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Packers Could Cut Pricey Veterans

 Posted by at 2:33 pm  3 Responses »
Dec 222012
 
Charles Woodson's great career in Green Bay could be coming to an end

Defensive back Charles Woodson’s great career in Green Bay might be coming to an end

The Green Bay Packers will be spending a lot of money in the next 15 months. A lot. That’s because the organization will need to extend the contracts of two of the best players in the National Football League (Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews) – not to mention re-sign a bunch of other key contributors (i.e. B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson, Brad Jones, James “TD” Jones, Sam Shields and Morgan Burnett).

Considering that the salary cap isn’t expected to go up very much in the next couple of years, it’s fair to question where the Packers will find the money to keep all of these good players. Fortunately, there is an answer. By cutting the cord to a group of talented but very replaceable veterans, general manager Ted Thompson should be able to extend or re-sign the vast majority of the nine players mentioned above.

Here are the veteran players I’d be willing to sacrifice in the coming offseason. The first number in the parentheses is their scheduled base salary for 2013 and the second number is their projected cap hit for 2013):

JEFF SATURDAY ($1.35M/$3.75M): Even before the veteran center was benched on Friday, he had no chance of returning for a second season in Green Bay. Thompson probably expected the former All-Pro to play better, but he wasn’t a disaster. His shotgun snaps were flawless and he held up OK in pass protection. Unfortunately, his lack of size and athletic ability made him a major liability in the run game.

CHARLES WOODSON ($6.5M/$10M): I opined in March that the Packers should release the veteran defensive back, so I obviously feel the same way today. At 36, the future Hall of Famer is no longer able to cover quick receivers without holding them and he’s lost the explosiveness that once made him a feared blitzer. Now what the defense is getting for $6.5 million is a great leader who can bait a young QB into a mistake from time to time. To be honest, I’m not overly thrilled about Woodson returning this season.

JERMICHAEL FINLEY ($4.45M/$8.75M): There isn’t a suitable replacement on the current roster, but there are a number of good tight ends available in the upcoming draft. And besides, the Packers won a Super Bowl with Andrew Quarless starting at the position. While Finley is playing better as of late, the comparisons to Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates ended a long time ago. Nowadays, a more suitable comparison would be to Martellus Bennett of the Giants – a nice player who’s being paid $2.5M this season.

A.J. HAWK ($4.9M/$7.05M): The former Ohio State star has bounced back from arguably the worst season of his career, but that doesn’t mean he’s worth over $5 million. For that type of money, you would expect a starting inside linebacker to make some impact plays. Unfortunately, Hawk doesn’t do impact plays – never has and never will. He is, however, extremely durable and fairly consistent. And while those are two admirable traits, they simply aren’t worth the type of money he’s set to make in 2013.

MASON CROSBY ($2.4M/$3.15M): Based on how the Packers have stood behind the slumping kicker, I’m almost expecting them to give him a raise for 2013. After all, he must have pictures of coach Mike McCarthy, right? Seriously, Crosby needs to get the boot. Even before this nightmarish campaign, his career field goal percentage of 79.3 was 3 points below the league average for the past five years. And be honest, when was the last time you felt confident watching Crosby line up to attempt a kick in a big spot?

JOHN KUHN ($1.8M/$2.6M): In this case, the money’s probably not the biggest issue. I just think it’s time for the Packers to upgrade at the fullback position. Kuhn, who will turn 31 next summer, is clearly wearing down. That’s obvious both on offense and on special teams. By finding the right replacement, Green Bay can get better, younger and cheaper all at the same time. It’s the trifecta every GM dreams about.

DESMOND BISHOP ($3.5M/$5M): While I don’t expect the hard-hitting linebacker to be released, I’m including him on this list for four reasons – his age, his salary, his health and his backups. Bishop is pushing 30, he’s set to earn over $4 million (including bonuses), he’s coming off a serious hamstring injury and he was adequately replaced by D.J. Smith and then by Brad Jones. Again, I fully expect the former Cal star to be back next season. I’m just saying that he could be sacrificed if money got really tight.

Solid Thursday For Saturday

 Posted by at 2:40 pm  4 Responses »
Aug 152012
 

Starting center Jeff Saturday is one of the oldest players in the NFL

There’s a reason former Packer and current Ram Scott Wells will be paid nearly twice as much as Jeff Saturday this season – he’s a better player. But after carefully watching all of Saturday’s snaps from last Thursday’s game against the Chargers, I came away feeling pretty good about Green Bay’s new old center.

In 15 snaps, Saturday held his own against some quality defensive linemen. And truth be told, that’s really all the Packers are expecting. The player who was named a second-team All-Pro in ’09 is but a memory.

That Saturday still had the athleticism and strength to physically get the better of his opponents. This Saturday relies on 14 years worth of experience to get the job done. And for one quarter of one game, he did just that.

Can Saturday continue to get the job done for the next six months? That’s the question. Few centers have ever started in the NFL at age 37. Plus, Green Bay runs more plays on offense than most teams, so he’s going to be on the field a lot more than he was a year ago when the Colts were often three and out.

Of course, the irony of worrying about Saturday’s ability to physically hold up with the Packers is that Wells hasn’t practiced all summer with St. Louis because of a lingering knee problem. That’s one of the reasons GM Ted Thompson passed on re-signing the Pro Bowler. There were 24 million other reasons as well.

Packers Lack Quality Depth At Guard

 Posted by at 11:55 am  7 Responses »
Jul 132012
 
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I didn’t think Evan Dietrich-Smith was a legitimate NFL player two summers ago. After re-watching his three starts from late last season, I’ve changed my mind. He’s definitely a legitimate NFL player; he’s just not a guard. While the 26-year-old managed to survive in 188 snaps against the Giants, Oakland and Chicago, he wasn’t very impressive. The feeling here is that the Packers need to find a better No. 3 guard and allow EDS to concentrate on backing up 37-year-old center Jeff Saturday.

Dietrich-Smith is a fundamentally sound lineman who plays with an aggressive and nasty temperament. He generally stays on his feet and he often packs a punch on contact. What he lacks is athleticism. He got exposed in space quite often – especially against the Giants – and he really struggled to hit moving targets. I counted at least five plays where Dietrich-Smith’s inability to adjust to movement almost got Aaron Rodgers sacked. In each instance, only the MVP quarterback’s quick release or uncanny escapability kept him from getting taken to the ground.

The Packers can obviously get through a game or two with Dietrich-Smith at guard, but I think he’d become a liability if forced to play for an extended period of time. Ideally, one of the young linemen will step up in training camp and seize the backup position. Unfortunately, the odds of that happening aren’t very good. Ray Dominguez finished last season on the active roster, but he still has a lot to learn after starting 33 games at tackle in college. The remainder of the potential backups are either undrafted free agents or veterans who are more comfortable outside.

I used to think Jaymes Brooks had a chance to replace Dietrich-Smith as the No. 3 guard, but that was before the talented rookie from Virginia Tech injured his hamstring and sat out the entire offseason. There’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for the start of camp, and even if he is, he’ll be way behind. There’s always a chance GM Ted Thompson will acquire a veteran during the summer, but don’t bet on it. That means Dietrich-Smith will likely enter his second season as the team’s top backup at all three interior offensive line positions. And while that’s not my biggest concern in July, it could be if something happens to one of the starting guards or tackles in October.

Packers Getting Busy In Free Agency

 Posted by at 5:36 pm  20 Responses »
Mar 212012
 
Packers are reportedly interested in LB Lawson

The Packers are reportedly interested in free agent Lawson

The Green Bay Packers, as expected, sat out the first week of free agency, but things are starting to heat up in week two. Center Jeff Saturday was in town on Monday and more visits are possible in the near future. According to published reports, GM Ted Thompson has contacted the agents for outside linebacker Manny Lawson and defensive lineman Dave Tollefson. Also, the team re-signed defensive back Jarrett Bush.

Saturday is obviously the team’s top choice to replace Scott Wells, but getting a deal done will be very difficult. That’s because the Broncos are also interested in the 36-year-old former Colt, and the chance to reunite with Peyton Manning has to be very tempting. Thompson might have to overpay to get Saturday, and as we all know, the odds of that happening are about the same as the odds of Lindsay Lohan winning an Oscar. There are a number of other veteran centers on the market, but none have piqued the Packers interest as of yet.

Lawson spent the first five years of his career with the 49ers before signing with the Bengals last summer. While the former first-round draft choice has never lived up to his enormous potential, he has gotten better each season and is now at least an average starter. The 27-year-old appears to be more comfortable in a 4-3 scheme, but he’s also capable of playing in a 3-4. If signed, Lawson wouldn’t do much to improve the anemic pass rush, but he’s reliable against the run and adept in coverage – two things that couldn’t be said about any of last season’s right outside linebackers.

Tollefson was originally drafted by Green Bay in 2006, so Thompson knows him well. The 29-year-old had a career-high 5 sacks for the Giants last season, and while he doesn’t appear to have a natural position in a 3-4, he does have more pass rush skills than most of the players on the current roster. This alone makes him attractive. So does his fiery personality. Let’s face it, last year’s defense showed about as much passion as the Ben Stein character in Ferris Bueller.

Bush visited with the Jets and Cards before agreeing to a three-year deal worth $5.35 million ($1 million signing bonus). That sounds like a lot of money for a backup corner, but as I wrote two weeks ago, his skill set was going to appeal to a lot of GMs. That’s because there aren’t many special teams stars who can also contribute at a position. And while the 28-year-old former Utah State star isn’t much of a defensive back, he can at least get you through a game. Once Bush returned to the fold, the Packers had no need for Pat Lee. He signed a one-year contract with Oakland.

Packers Want Saturday For Sundays

 Posted by at 12:00 am  3 Responses »
Mar 202012
 
Longtime Colt could be Packers new center

Longtime Colts center visited with the Packers on Monday

According to a published report, Jeff Saturday spent Monday visiting with the Packers. The free agent center appears to be general manager Ted Thompson’s top choice to replace Scott Wells, who signed with St. Louis late last week. Whether Green Bay is Saturday’s first choice of where to play in 2012 remains be seen. The 36-year-old also has visits scheduled with Tennessee and Denver. The Titans figure to offer the most money and the Broncos will offer the opportunity to reunite with quarterback Peyton Manning. Needless to say, Thompson has his work cut out for him.

If – and it’s a huge if – Saturday does sign with Green Bay, the play at the center position should be almost as good next season as it was last season. And it was very good last season. The 13-year-veteran from North Carolina didn’t go to the most recent Pro Bowl, but that’s only because the AFC is loaded with outstanding centers (Nick Mangold, Alex Mack, Maurkice Pouncey, etc.). That’s how impressed I was after watching a few Colts games from last season (thanks NFL Rewind).

From the number on their jersey to their pre-snap awareness to their play to the whistle mentality, there’s little difference between Wells and Saturday. Both players are too small to move 340-pound defensive tackles off the line of scrimmage, but they compensate by using good leverage and maintaining outstanding technique. This keeps them from being liabilities in the running game. And while the younger Wells anchors better against powerful rushers, I didn’t see Saturday getting pushed back all that often. The only thing Wells does noticeably better is get out to the second level and initiate contact on linebackers. That’s where Saturday’s 36-year-old legs have a tendency to let him down.

Even if Saturday signs elsewhere, the good news is that Thompson seems determined to replace Wells with a known commodity as opposed to an unproven veteran or a rookie. That’s a good idea. The thought of Evan Dietrich-Smith or even a draft choice as talented as Peter Konz hiking the ball to the league MVP next season has to make even the most optimistic fan sweat just a little. The only thing that makes me sweat just a little about Saturday is his date of birth. Yes he played well last season, but offensive linemen that age can hit the wall at any time, and when they do, it ain’t pretty. But Thompson obviously isn’t overly concerned about that happening, so I won’t belabor the point any further.