him, but I expect he'll become more situational next year. Thomas, Perry, Mulumba, and Neal are all Free Agents at the end of the league year. I think we need to keep one of Neal or Perry, and I'd lean towards Neal b/c he can play DL in a pinch.

It's very likely some sort of piping induced dream, but Von Miller, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Danny Trevathan, Bruce Irvin, and Mark Barron are all players that, if they hit free agency, I'd like knowing that TT was at least trying to make an offer.

CB: Goodson, Gunter, Randall, Rollins, and Shields are all back, and the two rookies played well, for rookies. If they can make the next step, we have a very good group of corners. If they come back and look like Casey Hayward (who is a free agent) then we'll be in a bit of trouble. I'd only keep Casey if he'll accept being paid like a slot corner. Otherwise, see ya.

S: Sean Richardson, I hope you're alright buddy. But he's gone. Hyde is here one more season, HHCD and Burnett are tied together until at least 2018, and Banjo is a exclusive FA. I think they'd like to find another body like Richardson, but I don't think they'll spend a draft pick here. Find a speedy UDFA and bring him in.



P: by all accounts, Masthay did what he was asked to do this year, and set a Packer record doing so. That leaves me not that impressed with the job done by the Zooker. That will be looked at during the offseason. Tim is under contract for one more year. His value as a holder will bring him back.

LS: Brett Goode is a free agent who tore his ACL in December, Rick Lovato apparently signed a 3 year deal. Looks like the transition is complete.

Coaching Staff

MM is here to stay for another season. There need to be some changes, though. I can't see Clements wanting to stay. I can't see Alex Van Pelt retaining control over both the QBs and the WRs. I wonder what Edgar Bennett's role actually is. I bet Jerry Fontenot cries himself to sleep every once in a while. Hats off to the defensive staff. And I believe the training staff did a good job, too. We didn't really have those "nagging" type, preventable injuries that have plagued us in years past. Nope. We just had full-on torn ligaments, blown joints, and rung bells.


This year clearly shows that the Packers lack the speed on offense to really mess with opposing defenses, and it took the offensive staff most (almost all) of the season to realize that they were stale, predictable, and ineffective. That changed in the postseason, but it should have changed a hell of a lot sooner than that.

[TW]

Excellent analysis country. You covered a lot of issues, and non-issues at the same time. For the most part, I think you're pretty much on target. We're caught in a cycle that needs one more year to play out, and that means McCarthy & Co. a safe. But next year could be a tipping point as to whether he's kept or ends up being sent packing not later than 2018. He has to get better results, because, as you indicated, the window of opportunity is closing fast, and Rodgers time at the top is on a clock now. He's not that kid anymore. Adding to that problem is the porous line, and the number of hits he's taking now. Way too many to stay healthy and be at the head of the class.

I noticed you didn't mention Crosby. I think he's safe, but at the same time, it could still come down to how well he does in TC. A lot of things have been known to happen.

Zook is a third generation ST coach for us, all of which had the same mentality. I'm not a bit impressed, even though the front office and McC are touting him as excellent.

The offensive line. You're right. They have to do something to address the future. Also, they will have to do something to give Tretter the playing time he deserves, or he's going to end up saying adios when his contract runs out. At this point in time, I think he's actually a better center than Linsley, and he's done better than anyone else this year, playing LT, despite his lack of experience.

It is time for TT to pull the switch of one or two FAs who can shore up and improve a couple of positions. I'm interested in seeing if he will do it.

[countrytime]

Jan 28, 2016 11:55:16 GMT -5 TW said:

I'm going to check out Packer chatters too. Thanks for info.

EDIT: Went to chatters site, can't register. Is there a reason they won't allow registration?

Stay away.. no run away from there.( owner and mods can be Hitlers) Try wisconsinsportstalk.net/ if your looking for an alternative.Small..open and once your a member free shout 24/7 which is great on gameday.

My two cents also didn't post here for a long time because I registered with an old email address.

[happypacker]

A side note, Aaron Rodgers just had knee surgery after the last play-off game we were in. fix left tackle please!