6 Free Agents Packers Wisely Passed On

adambr2

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I was completely with the article on 6 thru 4. Then he kind of lost me on 3-1. From 3 to 1 it basically said, "Do not take a chance on anyone if they are unproven, old, have ever been injured, or played around other good players," without much substance beyond that.
 
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Vrill

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Completely disagree on Trevathon and Green.

The article brings up a great point about Trevathan though. Is he a byproduct of having superstar talent around him in Denver? When you have Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware rushing the passer, that tends to make jobs elsewhere a lot easier. Miller/Ware combo can mask deficiencies elsewhere on the defense. It reminded me of that Giants defense with Strahan and Osi. Giants secondary and LB core those years were average, but their defensive front was extremely dominant.

Its yet to be seen if he can lead a defense on his own and shine on a defense that has less talent around him.

So is he really an up and coming ILB that can lead a defense? Or is he just "another guy" that rode the coattails of a historic defensive run to the Super Bowl?

You can say the same thing about Malik Jackson too. Also from Denver.
 
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PackerDNA

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In the last year, I haven't seen any comments from scouts or personnel guys that didn't think Trevathon wasn't a pretty good player in his own right- and that's after knee surgery 2 years ago. That and he is still regarded to have plenty of upside, hasn't turned 26 yet, and was signed to a good contract by the Bears.
 

El Guapo

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The other week I said the same thing, that I'm not fond of getting free agents from teams with great support around them. It's more of an unknown. You can plainly see how they play in that situation but not when they have to cover their teammates mistakes, which happens a lot in team sports. A somewhat similar example would be to look at the performance of Wisconsin running backs going into the NFL. They've typically run behind big lines who've opened enormous holes. Sure Ron Dayne had talent running over guys in the secondary, but he didn't have to get the first 1-3 yards all the time.
 
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Vrill

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In the last year, I haven't seen any comments from scouts or personnel guys that didn't think Trevathon wasn't a pretty good player in his own right- and that's after knee surgery 2 years ago. That and he is still regarded to have plenty of upside, hasn't turned 26 yet, and was signed to a good contract by the Bears.

Right. But will he be a good player when it comes to leading a defense on his own? We both know Chicago doesn't even come close to matching the talent Denver had around Trevathan. Its yet to be seen, he might be a good one and can lead that Bears D to big things. But then again, he might be in over his head there and be a bust.

Keep in mind, Trevathan is coming from a historical great Super Bowl winning defense that had Superstar talent laced among it. Hes not coming from the Cleveland Browns. If he had shined and looked good in Cleveland with **** poor talent around him, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

So the question that articles brings up is legitimate and warrants a discussion.

Remember Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown? Prime example.
 

TeamTundra

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Ladarius Green is the one player I wanted us to sign. I was bummed when
I saw what Pittsburgh signed him for, but then read various articles detailing
injury concerns. San Diego also choose to resign 35-year old Antonio Gates,
so they must of had concerns.
 

PackerDNA

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Right. But will he be a good player when it comes to leading a defense on his own? We both know Chicago doesn't even come close to matching the talent Denver had around Trevathan. Its yet to be seen, he might be a good one and can lead that Bears D to big things. But then again, he might be in over his head there and be a bust.

Keep in mind, Trevathan is coming from a historical great Super Bowl winning defense that had Superstar talent laced among it. Hes not coming from the Cleveland Browns. If he had shined and looked good in Cleveland with **** poor talent around him, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

So the question that articles brings up is legitimate and warrants a discussion.

Remember Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown? Prime example.

Larry Brown was never the player Trevathon already is. He parlayed that one game into a ridiculous contract that he never came close to living up to. I'm finding it amusing that since he signed with the Bears, Trevathon has been morphing into a JAG who was carried by those around him in Denver. I think it much more likely that he contributed to that success. I'll also give you dollars to doughnuts that after the Bears improve on defense next season, Trevathon will be lauded as a big reason why.
 
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Vrill

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Larry Brown was never the player Trevathon already is. He parlayed that one game into a ridiculous contract that he never came close to living up to. I'm finding it amusing that since he signed with the Bears, Trevathon has been morphing into a JAG who was carried by those around him in Denver. I think it much more likely that he contributed to that success. I'll also give you dollars to doughnuts that after the Bears improve on defense next season, Trevathon will be lauded as a big reason why.

Larry Brown started on that Cowboys defense for a few seasons. He wasn't that bad in their system. He was just a prime example of a system player. I remember Jason David from the Colts signing that massive contract with the Saints that year. Same thing there. Ended up busting down in NOLA like Brown did at Oakland. There's other examples of this too where a player comes from an overall great defense and goes elsewhere and looks like a fish out of water.

Now, I'm not saying Trevathan will bust. He might do well. But proof is in the pudding. We'll ultimately see.
 

NelsonsLongCatch

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What a completely ridiculous article. Free Agents #4, #5 and #6 make no sense. The Packers would have no interest in signing a receiver, underachieving tight end, or 4-3 defensive end. I disagree on Trevathian or Forte. Trevathian is a three-down inside linebacker (something the Packers haven't had in years).

I also don't know how the author could judge good vs. bad free agents prior to any of those free agents playing a single down for their new team. Seems like an article somebody wrote just to waste time and have people comment on.
 

NelsonsLongCatch

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The article brings up a great point about Trevathan though. Is he a byproduct of having superstar talent around him in Denver? When you have Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware rushing the passer, that tends to make jobs elsewhere a lot easier. Miller/Ware combo can mask deficiencies elsewhere on the defense. It reminded me of that Giants defense with Strahan and Osi. Giants secondary and LB core those years were average, but their defensive front was extremely dominant.

Its yet to be seen if he can lead a defense on his own and shine on a defense that has less talent around him.

So is he really an up and coming ILB that can lead a defense? Or is he just "another guy" that rode the coattails of a historic defensive run to the Super Bowl?

You can say the same thing about Malik Jackson too. Also from Denver.

Couldn't you say the same thing about a great player on a bad team? The old argument of "somebody on the team needs to make plays and rack up stats". Last year, Trevathan had 109 tackles on a Super Bowl winning team. Would you like him any more if he had a similar season on the Titans or Chargers?
 

longtimefan

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Not quite sure those are the same. These are current players with NFL track records an author is claiming were good players to avoid. A mock draft is an article placing college players at certain picks based on team need.

For me the principle is the same..

A player hasn't played for a team, but that team is risking a ton and hoping they will fit.

Only the free agent has more NFL history
 

Poppa San

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Same way that people post mock drafts.
I'd have gone with people that rate winners and losers in the draft Sunday morning after the first two rounds. Forget about the bulk of the draft just give a high mark to the teams that drafted the "name" players in the first round or two. The bigger the "name", the higher the grade.
 

Patriotplayer90

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Completely disagree on Trevathon and Green.
Even if he's a product of the system and not a star, we're paying for players like Perry who will have virtually no effect, while Trevathan proves he can at least play a position we need help with. Nobody on our team has proven that they can , and our best pass rusher can't do what he does best because of the GM's incompetence.
 

NelsonsLongCatch

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I'd have gone with people that rate winners and losers in the draft Sunday morning after the first two rounds. Forget about the bulk of the draft just give a high mark to the teams that drafted the "name" players in the first round or two. The bigger the "name", the higher the grade.

Agreed. The "winners and losers" column is more of a parallel than the mock draft itself.
 
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http://www.circasports.com/posts/3057305-6-free-agents-packers-wisely-passed-on?a_aid=36676

I agree with a lot of that. Some of which, is what myself and others have stated on this forum.

This is a terrible article. In addition he wrote this masterpiece on Ladarius Green yeaterday as well, titled "The Steelers may have found the next Antonio Gates" (http://www.circasports.com/posts/3055679-the-steelers-may-have-signed-the-next-antonio-gates) and concluding with the sentence "Green is due for a monster season this year, so be sure to get him on your fantasy team before someone else does." Not a credible source at all.
 
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Vrill

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This is a terrible article. In addition he wrote this masterpiece on Ladarius Green yeaterday as well, titled "The Steelers may have found the next Antonio Gates" (http://www.circasports.com/posts/3055679-the-steelers-may-have-signed-the-next-antonio-gates) and concluding with the sentence "Green is due for a monster season this year, so be sure to get him on your fantasy team before someone else does." Not a credible source at all.

It sounds to me like the Steelers already had a lot invested in Green before he even came into the league. It seems like they did a lot of homework on him prior to the draft he came out in. So knowing all of that now, its no shock they signed him and no shock he went to Pittsburgh. There was probably some familiarity already there.
 
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Vrill

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Even if he's a product of the system and not a star, we're paying for players like Perry who will have virtually no effect, while Trevathan proves he can at least play a position we need help with. Nobody on our team has proven that they can , and our best pass rusher can't do what he does best because of the GM's incompetence.

No effect? Did you watch the same Perry I did toward the end of last year and into the playoffs? He was one of our best defenders up front. He was one of the guys I was personally hoping we'd re-sign.
 
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Vrill

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Couldn't you say the same thing about a great player on a bad team? The old argument of "somebody on the team needs to make plays and rack up stats". Last year, Trevathan had 109 tackles on a Super Bowl winning team. Would you like him any more if he had a similar season on the Titans or Chargers?

I'm of the opinion that a player can stand out more when his job is easier. And in Denver, everyone's job was easier with Miller and Ware coming off the edge. Denver had a historically great defensive run. There is no denying that. I think you could have put an average ILB in that defense and that ILB would have looked good due to the large scale talent around him.

Either way, time will tell. We'll be seeing Trevathan up close and personal this coming season. So I'm quite certain that this will be revisited.
 
D

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It sounds to me like the Steelers already had a lot invested in Green before he even came into the league. It seems like they did a lot of homework on him prior to the draft he came out in. So knowing all of that now, its no shock they signed him and no shock he went to Pittsburgh. There was probably some familiarity already there.

I hope the Packers invested a lot of time evaluating Green before the draft as well. With the Packers general inactivity in free agency it wasn't shocking he signed somewhere else, it doesn't make it a good non-move though.

No effect? Did you watch the same Perry I did toward the end of last year and into the playoffs? He was one of our best defenders up front. He was one of the guys I was personally hoping we'd re-sign.

I'm fine with Perry being back but the Packers overpaid for him.
 
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Vrill

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I hope the Packers invested a lot of time evaluating Green before the draft as well. With the Packers general inactivity in free agency it wasn't shocking he signed somewhere else, it doesn't make it a good non-move though.

Some teams just have a better overall rapport with a rookie heading into a draft than others do.
 
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Some teams just have a better overall rapport with a rookie heading into a draft than others do.

While that's true I wonder why the Steelers passed on drafting him four times during the 2012 draft if they had such a great rapport with him, including the pick immediately before Green was selected by the Chargers.
 

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