Official Packers Off Season Thread

[Half Empty]

As long as we don't give up being the youngest, too.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

Don't know if this is the right place to put this.

Everybody keeps talking about how great Matthews is on the outside and he was. But before he moved to ILB I saw him getting less sacks on the outside. His 'swim' move wasn't working and he missed sacks more than he made. I personally thought that he did better on the inside. Matthews seems to do better when the offense has a hard time finding him instead of knowing exactly what he is going to do.

Just my

 

[Scoremore12]

Don't know if this is the right place to put this.

Everybody keeps talking about how great Matthews is on the outside and he was. But before he moved to ILB I saw him getting less sacks on the outside. His 'swim' move wasn't working and he missed sacks more than he made. I personally thought that he did better on the inside. Matthews seems to do better when the offense has a hard time finding him instead of knowing exactly what he is going to do.

Just my

I agree, seems alot want Matthews back outside, but I think we get more production out of him being in the middle and moving around some. His first couple of years on the outside he did well, the last couple, he didnt do much as teams had him figured out and stopped him on a steady basis. I myself use him like they have been, start in the middle and move around.

 

[Packersunion]

So from the looks of it we will have the same team except:
out- Raji, Hayward, Neal, Jones, Barclay, Richardson, Kuhn, Goode, Quarless

In- rookies

Won't be shocked if Ted retains one or two of Kuhn, Quarless, or Goode.

If we don't win it this upcoming season, I doubt we win next season with Peppers retiring and almost our entire Oline turns into free agents and will be looking to get paid from someone else. I think it's Superbowl or bust for Ted this year. He really has to bat over .500 on his draft and hit a couple of homeruns for key spots. May sound like unrealistic goals, but Ted backed himself into a corner.

 

[GBP4EVER]

I think Goode will be back if he's healthy but he's a LS Long Snappers are like kickers they are not people

 

[salmar80]

So from the looks of it we will have the same team except:
out- Raji, Hayward, Neal, Jones, Barclay, Richardson, Kuhn, Goode, Quarless

In- rookies

Won't be shocked if Ted retains one or two of Kuhn, Quarless, or Goode.

If we don't win it this upcoming season, I doubt we win next season with Peppers retiring and almost our entire Oline turns into free agents and will be looking to get paid from someone else. I think it's Superbowl or bust for Ted this year. He really has to bat over .500 on his draft and hit a couple of homeruns for key spots. May sound like unrealistic goals, but Ted backed himself into a corner.

We already have replacements in place for:
Hayward = Rollins/Hyde
Neal = Datone Jones/Elliott
Jones = Adams/Janis/Abbre
Kuhn = Rip
Barclay = Tretter (Maybe. But losing Barclay isn't a loss)
Richardson = Did he ever have a role except on STs, where we have several good young guys? And as LB/S hybrid, Joe Thomas.
Goode = That guy who snapped late last season

We do need to find a solution at TE and mos def at NT/DT and ILB. And get depth at other positions.

TT does have to draft well, but your outlook for 2017 is preeeetty pessimistic. Maybe we aren't signing UFAs now, so that we can keep the core of our Oline together in 2017 and beyond?

 

[Frozen Tundra]

Don't know if this is the right place to put this.

Everybody keeps talking about how great Matthews is on the outside and he was. But before he moved to ILB I saw him getting less sacks on the outside. His 'swim' move wasn't working and he missed sacks more than he made. I personally thought that he did better on the inside. Matthews seems to do better when the offense has a hard time finding him instead of knowing exactly what he is going to do.

Just my

For a few years there, he had an incredible combination of speed, power, and agility that would allow him to either blow by or blow up almost any OL in the league. But i really think those constant hamstring problems have taken the edge off of both his power and his burst - not all of it, of course, but just enough to bring him down closer to the level of ordinary mortals.

Used to be that even if you knew where he was coming from, you couldn't match up with him one on one. You knew exactly what he was going to do, but you still couldn't stop him. Now, he's not winning those matchups anymore. A good lineman has a very good chance of stopping him one on one. I still like him on the outside as long as you have someone on the other side that the O-line also has to account for, but if you can't pair him up with a consistent sack threat on the other side, I think he schemes better on the inside. Trouble is, if we don't have that second solid pass rushing threat on the outside to pair him up with, that means he's our only pass rushing OLB - so we're screwed either way.

I think the bottom line is we just can no longer rely on him to carry the entire second level of the defense all by himself, and there's no shame in that. He did it better and longer than almost anyone else we've ever played at that position. But if we shore up the linebacker unit in general, suddenly he becomes an elite threat again on every passing play. Ted has to do something to strengthen the LB corps, even if it means he suits up himself every damned Sunday. ILB is obviously the top priority, but once you get past Matthews, we don't have anything special at OLB either. Perry and/or Jones might take the next step this year and become genuine threats, but right now neither of them is a difference maker. And we need at least one more difference maker at that position.

 

[Crease Creature]

Not to turn this into a thread about Clay, but on one of our esteemed and illustrious sites I had a write up that I called 'the decline of clay matthews' that detailed his most excellent first 3-4 years in the league, then his seeming slip up in production after that. I would have to see if I still have those figures, and then factor in the last two seasons with him inside to see if he was better and if he made the defense better (other players with more sacks, more turnovers, etc.)

 

[GBP4EVER]

Not to turn this into a thread about Clay, but on one of our esteemed and illustrious sites I had a write up that I called 'the decline of clay matthews' that detailed his most excellent first 3-4 years in the league, then his seeming slip up in production after that. I would have to see if I still have those figures, and then factor in the last two seasons with him inside to see if he was better and if he made the defense better (other players with more sacks, more turnovers, etc.)

He is going to be 30 years old in a couple months. No one is going to be as good as they were in their early 20's. If we can get another good 2-3 more years out of Clay I will be happy.

 

[Crease Creature]

He is going to be 30 years old in a couple months. No one is going to be as good as they were in their early 20's. If we can get another good 2-3 more years out of Clay I will be happy.

What I was attempting to say is that by the eye test, Clay going inside (or just more mobile) has increased his effectiveness, and may have extended his use to the team. It'll be interesting to see if the numbers bear that out.