Packers 2024-25 Season Thread

[Cheesedog]

sort of - they're going to build a third locker room. for all those games where three teams are playing.

Just another sign that the Packers are transitioning from a football team to something like more general entertainment organization.

 

[TW]

Just another sign that the Packers are transitioning from a football team to something like more general entertainment organization.

The side ventures are what's going to fuel the football programs surrounding a lot of teams. Look at what Jerry Jones has been doing in the Dallas area. The only thing they screwed up on, in a huge way, was the transportation issues in and around the stadium. They should have included major rail hubs for game day foot traffic, in and out of the area.

It's working in Vegas, they are ecstatic about how it's going in LA with the Rams, and right on down the lines, the progressive groups are seeing it as a way to extend their brands. It makes sense. Maybe not sense in the pure sense of the NFL, but as business ventures that are billion dollar operations, it's logical.

 

[realitybytes]

The side ventures are what's going to fuel the football programs surrounding a lot of teams. Look at what Jerry Jones has been doing in the Dallas area. The only thing they screwed up on, in a huge way, was the transportation issues in and around the stadium. They should have included major rail hubs for game day foot traffic, in and out of the area.

It's working in Vegas, they are ecstatic about how it's going in LA with the Rams, and right on down the lines, the progressive groups are seeing it as a way to extend their brands. It makes sense. Maybe not sense in the pure sense of the NFL, but as business ventures that are billion dollar operations, it's logical.

but there's a big difference between cities like dallas and vegas and tiny green bay.

 

[TW]

but there's a big difference between cities like dallas and vegas and tiny green bay.

Just in volume of sales. It's all about ROI, and GB has a huge ROI with the Packer franchise. Not everyone is a Walmart, there are places like my butcher shop, which is small potatoes, but their meat puts everyone to shame in the area, and their prices are much better.

And, they are making a lot of money because they didn't quit, when people told them they couldn't compete.

Comparing to the Packers to the Cowboys is only comparison of core business values, not on largess. GB will never be that huge in market, but it doesn't matter one bit. They still play better around the entire nation than the Cowboys do, despite Jones comments to the contrary. The fact is, the Packers play to full stadiums everywhere, and often with nearly as many of their fans as the home team. You don't see that too often with the Cowboys, despite it being a bigger money market team.

 

[Mark87]

Tucker Kraft STORY>>

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coming out of South Dakota State, Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft said run after catch was one of the strengths of his game.

During his final collegiate season, Kraft averaged 8.0 yards after the catch – tops in the draft class among pure tight ends. Of course, that came with the asterisk of Kraft running over and through a bunch of FCS-level defenders who might never get a sniff of the NFL. It was fair to wonder how that phase of his game would translate to the NFL.
Quite well, as it turns out.

A third-round pick last year, Kraft led the entire rookie tight end class with 7.5 yards after the catch per catch, according to Pro Football Focus. No other rookie who was targeted at least 12 times in the passing game averaged more than 6.0 YAC.
“Everyone was wrong. Anyone who tries to shove that small-school narrative, they can put it where the sun don’t shine,” Kraft said during OTAs. “We’re football players. We’re playing the same game. You rise to the ability of the people around you. I was out there dominating the FCS level, but you turn the film on here, the NFL is not that hard of a game if you’re locked into your techniques and you know your offense well enough.”

Like they did this offseason at safety, the Packers blew up their tight end group last offseason. After choosing to not re-sign Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, they used a second-round pick on Luke Musgrave and a third-round pick on Kraft. Combined, they caught 65 passes and became the first rookie tight end duo since the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez to each have 30-plus receptions, 350-plus yards and at least one touchdown.

Kraft’s season was remarkable. He barely played the first four weeks and barely came off the field the final seven. During the final six games, he ranked eighth among tight ends with 24 receptions for 297 yards. Only Detroit Lions Pro Bowler Sam LaPorta had more catches and yards among rookie tight ends.
Even among the established veterans, Kraft excelled. According to PFF, 45 tight ends were targeted at least 30 times. Kraft was No. 1 in YAC per catch.
For as productive as Musgrave and Kraft were when they were on the field, they weren’t on the field at the same time very often. Kraft was slow to earn a role. When he did, Musgrave suffered his kidney injury. So, as good as they were individually, the hope is they’ll be even better together.

“I didn’t come into this league as a backup,” Kraft said. “Luke and I, we don’t play under or over each other; we play with each other. That’s how all of us work when we step out on the field. We’re playing with each other, playing for each other. I’d say the next progression in us is mainly just identifying what parts of our game we’re really good at. I’m just excited to get rolling.”

The roll will have to wait until training camp. Kraft suffered a torn pectoral while on the bench press – “it popped right off the bone” – so he was unable to practice during OTAs and minicamp.
As he spoke, the frustration was evident in Kraft’s voice. From one perspective, time was on his side and he should be ready for Week 1. From another perspective, Kraft’s got big goals and the offseason practices would have been a step in the right direction.

“Just taking it one day at a time, rehabbing my injury. I might miss the start of training camp,” Kraft said.

After a long pause, he continued. “Yeah, I’m just ready to take off in this league and establish myself as a football player, really. That’s where my frustration lies. I was really excited about this offseason – to have the whole offseason – to get running off the football again, get my second step down, my landmark. What I want to establish this year is I want to be the best Y in the outside zone – running the ball at the tight end – that’s my individual goal for the season. That just opens up so many avenues.”

 

[Keg Man]

Love Kraft's attitude.

But, can he stay healthy? Pulling a pectoral muscle off the bone while bench pressing? Yes, it can be done, but it shouldn't happen to an experienced weight lifter or professional athlete. I thought we changed up strength and conditioning to prevent these dumb ass injuries. And, not sorry knuckle dragging neanderthal here, pulling a pectoral muscle off the bone while bench pressing is a dumb ass injury. If you are lifting within your capabilities and under control, that doesn't happen.

Did he have surgery? How does a muscle pop off the bone and reattach without surgery?

In general, knuckle dragging neanderthals perspective is way too many of our guys are getting injured - not knicked up or minor pulls - doing things that just don't make sense. I'm thinking less science and more steak.

Hoping I'm wrong, he returns, and is the stud all of us thought he'd be.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

I admit that I don't know anything about Mr. Policy but just because he is an attorney doesn't bother me. Wasn't Bob Harlan an attorney? He did a pretty good job.

 

[GBP4EVER]

 

[Mark87]

Gutekunst’s Masterful Rebuild Has Packers Among Super Bowl Contenders Again​

GREEN BAY, Wis. – During a 13-year run as Green Bay Packers general manager, Ted Thompson won two NFL Executive of the Year awards.

If the Packers cement their status as long-term Super Bowl contenders this season, current Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst would be worthy of winning his first.
Gutekunst’s decision to trade Rodgers to the New York Jets last offseason was seismic. Rodgers made the Packers championship contenders every year, no matter the team’s other issues.

Instead, the Packers dove head-first into the quarterbacking unknown with Jordan Love.

A controversial first-round pick in 2020, Love didn’t play a single snap as a rookie. In 2021, he performed poorly in his first career start, an ugly loss at the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2022, he was sharp in 10 snaps in relief of Rodgers at Philadelphia, but the Eagles held two-score leads for both of Love’s possessions so were happy to trade completions for time.
With that scant resume, Gutekunst bet it all.

Had Love bombed, it would have been career suicide. Never mind his tenure as Packers general manager, which included trips to NFC Championship Games in 2019 and 2020 and an unprecedented streak of 13-win seasons in 2019, 2020 and 2021. His future as a high-ranking NFL executive would have been over. With a career resume headlined by trading a Hall of Fame quarterback and promoting a first-round bust, Gutekunst would have been toxic.

Through nine games last year, Love out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks ranked 27th in passer rating, 33rd in completion percentage and 34th in interceptions. The Packers were 3-6 and going nowhere fast.


Gutekunst didn’t panic.

“There’s expectations around here,” he said at the trade deadline, when the Packers were 2-5 and on a four-game losing streak. “Not winning’s not fun for anyone. So, everybody’s frustrated but, at the same time, I think no one’s stopped working and they’ve stayed together. That’s important for us. …

“To me right now, it’s really looking at the small victories, the small improvements and making sure we’re moving forward. If that doesn’t, if that stops happening, then there’s problems. But right now, I think we’re seeing little things.”
Small victories became a lot of victories. As awful as Love’s numbers were during the first half of the season, they were as spectacular in the second half. Of 33 qualifying quarterbacks over the final eight games, Love was second in passer rating, third in completion percentage and first in interceptions as the Packers went 6-2.

Not only was Gutekunst right about Love, he was right about how he built around Love.

Rather than give his first-year starting quarterback a reliable veteran receiver to serve as a security blanket, Gutekunst rolled with what probably was the youngest group of pass catchers in NFL history. The receivers were all part of the 2022 or 2023 NFL Draft class. The pure tight ends were all part of the 2023 draft class.
“We haven’t had the results we wanted,” Gutekunst said. “We’d like the results to come fast, don’t get me wrong, but, at the same time, the things that they’re going through are important and they’re going through them. How we come out the other side remains to be seen, but I have a lot of confidence in the group and the guys that are coaching them. I think we’re all excited to see where we can go this last 10 games.”

The last 10 games became the last 12, with the Packers shockingly reaching the playoffs and blowing out the Dallas Cowboys before losing by three points to the San Francisco 49ers.

Trading Rodgers didn’t just create a hole on the roster, it created a larger hole on the salary cap. The trade left behind a residual $40.3 million salary-cap hit. To accommodate, Gutekunst and his salary-cap sidekick, Russ Ball, cleared about $50 million in cap space through various machinations.


Nonetheless, the Packers were so cap-poor last year that Gutekunst couldn’t really afford to address any of the team’s weaknesses. Even had he wanted to, there was no money to sign a legitimate veteran receiver.

None of the team’s additions in free agency – long snapper Matthew Orzech and safeties Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore – signed for much more than the league minimum. In fact, their free-agent additions received a combined $2.94 million in guaranteed money. The Los Angeles Rams’ free agents received $3.87 million guaranteed; every other team beat the Packers by about $11.5 million. The league median, according to Sportrac, was $49.7 million.

And yet, despite trading their legendary quarterback and relying on the youngest roster in the NFL, the Packers won 10 games.
Fast forward to today, with the start of training camp 23 days away and the 2024 regular season set to kick off in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles in 69 days, the Packers’ future is blindingly bright.

Love is viewed as one of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL.

The Packers might have the deepest receiver corps in the NFL.


They might have the best tandem of young tight ends.

Young players are cheap players. For a rapid rebuild, Gutekunst needed to assemble a couple high-quality draft classes. Thanks in part to the assets acquired in the Rodgers trade, Gutekunst nailed the 2022 and 2023 drafts.

Those powerhouse classes formed a powerful nucleus, to which Gutekunst added five players with Top 100 picks in this year’s draft. All that young and inexpensive talent allowed Gutekunst to make a rare splash in free agency. A year after settling on Owens, Gutekunst signed the best safety on the market, Xavier McKinney, to anchor the defense.


Having taken their salary-cap medicine last year, the Packers as of Saturday were $29.99 million under the cap, according to the NFLPA. That’s the seventh-most cap space in the league, even while swallowing almost $50 million in dead money, the financial fallout from releasing David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones, among other transactions.

While Love’s forthcoming contract extension will take a big bite out of that apple, a contract extension for defensive tackle Kenny Clark would add to that apple.

That’s a lot of cap space to help keep the core intact for an extended championship window.


Having fallen short of the playoffs in 2022, the Packers were in a world of hurt.

Having traded Rodgers in 2023, the Packers were in a world of mystery.

With Gutekunst making the right moves, the Packers appear close to turning their world into Titletown once more.

 

[rpiotr01]

I admit that I don't know anything about Mr. Policy but just because he is an attorney doesn't bother me. Wasn't Bob Harlan an attorney? He did a pretty good job.

It's fine. It's continuity and he's better than an outside hire. He doesn't have strong football ops experience so there has been speculation that he may restore the old GM structure. We'll see. IMO it has been an obvious move for a number of years now and I can't argue with it too much.