Fear The Chorizo

Raimann is the type of player that can rocket up draft boards late in the game, and then wind up either becoming a great player or bust depending on what type of coaching he receives and whether his mentality/commitment to get better allows him to realize the potential his physical tools project. Would I be happy to see the Packers draft him late in Round 1 or Round 2? Sure - but I'm guessing there are lineman with a similar athletic profile needing a bit more development that aren't getting as much helium who could be mined out in the middle rounds should the Packers place a higher value on players at other positions to pick in rounds 1 and 2 in this year's draft. Regarding O-line draft prospects, one good way to get quality talent in the middle rounds is if you have scouts that can identify toolsy players who don't have the established on-field pedigree or game tape to prove they are going to be quality NFL players. Bakhtiari was a perfect example of that, as he was a 4th round pick that scouts viewed more as a development project who probably came out 1 year early.

It's not just the leg kick, and it's not just the hands - it's the entire load mechanism and how he needed to get back in sync. Hiura's hand speed with his swing is elite, so much so that the leg kick and other pre load items likely got built into his swing in the first place as a way to hold his hands back to keep them from getting in front of his lower half - it's why when Hiura is going good he is driving fastballs up the middle - right center. Last season he just seemed completely out of whack - his leg kick was so pronounced that he wasn't getting his front foot down early enough to even start swinging to catch up to velocity, and his hands weren't in the right spot to just fire at the ball when his lower half was starting to swing. Being out of sync against MLB pitching just doesn't work - with Hiura's hand speed it probably doesn't require a huge change to how his swing looks to get back to being a really good hitter, just simplifying things a bit to reduce the moving parts. I think Hiura will always have some issues with high velocity up in the zone - most hitters do. However, simplifying his load mechanism even slight bit should give him the opportunity to cut that huge hole in his swing almost all pitchers exploited the last couple seasons down to something where he's going to be able to hit velo much more frequently.

With a 26 man roster and DH in the NL, Hiura has to make the opening day roster at this point. The only way we will know if he's adjusted and bounced back at the mlb level is to see how he performs against mlb pitching in regular season games. He would get enough ABs as a platoon DH/1b/ph role to justify that roster spot, and if he's anything like he was in 2019 at the plate the bat will play.

Winfree is still on the Packers' roster, correct? Not that he would be a starter next year, but he would be good depth to slide in behind another vet FA WR addition and a couple early round draft picks at that position. He has showed some flashes in preseason and got time at the WR2 spot at times last year when they were fighting injuries and covid absences

Reed is rated as a better pass rusher than run defender - however it should be noted that he's largely played in 4-3 defensive schemes as a DT, and his size likely slides just fine to starting DE position in a 3-4. He's got some disruptiveness off the line that could pair well next to Kenny Clark.

The tournament should adopt a new rule that if by the under 8 minute TV timeout neither team has eclipsed 50 points, they both get eliminated and the team opposite them in the next round gets a forfeit win so they don't have to suffer playing against such horrible offense. I get that there is some really terrible officiating across the whole tournament...but shoot the damn ball!

Kind of sickening to know that Watson's contract is scheduled to have a base salary of $1M - that means if he gets suspended, the withheld salary comes from that amount. What's the over/under on percentage of Watson's signing bonus that goes to Rusty Hardin and settlement for the 22 civil suits brought against him? Houston gets railed on alot for being a disfunctional organization - but they made out like river bandits in this deal considering the circumstances...

So does this mean whatever independent league team claims him winds up winning the Yelich trade?

MVS is 27, so figuratively in the midst of his football prime as a wideout - system familiarity is also a plus, as was his production improvement when he was able to stay on the field last season. Nagging injuries are the big red flag on him, obviously. If they can get him on a cap-friendly multi year deal to solidify depth with organizational experience, I'd say it's a good move and it shouldn't prohibit them from taking at least one more swing at a better receiver plus draft that position high this year as well.

Even in 2019 when Keston was hitting really well, Hiura struggled with velocity up in the zone - there were games he'd K two straight ABs on a steady diet of fastballs, and then would homer or hit a rope somewhere in his 3rd AB after a pitcher inexplicably gave him a hittable off speed pitch. The big leg kick seemed to give Hiura problems catching up to velocity - something he hadn't had to address much raking through college and even up into MLB because there just aren't enough guys throwing mid 90s with command at those lower levels. It's just a split second adjustment he would need to make in order to hit higher velo because his handspeed is elite - but he's spent the past two seasons struggling to make that adjustment. I really hope the adjustment to his stance/loading mechanism corrects the issue - it's up to him to prove the scouting report of just pounding mid-high strike zone fastballs wrong by doing damage with those pitches, otherwise he won't be able to realize his potential as an elite offensive player in the majors.

Sounds like GB has already talked with MVS' agent about being a little patient until they can offer him a contract following the Adams trade - sounded like they were looking for a 1 year, $7-10 million dollar type contract, but wonder if he'd be good with a little less per season on a multi-year (2-3 years) commitment to stay in GB. Then bring in someone like Landry or Ju Ju, and draft another WR early to pair with Lazard and Amari Rodgers, and the WR group doesn't look nearly as thin or expensive as it would have just 1 day ago with Adams still on the roster.

It's not typical for a team routinely at the top of the league standings to hold 4 top-60 picks (or 8 in the top 175, 11 total)....Once the dust settles on their initial free agency run that probably adds to WR and other positions of need currently on the roster, I'd be hoping Gute holds those top 60 picks to get 4 bites of the apple in the first two rounds. I'd be fine with them using some of the other 6 picks they have in the mid-late rounds to move up if a guy they covet slips a bit, but when the dust settles on this year's draft I'm hoping the Packers picked 4+ players in the top 60.

I'd be ok with resigning Tonyan, but the issue becomes how soon he can get back on the field with that knee injury - might look hard at signing Hooper, who was recently designated as a post June 1 cut by the Browns....and wouldn't mind Tretter at guard, either now that there's a bit more cap space to work with. Imagine an extended Jaire would free up more room as well. Interesting to see how they bolster the receiving corps with quite a few solid options that appear to be there for the taking.

I guess my thought would be that MVS shouldn't cost too much exactly because of his injury history - however if there is a team willing to give him a longterm deal then I'd agree he isn't worth the expense compared to plugging the WR spots with other veterans on more modest deals and drafting that position early in this season's draft.

Use those extra picks on players, not on positioning to move up. Doing so also frees up a bit more cap space this year to go get veteran receiver talent on shorter term deals without further screwing their cap situation up 2-3 years out.

Will miss the onfield chemistry Rodgers and Adams had, no doubt....however at times I think it got leaned on too heavily and took away from other aspects/options of the offense. I also won't miss paying a mid 30's receiver almost $30M a season on top of paying a 40ish yr old QB over $45M a season a couple years from now had they signed Adams to this type of contract. WRs like Landry, Golladay, JuJu, even Julio Jones interest me, plus using one of those top 60 draft picks on another WR seems like a good bet. Honestly wouldn't mind kicking the tires on resigning MVS for system familiarity, too.

Same was said of the Brewers-Yelich trade....still waiting for all that impact talent to bring the Marlins to the top of the NL East. Initial reports on the prospect package headed to Oakland from the Braves is they all have some warts - talented but no sure-fire MLB-ready impact talent. Pache probably headlines the deal and he can sure go get it in the OF...but he likely can't hit well enough to win any gold gloves. Pitchers are always wild cards - particularly prospects from the Braves' system.

Freeman is 32 - Matt Olson is 27. Matt Olson was over a full win better than Freeman in terms of WAR last season. Freeman's 6 year contract pays him until he is 38 at an average of $27M per year. Olson's 8 year contract pays him until he's 35 at $21M per year on average. The Braves reportedly offered Freeman a 5 year deal for $135M that he turned down last offseason - they were more age averse to paying Freddy for 6 more seasons than the Dodgers at the exact same annual pricetag, apparently. Take the names out of it and how long we've known them to be good players - it was a good move for Atlanta replacing Freeman with Olson, both from a production and longterm payroll perspective.

Adames' injury last August that basically led to a missed month and uneven playing time headed into the postseason really hurt the look of the Brewers' offense down the stretch - particularly against LHP. It's not like they were putrid offensively all of 2021 while finding a way to win mid 90's games despite coasting most of September - they had a good enough offensive roster that seemingly ran out of gas due to a mix of injuries and ill-timed slumps. Getting Adames back everyday towards the top of the order with what I'm hoping is a rebound-type season from Yelich and the addition of Renfroe would make the middle of their lineup look pretty darn good against lefties compared to the last couple seasons. I think there's one more big move to be made offensively, but it also wouldn't surprise me to see them roll with who they have into the regular season and then fill roster holes at the trade deadline. As others have mentioned, the NL Central is looking mighty gettable for the Brewers - and the expanded playoff field gives them even more confidence.

My question is why can't they have two designated kids play areas - one at field level and one in the upper terrace - for a stadium that can hold 40K+ people? There's already several hundred places within the park to get an overpriced beer.

I'm thinking an Amos contract restructure and Cobb cut winds up happening today to get them under the cap, then it would be great to get a new Adams deal and Jaire extension done in short order afterwards to free up some cap space to add a FA or two. I also think some of those designated June 1 cuts will be announced soon - guys like Crosby, Lowry, Cobb (if he isn't cut today) would be likely candidates. Rumor has it the Packers' latest contract offer to Adams got them much closer to that deal getting done - perhaps that gets inked right before the deadline to get them just under the cap with no more cuts, then any other releases they need to make to play in free agency would save them a bit more cap space by designating them as June 1 transactions.

It will essentially boil down to whether Gute (assuming he's still GM a couple seasons from now) makes the right decision on who the heir apparent to Rodgers is at quarterback that can be their starter on his rookie deal while they navigate through the couple years of dead cap $$ structured into this Rodgers extension for 2025 and 2026. There's a really good chance the Packers are in for a 'blow it all up' type roster year 3 seasons from now in 2024 - that seems to be the year when all the recent cap gymnastics runs out of room to continue from both a dollars sense and fact that the veterans under these contracts will be far too long in the tooth to justify keeping around. Big yearly increases in the cap limit would also really help smooth future bumps in the road to manage the cap, yet another reason to pull for no new pandemics and plenty of NFL revenue. If they win a title in 2022 or 2023, this is all worth it - how the team looks in years 2024-2026 (continued playoff contender or instant doormat) will depend largely on finding good players in the next couple drafts. Love still has a role on this team, but assuming Rodgers plans to play through the 2024 season, Love will be traded next offseason for draft picks because he's going to get too expensive to be a backup quarterback in 2024, and the Packers would need to decide whether to exercise Love's 5th yr rookie contract option by May 2023. The 2022 season is year 3 for Love (It wasn't until year 3 of Rodgers' career when he started looking competent behind center in the NFL), so if he's good enough to be an NFL starter this would be the year Love would actually show it in preseason to garner trade interest from other teams looking for a new starter before the Packers will be set to move on from Rodgers - have to remember he's still basically the same age as what this year's crop of rookie QBs will be. The other possibility would be to assess whether Rodgers plans to play in 2024 or retire in two offseasons - if he'd retire, Love could be the starter playing on his 5th year rookie contract option on what could be a cap dumpster fire of a roster.

This could also mean Crosby could get cut post June 1 and give the Packers a bigger cap savings, I think - would be helpful for signing draft picks

Rodgers was severely underpaid in his 1st team-friendly contract extension, and he's more than made up for it in his pocketbook with the last 3 contracts he's signed. Ironic that the one Super Bowl victory he has on his resume happened in the midst of that 1st 6 yr, $64M extension, though. Every player, besides Tom Brady, wants to enjoy milking every penny they can as a player. Aaron Rodgers is one of the few that have actually realized that aspiration. I don't think he actually wants to be perceived as a guy playing on team-friendly contracts or even cares what fans/detractors think about him - that supposed perception is based on fans and non-front office people sweating what yearly salary cap accounting looks like way more than players do.

Dude just won back to back MVPs of the league and his new contract reduces his 2022 cap hit by almost $20M - of course he's going to get paid in actual dollars, not salary cap accounting gimmickery, as much as possible at the end of his career, but he did so by inking a new contract that pays him market value while having it structured in such a way that the roster can remain a contender. If people thought he was going to sign an extension for $15-$25M in actual dollars/season they just aren't ever going to be happy - that's fine to feel that way, it's just not being realistic. For all the comparisons to Brady and/or Favre...at least Rodgers hasn't already retired once or twice in his career before resuming playing. He could have easily opted to do the same thing Brady did this offseason or Favre did at the end of his road in Green Bay, which would have likely forced his way out of Packerland and led to a cluster of an offseason.