CheezWizHed

Either way, I think we all agree that the Vikings losing last week and the Bears losing this week was the best part of the season...

Wisconsin is up by 10 points at half, but Happ is struggling making bunnies (5-15). Update: Happ ended up around 40% on the night. Nate Reuvers had a nice night with 5 blocks.

Whew! I'm glad this wasn't an ill-advised cage match. No conflict needed. Turang starts at A ball SS and Howell at R+. If you are changing your prospects to fit your development system, you ara doing it wrong. Play your prospects at the highest defensive value position until they prove that they can't do it at the MLB level.

Ha! Bear's kicker has a double dose of Viking Kicker disease... double doinks (hits the upright and the crossbar) while attempting the game winning field goal against the Eagles.

My point wasn't if they could handle 6 interviews in 3 days (or 5 in 2 days), but whether they were taking enough time to actually delve into some details with each candidate. These aren't (or shouldn't be) a 1 hour interview. More like 4-5 hours to get to know them, their vision for the team and their style of working.

After teh Bucks leading early, Toronto clawed their way back in the 2nd and took the lead in the 3rd. The Bucks had a couple nasty cold streaks that allowed Toronto to build a nice lead. Then the Bucks would claw back close only to have another cold streak. Pretty even game overall that we unfortunately lost...

Are the Packers interviewing too many people? Sounds like they have interviewed 5 people on Friday and Saturday... I wonder if they are taking enough time to do a good job in the interview process.

And they dipped into the 3rd string and still nearly throttled them by 40 points.

Donte thinks we are the best team in the NBA so why not?

That would be great! But I fear this is a failure of grammar rather than Happ actually refusing to miss...

This is probably as good a year to win it all as any. LeBron..er LA is rebuilding. Boston and the Warriors have been "off" so far. Other teams have played well, but we have beat all the best teams, so its not like the record is a mirage.

Blast. I'm not used to being done with football so early in the season. NFL tags come in February... I thought I had read somewhere that they weren't going to tag him, but I double checked and it was only that they hadn't tagged him yet.

Jadeveon Clowney. Is he going too expensive to be worth it?

Nice to see Leuer still playing. He has made himself a nice career. I didn't think he would last this long.

Yes, this sums up my thoughts too. Pay "as is" price and at worst, you have an "as is" pitcher. At best, you have a "buy low" situation.

Nice writeup. Somehow I missed Redmond on the roster (both in my write-up and in any game). But there was so much churn at the end, I started paying attention less. Personally, I'd rather cut Perry and resign Matthews. If you can restructure Perry and resign Matthews to team friendly deals it wouldn't be the worst either. Draft and OLB and you could have Fackerall, Matthews (ILB), Martinez, and Perry across the front with the rookie OLB pushing out the weakest link. That is a pretty quick fix... I know we don't have traditional FS/SS combos, but I thought Brice was playing more in the box when Williams switched to safety? And I do agree that Spriggs improved this year, but don't think he is starter material. I think we keep Bulaga. My team needs (in order of priority) would be: OLB, S, G, TE, T. And as you said, a CB is always nice to get especially if you move Jackson to safety.

With Munchack, we could continue referring to him as "MM" also. Then we need to get Tim Tebow to be GM...

Its official. The Packers are now interested in all offensive and defensive coaches in all staffs except the Raiders, plus most of the college coaches from Div I, II and Whitewater...

Going to work on Wednesday(in Viking territory), should be interesting. Everyone was so positive that Cousins was the saviour. I reminded them that Keenam had an outstanding year last year and Cousins would be lucky to match it... Even before DeFillipo was fired, people were starting to grumble about Cousins...

Really puts the BC to shame. Which is a really, really low bar... that place was like a poorly lit warehouse. I fully expected an axe murderer to jump out at some point... But its nice to hear that FF is a great place to see a game. Hopefully I'll see one there at some point.

Yes, but quitting on the team is a pretty crucial knock on a player. HHCD pretty much did the same without actually leaving the field. Hard to have team unity with that attitude. Now, I think a big share of that falls to the coaching staff, but I think Gute's hands were tied and he made the most of a bad situation. I agree that CM was expensive, but how would we have replaced his production for less? Might have been nice to renegotiate him down a bit. But we were so thin at OLB, cutting Matthews would've made it far worse. And replacing him in FA very expensive. I suppose you could say that a shrewd trade with a team deep in OLB talent would've been better. And those kind of moves would give Gute an "A" for the season, IMO.

Thanks. Nothing like trying to look at a roster of 60+ people and make sure I got everyone... I agree. I'm hoping Burks makes that big step that Jones hasn't seem to been able to make. Burks was also the main reason that I'd move on from Morrison and Ryan (both solid run stopping MLB, but nothing special).

I will assume that we are going to have a pretty decent roster turn-over again this year, but we have plenty of legit SB – contender pieces. So, I’ll give Brian Gutekunst a hand and do my best arm-chair-GM evaluation. This is looking at who should be on the training camp 90-man roster, not the 2019-20 53-man roster. NOTE: I’m ignoring all practice squad guys as they raided it so badly that there isn’t much left there. That was clear from the fact that they are raiding other’s PS over promotion of guys from within. I’m sure some will survive until next year, but most at this point are roster fillers. QBs: Aaron Rodgers took an obvious step back this year, but I’m thinking it had more to do with a spat with MM than his capabilities. At 35, he has slowed a bit, but is still better than most in the league. Kizer wasn’t impressive when called into service. Boyle clearly has an NFL arm and I wouldn’t be surprised if he passed Kizer in training camp. Core: Rodgers Developing: Boyle Moving On: Kizer RB/FBs: Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams actually make a good tandem. Best pair of RBs that we have had in a while. After that there isn’t much of anything. Core: Jones, Williams Depth: None Moving On: Carson, Bibbs, Colemon, and Vitale (FA) WRs: Adams became a top 10 (5?) NFL WR this year and leads a large amount of talented, but raw rookie WRs. We really need one to become a legit #2. MVS, ESB and Kumerow all had their flashes this year, but was inconsistent. Moore would like to forget this season. But he reminds me A LOT of Adams and might take a year or two of development. Cobb and Davis just get injured too much lately. Core: Adams Depth: Allison (RFA) Developing: MVS, ESB, Kumerow and Moore Moving On: Cobb (FA), Lazard, Davis TEs: Some controversy on whether Graham should stay or go, but I think he gets a second chance. Kendrick will be a FA, but in his second year was actually fairly useful as a TE/FB role (nice to not waste a spot on a FB “just because”). I’d bring him back for a reasonable price. Tonyan is a nice size/speed player that is our only upside TE. Lewis was massively underutilized. But at 34 and a FA, I doubt he will be back. Core: None Depth: Graham and Kendrick (FA) Developing: Tonyan Moving On: Lewis (FA) OLs: Was GB’s OL good this year or not? There are some “extenuating circumstance” to the mass amount of sacks, but generally, I’d rank them in the middle. Bakhtiari and Linsley both deserved to be Pro Bowl players this year, while Bulaga and Taylor were solid. McCray, Patrick, Bell (FA) and Spriggs were OK but replaceable. I’m sure some will stay and some go. Hopefully Madison has resolved the personal matter and will be back. Core: Bakhtiari, Linsley, Bulaga and Taylor. Depth: McCray, Patrick, Bell (FA) and Spriggs Developing: Light and Madison Moving On: Siragusa, Pankey DLs: DL depth started as a strength of the year. They used all of it and more. And actually, found some decent backups in the process. Clark is the future of the line. Daniels is aging, but still a force. Wilkerson really didn’t get much chance to show anything but should be welcomed back. Lowry is a good backup. Adams has his moments and will get another chance. This was sort of his rookie year after injuries last year. Lancaster has been surprising in a late season promotion. Looney will get another look after a year of development. Core: Clark and Daniels Depth: Wilkerson (FA), Lowry, and Adams Developing: Lancaster and Looney: Moving On: Fadol Brown LBs: Martinez had a great year. He isn’t the next Nitschke, but can do a decent Nick Barnett. I’m actually a fan of bringing Matthews back at a reduced rate. He isn’t the defensive force he used to be, but is still worth having on a very thin LB front; possibly moving to ILB. Fackrell finally showed flashes, but disappeared for long stretches. Gilbert needs to harness pre-season and use it in regular season. He just didn’t make many plays this year despite quite a bit of playing time. Burks didn't get used much this year, but the athleticism is obvious. Here's hoping for a big second year jump. Donnerson is a diamond in the rough that might produce after development. Perry was injury prone and expensive. Ryan (FA) was useful, but we are probably moving on after injury. Morrison filled in well, but wasn’t anything special. Core: Martinez Depth: Matthews (FA), Fackrell, and Gilbert Developing: Burks, Donnerson and Crawford Moving On: Perry, Ryan (FA) and Morrison DBs: It was a rough year in the secondary, but coming into next year, the Packers will begin with a nice stable of young, fast CBs. A big change from previous years. Alexander had a wonderful rookie year and looks like a legit star in the making. King also looks impressive, but needs a better PT to keep him healthy. Breeland (FA) was a nice grab and would be best if we kept him around. I was ready to cut Tony Brown early due to idiotic penalties, but he really came around and looks like a player. Jackson had a typical rookie year and could develop into a starter material. House no longer has it. He is a FA and time to go. Conversely, the depth at safety is tissue paper thin. Greene looked interesting in limited action. Jones showed improvements this year, but probably won’t ever be the star we hoped for. Brice remains a starter by default, but I kind of wish we were moving on. He sticks around simply due to a lack of safeties. Williams filled in admirably and was a good locker room presence, but clearly is past his prime. Core: Alexander, King, and Breeland (FA) Depth: Brown, Jackson, Greene, and Brice (RFA) Developing: Jones, Jamerson Moving On: Williams, House (FA), Pleasant (FA), and Campbell (FA) STs: Crosby had one bad game and Viking fans start thinking he is going to get cut. But they don’t realize that he doesn’t have the Viking curse. I think poor snaps and holds had more impact on the misses than poor kicking ability. His kickoffs late in the season were getting short however. Scott looks good but not better than last year. But he will get better and punt next year. Bradley wasn’t the best option out of TC and had his share of poor snaps in the regular season. Hopefully another year gains consistency. Core: Crosby Developing: Scott and Bradley Moving On: None If the Packers follow that pattern, that would give them 40 roster spots to fill for training camp. 10 draft picks plus another 15 UDFA give them room to sign 15 FAs. The Bears signed 19 FAs last year (including their own), so a quick turnaround isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility either.

If you don't want to trade away talent, why do you want to cut it? Matthews was expensive, but actually had a good year. Yes, so did Alexander, Fackerall and Clark.

I'm going to disagree about Matthews. He was expensive, but he was also one of the few bright spots on defense. He stayed healthy and played hard all year. I'd actually advocate to resign him (at a reduced salary of course). Cobb and Graham were bad. I still think Jordy in the slot would've been better than Cobb. I debate whether Lewis was a bad sign or just limited usage. But regardless, he didn't help much. Kizer came in for dumping Randall. Garbage for garbage. They also signed Bell and Williams. Neither were world beaters, but helped the team. I'd give him a B overall.