TT Cut Comments

[slackerbacker]

"We had some teams inquire about (Davenport) but nothing ever came to fruition," Thompson said. "It was difficult. He's done everything we asked. He battled through injuries. I'm sure Najeh will be working somewhere tomorrow."

Call me stupid (easy Mackie and Lazy), but wouldn't something for Davenport been better than nothing?? Or, why not keep Davenport until you find someone you like better??


"I'm never going to be reluctant to help our team," Thompson said. "We haven't had those offers over the last couple of days. People normally call you with people they're going to release and try to get something for that. We haven't had that option.

Really, well actions speak louder than words TT. Frankly, I think you've been very reluctant to help this year's team based on the lack of moves thus far. The Vikings cut a veteran OL (Liwienski) that could provide some depth @ RG and LT, why not give this guy a look. I know; he doesn't fit the scheme. Earth to TT, none of our guys fit the scheme either!


"Certainly we value draft picks, I've said that over and over."

And how's that philosophy working for us?? Answer.....

"The departure of Hawkins in the near future leaves just five of Thompson's 11 picks from his '05 draft on the 51-man roster. Nick Collins and perhaps Brady Poppinga are starters; Aaron Rodgers, Mike Montgomery and Junius Coston are backups; Marviel Underwood and Kurt Campbell are on injured reserve; Terrence Murphy was forced to retire; and Will Whitticker and Craig Bragg were cut."

So much for building through the draft hu?? Oh it sounds good and looks good on paper but.....

"The departure of Peterson, a third-round pick, leaves Nick Barnett as the only player left from Sherman's nine-man draft class of '03. Peterson finished with four sacks in all games, including three last year when he was somewhat effective as an inside rusher in the 4-1 defense."

Dittos, it's just not that easy to do it solely through the draft.


"He will not, however, be adding someone the caliber of a starter."

"The list of players released Saturday bore very few big names, so the odds are Thompson will be picking up someone young and full of potential."

Wow, that's encouraging!

 

[kmac]

Earth to TT, none of our guys fit the scheme either!

While none of the guards have played too well, they (Moll, Spitz, Colledge) all played a zone blocking scheme in college and are more athletic than average NFL guards. Saying that the guards are not good players is a valid opinion. Saying that they aren't the types of players that fit the system is not.

 

[slackerbacker]

Sorry, I don't buy that. If they fit the scheme as you say, then shouldn't they be playing better??

Every team runs zone blocking plays to some extent. The stretch play is pretty universal accross the NFL. I think if you're a good player, you'll be good in this scheme. The only real difference is you may not get to the 2nd level blocks for long runs. That's not our problem right now. Currently, we simple can't get a push or move anyone off the line of scrimmage.

 

[recte44]

And how's that philosophy working for us?? Answer.....

This is his 2nd year. Good grief, man. THE SKY IS FALLING!

You have to give a draft three years to work out. Also, Sherman is gone now so you need to close that book, slackerbacker.

 

[slackerbacker]

That's the point, we don't have to give the draft time it's just that TT wants to do it that way. We could go get a legitimate, NFL ready OG so that we could compete this season and give the young guys their time to develop.

What do you think Harris, Woodson, Barnett, KGB, Favre, Henderson, Green, Driver, Franks, Tauscher, and Clifton think about written off this season simply because TT is unwilling to go get a player they desperately need??

 

[recte44]

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because of what he did in Seattle.

Do you honestly think that by adding a player or two that would make the difference? We need about 20 players, not 2. And the only way to make that happen in the salary cap era is to draft, hit on those you do, and keep accumulating younger, cheaper players.

The track record of FA in this league is horrible (maybe I'll do a feature on that).

 

[TomAllen]

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because of what he did in Seattle.

Do you honestly think that by adding a player or two that would make the difference? We need about 20 players, not 2. And the only way to make that happen in the salary cap era is to draft, hit on those you do, and keep accumulating younger, cheaper players.

The track record of FA in this league is horrible (maybe I'll do a feature on that).

You mean you can't put an O-Line together in 2 years?

Man, the state of the NFL must be pretty bad!

 

[recte44]

Well, this could have all been avoided if we'd just have paid for Wahle. But, we didn't, and now here we are, trying to sort through youngsters to see if it'll work.

For whatever reason, this is proving a lot harder than it should be. A lot of us "amateurs" seem to think that anyone can find OL. Then why are there so many teams in the NFL having issues with their lines?

 

[TomAllen]

Good point.

TT should have thought of that before he let both guards go. Also, I'm not a big fan of the guy's that fit the scheme thing. You're cutting your options of available players even further in my book.

 

[slackerbacker]

20 guys?? And you said I was negitive??

Considering GB's schedule and a few improvements on the Def, I do think one legitimate, NFL ready Guard would allow GB to compete for a 8-8 record. The player doesn't have to be an All-Pro, just servicable.

One Guard would allow them a chance to run the ball a little, which would take some pressure off the QB and the passing game and help better contol the clock and keep the Def off the field. Right now, they simply don't have that option.

I realize 8-8 is not great, but it might be enough to get them close to a playoff spot, and getting close is 1/2 of the battle. Who knows what other teams will fall out down the stretch w/ injuries; anything can happen. Likewise, I like the idea of Favre having something to play for. He seems to get excited and make the others around him better. Once they are in the playoffs, who knows??

One thing is for certain though, it's not going to happen unless TT is willing to part w/ a draft pick and go get some quality depth for the OL and maybe RB and or WR. I still think someone like Liewenski? from Minn, would be a good pick up for this OL. He has experience @ LT and RG and could help us prep for the Viks. He wouldn't cost much either.

 

[TomAllen]

How about this guy, from the Giants? Rich Seubert. He's available...anyone know?

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/237186

 

[kmac]

He's had injuries, and been garbage on the rare occasion he's played the last couple of years.

 

[packedhouse01]

I believe TT thought that when he let Rivera and Waehle go that he could find two guards to fill the spots until he could draft a few and turn them into good players. For whatever reason he hasn't been able to do that. It looks like we're going to have to develop what we have. That means we live with the lack of a run game and a passing game until they grow up.

I know this is a difficult concept, but Mike Sherman left this team in a bad way. There is a reason that only one starter remains from players that Sherman drafted. TT had way more than his work cut out for him when he arrived in Green Bay. Seattle was lightyears ahead of where we are now. In other words it's going to take some time to fix this thing. The one thing we have to do is be patient. One player isn't going to fix everything, but if he can somehow find a guard or two that can still play, this offense can at least be somewhat productive as long as they have Favre.

 

[recte44]

recte44/packedhouse:

Separated at birth?

Good points all, dude.

 

[porky88]

Sorry, I don't buy that. If they fit the scheme as you say, then shouldn't they be playing better??

Every team runs zone blocking plays to some extent. The stretch play is pretty universal accross the NFL. I think if you're a good player, you'll be good in this scheme. The only real difference is you may not get to the 2nd level blocks for long runs. That's not our problem right now. Currently, we simple can't get a push or move anyone off the line of scrimmage.

Nope every team doesn't run zone blocking scheme. I'm sorry but from this post it shows you don't understand the scheme. Majority of the NFL runs the man to man blocking scheme which requires guards that don't have to move much and they block a man instead of an area. The zone scheme you block an area instead of a guy and it requires smaller athletic guards than can get down the field and make a play. So if the DT is in your area you block him. If not then you move on to possibly a LB in that area. There is a huge difference in schemes. Larry Allen for example would do horrible in this scheme because he can't move well and probably couldn't get low enough to cut either.

 

[TomAllen]

I believe TT thought that when he let Rivera and Waehle go that he could find two guards to fill the spots until he could draft a few and turn them into good players. For whatever reason he hasn't been able to do that. It looks like we're going to have to develop what we have. That means we live with the lack of a run game and a passing game until they grow up.

I know this is a difficult concept, but Mike Sherman left this team in a bad way. There is a reason that only one starter remains from players that Sherman drafted. TT had way more than his work cut out for him when he arrived in Green Bay. Seattle was lightyears ahead of where we are now. In other words it's going to take some time to fix this thing. The one thing we have to do is be patient. One player isn't going to fix everything, but if he can somehow find a guard or two that can still play, this offense can at least be somewhat productive as long as they have Favre.

The problem is though, TT had plenty of options to fill the guard postion, but for some reason, he didn't take them..as has been pointed out numerouse times. Also, there were other options like retaining Wahle, or keeping Reugameyer at center and moving Wells to guard, thereby only needing one guard position to fill.

I think this is why certain posters have questions about TT.

 

[pyledriver80]

Sorry, I don't buy that. If they fit the scheme as you say, then shouldn't they be playing better??

Every team runs zone blocking plays to some extent. The stretch play is pretty universal accross the NFL. I think if you're a good player, you'll be good in this scheme. The only real difference is you may not get to the 2nd level blocks for long runs. That's not our problem right now. Currently, we simple can't get a push or move anyone off the line of scrimmage.

Nope every team doesn't run zone blocking scheme. I'm sorry but from this post it shows you don't understand the scheme. Majority of the NFL runs the man to man blocking scheme which requires guards that don't have to move much and they block a man instead of an area. The zone scheme you block an area instead of a guy and it requires smaller athletic guards than can get down the field and make a play. So if the DT is in your area you block him. If not then you move on to possibly a LB in that area. There is a huge difference in schemes. Larry Allen for example would do horrible in this scheme because he can't move well and probably couldn't get low enough to cut either.

Sorry Porky, but Slacker is 100% correct. Every team, or at least the majorityof them, have plays that employ the same basic principles of zone blocking. It's not thier MAIN scheme but mosts stretch plays are basically the same thing as Zone blocking.

 

[porky88]

Sorry, I don't buy that. If they fit the scheme as you say, then shouldn't they be playing better??

Every team runs zone blocking plays to some extent. The stretch play is pretty universal accross the NFL. I think if you're a good player, you'll be good in this scheme. The only real difference is you may not get to the 2nd level blocks for long runs. That's not our problem right now. Currently, we simple can't get a push or move anyone off the line of scrimmage.

Nope every team doesn't run zone blocking scheme. I'm sorry but from this post it shows you don't understand the scheme. Majority of the NFL runs the man to man blocking scheme which requires guards that don't have to move much and they block a man instead of an area. The zone scheme you block an area instead of a guy and it requires smaller athletic guards than can get down the field and make a play. So if the DT is in your area you block him. If not then you move on to possibly a LB in that area. There is a huge difference in schemes. Larry Allen for example would do horrible in this scheme because he can't move well and probably couldn't get low enough to cut either.

Sorry Porky, but Slacker is 100% correct. Every team, or at least the majorityof them, have plays that employ the same basic principles of zone blocking. It's not thier MAIN scheme but mosts stretch plays are basically the same thing as Zone blocking.

They're are only a few teams that run the zone scheme full time. Green Bay still has some plays where they run man blocking scheme but about 95% is zone blocking now. Same goes for teams that run man to man blocking. They have some plays which requires the guard to move and make a block in an area but 95% of the time they run man to man blocking and have their guards drive the tackles back and instead of picking and finding a hole the back already knows where the hole is supposed to be. Atlanta, Denver, and Houston are the only teams off the top of my head that run the zone blocking scheme. The rest are power running teams.

 

[pyledriver80]

Sorry, I don't buy that. If they fit the scheme as you say, then shouldn't they be playing better??

Every team runs zone blocking plays to some extent. The stretch play is pretty universal accross the NFL. I think if you're a good player, you'll be good in this scheme. The only real difference is you may not get to the 2nd level blocks for long runs. That's not our problem right now. Currently, we simple can't get a push or move anyone off the line of scrimmage.

Nope every team doesn't run zone blocking scheme. I'm sorry but from this post it shows you don't understand the scheme. Majority of the NFL runs the man to man blocking scheme which requires guards that don't have to move much and they block a man instead of an area. The zone scheme you block an area instead of a guy and it requires smaller athletic guards than can get down the field and make a play. So if the DT is in your area you block him. If not then you move on to possibly a LB in that area. There is a huge difference in schemes. Larry Allen for example would do horrible in this scheme because he can't move well and probably couldn't get low enough to cut either.

Sorry Porky, but Slacker is 100% correct. Every team, or at least the majorityof them, have plays that employ the same basic principles of zone blocking. It's not thier MAIN scheme but mosts stretch plays are basically the same thing as Zone blocking.

They're are only a few teams that run the zone scheme full time. Green Bay still has some plays where they run man blocking scheme but about 95% is zone blocking now. Same goes for teams that run man to man blocking. They have some plays which requires the guard to move and make a block in an area but 95% of the time they run man to man blocking and have their guards drive the tackles back and instead of picking and finding a hole the back already knows where the hole is supposed to be. Atlanta, Denver, and Houston are the only teams off the top of my head that run the zone blocking scheme. The rest are power running teams.

Thats pretty much what slacker said

 

[BoydAvery]

And how's that philosophy working for us?? Answer.....

This is his 2nd year. Good grief, man. THE SKY IS FALLING!

You have to give a draft three years to work out. Also, Sherman is gone now so you need to close that book, slackerbacker.

In the 2 years TT brought in 2 FA's Klemm and O'Dwyer and has drafted 5 OL and still doesn't have a clue.

 

[tromadz]

yep

except that Taucher,wells,clifton, and spitz are solid players

 

[Zero2Cool]

yep

except that Taucher,wells,clifton, and spitz are solid players

Well. Tauscher wasn't brought in by Ted. I don't belive Wells was either

 

[tromadz]

im not saying any of those guys were brought in by TT(Spitz was), im saying...he has a clue. 4\5 of the line positions are pretty solid. Spitz has done a lot better than i thought, and is very versatile.

I think TT has a clue...

 

[Zero2Cool]

I see

 

[BoydAvery]

I think TT has a clue...

The proof will be in the pudding. We shall see.

With a decent GM there is no reason why the Packers shouldn't improve from their 4-12 2005 season.

IMO, anything under 8-8 would justify a concern at TT's competence.