Packers signing Devin Funchess

[Pugger]

You can't just look at speed and make judgments. Quickness, agility, acceleration, etc. all go hand-in-hand in determining whether a guy is a good enough athlete or not. In Lazard's case, I do think he lacks a lot as an athlete, but I also still think he is adequate.

Yes, speed is great but a WR has to be able to get separation from DBs and run good routes. Jeff Janis as fast as hell but that was about all he had.

Actually Janis had quite a lot, IMO. He was big and strong and had decent YAC ability. The 1 thing he lacked was the hand-eye coordination to pluck the ball out of the air. It severely limited his catching radius and as a result Rodgers would not throw to him unless he had no other reasonable choice.

Regarding Fuchness, I would not be surprised if he makes the team as the 5th or 6th WR /4th TE. He should be able to play ST. But if he is going to get targets from AR, he had better reduce his drop percentage, particularly in practice.

And does anyone remember a certain receiver from a few years ago? He was 6'3" 205. Ran a 4.48 with a 38" vertical. Strong kid with a great attitude , and had back to back 1000 yard seasons in college in a major conference. But he dropped a few and Rodgers would not throw to him after that. J'Mon Moore.

I suspect Jeff's issue was route running. He was great at go routes as seen in that catch in the playoffs in AZ. But he probably struggled getting separation and route running and this is why he was cut and why he has yet to sign with another team.

[APB]

Yes, speed is great but a WR has to be able to get separation from DBs and run good routes. Jeff Janis as fast as hell but that was about all he had.

Actually Janis had quite a lot, IMO. He was big and strong and had decent YAC ability. The 1 thing he lacked was the hand-eye coordination to pluck the ball out of the air. It severely limited his catching radius and as a result Rodgers would not throw to him unless he had no other reasonable choice.

Regarding Fuchness, I would not be surprised if he makes the team as the 5th or 6th WR /4th TE. He should be able to play ST. But if he is going to get targets from AR, he had better reduce his drop percentage, particularly in practice.

And does anyone remember a certain receiver from a few years ago? He was 6'3" 205. Ran a 4.48 with a 38" vertical. Strong kid with a great attitude , and had back to back 1000 yard seasons in college in a major conference. But he dropped a few and Rodgers would not throw to him after that. J'Mon Moore.

I suspect Jeff's issue was route running. He was great at go routes as seen in that catch in the playoffs in AZ. But he probably struggled getting separation and route running and this is why he was cut and why he has yet to sign with another team.

Going beyond what you said, I think Janis was very poor at reading defenses and adjusting his routes accordingly, a staple of the McCarthy offense. Rodgers would expect one thing and Janis would do something completely different. Rodgers couldn't trust him to be where Rodgers thought he would be when releasing the pass. For that, I don't blame Rodgers for not looking his way beyond simple screen passes or GO routes.

[TheSkeptic]

Actually Janis had quite a lot, IMO. He was big and strong and had decent YAC ability. The 1 thing he lacked was the hand-eye coordination to pluck the ball out of the air. It severely limited his catching radius and as a result Rodgers would not throw to him unless he had no other reasonable choice.

Regarding Fuchness, I would not be surprised if he makes the team as the 5th or 6th WR /4th TE. He should be able to play ST. But if he is going to get targets from AR, he had better reduce his drop percentage, particularly in practice.

And does anyone remember a certain receiver from a few years ago? He was 6'3" 205. Ran a 4.48 with a 38" vertical. Strong kid with a great attitude , and had back to back 1000 yard seasons in college in a major conference. But he dropped a few and Rodgers would not throw to him after that. J'Mon Moore.

I suspect Jeff's issue was route running. He was great at go routes as seen in that catch in the playoffs in AZ. But he probably struggled getting separation and route running and this is why he was cut and why he has yet to sign with another team.

Going beyond what you said, I think Janis was very poor at reading defenses and adjusting his routes accordingly, a staple of the McCarthy offense. Rodgers would expect one thing and Janis would do something completely different. Rodgers couldn't trust him to be where Rodgers thought he would be when releasing the pass. For that, I don't blame Rodgers for not looking his way beyond simple screen passes or GO routes.

Yes, poor adjustments, poor rapport with Rodgers and so-so hands and catching radius. He probably should have converted to another position as a rookie. It did not help that MM gave him and the team no WR coach at all 1 year and !@#$ poor coaching in others.

I see that the system substitutes for crude language!

[Scott4Pack]

So I'm looking at this like we traded up from Allison to Funchess!

Better hands. Better wing span. Able to score. Maybe even blocks better. And more scheme-diverse too!
:-)

[Yoop]

with the simple act of signing his name Funchess will compete with the rest of the jags for the #2 or 3 receiver spot depending on the draft prospects readiness to take it, Guty didn't pick him up to ride pine like a #5 guy, as some forum members here think, why anyone would think that makes zero sense, he could have accomplished that by simply bringing in udfa after the draft.

and just because a player does well in college, yet fails at this level is most often NO ones fault but there own, all this talk of Rodgers failing a scrub like J Mon Moore, Janice, is no different then what happens with other teams and QB all across the league, and there are to many reasons to even bother to discuss, one thing for sure, blaming the QB is cart before the horse thinking.

when people complain because a QB expects precision route running and quality training habits in a era that breeds complacency and players lack those skills I applaud that QB, that is exactly how I want him to handle people like Janice, or years back with Finley, make sure they know you are not going to tolerate there lack of 100% effort, and those that can't cut it like Moore don't get to stay, thats just the way it is. and Rodgers gave everyone of them a fair shot, I for one think he's done a great job of weeding out the guys he doesn't feel like wasting precious practice time with, the problem here is that some people think scrubs like Moore, Janice and the other mariginal jags that have trotted through the receiver room actually belong here, please show a list of where all these jags are now.?

[Pckfn23]

Click to see the entire twitter thread, lots of video.

[YoHoChecko]

Wow, so he really is a slot/crosser/middle-of-the-field guy, huh? I hadn't realized his usage/effectiveness was so geared toward the middle.

So now we get to answer the question: does Aaron Rodgers not like throwing over the middle very much, or has he needed better targets over the middle?

[RingoCStarrQB]

Nah ......... I'd rather see Adams take a regular 80-something WR #. Like Freeman took Dowler's.........Adams can take McGee's or BEEEBEEEBEEE's

[BF004]

The guy just signed a 1 year deal for 10 million last year.

Bring him in, get him 10 TD', but then get a couple of promising rookies up and coming, let him walk for 10+ million again, take that 4th round comp pick.

[Yoop]

Wow, so he really is a slot/crosser/middle-of-the-field guy, huh? I hadn't realized his usage/effectiveness was so geared toward the middle.

So now we get to answer the question: does Aaron Rodgers not like throwing over the middle very much, or has he needed better targets over the middle?

haaa, click bait for one of my pet topics

I remember he liked to throw to Cobb a lot in the middle, also to a couple TE's, and we've see him throw to Adams on crossers quite a bit, so ya I think it does have something to do with whos doing the catching.

Funchess would seem to have the tools, just needs to use them better and eliminate the drops.

[TheSkeptic]

Easier said than done to eliminate the drops. If he doesn't, then he does not belong on the team, excessive drops are the 1 thing that cannot be tolerated in a WR or even in a TE.

[NCF]

First off, LOLZ... but then, I think this is the play where Funchess broke his collarbone.

[Yoop]

Easier said than done to eliminate the drops. If he doesn't, then he does not belong on the team, excessive drops are the 1 thing that cannot be tolerated in a WR or even in a TE.

depends, we tolerated it with Allison for 3 years, if ya don't have a replacement then ya tolerate it till ya do, simply signing the contract put Funchess in competition for the #2 receiver spot, again depending on whether a draft pick contends for it, or another can beat him out, Guty didn't buy this guy with the intention he compete for a roster spot, he brought him in to take Lazards job away from him, anyone that doesn't realize this is only fooling themselves, and lots of receivers go through drop issues, James Jones had the dropsey's one season, it's correctable.

[paco]

Funchess will wear #11.

[texas]

Wow, so he really is a slot/crosser/middle-of-the-field guy, huh? I hadn't realized his usage/effectiveness was so geared toward the middle.

So now we get to answer the question: does Aaron Rodgers not like throwing over the middle very much, or has he needed better targets over the middle?

This was my first thought after seeing that twitter post too. I think the answer is that Rodgers does not like it, but we'll see.

[salmar80]

Wow, so he really is a slot/crosser/middle-of-the-field guy, huh? I hadn't realized his usage/effectiveness was so geared toward the middle.

So now we get to answer the question: does Aaron Rodgers not like throwing over the middle very much, or has he needed better targets over the middle?

This was my first thought after seeing that twitter post too. I think the answer is that Rodgers does not like it, but we'll see.

Might be both, but AR sure isn't big on throwing over the middle, especially contested balls - compared with going to the sideline and deep balls, there's a higher chance of DL batting the ball, and if the WR bobbles it or pass glances off his hands, greater chance at an INT. Rodgers needs to trust the receiver going to that area.

[NCF]

Might be both, but AR sure isn't big on throwing over the middle, especially contested balls - compared with going to the sideline and deep balls, there's a higher chance of DL batting the ball, and if the WR bobbles it or pass glances off his hands, greater chance at an INT. Rodgers needs to trust the receiver going to that area.

Better play design will help, too. I was pretty disappointed how little of that LaFleur showed in Year 1. If you go back to his year in Tennessee, their offense was littered with creativity to open up the middle of the field.

[texas]

Wow, so he really is a slot/crosser/middle-of-the-field guy, huh? I hadn't realized his usage/effectiveness was so geared toward the middle.

So now we get to answer the question: does Aaron Rodgers not like throwing over the middle very much, or has he needed better targets over the middle?

This was my first thought after seeing that twitter post too. I think the answer is that Rodgers does not like it, but we'll see.

Might be both, but AR sure isn't big on throwing over the middle, especially contested balls - compared with going to the sideline and deep balls, there's a higher chance of DL batting the ball, and if the WR bobbles it or pass glances off his hands, greater chance at an INT. Rodgers needs to trust the receiver going to that area.

I just remember a comment MM made back when Favre was QB about how he had to design like a completely separate playbook for the backup QB (Rodgers) because Favre loved throwing over the middle but Rodgers likes throwing to the sideline. And that was when we quit being the YAC-ers (remember that term lol?)

[texas]

Might be both, but AR sure isn't big on throwing over the middle, especially contested balls - compared with going to the sideline and deep balls, there's a higher chance of DL batting the ball, and if the WR bobbles it or pass glances off his hands, greater chance at an INT. Rodgers needs to trust the receiver going to that area.

Better play design will help, too. I was pretty disappointed how little of that LaFleur showed in Year 1. If you go back to his year in Tennessee, their offense was littered with creativity to open up the middle of the field.

Yeah MLF was basically just MM 2011-2016

That being said, one thing I loved was how legitimately perturbed he seemed by our team's typical playoff meltdown. Under MM, playoff meltdowns were the norm so everyone kind of just expected it. Players weren't shocked, other coaches weren't shocked, fans certainly weren't shocked. MLF however was shocked and surprised that his team would do that. Idk, I really liked that. Even me, I sort of just accepted it. I was disappointed but more a "what are you gonna do" mentality, as I think most people affiliated with the Packers probably also thought. But MLF is not going to accept it. I like that.

[Yoop]

Might be both, but AR sure isn't big on throwing over the middle, especially contested balls - compared with going to the sideline and deep balls, there's a higher chance of DL batting the ball, and if the WR bobbles it or pass glances off his hands, greater chance at an INT. Rodgers needs to trust the receiver going to that area.

Better play design will help, too. I was pretty disappointed how little of that LaFleur showed in Year 1. If you go back to his year in Tennessee, their offense was littered with creativity to open up the middle of the field.

I thought most where designed well actually, there just weren't enough of them, when we went to up tempo, Rodgers looked on his game, the ball came out like a rocket, and even when he took a shot down field mixed in with the shorter quickies he looked very ol esq Airan, then imo we ran out of the short stuff, if ya do the same play to much, your gonna get burned.

there is only so much time to install a play book, and practice the plays enough to have any confidence that the players wont screw up, and a mistake with short passes can really bite ya, whatever we need more of em, imo Rodgers looked better at running those, specially with Adams, then anything else.

heck Allison kept a job for 2 extra years because of his chemistry with Rodgers on the slants