Packer 2021 Team Discussion (Rodgers Out Vs. Chiefs)

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This won't be a popular opinion, but Kevin King's badness has really been overstated since that one dreadful game. I'm not saying it was his only bad game, I've never liked King, and he's been a major disappointment. But all things equal, he is just kind of run of the mill CB2 on probably like 10-15 teams. The problem, like most of those kinds of guys that become lightning rods, is that he was drafted to be a star and hyped like one early on.

 

I think it's likely he'll be signed to start somewhere else. Don't get me wrong, I want him out, but it's really not going to matter if the replacement isn't someone notable. Nothing will really change there if they go out and sign Frank Walker.

[PeaveyFury]

I have no issues bringing King back if the price is low, if for no other reason than they'll have to devote financial resources elsewhere. As I previously suggested, I think he's best as a nickel back- off the field on running downs, slides in at boundary corner in nickel with a better option on the field at CB2 in early downs, sliding to the slot in nickel. I won't, though, be surprised if they decide that the money is better spent elsewhere and that they can draft a CB high.

 

I know the Bears will make a serious attempt to keep him, but Allen Robinson would seem to make this offense completely unstoppable....

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I saw enough from MVS this season to believe he could really become a star. I think people have forgotten how much grief Adams took early on for dropsies. Between he and Lazard and Funchess going to camp, I don't view WR as a position of need but if they want Allen Robinson I won't object, lol. I'm excited for AJ Dillon too.

 

If you add some kind of pass rusher, King becomes much more forgivable. What happens on defense will determine where they go next year. The offense will figure things out.

[PeaveyFury]

I think the idea is that you can't have too many offensive weapons. I really like MVS as another option, but Rogers/McCarthy's offenses really clicked when they had crazy deep WR corps that created significant matchup problems when you got a guy like Jennings or Cobb up against a teams 3rd or 4th best CB.

[pacopete4]

WR:

Adams

MVS

Lazard

Add in a slot/quick guy

 

TE:

Tonyan

Deguara

Sternberger

Lewis

Dafney

 

RB:

Willams / Dillon

Draft Pick

 

That should be enough offense to win. Add to that defense as much as possible.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I saw enough from MVS this season to believe he could really become a star. I think people have forgotten how much grief Adams took early on for dropsies. Between he and Lazard and Funchess going to camp, I don't view WR as a position of need but if they want Allen Robinson I won't object, lol. I'm excited for AJ Dillon too.

 

If you add some kind of pass rusher, King becomes much more forgivable. What happens on defense will determine where they go next year. The offense will figure things out.

 

My exact same thoughts regarding MVS and the comparison to Adams early on in their careers....different type of receivers in the routes they excel at and Adams was more polished coming out of college, but you can't teach the size and speed combo MVS possesses. I'd be hesitant to say he's a lock to be a perennial pro bowler at that position, but he can have a great career playing in a system with a good QB. Play him opposite a stud receiver that draws safety help wherever he goes (i.e., Adams), and MVS is going to score a lot of long TDs.

 

I also think the overall skill position group currently signed to this roster (WRs, TE's, RBs even without Jones) looks really solid and deep. Getting Deguara back should make their TE formations dynamic. It really helps that most are good blockers, with some of the WRs like Lazard excelling at that role for their position.

[PeaveyFury]

Is Sternberger going to stay on the team? His complete and total disappearance is not indicative of someone they seem to have confidence in. He's really become the Josh Jackson of the offense....

[Fear The Chorizo]

Is Sternberger going to stay on the team? His complete and total disappearance is not indicative of someone they seem to have confidence in. He's really become the Josh Jackson of the offense....

 

Tonyan's emergence is going to limit Sternberger's opportunities once Deguara is healthy, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him traded or unfortunately, even cut if there's a roster crunch next camp. I think Sternberger has alot of talent and upside as a pass-catching TE....but he doesn't block well enough to be on the field alot in the current offense and he's been inconsistent at best when healthy and given the limited opportunities he's had his first 2 seasons in GB. A TE3 who isn't a good run blocker isn't going to get enough opportunities.

[adambr2]

I just don't see much possibility of any significant additions. We're crunched to get under the cap as it is. Maybe with some major restructuring, but we're going to lose a few pieces on the way.

 

I'm hoping we can find some guys in the early rounds who make an instant impact this year like the Bucs did rather than drafting for the future as we did in 2020.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I just don't see much possibility of any significant additions. We're crunched to get under the cap as it is. Maybe with some major restructuring, but we're going to lose a few pieces on the way.

 

I'm hoping we can find some guys in the early rounds who make an instant impact this year like the Bucs did rather than drafting for the future as we did in 2020.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly. I think they'll make several significant additions this offseason. Because if they go status quo again, Gute may soon find himself on the hot seat. It's time for this team to finally go big or go home.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

If the Packers offered Jones top 5 money and he declined there is some way to make moves. Gute has already made reference to kicking money down the road. And we don't even know what the cap is. I don't thinks fans stressing about the cap in February is fruitful. When the GM says they are willing to take risks to win now I think that is a pretty strong message.

 

I am expecting a big name to be added. Don't know who it will be but I'm hoping it's a rusher.

[adambr2]

I just don't see much possibility of any significant additions. We're crunched to get under the cap as it is. Maybe with some major restructuring, but we're going to lose a few pieces on the way.

 

I'm hoping we can find some guys in the early rounds who make an instant impact this year like the Bucs did rather than drafting for the future as we did in 2020.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly. I think they'll make several significant additions this offseason. Because if they go status quo again, Gute may soon find himself on the hot seat. It's time for this team to finally go big or go home.

 

How? They have a $30M cap problem assuming the cap is about $180M and they can't just restructure it all away.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I just don't see much possibility of any significant additions. We're crunched to get under the cap as it is. Maybe with some major restructuring, but we're going to lose a few pieces on the way.

 

I'm hoping we can find some guys in the early rounds who make an instant impact this year like the Bucs did rather than drafting for the future as we did in 2020.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly. I think they'll make several significant additions this offseason. Because if they go status quo again, Gute may soon find himself on the hot seat. It's time for this team to finally go big or go home.

 

How? They have a $30M cap problem assuming the cap is about $180M and they can't just restructure it all away.

 

They can, and they will in regards to restructuring. I expect them to restructure Rodgers and extend Adams, which will free up significant money. They likely won't be resigning a few free agents, and there will be some cap casualties like Kirksey and Preston Smith. The Packers are actually sitting pretty good cap-wise compared to a large chunk of the teams in the league.

 

I think fans tend to focus on the cap too much when it comes to team building. Heck, look at a team like the Chiefs. They are seemingly right up against the cap year after year, and still find ways to not only sign their own stars to significant long-term extensions, they also find ways to bring in pretty big names to shore up their depth. Like David Bahktiari said earlier this fall when asked about the Packers being close to the cap before he signed his extension, teams can always find ways to make moves to bring in the players they want, and if they tell you they can't due to cap constraints, they are lying.

[adambr2]

If the Packers offered Jones top 5 money and he declined there is some way to make moves. Gute has already made reference to kicking money down the road. And we don't even know what the cap is. I don't thinks fans stressing about the cap in February is fruitful. When the GM says they are willing to take risks to win now I think that is a pretty strong message.

 

I am expecting a big name to be added. Don't know who it will be but I'm hoping it's a rusher.

 

I'm not stressing about the cap. I'm saying it is what it is and I don't think there's a ton of flexibility to be had. Ken Ingalls is a good resource to follow on Twitter and really breaks this stuff down in a helpful way. I'm not saying it's completely impossible but I'm not sure where the money is going to come from and adding anybody will take sacrifices elsewhere.

 

And I don't think offering Jones top 5 RB money tells us much. Top 5 RB money is average starter money at most other positions.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

There are plenty of ways for them to get creative. They can extend Adams and reduce his 2021 cap hit, they can covert DBhak's bonus to save 8-10mm. There are several guys they'll lose, yes, like everyone else. And of course there's Rodgers, the elephant in the room. They could make him happy with an extension and solve their problem for next year by addressing that.

[PeaveyFury]

I've come around to the idea of waiting until the cap is set before I freak out about it. Obviously, they have far more flexibility if the cap is set at ~$195 than if it's set at $176. At $195, they can extend Adams and make a couple of targeted cuts and get to where they need to and have a little room to make an acquisition. At $176, it's much harder.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The way I look at it, we get a definitive answer this offseason. They either wiggle around the cap and make a clear commitment to #12 or they don't and the writing's on the wall. He gets to go somewhere else soon that will cater to his demands the Packers move on, which I'd rather do if we're going to continue running essentially the same group every year.

 

At least there will be some room to try a different approach. I'm content with whatever they do.

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Packers' cap situation is actually pretty decent compared to many teams in the league, because their current cap limitations still includes a full roster of players, and they can improve their cap situation through cuts and restructures while adding drafted players on the cheap. A team like TB, who just won the super bowl, is about 30M under a projected $180M cap, but they only have 31 players under contract making that amount up for 2021. If they were to try and run it back with as many of the same key players who are celebrating today, they would be way over that projected cap based on the free agent money they'd have to dole out to retain players like David, Suh, Gronk, Barrett, Godwin, etc, plus they'd still need to find cheap roster filler for roughly 15 spots.

 

In short, if the cap does get set between $175-180M for 2021, many teams are going to be faced with painful cuts and limitations on how contracts get extended to hometown stars....Green Bay would be able to weather that issue better than most contending teams if the cap drop is just for 1 season.

 

If revenue projections are favorable enough I can see the NFL proceeding with 2021 to set the cap exactly where it was in 2020 to avoid roster chaos this offseason, but then plan on recouping pandemic revenue losses by enacting more gradual cap increases for 2022, 2023, etc. The other option will be to have a lower cap next year, deal with one year of cap problems, and teams will do their best to restructure and extend contracts with longer guarantees and bigger deferred money in hopes the cap rebounds sharply in 2022 and 2023 seasons. Either way, Green Bay is actually well-positioned to deal with it.

[CheezWizHed]

Regarding King, I thought it was ironic how Breeland (the subject of a comparison with King via the Barry-DC-Washington discussion) completely failed on almost exactly the same play as King (getting burnt at the end of the first half, but getting a PI instead).

 

We tend to forget that both teams have stars that make plays.

[PinaMadness]

The Cardinals are parting with Patrick Peterson. I would love him to be this decade's Charles Woodson for us and have two shutdown corners, much like Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes combo for the Raiders back in the 80s. If Gute is going to go for it next season I would love for this to happen, but he'll probably keep going with build for 2024.

[adambr2]

Regarding King, I thought it was ironic how Breeland (the subject of a comparison with King via the Barry-DC-Washington discussion) completely failed on almost exactly the same play as King (getting burnt at the end of the first half, but getting a PI instead).

 

We tend to forget that both teams have stars that make plays.

 

In the Chiefs' defense the circumstances were far different. There was plenty of time left in the half and they still had to defend the entire field whereas the Packers just needed to make a tackle in the field of play to guarantee that the half ended right there.

 

My dad and I were laughing about the similarities of the play, though. Of course Breeland did the right thing and just tackled the guy. King was too slow to even do that.

[homer]

It's supposed to be another deep WR draft. I'd be totally fine grabbing one in the first three rounds.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I do think they'll draft a WR. By the time that pick is ready to be a starter Adams will probably be at the declining stage or close to it. They seem to always have a guy in the pipeline at WR.

[PeaveyFury]

The Cardinals are parting with Patrick Peterson. I would love him to be this decade's Charles Woodson for us and have two shutdown corners, much like Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes combo for the Raiders back in the 80s. If Gute is going to go for it next season I would love for this to happen, but he'll probably keep going with build for 2024.

 

Peterson has really slid over the past couple of seasons, but he'd be an interesting guy to kick the tires on.

 

If Gute is going to go for it next season I would love for this to happen, but he'll probably keep building teams that win division championships and make deep playoff runs.

 

Fixed it for you...

[PinaMadness]

The Cardinals are parting with Patrick Peterson. I would love him to be this decade's Charles Woodson for us and have two shutdown corners, much like Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes combo for the Raiders back in the 80s. If Gute is going to go for it next season I would love for this to happen, but he'll probably keep going with build for 2024.

 

Peterson has really slid over the past couple of seasons, but he'd be an interesting guy to kick the tires on.

 

If Gute is going to go for it next season I would love for this to happen, but he'll probably keep building teams that win division championships and make deep playoff runs.

 

Fixed it for you...

Thank you.

 

Anyway, I think Peterson still has plenty of gas in the tank. People said the same thing about Woodson too.