Love Them or Leave Them: 2010 Packer Free Agents

by Brandon on Feb 10, 2010 7:00 AM CST in Analysis Comment 53 comments

It was time to start looking back for my list of 2010 free agents for the Green Bay Packers, and Rob Reischel at JSOnline.com was helpful enough to post a new article about it, with one major caveat:

If a new CBA is struck, safeties Nick Collins, Atari Bigby and Derrick Martin, offensive linemen Jason Spitz and Daryn Colledge, defensive end Johnny Jolly, cornerback Will Blackmon and fullback John Kuhn would all become UFAs.

I think the possibility of a new CBA being struck in the next month is zilch, but I'm not exactly a part of the negotiations either. If they were all unrestricted free agents, the toughest negotiations would be with Collins and Bigby. With the Packers still in control, those negotiations are much easier.

Here is the complete list from Rob Reischel's article:

Unrestricted Free Agents	Position	Restricted Free Agents	Postion
Ryan Pickett	NT	John Kuhn	FB
Chad Clifton	LT	Daryn Colledge	G
Mark Tauscher	RT	Jason Spitz	C/G
Aaron Kampman	LB	Johnny Jolly	DE
Ahman Green	RB	Will Blackmon	CB
		Atari Bigby	S
		Nick Collins	S
		Derrick Martin	S

Of these players, which one should absolutely return in 2010, and which player just has to go.

I'll pick the obvious: Nick Collins has to return. I'm torn by which player I like least: Daryn Colledge or Derrick Martin?

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Clifton, Tauscher, and Pickett seem essential. I haven’t seen enough out of Raji to say he should start all 16. We need Mark and Chad to help transition to a younger line. Kampman is expendable since The Claymaker came to town. Green is replaceable. I like John Kuhn, but we have Hall and Johnson. Colledge needs to go, Spitz was pretty good, but should move back to guard. Jolly is to good to let go, Nick Collins was a pro bowler. Enough Said. Bigby is alot like Bob Sanders, a great player but will never play 16 games. Blackman and Martin are easy to replace. I don’t like Blackmans east to west return style. I could see Thompson letting every one of these guys go though.

by Troy J. on Feb 10, 2010 8:05 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Clifton has to go

Chad Clifton is more of a liability on the field at this point. He is injury prone. Our future starters on the line will only learn on the job. TJ Lang needs to start at either LG or RT. I’d prefer to put him at RT, putting Allyn Barbre at LG, and drafting a franchise LT then. If we are to resign anyone, I’d resign Mark Tauscher for insurance. If the team has no faith in Barbre at the LG position, then put TJ Lang there, then resign and start Tauscher at RT and draft a LT. Regardless of whate we do, we need to draft a Left Tackle.

I’d prefer to trade down out of the 1st Round and get another 2nd and 3rd Round draft pick. We can spend our first 2nd Round pick on a CB, hopefully on Myron Rolle (projected to be a high 2nd Rd pick), then get our LT after him.

I’d like to resign Bigby, Collins, Pickett, Jolly, and Kampman. It’d be great to sign Richard Seymour, but knowing TT, that won’t happen.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 10:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the problem

with your trade is the LT’s in the draft. It is a very weak draft for them. If we do not get one in the first we probably wont find one that can make an impact next season. Unless somehow there is another Mark Tauscher out there (7th round pick)

by bizzle4 on Feb 10, 2010 11:34 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This is a deep class for OT's

I’m not sure between LT and RT’s, but I know as a whole, this is a very deep class for OT’s.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 12:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

OT

Theres a lot of LT in the draft class that are good, none that are exceptional!!! Joe Thomas is exceptional, Okung is pretty good, Bulaga is pretty good, Davis is good, Campbell is a walking, talking injury, Brown (USC kid) is too small. Did I miss anyone?

THeres alot of them out there, but none is a home run pick by any means…

by Strohman on Feb 11, 2010 10:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

but all of them are projected to go in the first round..

theres a handful of guys but I dont see how you guys are getting that it is a deep OT draft.. There are probably about 5 guys that can make an impact and I would bet most it not all of them are gone by the end of the 1st round.

by bizzle4 on Feb 11, 2010 6:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve been pretty stronly against us taking Brown but the more I think about it I wouldn’t mind seeing us take him. He is considered by most scouts to be the best pass blocker in the draft as well as the most athletic LT in the draft. Really the only concern with him I’ve seen so far is that he is too small at 285. Obviously I don’t disagree with that but I think he’d be able to put 15-30 lbs. on pretty easy. And even if he doesn’t put a ton of weight on, I’d gladly take a great pass blocking LT that is an average to below average run blocker.

by packallday555 on Feb 11, 2010 10:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

weight

From what I have heard, most scouts don’t think he’ll be able to gain more wt. THey all seem to think he is topped out at 290 or so… He doesn’t have the abiltiy to anchor against a good bull rush the way he is now! If he can’t gain anymore wt, he is useless… Even a good pass blocker Must be able to anchor vs a bull rush, or get some kinda push in the run game!

There are really only 4 OT I would take in the 1st rd… Okung who has NO chance of being available. Bulaga who, IMO, is going to go in the Top 15 and Davis who is likely a Top 20 if not higher pick. Williams from Oklahoma has a 1st rd grade as a RT, but as a LT might be a low 1st or 2nd.

I personally wouldn’t touch Cambell or Brown until the 2nd rd. At least until I know more about Campbells injuries and Browns weight at the combine. Brown will go up to a 1st and be a good pick if, big IF, he can gain wt and get oper 300 lbs AND anchor vs the pass and get some push in the run game.

by Strohman on Feb 12, 2010 12:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Martin's gotta go

he sucked

by StevieV17 on Feb 10, 2010 9:38 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I’d rather have Martin around than Bush though!!!

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 9:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That's not exactly setting the bar very high there :)

Frye is honestly gotta be one of the top 10 3rd Stringers in all of the NFL right now--colbyb

by verno329 on Feb 11, 2010 3:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He's good on Special Teams

Not a good Safety though.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 10:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I’d like to see clifton and tauscher back for one final year as long as its not at TOO high a price. I think we need them to help work in the new guys and keep things stable for next year.

I’ll take a pass on Green. I think the rest of the league will too. As much as I love Kampman, keeping him with this system makes NO sense. He doesn’t like it and he’s just not that good at it. He’s an average LB and we’d have to pay him like a great DE…it just doesn’t line up. Sign and trade? One can hope.

I’d like to see Pickett, Collins, and Blackmon back. For some reason I always feel like Pickett is older than he is…all of these guys still have a lot of good football left in them and they seem like good fits for the system.

I am not sold on Bigby…I wonder if we could do better, plus he’s SO injury prone. With Kuhn, if they keep him around one of the other two HAS to go, we cannot keep 3 FBs around again…that was ridiculous last year.

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 9:40 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Kampman said he wants to resign

He was also coming around towards the end of October, just before he tore his ACL. For the right price, I’d like to resign Kampman. We need a true pass rusher on the left side. Matthews is nice to have blitzing to catch the offense off guard, but I don’t see him as a primary pass rusher.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 10:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If the Claymaker

is not blitzing all the time then he needs to work on his coverage skills. He wasnt asked to cover much this year so I really have no definite evidence besides the probowl which he had to do some covering and looked a little lost. Although give him the benefit of the doubt it was in a 4-3 and only a weeks worth of practice.

by bizzle4 on Feb 10, 2010 11:38 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He played in the 4-3 in college

Clay definately has a nasty speed rush and is a menace in the backfield. However, like you saw against AZ and Pittsburgh, if that’s the only move he can do because he is too undersized to provide an effective bullrush, OL’s catch on. That’s why Warner and Big Ben had all day in the pocket. We need sombody bigger and stronger, yet a little quick on the other side to be our primary pass rusher. Brad Jones is a quality backup, no doubt about that. He was a huge steal for us in the 7th Round, but he cannot start on the opposite side of Clay in every game. Otherwise, we will run into the same issues against the better teams in the league. We need somebody that can push an OT into the QB’s face. He may not get a lot of sacks, but he’ll force the QB to throw the ball quicker than he would like to. This will allow our ball hawking secondary to get more interceptions.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 1:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Good thinking. My guess is that Clifton should be easily re-signed on 1-2 year deal for not a lot of money, as his age and injury history will keep other teams away. Tauscher should be similar.

I’m not convinced that Bigby will ever be more than average. It shouldn’t be too hard to find another safety who can be at least average and not get hurt so often. Hopefully, if we can get Rolle, I think we’d have a one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL, again.

Definitely, we’ve got to re-sign Collins, Pickett, Jolly (if the legal issues work out) and Spitz, if his back is okay. Re-signing Colledge and trading him might work out well, too.

I disagree though about Kampman. We seem to be in our base defense well less than half the time. Having a pass rush in the nickel is a basic requirement. I think it would be worthwhile to use Kampman as a pass rush specialist in 2nd and long, 3rd and medium to long, when we are in a nickel. In those situations we haven’t generally kept 3 big 3-4 linemen on the field. If Kampman can produce a dozen sacks, and lots of pressure in those situations, he would be worth his salary.

by MikeDB on Feb 10, 2010 2:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No faith in Kampman at LB

Franchise/Resign Kampman and then trade him off. The little bit I saw of him at LB was mediocre at best. Brad Jones did a hell of a lot better job—or they could simply bring someone new in.

Whereas he’s a top ten player at DE. Market him as such and get some promising journeyman talent or some draft picks.

Clifton can go, he seemed to be out half of every game anyway. Unless he’s willing to work cheap.

I think they definitely need to keep Pickett, Collins, Bigby, and the RFA o-linemen. I think Jolly would be a good resign if for no other reason than depth—although what happened to that drug charge?

I like John Kuhn…but why the hell did we hold 3 FB’s?

I also like Ahman Green, always have, but I don’t see him as being important in any way.

by Dhampir on Feb 10, 2010 12:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

My take on Kampman is that I think for the $$ we are going to have to pay him we could get ourselves a more proven OLB to take that spot rather than forcing a square peg into a round hole for a premium price. Take the money he would have gotten and put it toward a natural FA OLB and then enjoy the compensatory pick in the 2nd round!

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 12:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Are you in favor of....

slapping the Franchise Tag on Kampman, then trading him to Miami for Joey Porter?

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 10, 2010 1:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

ooh I don’t know about porter. He’s got a nasty attitude. I don’t know if he’d fit in well in small town GB.

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 3:32 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Are you in favor of…. slapping the Franchise Tag on Kampman, then trading him to Miami

neither……..you ain’t slapping the tag on kampy. if you due he’s gonna get 8.5 million next year, his trade value is way down. the opportunity to get a high draft pick was last year.

that train er, opportunity has left the station.

as far as the free agent list goes. i would keep collins,spitz and jolly. jolly you have to wait to see what kind of jail time or suspension he receives. IMO he gets a minimum 4 gamer to start next season.

by hermitcrab on Feb 10, 2010 2:10 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t agree about his value going away cause of that. A team can EASILY negotiate a new contract with him after putting the tag on him, happens most of the time with a sign and trade (Cassel just last year).

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 3:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

GMs are smart enough not to just look at last year. Kampman’s stats in the 4-3 speak for themselves. We could easily find a high draft pick for him. Maybe not a 1st, but a 2nd for sure.

by Troy J. on Feb 11, 2010 6:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Last year he would have brought at least a first

This year he’s coming off of a lost year and a knee injury. His value is way down, and he’s older now too. I don’t see a franchise tag on him becuase he’d be delighted to accept over $8 million, and nobody’s going to give him a guaranteed contract for better than that, even on a multi-year deal. Like Tauscher last year, he has to come back next year and prove he has value; until he does, he won’t garner anything.

I sitll think that trying to make him a LB in a 3-4 was a stupid idea. If the team insisted on going to a 3-4 (and I still don’t agree with it), they should have unloaded Kampman.

by ktenreb on Feb 11, 2010 9:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You really think he’d have to prove his value that much? If I were a GM I would see past this year and see a guy who was at the top of his game in 2008 who struggled in a new system where he had to play out of position. Personally I hope you are right, but I just think most GMs would see past that and value the player for what he is…a GREAT hand down DE. Now the injury could play into things though and affect his value.

by TrevorR on Feb 11, 2010 10:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The injury is the bigger problem

And his age — he’s getting older.

by ktenreb on Feb 11, 2010 12:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

...

Kampman is 30. He probably has a good six years in him. Defensive ends stick around forever.

by Dhampir on Feb 12, 2010 10:22 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Not with bum knees

That’s why he will need a year to show he’s healthy, and then he’s 31.

by ktenreb on Feb 13, 2010 6:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Complete agreement with you

I think his value would be down now. If they thought they could move him in a trade I could see him getting franchised. The Packers would be the only ones who would have to pay him $8 mil. If he got traded somewhere they would probably renegotiate a different contract anyway which he would be fine with since it would be for multiple years. It wouldn’t be $8 mil a year but it would be worthwhile to him I would think.

But our best opportunity to trade him went by last year.

Frye is honestly gotta be one of the top 10 3rd Stringers in all of the NFL right now--colbyb

by verno329 on Feb 11, 2010 3:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

cassel

when the patriots franchised cassel and then traded him the chiefs renegotiated his contract. so wouldnt it not hurt his trade value bc his new team would juts work out a new contract with him?

by justinlewis on Feb 10, 2010 2:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'd like to see Ahman Green signed for one last year,

I like what he offered on 3rd downs, he suprised me with his remaining power. He’s available for a a song too.

Jones,Kotsay,Vizquel < Thome

by OznCoop on Feb 10, 2010 5:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I hope we can find someone in the draft in the later rounds that can fill that void so we won’t need him. I don’t think he’ll be signed until after the draft either way!

by TrevorR on Feb 10, 2010 9:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I’d love for us to keep Collins, Pickett, Jolly, Spitz, Kampman, Clifton (1 year), Tauscher (1 year), and Blackmon.

Keeping Collins is obvious. He is becoming an elite safety, and if we can put another good player next to him that duo could be scary.

Pickett and Jolly provide us with great depth. I think Raji will be the starter going into next year but having Jolly coming into spell guys is a luxury as he is a good player.

Spitz is a solid guy, who has been good for us. Sitton is turning out to be a good player at RG, Spitz can be good at either C or LG, and Lang looks to have good potential at LG. If we have those 3 anchoring the middle our run game but be able to get going a bit better as all 3 are pretty good run blockers.

Clifton and Tausch both should come back for a year as well because there will be no telling if our replacements for them will pan out or not. I don’t think Tauscher is quite as important as Clifton is because if worst comes to worse Lang can play RT and be solid. We don’t have any other player that can play LT though and for that reason getting Clifton for another year is important.

Blackmon should be signed as well. He is a good kick returner and great punt returner. The coaches have also expressed that they feel he could contribute in the secondary as a dime or nickel back, and seeing as how he has great speed and athleticism I hope he at least gets a chance to show what he might be able to do.

And last but certainly not least, Kampman! It was painful to watch Matthews beat his guy nearly every play only to be slown down and taken out of the play by a Rb or Te. We need another guy on the opposite side Matthews who can rush, and Kampman can. He was no worse then average as an OLB for us, and we didn’t even get to see how he would improve through the season. I guess I just look at our situation and think why go out and try and get a guy who can rush the passer when we already have one? I think re-signing him will depend a lot on how much money he wants but I have a feeling him and TT could agree to something.

I don’t think we need Green, Kuhn, Martin, Colledge, or Bigby. Though I wouldn’t mind keeping Martin for special teams as long as he would sign for really, really cheap. I think it’s obvious why we don’t need Green or Kuhn. Colledge is pretty a below average guy, and was horrible this past year. As long as we can sign Spitz, I don’t think Colledge is necessary. As for Bigby I just don’t think we need him. He doesn’t bring a whole lot to the defense and he is average at best in coverage.

by packallday555 on Feb 10, 2010 7:00 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bigby

While he’s not a great player, he’s a good starter and I wouldn’t mind it if he were starting again in 2010. But what really makes him so essential is that there is zero depth behind him. Thompson has done a great job finding all sorts of useful players in the late rounds, but not at safety. When Bigby has been out with injuries in 2008 and 2009, they’ve tried Aaron Rouse, Derrick Martin, Jarrett Bush, and they even moved Charles Woodson to safety for a couple games in 2008. Jarrett Bush is clearly the best backup at safety by default. They have to keep Bigby and find someone to backup him up too.

by Brandon on Feb 10, 2010 11:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, you’ve probably got a point here. I’m really hoping we take Rolle in the draft this year, and he becomes Bigby’s replacement. It was so frustrating watching Bigby be out of position so many times this year, and for the “big hitter” he is, he sure didn’t deliver too many “big hits”. I think the two biggest issues our pass defense had was our lack of pass rush and poor strong safety play. Obviously having guys like Bush and Bell out there didn’t help anything, but many of us, myself included were expecting our pass defense to improve a lot after Bigby returned from injury yet the middle of the field stayed just as wide open as when Martin was in there.

Your right we probably have to keep him simply because we have no one else but I hope we find a replacement for him.

by packallday555 on Feb 11, 2010 1:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Late round gems?

Like who? A bunch of special teamers is about all.

You are right about the depth at safety. There is none, which may force Thompson to overpay for both Bigby and Collins. You can’t win with rookie safeties, so plugging the hole through the draft is not an option, and we all know that Thompson is not keen on free agents.

by ktenreb on Feb 11, 2010 9:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Here are some impact, late round picks...

Johnny Jolly (2006 – 6th round)
Korey Hall (2007 – 6th round)
Desmond Bishop (2007 – 6th round)
Mason Crosby (2007 – 6th round)
Brad Jones (2009- – 7th round)

Others with potential:
Giacomini (2008 – 5th), Matt Flynn (2008 – 7th), Meredith (2009 – 5th), Mighty Quinn (2009 – 5th) and others from 2009 who haven’t had a chance yet…

If you count the 4th as a late round, I could name MANY out of that round as well…

by TrevorR on Feb 11, 2010 10:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Jolly maybe

the rest are spare parts.

by ktenreb on Feb 11, 2010 12:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

eh…you said a bunch of special teamers. I see three starters (I suppose Crosby is a special teamer by default) and then some spare parts. Either Hall or Quinn will probably be starting next year though which would make 4 (though hopefully Jones will be able to be a very good backup in the future)

For the late round, there were a few gems…no one amazing though, I’ll give you that. Considering what most teams get in the late rounds I think those are pretty decent results.

by TrevorR on Feb 11, 2010 12:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Jarius Wynn

seems to be a solid De who can give the starters a quick break and is a good big guy on special teams

RIP Jim Thome 1-25-2010

an AL team not having a DH is like a giraffe fucking a mule. - larry

by blackoutsox on Feb 11, 2010 5:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You can’t win with rookie safeties, so plugging the hole through the draft is not an option, and we all know that Thompson is not keen on free agents.

You are right about this. There have been some Ryan Clark rumors, and while I find myself nearly praying TT does sign him, the chances of it actually happening are probably no more then 5%. I just know Bigby is not the answer at safety, and honestly he doesn’t provide us much more in coverage the Rouse or Martin did.

by packallday555 on Feb 11, 2010 10:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Collins is the toughest call

His big year was 2008; in 2009, he didn’t play nearly as well. He will, of course, insist that he is an elite safety, and he clearly is the best safety on the team’s roster, but I wouldn’t rate him as “elite.” The problem is that other teams will. He will generate a bidding war but I am certain that whoever gets him will overpay.

Johnny Jolly had a great year, but he needs to get his personal life under control.

Pickett will generate a bidding war as well.

by ktenreb on Feb 11, 2010 9:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He still made the Pro Bowl in 2009

He’s a Top 5 Safety in my opinion. No, not as good as in 2008, but again, this was a transition into the 3-4 and he made the Pro Bowl in his 1st season in the 3-4.

"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi

by Jabooty on Feb 11, 2010 10:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I tend to wonder about Collins. The problem is that if we don’t sign him, I don’t know that we are going to get anyone else that is better. I think we COULD do better than Bigby fairly easily but Collins is a pretty darn good safety. He’s no Polamalu, but he’s much better than average.

I agree on Jolly…I really hope he can clean his act up. He’s got a bright future if he can!

I hope Pickett doesn’t…

by TrevorR on Feb 11, 2010 10:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think we COULD do better than Bigby fairly easily..

Haha exactly how I feel.

by packallday555 on Feb 11, 2010 10:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Pickett

I don’t know. He didn’t exactly command a huge contract back in 2006 when he signed with the Packers. He’s essentially the same player, but 4 years older. It depends if there is some team out there determined to sign a NT. Despite the no salary cap in 2010, teams still have to work within their budget, and it also means some cheap owners will benefit from no salary floor either.

by Brandon on Feb 12, 2010 1:00 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Love or Leave

One at a time…
Collins Love
Pickett Love
Jolly Love
Spitz Love
Colledge love, but put a low tender on him
Blackmon love, but w/ a low tender
Clifton Love for the right price and 1 yr
Tauscher Love for the right price and 1 yr
Green Leave, for now but consider him later
Kampman ???? I have no freakin clue… For a decent price Love, we could really use his pass rush opposite Matthews, but he’s not the kind of explosive pass rusher I want.
Martin love for his ST
Kuhn Leave
Bigby Love for a 2n rd tender
Martin love for a low tender

THere is no limit on using tender offers, so THompson will tender most of them to retain right of 1st refusal. Gotta get Collins a deal. Its been too long and I think he deserves Top 5 Safety money. Pickett is a must. NT are hard to find and he really wants to stay! Jolly has the legal issue, but played really well and needs to be kept.

by Strohman on Feb 11, 2010 11:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'd like to see

Jolly, Pickett, and Collins on the roster.

It’s always interesting to see the strategies employed by Packer brass when it comes to free agents. It seems TT’s regime is more interested in the team’s bottom line than putting money back into the product.

I’d like to see them sign Collins and Jolly immediately, then wait til the 11th hour for a discount on Pickett—he’s good yet aging, I think they could get him at or below market value. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the entire FA situation, especially Collins and Jolly. Do they consider Collins a perennial pro bowler, worthy of a top contract? Do they stick with Jolly despite his legal problems?

by Wade V on Feb 11, 2010 1:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Part of the issue is that the Packers aren’t backed by a person with endless pockets. The Packers CAN’T lose money…doing so eats into the reserves and threatens the long term history of the team. They are unique in that way. Many sports teams are actually in the red every year (not as many in the NFL but in other sports) but its not a huge deal cause its just eating into the pockets of some billionaire.

They still need to spend but I wouldn’t be surprised if during this time TT was asked to field a competitive team and rebuild while building up our reserves to make a run eventually.

by TrevorR on Feb 11, 2010 2:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Love or leave

Colledge——leave
Ryan Pickett - love
John Kuhn - leave
Chad Clifton - love for 1 yr w/ drafted replacement
Mark Tauscher - love for 1 yr

Aaron Kampman -- LOVE, I am a homer but with 4 sacks and 20 something QB hits in 8 or 9 games. He was on his way to a 9 or 10 sack season had he continued playing IMO. I can only imagine how this would have helped us down the stretch. We would be very lucky to draft another Claymaker at the opposite side so I think signing him is a good thing providing value/money is good. And besides, he is a fan favorite and he wants to stay in GB.

Ahman Green - leave, but loved him for his time in GB. ( I still remember his red zone fumbles early on in his career in GB)

Collins—- love

Bigby—— Gosh, IDK. His knocking balls out with hits are good, but as many have mentioned….. his coverage skills are lacking. Don’t quote me on this but I think his rankings bring him to 31st of all Safties and Collins is like 5th. But how do ya replace him?? A FA seems like the only option because an iffy situation could be made worse with a rookie.

Blackmon—- I just need to see more, IDK

Spitz—- love
Jolly—- love, just don’t get into anymore trouble

Martin—- IDK, truthfully….. I watch special teams but not that close. But I don’t see the spash. Most games it is Bishop or Havner making the tackle. But I don’t notice how he blocks so I don’t have a clue. Can’t be too good though cause our special teams suck and have sucked for awhile.

by turd on Feb 12, 2010 4:20 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Aaron Kampman — LOVE, I am a homer but with 4 sacks and 20 something QB hits in 8 or 9 games. He was on his way to a 9 or 10 sack season had he continued playing IMO. I can only imagine how this would have helped us down the stretch. We would be very lucky to draft another Claymaker at the opposite side so I think signing him is a good thing providing value/money is good. And besides, he is a fan favorite and he wants to stay in GB.

Yeah, I feel exactly the same here. He probably would have ended up with 8 or 9 sacks and maybe even more because Clay’s played elevated big time later in the year. Kampman can rush the passer and that’s what we need opposite Clay. He won’t ever be a great OLB, and he may get beat by Rb’s out of the backfield every so often but so what? He can provide a good pass rush and that alone will allow Clay to turn into an elite pass rusher and will improve our pass defense.

by packallday555 on Feb 12, 2010 2:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What you said

is correct, and it supports making Kampman a DE in a 4-3. That’s what he is — he’s a strongside DE in a 4-3. I love the guy but he just doesn’t fit in a 3 – 4, and now iwth a bum knee his value is down. Tough year for Kampman last year.

by ktenreb on Feb 13, 2010 6:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs