BrewerFan

Yeah, I understand that line of thinking, I just think re-grouping and adding young pitching talent for '25 makes more sense.

He's gonna be an older back. I don't know if another year of school matters or not. I think he's an UDFA if it's this year or next year. I don't see a scenario in which he goes in the 4th rd. There are really good, proven backs who will go later. Corum and Edwards from Michigan are in that 4th rd range(in most projections, some have Edwards higher) and Davis from UK or Watson from Memphis, both are in the 6th rd range. I don't see Mellusi being able to elevate himself to that level.

That is trash. I wouldn't even be as mad about not going after the fumble as I'd be just making ZERO effort to block. If that RB bounces that outside(makes ONE guy miss) and Johnson isn't even attempting to block... You can't have guys like that on your team. Thompson frustrated me for years for going after "Packers players," and passing on the...Tyreke Hill types(not him exactly, but there'd be reports they didn't have certain players on their board...and Hill did end up being one of them). We have been kinda lucky though. For a position that has so many diva's...who have we had? Jennings job is to talk about the game and has ONE story he dusts off every once in a while(usually when asked, but "we" still hate him). Finley was a loud mouth, but before that it's Walker I guess and then Sharpe...sorta. But at some point you earn the right to demand targets and speak your mind a bit. We've had pretty good luck with WRers both in terms of performance and selflessness. Even when Adams left, he didn't pout or leave on a bad note, just wanted to play elsewhere. But you can't have people out there who just don't care about anything other than their stats. It takes too much to win a FB game. I'd make him inactive next week...explosive as he may be. The complaining about coaching I can understand, it at least shows some fire, but this is quitting on your team.

You said it was "Arnold speak." I'm asking when the Brewers have done this under Arnold OR Stearns tenure. When have they said player X was not available in trade(which, for the record, I'm not seeing they even said about Burnes) only to drive the price up and then trade him? This seems more like fan speculation than how GMs actually operate. I don't think GMs play games like this. I think GMs have an idea if they want to trade a player or what it'll cost to give up a player and then a team either meets that price or they don't and the conversations for a player like Burnes take a long time to work out and dozens of calls going back and forth.

I don't recall ANY knock on Van Ness being that he wasn't big enough. His nickname was Hercules. He's a BIG physical edge rusher. He was compared to Howie Long or Justin Smith. The questions about his size, to the extent there were any, would have been about if he was big enough to play as a 5 tech or DE in a 34 and I really doubt that concern lasted past the combine when he ran a 4.58 with exceptional splits. The dude has 34 inch arms, he's got monster hands, he's another BIG OLBer. The only negative I heard about him was that he didn't start at Iowa despite the fact that he played more than the starters because they start players based on seniority. Brooks meanwhile is almost certainly going to stay as an IDL. I don't think he'll ever be an edge rusher given the young players we've already got in place. You may be confusing Wooden and Brooks as Wooden is small for the IDL(which is any DL in a 34). I also think he's got a little more potential in him than 4 sacks given it's his rookie year, he's 11 games in and he's already at 3. Coming out of Bowling Green, I'd imagine he'd have a little more upside remaining than what you see now.

I sincerely doubt there's any correlation between the two at all.

I actually haven't seen this before. Could you make a comp? Who have we said is available, then said we're probably keeping, then dealt for a premium? Hader is as close as I can get to this scenario, but that was a pretty shocking move and one we've(the FO) has explicitly stated was a mistake...or at least the type of move they made not fully appreciating the impact it'd have. I wonder if they're a little extra motivated to beat the Cubs this year and that's playing any role. It shouldn't, but that's likely playing SOME role for Attanasio and the FO.

Ok...they may both be wildcards to a degree. But if Wiemer hits, he's a 6-7 WAR player and Jiminez is a DH only bat...and you're already paying a premium to fit him into our payroll. I also don't see the Braun comps. Braun was better at everything. His best season(Eloy) he had an .891 OPS. That's Braun's career average. Now you throw in his ability to play the field, his speed, base running. There's no area I'd say he's Braun's equal(or more specifically on his level as you didn't actually say equal). He IS absolutely a big time RHed bat, but I just think you're spending too much money and giving up a potential star for a guy who may not play half the games. And I'm sure you'd respond Wiemer may end up hitting .210...and while that's true, at least you're not paying 18M to roll those dice.

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