Out with the old and in with the new

[favrefourevre]

Packers released Ben Steele and Nick Luchey, signed TE Donald Lee and promoted Vonta Leach from the PS. Why not?

http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2005/09/06/2/

 

[tromadz]

Ben Steele was a huge disappointment. He had that one good special teams play last year, and did well in practices, but never in games. His name is awesome, but that's where the praise ends for him.

Luchey getting cut shocks me a lot. Thats like..cutting Davenport. He is a huge alented backup in the backfield, to spell for william henderson(who is OLD). Surprised, indeed.

ANOTHER TE?! We always sign TEs it seems. Oh well.

Vonta Leach is a stud. His blocking is amazing. His hands need work, and when Favre is your QB, you need your hands, because he throws it to anybody and everybody. I hope things work out for that young man.

 

[Greg C.]

Wow, I was not expecting Luchey to get cut. Steele is less of a surprise, but I thought he was improving and deserved a roster spot. Leach plays special teams, which Luchey does not, so maybe that was the deciding factor in Thompson making that move. Leach should also be cheaper, being a younger player.

 

[agopackgo4]

I also am surprised to see Nick get cut. I thought for sure that he wouldnt get cut. It is the biggest surprisment so far this season. I think that some other team who gets him will have a good buy in him. I guess we will not miss him all that much I mean Henderson is still very good, but who knows how long he will still be sticking around. You know what it wouldnt surprise me is if when Favre retires Henderson retires too. It is just a thought.

 

[CaliforniaCheez]

Why not cut Luchey and keep Leach last week? The Packers are slowly wearing down their salary cap in 06.

Luchey must have had a bad practice.

This new TE went to Mississippi State. SEC player which is not favorable.
He has a reputation as a fumbler.
If he is on the field he is better than Martin.
If he can catch the ball he will be better than Steele.

I will always appreciate Ben wanting a fumble recovery more than the Vikings.

 

[billv]

The reason why this happened today is that the Pack was probably trying to trade Luchy to somebody. Apparently, there were no takers.
Before training camp, I thought there was a chance Luchy may be gone because he's always came in overweight and never seemed to live up to his potential. But I am surprised it did happen now.

 

[PackerTraxx]

Luchey was never worth what MS paid him. Wasted money or they should have given it to Henderson. It is a shame when a GM(MS) can't even recognize talent(Henderson) right in front of him(MS), then goes out and gives more money to a player(Luchey) that can't even beat out the first player(Henderson).

I think TT kept Luchey on the team a couple of days in hopes of trading and getting something for him.

Cali, I agree, I believe that TT is clearing some room for next year by getting rid of the players not earning their money.

 

[IPBprez]

No offense, guys... but I think they shafted Ben Steele - he deserved at least a chance this season with a FULL season at the helm.... to me, this is just plain wrong. I would NOT be surprised at all to see Ben excel on another Team, at all.

Personally, I think they're fishing when they shouldn't be....
Why change the mindset of the Roster List now... ?
When these guys have spent all summer together getting into proper mode....

 

[PackerTraxx]

Prez, I tend to agree. They need to upgrade the position but I don't know that this is the way to do it at this point, for the reasons you mentioned. It seems as though they are grasping at straws now. I've thought for the last couple of years they should have spent a 5-7th rd pick on a player to develop into a good 2nd TE. Oh well, let's hope for the best.

Unless they feel this guy is that much better, but I don't see that.

 

[Chamuko]

Prez, I feel the same way about Steele, he might not be that good right now, but I have the impresion that he is the kind of player who is allways there ready to do what he is asked for, I dont know why they cut him now, but it doenst look right to me, I also think he deserves a chance to play a full season, they gave David Martin a couple of seasons and got nothing from him, the guy is allways out when he must be in... What about Williams the RB he also deserved a chance IMHO.
Nick, on the other hand, had his chances and let them go.... I know I am not a GM but this things kind of disturb me :evil: :-?

 

[favrefourevre]

A dolphins fan told me that Lee has "the hands of a snake" Sounds like Steele. Or Lee will make the catch then fumble. So I dunno. But hey, I'm not the GM.

 

[NDPackerFan]

I'm glad they brought up Leach. He makes crushing blocks and he is the heir apparent to William Henderson. Luchey never lived up to his hype when he came and couldn't unseat the savvy veteran Henderson. I think it's an alright move. I think Leach would have made somebody else's roster and TT knew it.

 

[all about da packers]

Good to hear about leach. I am a big fan of his (and Walt Williams... seriosuly they need to get him on the active roster, he could do big things). Steele has had drops, and I guess in the end the coaching staff and TT just got tired of seeing no consistency from him. I think that he just needed some game experience to get used to the pressure and he would have been fine. Well the Luchey thing does surprise me. He has come in overweight, but has made some bone crushing blocks. Oh well, TT is really putting his stamp on the team. And so far, I must say I Approve. :towel:. It is a clear message that if you obviously aren't commitied to winning, then you have no place on the Packers team. Plus all the young hungry players can't hurt more than Hunt, et al.

 

[PackerTraxx]

That's the thing that is puzzling. Luchey and Hunt could have been let go because they cetainly did not seem dedicated and it also sends a message to the team. But Steele seemed to be an effort guy.

 

[ORRELSE]

Personally, I think they're fishing when they shouldn't be....
Why change the mindset of the Roster List now... ?
When these guys have spent all summer together getting into proper mode....

I think its a breath of fresh air, FOR ONCE.

I'm so tired of these fat turds coming into camp overweight or skipping minicamps just because they aren't mandatory. If you want to be part of the TEAM, act like it.
Losing Luchey is an upgrade.

Steele is a nobody. He had plenty of chances to make a move in camp with Bubba and Martin pretty much gone the entire camp. He had his chance and he didn't step up. I'm glad he's gone.

 

[ArizonaPackerFan]

I'm glad they brought up Leach. He makes crushing blocks and he is the heir apparent to William Henderson. Luchey never lived up to his hype when he came and couldn't unseat the savvy veteran Henderson. I think it's an alright move. I think Leach would have made somebody else's roster and TT knew it.

I agree. I was just surprised they did it now instead of Sunday when they made their cuts. But like I've seen mentioned, they might have been trying to trade Luchey, or another team might have been attempting to sign Leach off the practice squad which might have prompted TT to promote Leach to the active squad now to prevent losing him.

I don't know much about the new TE they signed, but Steele has dropped a lot of balls between last year and now. So I wasn't surprised to see him go.

 

[kuston]

Some food for thought:
A vested vetern (Luchey) who is on the roster tomorrow, is guarenteed his yearly salary. Luchey = $900K if on the roster tomorrow. Anyone remember this conversation a couple of weeks ago?

Anyone read the GB Paper article about Leach signing the practice squad,

 

[ArizonaPackerFan]

This updated article makes it sound like the Packers were trying to trade Luchey.

Regarding Lee vs. Steele, it said:

"He's a better blocker and has a lot better athletic ability," Spielman said, comparing Lee to Steele. "I wouldn't call Lee a hard-core special-teamer but he can contribute."

"Lee, 6 feet 3 inches and 252 pounds, was the Dolphins' fifth-round draft choice from Mississippi State in 2003. For two seasons, he was No. 2 behind Randy McMichael, catching 20 of the 31 passes thrown to him (two were dropped) for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He played 36% of the snaps in 2004 and 32% in '03."

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/sep05/353587.asp

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm certain that TT was looking to upgrade our backup TE situation. Without Franks and Martin, it was pathetic. Still the move surprises me.

As for the Luchey situation, that's a shocker. Leach is more like Henderson than Luchey ever was, and that's a good situation for us at FB. Luchey has more ability as a RB and receiver but never worked to his full potential.

TT is obviously looking for on the field effort and talent. He is rewarding players who work hard everyday and contribute. He obviously values the hard-workers over the veteran players. This is definitely a sign of things to come from TT. Every player must earn his spot on this team.

 

[TOPackerFan]

Steele can't catch and can't block, which are two pretty important things for a TE. These guys, from what I read, appear to be of equal quality on ST, so this move looks like a no-brainer to me. I think releasing Luchey was probably smart too as I doubt Leach would have survived the year on our practice squad.

 

[digsthepack]

Show up fat and out of shape....get cut! Cannot play fundamental, tough football....get cut!

For years I have been moaning about how soft the team had become...full of athletes but lacking football players. This is a dramatic and welcome departure from what we have seen the last 6 or 7 years.

About time, and thanks, TT!

 

[P@ck66]

Tromadz said,

"ANOTHER TE?! We always sign TEs it seems. Oh well."

Yeah..but unfortunately Rosseley/Sherman don't know how to use them!!!

Cutting Luchey was a mistake....they should have at least tried him in goal line situations....a 270 lb FB would should be awfully hard to stop at the goal line...

 

[digsthepack]

66, Vonta Leach hits like a hammer, is younger, hungrier, and obviously takes his career more seriously than "Mr. Show Up At Training Camp At 285 lbs", Nick Luchey. We have been waiting 3 years for this "stud" to prove his worth...he has yet to do so and, one can argue, has regressed since coming to us from a physical standpoint.

I like Leach

 

[IPBprez]

Here's the JSonline article... sorry if it's a re-print... but I think it's necessary...

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Packers add muscle, drop Luchey, Steele
Backups replaced by more physical players
By BOB McGINN
[email protected]
Posted: Sept. 6, 2005

Green Bay - A desire to field a more physical football team was at the heart of the two roster transactions made by the Green Bay Packers Tuesday that cost veteran backups Nick Luchey and Ben Steele their places on the 53-man roster.

The overweight, underachieving Luchey and Steele, a powderpuff blocker, were replaced by rugged fullback Vonta Leach from the practice squad and former Miami Dolphins tight end Donald Lee.

In the end, the Packers made the decision that Leach, not the high-priced Luchey, should be the heir apparent whenever William Henderson abdicates his job as starting fullback.

"There were people that liked Vonta quite a bit," general manager Ted Thompson said. "After the dust had settled we felt this was the best thing to do."

A National Football League source said the Packers attempted to trade Luchey in the last few days but apparently found no taker.

By releasing Luchey, the Packers got out from under his $750,000 base salary, a cap savings of $445,000 compared with Leach's base of $305,000.

However, they will have to count $183,333 for Luchey against the salary cap this year and $549,999 in 2006. That's when the final acceleration of the six-year, $6.6 million contract that Luchey signed to leave Cincinnati in 2003 hits the salary cap.

Luchey, 28, delivered a string of devastating lead blocks in 2003 but their frequency dropped in '04 and seemed almost non-existent this summer. He also didn't help himself by showing up weighing 284 pounds at the post-draft minicamp.

Even now, Luchey was battling a constant battle of the bulge. It slowed him and was another reason he was virtually unusable on special teams.

By contrast, Leach impressed the coaches with his hungry, aggressive approach. Leach weighed about 20 pounds less than Luchey but the better lead blocker early in training camp was Leach, who signed with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent from East Carolina in '04.

Leach's chance to beat out Luchey slowed for a month after he suffered a torn medial collateral knee ligament Aug. 11 in the exhibition opener. But when the Packers determined that Leach would be available for the opener, they decided to shop and then drop Luchey.

Lee, 6 feet 3 inches and 252 pounds, was the Dolphins' fifth-round draft choice from Mississippi State in 2003. For two seasons, he was No. 2 behind Randy McMichael, catching 20 of the 31 passes thrown to him (two were dropped) for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He played 36% of the snaps in 2004 and 32% in '03.

Miami cut Lee on Saturday, electing to go with free agents Lorenzo Diamond and Will Heller behind McMichael.

"I think he's an extremely tough guy," Thompson said. "Good special teams player. Athletic. Flexible. Can catch the ball."

Lee played the second half of last season under Jim Bates, the Packers

 

[calicheesehead]

TT definitely takes a different approach then what we've seen the last few years. My only concern would be the many new faces who need to learn the Pack within a few days.