BrewerFan

I think he costs substantially more than a lottery ticket. That's among the reasons I wouldn't do it, but...he's a proven hitter. Hasn't proven he can stay healthy and he's a butcher in the field, not great on the bases...but he can hit and hit for power. I'd guess you'd be looking at a prospect like Black at least.

Watch your mouth... Seriously though, there are a bunch of really good OTs. I just got fixated on Alt because he just seems like a robot out there. But that Fashanu is still the higher rated OT by most. There are 10 OTs(I'd guess) who'll start next year and maybe more. The Jets certainly seem like the team that's more likely. Really wish we'd have held out for that 1st, but hindsight is easy that way and the deal we got was good for a 40 yr old QB we had to trade. I'm kinda torn about rooting for Rodgers at this point. All of his hemming and hawing, "I was 90% retired," and then the claims that HE chose the Jets when it was obvious we started talking to the Jets and then he just signed on, now he loves them, and wants to play several years there. I'll love him again like I did with Favre(and then possibly dislike him again if he defrauds the poorest state's safety net for its poorest citizens) but I might be rooting for Brock Bowers to fall to the Jets. Just an incredible talent they can't pass up!

Yup, that was just an issue of scapegoating a guy. I think it was probably worth a try as sometimes a QB can bring new energy, but the problem is I would guess generally, those QBs would be mobile QBs who can keep drives going with their feet. Especially behind an OL like the Jets who are without Becton and AGAIN Vera Tucker and I don't know if Brown even played today. McGovern was also a starter I believe, he's now out. Good luck to Rodgers if he does try coming back...I'd guess they're out of it by the time that's realistic, or at best it's like the year he came back for the Panthers game, but...it ain't gonna matter.

Yeah...because it's really stupid to make these absolute statements. I think he's going to get fired. I think there's enough talent for this defense to be elite. I think two games where he's completely changed his entire scheme doesn't change his overall body of work and I don't see how MLF and Barry's fates are tied together. That seems silly to me. But there are 6 games left. If he keeps coming with these different looks...I guess he might stick around. It'd be a WHOLE lot better if he was also disguising coverages a little bit. Show man with the 6 man fronts and then drop into zone, otherwise teams are going to just run those little crossing routes and digs and again nickel and dime us to death, but as of right now, we've seen Barry's defense(which we've invested 8 first-round, picks and significant money in) have a couple of good games after a season of mediocrity and him hang on only to see the same flaws bubble back up. Lets keep in mind Murphy and his influence is leaving. That's impacted the Rizzi non-hire, keeping Pettine, giving Drayton the job...football decisions that are supposed to(or at least HAVE always been strictly under Gutey's purview with the Football and Business side separated). That, the fact that Barry wasn't his first coach. That MLF has earned a helluva lot more credibility than Barry. To categorically state he is NOT getting fired unless MLF is? I don't know how you possibly come to that conclusion.

LOL...I don't care... Yes! I am also very curious about the Packers record when Mercury is in retrograde and how/why that impacts their performance!

Ahh...so we're saying all this Astrology stuff is legit? Imma have to start checking out my profile more!

What a wild game. If you'd have told me we held Hutchinson down(I don't know that he did anything of substance) or that we'd protected the QB so well, JOE BARRY would come back out with such a great game plan AGAIN(two in two weeks) I wouldn't have believed you. I'm mourning the loss of Joe Alt(or at least the cost to move up to draft him)...but damn, it's sure nice to see Love throwing dimes AND still have some room for improvement. Not many, but a few missed plays like that first big play to Watson he didn't put it out in front of him enough, a couple of balls, but overall, just a really nice performance. Throwing the ball on early downs and keeping the Lions off balance and then just again, Joe Barry with those different fronts...lining Quay up on the LOS so often and having 5, 6 guys up there, some bailing out. The one play you had 4 guys coming off the left side and Gary dropping in coverage(which resulted in both pressure and an incomplete pass). I'd almost rather pull my own teeth than give Barry praise, but gotta give credit where credit is due!

This is the only answer. There's no rush to do anything other than give Chourio a 10 year extension, but since this isn't about him, just let 'em all play. I thought Taylor had no chance to be an MLB regular and he's been a pretty damn nice player for us, especially later in the year last year. He's had some rough starts and what not, but Wiemer should at LEAST be a guy who plays elite defense, hits for a lot of power and maybe he struggles to hit .225 and maintain an OBP over .300. That's still not a terrible case scenario for a guy who'll again, likely hit for power and could probably win a GG in RF and possibly in CF.

Just read up on the guys ranked ~20-30. Then when we announce we signed 2-3 of them, you'll be ahead of the curve... But seriously, I thought we were really early on one guy. A SS, Diego...something? I might be a year early, but I thought someone posted on here that we'd agreed to a deal with a kid who was either 14 or just turned 15.

Yeah, for a guy 4 years away from being a FA, that's a pretty reasonable number. Obviously, not everyone accepts the deal, but 80M GTD at a position that takes quite a toll on one's health? That seems pretty accurate. We also have one of the elite catching prospects in the game in AA. So the extension serves two purposes in my mind. You can keep both, DH William more often, have them each play ~130 games(especially if Quero continues to hit well). OR...while it's premature now, locking Contreras up makes him more appealing in a trade if he keeps hitting.

It could be even worse than that. Could be a lacerated liver, kidney and internal bleeding. I want tough guys on the team, but if it's head, neck, or something in your chest/stomach(organs)...get that checked out. You wanna play through a broken hand, a dislocated shoulder that you come back from early, a sprained ankle, cool. But nobody wants to see 23-year-old kids suffering injuries to their internal organs or repeated concussions for entertainment.

Ok...I'll hold your hand as we walk you through this. And WHO did they play in the WS? Was it the team that was compared to the '27 Yankees? The powerhouse Dodgers? Or was it the team that won 84 games, swept the Dodgers and finished ONE spot ahead of the Brewers and their..."dumpster" lineup in runs scored?

Sounds like it's pretty bad. And people were questioning his toughness as he's missed some time this year(I thought mostly due to head injuries which is not really something he can prevent). But definitely scary. https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/11/21/packers-te-luke-musgrave-hospitalized-with-significant-abdomen-injury/

He did do that, but he also went back to different-looking fronts. We had one where you had 4 linemen with their hand in the dirt(IIRC it was Clark, Brooks, Wyatt, Van Ness), and then Gary standing up, Quay outside of him and they got almost immediate pressure. It looked SO similar to what the Chiefs were doing last night(what they always do) that forces the OL to identify who they're going to block and gives Clark or Wyatt or Gary a 1 on 1, it was a HUGE jump from Barry. I still hope they get rid of him because I just don't think he's got the guts to do that consistently and he wants to play it conservative ala Vic Fangio, sit back in coverage and we have too much talent to play like that. What's the point of Alexander and Stokes and now Valentine who everyone has raved about since camp, these guys who thrive in man coverage and then these pass rushers who can win 1 on 1 if you're going to try and play it like we did with Ed Donatell with limited athleticism and then Sharper on the backend who took a lot of chances and rely on getting turnovers.

What they're attempting to do is have the NT eat up two blockers. That's one of his core principles. The DEs are supposed to do the same if a double is coming, otherwise just maintain their gap. But it should go without saying, you don't have your NT JUMPING away from the strong side(and quite obviously the play side as Slaton does here) when your DEs are slanting to the strong side, just so he can get a piece of the center so he can't get up to the LBer. It's also just silly. I'm pretty sure these are all designed to stop the run, but he's slanting to the strong side, and then weak side two other times.

No, the primary goal of particular slants is not to free up pass rushers, they're to free up your LBers and clog up the OL. This has become even more true with the expansion of the ZBS. If you're slanting to the strong side, it completely throws off each OL responsibility, crosses the face of the OL and now they can't climb to the next level whereas your LBers can come in and fill. If you wanted to argue that stunts are more for pass rushing...I think you'd probably be right...though even there you have specific run stunts. That said, I may not completely agree with your take on that, I think you'd have to be a fool to not agree with the underlying point, it's a schematic problem. A 3-4 should make life so much easier on LBers. MLF got all pissy, but he's right, when you're playing in a "Nickel," with 2 OLBers in our system, you're really playing with 4 DL. Gary was a 3 tech in College, Van Ness or Smith are both bigger or as big as most 4-3 DEs. So EVEN when you play a 4 man front on a 'and-goal' situation, you should have enough DL, assuming they maintain gap integrity to let your LBers come up and fill the holes. Joe Barry is just bad across the board. His philosophy when it comes to the DL, as he's explained it has been bad since he got here and makes drafting the likes of Wyatt, Wooden, Brooks...even signing Clark rather pointless. You could save 30M and a at least a 1st by just going out and drafting a bunch of big Howard Green-type run stuffers. The only consistent theme across his defense is a passive, play it safe type ideology. Don't want penetrating DL, you want them to play 2 gap(which is killing Wyatt). You play straight up with your backers constantly...which is fine. And your DBs are always playing this C3/C4 coverage where guys have 10 yards of cushion every play. I try and make the steal man arguments for these coaches as there's so much that goes into all these sports, it's often hard to see if the problem is actually coaching or talent(see the Brewers hitting coaches). There is not one to be made with Barry. He's bad, his scheme is bad. It's passive despite having ample talent. We play on our heels despite drafting bigger, aggressive athletes and they're supposed to sit back and wait. Give Belichick this defense, it's top3. Give Tomlin this D, top 3. Give Florres this defense it's top3 . Let me run this defense and it's not any worse! I'm just sitting in a cover 1 man all game long, I'm playing a 4-3 front(nickel front with a 3rd safety who's bigger and more physical) on passing downs and just a base 3-4 on short yardage. That's 5 DL, they can all play single gap, get up field, start hitting guys in the backfield and then you have your LBers to come clean things up or safeties. That's an overly simplistic idea that smart OCs would pick apart and I'm still confident it'd be better than Barry.

Yes, I get it was more an...ancillary observation and not actually a rationale for trading him. It does make me wonder what the best IFA class ever has been. Doing the minimal work, I found an interesting article. https://rogermunter.substack.com/p/whos-had-the-greatest-international

Sure...or they're just more set at those positions and they need the 40-man roster spot more. He was just at the AZF League for everyone to see, so I'll trust the Brewers scouts. I doubt they're expecting his breakout to translate into a 1st division starter, but perhaps a versatile utility player with some pop. That'd be plenty for me.

Sure...seems like we've got a log jam of SS/2B prospects in A and HiA and Pratt, Bitonti just add to that. Guilarte, Areinamo, O'Rae, Brown Jr(AA probably), and then Ereu, Baez and Di Turi. I get there's some 3B in there and again, Brown is likely ticketed for AA along with Adams. Just looking at Dunn's numbers don't inspire a ton of confidence. Guys who break out at 25...meh, but the Brewers have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to player evaluation. Not sure this is the strongest argument😅 But it's good enough for this particular trade. (Just kills me to think about all that money we're wasting in LA when we could be adding a MRP in Free Agency!)

I'm not sure how much stock to put into these analytics for a 2nd year WRer given ALL the other things that play into them. Love's accuracy, he has to get the ball to him on time, the OL, and the WRers in this offense aren't making the right reads. I remember Benkert showing a team(IIRC the Raiders) playing Cover4 and all 4 Packers receivers were running deeper routes, but you paused it, and as they were ~10 yards downfield, the DBs were still back-peddling, all 4 yards at least from a Packers WRer and nobody broke off their route while Love's in the backfield under pressure. Just a simple dig there would have been an easy completion and is supposed to be an option for the WRers if you're facing that type of umbrella coverage, but nobody made that read. So it's every possible issue you could have. It feels like pretty much everyone's going to have really poor grades save for...Musgrave and Tom. Football is so dependent on the other 10 guys...unless you're doing a PFF play-by-play grading(even those tend to be flawed as Love and Fields each got a negative grade in Week 1 where Fields fumbled and lost it while Love fumbled, picked it up and throw a 50-yard completion to Musgrave). But Doubs seems to ME like he should be the James Jones of this group. He should be the reliable #3 option(maybe 4th) and really excel in that role. We just don't know what Reed, Wicks, Watson...Heath(I like him quite a bit)...who knows what any of them are? Watson is a massively talented player who seems constantly injured, but also very raw. Reed has been impressive. I think he's a #2. Despite my undying love for the Fighting Irish' left Tackle, Harrison Jr would be so hard to pass up. I don't think that's a decision they'll have to make though.

Yeah, when we went from Favre(the team he said was the most talented group he'd ever had) and then Rodgers. I'd guess '07, '08, in that era. But again, even then you had vets like Henderson, Driver, Tauscher, Clifton...etc...

Corum is rated 111th and generally viewed as a 4th because...for no good reason he went back for another year of wear and tear at Michigan and he's not a guy you want to sign to an extension. He's got a lot of mileage...and I guess he's smaller. But he's thick, he is so similar to Jones in terms of patience, finding the holes, not looking to bounce everything, but he's capable of doing so and while they call him a "smaller back," why is a 6' 220 pound back considered a power back, but a 5'8 212 pound back not? He's more hard to bring down. I'm a huge fan of Emanuel Wilson. He's so quick and despite the limited carries, he's so patient. And he's a big, physical runner. I think he's going to be a 1,000 yard rusher(and better than Dillon right now). Curtis Samuel is a guy I've beaten the drums for when MLF came(whenever he was a FA last so probably after Tyler Ervin). I thought he'd be ideal as a RB/WRer hybrid. Been better at WRer than I expected, not used as much out of the backfield. That's where I LOVE that Corley. He's a RB who plays WRer. Another option as a FA, is Antonio Gibson. I think he costs 3/15 maybe. Criminally underused in Washington(the best run team in the league). With regard to Evans, is he worth 20M a year? That and more. He should probably get a deal close to Gary's with more GTD money from a team that wants to/can compete next year. I could see the Cards, with ALL their draft equity, picking up Harrison Jr, they're in a perfect spot to pick the 3rd best OT(which varies greatly) and then they can grab Henderson or whomever they like in the 2nd, then focus on the defense. That is the type of team that I think should sign Evans. I'd prefer we take another year, let Bakh, Clark, the dead cap expire, and then go into '25 with ~120M. I'd trade Jones, Smith...even Campbell depending on the draft equity. I'm thinking you could get a 5th, 7th and if Campbell comes back and plays well and someone who needs a MLBer(like Buffalo) is interested in a 4th. I know that's a bit counterintuitive to the veteran presence we need, but I'm talking about at WRer, not just anywhere. Van Jefferson isn't meant to be a #1 or #2 or really anymore than a depth piece, but he's a good leader and he's played in the system before. I do think these guys should figure it out with another year, but I think he'd help. Now in 2025 after you've had Alt, hopefully another OT such as Mims/Fuaga on the OL(though I realize that's my pipe dream and we'll likely just keep Tom there), you add a guy like Bucky Irvin(he's a 2nd/3rd with his speed); Black Corum, a big blocking TE(Jalin Conyers late on day 3 would be great)...and you have given Love all he needs and you get a more clear picture of what he is. At THAT point, you also have a better idea of what FA needs you have, if you need to pay Love or move off of him. If you are going to step into FA, there are a couple positions I'd look at. Safeties. Budda Baker is a FA I believe, Kyle Dugger, a 6'2 versatile safety(I'm always skeptical of guys who thrive under Belichick), Antonio Winfield, Jeremy Chinn and Xavier McKinney are two guys who've lost a lot of value and could be good fits in very different ways. So that's a wide range from a massive FA contract for a safety, which tend to be underpaid, but Baker is the type of leader you always want, same with Winfield, but he's more of a coverage guy and just a tough, undersized player JUST like his Dad. Chinn is more of a SS, though he lost his starting job, we've seen glimpses and McKinney was really on the ascent before the Giants hired Wink. We'd need to have the right DC to use him and play to his strengths. WRer-Evans is going to have his...10th straight 1000 yard season. He's a HOFer, he's a jump ball machine. But he feels like he's off our time frame and you're going to be spending all your FA money or most of it on a guy who's going to be 31 next year. Tee Higgins is a FA who's likely not re-signing with Cincy as they set records on Burrow and ***Also, Wirfs is a FA...and while Tampa is almost certainly going to aggressively try and sign him, he had void years, so they can't tag him, he's a guy I'd break the bank for...but again, why would TB let him go. The only other FA is Christian Wilkens. You could sign him to the 4/90 million deal you'd give to Clark, but he has 4 fewer years in the NFL and I think fits the scheme a bit better. So Connor Williams or Van Jefferson for relatively cheap(though Williams would be a huge upgrade at C). A number of safeties who are paid almost like RBs in a draft class with good safeties. Think I'd rather sign one than use the 40th pick on a question mark(even if Nubin is a really nice player). Long shots-Tee, Evans REAL long shots-Wilkins(though Miami is so far over the cap...that's possible). As likely to become FAs as Gary is to be traded this off-season, Wirfs. But again, I want to see this offense with another year before spending a bunch on players to push us over the top when Love MAY be our anchor. I don't know or think he is, but...he could be. So '25 would be a better target IMO).

Just going off the opening day roster, they were 21st last year, and 15th the year before. https://www.phillyvoice.com/ranking-nfl-teams-age-after-53-man-cutdowns-2022-edition/ But even that is skewed. We're talking about our offense. We have the youngest offense in HISTORY(per Bill Barnwell). We've had young rosters before, I'd guess the last time it was #1 would be the early Rodgers days, but we still had Driver, Pickett, Woodson...Rodgers was the man, Nick Collins, good leadership. But you don't need to work as a unit nearly as much on defense as you do on offense. Your OL has to pass off stunts, your WRer needs to break at exactly the right time as the WRer is breaking out of his cut AS the ball is being thrown....so it should be there when he's looking the opposite way. This is NOT a feature of the system, this is absolutely a bug. Edit-Article about Packers youth; And I wasn't screaming for a veteran WRer (just the opposite). I was good with Marcedes Lewis to help in pass pro, but...in retrospect, it may have helped. Even Cobb to be honest. https://www.phillyvoice.com/ranking-nfl-teams-age-after-53-man-cutdowns-2022-edition/

If Love holds it for another split second, I think Love can get the ball to Reed who's gotten loose to the pylon. I think the plan was for Watson to run a dig there and try and find a crease where he can fight his way into the endzone...I guess. But I don't know what Watson is running and if the WRer doesn't do what the QB expects, it looks even worse.

He's FAR more athletic than MVS. More versatile and dynamic. But he ran fewer routes than anyone drafted from OSU or Alabama( in the last couple years from HS to College). I don't think this is a Davante like situation where he breaks out in year 3 and become a true #1, but I think he's more than just a deep threat.