PFanCan, I don’t think Thompson will cut Neal because of the PED situation because he didn't cut Jolly for more than two years after learning the details of his arrest. At least Neal was cheating to get back on the field, I don’t think that argument works regarding Jolly and purple drank. IMO there was much more reason to cut Jolly than there is to cut Neal. The philosophy of releasing players a year early rather than a year late applies to players at the end of their careers and goes to Thompson's bias towards youth. The only valid reason IMO to cut Neal would be to free up the roster spot for another player. While that is a valid reason I agree with AmishMafia: Neal's potential is worth the cost of a roster spot and the small amount of salary (by NFL standards) he's due. They already paid him a lot of money, paying a little more to see if he can get healthy is well worth the risk IMO. BTW, I believe the NFLPA encourages every player who tests positive to appeal so I don't think his appeal has any special significance.
Given the needs we have at DE/DT, letting Neal go wouldn't make sense atm, and he still does have a chance to prove himself. He is not washed up; he just made a bad move to try and give himself an edge on the field rather than doing something off the field that could jeopardize his career.
I hope we have some real competition at the position and as a consequence Neal is a casualty. I see that as the best outcome at this point. Some sinking ships aren't worth salvaging.
I stopped reading your post after this sentence. I never criticized TT for drafting Mike Neal or acquiring injury prone players. Charles Woodson won a Heisman and was the second player drafted. He had production prior to joining the Packers. Neal has none of that. A Woodson/Neal comparison is beyond ridiculous.
I agree with you here. Neal is going to take up a roster spot while standing on the sidelines in sweats.
“You and/or others” means “you and others” OR “you or others”. I didn’t take the time to research who has criticized Thompson for acquiring injury prone players but I know some have. If you aren’t part of a group, I suggest you don’t self-identify as one, or take offense at not being identified as part of the group because you weren’t. Charles Woodson and Mike Neal can be compared in a number of ways. That doesn’t mean the one doing the comparison is equating their production as NFL players particularly when that was not the comparison made. For example, both were drafted by NFL teams, both are currently Packers, both play defense, and both have had a history of injuries.
Nope. When you're suspended, you don't count against the 53, so we'll likely keep a 7th defensive lineman on the roster until the suspension is over. If he does well, he'll probably stick around. Or replace someone else who got hurt. Or. Or. Or. And even if he did count against the roster limit, that isn't a huge deal. We normally only activate 5 linemen, 4 when we play a pass heavy team with no running game (ie, we'll be in Nickel the whole game.) I haven't checked the stats from last year, but I don't think we ever activated 6 or more for more than 1 game, if that.
When talking about other people, you shouldn't quote me. When you quote me and then respond I just assume you're talking to me.
Both are black... both play for the Packers... both went to Big 10 schools... both have two feet, ten fingers and ten toes... the similarities are INSANE!!!!!!
I would say both are brown, but that's another story. Woodson produced in college. And in the NFL. Then he got hurt. Neal got hurt in college. Produced a little bit. Was a physical specimen, and a good Christian. He was all "speculation". Woodson was always a special athlete. Rare. We ALL were pissed off when Mike Neal was announced as our pick in round 2 in 2010. Nobody was happy, that's a guarantee. Aside from Neal's family.
That's not true. Some of us were neither happy nor upset with the pick and were willing to wait and see what happened.
Or you could read and attempt to comprehend the words I write. Or ignore my posts altogether. Either way, I won’t be taking posting instructions from you so if that upsets you, you may want to seriously consider the latter option. - - - You are wrong FrankRizzo: Unless you narrow the definition of “we”, we Packers fans all weren’t pissed off when Neal was announced. I say that because I for one wasn’t. There probably were a few other Packers fans who also gave Thompson and his staff the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t say that for certain.
Most of those in that category had no idea who Mike Neal was and just assumed Ted knew best. Or hoped. I, too, hoped. But I know GMs make mistakes like everyone does. Remember the fan reaction at Lambeau's Atrium when Harrell was drafted? Lotta booing there. Still, the picks of Rodgers, Jennings, Matthews, and Collins made up for errors like those at DL and CB.
I figure if he misses on one out of every 3 picks, that's pretty damn good. He possibly missed on Neal. So far it looks like he has, but I'm willing to give the kid one more year to see if he can improve any and stay healthy. If we still get nothing out of him, cut him, but three years is about the average to see a player start to improve.
See, I think this is where all the problems come from. You talk bad about a player and people assume you're calling Ted Thompson a piece of sh^t. You say "I'm ready to give Mke Neal his walking papers" and people hear "Ted Thompson is a piece of sh^t". And instead of people talking about Neal and his lack of production (9 tackles in two years) you get a list of all the great players Thompson drafted. 1+1= 7 here
I know. I'm just saying the rotation of CJ Wilson and Jarius Wynn with Mike Neal in sweats worked horribly last year.
Heh, noted. Though I wouldn't say 'horribly.' Plenty of room for improvement, oh yes. Get a good OLB to compliment Matthews and even those guys might look acceptable.
If you don't consider what Wilson, Neal, and Wynn did last year as "horrible", let me ask you what would qualify as "horrible", in your book? They were atrocious. No opposing QB in the league knows none of their names.
