BrewerFan

Ok....so not Savage playing too far back. I don't know. What should they have done? If they play Dime there and bring in another CB...not that they seem to trust Valentine at all despite all reports that he was one of the best players(not rookies or surprise players, just best) of camp. And if they are playing with 6 DBs, 2 DL, 2OLB, 1MLB, they probably just hand it to Robinson anyway. Everyone knows I hate Barry as a DC, I want him fired, but I think the defense is getting too much heat here. They're a matchup nightmare and you could have beaten them by...scoring in the 4th Quarter and not trying to milk a 12 point lead.

Do you mean Campbell on Bijan or Savage playing the deep middle? I'd imagine they'd tell you that playing press man across the board vs big, physical WRers(and Pitts) who can go get 50/50 balls, you don't want to completely sell out. That'd be Barry's justification and there's some logic to it, but I'd rather force them to make a play and if they do...then they do. As for Campbell on Bijan....I don't know, dude is a menace. Here's a bigger problem I have. Where the hell is Gary? Why is Hollins playing? I get LVN got hurt, but he's strictly an effort player.

No, they kept saying they had zero concern about his knee structurally long term. I still think it's worth having him on the roster this year as they transition to Love, but next year the balance swings pretty heavily. Jenkins has the sprained MCL. That's a pretty vague designation, but on the long end it's probably 6 weeks. On the short end it could be less than a week. Jones has come back in I think 10 days from one. Just matters how bad it was. Probably which knee as well. If it's the surgically repaired knee, it may be a bit longer, but that's just me speculating.

I don't think there was way they could have moved on from him up until June 1 and...he obviously wasn't going to New York if he's not playing on Turf. Unless this is a team decision and not just a Bakhtiari decision. I believe based on his comments, this is Bakhtiari and I don't believe it's because he can't. I think he's built Turf up into a much greater risk than it actually is. It IS a higher risk, but it's not like you're 20% more likely to get hurt, the difference is small. Very small. The Detroit game Rodgers convinced him to play half in and his knew blew up has also likely have a lasting psychological impact(or maybe issue than I think it is). I'm gonna withhold judgement right now just because I don't know what's actually going on other than...he didn't play week 2 vs the Falcons, but there is absolutely no question that OT is the #1 priority this off-season. But yeah, if he's gonna be sitting for games they play on turf, then....all the sudden the Math becomes SO much easier. Is Bakh worth 19M? No. So he'd be cut/traded in the off-season.

That's relatively good news. That's anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks I believe(I may have spent 8 years in College, but for some reason that doesn't qualify me to be an "MD," just because I didn't "go to Med school." Who thinks is a scam). BUT...someone tell Bakh to go out there and play. Unless his knee just isn't strong enough to handle turf which...yes, I get it's slightly more dangerous, but it's not like you're playing on old Veterans Stadiums Turf. Or what the hell, get Walker Snaps at Guard at practice. If he's capable of playing LT, he can play LG. There's no Earthly way Royce Newman is our 3rd best G. It...just CANNOT be possible. And he's sure as hell not one of our best 5.

The transferring is ridiculous as there's no point to it. He's going to enter the NFL at 20. Not sure if that played a role in his decision to reclassify, but it's a huge benefit for a RB. I think it's a near given he's gone after this year and only to play on Sundays. It does seem a bit strange they didn't give him any carries most of the 1st half and then when they finally did, they started to really ride him. But if it was an injury, it stands to reason they wanted to see if they could get through the game vs GA Southern without having to use him much. I'm still a bit frustrated with their...dedication to the passing game to seemingly set up the run game irrespective of Allen's health. But it's going to be 2-3 years before you can really start making any decisions on Fickell...and you can wait until next April before making any crazy declarations that Allen is not an NFL back.

I see a lot of people bashing the defense...and they COULD definitely have played better. But when the issues really started, IMO, was when the Packers went into kinda shutdown mode. I get you're down your LT, your LG, your #1 WRer(not even sure that's true, but biggest threat)...your #1 RB(by a LOT). But it felt like they didn't trust Love enough in the 4th. It feels like they're trying to REALLY protect him...and I understand why, but this is it. We're live. He's passed the 1st test, but it doesn't feel like you even let him take the 2nd test. Your defense is getting gashed, they're wearing down...put the ball in his hands and go and finish the Falcons. As for Barry and the defense, I'm not a fan of Barry, but I think this was more the Falcons just being an ELITE running team. They have 3 really good OL, they had big, physical receivers on the edge who are involved in the run game and I honestly didn't think they played that poorly. WE allowed them to stick with it by not finishing them off. Clark has a good game(he was lined up over that Bergeron, the rookie from Syracuse). I thought Slaton played well, Quay Walker was sideline to sideline. Van Ness looked good vs the run until the injury(hope it's not a torn pec, looked like a situation where that could happen). Wyatt was good at disrupting. But the problem was you have to rotate guys in and there were WAY too many plays in which Brooks, Hollins, Enagbare, Wooden on the field. I said in the original post, I thought this may be a good game to promote Ford...but they choose not to. Bottom line, you let them hang around and you didn't finish them off. Frustrating, but I think Atlanta is going to give teams a lot of problems with their run game.

I don't know exactly what it is, but it certainly feels like it's a statement. He's not practicing indoor at the Hutson Center, he's not playing on games on the turf. He looked GREAT last week...jumping around, bending. And now you're just...sitting out nearly 1/3rd of the games, including vs two of our biggest division rivals? IF that is the case, terrible look at his career as an elite LT is over. Now I'll allow for the chance that the Packers are very confident in Walker(he looked very good, but ATL doesn't have great edge rushers) and they're the ones trying to play it safe...but I wouldn't bet on that given how vocal Bakh has been about turf, I doubt that's it. BEST pass blocking LT of the decade(arguably the best all over, though I'd lean Tyron Smith)...record setting extension and that fluke injury, 3 more surgeries and now he's skipping games on Turf. Yeah, it's a shame. I think the Packers win vs TB and SF if we have Bakh(and likely today vs ATL).

That's...just ridiculous. Of course he does. And the offense is a fine fit for him(not the best) but when he actually gets the ball, he gashes the defense. He's literally rated as the #1 draft eligible RB on many boards and a 2nd round pick on others(though the two aren't mutually exclusive); He's the size of Dillon, he's 19 years old and he has exceptional lateral quickness...for a ~250 pound back. Now if the Badgers refuse to give him the ball until they get desperate, then it MAY hurt his draft stock, but as I said in another post, the fact that he can catch the ball and is proving he's better in the passing game may actually help him. https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/wisconsin-badgers-football/2023/7/19/23798583/is-wisconsin-badgers-braelon-allen-the-top-running-back-in-2024-nfl-draft-luke-fickell-blake-corum https://theathletic.com/4729979/2023/07/31/braelon-allen-wisconsin-football-nfl-draft/ https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/players/2024/braelon-allen He's almost certainly going to enter the draft. If he goes in the 2nd or the 3rd....he's got an NFL future.

That's multiple players not on the 40 man roster(who likely won't be added on come post-season) who would not make a substantive impact right now. I guess you could go with Toro and Small. I don't think I trust Small more than Chaffin...and I really don't see the ~8th pitcher in the pen as a big area of concern. If we're going to get rid of Chaffin, I'd bring back Lauer If we're giong to get rid of Anderson...I guess Toro would be fine, but he wouldn't make the post-season roster. Wiemer is going to stay on the roster for his defense and speed. Perkins could also be an option and...I guess Mitchell if he starts to really start hitting well, but seems unlikely. There are 16 games left. Any more I'd make would be in service of lightening the load on our starters and would be more Tehran, or veteran pitchers. Owen Miller would also be a consideration. I don't really think we need to make many changes to a team that's in a groove and has won...what, 15 of 20. Seems like a pretty good roster at the moment.

I'm sure this has been discussed here, but...what the hell is wrong with Longo? You have a RB coming off two straight 1200+ yard seasons, he's 245, he's agile, can make people miss and is at his best wearing down the defense. Yet he was the leading reciever in the B1G and hadn't had a single carry about half way into the 2nd quarter(I may be giving them too much credit). Then the play-by-play guy said, "they've had trouble getting Braelon Allen going." Yes...that's going to happen if you DON'T HAND HIM THE BALL! It's clear this group thinks that Melusi is a better "fit" with their scheme and that Allen is more of the closer. Yet, he came in and started gashing the defense immediately. I trust the staff offensively(much rather have Jim Leonhard running the D, but that's another story). But you don't have the right players in after ONE season yet, so dance with who brun ya as they say. Oh, and again, RUN TO SET UP THE PASS. Why are we making this more difficult? I suppose it's not the worst thing for Allen. One of the biggest questions was likely going to be how he is in the passing game, and he's answering a lot of those questions, but...my God, we were in an actual Battle with Ga Southern after losing to Wash State(where we made some of the same mistakes). If Braelon Allen doesn't have at least 5 carries in the 1st quarter of the next game I'm going to...do absolutely nothing but complain about it...but like...really complain. The type of complaining that accomplishes nothing but makes me feel better.

First test, how can the Packers do vs the Bears? Obviously they passed. They dominated the OL, the DL. Jordan Love played an outstanding game...given all the pressure that was on him in his first start as the official starting QB for the Packers. Now, despite Atlanta's poor record last year and Desmond Ridder as their QB, this game is going to be another huge test for Jordan Love. Passing Game Aaron Jones and Christian Watson are ruled out for this game according to reports. Watson isn't a surprise, but Jones was thought to be a minor injury based on his own reaction and insistance he could have gone back into the Bears game. Those are the Packers two biggest threats offensive and Jones was clearly the guy who turned the momentum in the Week 1 win vs Chicago. Two long TD receptions, and 3 of his 9 runs went for 1st downs. With Watson out, AJ Terrell, an elite CB will be free to cover Doubs or Reed, but the real threat in this secondary is Jessie Bates, another AP caliber player. Coming off a Week1 performance where he accounted for 3 turnovers, 2 INTs and a FF. Up front, the Falcons aren't world beaters, but they're no slouches either. Grady Jarrett is an upper echelon DT(if we struggled in one area, it was on the interior, mainly Myers and JRJ). They also have vet Calais Campbell who's still productive. Finally, the big one, David Bakhtiari is listed as questionable. I've been bullish on his recovery, but if we're at the point where he's not going to play in games on Turf, then that's going to be a significant problem. Rasheed Walker seems to have passed Yosh Nijman...a capable swing tackle, but Bakhtiari is an elite OT...when he plays. They can't afford for him to just not play in 5 of the 17 games. Summary; While Love made enough plays, and was outstanding on 3rd/4th down, one game does not make a season. He's going to need to make tougher throws against a better secondary with less threat of a running game and without his two biggest weapons, plus, potentially, his best OL(though Zach Tom is giving him a run for his money). He's going to have to be better. He can't afford to miss throws or have mix-ups with Musgraves(who I think will have his sea legs under him) and we will need to rely heavily on Doubs, Musgrave and Reed with at least another WRer stepping up and contributing. I'd like to see that other WRer be Heath, but Kraft getting move involved would be good, or Wicks could take some pressure off. Toure is still a big question mark. Run Game Pretty simple. Aaron Jones is one of the best backs in the NFL. His versatility overshadows his ability to make the right reads and pick up extra yards on the ground. AJ Dillon who has been...lackluster as a back is going to need to have a big game. Atlanta is not great vs the run, but they're more stout up front, so maybe if Dillon gets into a groove and isn't rotating carries as much, he'll be a better fit. Patrick Taylor will again be elevated from the PS to serve as a 3rd RB, but he's extremely limited as a back and primarily in there for STs purposes. He runs hard, but he's not picking up more yards than what the play is blocked for. The only question that remains will be if Emanuel Wilson is going to be active for the game. Preseason is preseason, I get that, but the easiest transition from College to the NFL running the ball. It's more instinctual. The pass protection, everything else can be a bit more difficult, but he's an outstanding runner and I think if Jones is out, it'd be wise to keep Wilson active. I think Wilson could have a very good day on the ground. We'll find out how much the Packers trust him IF Jones is in fact out. Summary- Losing Jones is a huge blow in both facets of the game. Dillon or someone will have to come up big in order to open up the passing game. It's pretty cut and dry here. Run Defense EASILY the strength of the Falcons defense. Bijan Robinson is a special back. Elite quickness and explosive ability and runs like a much smaller back at 6' 225. The TD pass vs the Panthers showed how elusive he can be and how dangerous he is in the open field. Tyler Allgeier was a 1000 yard rusher as a rookie. And Cordelle Patterson is expected back for this game. The 6'4 former 1st round pick who was an AP as a Return man but has found his niche in Atlanta as a diverse back who's also extremely versatile out of the backfield. Atlanta's got a very good OL, somewhat similar to the Packers. Two very good OTs in Matthews and McGary, an elite Guard in Lindstrom. They have a rookie at RT and a young Center who's performance has been uneven. But the unit as a whole is going to present a significant challenge to the Packers front. On that front, the Packers got some good news as Quay Walker has passed concussion protocol...and that's huge for the Packers who are going to need their MLBers to play sideline to sideline. Clark, Slaton, Wyatt are going to need to come up big vs the run. I wonder if this COULD be a game Ford gets elevated as well as Brooks and Wooden are best served as interior pass rushers at this point. Summary- The biggest threat will be the Falcons three headed trio. The Packers were outstanding rallying to the ball and only saw a bit of a late letdown when the game got out of hand and Roschon Johnson led them on a scoring drive. That's going to be huge for this game. I suspect Van Ness will get a lot of snaps on early downs as he was reliable vs the run and while they'll rotate in and out, Hollins just isn't a very good run defender. The Packers will need another big games from Savage as he played his best Football in 2 years. The way he was flying around out there. Quay Walker had the highest grade of any defender and this is the exact type of game they drafted he and Wyatt for. Gary will be on a pitch count meaning he won't be getting a lot of snaps on early downs, so the Packers will need to rely on LVN, Preston Smith and Enagbare to set the edge(which isn't exactly the strength of the later). The Falcons with the benefit of Kyle Pitts receiving ability played 3 TEs at least 25 plays last week and Pitts actually served as a willing blocker with Drake London, the 6'5 220LB WRer giving them a lot of size on the field and some creative schemes to get their RBs in space. Hopefully DeVondre Campbell's homecoming, he'll play more like he did in '21 and the CBs can get off their blocks and also come rally to the ball. Like with Love, this will be a good test to see if the Packers defense has actually improved or if they just took the Bears lunch money again. Passing Game; Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Mack Hollins, and the Scourge of Kevin King that is Scotty Miller make for an elite receiving group(particularly when Patterson, Robinson and Allgiers is factored in). The Falcons employed a 4 TE sets to throw and run with. Having the TE version of Calvin Johnson makes that a bit more feasible, but despite the size of their WRers, they were very rarely targeted. Desmond Ridder has a whole lot to prove, but he has the benefit of an outstanding group of skill players and a VERY good pass blocking OL. Why they don't do more with London or Pitts is beyond me(and apparently beyond much of the NFL). Summary, despite personnel, this is the Falcons weakest group. They have passed on QB options early in the draft for the likes of Mariota and Ridder the past couple years, but despite the records, this is NOT a team devoid of talent. Rashan Gary is going to need to have another absolutely dominant game, How the Packers win; Bakhtiari plays, the OL performs as expected giving Jordan Love time to go through his reads and capitalizes on his opportunities. Musgraves down the sideline, they have to hit. Jayden Reed needs to continue to get open, but fight back for the ball better. More importantly, they had to take advantage of the Falcons front and stay ahead of the chains on offense. And the biggest key is do NOT put the ball in position for an opportunistic Falcons defense to create turnovers. Team defense and intensity. Kenny Clark, Slaton and Wyatt need to force the plays outside where Van Ness, Smith and the LBers can come and clean up. How the Falcons Wins- I think this is a big more straight forward. Keep the Packers on their heels with their 3 headed rushing attack and when the Packers come up, they need to try and take a couple shots over the top. If the Packers win this game, I think it'll be on the strength of another very good day by Love and that defense. Prediction; ATL-23 GB17 I don't even want to make one. I'm still flying high on week 1 win and while this is a bad team on paper, Jordan Love is again without his two best weapons and there's no possible way the Packers give him as much time to throw...particularly without #69 out there. I hope I'm wrong and I may very well be overly pessimistic when viewing it from the lens of my own team. I hope that's the case and Love with the butterflies subsiding, is a touch more accurate and doesn't have 3-4 throws he wishes he could take back. I'll qualify my prediction by saying if Emaunel Wilson gets 8+ carries, I think the Packers chances improve substantially. If 2021 AJ Dillon resurfaces, all the better. But I don't think we can count on 2022-23 AJ Dillon and Patrick Taylor to carrying the run game.

You're allowed to move, you're not allowed move forward. It's effectively ruled like a balk(not the best analogy). You can't twitch forward, but you can look around, communicate. You just need to be set before the snap.

That'd be a pretty big blow to his long term outlook. He's supposed to be back to 100%, he was jumping over piles and looked great on Sunday. I would guess him not wanting to play on turf is more of a mental thing at this point. I think the Raiders play on Turf, so that's 5 games this year he'd miss. That's...12 of 17 before you account for any type of possible other injuries he may suffer. Questionable is 50/50, so...hope he's out there.

That idea never even dawned on me. I was still thinking we'd be in a...not rebuilding year, but a recovery year spending wise. But you'll have nearly 70M on the cap next year in Bakh and Clark that will be coming off in '25, so if you're coming off a good year with Love, that's certainly plausible. Kyle Dugger from the Pats is a FA(6'2 222). I'd really like that fit, but I don't ever really trust Pats FAs, particularly on defense. Antonio Winfield? Love him, loved his Dad, that'd be a nice addition. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a FA, but feels like he's more of a coverage safety and I'd just as soon move Douglas there. Jeremy Chinn from the Panthers pretty versatile. Spotract has Budda Baker as a FA and I know he's not. Though '24 would be his final year and IF you're going to start building up again next year, that's a guy I'd target. Maybe our 2nd-2nd rd pick? Safeties are generally cheap, but Baker is a pretty big difference maker. I also think Savage coming back is certainly on the table. If he can match his output from week 1 then safety becomes far less of a priority. Kamern Curl is another safety who's not on these lists who's a nice, big, Justin Simmons type Safety for the Commanders. I'd love him and think he'd be a good fit. Finally, it makes more sense to spend in Free Agency rather than early in the draft as it's a lot easier to sign a safety than a good OT or DL. Top 50 Free Agents https://www.nfl.com/news/top-50-nfl-free-agents-in-2024-tee-higgins-headlines-deep-receiver-crop-pass-rus All FA at Safety https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/safety/

The Packers restructured Nijman's deal to add 4 years and create 2.64M in salary cap space this year. Really an odd move as they have enough money to get through the year(you'd think) with just regular PS elevations and in-season moves. Seems somewhat significant as they're now ~11M under the cap. Could they be doing this to create some space for an extension or a signing? Otherwise, Nijman is now not eligible for any draft pick compensation after the season. And while he was unlikely to net us a 3rd or 4th, Tonyan was close at his ~2.6M. So he ALMOST certainly would have been good enough to get us a draft pick in return. Even if it's the 30th or 32nd of the 32 awarded.

NOBODY is speculating it could be some type of contract extension? Sal Frelick signs an 8 year 40M extension or...Woody signs a 5 year extension? A patch? A friggin patch? Who announces a new patch!

Yes...I suppose that has become abundantly clear making that a stupid question.

I'm not sure what TC means here. Last year his PFF grade was the 2nd highest behind Trent Williams among I think OTs, but maybe it was just LTs. I see he had a pretty bad game vs Tampa. They DEFINITELY aren't developing OL like the Packers who can take Zach Tom, Jenkins, JRJ in the 6th or Walker in the 7th and build a pretty good OL. The only mistake I'd say they've made is the Myers over Creed pick a couple years ago, but there is no question they develop much better than the Vikings. The same as been true for all the teams in the NFC North...though the Lions seem to have figured it out and the Bears...maybe did. Whatever Darrisaw is, if he's the 90 grade PFF gave him last year or if he's closer to the ~73 he was given in 2021, or last year, I don't know. I haven't watched him. Week 1 though, Tom was the 3 overall graded OT...though Braxton Jones had a 90 pass blocking grade before he lost points for the 3 HUGE penalties lowering his grade to 62. OR the fact that both Fields and Love got the same grade for the play they fumbled the ball...despite the fact Fields lost it while Love picked it up and completed a 50 yards pass. So PFF is definitely not the end all, but I'd thought Darrisaw was viewed in a group with Schlater and Wirfs(not quite the later) as the elite young OTs. I don't know that's true. I do know the middle of that OL is going to be just mush and with Cousins lack of mobility, Philly has to be a huge favorite tonight. I THINK I'm going to take Philly tonight in my survivor pool. 4 days off, Philly is at home and you've got Carter, Davis, Cox as part of their 3 man rotation and I expect them to just dominate the Vikings tonight.

Slaton is playing an an effective NT, I'm not disputing that. He's not getting moved off his spot. BUT...I see no reason he couldn't do that as a 3 or at DE. And I did find Clark's snaps. It's 21% 2 years ago at NT and 16% last year. Those numbers are dramatically down and coincide pretty directly with his decline in production. Last year was the worst year of his career. Even if you play him as a 1 or a 1i, he's still lining up over the center. They're usually not going to line up as a 2 in an odd front, so that's more in sub packages. He's the bottom line as I see it. Kenny Clark is not worth paying ~18M a year if you're not going to play to his strengths and they're not doing that right now. He's a nice player, not a difference maker and you should either adjust your scheme or you should look for players that fit your scheme better and go with them. I don't think it'd make a material different to Slaton if they played him at DE, but I think it does make a difference with Clark. So if you're going to stick with what you have...I think you're wasting resources on Clark and I guess they really don't have any choice but to keep him as his cap hits the next two years are kinda locked in(unless you can get a decent draft pick for him like a 3rd which is unlikely).

A half step? Wright had already beaten Clark to the spot by the time the ball was snapped. You'll see good OTs who get into their pass set and it LOOKS like they moved early, but you need to go back and look, but this was so far out of the norm, they finally called it the next time he did it. He came up, out of his stance, opened up and took a big step before the ball moved. Yeah, the best get great jumps, these were blatant false starts. I did mis-speak earlier, the one where it was really egregious was on the 2-point conversion. I get what you're saying, the best get good jumps, but this was over the top. On the All-22 it's at 59 seconds left in the 3rd, if you just have the game still on your DVR they give you an overhead view and it was bad.

Small market, limited resources. We're looking in the wrong direction to find a 3B. We've FINALLY got 3B on their way in AAA, AA, HiA. 33 year old injury prone FAs=Bad Brewers=Loaded with young talent 3B=Black, Devanney-AAA, Monasterio-MLB, Wilken-Already at AA...seems like a hit just right out of the gate(though premature). If you're going 2-3 years out, it's Boeve, Adams, Bitonti, Pratt(3B or SS), Baez, Guilarte among numerous others who could easily develop by the time those 5 years are up. So, sure, 3B has been a black hole. We've been trying to address that and it appears as though we have in recent years. We've given significant signing bonuses and used premium draft capital to try and find corner IFers. The Brewers don't have much money, they can't spend it, even if it's a former MVP who we all respect and who's a great leader(which I'll argue Willy is the ultimate leader in keeping the clubhouse loose). The three players you named are priorities...-however unlikely they may be to sign, and then I'd rate the priorities for their future resources as Chourio, Contreras(even if you trade him, a 5/50+1/2 options at ~20M would increase his value IMO) and then whoever is willing and worth it. Uribe seems like he'd be an ideal candidate, or Wiemer due to their minimal signing bonuses whereas Frelick may be less inclined to. The Brewers have their own young superstars(or players I believe will be superstars) and I think it's just much more logical to try and keep the books clean for the future in order to try and sign those players. And I hope we are a bit more aggressive in retaining our own home grown players as we have with Lucroy, Ashby, Peralta...but have been unsuccessful in doing so with Burnes, Woodruff.

That was a really surprising move IMO as well. I thought Allen looked good. He moved well, and more importantly, we now have no depth and there were times when you had 3 TEs on the field with Deguara not being one of them as he's effectively a FB at this point. 6'8, 250, he seemed rather fluid. Yeah, I agree. And I think it's pretty clear Jordan gets #45. That was his non-basketball number(and even his Basketball number for a few months).

That's obviously true, he could get hurt on any play, but you're trying to play to probabilities. We do know that the cut block contributed to the injury in this particular case as Rodgers is SO well known for spinning out, making that DE just crashing down on him and making him miss while he goes off-script and they do the whole scramble drill. It was supposed to be a quick throw, as was the first one where he got hit, but if you're cutting there and they take away that quick screen/quick hitch that Rodgers loves SO much(and he's been WILDLY successful throwing and putting a WRer one on one with a CB leading to a lot of 1st downs). You could obviously also say that having a 38 year old LT in Duane Brown, an ineffective LT last year and going into the year PLANNING on Max Mitchell and Duane Brown to be your starting tackles(with Becton then earning the job despite starting the preseason as a backup) was a giant miscalculation as well. That's a larger discussion though. We're also talking about how this injury may lead to grass fields rather than turf fields and we know it's VERY likely the injury occurs on grass as well. In the injury where Rodgers got hurt, you can point to a specific reason why he was hit. Both plays the OTs cut, the ball didn't come out quickly and Rodgers was able to elude on pass rusher and then wasn't able to elude the other.

Ok, I did acknowledge that. I said we could manage his loss(and have) because of the infrastructure he's put in place. That wasn't what I took issue with. This was; None of these make sense to me. The Mets have asked THREE times for permission to interview him over the course of multiple owners. So they waited until the first time he was literally allowed to interview. And the Mets weren't the only team interested, the Astros, the defending WS Champs and winners of 2 of the last...what, 5, they also wanted him. Does that mean he's "so great?" I think it means his reputation is pretty impressive. The "he would have taken a team that was 1 game away from the WS," it assumes this linear progression in Baseball that...you rarely see in sports, but if you do, it's usually Basketball or maybe the 90s Packers as an example. Where they take that first step, then another, then finally get to the top. There's way too much variance in Baseball and then I already addressed the COMPLETELY unforeseeable decline in performance/injuries from players. The prospect capital? He went out and traded 3 top 100 prospects to get an MVP and we had a lowly rated farm system. I had another paragraph and...I don't want to repeat what I already wrote(though Grandal, Moose, Shaw, Yelich, Cain, Aguilar, Choi, Adames, Renfroe, Navarez). You're just making these blanket statements that frankly, do not make any sense. Sogard and the other barging bin FAs who I can't recall off the top of my head, their failures doesn't exactly constitute a "bad at spending in FA." It's just the reality of a small market team with a limited budget. Now this is where you lose me again. Right before this you talk about the culture of winning, but how did we "plateau" with him, it's even a good thing he's gone. We'd plateaued with him. I don't see how we maxed out with Stearns. Changing the direction of a franchise is like turning the Titanic. It takes a long time to do it and we're just starting to see the fruits of such a course correction with all these high contact, OBP, plus athlete, plus defenders he started targeting. Those are JUST making their way really starting at the end of last year with Mitchell and we've still only gotten a fraction of that talent up. And of course that's ignoring everything he's done on the pitching side. Also, he was out in front of the shift and the impact that would have on the game. The requirement for better infield defense, speed, how much more value just athletic players would have(we've certainly got those types coming up en masse.