Free agency thoughts

The NFL is about to enter a very unique offseason and as usual the Packers will likely be quiet, especially in free agency. Here is my take on the Packers Dirty Dozen Thirteen free agents.

Chad Clifton – The 33-year old Clifton is still the Packers best option at left tackle. Cliffy stayed relatively healthy last year but did not start 16 games and at times the Packers missed him dearly, especially when Daryn Colledge was his replacement. Clifton won’t command a big salary so the Packers should be able to re-sign him if they want to, and I would think they would want to.

Mark Tauscher -  A year younger than Clifton Tauscher proved to be a savior last year when he joined the team mid-season and stabilized the offensive line after taking over for colossal failure Allen Barbre. Unlike Clifton, however, the Packers might have a better option at right tackle in 2nd year man T.J. Lang, who played left and right tackle but is better suited for right tackle. I hope Tauscher will come accept a similar one-year deal or something to come back and battle Lang for the job. My guess is Tausch wins. Lang can spell him during the season and replace him in 2011.

Aaron Kampman -  The Packers don’t really know what they have in Kampman anymore. It is clear he was special in a 4-3 defense but by getting hurt halfway through the season, Kampman never got to really develop in the new defense. He may have been missed late in the year when the Packers struggled against the Steelers and Cardinals when the Packers couldn’t even sniff the quarterback. I would like to see the Packers keep him if only for the intangibles he brings to the locker room.

Ryan Pickett -  Pickett is one of Ted Thompson’s few free agent signings and Thompson would be wise to sign him again. You can never have too much depth on the d-line and Pickett is a perfect role model for B.J. Raji. Pickett needs to be signed and it appears the Packers feel the same way as they have begun talks with Pickett’s agent.

Nick Collins -  At the beginning of last year I was with the Packers in not jumping in and giving Collins big money, but after another solid year and another Pro Bowl appearance it is time for the Packers to anti-up. Because of the uncertainty of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players Collins will be a restricted free agent, however, the Packers cannot afford to send the wrong message here and need to get this deal done and done soon.

Johnny Jolly – The only thing stopping the Packers from paying Jolly may be his legal troubles. We’ll have to see how that plays out, but Jolly is a solid player and the Packers really need to keep him. A couple of bonehead penalties have raised some eyebrows about him and he may be as good as he is going to get, but either way he adds much need depth to the d-line.

Daryn Colledge -  This is the one guy the Packers should pay NOT to come back. How he lasted four years mostly in the starting lineup is a testament to how bad Thompson has been at drafting/finding offensive lineman. Colledge is not starting material at left guard and was absolutely horrible in replacing Clifton at left tackle. Colledge’s holding penalty in overtime against the Cardinals was enough to get him fired on the spot if you ask me. He followed that up by getting burned on the game-winning play two plays later. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Jason Spitz -  If Spitz is healthy and the Packers aren’t worried about his future availability they should definitely bring him back. Spitz should replace Colledge at left guard and let Scott Wells stay at center. A line of Clifton, Spitz, Wells, Josh Sitton and Tauscher would be just fine with me. Spitz is versatile and the Packers will almost assuredly bring him back if healthy.

Atari Bigby, Ahman Green, Will Blackmon, John Kuhn, Derrick Martin -  All of these players will come cheap but only ones I like are Bigby and Green and maybe Kuhn. Blackmon is an injury waiting to happen and not even that good, he won’t help the secondary any, that is for sure. Martin never showed up after coming in with high hopes having played in a 3-4 defense before. Didn’t happen.

I like Green for his leadership and change of pace to Ryan Grant. Green is a short-yardage specialist and can catch the ball and run the screen pass. Bigby is a starter but an average one at best. The Packers secondary needs a major overhaul but I would at least bring Bigby to camp. Ditto Kuhn, who is a beast on special teams and can catch the ball for a fullback that brings back memories of William Henderson If only he could block like Henderson.

I’ve got my list of potential NFL free agents and I’ll go over that Wednesday. The CBA is throwing a wrench into everything and I can’t believe the NFL players are going crazy about losing two years of free agency. Six years for free agency is a return to the seventies and eighties. Most players’ careers are lucky to be six years, not having a chance at the big payday has to be pissing a lot of guys off. It’s going to be interesting.

More to come…

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 10:54 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Scot

    The funny thing about Colledge is, he acts like he’s owed a good contract. I would’nt give it to him. Clifton and Tauscher should be back for one more year. They need to draft to Left OTs. I heard Thompson likes two of the Bucs tackles that will be free agents. One is Trueblood. I can’t remember the name of the second at the moment. Bigby will be back, but is injury prone. I really want Bush to be replaced this year. Good thing they cut Anthony Smith to get Martin, huh? Lang will pan out at RT. I just don’t see Kampman coming back. I think there’s a lot of posturing right now on both sides, but I don’t think it will materialize. You canb bank on Pickett coming back. I still think Hawk is going to get traded.

  • Pete H

    pretty spot on Al, but I still like Blackmon. He wasn’t great in the secondary,but he wasn’t Bush…and he is a demon on returns….47 punt returns 3 TDs….yes he gets hurt a lot though

  • Three Lakes Terry

    Somewhere I read that the Packers and Chargers had been talking trade basically Hawk for Cromarte plus exchanging some draft picks. I sure would like to see that be true because would be great for the Packers as would clear up a bit of backlog at LB and give Chillar and Bishop more playing time and at the same time bring us a solid corner. Trades do not happen often in the NFL but this would be a good one for both sides. I hope that it happens.

  • roy jamison

    I agree with most of what you said Al. Don’t think there will be much moment in FA, so TT will have to make do with the best of what he has. I remember the last time he decided to let a quality safety go, and that wasn’t pretty!

  • JeffN

    Hawk for Cromarte? Well I would say the Packers would also be giving away draft picks in that case. I don’t think Hawk has too much trade value being he is in the last year of a big contract and is an average player.

    Al, I couldn’t agree more with taking College out of the starting lineup. Too much inconsistent play from that guy. What about moving TJ Lang to left guard? They said coming out of the draft that he projects in the NFL as much higher quality guard than tackle. Although that would leave us with an even bigger hole at tackle. Tauscher looked pretty good last year I think he has a couple more years at least in him. Cliffy not sure when he is going to fall apart. Here are the positions I think the Pack needs upgrades at in order of priority:

    Nickel CB or starting CB
    left guard
    left tackle
    RB
    backup safety

    Look for TT to get a little more aggressive in FA. Maybe in the draft to like he did last year. When the Pack had a cuboard bare scenario when TT first came in it made sense to draft exclusively the best player available. This is a legite 11-5 team and with a cuboard almost full scenario it makes more sense to be more strategic in drafting certain positions or go after veteran players even if they are a bit aged. It would be nice to see 2 of the above positions taken care of in FA and 2 in the draft. Filling the cuboard all the way gets a bit tricky. In any case the situation has changed.

  • Monty

    Hey Al

    I agree with you and the others except for Ahman Green. When you look at the winners in this years playoffs, they had two backs that could run the ball or catch screens. I will always have respect for Ahman Green, but we need younger players in our backfield. Something like what the Ravens or Vikings have. Right now we really only have one quality back and that’s Grant. I look for us to draft a back and sign some Undrafted ones. I totally agree with your call on Colledge, he should have never been drafted and to last this long is truly amazing. For sure they have to start fixing our weak areas if we are ever to get farther along in the playoffs. You cant give up 51 sacks, rank last in special teams, and get burnt in the secondary like we did by the better QB’s in the league. We play a little tougher schedule next year including the AFC EAST, we have to get better in the afore mentioned areas. Why we cut Jon Ryan is beyond me, I know Stock wanted the guy from Washington and they both proved to be duds, Thompson needs to listen more to himself and others. Well lets hope something gets done before March 5 otherwise 2010 might be the last year we have football for a while.

  • Pete H

    Monty, I think just about every team ever would like to have what the Vikings or Ravens have

  • Pete H

    And as far as schedules, you can’t really tell who’s tough and who isn’t until the season has gotten going.

  • Monty

    agreed Pete, I just want to see us move up the later. Mike V wrote an interesting piece comparing Sean Payton vs McCarthy. Funny how we passed on him, who knows what would have been. But I am happy for the Saints, that city and organization really needed the SB win. Now we need to really look at our team and make the changes etc to move into the next tier of elite teams. McCarthy choose to keep Campen and Salcom instead of replacing them, so he’s gambling that they can do better than this year. I hope so because Special Teams and the OL need to be improved. I dont know why Thompson can find guys who can play offensive line. That was one thing Mike Sherman knew, of course he was a former lineman himself. Perhaps Thompson needs to bring in a former guy to help him draft or trade cuz what he’s doing so far aint workin. Anyway, here’s to hoping the NFL gets it Sh*t together and gets the labor thingy fixed so we can continue to root for our team!! Go Pack!

  • Pete H

    amen to that…no football no bueno

  • Rick

    Is it me or do we actually feel good about the Packers. I feel like we have a majority of pieces in place on offense but need to aquire depth on the line. We have a solid defense even though we lost two of our top playmakers. Yes we need an LOLB besides Jones and IR Kampman but we are much better than 2008.

    The only not feel good part is the special teams. We need a hang time with a Punter. I truely believe that with the leg Crosby has for kickoffs, he stays.

    I actually want another kicker for field goals and that can handle punting duties. Neil Rackers is the top FA kicker, he plays on the Cardinals and kicked and punted here in the midwest at Illinois. Is that where the money should go? I have also looked at the Jets Punter, Weatherford. He is one of top FA Punters. He never really kicked field goals but his hang times really turned the Jets around when he came in on their team in the second half of the season.

    Could you imagine a deep booming punt that hang up so the returner had tofair catch. Or if he runs back that we were able to stay in containment. Or…wait for it… not get a penalty on our punt returns.

  • Pete H

    I just don’t see the big deal in changing punters/kickers. Good grief, if a guy isn’t getting it done, you cut him and move on to the next. You don’t go draft a Sander in the 3rd round…you don’t spend a boat load on a FA. Longwell was a guy who was supposed to just be here with one nut for the preseason….we see how that worked out.

  • roy jamison

    I’m sure a lot of punters would like to stay in warm weather where their stats are inflated. Those last couple of months in Lambeau can make the best look below average. We had one of the best in the business several years ago…but booted him!

    Craig Hentrich (pronounced /ˈhɛntrɪk/) (born May 18, 1971 in Alton, Illinois) is an American football punter for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.

    Hentrich has also played for the Green Bay Packers in his career.

  • Packer’s Advocate…

    Don’t forget Kurt Warner……. we threw him out!!!

  • Pack4life

    Somehow the Pack has to compete against legit Qbs Favre twice, Big Ben Kurt Warner all ripped the Pack to shreds. Pass Rush has to be greatly upgraded plain and simple

  • Arcane Knowledge

    Packers Dirty Dozen

    or

    Packers Dirty Baker’s Dozen?

    Not many have heard Lee Marvin’s Dirty Dozen was actually The Dirty Baker’s Dozen. Telly Savalas’s “double”, really his twin brother, also died on the mission. The More You Know!

  • iccyfan

    P4L – I hope this’ll finally be the year 1st Rounder Justin Harrell legitimizes his draft position and provides that DL boost you desire. The Fox Sports mock on the article page has us taking Trent Williams (OT), a Rutger CB and Toby Gerhart in the first three rounds. As much as I enjoyed watching Gerhart at the college level, I’m not sure how he fits into the GBP running-game picture. Will he be the next Craig James or the next Barty Smith???

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Toby Gerhart reminds me more of Mike Alstott of the Bucs. We’d be lucky to get him.

  • iccyfan

    I know the PAC 10 is one of the weaker BCS conferences, but I’d be impressed with 1800 yards and 28 TD’s if it came at a D2 school! Considering he also played baseball at Stanford, I’m assuming he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I wouldn’t complain if the Packers selected him in the late third as he’s the kind of kid you love to root for.

    Even so, I’ve been reading the Packers were interested in scat-backs like Jahvid Best and Dexter McCluster; Gerhart goes 180 degrees the opposite direction…

  • Mel e Mel

    Gerhart would be interesting if we had some earth movers up front. We do not. Hence the need for elusive backs. Also remember 2 other stanford backs Darrin Nelson who screwed up the 87 championship game for the Vikes after being drafted ahead of Marcus Allen. And Touchdown Tommy Vardell.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Don’t where to begin; made the playoffs, “but it ain’t workin”. One of the best Os in the league, but we NEED more hang time. Just tell me how much hang time you need when you’re punting from their 40, 35, or 30? I don’t see where we’re doin that much punting so don’t see that as a priority – nice, yes, but not a season changer.
    This thread goes back and forth on the OTs. Some say T and C are serviceable and others put the replacements as top priority – in reality none of us know how to really evaluate the performance of an individual player or we’d be coaching instead of working at the jobs we do.
    I’m no expert, but I do know that the O overcame their mistakes this year, and it was the D that let us down even with their lofty stats in the aggregate. That says to me that if the Harrell, Pickett, and Jolly situations aren’t improved we need more DL help. If Obiozor, Jones, or Thompson can’t start we need another bookend LB. If Harris is done and Lee, Bell, Ford, or Underwood can’t fill the nickle and dime positions we go CB. Leave Blackmon and Bush on the STs. The safeties are OK and we have an All-Pro. That being said it seems to me that none of you think there was any improvement gained through experience this year that will be followed by more improvement with another camp and Pre next summer.
    I’m not wasting a #1 on an OT even if he’s the reincarnation of Forrest Gregg himself.
    We really do have a much greater need on the D side of the ball.

  • Pete H

    Larry, yes the offense overcame some issues with the O line, but you can’t just expect that to continue. Do you think Rodgers is just gonna be ok taking hit after hit. I don’t want to just assume that he will. Also, even though they scored a lot they left a ton of points on the board due to stalled drives with penalties. With the defense, yes they ultimately are to blame, but they were down their 2nd, 4th and 5th corners…resulting in some scrubs playing serious roles.

  • iccyfan

    On the issue of OT’s, priority #1 has to be getting Clifton & Tauscher re-signed for next season. There’s not much out there in the UFA OT market and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if one or both received interest from others. They’re 33 & 32 respectively and not ready to push up daisies yet…

    Even so, the organization MUST locate the LT of the future. Going into last season, fans were led to believe Colledge could slide out when the time came – I’m guessing that plan has been run thru the shreader! Lang might be able to do it but some question his overall athleticism. LT didn’t mention him above, but is probably still carrying on his love affair with Allen Barbre!

    This would appear to be an above-average draft for OT’s; I’m completely opposite LT on this issue and if a quality prospect falls to us at #23 (such as Oklahoma’s Trent Williams) I’d be shocked if Ted didn’t pounce on him. I’m still hoping against hope that Brian Bulaga falls…

  • Rick

    Larrytex,
    We managed to get a great defensive effort even though many our personal were injured and playing in a new system. We need a better pass rush.

    We have one of the top rated Offensive units in a pass first west coast offense.
    Line is aging and played weak at the beginning of the season, improved as year went on.

    Special Teams- We commited a holding/block in the abck penalty almost everytime we received a punt. On top of that we were down to our 3rd and 4th options on return duties.
    Punter over kicked coverage and we surrendered one of the highest return yardages per return in the NFL. We surrendered almost a 30 yrd diference between or starting field position and the oppenents. Poor lane contain and tackling a returner coming at full speed is tough to overcome. Look at the Bucs game and Browns games. We kept teams in those games and lost to the Bucs because of poor special teams play.

    1 second for every 10 yards punted is the best coverage rule. We line drive our punts and over kick the coverage all the time. We shortend Kapinos to a two step drop to reduce the chance of being blocked – remember the Bears game-and it flattened out his punts even more. Great distance but we give the returner almost 10 yrds to manuever.

    We normally punted from our 38 as an average. We need a 40-50yards punt with over 4 sec hangtime. We are getting almost 58 yards and 3.8 seconds. You have seen the games, you see the same issue I do. Kapinos may be the punter we need but not the way he punts. Crosby misses from the right hash but he booms kick offs into the endzone which restricts the returners ability to enter the filed of play. I do not like his missed kicks but a leg like that is NOT on every team. With Hester’s return duties increasing and Percy Harvin,I want that ball deep in the endzone.

  • Rick

    iccy- It looks like all the good OT and DT will be gone by the time our pick comes up. This will be intersting. Do the Packers use our picks to pry away RFAs or do we feel we get starter ability rookies right away from our draft position?

  • Rick

    I know I am going to catch heat for the Bucs comment but it is true. Give any NFL offense a short field and you court disaster

  • Rick

    William Shatner made it official/

    KHHHHAAANNNNNN!!!!!!

    Now owns the Rams.

  • iccyfan

    Rick – I believe you were the guy who espoused finding offensive linemen from a BCS conference school who had extensive starting experience, albeit you were talking third or fourth round. Trent Williams started four years for Oklahoma. Phil Loadholt came out of OU last season and started at RT from day one for the hated Vikings. If a LT like that were to be there at #23, I’d be happy to grab him.

    To each their own as we play armchair GM in the early offseason, but I’m not a fan of using our high draft picks to acquire high-priced malcontents like Shawn Merriman. A pie-in-the-sky offseason for me would include:
    1) Clean bill of health for Justin Harrell, bolstering the d-line at zero cost;
    2) Trade Hawk and our 2nd for Cromartie and SD’s third;
    Having addressed two huge areas of need, then Ted:
    3) Trades up in the first round for the LT of the future (still pining for Bulaga)

    We all agree the foundation of this team is in place and acquiring extra picks for wholesale roster turnover is not necessary. It will be fun to see what Ted does…

  • Rick

    Bulaga FTW iccy. Bulaga for the win. 8)

    I do wish to aquire depth on Oline and train them up.
    I just don’t want us to draft a 2nd rounder that is not that much better than a 5th when it comes to this draft.
    If we take your scenerio that Harrell is healthy it is good to keep him. His contract was front loaded and he is only about $1million with bonuses this coming year. He is unknown at this level hopefully he works hard knowing he is almost out of the league.

    If San Diego will trade AJ +2nd for Cromartie +3rd… duh take the deal. A starter DB to pair with Woodson. We need OLB still and Bishop better be ready to play ILB for us.
    That is better than us drafting Cox in the 2nd round.

    As far as trading up for a tackle in the draft. Only for the right guy like the Iowa big man. I do not want to pay 1st rounder money for a depth player

    I still want us to pay a incentive heavy 2year deal to Seymour. The Raiders may try to tag him, if so then we walk away. Not worth the two 1st rounders.

    Our keys are still to lock up and resign Tauscher,Clifton, and Spitz or we do not have an Oline next year. Collins and Pickett resigned to anchor the defense. I would like to keep Martin, Bigby, & Blackmon. Bush and Colledge we can take or leave.

  • Pete H

    “clean bill of health for Harrell”…ahh, thats good stuff iccy

  • roy jamison

    There’s gonna be a lot of OL taken before the Pack gets a chance. So scratch that position off the 1st round list. Taking a corner or safety makes the most sense.
    As for Harrell, I think it’s more likely we will see 1975′s Will Harrell than the present version. You might remember he occasionally passed the ball from the running back spot…ala Paul Hornung…and ended his career with a 98 passer rating! He was a solid 3 yards a carry guy! Gotta love those 70s teams.

  • iccyfan

    Rick & Pete – I said it was my “dream” off-season scenario! Wasn’t there an article on the main page several weeks back saying there’d been discussion of a Hawk (plus higher pick) for Cromartie (+ lower pick)? If I remember correctly and wasn’t dreaming, the picks were our first and their second. Of course that doesn’t fit my scenario for trading up to get Brian Bulaga. Either scenario however leaves us a third to draft the next Tommy Vardell. I’m officially on-board the Toby Gerhart bandwagon – a team can NEVER have too many fullbacks…. :)

  • Larry

    I’m going out on a limb and predict we move up in the draft to get our OT. We package #23 and a player and a lower round pick..a 4 through 7. Round 2 looks like a CB. I also believe we will be active in FA with 2 signings (by trade or straight FA signings) of moderate significance (RB, safety, OL, or CB)

    TT wants “young” and the OL is not young at the bookends…this is the year we get young in the OT’s. Another LB will be drafted or signed. Someone faster than Hawk.

    2009 was the 3rd year we were youngest team…virtually anyone over 30 on the Packers is up for replacement…TT works the numbers…and very well I might add!

  • Rick

    iccy- dream or not if the chargers will do that deal I say we jump on it. Great cover corners are are rare and with Harris an unknown quantity after his injury and age that will help free up Woodson to be a blitzer again that really helps our defensive out alot.
    To all-
    I said in an earlier rant that I want the Packers to attack the offseason because the landscape will change after the 2011 season. Lockout or new rules, more games, revenue sharing in the league, etc. It is all in flux after this season. We need to be active and work with a purpose.

    Can we resign the numerous Oline personal?
    Can we resign Collins?
    Can a Cromartie trade be pulled off?
    If not, can we raid a OLB like Merriman off of a Final 8 or Final 4 team?
    What FA DE or OTs come available?
    We draft the best value player, not the best player avaliable?
    The Packers need to jump in and be aggressive and decisive on these topics. Focus and achieve. The game is played on the field and the coaches seem to be gameplanning well on both sides of the ball (special teams excluded)

  • Pete H

    I was just havin some fun iccy

  • iccyfan

    I know Pete, and I was just differentiating between my dream off-season and what will likely happen. I doubt that any of my three scenarios will come to fruition, other than Willard Harrell being healthy – that’s a given!

  • Pete H

    Whats funny is that with all of the grief I have heaped on TT in the past, I can’t complain. Its a good, solid, young team with still some pretty good depth. I have faith in him other than the O line. He should find someone who has disagreed with him on his lineman choices in the past and just tell them to go find two for him….no questions asked….same with a punter

  • JeffN

    I’ve spent a lot of posts trying to convince some of you guys that TT had a good thing going this whole time.

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    JeffN: Couldn’t agree more. Fans have been giving TT all kinds
    of grief when we don’t win everything at once, and, now, especially with some uncertainities in the next few seasons, I think this Packers team is better prepared than it would be under any other GM. I place my full trust in anything Ted does.

    Go Pack Go!

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    IMO Goodell is not a Comish I have any confidence in at all. He’s there because he won’t take on ownership and is a “yes” man. (re, Williams’) Smith has to make a name for himself to justify his position. (he came from nowhere, who ever heard of him before his appointment?)
    I predict by 2011 the CBA situation is going to get real ugly and there will be a lockout. And it is almost asured with Smiths agreement with me!
    On this subject I’m very pessimistic and think 2012 will be another run on the bank that will bankrupt and force a few (3 that I won’t name and you can figure out) to change ownership. There is money out there to buy teams and move them so its not going to change the league that much, but I see major escalation in salaries that is going to turn off the public at large. The eccentric fan will pooh-pooh the prediction, beliving the NFL is indestructable given the fan base that exists now, but times are a-changing and the economy will not have turned back to good times by then. Hence, the slow-down of ticket sales in weak team markets affecting the whole league.
    Mark my words!

  • Rocky70

    LT
    Pretty pessimistic analysis …………. Unfortunately, your scenario is a possibility …… However, when everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie, the solution is to bake a bigger pie so all are happy ……….. I’m still banking on the switch from a 16-game season to an 18-game season as the key part of the solution ………. IMO, at least two teams will relocate, maybe even three with the domino effect kicking in (L.A. Jaguars?) ………. Or how about the old familiar L.A. Rams ………… One way or another L.A. will once again be an NFL city ……….

    I’m not sure salaries will escalate in the next 2 or so years ………. There will be no cap but there will not be a bottom either ………… The owners will make a killing if a lockout ocurrs in 2011 …….. Teams will still have shared revenue from TV but basically no salary expenses ………… The owners have a clear advantage that the players are just starting to realize ……….. In the end, the added revenue from an 18-game season will (more or less) be given to the players ………. The possibility that season 2011 is a wash is very high ………… Better hope GB’s replacement players win at least a few games before the lockout ends.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Yep, Yep, Yep, and Yep, I am very pessimistic.

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    Rocky70: I like the idea about playing 18 games, but only if they take the games put of the preseason. Players will be dropping like flys if they have to play 22 games a year, including practices and camp.

    Teams moving will be possible, but the rams are likely staying put. The new owners just said they don’t want to move the team. (for your consideration: The Los Angeles Vikings!)

    Go Pack Go!

  • Rick

    Rams have to stay put as part of the buy in buy Khan. I read today that he actually has a follow up offer to completely buy out the other owners of the Rams too.

    I heard the rumor of an NFC team in LA and an AFC team in London

  • Rocky70

    ” Rocky70: I like the idea about playing 18 games, but only if they take the games put of the preseason. ”

    You’re right ………. Preseason would be reduced to 2 games ……….. Teams would have more ‘controlled’ scrimmages during TC (similar to Family Night in GB) ……. Coaches already say that most players ‘on the fence’ to secure a roster spot do so during practice as opposed to how they do in a preseason game ………… Rebuilding teams would be at a disadvantage because their roster turnover would naturally be higher thus creating a larger chance for mistakes in choosing their final rosters due to the shortened preseason ……….. Way back when, preseason used to be 6 games long ………… As a result players had the time to get in shape during TC ………. For the most part players are always in shape today ………… 12, 14, 16 game seasons ……….. You knew 18 eventually would be in play.

  • Rocky70

    An 18-game season would also result in enlarged roster limits ………. Instead of the 53-man roster, it would be bumped up to 58 or even 60 with an enlarged PS roster also to 9 or 10 players ……….. This would result in 200+ more jobs than exist today in the NFL ………. Any union loves when management increases the number of jobs available to them ……….. Some older vets near retirement would enjoy another season or two of a mil+ because of increased roster sizes ……….. The downside is a dilution of talent level & some pretty shabby games at the beginning of an 18-game season ……….. Look for just about all single-season records to fall …….. 51 TD passes, 125+ catch receivers, more than one 2000-yard rusher, 25+ sacks, etc. ……..

    Hell, the yearly BF swoon will last 6 games instead of his normal 4 games at the end of the season ………….. Take that PB ……… LOL.

  • Rocky70

    Top 5 (at home) Passing Plays of the 2009 Season

    http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2010/02/12/1/

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    Well, anything to make the NFLPA happy at this point! You do have a point about the dilution of talent, but I’d rather have slightly lower quality games than no games at all.

    Go Pack Go!

  • http://Orlando Mark

    The owners are like the health insurers. They’re not in business to provide health care. They’re in business to make money. I had to laugh when this CA insurer raised its rates 45% even though they’re already making record profits in a recession. The owners want to make more money and since we’re in a recession and they’ve maxed out their markets the easiest and most lucrative way is to cut their payroll. I don’t find this funny because the players are going to put up a fight. They all make too much as far as i can tell but here I am buying Packer stuff and contributing to their tv package so I guess I’m partly to blame.

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    Keep buying that Packer stuff. If this deal doesn’t get done it’ll pretty much be up to the fans to support the team. Where else will they get the money?

    Go Pack Go!

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