Free Agency? Why? Why not?

[Nobbynose]

It is just an observation but I have seen an awful lot of hopeful threads started based on a dream that the Packers are perhaps considering free agents. I have waited a long time to see them make a move. Once every couple of years they actually do it. But it is rare. Sure they bring in left over’s from the bargain basement but never look at the big dogs.
Maybe it's just me... but I have doubts that the Pack will ever get back on top. You just cannot create and keep an NFL football team at the top by only building through the draft.
The 2 Super bowl teams that the Pack fielded in the 90's had a perfect balance between free-agents and making good draft choices.

 

[WoodyG]

It is just an observation but I have seen an awful lot of hopeful threads started based on a dream that the Packers are perhaps considering free agents. I have waited a long time to see them make a move. Once every couple of years they actually do it. But it is rare. Sure they bring in left over’s from the bargain basement but never look at the big dogs.
Maybe it's just me... but I have doubts that the Pack will ever get back on top. You just cannot create and keep an NFL football team at the top by only building through the draft.
The 2 Super bowl teams that the Pack fielded in the 90's had a perfect balance between free-agents and making good draft choices.

This isn't the 90's.

Plus there are far more failures that come from free agency than successes.

You want to sign someone just to sign someone. Remember that player has to want to play in GB. There are 31 other NFL teams.

Who are you willing to sacrifice in order to sign someone now? -Jennings, Colledge, Collins, Kampman, Spitz ???? They all need to be resigned before 2010.

 

[GJ85]

TT will sign someone if it is worth it. He knows what he is doing, I'm glad to know the pack won't overpay for someone just to get headlines in March I'd rather see headlines come playoff time

 

[Jess]

It is just an observation but I have seen an awful lot of hopeful threads started based on a dream that the Packers are perhaps considering free agents. I have waited a long time to see them make a move. Once every couple of years they actually do it. But it is rare. Sure they bring in left over’s from the bargain basement but never look at the big dogs.
Maybe it's just me... but I have doubts that the Pack will ever get back on top. You just cannot create and keep an NFL football team at the top by only building through the draft.
The 2 Super bowl teams that the Pack fielded in the 90's had a perfect balance between free-agents and making good draft choices.

This isn't the 90's.

Plus there are far more failures that come from free agency than successes.

You want to sign someone just to sign someone. Remember that player has to want to play in GB. There are 31 other NFL teams.

Who are you willing to sacrifice in order to sign someone now? -Jennings, Colledge, Collins, Kampman, Spitz ???? They all need to be resigned before 2010.

Not much has changed between the 90's and now. A perfect balance of good players out of the draft and the occasional impact free agent will still win you a Super Bowl.

There are more misses in the draft than there are in free agency.

Players don't normally consider Green Bay because we aren't aggresive enough in pursuing them. Rex Ryan showed up at Bart Scott's doorstep at 12:01 AM the day free agency opened. I don't see TT doing something like that.

We're enough under the cap that we could resign most of those players and still bring in a decent free agent.

 

[WoodyG]

Not much has changed between the 90's and now. A perfect balance of good players out of the draft and the occasional impact free agent will still win you a Super Bowl.

Free Agency today is a far cry from what it was in Reggie White's day. Your statement here is true. However, the trend the last 5-10 years has been for teams to resign their own players or use their franchise tag to lock up their own players. Reggie White would have never made it to free agency today.

There are more misses in the draft than there are in free agency.

Of course there are more misses in the draft. The draft involves college players while free agency involves players who have established themselves already in the NFL.

Players don't normally consider Green Bay because we aren't aggresive enough in pursuing them. Rex Ryan showed up at Bart Scott's doorstep at 12:01 AM the day free agency opened. I don't see TT doing something like that.

Teams target certain FAs just like the draft. Unless you have inside information to support this statement, you can't possibly have a clue as to what TT is doing.

We're enough under the cap that we could resign most of those players and still bring in a decent free agent.

The key word in your statement is "most". I'll go back to my original premise. Who do you want to sacrifice in order to sign an impact FA today.......Jennings, Colledge, Collins, Kampman, Spitz ??

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[pacman5252]

The key word in your statement is "most". I'll go back to my original premise. Who do you want to sacrifice in order to sign an impact FA today.......Jennings, Colledge, Collins, Kampman, Spitz ??

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I understand that we need to give extensions to some of our other players, but the last 2-3 years we haven't used about 10 million dollars each year. It looks like that trend will continue too. That money could have been used to sign either, one awesome player, two good players, or three decent players each year. Imagine the 2007 team with another impact player....

Also, I like how people say that we, TT, shouldn't overpay unproven players when he gave a 12.5 million a year contract to Rodgers after 7 games of him starting. I know we had to pay him, but that is an awful lot for 7 games.


I know you should build most of your team through the draft, but you should sign a few players to provide depth and some to start. Right now our D-line looks horrible, our O-line looks bad, our lbs are very questionable (especially since Kamp is playing a new position, Barnett is coming off an ACL injury, and we don't know if last year was a fluke b/c of injuries with Hawk) If we don't sign a few vets to at least provide depth, we might end up with 3-4 rookies starting at some point this season and history shows us that teams with rookies starting usually don't win a lot of games

 

[Spanish Rose]

It is just an observation but I have seen an awful lot of hopeful threads started based on a dream that the Packers are perhaps considering free agents. I have waited a long time to see them make a move. Once every couple of years they actually do it. But it is rare. Sure they bring in left over’s from the bargain basement but never look at the big dogs.
Maybe it's just me... but I have doubts that the Pack will ever get back on top. You just cannot create and keep an NFL football team at the top by only building through the draft.
The 2 Super bowl teams that the Pack fielded in the 90's had a perfect balance between free-agents and making good draft choices.

This isn't the 90's.

Plus there are far more failures that come from free agency than successes.

You want to sign someone just to sign someone. Remember that player has to want to play in GB. There are 31 other NFL teams.

Who are you willing to sacrifice in order to sign someone now? -Jennings, Colledge, Collins, Kampman, Spitz ???? They all need to be resigned before 2010.

i would have given up colledge and collins pretty happily if i could have gotten peppers, suggs, or scott.. i would have lost no sleep watsoever

 

[pacman5252]

i would have given up colledge and collins pretty happily if i could have gotten peppers, suggs, or scott.. i would have lost no sleep watsoever

Well, suggs and Peppers weren't FA's.... I wouldn't give up on Collins. Young pro bowl safeties are pretty nice.... But I'd definitely give up on Colledge and Spitz though, even though we wouldn't have to. We have about 35 million in space right now. If you think 8 for Jennings, 6 for Collins, 5 for picks, we still have 16 million left... I don't think colledge and Spitz are worth more than 2.5 a year anyways

 

[Spanish Rose]

im pretty sure they were both free agents...

 

[PackersRS]

Both were tagged before free agency... But there weren't any players available really... The one available was Haynesworth, but 100$... Don't come with Canty, because 43$ is too much for average... I'm still hoping to get a trade for Peppers, though, I would gladly give up a 2nd round pick and a player like Spitz, or even Colledge, for him, or maybe even trade our 1st round for a 2nd round and him...

 

[Jess]

I had heard a rumor, which I think is bunk as most rumors are, that sent Brohm, Al Harris, and Poppinga to Carolina for Peppers along with both teams exchanging 1st draft picks, dropping the Packers from 9th in round 1 to 59th overall. That's too much to give up for Peppers, me thinks, even though I don't personally see a lot of potential in Brohm and Harris is coming up on the twilight of his career. So, I'm ruling Peppers out.

The other rumor out there had us interested in Kevin Burnett from the Cowboys. He'd be good for depth, I suppose.

I'd like Olshansky, I guess.

Is Roy Williams washed up? The Cowboys one? He's out there now.

After Suggs and Peppers were tagged, there just wasn't much left. It's a pretty weak class of Free Agents. Canty would've been nice, I suppose, but the Giants threw a dump truck full of money at him, so we never got the chance. I'm coming around to the opinion (though i'm not all the way there yet) that maybe not signing anybody might be good. They all seem like decent, but not impact players. We'd have to severely overpay for people that might not even start on our team anymore.

 

[PackersRS]

Man, I forgot about Brohm! He was considered a 1st round pick last year. Since we already have Rodger, and Flynn seems like a competent backup, I think we could trade this guy for a nice value, if not now, maybe in 1, 2 years...

I like Roy Williams. I think he could do multiple tasks on our team, even play LB in nickel packages, because he can tackle so well. He is a liability in the passing game, though, but I think our passing defense is pretty solid...

Don't know about Kevin Burnett...
Olshansky would be a starter, in my opinion.

That trade, if it wasn't for the exchange picks, would be awesome...