Queens sign Longwell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think its good. I don't think its a deal breaker for the season either.

We'll find another good kicker just like we found Longwell.

Who? These are the only FA kickers:

Adam Vinatieri (Lets hope)
Mike Vanderjagt (He can't kick off and he is a Jack Donkey)
Josh Brown RFA (Good Luck)
Todd Peterson
Aaron Elling
Matt Bryant
Jose Cortez
Edinger

edinger isnt bad. he had a nice long streak in chicago.

we should still get vinny!

Bruce..

there's no reasoning with TT's-hemroidadz...

He's a shiteating klingon..hanging on to the balls of TT's ***....

(Yes..not signing Longwell IS a mistake!)

(Why not get rid of everybody in a green and gold uniform TT-hemroidadz???)

If TT lets them go..they must suck..right?

hey zero,porky,AADP, theres no arguing with pack66, hes what i like to call a 'half abortion.'

hes the reason i am pro-choice.

The Bears won 12 games this year with a kicker I'd never heard of, and can't recall right now. If keeping your kicker is so important, how come Vinatieri is a free agent?

good point.

I just want to hear this whoever we sign as kicker. "He is good in cold weather and not ideal conditions."

i dont care about length...its not the size that matters.

LOLALOLSOA!CHHESEY!

If we sign Brett Conway then yes letting Longwell go was a mistake. However we have not filled our Kicker position therefore we can not label it as a mistake. Who knows we may pick up a kicker off the streets who (just like Longwell did) scores many points for the Packers and wins games for the Packers.

Bottom line, wait and see who we have as our kicker on opening day before we claim it was a mistake.

but using patience and logic doesnt work if you wanna be a TT-bashing tool, zero.

your dancing baby avatar amuses me.

maybe THAT should be our kicker. a naked dancing baby kicker.

:wtf: Am I the only one that read that in a completly wrong context? :-?

Only other guy is Mike Vanderjagt. He's just the most accurate kicker in NFL history! But one of the two definitely needs to land in GB next season.

Vanderjat can only kick inside a dome! Even then, his kickoffs inside the dome where alarmingly SHORT. I say we pass!

"Who? These are the only FA kickers:

Adam Vinatieri (Lets hope)
Mike Vanderjagt (He can't kick off and he is a Jack Donkey)
Josh Brown RFA (Good Luck)"

Any of these three would be an upgrade over Longwell. Jack Donkey or not, Vanderjagt doesn't miss (yes I know he missed horribly to lose the Pitts game in this year's playoffs). He's the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

Brown is a RFA. I don't know what round they've tendered him or what round he may have been drafted so I don't know really how much that means except that they have the right to match. He's young and good. Kickers can last a lifetime it seems so taking the chance wouldn't be terribly off base as long as he isn't tendered with a first day or 4th round pick.

I'm open to get Vanderjagt, I think he's a better kicker than Longwell. The mistake people on this forum do, is that they rate players after what they have done in the past, not what they are doing at the moment. Longwell had a terrible season, but he isn't rated after that, he's rated after his long career. I think Longwell is over the top and will never ever be the player he was, therefore it was the right thing to do letting him go.

Field Goals
2005 = 74%
Overall = 81%

In 2005 he had a terrible season by Longwell standards. Trust me, losing this guy is gonna bite us big.

Mike Vanderjagt:

2005 = 92%
Overall = 87,5%

I just don't see how people can say he's not an upgrade over Longwell.

They can say it because they come from totally different contexts -- Vanderjagt kicked inside a dome or in ideal conditions the vast majority of the time, Ryan Longwell kicked in some of the worst conditions in football -- and not just occasionally. He kicked in a dome for all 8 home games. He kicked in a dome or ideal conditions each time he faced division rival -- Jacksonville, Nashville and Houston.

Now compare that to kicking in Green Bay and Chicago -- which guarantees at minimum 9 times kicking in some of the worst conditions in football.

Also, as has been pointed out Vanderjagt cannot kick it off past the 15 yard line kicking in a dome -- and the Colts had to use a roster spot to carry a guy to kickoff for him.

Yes, he does has made 217-248 FG for 87.5% in ideal conditions Vs
Longwell who has made 226-277 FG for 81.6 in some of the worse conditions in football.

Now, add that Vanderjagt will command Big dollars similar to what Longwell just got (or more now that there are fewer kickers on the market) and I return to this is not a good thing.

Having said that, I am not being critical of Thompson for passing on the price, rather simply saying that this has created a whole new major hole that the Packers must fill.

In finding a holder, the Vikings will do well in obtaining a midget with extremely small hands, to go along with Longwell's undersized kickoffs. That should help in holding his bitching and complaining to a minumum.

Dare I say it?
TT is not going to spend big money on any free agent let alone a top notch kicker.

So where does he look?

First place is the vagabond kickers who just wait for a phone call from any team who is desperate for someone to kick the ball. These guys are where they are because of how they kick, they may hit the 50 yarder every once in awhile but with the game on the line they will miss more often than not.

The second place is the draft. Who is the #1 rated kicker available this year? Oh no it's Josh Huston from Ohio State, not another Buckeye kicker!! Seeing all the love BJ Sander has received, I am sure you all are just pineing for him to come to The Packers.

Seriously, Josh Huston has a monster leg, the circumstances are different in the NFL, but in college most of his kick-offs went through the end-zone.

When he was a freshman, he beat out Mike Nugent as the starter but then hurt his leg, it was nothing serious but by the time he was healthy Nugent had solidified his spot as the #1 kicker. So he spent his first three years backing up Nugent, just as a footnote his holder his freshman year was........No don't say it.......BJ Sander.

I don't think TT will draft a kicker but if he does Huston is the best out there. Hopefully nobody will draft him and he can be signed as an undrafted free agent.

With Longwell gone, there will be kickers just hanging around Lambeau hoping for a chance, I wouldn't be surprised to see 3 or 4 invited to the min-camps and training camp, hopefully we will find a good one.

The problem TT is facing is you don't build teams around kickers. The mess left by Sherman is far more important that an "expert midget kicker!"

I would NOT, I repeat.. NOT.. go after Mike Vanderjagt.

You guys really want a guy who chokes down the stretch - look what happened to the Colts this year.

Adam Viniateri is the guy I would sign, even if it's only a 1 or 2 year deal, based on age, etc. -- It just depends on where TT has his money board all laid out. I think TT & Brandt make a great team, moreso than Sherman & Brandt ever did.

It could be that in the later rounds for the Draft, TT will go after a Kicker at that time... You can be sure he won't give away two draft picks in the process, tho'.....

It's early yet - I would focus more on Defense and Left side Offense (and Center) right now....

Wish List --

• 
  Steve Hutchinson

• 
  Rocky Bernard
  Bentley (too late, gone already)
  Jureviscius (another one that got away)
  Adam Archuleta
  David Givens
  Chris Hope

Anyone else....?

How long till everyone stops blaming Mike Sherman? I myself am tired of it.
TT has made moves and has opened up 30 million dollars, when is he going to start using it?????

I would say.. after this year's FA & Draft run... and on into the Season - this is the first real Ted Thompson Season. There's very little of the Sherman staff left behind, and those that are.. were not on his PET list to begin with.

You'll just have to let that conversation roll off your shoulders like rain water... it's still a free opinion Forumboard!

I love coming on here and reading all the opinions, just tired of reading about Mike Sherman, he is gone, blaming him for everything is not going to change anything.
TT has a job to do and I am hoping he does it very well. It is time for him to start making some moves.

Yeah! You make alot of sense. Sherman has had six years or so to screw things up---"DON'T BLAME HIM!"

Ah Ha! TT has only been around here for about a year---"LET'S BLAME HIM!"

Be careful pal, that donkey tag has a sharp point, and if you hold it the wrong way, you will stick yourself!