Which Players Are Going To Be Receiving The Franchise Tag?

by Brandon on Feb 17, 2012 7:01 AM CST in Green Bay Packers Analysis

Ryan Pickett was the last Packer to receive the franchise tag

Forecasting the franchise tags | ProFootballTalk. Teams will begin using the franchise tag on players next Monday. Gregg Rosenthal lists eight players that he "would be stunned if these guys aren't tagged" and Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley made the list.

The last time the Packers used the franchise tag was on Ryan Pickett two years ago. That was a strange season where I can only recall a few players receiving it. Last year, a record number of players did, which was partly due to the impending lockout. However the total might be even higher this year; Gregg Rosenthal mentioned almost 30 players who are candidates.

I'm a little surprised how slowly the free agent negotiations are going this offseason. It's not just the Packers; all these teams seem to be waiting for someone else to establish the market price at each position. That seems a little risky to me. There is a danger that the player you want to re-sign actually leaves. But it worked out fine for the Packers in recent years. They've let guys they wanted back like Chad Clifton and James Jones test the market, and re-signed them shortly after the free agent signing period began.

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Count me as one fan...

who would also be surprised. Tag Finley.

Acme Packing Company: proof that anyone can be a sports journalist.

by JSOnline Castaway on Feb 17, 2012 8:37 AM CST reply actions

Waiting for someone to set a market price at each position.

I hope somone sane does it 1st before Snydder in Wash rememders Al Davis is gone and it’s up to him….Haynesworth anybodie.
Geez,I hope there were no typos in this.I couldn’t stand to get repi manded agin from..
The Typing Policeman!!!
LOL Only Kidding

by Tarynfor12 on Feb 17, 2012 3:11 PM CST reply actions 2 recs

LMAO... : )

"SOUTHERN HILLS KENNEL" ~ We Breed The Best Bitches In TEXAS!!!

GO PACK GO!!!

by BirdDogUni on Feb 17, 2012 3:13 PM CST up reply actions

After reading this article, I think it's a bad idea to tag Finley...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/139522168.html

If we knew he’d be reasonable and take 6.5 mil, maybe, but, what if he’s unrealistic and wants 8 or 9 mil? Would hate to have to listen to him and his agent the whole season…

Just saying…

"SOUTHERN HILLS KENNEL" ~ We Breed The Best Bitches In TEXAS!!!

GO PACK GO!!!

by BirdDogUni on Feb 18, 2012 4:44 PM CST reply actions

Given Zack Miller is making nearly 7M per

That would seem to be the starting point in negotiations for the Packers. I hope noone here doesn’t think he’s more valuable to his team than Miller is…

Over the last two season, the Packers are 18-3 in games in which he has played at least one quarter and 11-5 in all others. In the 21 games he played more than a handful of snaps, the Packers averaged 32.7 points and in the 16 he didn’t, they averaged 25.2.

I would say this is pretty indicative of Finleys value. Winning 6 of 7 w/ him, vs 2 of 3 w/o him. Averaging 7.5 pts more per game w/ him… Hard to argue he isn’t worth at least 7M. Wonder if Jennings has that kinda impact and he makes 9.5M…

Our Biggest Challenge is how we deal w/ Success!

by Strohman on Feb 18, 2012 4:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Correlation does not equal causation

We won a Super Bowl without Finley . . . does that mean we’re better off without him?

I agree with you that I want to keep Finley on the team, and would be okay with paying him $7 million a season in order to keep him, but I don’t agree with the line of reasoning you use to come to this conclusion.

"I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous."
— Hunter S. Thompson

by I voted for Kodos on Feb 18, 2012 8:58 PM CST up reply actions

We also won a SB w/ a Top 3 Defense

As opposed to the #32 (dead last) D… But don’t let that mountainous fact stop you. I guess you didn’t remember all the games the D finished the game in ’10 w/ late 4th qtr stops!

6 of 7 and 7.5 pts is a HUGE impact, over 2 of 3 w/o him.

Our Biggest Challenge is how we deal w/ Success!

by Strohman on Feb 18, 2012 9:40 PM CST up reply actions

And our defense went from top 3 to bottom 3

But you wouldn’t say Cullen Jenkins was the sole reason for this, would you?

All I’m saying is that Finley was not the only factor in the offensive improvement in the last year.

"I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous."
— Hunter S. Thompson

by I voted for Kodos on Feb 20, 2012 4:38 PM CST up reply actions

Not the only reason...

But surely even you can see what a difference Finley provided… the numbers are proof of it. Unless you chose to ignore them!

Our Biggest Challenge is how we deal w/ Success!

by Strohman on Feb 20, 2012 6:01 PM CST up reply actions

I agree with you that Finley makes the offense much better

I just don’t think that Finley alone is the reason our offense was better this year than last. I think Rodgers played out of his mind, and that our o-line protected him better than in years past. But I’m with you on re-signing Finley. Our replacements are simply not at his level and we’d have to spend a high draft pick to get someone remotely close to his talent and size combination.

"I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous."
— Hunter S. Thompson

by I voted for Kodos on Feb 20, 2012 7:31 PM CST up reply actions

And

Finley is 24, Jenkins was 31… So resigning Finley makes alot more sense than signing Jenkins did.

Our Biggest Challenge is how we deal w/ Success!

by Strohman on Feb 20, 2012 6:02 PM CST up reply actions

I don’t think he’s gonna demand $8-9M. He might open with that but after the season he had this past year, I think he probably knows that he doesn’t deserve to be the highest paid TE. He’s said plenty of times how much he loves Green Bay, and that he’d love to stay. I think if Thompson offers him $7M a year, with some incentives built in, he’d agree.

I think you’re completely undervaluing how valuable he is to us. With him we’re an elite offense – maybe the best in the league. Without him, we’re good, but probably just somewhere between 4-10. The stats in the article about our points per game with him vs. without him, and our W-L record with him vs. without him is extremely telling!

I know the drops suck, and some are probably sick of hearing it, but he opens everything up for our offense! He could easily be on a Gronk/Graham level if he fixes the drops which I think he will. You just don’t let players with his talent go, especially not after 1 season that wasn’t quite up to expectations but still good.

by packallday555 on Feb 18, 2012 7:38 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Gregg Rosenthal's list is mediocre at best

What really jumps out is having Anthony Spencer as the #9 most likely to be franchise tagged. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I doubt the Cowboys think Anthony Spencer is worth $10 million a year.

"I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous."
— Hunter S. Thompson

by I voted for Kodos on Feb 18, 2012 9:15 PM CST reply actions