The Packers Free Agent Watch Continues

by Brandon on Feb 17, 2010 7:00 AM CST in Green Bay Packers Analysis

One comment I missed in my article yesterday on LB Aaron Kampman was from this chat with Tom Pelissero of the Press-Gazette. Via Jersey Al:

I can't envision a scenario in which Kampman is back.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN's NFC North blog says Kampman "seems unlikely to return" and "it's time for the Packers to begin a succession plan at both [left tackle and right tackle]" due to the age and unrestricted free agency of LT Chad Clifton and RT Mark Tauscher. They needed a succession plan about two seasons ago. T.J. Lang is good, but I'd rather see him replace Daryn Colledge at left guard. Hopefully both Clifton and Tauscher return for another season, and GM Ted Thompson can try and find another good young tackle or two in the draft.

Seifert also said that unrestricted free agent Ryan Pickett "could be phased out by B.J. Raji." I like Raji, but Pickett outplayed him last season, and the middle of the d-line would take a step back if Pickett leaves.

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Pickett/Raji

Seiffert is just throwing that out there, its merely opinion, not based on anything factual. Honestly I don’t think they’ll do it. In a 3-4, Raji is actually a nice fit as a DE. He doesn’t need to be as athletic like Kampman was. He needs to take up blockers and push the pocket back on the QB. If we don’t get Pickett back, it leaves us dangerously thing at a very important position for this defense…

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 8:36 AM CST reply actions

Kampman

Honestly, I don’t see him being back either…I’ve been saying that for a while. The more I look at it, franchising him just doesn’t make much sense. we are better of letting him go and taking a compensatory pick in return…very good chance we get a 2nd or at least a 3rd for losing him which might be more than we could even get in the draft.

While I loved Kampman, he’s just not a fit. While he might be able to get the sacks, he’s clearly uncomfortable and that money would be much better spent in other places. It frees up more money to shore up other need positions. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us address this position in the draft though.

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 8:39 AM CST reply actions

compensatory

The Highest comensatory pick you can get is a 3rd… And its at the END of the 3rd, NEXT year! The pick depends on salary and performance… Given Kampman is coming off an ACL tear late in the year and might not quite be ready for the beginning of the season he isn’t going to get a top dollar contract, nor is he likely to perform at his best till probably midseason… Its likely that the compensatory pick isn’t going to be a 3rd… My guess is a 5th rd compensatory pick, AT BEST!!!

by Strohman on Feb 17, 2010 4:26 PM CST up reply actions

kampman

the compensatory pick depends how that free agent performs for his new team. i.e. colin cole played for seattle last season and we’ll probably get a late 7th. kampman, being realistic, coming off a acl injury and probably won’t sign a contract till june, so he can hold individual workouts for teams will probably at best give the pack a 4th rounder in 2011.

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 8:51 AM CST reply actions

pickett

imo. if tt doesn’t resign pickett it would be a huge mistake. the big guys up front control the opposing teams running game, especially the nose tackle. raji looks more like a de in this scheme and with jolly’s suspension eminent that would leave the d-line in shambles once again i.e 2008.

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 8:55 AM CST reply actions

Not as huge as Nick Collins though

I’m getting nervous that TT isn’t getting anything done with Nick Collins. I will be PISSED if Collins is not resigned!

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

by Jabooty on Feb 17, 2010 11:02 AM CST up reply actions

I wouldn't worry about it Collins is restricted

They’ll match any deal.

by Donald Driver on Feb 17, 2010 12:38 PM CST up reply actions

Good point. He might just let the market determine his value and then match…might be the way to go if negotiations are going nowhere. My only concern is if MN shows up and throws down some HUGE deal on him just to force our hand. They did that with Kampman during his last contract before we really broke out…I wouldn’t put anything past those guys!

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 4:21 PM CST up reply actions

I forgot about that damn poison pill

You’re right they are absolutely filthy. Everything about that team and organization is filthy.

by Donald Driver on Feb 17, 2010 9:53 PM CST up reply actions

that ought to bring out a few Viking lurkers…

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 11:37 PM CST up reply actions

o-line

as far as this topic goes, tt has failed miserably. the pack has a bunch of gaurds on the roster,no legitimate tackles. it’s scary to think about going into another season with cliffy and tausch. packer fans cossing their fingers hoping they make it through another season. you would think tt would want to protect his biggest asset, that being rodgers. since their isn’t a real stud coming out this year in free agency and by the time we pick in the first round this year, all the quality LT will be off the board. gotta find some more 4 leaf clovers come spring, so tausch and cliffy stay healthy for another season.

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 9:03 AM CST reply actions

Wow!

This sounds like something I have written (starting last summer).

Hermitcrab, since you agree with me, you are welcome to participate as much as you like on this board.

by ktenreb on Feb 17, 2010 9:29 AM CST up reply actions

haha

nice ktenreb.

I don’t know of many people in here though that would disagree with you on Thompson’s job with getting a solid Oline in place. Its CLEARLY been his biggest deficiency in drafting. I hope he’s learned from his mistakes and drafts guys that know how to play that position, not “athletes” who can fill multiple spots!!!

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 11:00 AM CST up reply actions

Yeah going into the year with the Clifton and Tauscher is not an ideal situation at all. We for sure need a LT because too think Clifton can stay healthy all year is just silly. If Tauscher goes down we can always put Lang in there but I’d rather see him playing LG in place of the ever so disappointing Daryn Colledge.

by packallday555 on Feb 17, 2010 10:13 AM CST up reply actions

Agree Completely

I feel much better in the long term letting TJ Lang play left guard (letting go of Colledge) and looking for new tackles…Put it this way…if we get new tackles, then Darren Colledge is still the weak point of the offensive line…TT shouldn’t keep Colledge just because he’s currently holding the position, he should be kept if he’s actually a dominant player at his position…which Colledge is not.

by Brewcityhoya13 on Feb 17, 2010 9:55 AM CST reply actions

I'd settle for average. . .

which Colledge is not.

by ktenreb on Feb 17, 2010 10:12 AM CST up reply actions

let colledge walk and put lang at lg..

lang, spitz and sitton on the interior of the o-line could be special……..just have to find the tackles and real soon. the 08 draft was when the pack should have drafted at least 1 OT with 1 of the 3 2nd round picks…not————-nelson,brohm,lee. the 08 draft was a head-scratcher——imo…

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 10:41 AM CST reply actions

Really?

I didn’t think it was at all. We had 0 QBs on the roster behind Rodgers (keep in mind that Favre was retired during the draft) so we needed to fill that spot. Nelson was a head scratcher…I’ll give you that. I have a hunch he wasn’t all the impressed with who was out there (hence dropping down in the draft and then taking the “best guy available” even though we didn’t NEED it). Taking a CB was a prudent move though with two aging vets and CB being a position that usually needs a year or two to develop at the pro level.

Sure getting an OT would have been nice, but are there any good guys that were picked in those 24 spots from our first to third pick that we missed out on???

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 11:03 AM CST up reply actions

No, really the only good OT in that draft was Clady and he was picked in the top 15. That draft was super weak the OT position.

by packallday555 on Feb 17, 2010 2:03 PM CST up reply actions

that's correct

We had our chance to get Brandon Flowers though, but decided to trade down. I was not happy about that. Flowers isn’t a shutdown CB, but he’s a decent CB.

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

by Jabooty on Feb 17, 2010 2:32 PM CST up reply actions

o-line

we will never know who was out their that was any good because we didn’t draft any tackles.

instead we got a 4th wr, a 3rd string qb and a 5th cb….o-line and d-line should have been at least 2 out of 3 picks——-imo. the saying goes “fat guys win football games”

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 1:00 PM CST reply actions

So heres the thing. We originally had the 30th pick in the 2008 draft. We traded down and ended up with 3 second rounders. Guess how many OTs were drafted from pick 30 to pick 63 (last in the second round)…ZERO. The Rams took John Greco early in the third…heard of him? The Redskins took Chad Reinhart at the end of the third…never heard of him either. The Ravens Oniel Cousins with the last pick in the third…obviously that didn’t work either since they took Oher the next year. All the tackles went in the first half of the first round which fits what you say about fat guys win…there just weren’t options for us with where we drafted. I guess it was the spoils of a good 2007 season!

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 4:29 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, their just weren’t any good OTs available. Brohm ended up being a bust but he was considered by many to be one of the top 3 Qb’s in the draft. I don’t think Nelson is at best a 4th WR. He is a good possession guy who is big and has the speed to be a good deep threat. He was probably our best pass catching WR aside from maybe Finley. Nelson will contribute to our offense in the years too come. I don’t think Lee was a horrible pick either. He’s been injured so I guess we’ll see what can be expected out of him for the future.

by packallday555 on Feb 17, 2010 7:45 PM CST up reply actions

Its SO easy to look at a draft after a few years and say Oh man that was terrible, but Brohm at the time was a borderline 1st rounder that slide into the second round. There were some arguing that he was the most “pro ready” of the QBs in the draft. Clearly many were wrong about him. But at the time, this draft wasn’t terrible. It could have been better, but it wasn’t terrible.

by TrevorR on Feb 17, 2010 11:39 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, kind of the perfect example is Hawk. Every GM had him as the best LB in the draft. He was a two-time Bronco Nagurski winner and was the most dominant LB in college. Everyone thought he was going to be the next Urlacher, and it didn’t happen. It’s hard to fault TT for that.

It was an alright draft. Finley came out of it, and he looked like a top TE the last half of the year. And despite what many people think about Nelson he is a good, solid player who will definitely contribute for a while.

by packallday555 on Feb 18, 2010 12:21 AM CST up reply actions

That's the thing

hindsight is 20/20

by Packerfan045 on Feb 18, 2010 11:14 AM CST up reply actions

collins

i’m not worried about collins not getting a contract. i’m more concerned about him being franchized and holding out. the 4 to 5 year players that would be unrestricted free agents this year, took it in the shorts. this may be their only shot at a multi-year deal with a hefty signing bonus. collins wants a long term deal with the big bonus money, if he gets taged he doesn’t get the up front money. he may be a disgruntled employee.

by hermitcrab on Feb 17, 2010 1:32 PM CST reply actions

Pickett's last charge...

Down lineman break down, rare commodity, keep him.

We doneed to draft a tackle, but I really think we need another dominating pass rushing OLB to compliment Mathews. We need to get to the opposing QB the way the Saints beat up on Favre. We need to start making the opposing QB panic and make mistakes.

by PackFaninFL on Feb 17, 2010 2:18 PM CST reply actions

I think this is a good point

and perhaps an important reason (apart from injury) that our DBs looked exposed against +QBs with abundant capable ballcatchers. That said I would still look to fill the DB gaps through either the draft or free agency.

Best game I ever attended was the 163rd game in 2008. Thanks John Danks and Jim Thome.

by NorthSidePaulie on Feb 18, 2010 12:09 PM CST up reply actions

Tackles

Pickett should get re-signed. Otherwise, we’ve got pretty much no depth on DL, which would spell disaster for 2010.

As far as TT needed to begin a replacement plan a couple years ago for OTs, he did begin one – he just didn’t do a very good job at it. Barbre, Giacomini and Meredith were drafted to replace Clifton and Tauscher. Barbre seems to be a wash-out. Meredith might have potential but the personnel matter was handled poorly and he got away. And not even Campen knows if Giacomini can do more than take up space on the 52 man roster!

He also began a replacement plan for Woodson and Harris. Williams, Lee, Underwood and Blackmon being parts of it. Obviously, Blackmon doesn’t seem to be a real potential replacement, though he’s shown some promise in zone coverage – when not injured! Lee and Underwood are simply unknown at this point. Underwood has some of the tools, and could get at least as good as Williams. Harris took a few years at Philly to develop into a shutdown corner.

At OT and CB the plans have been put in place, but they’ve not really shown any dividends yet. It is now getting urgent.

by MikeDB on Feb 17, 2010 4:27 PM CST reply actions

Gianconmini is really a mystery to me. Looking at scouts opinions on him they actually liked TT picking him. Many feel he has great potential and was a project. I believe this will be his 3rd year in the league which should be enough time for him to develop. I’m not expecting a whole lot out of him but there is always the outside chance that he would be our starter as opposed to Lang or Tauscher like many of us think.

Blackmon, Underwood, and Lee all appear to have the ability and tools to pan out but who knows whether or not they will. I think Williams as 1 starter is ok, and out of the three I mentioned above I think 2 of them (probably Underwood and Lee) will turn out to be good #3 and #4 guys. I think we need to get another starting Cb, which is why the trade TrevorR brought up in a FanPost is so appealing.

by packallday555 on Feb 17, 2010 7:53 PM CST up reply actions

If people want to relive the opening 8 weeks of 09, you can

by getting rid of Clifton and Tauscher and not drafting a decent tackle. I’d rather have Rodgers start all 16 games in 2010, people, not have him lost for the season the instant we play the Vikings because we have a revolving door at both tackle positions…

by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Feb 18, 2010 8:11 PM CST reply actions

I'd worry about that

except then I remember that Rodgers is a tremendous badass who doesn’t care how many times he gets hit and doesn’t know what pain is.

by Archibaldcrane on Feb 18, 2010 10:14 PM CST up reply actions

Chad Clifton got owned all year, so I’d hardly say he was a stout tackle. Antwan Odom had 5 sacks against him. Jared Allen had I believe 5 of his 8.5 sacks against Chad Clifton, etc. Mark Tauscher is a different story. He did good. Clifton is old, washed up, and is more of a liability on the field then an asset.

On top of that, Rodgers numerous sacks were a mix of: Playcalling, injuries, not releasing the ball quick enough, and trouble on the edges.

I’m sure most of us agree we need to get an OT early in the draft, but we prefer to get a player that comes to benefit our team more than any other player. I agree with the philosophy that you draft the best player available early in the draft.

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

by Jabooty on Feb 18, 2010 10:27 PM CST up reply actions

Actually Colledge and Lang played against Allen not Clifton, but your right about Clifton. It was pretty clear he was declining this year. I still think we need to bring him back because he probably has a tiny bit left in him and we don’t have any LTs on the roster but he definitely doesn’t have much left in him.

by packallday555 on Feb 18, 2010 11:33 PM CST up reply actions