CheezWizHed

It's been a while since I've seen the movie or read the book (also very good), but I think you are correct. Vacationing might be interesting (I've been to Belarus and Ukraine), but I'd not be overly comfortable being that close to Russia for retirement. I'm at a 0.001% chance of retiring outside of the US, but Hungary and Argentina would be the first on the list.

Uhg... Chicago is 100x worse than MSP, especially if you are flying through it. I've gone MSP end to end in 10 min. Moving sidewalks and the tram make it easier to move around. I've walked 10-15 min through OHare without anything but a few bathrooms. CDG in Paris is my second airport to avoid. You can go through security multiple times going international to EU local flights, plus a 20 min bus ride. And the French attitudes... I've seen some international airports have rooms for smokers (similar to the potty rooms for dogs). Didn't even look like you needed to bring cigarettes... just walk in and inhale. 😲😂

Just to be clear, I was comparing Lloyd's impact in terms of "team improvement" from 2024. Lloyd might take snaps away from Wilson, but will he have a bigger impact than '24 Wilson did? I don't see Jacobs, Wilson, Lloyd, and Brooks putting up significantly more rushing yards than Jacobs, Wilson, and Brooks did last year. We don't plan to rush more times than we did last year and it would be challenging to be more efficient than last year (maybe Brooks, but he didn't have many rushes anyway). Lloyd might win more snaps, but Wilson was very efficient with his snaps last year so having a bigger impact will be a challenge. The passing game could be one where Lloyd has a bigger impact. We didn't have much of a check-down or RB screen production last year.

Honestly, I'd pass. He had his dominant moments with us, but would implode at very inopportune times. I honestly don't think he can handle pressure well.

Yeah, he was no slouch last year. I think he benefited from people backing off run D a bit when Jacobs left, but Wilson did a great job. I don't recall any cheap runs/games that padded his states either. Many people talk about how Lloyd will impact the team, but I don't think it is a gimmie that he gets a tone of backup reps. Catching the ball might be where Lloyd has the biggest differentiator from Jacobs, Wilson, and Brooks.

Interesting contrast. Most of the Men's transfers have gone to smaller programs - validating that we are playing and keeping the right players. Then the women's loses someone to one of the best programs out there.

I've decided to start believing the Jaire return whispers. If the Packers and JA were truly irreconcilable and the Packers haven't traded or cut him at this point, I'd assume he would be chirping away to the media to make it happen. It isn't the growing number of people whispering about it... it is his silence that gives me hope. Can't wait until our mandatory team activity as it would be nice to get a positive confirmation about it. A healthy and happy Jaire makes this defense much more formidable.

This was my expectation post-trade too. A few get-us-through-a-rough-patch starts and then start tweaking some things in the pitching lab while at AAA. We have both Woody and Civale getting close to return.

Well you walked into the nerd cave where I live. 😏 You are generalizing with probabilities, but that doesn't mean an offense is less streaky; meaning (to me at least) if you can consistently score runs from day to day. So not only scoring a lot of runs, but being able to do it vs LHP and RHP; vs flamethrowers and soft-tossers; vs All-Stars and AAAA pitchers... I think if you wanted to prove an offense was less streaky would be to show a distribution curve of the daily runs scored on a "small ball offense" vs an "elevation" offense to see which one has less daily variation. I'm going to guess that neither offense has an inherent advantage in being less streaky. I'll also postulate that the type of offense (elevation vs small ball) might even be a microcosm of the Moneyball concept (i.e. finding market advantages by going against the general trend). When elevation focus started, pitchers were pitching a certain "way" and elevation started crushing it. So everyone quickly adopted that focus. Then pitchers started altering their pitching methods and I think (not validated with numbers but just observation), the tide has turned a bit and neutralized the advantage a bit. Now the market seemed to swing a bit back towards steals and defense. And here we have the Brewers with a very unimpressive offensive squad, scoring 5th most (as of yesterday) runs in MLB and 6th in scoring last year.

But is offense really less streaky when comparing "launch angle" ball vs small ball? Maybe anecdotal evidence on my part, but when we had the big HR hitters, streakiness was still an issue. Often the complaint was we only had single HRs. Or just a bunch of Ks. I'm with @Playing Catch, if you are hitting the ball hard...good things will happen. Weak ground balls are as bad as weak fly balls. (Although a few of those weak ground balls scored runs last night...😂 We agree that we wouldn't want to live off those.)

Well, I hope we have a good scouting report on the guy... but of course LHPs have been our kryptonite.

It's funny. People were saying the same thing 15 years ago with the Braun and Fielder lineup that was predicated on winning with power. Offense was streaky and we couldn't string together runs. While I don't disagree with the GB issue, it is odd to complain about an offense that is tied for 5th in runs scored.

Yes, those last spots could be interesting. The LB squad got a bit more interesting without investing a ton in the draft. Year 2 of Cooper has me excited. I think he and the new DL coach might have the biggest net impact if our defense will improve. Cooper - Walker - McDuffie - starters are pretty set. I'm still hoping for Cooper at MLB and setting up the rest of the defense. Just let Walker play and not worry about everyone else. Hopper - last year was development for him and we didn't see him much. McDuffie's biggest threat for the starting position, but still a low possibility this year. Feel like he is a boom or bust type player. Oliver - probably your SAM development LB and dedicated pass rusher. Having Walker, Cooper, and Oliver as blitzers could make life very interesting. After those five locks, the rest are competing for likely one spot. Welch - might have the upper hand with familiarity, but we did cut him last year too. Simmons - ST might make the day. Athletic traits and not old, but on his third team and the likelihood of defense "clicking" is unlikely. JDJ - Sounds like some thought the UDFA was draftable. Probably the best prospect of the three to play on defense regularly. And while not a linebacker, Oladapo looked good in limited snaps at the end of last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see a bit more of him this year after a year in the system. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a light base formation, replacing McDuffie covering an RB or TE on obvious passing downs.

We sign Jamon Dumas-Johnson as an UDFA and everything says he is from Kentucky... but then you find out that he played there one year after transferring from Georgia.... That makes 3 defenders from this draft! Boy do we have a thing for Georgia players! Javon Bullard – Safety Devonte Wyatt – Defensive Tackle Quay Walker – Linebacker Trey Hill – Offensive Lineman John FitzPatrick – Tight End Mecole Hardman – Wide Receiver Warren Brinson - Defensive Tackle Nazir Stackhouse – Defensive Tackle Jamon Dumas-Johnson - Linebacker

Fixed that for you. Shaq remembers... I still love Giannis and love watching Giannis make plays... but I don't love watching Giannis play. He makes some really amazing plays and a lot of fun... but he can be very stagnant also and doesn't play well with the team; he and Dame especially looked awkward out there. More of two individuals playing BB. In Jordan's era, they probably win multiple championships. Ironically, I think Giannis and Porter played better together. I hope we keep Porter. Wait and see on Giannis I guess. I hear Thansis is available...

Remember that they waited until after the draft to sign him. Even Welch was signed before the draft. He signed with the NYG for $2M last year so this is most likely at a vet minimum deal. So I doubt the Packers really expect he will be playing much on D this year. His PFF special teams grade last year was 88.4 however... This is a Bisaccia birthday gift.

I was thinking more of a Wilson replacement - at least on ST. Then see what he can bring on defense as a bonus. Probably competing with Welch for the final LB spot.

I'll agree that Walker was the better athlete than either, but he wasn't the WR that either Jordy or Jennings exhibited... His hands, route tree, and ability to read the defense were all worse. Once he lost his speed due to injury, he was toast as a player because he couldn't do any of the rest well. Honestly, I think Walker and Watson have far more in common... though ironically Walker was healthier his first 3 years. A healthy Watson and a healthy Doubs slotted back into that Favre led team in 2004 probably produces similar results to Walker and DD.

I know I've mentioned the JJ or KROD analogy in the past for Devin, but... I'm thinking we just move on honestly. He didn't perform well in pressure situations (50/50?).

So your stance on ignoring "takes" lasted all of 1 hour! Nice job! 😂 I did read that article and thought it was funny how he was compared to two guys we wanted on the team (Sweat and Hendrickson) and one guy we already have (LVN). I guess we have a "type". Think what you like, but I clearly stated he was a good pick and not a bust. Sure, it was due to injury (and a bit of arrogance) that he only had one good year with the Packers, but so what? We draft for people to produce. One great season with the Packers and two ok, developing seasons make a "good" pick, IMO. Jordy Nelson was clearly a better WR. Greg Jennings was better too - depending on what you want to compare. Sorry if I insulted your son!

My first impression of hearing the news of Williams going to NYY was wondering if he'd manage the pressure. He was showing signs of struggling with us and doing that in the pressure cooker of NY just makes everything harder.

I'm not sure that "pin-up" photos are allowed in the forums... I hope he plays as well as he tests!

Good: Javon Walker: G GS Rec Yds Y/R TD 83 46 267 4011 15 31 Great: Jordy Nelson G GS Rec Yds Y/R TD 151 102 613 8587 14 72 Donald Driver: G GS Rec Yds Y/R TD 205 155 743 10137 13.6 61 I wasn't knocking Walker by saying he was "good"... not like I was saying he was a bust. He had one great season with us and one very good season with Denver, and that was it. He was good, not great.

Just to summarize my thoughts on the draft weekend. Like many others, this didn't go quite like I expected, but it is an interesting draft. I saw this draft a bit like a "moneyball" draft in that the Packers went after some unique talent, but the key will be how they use them. My favorite picks are Williams and Oliver. Both of these players have very high upside (and high risk) and will need to be utilized "correctly" to maximize their value. Williams is a raw WR and the "not a natural pass catcher" is concerning. But he has 10.25" hands 😲 so hopefully that is a matter of some training. He seems like a WR/TE hybrid player and hopefully a TD machine for us when we get inside the 10 yard line (a struggle for us last year - save for Jacobs). Oliver - I'm not sure what to make of him. He could be the classic tweener (too small for DE, not enough wiggle for LB), but if we put him in the right spots, he could be very interesting. He didn't get much chance to showcase his play at LB, so a development SAM in the 5th round with great pass rush skills is a good grab in the 5th. But I think if both of those players are squeezed into a traditional WR/LB mold from the beginning, their talents may be wasted. My dark horse candidate is Sorrel. Maybe a little lighter than our normal DEs, but seems like someone that could really outplay his draft status. I wasn't a fan of Golden (despite the perfect name) as a Packer, but I do think he was a good value at #23 and most of the players I wanted there were gone anyway. Certainly, fits a need, but I hope he doesn't mirror Reed's skills and deficiencies too much. Entering the draft, I thought our biggest needs were DT, WR, DE, CB, and OL (in that order), so let's look at where we stand: DT: We basically kicked this can down the road. We replaced Slaton with Brinson and Stackhouse (great FB name), but didn't do much for pass rush or future protection. Clark played better down the stretch (after his toe injury healed), so Clark and Wyatt aren't a terrible starting tandem. I was hoping we could upgrade our pass rush here, but we aren't horrible either. Man do we like Georgia defenders though... WR: Added Golden and Williams. Golden will contribute right away, but will have a lot of pressure on him as the first WR in the 1st round since 2002. Walker was good back then, but never great. Hopefully Golden will prove me wrong. I think Reed and Wicks will bounce back in their third year and I hope I'm wrong about Doub's injuries. Questions still abound with this group, but we added talent. DE: The DE room started out pretty stacked with bodies, but limited in production. Pass rush was the main concern here. As I mentioned above, Sorrel could be a steal, and I look forward to seeing him with pads on. It wouldn't surprise me to see LVN rush from inside a bit more on obvious passing downs while Cox and Oliver get some reps at DE. I do think that we will see a lot of Walker and Cooper doing some LB blitzes. If you have Gary, Wyatt, Clark/LVN, Oliver pinning their ears back with Cooper blitzing... that has to be scary to block. CB: I've thought that our current CBs of Nixon, Hobbes, Valentine, and Bullard (slot only) made a solid floor for our CB room. But depth was a major concern after those four and we don't have any strong "upside" candidates either. One 7th round CB (with minimal experience) and two UDFAs didn't really allay those fears. I still think we have a solid start, but if we have injuries we are in trouble. Perhaps bringing back Douglas as a backup might help. A training camp trade should also be considered. OL: We came in with a strong top 6 OL with a few development candidates. Now we added two college OTs that might swing to G. Walker, Banks, Jennings, Rhyan, Tom provides a floor for our OL that is (at worst) the same as last year (solid) with some upside to improve at center. A healthy Morgan and Belton should be competing at LT and RG for a starting position. Monk had a year to gain strength and Jennings gaining experience provide the C backup. With Telfort, Glover, and Williams being the development T/G players. So while I would've liked a bit more upside brought into the DT room, I think we got creative on providing some pass rush, shored up the WR team and still have major depth concerns at CB...

Well at least they found a little something in the second half there. Hopefully they can show that fire without needing GTJ's heroics each night. At least we are getting more out of Jr than we got out of Sr.