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Tag Archives: Packers
PACKERS FOOTBALL FRIDAY: Offseason Needs: ILB
AJ Hawk has always been a point of contention for Packers fans. Hawk came in as the team’s first top 5 pick in a very long time and was heralded as the “savior of the defense”. While Hawk has been very durable and one could even say dependable he has not been top 5 pick spectacular. I think what a lot of Packers fans hoped they were getting was their answer to the Bears’ Brian Urlacher. In that respect Hawk hasn’t come close. Splash plays have been few and far between. Hawk has had trouble rushing the passer consistently and causing turnovers has been almost non-existent.
I’ve said on From the Benches and written here a number of times that a player like Hawk can be on a Super Bowl winning defense. He was in 2010. An assignment sure, stable force can be very useful if he’s playing next to a playmaker or a star. Desmond Bishop before his hamstring tear was that player. Brad Jones is not that player. Jones, a converted OLB is a guy that seems like such a great idea. His height (6’3″) makes him a presence in the passing game and his time filling in for Desmond Bishop in 2012 was “adequate” unfortunately Jones is no more than “adequate” either. You can’t have a punishing 3-4 defense if both inside linebackers are average players.
BJ Raji Appears Close to Signing 1 year Deal With Packers
According to an initial report from Bob McGinn, later confirmed and added to by Steven Haywood, BJ Raji appears to be close to signing a one year deal to remain with the Green Bay Packers. Terms were initially reported to be right at $4 million, but Haywood’s addition to the story suggests that the deal could be incentivized and worth up to $6.5 million.
Raji had a down year in 2013, whcih was obviously a contract year. It would appear that part of this return to the Packers is going to include his move back to nose tackle from defensive end. Raji graded out as one of the worst 3-4 DEs in football and has always seemed uncomfortable playing that position. His dominant season in 2010 came as the team’s NT.
It’s being reported that Raji was offered two options, a one year deal and a two year deal. Raji’s choice of the one year deal would make it appear that he understands the opportunity that was lost with his play this season as it pertains to signing a big contract. The deal appears to be a win-win situation for both parties. Raji gets a chance to prove himself as as nose tackle (or a productive player period) and the Packers are only locked into one season at a reasonable amount of money. The deal also pushes the negotiation period an additional season and allows the Packers to negotiate a possible extension for Raji after the cap expands next offseason and after it becomes clearer what the team wants to do with high dollar defenders Morgan Burnett and Tramon Williams.
Will this be the Year the Packers Draft a Badger?
“Badgers? Badgers? We don’t need no stinking Badgers!”
Besides being one of my favorite lines from the 1989, Weird Al classic, UHF, it could also describe Ted Thompson’s attitude on draft day. Thompson has never drafted a Badger and the Packers haven’t drafted a Badger since offensive lineman Bill Ferrario in 2001.
I don’t think Thompson or the Packers intentionally avoid drafting Badgers, I just think the value of a Badger player has never lined up with the Packers’ draft board. But with the amount of Badger prospects that would seemingly fit the Packers scheme and needs, this year could be different.
Although Ted Thompson was not in attendance at the Badgers pro day, Packers’ Director of Pro Personnel, Eliot Wolf was there to represent the Packers.
Here’s a rundown of the top Badger prospects and where they could fit in with the Packers.
Chris Borland – Linebacker, 5’11” 245
The top Badger prospect, Borland doesn’t have the prototypical size and speed you look for in a NFL linebacker and he did not put up great numbers at the combine, but his instincts and toughness will likely make him a second day pick.
The Packers could certainly use help at middle linebacker, and unless they address the position in the first round with either Alabama’s CJ Mosley or Ohio State’s Ryan Shazier, I would think that the Packers would consider Borland if he is still available in the 3rd round.
From the Benches: Free Agent Defection?
On the newest edition of From The Benches, the guys react to the recent news that Sam Shields will be allowed to test the free agent market. Following a good discussion, and some predictions about where Shields will end up the guys move on to their final edition of Free agent primers before continuing their draft series. The guys pick out some of the wide receivers from this year’s deep class that they like, and talk about where the Packers could target some of the players from that position.
The boys go Behind The Bench, in honor of NFL Network’s dynasty week, the guys pick who would make their version of “Packers Mount Rushmore”. To end the show Ryan takes this week’s version of the show’s signature series “You’re gonna want to cut that.”
Listen using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.
More Football Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Packers Talk Radio Network on BlogTalkRadio
From The Benches is the latest podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network, featuring hosts Jacob Westendorf, Ross Uglem, and Ryan Hillesland.
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Will the Packers Try to Sign Evan Dietrich-Smith to an Extension?
With NFL free agency beginning in just over a week, it looks as though the Packers will let center Evan Dietrich-Smith test the market, but should they?
For years the center position had been the most stable position along the Packers’ offensive line. But after six years as the Packers starting center, Scott Wells signed a lucrative free agent deal with the St. Louis Rams after the 2011 season.
The Packers, feeling that they didn’t have a legitimate in house option, did something they very rarely do, and signed veteran free agent Jeff Saturday. At 37, Saturday was a shell of his former All-Pro self and was replaced mid-season by Dietrich-Smith.
Now with Dietrich-Smith on the verge of free agency, the Packers are looking at the very real possibility that they will be starting their fourth center in as many years.
So why haven’t the Packers attempted to negotiate a new contract with Dietrich-Smith?
In his first full season at starting center Dietrich-Smith graded out at +14.2 by Pro Football Focus, and is their 3rd ranked free agent center, behind only Cleveland’s 2 time Pro-Bowler Alex Mack, and New Orleans’ Brian de la Puente. Other reviews of Dietrich-Smith’s performance were not as positive. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave Dietrich-Smith a C- for his performance for the year in his annual Packer report card.
It could be the Packers agree with Bob McGinn’s evaluation of Dietrich-Smith more than they agree with Pro Football Focus, and they think the position could be upgraded.
PACKERS FOOTBALL FRIDAY: Offseason Needs: DL
I understood what was going on in late August when the Green Bay Packers released 22 players to get down to their final 53 and there were 8 DL on the roster and 1 on the PUP. I’m not trying to be arrogant or pretend I know everything about football because I certainly do not, but this particular maneuver by Ted Thompson did have a purpose. The question was an obvious one: “Why would a team that plays 2 defensive linemen at a time (usually) keep 4.5 times that many players under team control when roster spaces are so few and far between?” The answer is just, so, Ted Thompson.
Ted loves his guys. I think more than Ted loves his guys, Ted hates having to bring in other guys that were let go by their teams. Whether or not a player was released is kind of irrelevant as it pertains to outside free agency. Unrestricted free agents for one reason or another, value, injuries, poor previous cap management, unhappiness, whatever were not deemed important enough to that team to “make it work”. Overpaying for players that weren’t in their previous team’s plans (for whatever reason) is not something that Ted has cared to do. With that said, coming into the 2013 season, Ted Thompson had a problem.
From the Benches – NFL Combine Redux
In this week’s edition of From the Benches, the boys discuss the NFL combine’s results after giving their weekly weather report from their three separate states.
The hosts discuss the combine in some detail, and the boys give their picks for who they think the Packers could or should be targeting at pick number 21. Following the combine discussion, the guys go into their signature behind the bench series discussing the weekend’s news of James Jones, Jermichael Finley, Sam Shields, BJ Raji and Ryan Pickett.
They continue with their draft series briefly discussing fullbacks and tight ends before Jacob talks about blueprint’s for winning championships in this week’s edition of “You’re gonna want to cut that.”
Listen using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.
Current Football Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Packers Talk Radio Network on BlogTalkRadio
From The Benches is the latest podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network, featuring hosts Jacob Westendorf, Ross Uglem, and Ryan Hillesland.
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Follow Packers Talk Radio Network:
Follow @PackersTalkNet
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