CheezWizHed

Do we run 3-4 or 4-3? (you can tell how much I've paid attention the last couple of years...) Just curious on whether "Edge" means OLB or DE.

I wanted no part of Trae. It would be a worse version of Dame-Giannis. Especially when we have young PG/SGs in KPJ and Rollins that are growing and developing. The biggest roster hole we have is at SF.

IMO, the 2025 draft was more about future potential than immediate help (like it or not). Golden was certainly ready to play day one, but I think he was drafted more to cover Watson's injury and losing Daubs next year. Belton was physically gifted, but still raw on technique (hand placement). But regardless, he worked his way into starting and has improved mightily through the season. Williams was another physically gifted, raw on routes and hands WR. Yet, he got quite a bit of gadget play and return duties... just didn't do anything with it and then got injured. Certainly will see more time next year. Sorrell probably could've seen more time this year and showed it last week. But with Parsons, Gary, LVN, and Enagbare ahead of you, that is a tall ladder to climb for a rookie. He will be Enagbare's (or Gary's?) replacement next year. Oliver wasn't going to play much when we drafted him due to his injury. With our injuries, he might get a few snaps in the playoffs, but another pick for next year's potential. Brinson - all 6th and 7th rounders are some level of development, but both he and Stackhouse have gotten significant time for this level of pick. Both were probably forced in before they were ready due to the Clark/Parsons trade, but he certainly didn't lack opportunity. Williams - I don't think they expected him to be out this long, but another pick that would've gone higher without his current injury status. And another "for next year" pick. Robinson - 7th round CB that needed a year on the PS, but was poached by a team with a terrible roster (Titans).

I can see Golden losing touches to Watson, Reed, and Daubs (maybe even Wicks), but losing them to Melton is a head scratcher. I tend to feel this is a "where there is smoke there is fire" situation... Early in the season with Reed and Watson injured, Golden was getting a lot of play, but very few balls thrown his way (even when wide open). Not sure if he wasn't running the right routes or gaining Love's trust? AJ Dillon was a bad example of the rookie issue IMO. He ended up a decent backup RB (eventually), but he wasn't nearly good enough to take reps away from Jones. Just giving him reps because he was a rookie and taking the rock from AJ is just bad coaching.

It certainly seems like "Prime" doesn't bring much benefit anymore...just rolling off people (like me) that never bother to cancel. I've seen lots of odd mail deliveries (USPS, UPS, FedEx) where it seems like things bounce from the midwest to the east coast and then back... I'm sure there is a reason, but it certainly seems odd.

For one it is way too early to predict it either way. Gute is a pretty good overall GM. Elliot has a nice turn-around in NE, but way too early to compare. Gute has had his incredible years and his so-so years. This is Elliot's second year as GM. In Gute's second year the Packers were 13-3 (thought you might've forgotten how quickly things turned around under his watch). I do know that if Elliot was the GM of the Packers, you'd be griping about him though. You having sour grapes is one constant in the universe. 🙄

I guess his time in Cleveland doesn't count then... Drafting Maye is about an easy of a decision as you could make. Give him a few years drafting in the 20s and then get back to this comparison.

Second verse, same as the first! A little bit louder, and a little bit worse!

If anyone cares, I favor the Packers... 😉

Historically, he has been poor at man coverage (even in his ProBowl years). Most of his coverage metrics this year put him right in line with Nixon and Valentine (but above Hobbs). Where I hope he can bring a spark would be on interceptions. Would love to see the Playoffs start with a Williams-Diggs pick 6!

TX times two plus Miami up in GB. Hopefully they are both late in the season. 😉 And Tampa in December....

This is the rubber match squared. Packers and Bears split both of their meetings this year and have split both of the previous times the two have meet in the playoffs. I'm not sure how many of you remember the 1941 game where the Bears beat the Packers, but I'm sure quite a few of you remember the 2010 win by the Packers that ultimately led to our 4th SB victory. The Packers team that comes into this game will be oddly different than the one that met the Bears just a couple of weeks ago. The Packers have made 30 player transactions since that game. Thankfully, Love was not one of those transactions and looks to be healthy coming into the playoffs. The bigger changes would be to DT where Jordan Riley (DL) and Quinton Bohanna (released) are replaced by Jonathan Ford (waiver from the Bears) and Stackhouse (depth chart). Given the poor play of the DT against the Bears, that might not be much of a factor. Losing Hobbs (DL) and Hadden (DL) while gaining Trevon Diggs (waiver from Cowboys) should really be an improvement based on metrics at least. Getting Oliver off the PUP provided an interesting wrinkle against the Vikings as he produced 4 pressures in his debut against the starting Viking OL. Losing FitzPatrick hurts our blocking and TE depth, but he wasn't much of an impact player in either regard. It means more Whyle (maybe a good thing?) and an opportunity for Drake Dabney off the PS. Losing Savion Williams, Welch, and Anderson all impact Special Teams more than anything else. JKJ looks up to the task of replacing Williams on ST and as a backup WR.

Sorrell and Oliver gave some glimmers of hope from this pre-season game. JKJ showed a little wiggle out there, and it will be interesting to see what he can develop into next year. Maybe next year's PR/KR + Bo Melton (the WR version) replacement? Tune is hard to judge much, except for his legs. He needs more blitz recognition/ability to change protections, but he was playing at a huge disadvantage with minimal starters against a Viking D that basically didn't care about anything deep. Monk seemed to be ok out there at center after Q1. There were so many overloaded blitzes, it was a bit hard to distinguish the OL mistakes from Tune's.

Agreed. Morgan looked fine. Tune clearly needs work on blitz pick-ups... especially against Flores. Here is hoping for a Flores HC job next year!

But what is the upside in Kuminga vs Kuzma? They look relatively even in stat contributions. Rumors are talking about Michael Porter Jr... that would get some attention.

I mean, we've been going that way anyway, right?

Ok, it matters because it is the Vikings - and especially since I live in MN (don't judge!). And surprisingly, the Vikings would have a winning record if they win this game. But is it at all realistic to simply hope for an injury-free game? Or at least just one player out for a season-ending injury instead of multiple?? The last couple of games have been more than brutal.

As others have said, I think Willis gets a shorter deal to be a starter - either to de-risk starting a rookie or for a team that is left out of the top rookie QBs. I think he ends up peaking as a great backup QB, but I don't doubt someone will give him a chance. It does seem like Williams and Bullard are outplaying him this year. He hasn't been bad, but hardly game-changing either. LVN has outplayed Gary nearly every game since he returned. Gary turned into a pumpkin without Parsons. Not sure I really want Enagbare back either; certainly not at starter money.

We knew that the worst part of trading Parsons was depth at DT: Wooden 4th Round Brooks 6th Round Brinson 6th Round Riley 7th Round Bohanna 6th Round Stackhouse UDFA Wooden has been pleasantly good. The rest... not so much. Brinson has some future potential, but looks every bit of a rookie 6th-rounder right now. Brooks is ok on pass rush, but hasn't really improved since a rookie.

Wills > Murray

Brooks actually gets a lot of offensive snaps, just not many carries. He is more of a FB to block for the RB or pass protection. He is solid, but it would be nice to have someone that is more upside. More of a lightning to Jacob's thunder.

Wyatt is under contract for next year. He got the rookie 5th year contract (unlike Q Walker). R Walker, Enagbare, and Doubs are the type of players you walk away from for the typical second contract. Quay Walker I'm torn on... Certainly worth the second contract, but not a Urlacher type that you build a defense around either. Plus, Cooper and Hopper are ascending replacements. The OL may have solidified, but that doesn't mean Rhyan is explicitly the reason. I don't think his performance has been much different than Jenkins at C. The whole line had a string of health and consistency, but that doesn't mean Rhyan is much more than a Myers contract at C. I'm sure the Packers will restructure the contract, but I don't see a "huge" paycut either. Jacobs does have an every-other year trend going, so next year is "up"! As for all of his 3 yd TDs, please refer back to the prior 15 years of Packer RBs and see how many of them were able to make a 3yd TD? Adams had a billion 3yd TD catches because we didn't have a reliable RB to get it in.

This. I can't see Campbell "laying down" for anyone... especially his old OC. Not that I think there is bad blood between the two, but Campbell is the type of coach to go for it on 4th down in a preseason game while he is up 40-3.

Your pessimism never ceases to amaze me. It is true that Jacobs has had a down year, but has still scored 14 TDs. That would be tied for 4th in the NFL. He needs 74 yards to break 1000 this year, which could easily be in reach despite his knee issues (he had 36 yards last week in limited carries - double that and he has 72 yards in two games). But you go ahead and complain about fringe stats like not having enough long runs. Given that he is far closer to being one of our key offensive players than some also-ran, he will be back next year; Perhaps on a tweaked contract, but he isn't being paid an outlandish amount either (i.e. $3M more than 2025 - $11.5M total).

I will say that our team - aside from Parsons - seems to lack a killer instinct. I see Bears and Lions players all fighting for fumbles, stripping balls, etc... They seem to play with more "edge". While there is a "dirty/cheap shot" side of that attitude that I'd rather not see, the Packers do seem to lack the ability to just step on a team and put them away. So many of our losses should've been easy wins where we relaxed, went too conservative, or simply didn't look like we wanted to win that badly. Maybe it's just not having the best players on the field or instinctual players? Whatever it is, the team needs to find a bit more "ganas"!