Good Bye J’aire Alexander

[Thirteen Below]

Did we not try to trade him? If not that would be surprising to say the least.

Yeah, but that contract was going to be a damned hard one to trade. Gute apparently was somewhat close with Buffalo - which is a little puzzling, because if they were even considering trading for Alexander's contract, why didn't they snap him up when he was released?

 

[OldSchool101]

Yeah, but that contract was going to be a damned hard one to trade. Gute apparently was somewhat close with Buffalo - which is a little puzzling, because if they were even considering trading for Alexander's contract, why didn't they snap him up when he was released?

Yes and J’aire might’ve been shopping outside of GB and Baltimore just to take a stab at something that would add a couple million $+

I just think everyone was so concerned with bringing in an unreliable player. The guy has just missed so much time it almost leans on counterproductive

 

[Thirteen Below]

I see what you are saying, but...... With the amount of money that many players are making, even as rookies, they can be set up for life after just 4 or so years in the NFL. If money was their main motivation for being there and that motivation has already been satisfied, things like injuries, life style, desire to continue, etc. can snowball and remove the desire to play in the NFL. Why risk life changing injuries if you already are financially set-up for life?

Yet according to several studies, most players are broke or seriously struggling within a few years of leaving the game. A Sports Illustrated article a few years ago said that within I think 2 years of retirement, 4 out of 5 players are bankrupt or in serious financial jeopardy.

You and I have talked about financial management before, and for guys like us, a few millions dollars would last us a half a dozen lifetimes because we manage our money as if we're down to our last 100 bucks. Amy and I still haven't spent the money she made in the dotcom boom 30 years ago. But for the majority of the players, having that much money just poured out of a bucket on the table in front of you when you're 21 years old is just overwhelming, and they just spend spend spend like it's never going to stop.

 

[gopkrs]

If Jaire thinks this is a prove it year then leaving a couple million dollars on the table to play with a very good defense makes sense to me. Rather he did in GB.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

So the immediate thought that popped into my head if they went the route of discounting a teams cap and player salary more aggressively for time missed. These players and agents would just push more yearly to offset it.

If they did amend the injury situation by lessening the cap impact in teams mixed with decreasing a players money, there would also need to be a ceiling on the yearly maximum rate of inflation for contracts. Imo Thats where the crap would hit the fan with players representatives. As their income is tied to players directly.

At minimum the teams should be able to appeal situations like Jaires on an individual basis. Maybe being awarded a couple of appeals every couple of seasons based on playoff merit etc.

As long as the money flow is still there and increasing, players, agents, etc. will demand their "fair share".

Only solution, severely cut that money flow. How? Would have to start at the money source...us fans.

 

[OldSchool101]

If Jaire thinks this is a prove it year then leaving a couple million dollars on the table to play with a very good defense makes sense to me. Rather he did in GB.

Yes. It makes sense they tried to upgrade. While Baltimore had the #1 Run Defense, They ranked #31 in passing yards allowed. #23 Passing TD’s allowed, tied #20 Turnovers, #18 in INT.

Ravens also lost CB Brandon Stephens (92.4% snaps) to the Jets ($12Mil yearly). So while he did not record an INT, he was very involved with 1047 D snaps logged:
59 Solo Tackles
1.5 Sacks
10 Pass Defensed
3 TFL
0 FF
2 QB hits
O INT

In doing research on a similar player. I didn’t realize how productive Nixon was last year. Keisean on 1020 D snaps logged:
61 Solo
3.0 Sacks
7 Pass Defensed
8 TFL
3 Forced Fumbles
1 INT-16 yards

So Nixon just outplayed Brandon Stephens.

Nixon signed a 3yr/$18Mil, $6.5M guar


Stephens just got a 3yr/36M $23Mil guaranteed

That Nixon deal is looking like a bargain

 

[Thirteen Below]

In doing research on a similar player. I didn’t realize how productive Nixon was last year. Keisean on 1020 D snaps logged:
61 Solo
3.0 Sacks
7 Pass Defensed
8 TFL
3 Forced Fumbles
1 INT-16 yards

So Nixon just outplayed Brandon Stephens.

I just read a few minutes ago that while Nixon was our 3-rated CB, he still had an above-average PFF rating last season, which surprised me. The article also said that only 8 other teams had a #3 CB who was ranked above average, and I was pretty surprised by that as well.

Is it possible that we've been a little too critical?

At any rate, if we can generate a better pass rush this year, I think it's quite possible (maybe likely) we'll see significantly better numbers from all of our top 3 CBs. (I'm talkin' 'bout you, #90).

I'm glad Nixon's getting some love and some validation; I've really been a big fan of his. He's a great guy, hard worker, good teammate, and a smarter player than people give him credit for - the kind of guy you really wanat to see succeed. Especially when he's on your team!

 

[gopkrs]

Yes. It makes sense they tried to upgrade. While Baltimore had the #1 Run Defense, They ranked #31 in passing yards allowed. #23 Passing TD’s allowed, tied #20 Turnovers, #18 in INT.

And so does this make the ravens a good defense or a bad defense? Or is it just a bunch of different parts?

 

[Thirteen Below]

And so does this make the ravens a good defense or a bad defense? Or is it just a bunch of different parts?

I remember a great line in "All That Jazz", where Roy Scheider is telling the dancer he's sleeping with, "Look.... I can't make you a great dancer. Hell, I don't even know if I can make you a good dancer... but if you listen to me, I can make you a better dancer."

Alexander can certainly make their defense better, assuming he is on the field. But they're going to need more pieces to truly elevate their D to the next level. They really doubled down on D in the offseason, both in the draft and free agency, so they probably got better. But we won't know for a few months whether all those moves paid off. Only thing for certain is that they're very serious about shoring up their defense.

 

[Heyjoe4]

So the immediate thought that popped into my head if they went the route of discounting a teams cap and player salary more aggressively for time missed. These players and agents would just push more yearly to offset it.

If they did amend the injury situation by lessening the cap impact in teams mixed with decreasing a players money, there would also need to be a ceiling on the yearly maximum rate of inflation for contracts. Imo Thats where the crap would hit the fan with players representatives. As their income is tied to players directly.

In the public sector these similar situations arise every year. One good example is our local or state property taxes. Many homes or land are taking substantial increases when they don’t nearly compare with properties that are valued higher in the same district. A dilapidated home that’s falling down shouldn’t be blanketed with taxes at a similar rate to one that’s went through substantial or obvious upgrades or renovations. At minimum the teams should be able to appeal (I don’t like the government word protest, it has bad connotations) situations like Jaires on an individual basis. Possible getting a couple of appeals every couple of seasons. Macro monetary version of throwing a challenge flag

I'm guessing this modified version of "pay to play" has been tried by the owners before, and soundly rejected. And unless applied uniformly, it would create a nightmare in contract negotiations, which are by nature complex.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I just read a few minutes ago that while Nixon was our 3-rated CB, he still had an above-average PFF rating last season, which surprised me. The article also said that only 8 other teams had a #3 CB who was ranked above average, and I was pretty surprised by that as well.

Is it possible that we've been a little too critical?

At any rate, if we can generate a better pass rush this year, I think it's quite possible (maybe likely) we'll see significantly better numbers from all of our top 3 CBs. (I'm talkin' 'bout you, #90).

I'm glad Nixon's getting some love and some validation; I've really been a big fan of his. He's a great guy, hard worker, good teammate, and a smarter player than people give him credit for - the kind of guy you really wanat to see succeed. Especially when he's on your team!

Good points 13. It's possible we've collectively been too critical of the CB group. I hope that Gluten's acquisition of Hobbs mimics the acquisition of McKinney. As for Nixon, I'm not too surprised at his PFF ranking. As you note, he serves multiple purposes on the team and seems a fine teammate and hard worker - and as far as I know, he's been injury-free,

And even a group of shutdown corners will struggle if the D can't get to the QB. I understand that against athletic, running QBs like Hurts, Richardson, Allen, Daniels, Jackson and others the D must play contain. But c'mon, there aren't that many QBs like that, and none in the North. Williams looked slow in his first season. Goff isn't a runner, and I don't think McCarthy is a big runner.

On paper, the talent is there - look at all the first round picks at DL/Edge/LB. Time for those guys to step up. I think the emergence of Cooper and the acquisition of Simmons, ironically not on the line, will be huge. Walker can now focus on stopping the run and dropping into coverage - his strengths. I'm really looking forward to Cooper at full speed for a full season. And by having to account for him on just about every play, guys like Wyatt, LVN, Gary et al should see their production increase.

 

[OldSchool101]

And so does this make the ravens a good defense or a bad defense? Or is it just a bunch of different parts?

Well imo what it speaks to is that the Ravens are a great upfront. Their secondary was pretty lackluster last season. Overall the Baltimore D was above average. One thing is for sure. J’aire left for a team with a D worse than the Packers. .

Baltimore did draft Malaki Starks at Safety to help their cause.

 

[gopkrs]

They were 12 and 5 last year. Do you think a bunch of teams may have been playing catch up?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

...and so it begins for the Ravens and their fans.....

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[OldSchool101]

...and so it begins for the Ravens and their fans.....

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So far. Overall Gutey has been correct more often than not when it comes to retaining players. It appears (so far) he was correct on releasing JA.

 

[Voyageur]

...and so it begins for the Ravens and their fans.....

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This could indicate a problem, but there are a lot of players that have this done periodically because they persist in getting fluid buildup. Still, I would have never kept him under the contract he had with this potential problem.

 

[Heyjoe4]

This could indicate a problem, but there are a lot of players that have this done periodically because they persist in getting fluid buildup. Still, I would have never kept him under the contract he had with this potential problem.

Having a knee drained due to swelling is usually not a good thing, especially if it keeps coming back. JA seems way too young to have a chronic problem like osteoarthritis or bone-on-bone, and an injury this serious would be clear on an xray. Anyway, it doesn't sound good given his recent history of knee problems.

And then there was his shoulder injury, which I thought was his bigger problem. It's a bummer for him.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Having a knee drained due to swelling is usually not a good thing, especially if it keeps coming back. JA seems way too young to have a chronic problem like osteoarthritis or bone-on-bone, and an injury this serious would be clear on an xray. Anyway, it doesn't sound good given his recent history of knee problems.

The fact that just 2 or 3 days of moderate workouts in training camp would already cause him to need a drain is not a good sign. We may have dodged a much larger bullet than we realized. I'll be watching the next few weeks with interest.

That said, I wish him nothing but the best.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Not that players can't get hurt, because they do. I think the frustration (for me) was Jaire's availability was always a big question mark over his final years in GB. Now maybe that wasn't Jaire's fault, in that reporters or even coaches were being too optimistic about his availability each week, but the unpredictability has to be frustrating for coaches. I think that there was also that feeling, at least with me, that JA would only play when he felt well enough to do so. That also may be a misread from me, but even when he was on the field, he often times didn't seem interested in getting involved, unless the play was right at him.

I will miss the 100% and all in play of JA, but I wasn't expecting to ever see that again, nor do I think were the Packers.

 

[tynimiller]

If Ja had health in his career I genuinely think he’d been breathed in the same breath as some of best corners of the past two decades…he still may get mentioned but not by a ton of folks now

 

[Curly Calhoun]

...and so it begins for the Ravens and their fans.....

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That's too bad - I am rooting for Jaire even though he no longer wears Green & Gold.

It does appear, however, that the Pack may have dodged a bullet.

 

[Thirteen Below]

If Ja had health in his career I genuinely think he’d been breathed in the same breath as some of best corners of the past two decades…he still may get mentioned but not by a ton of folks now

As the last few years have unfolded, it's seemed more and more apparent that his career may in the end be divided into two different phases - the time before he tackled 240 pounds of Najee Harris in 2021, and the time after. Looking back, he just hasn't been the same player ever since. Injuries, reluctant to tackle, tentative about attacking the ball, and basically just a different guy.

I can understand it. An injury that serious, it's no surprise that it changes the way he approaches his game. Had it not been for that hit, I wonder what could have been here in Green Bay the last few years, and even going forward.

Best of luck to him, though.

 

[tynimiller]

As the last few years have unfolded, it's seemed more and more apparent that his career may in the end be divided into two different phases - the time before he tackled 240 pounds of Najee Harris in 2021, and the time after. Looking back, he just hasn't been the same player ever since. Injuries, reluctant to tackle, tentative about attacking the ball, and basically just a different guy.

I can understand it. An injury that serious, it's no surprise that it changes the way he approaches his game. Had it not been for that hit, I wonder what could have been here in Green Bay the last few years, and even going forward.

Best of luck to him, though.

I personally have no doubt, that had he stayed healthy and being what he was (and in short bursts still was)...he would have at least been arguably the second greatest DB in our history - only arguably Charles Woodson being greater. Just my opinion. However, sadly injuries stole that from him.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The fact that just 2 or 3 days of moderate workouts in training camp would already cause him to need a drain is not a good sign. We may have dodged a much larger bullet than we realized. I'll be watching the next few weeks with interest.

That said, I wish him nothing but the best.

Agreed. I'd hate for his career to be cut short, but a lingering knee problem like this is just not good. Bakhtiari had a different injury but the same result.

I actually thought JA's biggest problem was his shoulder. I knew his knee had been injured last year, just not so serious as to need a drain.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I personally have no doubt, that had he stayed healthy and being what he was (and in short bursts still was)...he would have at least been arguably the second greatest DB in our history - only arguably Charles Woodson being greater. Just my opinion. However, sadly injuries stole that from him.

I agree with you on JA's talent level. He was a shutdown corner, and along with Woodson, the most talented D backs in GB's long history. I hope JA is still able to play.