General Packer News 2021

[Pckfn23]

I think the sample size is just too small.

[YoHoChecko]

I imagine that for "go time" in the playoffs, given the way things have gone on ST, they likely have spent all the ST portions of this two-week break inserting the best possible players, including starters and more full-timers into the ST rotation. I'd expect, particularly with Yiadom gone, to see some more familiar names in less familiar ST roles.

You only need to last 3 games; a few extra snaps per game shouldn't substantially increase injury risk. This is the time.

[Labrev]

*snip*

I would have preferred Moore returning punts

It's "go big or go home" now -- 'time for the long-awaited 'Tae Adams returns!

[BF004]

I’d put Cobb and Mark Prior back there.

[Backthepack4ever]

IT.IS.TIME. let's F'n GO

[Yoop]

*snip*

I would have preferred Moore returning punts

It's "go big or go home" now -- 'time for the long-awaited 'Tae Adams returns!

why would we put such a valuable offensive weapon like Adams returning kicks, just put someone back there with sure hands, we aint winning this game based on ST's returns.

[Labrev]

why would we put such a valuable offensive weapon like Adams returning kicks, just put someone back there with sure hands

... so, Adams.

[Yoop]

why would we put such a valuable offensive weapon like Adams returning kicks, just put someone back there with sure hands

... so, Adams.

oh, I got ya

[Pckfn23]

[Pckfn23]

What is so disappointing is that we know it is over. Regardless of what happens in the offseason, our run is done. We just don't have the resources to make a run in the next 1-2 years at least.

[texas]

Mood

[Scott4Pack]

Yeah, about Herman’s comment.

I keep likening this loss to the botched insides at Seattle. Oh, that hurt. And this one hurts just as much. We SHOULD have won. We played well enough to (barely) to win. And it’s like we quickly and suddenly gave it away.

[go pak go]

What is so disappointing is that we know it is over. Regardless of what happens in the offseason, our run is done. We just don't have the resources to make a run in the next 1-2 years at least.

Yup. I was looking forward to this offseason with a ring on our finger and preparing for the new era. I expected a few lul seasons but had hopes we could turn it around and at least be competitve.

Losing this way just makes it brutally painful. Our run is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rodgers retires. A gut punch loss like this would make anyone feel he can't do it. But selfishly I think it's best if we can get some resources for him.

I will however have incredible jealousy if he finds post season success on his new team next year.

[Yoop]

I think this is the best plan going forward, I brought the whole article because JS ON line has a pay wall, and wanted it available for all to read it, it's a bit long, but not boring, at least it wasn't to me.

Silverstein: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst should trade Aaron Rodgers in offseason to strengthen already stout defense

GREEN BAY - After watching his defense dominate the San Francisco 49ers for all but two drives in the team’s 13-10 divisional playoff loss, the blueprint for the Green Bay Packers’ future was written.

If general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t follow it, he’s making a big mistake.

There’s no chance the offense next season will be what it was in 2020, or even in a less-productive 2021, and so his plan this offseason should be to trade quarterback Aaron Rodgers and build his defense into a unit that can carry this franchise for years to come.

He can try to re-sign Davante Adams, but maybe he figures out a way to do a sign-and-trade using the franchise tag to force someone to fork over draft picks for him. After getting as many draft picks and players as he can for Rodgers — that bounty might have gone down after Rodgers’ cruddy performance Saturday night — he can build that defense into something special.

The Packers’ bloated salary cap in 2022 (more than $40 million over) will leave Gutekunst with little choice but to trade Rodgers, but he should forget about trying to replace him. There are other ways to get where he wants to go and playing really good defense is one of them.

Not too much should be made about shutting down a mediocre 49ers offense that features mediocre quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but the Packers’ defense did show it can rush the passer and cover, which are the two most important things a defense must do. And it played extremely hard.

"I thought our defense battled their ass off,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I thought they competed at the highest level.”

Against a team with arguably the best play caller in the game in 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the Packers defense held San Francisco to 58 yards in the first half. In the second half, it gave up two field-goal drives, the last starting with 3 minutes, 20 seconds to go and ending in Robbie Gould’s 45-yard game-winner.

It probably should have given up another touchdown, but wide-open tight end George Kittle dropped a well-thrown ball down the middle in the first half.

The Packers offense, with the presumptive MVP at quarterback, did almost nothing in the second half, unable to move the ball against a San Francisco defense that isn’t the unit it was two years ago but features some of the same impact players.

Still, it shut down Rodgers in the second half and won the game despite its own quarterback completing 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards with an interception (57.1 rating). As much credit as Shanahan gets for being an offensive genius, it’s been his defense that has led to deep playoff runs two of the last four years.

The Packers don’t need a Rodgers to be competitive every year. They have an offensive coach who runs the same system as Shanahan and was hired because his system is quarterback friendly and doesn’t necessarily require a superstar to run it.

LaFleur will still have a good offensive line and two good running backs. He’ll probably have to find someone to compete with Jordan Love, but if the resources are allocated to the defense, he can win right away.

The foundation of the defense is nose tackle Kenny Clark, outside linebacker Rashan Gary, inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, cornerback Jaire Alexander, cornerback Eric Stokes, cornerback Rasul Douglas and safety Adrian Amos. Put Za’Darius Smith in there if his back is no longer a problem and toss in Preston Smith if Gutekunst can afford him and it’s that much better.

Imagine what a front line of Gary, Clark, T.J. Slaton and Za’Darius Smith could form and then add the all-pro Campbell at inside linebacker, the three corners and Amos in the back end.

Now, think about what Gutekunst could do with, let’s say, two first-round picks, three second-round picks and maybe a promising young player or two that would come from the Rodgers/Adams deals. He would have the option of bundling picks for a big-time defensive lineman or using the picks to add a stud inside linebacker to team with Campbell, a safety to replace disappointing Darnell Savage and another pass rusher.


He’ll have to re-sign Campbell and Douglas, who are both free agents, but he could build this team in the mold of Tampa Bay or Buffalo or some of the New England teams where defense is the strength and the offense — for the time being — is just a complement.

And here’s the thing. The more you build a team with hard-hitting defensive players, the better you are on special teams.

Those players you draft most likely become key members of the special teams. Instead of having a lot of big receivers and tight ends trying to establish the tone, the special teams are made of linebackers, safeties and speedy corners.

And everybody knows how badly the Packers need to improve their special teams.

As bad as the feeling was after a season-ending loss, the defensive players had to be wondering what level they could have reached with the return of Alexander, Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus to the fold.

Smith had a sack on his first play from scrimmage and Alexander had receiver Deebo Samuel blanketed on a key third down late in the game that caused Garoppolo to hold the ball and get sacked. These are two guys who were hurt before the leaves were falling, so they were only going to get better with each game they played.

The defense sacked Garoppolo four times and picked him off once. It held the combination of Samuel and Elijah Mitchell to 92 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.4 average). The week before against Dallas, the two combined for 168 yards on 37 carries (4.5 average) and two touchdowns.


Maybe Tom Brady or Matthew Stafford would have produced more points and yards against the Packers, but Joe Barry’s unit played hard for him and with a couple more pieces could be better than its No. 9 rating in total yards and 14th rating in points.

“Yeah, 100%, I think we’ve got a lot of players coming back, a lot of good, building blocks, a lot of young guys that are building into leaders and are already leaders,” Clark said. “We definitely as a defense got a lot of stuff to look forward to just based off our talent, the young guys that we got this that's coming up.

“You know Eric Stokes played really well this year. Jaire, RG, myself, (Darnell) Savage, we’ve got a lot of guys that are young and growing into leaders. So, I’m excited about it.”

Gutekunst doesn’t have to start over if he trades his quarterback and best receiver. He has the makings of a very good defense and that can be enough to get to the playoffs, where 11-7 teams can come to town and knock off a 13-4 team with homefield advantage.

[paco]

Looks like Hackett is a finalist for the Broncos along with Dan Quinn and Kevin O'Connell.

[Pugger]

What is so disappointing is that we know it is over. Regardless of what happens in the offseason, our run is done. We just don't have the resources to make a run in the next 1-2 years at least.

Yup. I was looking forward to this offseason with a ring on our finger and preparing for the new era. I expected a few lul seasons but had hopes we could turn it around and at least be competitve.

Losing this way just makes it brutally painful. Our run is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rodgers retires. A gut punch loss like this would make anyone feel he can't do it. But selfishly I think it's best if we can get some resources for him.

I will however have incredible jealousy if he finds post season success on his new team next year.

I don't see Rodgers retiring. He knows he can still play at a high level. Unless he and other players restructure their contracts we cannot keep the core of this roster together. The cap IMO is why this run is over. The most likely scenario is we trade Rodgers for picks and see what we have in Love going forward. 2022 will be a challenging year but so was Rodgers' first year starting back in 2008.

[go pak go]

What is so disappointing is that we know it is over. Regardless of what happens in the offseason, our run is done. We just don't have the resources to make a run in the next 1-2 years at least.

Yup. I was looking forward to this offseason with a ring on our finger and preparing for the new era. I expected a few lul seasons but had hopes we could turn it around and at least be competitve.

Losing this way just makes it brutally painful. Our run is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rodgers retires. A gut punch loss like this would make anyone feel he can't do it. But selfishly I think it's best if we can get some resources for him.

I will however have incredible jealousy if he finds post season success on his new team next year.

I don't see Rodgers retiring. He knows he can still play at a high level. Unless he and other players restructure their contracts we cannot keep the core of this roster together. The cap IMO is why this run is over. The most likely scenario is we trade Rodgers for picks and see what we have in Love going forward. 2022 will be a challenging year but so was Rodgers' first year starting back in 2008.

Yeah that's what I've been saying in every one of my posts since last April.

The only reason I brought up retirement is because Rodgers has been bringing it up himself a lot more these days. Something he never uttered a year ago.

[Pugger]

I think this is the best plan going forward, I brought the whole article because JS ON line has a pay wall, and wanted it available for all to read it, it's a bit long, but not boring, at least it wasn't to me.

Silverstein: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst should trade Aaron Rodgers in offseason to strengthen already stout defense

GREEN BAY - After watching his defense dominate the San Francisco 49ers for all but two drives in the team’s 13-10 divisional playoff loss, the blueprint for the Green Bay Packers’ future was written.

If general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t follow it, he’s making a big mistake.

There’s no chance the offense next season will be what it was in 2020, or even in a less-productive 2021, and so his plan this offseason should be to trade quarterback Aaron Rodgers and build his defense into a unit that can carry this franchise for years to come.

He can try to re-sign Davante Adams, but maybe he figures out a way to do a sign-and-trade using the franchise tag to force someone to fork over draft picks for him. After getting as many draft picks and players as he can for Rodgers — that bounty might have gone down after Rodgers’ cruddy performance Saturday night — he can build that defense into something special.

The Packers’ bloated salary cap in 2022 (more than $40 million over) will leave Gutekunst with little choice but to trade Rodgers, but he should forget about trying to replace him. There are other ways to get where he wants to go and playing really good defense is one of them.

Not too much should be made about shutting down a mediocre 49ers offense that features mediocre quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but the Packers’ defense did show it can rush the passer and cover, which are the two most important things a defense must do. And it played extremely hard.

"I thought our defense battled their ass off,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I thought they competed at the highest level.”

Against a team with arguably the best play caller in the game in 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the Packers defense held San Francisco to 58 yards in the first half. In the second half, it gave up two field-goal drives, the last starting with 3 minutes, 20 seconds to go and ending in Robbie Gould’s 45-yard game-winner.

It probably should have given up another touchdown, but wide-open tight end George Kittle dropped a well-thrown ball down the middle in the first half.

The Packers offense, with the presumptive MVP at quarterback, did almost nothing in the second half, unable to move the ball against a San Francisco defense that isn’t the unit it was two years ago but features some of the same impact players.

Still, it shut down Rodgers in the second half and won the game despite its own quarterback completing 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards with an interception (57.1 rating). As much credit as Shanahan gets for being an offensive genius, it’s been his defense that has led to deep playoff runs two of the last four years.

The Packers don’t need a Rodgers to be competitive every year. They have an offensive coach who runs the same system as Shanahan and was hired because his system is quarterback friendly and doesn’t necessarily require a superstar to run it.

LaFleur will still have a good offensive line and two good running backs. He’ll probably have to find someone to compete with Jordan Love, but if the resources are allocated to the defense, he can win right away.

The foundation of the defense is nose tackle Kenny Clark, outside linebacker Rashan Gary, inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, cornerback Jaire Alexander, cornerback Eric Stokes, cornerback Rasul Douglas and safety Adrian Amos. Put Za’Darius Smith in there if his back is no longer a problem and toss in Preston Smith if Gutekunst can afford him and it’s that much better.

Imagine what a front line of Gary, Clark, T.J. Slaton and Za’Darius Smith could form and then add the all-pro Campbell at inside linebacker, the three corners and Amos in the back end.

Now, think about what Gutekunst could do with, let’s say, two first-round picks, three second-round picks and maybe a promising young player or two that would come from the Rodgers/Adams deals. He would have the option of bundling picks for a big-time defensive lineman or using the picks to add a stud inside linebacker to team with Campbell, a safety to replace disappointing Darnell Savage and another pass rusher.


He’ll have to re-sign Campbell and Douglas, who are both free agents, but he could build this team in the mold of Tampa Bay or Buffalo or some of the New England teams where defense is the strength and the offense — for the time being — is just a complement.

And here’s the thing. The more you build a team with hard-hitting defensive players, the better you are on special teams.

Those players you draft most likely become key members of the special teams. Instead of having a lot of big receivers and tight ends trying to establish the tone, the special teams are made of linebackers, safeties and speedy corners.

And everybody knows how badly the Packers need to improve their special teams.

As bad as the feeling was after a season-ending loss, the defensive players had to be wondering what level they could have reached with the return of Alexander, Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus to the fold.

Smith had a sack on his first play from scrimmage and Alexander had receiver Deebo Samuel blanketed on a key third down late in the game that caused Garoppolo to hold the ball and get sacked. These are two guys who were hurt before the leaves were falling, so they were only going to get better with each game they played.

The defense sacked Garoppolo four times and picked him off once. It held the combination of Samuel and Elijah Mitchell to 92 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.4 average). The week before against Dallas, the two combined for 168 yards on 37 carries (4.5 average) and two touchdowns.


Maybe Tom Brady or Matthew Stafford would have produced more points and yards against the Packers, but Joe Barry’s unit played hard for him and with a couple more pieces could be better than its No. 9 rating in total yards and 14th rating in points.

“Yeah, 100%, I think we’ve got a lot of players coming back, a lot of good, building blocks, a lot of young guys that are building into leaders and are already leaders,” Clark said. “We definitely as a defense got a lot of stuff to look forward to just based off our talent, the young guys that we got this that's coming up.

“You know Eric Stokes played really well this year. Jaire, RG, myself, (Darnell) Savage, we’ve got a lot of guys that are young and growing into leaders. So, I’m excited about it.”

Gutekunst doesn’t have to start over if he trades his quarterback and best receiver. He has the makings of a very good defense and that can be enough to get to the playoffs, where 11-7 teams can come to town and knock off a 13-4 team with homefield advantage.

Thanks for posting this Yoop. This makes the most sense. Doing all of this and Gute drafting Adams' replacement Love might be good enough with a good D and ST behind him. 2022 might be challenging but 2023 and beyond going this route might be a recipe for success.

[TheSkeptic]

Yup. I was looking forward to this offseason with a ring on our finger and preparing for the new era. I expected a few lul seasons but had hopes we could turn it around and at least be competitve.

Losing this way just makes it brutally painful. Our run is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rodgers retires. A gut punch loss like this would make anyone feel he can't do it. But selfishly I think it's best if we can get some resources for him.

I will however have incredible jealousy if he finds post season success on his new team next year.

I don't see Rodgers retiring. He knows he can still play at a high level. Unless he and other players restructure their contracts we cannot keep the core of this roster together. The cap IMO is why this run is over. The most likely scenario is we trade Rodgers for picks and see what we have in Love going forward. 2022 will be a challenging year but so was Rodgers' first year starting back in 2008.

Yeah that's what I've been saying in every one of my posts since last April.

The only reason I brought up retirement is because Rodgers has been bringing it up himself a lot more these days. Something he never uttered a year ago.

Now the talk is already about Brady retiring too. And frankly he looks like he is 34 while Rodgers looks like he is 44. Father time wins every time.

[Pugger]

Yup. I was looking forward to this offseason with a ring on our finger and preparing for the new era. I expected a few lul seasons but had hopes we could turn it around and at least be competitve.

Losing this way just makes it brutally painful. Our run is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rodgers retires. A gut punch loss like this would make anyone feel he can't do it. But selfishly I think it's best if we can get some resources for him.

I will however have incredible jealousy if he finds post season success on his new team next year.

I don't see Rodgers retiring. He knows he can still play at a high level. Unless he and other players restructure their contracts we cannot keep the core of this roster together. The cap IMO is why this run is over. The most likely scenario is we trade Rodgers for picks and see what we have in Love going forward. 2022 will be a challenging year but so was Rodgers' first year starting back in 2008.

Yeah that's what I've been saying in every one of my posts since last April.

The only reason I brought up retirement is because Rodgers has been bringing it up himself a lot more these days. Something he never uttered a year ago.

Maybe because he fears Gute will trade him to a team like the Jets, Texans or NYG for picks.