Green Bay Packers News 2023

[YoHoChecko]

Elgkton says it feels really good to have a whole offseason and season where he'll stick at one position--LG. He also says the left side just feels more comfortable and natural to him, though he added "anywhere from the middle to the left"

But it sounds like they're trying to maximize him at his best position right now after over-relying on his versatility. He says he and Bakh want to be the NFL's best left side.

[Labrev]

Bakh doubles down on his "rebuild" comment:
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... -comments/

I have a few thoughts but will share later....

[Drj820]

Bahk obviously wants out, but doesn’t want to be the one to outright say it. We got Tom, let’s trade him.

[Drj820]

Turd

[YoHoChecko]

Bakh doubles down on his "rebuild" comment:
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... -comments/

I have a few thoughts but will share later....

This interview didn’t bother me at all and I’ve been on a strong anti-Bakh vibes train.

He explained that to him, a team moving on from a HoF QB is rebuilding and to suggest otherwise is disrespectful to the QB.

He further explained that the Seahawks for instance were rebuilding last year when they made the playoffs. That his branding of rebuilding has no impact on his expectations. And he gave a passionate, emotional vent about how badly he just wants to win.

I think he’ll be fine. I would have traded him before the final contract restructure this offseason. I likely won’t think of it realistically since that happened.

I specifically didn’t post about his presser because it felt neutral. I felt way less that he was being weird, more like he is engaged in the OL room, less like he’s focused on the goofy questions (which still came, but he wanted to talk more ball)

[Labrev]

Observations from second open OTAs....
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... arsely-api

— (...) Kenny Clark said that both Wooden and Brooks were learning the playbook fast and looked explosive. The next step for each is reading the offensive cues.

— (...) goodness, does Luke Musgrave look the part. He is so smooth running downfield and gets down there quickly. He ran a number of routes during team drills either down the seam or on a crosser, where in either instance, he is a matchup problem. As Matt LaFleur said after practice, “he (Musgrave) is different” compared to the Packers’ previous tight ends in the room.

— Darnell Savage came away with an interception on a deep ball from Jordan Love. It looked like there was a miscommunication between Love and Romeo Doubs(...)

— Speaking of Doubs, it looks like he has built some fantastic rapport with Love. During the two-minute drill, Doubs was Love’s go-to target, hauling in four receptions on that drive alone, several of which came on slants. Doubs also caught a downfield pass on third and 10, finding the soft spot between the cornerback and safety with Love on the move.

— Rudy Ford was again the starter next to Savage. (...) my guess is that he will be the favorite for most of the summer for that starting job. The second safety in was Tarvarius Moore, followed by Jonathan Owens and Anthony Johnson, lining up next to each other with the second team defense.

— With Bakhtiari not participating in team drills, the starting offensive line was made up of Caleb Jones at left tackle, followed by (... we all know...) Yosh Nijman was then quickly subbed in for Tom at right tackle to get him some reps as well. That right tackle opening will be one of the more intriguing positional battles to watch this summer.

— Lukas Van Ness was fantastic. He basically lived in the backfield when he was on the field, using his strength to drive the offensive tackles back. The starting edge rushers today were Preston Smith and Justin Hollins.

— Love was, overall, decisive with his decision-making and accurate on his boundary and over-the-middle throws for the most part — there was one interception drop by Ballantine as Love forced a throw to the sidelines when under pressure. You can tell, however, that he is still working on the timing with his young pass catchers on the downfield throws.

— Play of the day goes to undrafted rookie Malik Heath, who hauled in a pass down the sidelines from Sean Clifford with multiple defenders and arms around the football.

— (...) AJ Dillon looked light on his feet with the ball in his hands.

— The Packers are expecting to see more blitzes, especially early on in the season, as teams try to test Jordan Love and this young offense. Perhaps as a result, there were a few instances where the defense sent pressure today. As Adam Stenavich said a few weeks ago, until the Packers put on tape that they can handle blitzes, teams are going to continue to do it.

[Drj820]

Bakh doubles down on his "rebuild" comment:
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... -comments/

I have a few thoughts but will share later....

This interview didn’t bother me at all and I’ve been on a strong anti-Bakh vibes train.

He explained that to him, a team moving on from a HoF QB is rebuilding and to suggest otherwise is disrespectful to the QB.

He further explained that the Seahawks for instance were rebuilding last year when they made the playoffs. That his branding of rebuilding has no impact on his expectations. And he gave a passionate, emotional vent about how badly he just wants to win.

I think he’ll be fine. I would have traded him before the final contract restructure this offseason. I likely won’t think of it realistically since that happened.

I specifically didn’t post about his presser because it felt neutral. I felt way less that he was being weird, more like he is engaged in the OL room, less like he’s focused on the goofy questions (which still came, but he wanted to talk more ball)

It’s only a rebuild to Bakh because he has no confidence in Love. That’s what he really said.

[Labrev]

He further explained that the Seahawks for instance were rebuilding last year when they made the playoffs. That his branding of rebuilding has no impact on his expectations. And he gave a passionate, emotional vent about how badly he just wants to win.

Then I am even more glad he caught a lot of grief for his previous comments, such that he felt a need to do this.

If that comment went unpunished, I do think there's a real risk of him or others on the team internalizing the idea that "ehh, this is just a rebuild year anyway, so who cares?" and not taking their role as seriously, regardless of how he meant it privately (I kinda don't believe him).

And I am glad we have guys like Nixon and Jones who are saying "Rebuild? $%@# that noise" to counteract his BS.

I'm glad he had to spin it into "well rebuilding teams can go to the playoffs like Seattle" whether he originally meant that or not. Seattle is not an apt comparison, because they had a lot more to figure out than how to win with the new QB, but that's wide of the point.

[Labrev]

By the way, some people were like "Bakthtiari's comments were not that bad in full" (his original comments, that is).

Okay, well I am looking at the full quote right now, courtesy of the article...

“Could they be good? I don’t know. Could they be bad? Probably, if you’re betting, more people are going to think they’re going to be bad than good. Isn’t that fair to say?”

No, they're still bad in full.

Here's the problem Dave, you're not a $%@# analyst or fantasy football GM. You're one of the players on the field; you and your colleagues are directly determinative of how good or bad we are.

You don't get to say: (*nasally voice*) "well ermm, based on probability, the likely outcome is, we are on our way to regression" even if that is a 100% true statement. You only get to say, "whoever we have at QB, we are going to find a way."

There is a reason your teams always fell short of expectations, even while you had an elite QB.

[Yoop]

He further explained that the Seahawks for instance were rebuilding last year when they made the playoffs. That his branding of rebuilding has no impact on his expectations. And he gave a passionate, emotional vent about how badly he just wants to win.

Then I am even more glad he caught a lot of grief for his previous comments, such that he felt a need to do this.

If that comment went unpunished, I do think there's a real risk of him or others on the team internalizing the idea that "ehh, this is just a rebuild year anyway, so who cares?" and not taking their role as seriously, regardless of how he meant it privately (I kinda don't believe him).

And I am glad we have guys like Nixon and Jones who are saying "Rebuild? $%@# that noise" to counteract his BS.

I'm glad he had to spin it into "well rebuilding teams can go to the playoffs like Seattle" whether he originally meant that or not. Seattle is not an apt comparison, because they had a lot more to figure out than how to win with the new QB, but that's wide of the point.

again, players perform for personal accolades first and fore most, and team accolades after that, Bahktiari is a consummate professional, he will play to become a member of the HOF, obviously being close with Rodgers he feels losing him translates to rebuilding, same with all the youth on the team now, He and Clark are our oldest tenured vets.
I think Fans get consumed with team chemistry and a old vet thats not acting all giddy like a school prom queen doesn't fit in, thing is these young players will look up to a player like Bahk no matter what he says, short of being a distracting voice against the coaching, which he would never be.

[Crazylegs Starks]

— Speaking of Doubs, it looks like he has built some fantastic rapport with Love. During the two-minute drill, Doubs was Love’s go-to target, hauling in four receptions on that drive alone, several of which came on slants. Doubs also caught a downfield pass on third and 10, finding the soft spot between the cornerback and safety with Love on the move.

Nice

[wallyuwl]

Unless he is trying to force a trade, WTF is Bak doing?

[Drj820]

Apologies if this has been discussed

[YoHoChecko]

I think Fans get consumed with team chemistry and a old vet thats not acting all giddy like a school prom queen doesn't fit in, thing is these young players will look up to a player like Bahk no matter what he says, short of being a distracting voice against the coaching, which he would never be.

That’s actually my fear. There is such a thing as negative leadership; when you ARE a locker room leader, but you’re leading a rebellion more than the invasion.

Bakh was asked if anyone said to him “while what you said is technically true, did anyone pull you aside and say ‘hey, you’re a leader on this team and some of the younger guys might get the wrong impression.’” and Bakh responded by taking issue with the word technically, then saying he wasn’t going to answer because he didn’t think that was fair (and I couldn’t tell if he meant it was a fair question or if he meant it was fair to discuss private conversations in public or something else)

He later was asked slightly differently and seemed to indicate no one expressed to him that they have a problem with him/his words.


Bath’s saving grace in all of this, to me, is that his general “I don’t know how good the team will be” demeanor is heavily accompanied by words expressing “All we can do is our jobs and be the best version of ourselves we can be” plus his general hunger to be on the field and playing well again after years of injury recoveries (mentioned it’s his first offseason without surgery in two years).

So even if people were to follow his lead about rebuilding, his solution has been to focus on being the best player you can be and do your job, which includes winning games. That’s where I think the potential negative impact of his attitude is negated.

He also made a lot of comments about trying to fit in with his younger teammates. This interview felt like he’s starting to enjoy being around this team a little bit more. I think his mindset is moving in the right direction, while still feeling like the criticism throughout the past few months is valid and deserved

[Drj820]

Turd

A “leader” should be gassing up/building up Love at every turn this off-season. Bakh continues to harp on the past/flirt with the old qb/and question whether Love can play. Some leader. Hope he isn’t voted captain

[YoHoChecko]

Apologies if this has been discussed

I think people are more so discussing that in the Rodgers Traded thread. Though for my read, it wasn’t particularly new or interesting information so I’ve not said much. Broke on an open OTA media day, so I tried to focus on the field and interviews for the time being.

[BF004]

Unless he is trying to force a trade, WTF is Bak doing?

I think it’s one of those things, if you watch the whole interview, no where near as bad as the 8 word quote headline.

[Yoop]

I think Fans get consumed with team chemistry and a old vet thats not acting all giddy like a school prom queen doesn't fit in, thing is these young players will look up to a player like Bahk no matter what he says, short of being a distracting voice against the coaching, which he would never be.

That’s actually my fear. There is such a thing as negative leadership; when you ARE a locker room leader, but you’re leading a rebellion more than the invasion.

Bakh was asked if anyone said to him “while what you said is technically true, did anyone pull you aside and say ‘hey, you’re a leader on this team and some of the younger guys might get the wrong impression.’” and Bakh responded by taking issue with the word technically, then saying he wasn’t going to answer because he didn’t think that was fair (and I couldn’t tell if he meant it was a fair question or if he meant it was fair to discuss private conversations in public or something else)

He later was asked slightly differently and seemed to indicate no one expressed to him that they have a problem with him/his words.


Bath’s saving grace in all of this, to me, is that his general “I don’t know how good the team will be” demeanor is heavily accompanied by words expressing “All we can do is our jobs and be the best version of ourselves we can be” plus his general hunger to be on the field and playing well again after years of injury recoveries (mentioned it’s his first offseason without surgery in two years).

So even if people were to follow his lead about rebuilding, his solution has been to focus on being the best player you can be and do your job, which includes winning games. That’s where I think the potential negative impact of his attitude is negated.

He also made a lot of comments about trying to fit in with his younger teammates. This interview felt like he’s starting to enjoy being around this team a little bit more. I think his mindset is moving in the right direction, while still feeling like the criticism throughout the past few months is valid and deserved

I've felt all along that David wanted to be traded, and it's possible that the team put out some feelers, but for whatever reason that didn't pan out, again I doubt he would be a negative locker room or team cancer, but he wont go out of his way to chum with the youngsters any more then Rodgers did.

mostly what I took from his the team is in rebuild stuff was "why didn't they trade me to"

[wallyuwl]

Unless he is trying to force a trade, WTF is Bak doing?

I think it’s one of those things, if you watch the whole interview, no where near as bad as the 8 word quote headline.

Sure. But it is the cumulative narrative of his, including tweets.

[Drj820]

By the way, some people were like "Bakthtiari's comments were not that bad in full" (his original comments, that is).

Okay, well I am looking at the full quote right now, courtesy of the article...

“Could they be good? I don’t know. Could they be bad? Probably, if you’re betting, more people are going to think they’re going to be bad than good. Isn’t that fair to say?”

No, they're still bad in full.

Here's the problem Dave, you're not a $%@# analyst or fantasy football GM. You're one of the players on the field; you and your colleagues are directly determinative of how good or bad we are.

You don't get to say: (*nasally voice*) "well ermm, based on probability, the likely outcome is, we are on our way to regression" even if that is a 100% true statement. You only get to say, "whoever we have at QB, we are going to find a way."

There is a reason your teams always fell short of expectations, even while you had an elite QB.

Bakh is a loser just like the rest of the teams he was captain of that fell short year after year. But hey, he can chug a beer and drive a golf cart.