Deja Raji

[Deleted member 6794]

You know, I've never seen Knighton moved out of position either.

The last time Raji played an entire season at NT in 2011 he was absolutely terrible (ranked 87th out of 88 DT/NT by PFF).

 

[Half Empty]

Unless Raji plays lights-out AND the Pack wins the SB this year, I figure it's a lose-lose. If he flops again, it's good money after bad. If he shines, he'll probably be too expensive to re-sign.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Unless Raji plays lights-out AND the Pack wins the SB this year, I figure it's a lose-lose. If he flops again, it's good money after bad. If he shines, he'll probably be too expensive to re-sign.

Re-signing Raji to another one-year deal allows the Packers to either wait another year to use a first round pick on a NT or possibly develop a late rounder. Either way I don´t expect him to be on the team in 2016.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

You know, I've never seen Knighton moved out of position either.

Raji was moved out of position because he was AWFUL at his "position".

 

[Pack-12]

Unless Raji plays lights-out AND the Pack wins the SB this year, I figure it's a lose-lose. If he flops again, it's good money after bad. If he shines, he'll probably be too expensive to re-sign.

Makes no sense. If Raji plays well he gives us a better chance to win a Superbowl this year whether we ultimately win or not, if he sucks we have no liability for him going into next year. If he's too expensive to re-sign we still get a compensatory pick and an extra year to see what we have in Thornton, Pennell etc... Putting a qualifier in like "unless we win the Superbowl" is stupid because that could be used to say every single signing ever wasn't worth it if the team didn't win. The odds are low that any particular team will win the Superbowl in a given year. All you can do is try and give yourself a better chance.

 

[adambr2]

I really can't help but shake my head at the number of 'he was playing out of position' excuses made for Raji. It's not at all uncommon for big 3-4 DT's to spend most of their career playing both at the nose and outside. Wilfork and Ngata have done plenty of each. Guess what, they dominated at both. Matthews spent the last half of 2014 playing out of position. He still dominated. Good players are still good players, regardless of where they line up, and moving one spot over with your hand still in the dirt doesn't turn a really good player into a really bad one.

Unless we were talking about Raji moving to OLB and dropping back into coverage, the excuses for him playing out of position are wishful thinking at best. He could still have a good 2015, but it won't be because of him being back inside.

 

[Carl]

I really can't help but shake my head at the number of 'he was playing out of position' excuses made for Raji. It's not at all uncommon for big 3-4 DT's to spend most of their career playing both at the nose and outside. Wilfork and Ngata have done plenty of each. Guess what, they dominated at both. Matthews spent the last half of 2014 playing out of position. He still dominated. Good players are still good players, regardless of where they line up, and moving one spot over with your hand still in the dirt doesn't turn a really good player into a really bad one.

Unless we were talking about Raji moving to OLB and dropping back into coverage, the excuses for him playing out of position are wishful thinking at best. He could still have a good 2015, but it won't be because of him being back inside.

Dropping Raji back in coverage may not be a bad idea...

His pick six in 2010 is one of my favorite plays of all time.

 

[TJV]

To know how much risk is involved with the Raji and Guion signings we really have to see the guaranteed money in their deals, how they’re structured, and what the incentives are. For example, if Raji received a $500K signing bonus (as I believe he did last year) and gets injured or reverts back to his previous bad play, that’s not much of a risk.

For those who continue to offer the “out of position” excuse for Raji, something to keep in mind is even when he was playing DT, he also played in the two-man DL which should be the ideal position for him because of his size and quickness. But he played himself out of that spot.

But he reportedly had a good camp last year before he got injured. He not only stayed in Green Bay but he seemed to be very involved with the team. That’s good news. But IMO he will have to be a changed man; and not just because this is another “last chance” because we’ve seen how that played out before.

 

[brandon2348]

I don't understand all the Raji skeptics here. He was moved back to NT last year and although it was pre-season last year he was playing very well until he got hurt. If he can just stay healthy it will turn out to be a great signing. Add the Guion signing who as one person referenced him having a career year last year and I think everyone can take a sigh of relief at the NT position.

Thornton was a rookie and there was no way TT was gonna cut a pick that high in his rookie season. Remember "draft and develop."

 

[adambr2]

I don't understand all the Raji skeptics here. He was moved back to NT last year and although it was pre-season last year he was playing very well until he got hurt.

People have said this multiple times. His pre-season stats last year were a total of 1 tackle over 3 preseason games. What exactly was it that he was doing before his injury that was wowing people into thinking the old Raji was back?

 

[Mondio]

People have said this multiple times. His pre-season stats last year were a total of 1 tackle over 3 preseason games. What exactly was it that he was doing before his injury that was wowing people into thinking the old Raji was back?

I think someone just started a rumor based on wishful thinking that he was having a great camp. We never got a chance to see if he was "back" or not. Though with more down years than up, can he really be "back" reminds me of a spoof on LL CoolJ. "Don't call it a comeback, I haven't worked in years."

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[Carl]

People have said this multiple times. His pre-season stats last year were a total of 1 tackle over 3 preseason games. What exactly was it that he was doing before his injury that was wowing people into thinking the old Raji was back?

Probably only playing a couple series max and NT is not a big stats position.

Not defending Raji, just that I wouldn't put much into that stat.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Probably only playing a couple series max and NT is not a big stats position.

Not defending Raji, just that I wouldn't put much into that stat.

I think the point is that Raji getting one tackle in the preseason doesn't really constitute a great preseason. For comparison, Ngata had two tackles in the second preseason game alone.

 

[TJV]

I think someone just started a rumor based on wishful thinking that he was having a great camp.

After the injury, Tyler Dunne mentioned in an article that "Raji had been having a solid summer, re-acclimating himself to the nose" and provided this link: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/271749281.html

 

[ThePerfectBeard]

You're right, he sucks… we're so screwed. Better?

 

[brandon2348]

People have said this multiple times. His pre-season stats last year were a total of 1 tackle over 3 preseason games. What exactly was it that he was doing before his injury that was wowing people into thinking the old Raji was back?

He was getting consistent penetration into the back field if you go back and watch the tape. There is more to evaluating a NT level of play other then just tackles.

When he disrupts up front effectively it opens up the opportunity for others to make tackles for positive run defense plays.

 

[adambr2]

He was getting consistent penetration into the back field if you go back and watch the tape. There is more to evaluating a NT level of play other then just tackles.

When he disrupts up front effectively it opens up the opportunity for others to make tackles for positive run defense plays.

I'd be interested to go back and look and see if that's what was happening. One of the big problems for him in 2013 was that he was no longer commanding double teams.

 

[adambr2]

You're right, he sucks… we're so screwed. Better?

Not really, interjecting a snide and sarcastic comment into the conversation really provides no insight or analysis and offers no value to the conversation.

 

[brandon2348]

I'd be interested to go back and look and see if that's what was happening. One of the big problems for him in 2013 was that he was no longer commanding double teams.

Look. I was not for bringing Raji back in 2014. He didn't play nose in 2013. I watched every pre-season game last year at least two times and while he wasn't on the field all that much as it was pre-season when he was he was a force inside playing NT. It was noticeable and got me excited. I was bummed when he got hurt in camp last year.

If he can just stay healthy and with his contract situation and being a "make or break year" for him I think it's a good signing bringing him back.

 

[ThePerfectBeard]

Not really, interjecting a snide and sarcastic comment into the conversation really provides no insight or analysis and offers no value to the conversation.

I really don't understand this board. It's ok to be completely negative sometimes and other times it's wrong. Some day someone will explain it to me.

 

[adambr2]

I really don't understand this board. It's ok to be completely negative sometimes and other times it's wrong. Some day someone will explain it to me.

I'll do my best.

1) Negative comments made for the sake of being negative with no substance or explanation added. (Raji sucks, Hawk sucks, we have no shot this year, we suck, TT sucks, we are probably going to be 8-8 this year, etc)

2) Comments that may not paint a pretty picture for those who want to see something else but at are least backed up with data, observations, information, etc. (Raji was ranked 87th out of 88 DT/NT, Raji set a record for least tackles per snap, Raji on tape consistently failed to disengage from a single blocker and no longer commanded double teams in 2013)

See the difference?

 

[Half Empty]

Makes no sense. If Raji plays well he gives us a better chance to win a Superbowl this year whether we ultimately win or not, if he sucks we have no liability for him going into next year. If he's too expensive to re-sign we still get a compensatory pick and an extra year to see what we have in Thornton, Pennell etc... Putting a qualifier in like "unless we win the Superbowl" is stupid because that could be used to say every single signing ever wasn't worth it if the team didn't win. The odds are low that any particular team will win the Superbowl in a given year. All you can do is try and give yourself a better chance.

Oops, I thought he was only signed to a one year contract, in which case there is no compensatory pick.

 

[adambr2]

Oops, I thought he was only signed to a one year contract, in which case there is no compensatory pick.

I've never heard of it being a rule that a team can't get a comp pick for a player that only signs a 1 year deal elsewhere. I don't think that's the case...

 

[Pack-12]

From what I remember from preseason Raji didn't even play that much and didn't look like anything special. He certainly didn't look like the sad lump we saw in 2013 but he was hardly out there dominating. I'm hoping he's motivated this year but playing DE was no legit excuse for him to be as bad as he has been he was just simply a bad player. It would be a huge boost if he comes in and plays great but I'm expecting an average level player at best (would be fine with me if that were the case).

 

[Mondio]

I want Raji to make me think he's the best NT in professional football. I really do. I'd to be nothing more than completely wrong about him. I was intrigued by what was being written about him last year, but doubtful just based on the past performance. I didn't really get to watch preseason a whole lot and I do agree that preseason stats don't mean a whole lot. My thoughts on him come from prior seasons.