What should Green Bay do in the offseason?

by Jabooty on Jan 15, 2010 5:52 PM CST Comment 38 comments

Hey guys, since our season is unfortunately over for us, it's time to think of some offseason moves to make our team better.

To Green Bay's advantage, it has quality depth at the linebacker position. Clay Matthews has locked himself in at ROLB in the 3-4 scheme. Nick Barnett seemed to pick up on the defense better than what we thought and had a solid season as the leader of the Packers D. However, question marks have come up for the remaining linebackers. Who should be starting? Do we need all these LB's? AJ Hawk is one of our starting ILB's. One game he's solid, and other games he is consistently out of position to make a play. Many of you have recently convinced me that he should be traded for a draft pick, CB, or OT from another team at equal value. Is everyone ready to give up on him? If Green Bay does trade AJ Hawk, that leaves us with Brandon Chillar and Desmond Bishop as our ILB's. Chillar is clear our best LB in coverage, and Bishop is a huge playmaker, delivers hard hits, and is an excellent run stuffer. Our ROLB position has become a question mark as well. Brad Jones has done well and has exceeded his expectations as a 7th Round Draft pick. There is no question that he has been serviceable, but is he the future at that position? He did have 2 sacks against Roethlisberger in the Regular Season, but both of those sacks were due to Big Ben holding onto the ball too long. Is he a starter or a quality LB to have for depth? There are 2 other backups at that position: Brady Poppinga and Jeremy Thompson. Poppinga has shown no signs of taking over the starting role and Thompson, well, after all his hype in the offseason has not shown why he should be a starter either. Aaron Kampmann is set to become a Free Agent. He recently said in an interview that he wants to return to Green Bay, but does Green Bay want him back? Green Bay could slap the Franchise Tag on him, trade him, and hope for a 2nd Round Draft pick. It is highly doubtful a player like Kampmann would value a 1st Round Draft pick coming off a dissapointing season and ACL injury.

Most people are in favor of putting TJ Lang at RG and releasing incumbent Darryn Colledge. That puts Green Bay in a tough situation at the OT position on both sides. Green Bay also desperately needs a young CB that can learn from veterans like Charles Woodson and Al Harris (who wants to return). If Green Bay avoids the CB position again on the first day of this draft and either Harris or Woodson goes down next season, we are back in the same position,even worse if Woodson goes down. Considering their age, this position cannot be ignored. in 2008, Green Bay drafted CB Pat Lee in the 2nd Round, but he is coming off 2 season ending injuries in a row. There is no telling how successfull he will or can be.

So, that leaves you to answer the questions: what should Green Bay do to improve this offseason? My proposal: slap the Franchise Tag on Aaron Kampmann, then trade him for a 2nd Round draft pick. Trade AJ Hawk for a 2nd Round Draft pick as well. That will leave Green Bay with a 1st Round Draft pick, and 3 2nd Round Draft picks. Considering this draft has a lot of OT's, but not many that are top tier, perhaps Green Bay can draft both of its starting OT's in the 2nd Round. It can also draft a CB in the 1st Round, and a Safety in the 2nd Round (hoping for one of LSU's safeties). In the 3rd Round, we can possibly draft a guy like Brian O' Schofield from Wisconsin to become our starting LOLB. By doing this, we can put TJ Lang at LG, allowing GB to release Darryn Colledge and S Atari Bigby can be released if not resigned at the right price. What is your proposal?

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I like it

This seems to sum up the offseason plan which I also would consider a good idea.

by tkiller314 on Jan 15, 2010 7:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

sorry

I meant to say put TJ Lang at LG.

Go Pack!

by Jabooty on Jan 15, 2010 9:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I think a big need

that should be addressed is a force on the DL. Like a DE, I remeber the days of KJB. He seemed to always create problems for us. If you can get a guy with a similar style as Jared you’ll be right back in thick of things next year no doubt.

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by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Jan 15, 2010 11:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, in our case it would be an OLB upgrade cause the d-line in our scheme aren’t able to get after the Qb as much. I agree though. Having Matthews on the right side and another good pass rusher on the left side would be scary to teams.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 1:36 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Draft a true left tackle (higher pick)

Sign a good FA CB, and spend the next pick on a CB

Let Poppinga go, I have seen everything he is capable of…….very average at best

Brad Jones is servicable, still young for special teams, keep him as a solid back up. But sign Kampman, I know it sounds rediculous but we still need serious QB pressure from that left OLB spot. I know it’s a 3-4 bla bla bla BUT, what we do know about Kampman is 1) He gets after QB’s 2) He tackles Adrian peterson really well 3) Can he cover a TE? Fairly Ok, but after so many yards that falls on the safety to pay attention ( SS help) I say this mostly because of the last painful game. AZ had a LT and a TE on Matthews and also a LT and a RB on him and he generated nothing the entire game(they doubled him). They didn’t worry about Jones. But if Kampman was in there, that throws a little wrench into their game plan.

Sign Pickett for sure. From what I have heard and what I have seen the NT is crucial in the 3-4 and GB rotated NT alot to give relief to a guy taking on double teams all game long.

On Hawk, I say trade him. (maybe for CB or a CB and a pick OL guard or tackle) He is good against the run. A hard hitter (I remember the play where he took Shockey out for the season). He also seemed to get AP to the ground by himself.But not good in coverage which is crucial since we face Shencoe, G.Olsen on a regular basis. Keep Bishop.

I say save Lang for a RT position, until Mark decides to call it quits or his legs fall off.Draft true left tackle for Cliftons spot(trains behind him of course) OL Guard as backup and to compete with Colledge. Let Spitz and wells duke it out again to see who starts.

I agree with most of your draft stuff, but I say CB’s CB’s CB’s because Woodson is 33 and Harris is Up there and it is already a position of need—totally can’t be ignored. Neither can LT and LG. Sign Williams for sure if he is not already.

Keep Jolly if we can, sign a FA big DE. (rotation, injuries,legal, murphy’s law stuff)Cut Montgomery et al (those guys are not big enough for a 3-4) IMO which really don’t matter but just an opinion is in a 3-4 you need 2 Big DE and a BIG NT since their JOB is to take up space and blockers and allow the LB’s to make plays. You also HAVE to carry alot of LB’s on a 3-4 roster since 4 or more(Big Okie) are on the field at a time, different ones for different packages (a Capers Thing) and special teams purposes. Just my opinion and please don’t be too critical of me since I am no expert.

by turd on Jan 16, 2010 1:38 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Would be great to see some of these moves made this offseason.

I’m starting to think more and more that we should keep Kampman, and at least give him a full year to see how he works out. Him transitioning to OLB got blown out of proportion. He was actually pretty decent in his transition and was really starting to come on but then went down with his injury. He is a proven pass rusher, and though he wasn’t lighting the world on fire with sacks this season, I believe he did have the most Qb hits/pressures up until his injury. I know that isn’t comparable to sacks but it does show that he was consistently getting good pressure on the Qb.

Having him and Matthews on the edges could provide a dilemma for teams. Up until his injury, many teams were doubling Kampman as Matthews hadn’t quite broken out of his shell. Then, after Matthews came on strong towards the end of the year teams started doubling him. So who would teams double if they were both out there? Both are more then capable pass rushers.

And if Kampman just doesn’t work out, then we can always go to Jones who we know will always be assignment sure and solid for us. We could still use Kampman in 3rd and long situations when we go with our quarter defense to rush the passer, as well as some other defenses that allow him to put his hand in the dirt. And when we’re in our 3-4 base we can play Jones.

As long as our secondary improves next year, and we continue to execute plays better, having Jones or Kampman at ROLB probably wouldn’t be much of a problem.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 2:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I still say signing Kampman to play OLB is a mistake. He’s going to still cost big bucks and just be an average LB. Unless they think he can make huge steps next year I just don’t see how this makes sense. Why not spend that money on someone who is built to play that position??

by TrevorR on Jan 16, 2010 9:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Would we really have to give him the big $ though? He was probably average for us this year but keep in mind he went down at a time where a lot of our guys started to improve as they became more comfortable in the system. I think he would have continued to improve considerably, especially because the transition for him was probably greater then any other player on our defense, and he was actually doing pretty solid up until he got hurt.

Yes, he got beat by some Rb’s out of the backfield from time to time, but Capers was finally starting to rush him more, and let him put his hand in the dirt whenever he wanted too. After Kampman was granted this freedom, he absolutely did improve and was starting to look more comfortable out there.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 11:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If we let him hit the market, a 4-3 team (maybe even the Vikings) will likely throw top $ at him. I just don’t see why he’d WANT to sign with us unless he just really likes it here. I can’t see him being happy as an OLB, he could make more money elsewhere and play his natural poition where he’s had the most success.

by TrevorR on Jan 17, 2010 11:13 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We'll be in the thick of things any way around it thankyouverymuch

I loved KGB but Jared would not fit in our defense at all. Take for example, the fact that we had a guy almost exactly like Jared (Aaron Kampmon, although he’s never been a dirty player like Jared, they do have the same skillset) and he did not fit. We’d be looking more for a Shawne Merriman type…he happens to be a free agent this offseason. But to clarify things further, Jared Allen could never fit in a 3-4. ever.

by Donald Driver on Jan 16, 2010 2:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I forgot about Shawne Merriman

He’d a a great sign for Green Bay if he doesn’t resign with San Diego. He has the speed and intensity a true 3-4 OLB needs to have, most of all, he has the experience. I’m not sure what his asking price would be, but considering he tore his ACL 2 years ago, his asking price may be less than Richard Seymour’s would be.

Go Pack!

by Jabooty on Jan 16, 2010 9:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

it will be less

Merriman is not what he once was…his injuries have really affected his play, if it hadn’t, he’s already be signed by SD. Either way, Seymour will not be an option anyway.

by TrevorR on Jan 16, 2010 9:13 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, since injuries he really has been all but an average OLB. I’m not sure I would want to spend $ on him because he really hasn’t shown any signs of improvement like players often do coming off an ACL tear.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 11:51 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think he’ll get top dollar though…I think the league knows about his slide…he would provide some great veteran leadership to that LB group though. If Hawk is back though I can’t see this one making sense.

by TrevorR on Jan 17, 2010 11:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this play out. The more I think about it, the more I think there is actually a good chance we trade Hawk. We signed Chillar to a relatively big deal, and before his injury his playing time was continually increasing. Bishop’s playing time also increased as the year went on, and it’s obvious the coaches like his potential. Hwak’s play has been too up and down, and he really struggles in coverage and is a tad too slow to run from sideline to sideline like he has to be able to do in this defense.

Having 3 2nd round picks would obviously be great, and I think it’s something that could legitimately happen. I think we should go with a slightly different route in the draft though. I think Buluga and possibly Davis will still be available when our 23rd pick rolls around, and if either of them are then I think we need to take them. Both have all the physical tools to be good-great LT’s in the NFL, and having a guy to protect Rodgers blindside would be huge. Another reason I say we go with an OT is because after Haden I don’t know that there is a huge difference between a lot of the other Cb’s. Warren, Thomas, Cox, Ghee, Franks, Lindley, and Robinson all seem to be thought of as close to one another in talent, and many will likely start going in the 2nd round.

I think it’d be great to get Buluga in the 1st round. Then use 2 2nd round picks on the best available Cb’s, and the last 2nd round pick as a potential RT. Obviously, this is assuming we do indeed trade for 2 more 2nd round picks, which at this point is just purely speculation.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 1:53 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Just remember

Trades in the NFL are pretty rare. To trade TWO starters for two high picks is a pipedream I think!

by TrevorR on Jan 16, 2010 9:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Your right but if we don’t sign Kampman, I think we for sure will franchise him and trade him. His injury will definitely limit what we can get for him but there will for sure be a team out there willing to give something up for him.

What do you make of our ILB situation going forward? Obviously, Barnett will be one starter but I’m not sure about that other spot.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 11:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Tough to say…its SO early yet. Not sure who will be out there. Again, we are fooling ourselves if we think TT will suddenly start going after vets as FAs so I would assume a couple small time guys to shore up the line or maybe ST but I still doubt he’ll make a big splash. I hope he shocks me though.

by TrevorR on Jan 17, 2010 11:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Agree, with a QB like Rodgers you almost have to get quality Left tackle.Gotta protect that investment!!!

by turd on Jan 16, 2010 2:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

need a vet FA

i agree with moving hawk/kampman as they are good players but don’t fit our needs. But we are the youngest team in the league, we need at least one quality vet pickup…spend the money TT! Or trade for him. Kampman and Hawk for Peppers, something like that. We desperately need another impact LB.

by gangstaff on Jan 16, 2010 9:15 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think Peppers would be the guy to trade for because he has been a 4-3 DE all his career as well.

by packallday555 on Jan 16, 2010 11:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

he wants to convert

he mentioned the last couple years he wants to be an OLB in a 3-4. he has the athleticism to do it i’d say. but he wants huge money, so its a big risk.

reading above about Merriman: he’s been pretty invisible since the steroid thing and the injuries. his type of LB would be perfect, but i wouldn’t sign him for big bucks either.

by gangstaff on Jan 16, 2010 1:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t see why we’d want to be the team he does this experiment with. There is no guarantee that he’d be good as an OLB and honestly his wrap is that he only does well in contract years. I don’t want him…the Pats can have him.

by TrevorR on Jan 17, 2010 11:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Three words: Release Jarrett Bush

by Troy J. on Jan 18, 2010 10:45 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

can we trade him to MN somehow? Maybe trick them by giving them someone else in the deal just to make sure they get Bush!

by TrevorR on Jan 18, 2010 3:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He

has made countless bad plays this season. i don’t know how he didn’t get a hand on that pass in steelers game

by justinlewis on Jan 18, 2010 10:47 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I would like to see the running game play a bigger role. Trade Grant for a third or fourth rounder, Let Wynn walk, bring back Green for a third down back role, and draft a Running Back with some breakaway speed in the 3rd of 4th round. Also, could we maybe get a kick and punt returner? I loves me some Jordy, but just an okay return guy. Will Blackmon runs side to side to much for my liking. There are tons of dudes who can’t run a route but can return kicks for TDs.

by Troy J. on Jan 18, 2010 10:48 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

You want green as your solution for a third down back? No thanks. He was a nice stop gap but we can do WAY better. I say keep Grant (trust me, I am NOT a grant guy) and get us a real threat as a third down back…a reggie bush kinda guy (Bush and Taylor will both be FAs) that can be like greased lightning. I would also accept drafting someone in the first two days for this role.

by TrevorR on Jan 18, 2010 3:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bush is a bit overrated...

I would not be against drafting another back, but we need to keep Grant. I think drafting another RB would help the running game in the early months of the season. But then Grant is one of the best RBs at closing out a season. From November on (when the cold creeps in and we need our running game the most) Grant puts up his biggest numbers. He has 1,264 yards in November and another 1,007 yards in December for his career instead of just 419 in Sept and 671 in Oct. He also has a combined 18 TDs in Nov/ December over the just 4 in the first two months.

So I wouldnt be against drafting someone to help during the early months. But the fact is Grant is one of the best later in the season so we do need to keep him.

by bizzle4 on Jan 18, 2010 6:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bush looked great Saturday against the Cardinals. I think he would improve our offense a ton but he probably will want big $ which I doubt will be willing to give up.

I think Grant should continue to be our primary back going forward. If he can figure out how to have some of his late season success in the beginning of the year as well, our offense would be unstoppable.

I personally think/hope we draft Joe McKnight out of USC. He is explosive, and a good route runner out of the backfield.

by packallday555 on Jan 18, 2010 7:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think Bush is overrated AT ALL. I guess if you are thinking of him as a top #1 back maybe YOU are overrating him. But most people see him as a special player that can make an impact when you put him in the open field. I was never a big Bush guy (just like I wasn’t and still aren’t a big Grant fan) but the guy can be pretty amazing if you use him right. If you’ve watched the saints in the last month or two, you’ve seen what Bush can do and its scary!

by TrevorR on Jan 19, 2010 10:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, seeing Bush play against the Cardinals sent chills up my spine. On his TD run, he showed an unbelievable amount of athleticism. It seems like he gets going full speed in a matter of two or three steps. I also heard on the broadcast that he benches 400+ lbs. and squats 600 lbs.! If he starts running more physically (like they said he had said he was going to on the broadcast), he could be a top Rb in the league.

by packallday555 on Jan 19, 2010 1:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

There is no way we can get a 2nd rounder for Hawk

Kampman may bring in a 3rd, but Hawk is not good enough to bring in anything.

"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."

by Hyatt on Jan 19, 2010 4:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I disagree on both. I think Kampman would bring in more than a 3rd. These GMs are a lot smarter than you think…they can look past a bad season where he is playing the wrong position. Hawk is better than you think…

by TrevorR on Jan 19, 2010 8:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I’m with ya here Trev. Kampman was the best 4-3 DE in football before switching positions this year. I know he is coming off an injury but there will definitely be a lot of teams willing to give a good amount up for him.

Hawk really wasn’t that bad for us this year, it was just clear that playing ILB in the 3-4 scheme doesn’t fit him best. When he played OLB for us in the 4-3 he was pretty good. He was really good his first two seasons, and decent his 3rd season with us but that was because he had to move over to MLB when Barnett went down, which he doesn’t have the speed for.

I think both could bring in 2nd round picks but as you told me in another posts, trades don’t occur all that often in the NFL.

by packallday555 on Jan 19, 2010 10:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Something to keep in mind with Hawk. While it may feel like he didn’t have a good year, he posted his best stats EVER as a pro in EVERY defensive stat category. At times he didn’t look good but he was far from a poor player. He’s one of those guys we are looking for failure out of but he wasn’t AS bad as people want to make him out to be!

by TrevorR on Jan 21, 2010 9:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Great point. I think I just think of him being the 5th pick in the draft, and think, “wow, he should be doing so much more.” He was kind of confusing this year. Sometimes he looked great in coverage against some legit TE’s (Olsen and Heap) and then other times it looked like he had absolutely no chance (Miller). He also would be all over the field some games, flying around making big hits but then others he looked slow and always a step late.

At times he shows flashes of being a really good player but more often he looks like an average, solid player. With Chillar and Bishop behind him, I think trading him would actually be a really good move but I have trouble seeing TT trading him.

by packallday555 on Jan 21, 2010 5:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs