Free Agency Thread

[Sanguine camper]

How does a player tear a pec in the offseason? No discipline, no oversight in the weight room is my guess. As for Jacobs and his hamstring, yeah it's a GB tradition. But really, the torn pecs **** me off. These guys have been lifting their entire athletic lives. A little common sense. Or how else does a pec get torn?

Really is inexplicable. Torn pecs are serious injuries that can be season enders if they are bad enough. I just don't get it. Are they trying to bench their max without warming up? Maybe Packer contracts need to be more explicit in determining off- season workout routines. Every year it's the same old farce with these non-contact injuries.

 

[Heyjoe4]

A lot of these guys work out in the offseason, nothing wrong with that since some of them need it. So I really don't have a problem with it. Also, being athletes, I am quite sure a lot of them do other sports to stay in shape, have fun, etc. Hard to stop that, unless your contract forbids it.

I remember right after Josh Jacobs signed, there was a video that went viral of him and another guy I think on a dirt bike? They kind of wiped out and it looked like Jacobs may have gotten hurt. The goods news, he didn't. Or was this when he hurt his hammy?

Found the video:

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You raise a lot of interesting points Poker (and thx for the video, although it looked like Jacobs would have broken his back before straining his hamstring!). One at a time:

1) Working out in the offseason. Certainly these guys need to work out all year. It may not be as easy to see with the linemen because they carry so much weight, but these guys are all cut. The RBs, WRs, CBs, STs, and Ss and others probably run around 5-10% body fat. That only comes from working out, a lot, like every day, and eating right.

By now, these guys should know when they're pushing a line. A torn pec, or any workout injury, comes almost always from being careless or sloppy with technique. Anyway, these injuries bother me more. Hell at 70, I'm in the gym 7 days a week and I've hurt myself the same way. Each time, I learn where my limits are. And a pec tear is probably a result of too much weight, too few reps. Arnold S perfected hypertrophy - basically much lighter weights and many more reps - to fail. It builds muscle without injury. But even Arnold got injured FWIW......

2). Offseason fun. Hey these guys deserve a life, although some common sense helps. Dirt biking, crashing cars on freeways, that's just dumb. Then again, these guys are barely out of college - and it doesn't help that they have enough $$$ to do whatever they want. It's hard to coach maturity.

Speaking of age, the body is a lot more forgiving at 25 than 70. Hopefully, all of them will be fine by camp.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Really is inexplicable. Torn pecs are serious injuries that can be season enders if they are bad enough. I just don't get it. Are they trying to bench their max without warming up? Maybe Packer contracts need to be more explicit in determining off- season workout routines. Every year it's the same old farce with these non-contact injuries.

Correct. Any torn muscle is serious, but the pecs are large and in these guys, incredibly strong. It’s hard to imagine anything but improper lifting caused the injuries.

I know these guys are young, but this lack of discipline is hard to fathom. They’ve been in weight rooms for more than half of their lives.

Or maybe it’s something else. But yeah, a pec tear or bicep tear can end a season. We’ve seen it. It just seems dumb to me.

 

[OldSchool101]

In the few games, I've watched the Giants, McKinney reminds me of those guys who are just good football players. They process the game very quickly and just react faster than most other players so they are always around the football. Woodson was the epitome of that. I'm not saying Xavier is a HOFer, but every team needs guys who are football players first and track athletes second. Gute went after the best safety available and he's coming to town!

Yeah. I still think this move might be one of several moves that could define our ‘24 season and beyond. Taking a position from what I’d call a slightly below average Safety (Savage) and replacing him with a much better than Average Safety (Xavier). Ok he might not be Woodson level, but McKinney is a substantial upgrade over Savage.
I watched Darnell very closely that last couple of years and countless times he’d pretend like he was going to get involved in a tackle, but then he’d hold back to make sure he didn’t have to make contact. It was only after he took fan heat that he started playing more “average”.

Then when you consider we have Anthony Johnson (who I thought played admirable for a Rookie) competing for that opposite Safety role. Plus matching our investment at the Top FA Safety with an unusually heavy 3 drafted (#58,#111,#169) That just speaks to our FO desire to put this weakness at Safety to rest. Again we can certainly argue we have not even seen these guys play together. But hard to imagine a world where we’re not better than the last couple years in the Safety room. This could turn out to be our most improved Position on both Offense and Defense in 2024 snd beyond.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Yeah. I still think this move might be one of several moves that could define our ‘24 season and beyond. Taking a position from what I’d call a slightly below average Safety (Savage) and replacing him with a much better than Average Safety (Xavier). Ok he might not be Woodson level, but McKinney is a substantial upgrade over Savage.
I watched Darnell very closely that last couple of years and countless times he’d pretend like he was going to get involved in a tackle, but then he’d hold back to make sure he didn’t have to make contact. It was only after he took fan heat that he started playing more “average”.

Then when you consider we have Anthony Johnson (who I thought played admirable for a Rookie) competing for that opposite Safety role. Plus matching our investment at the Top FA Safety with an unusually heavy 3 drafted (#58,#111,#169) That just speaks to our FO desire to put this weakness at Safety to rest. Again we can certainly argue we have not even seen these guys play together. But hard to imagine a world where we’re not better than the last couple years in the Safety room. This could turn out to be our most improved Position on both Offense and Defense in 2024 snd beyond.

Agreed OS. I didn't watch Savage that closely last year, but it's not hard to believe he was avoiding contact/tackles. That's just the worst attribute a S can have. Well I guess fear of tackling is abhorrent for anyone on D, but safeties are kinda known for hitting hard anywhere on the field.

I really thought Gluten was going to trade up in rd 1 to grab a top CB. He waited until round 7 and took one guy, and stayed true to the offseason mission to rework the S group entirely. FA and three draft picks. Good for him, job well done.

And while CB is still a concern, that would be lessened by the return of Stokes, a healthy JA playing up to his contract, and a much more aggressive scheme with Hafley - something I think these CBs have been waiting for. So obviously Gluten knows best when it comes to this. I'm very happy with this draft and the FA acquisitions.

 

[OldSchool101]

Agreed OS. I didn't watch Savage that closely last year, but it's not hard to believe he was avoiding contact/tackles. That's just the worst attribute a S can have. Well I guess fear of tackling is abhorrent for anyone on D, but safeties are kinda known for hitting hard anywhere on the field.

I really thought Gluten was going to trade up in rd 1 to grab a top CB. He waited until round 7 and took one guy, and stayed true to the offseason mission to rework the S group entirely. FA and three draft picks. Good for him, job well done.

And while CB is still a concern, that would be lessened by the return of Stokes, a healthy JA playing up to his contract, and a much more aggressive scheme with Hafley - something I think these CBs have been waiting for. So obviously Gluten knows best when it comes to this. I'm very happy with this draft and the FA acquisitions.

Yeah, like many in here I thought we’d grab a CB earlier (such as Rd3-4 area) What that tells me is they think Stokes has made a full recovery. Plus I think they see Valentine as a feasible riser at CB. He had a pretty good showing as a Rookie last year.

Also it’s very possible that while drafted 3 Safeties, at least one has the versatility to play CB if needed. The first one that comes to mind is Javon Bullard. His scouting reports referenced his ability to play CB (which he did do for the Bulldogs) or Safety. He’s also pegged as being versatile in scheme fit. So while Bullard is listed as a Safety, he actually has experience at CB also. I think that’s partly why we went after him, he’s just a good football player.

From NFLDraftBuzz

SCOUTING REPORT: SUMMARY​

Javon Bullard's path to the NFL Draft showcases a blend of athleticism, intelligence, and versatility that few prospects can match. Despite concerns regarding his size and occasional tackling inconsistencies, Bullard's impact on the field is undeniable. His overall ability in coverage is elite (he could quite easily move outside and play corner at a high level) and strength run support makes him a serious asset.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Yeah, like many in here I thought we’d grab a CB earlier (such as Rd3-4 area) What that tells me is they think Stokes has made a full recovery. Plus I think they see Valentine as a feasible riser at CB. He had a pretty good showing as a Rookie last year.

Also it’s very possible that while drafted 3 Safeties, at least one has the versatility to play CB if needed. The first one that comes to mind is Javon Bullard. His scouting reports referenced his ability to play CB (which he did do for the Bulldogs) or Safety. He’s also pegged as being versatile in scheme fit. So while Bullard is listed as a Safety, he actually has experience at CB also. I think that’s partly why we went after him, he’s just a good football player.

From NFLDraftBuzz

SCOUTING REPORT: SUMMARY​

Javon Bullard's path to the NFL Draft showcases a blend of athleticism, intelligence, and versatility that few prospects can match. Despite concerns regarding his size and occasional tackling inconsistencies, Bullard's impact on the field is undeniable. His overall ability in coverage is elite (he could quite easily move outside and play corner at a high level) and strength run support makes him a serious asset.

Yeah now that the draft is over and we have learned more, there were more pressing needs at S and LB that Gluten wanted to address early. But by waiting until round 7 to draft a guy at CB who is a bit of a wild card, I'm pretty sure there is a lot of confidence in both Stokes and probably Valentine. Now if only JA could shake the injuries, including his head, well it's a pretty solid group of players.

And in the meantime, S and LB were almost completely remade with experience, speed, and aggressiveness. Results will tell, but it was an impressive and focused offseason effort by Gluten and his scouts.