Play Makers - Packers Looking For More On Defense!

The Packer Play Makers?

Aaron Rogers - QB

Randall Cobb - WR

Eddie Lacy - RB

Jordy Nelson - WR

Clay Matthews - LB

And, . . . . . . . . .

The Pack NEEDS more defensive play makers!!!

Today Coach McCarthy mention giving Micah Hyde a shot to play more!  Is he a PLAY MAKER?

Did you know that the Packers were the ONLY NFL team without an interception from the safeties last year!!  Wow!  We need playmakers!

Micah Hyde

Packer Team Roster Continues to Change!

One thing for sure, NFL Teams change each year and the Packers are changing!  What is the latest as of the end of March - 2014?

Packers leaving and going to other teams:
MD Jennings - safety to the Bears
Evan Dietrich-Smith - center to the Bucs
James Jones - wide receiver to the Raiders
Marshall Newhouse - offensive tackle to the Bengals
CJ Wilson - defensive end to the Raiders

New Packers from other NFL Teams:
Julius Peppers - defensive end - from the Bears
Letroy Guion - defensive tackle from the Vikings

Re-signed by the Packers:
Mike Neal - defensive end/linebacker
BJ Raji - defensive tackle
James Starks - running back
Andrew Quarless - tight end

Check out Packer website roster!

So, the Packer Roster is now at 75 players, including:
defense - 33
offense - 39
special team - 3

Remember, when practice starts in July - 90 players are allowed on the team.  So far, the Pack has 9 draft picks coming in May.  Then add all the other free agents.  One this is for sure………..

More changes to come!!

Packers 2014 - Running Backs!! And Don't Forget Aaron Rogers!

OK, as of March 18. 2014 - Packer Running Backs….

Starting at running back -
Eddie Lacy.  Age(23)
2013 Rookie of the Year!
1178 Yards - 11 TD's - 19 carries per game!
Love Lacy's running style!  He has that punishing style that makes tackling a long day!  He also seems to have a nose for the end zone & the 1st down marker!!  1000 yards!!

Back-up to Lacy…

James Starks Age (28)
493 yards - 3 TD's - 5.5 yards per carry (one of the leagues best!)  A great change of pace with his own unique style!  Like Lacy, he can be a punishing runner!!

DuJuan Harris  Age(25)
Started two games last year and looked great!  Ran like hard!  Small, but runs wild!!!!

Jonathan Franklin Age(24)
Looked quick & elusive!  Had that one 100 yard game, but some fumble issues!  But, seems to have something the Packers need!  STOP FUMBLING!!!

OK Packer Fans!  You are Mike McCarthy & you have these 4 running backs & Aaron Rogers!  How do you creatively use this talent?  Mike, if you are surfing the internet, and find my Blog, here are some creative ideas!!!

1 - A heavy dose of Eddie Lacy!!!  And, play action passing game for Rogers!!!!

2 - Do not kill Lacy's legs!  James Starks, DuJuan Harris, should all run the ball!!!

3 - Special formations!  Right now the TE position is OK with Quarless & Bostick, but not fantastic!  I would use the running backs in your passing formations when you go 4 receivers!  Especially Harris & Franklin!!!

4 - Quick screens - Harris & Franklin!

5 - Reverses, Lacy with Harris & Franklin.  At lea
st FAKE, the reverse so teams must respect the back side!

6 - Two back offense?  Look at the possibilities!
Lacy & Starks - punishing!!!
Lacy & (Franklin & Harris)  Thunder & Lightning!!

The offensive line looks strong!  The receivers are great - Cobb-Nelson-Boykin(And I like the young ones - Dorsey, White, Harper & others!)  Maybe sign TE Owen Daniels & draft one rounds 3 & 4?

AND STAY HEALTHY!!!

Latest Packer Free Agent News

Here is the latest, check out - Packer Signing & Free Agent Tracker.

Things are heating up!

Letroy Guion, DT

Found this on his Bio!
Guion was Presented with Beacon Award from Salvation Army of the Twin Cities in recognition of his work with the organization since joining the Vikings...Has 2 daughters, Zharianna and Trinique Shenelle...Nicknamed Baloo, named for the character from the Jungle Book...Sponsors an AAU basketball team in his hometown...An avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing in his native Florida and in Minnesota...Participated in 2009, 2010 and 2012 Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener events in May, teaching kids to fish.

Sounds like a perfect Packer!  Still young at 26, let's see if we signed a "diamond in the rough!"

And,  2013 Packer latest!

Extra! Extra!! Read All About It! Packers Sign Free Agent, From Another Team!!! Welcome Julius Peppers!

It happened!  All those fans dying to get a player from another team - Julius Peppers!!

And the deal seams great!  3 years, max of $30 million, $7.5 million guaranteed.  The structure only puts $3.5 million on this year salary cap!  First, what did we get?

Julius Peppers - Panthers(8 years) - Bears(4 years) - and now Packers!
Height - 6'6" - Weight -  283 pounds
119 career sacks
2002 Rookie of the Year!
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All Pro

The bad news?  He is 34.  Hope he has some gas left in the tank!

What we hope for?

1 - Pressure the QB.  Help Matthews from the other side!

2 - Young Packer linemen - watch - listen - and learn!

3 - Fresh Blood - I think it is a GOOD thing to have someone from another team!

$17 million left to spend, what is next?

Another Day, More Free Agents Signed, All Packers, No Other Team Players!

The trend is continuing!  The Packers again stayed true to form Raji is signed for one year!  But our starting center, Dietrich-Smith is headed south to Tampa Bay!  Where does that leave us?

Free Agents Signed:
Sam Shields
Michael Neal
Andrew Quarless
BJ Raji

Lost to Other Teams
MD Jennings
Evan Dietrich-Smith

That leaves about $20,000,000 left for free agents!

Packers I would love to still have?
John Kuhn
Matt Flynn
Johnny Jolly
James Starks

Explaining How the “Rookie Salary Cap” Actually Works

The "Rookie" salary cap is unique!!   Take a look at:

Explaining how the 

“Rookie Salary Cap”

 actually works

Some important aspects are:

First, as way of further explanation, under the CBA of 2011, all rookies receive 4-year contracts, generally with a signing bonus and often with minimum base salaries set for each year of the deal.  While 1st and 2nd round picks may have base salaries of more than the minimum in years two through four of their deals, even those players will almost always receive the rookie minimum base salary during their first year.  For 2013, the minimum base salary for a rookie is $405K.  For Salary Cap purposes, the bonus received by the player is prorated over the four years of the deal and that prorated amount is added to the base salary to create the player’s Cap number.

Now, what does the salary look like for draftees?

Those (estimated) Cap numbers would breakdown as follows:

1st round:              $1.23M

2nd round:                 $614K

3rd round:                  $534K

4th round:              $501K

4th round:              $481K

5th round:              $445K

5th round:              $441K

6th round:              $428K

6th round:              $427K

6th round:              $425K

7th round:              $417K

7th round:              $417K

Hope this helps!

NFL Up-To-Date Cap Space

Here is the latest up-to-date cap space, from Spotrac!

This list not only does football, but baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer!

As of today, Friday, March 14, there is still a lot of money out there!  From Saints - $1.971,000 low and the Raiders - $57,157,000!!!  The Packers are now at $24,010,00, which is now 8th highest!

3 Days Into NFL Free Agents 2014 - Packers Stay In-house!

Well, the good news - Pack signed 3 free agents!  Bad news, all are Packers, no fresh blood!

Here is what is left on the Packer Roster:

Shields, Neal, & Quarless all signed & still $$$ left to spend!  What does this mean so far?

Shields - Needed to keep Shield to cover those SPEED receivers & Williams & Hayward are also good corners!  We still need safeties!

Neal - Was very versatile last year, playing DE & LB!  Also, stayed healthy & he knows the system.

Quarless - played well when Finley went down.  Seems to have recovered from injury and again knows the offense & Rogers!  This signing may be bye-bye to Finley!

I would love one outside the Packer organization signing from another team - good leadership, help on defense, and a hitter?  Jared Allen?

Day 2 of NFL Free Agents.  Again, this is from the
ESPN Top 50 Free Agents!

Players in yellow were signed today!

Michael Bennett (DE)- Seahawks stays Seahawks
Antoine Bethea (S) - Colts to 49ers
Jimmy Graham (TE) - Saints - Franchised
Greg Hardy (DE) - Panthers - Franchised
Earl Mitchell (NT) - Texans to Dolphins
Zane Beadles (G) - Broncos to Jaguars
Lamar Houston (DE) - Raiders to Bears
Donald Brown (RB) - Colts to Chargers
Golden Tate (WR) - Seahawks to Lions
Jared Veldheer (OT) - Raiders to Cardinals
Jason Worilds (LB)  - Steelers - Steelers
Brandon Albert (OT) - Chiefs to Dolphins
Donald Butler (LB) - Chargers to Chargers
Riley Cooper (WR) - Eagles to Eagles
Jeff Cumberland (TE) - Jets to Jets
Joe Hawley (C) - Falcons to Falcons
Michael Johnson (DE)  - Bengals to Bucs
Pat MacAfee P - Colts to Colts
Corey Peters (DT) - Falcons to Falcons
Chad Rinehart (G) - Chargers to Chargers
Aqib Talib (CB) - Patriots to Broncos
TJ Ward (DB) - Bengals to Broncos
Chris Williams (OT) - Rams to Bills
Jarius Byrd (S) - Bills to Saints
Bruce Campbell (OT) - Panthers to Redskins
Nate Collins (DT) - Bears to Bears
Vonte Davis (CB) - Colts to Colts
Brent Grimes (CB) - Dolphins to Dolphins
Rashad Jennings (RB) - Raiders to Giants
Jeremy Maclin (WR) - Eagles to Eagles
Tony McDaniel (DT) - Seahawks to Seahawks
Mike Mitchell (S) - Panthers to Steelers
Mike Neal (DE) - Packers to Packers


So, out of Top 50, 33 Signed!

Check Out The Latest Packer Free Agent Moves

ESPN has a great NFL Free Agent Tracker.

The March 11 latest list is:

Michael Bennett (DE)- Seahawks stays Seahawks
Antoine Bethea (S) - Colts to 49ers
Jimmy Graham (TE) - Saints - Franchised
Greg Hardy (DE) - Panthers - Franchised
Earl Mitchell (NT) - Texans to Dolphins
Zane Beadles (G) - Broncos to Jaguars
Lamar Houston (DE) - Raiders to Bears
Jared Veldheer (OT) - Raiders to Cardinals
Jason Worilds (LB)  - Steelers - Steelers
Brandon Albert (OT) - Chiefs to Dolphins
Donald Butler (LB) - Chargers to Chargers
Riley Cooper (WR) - Eagles to Eagles
Jeff Cumberland (TE) - Jets to Jets
Joe Hawley (C) - Falcons to Falcons
Michael Johnson (DE)  - Bengals to Bucs
Pat MacAfee P - Colts to Colts
Corey Peters (DT) - Falcons to Falcons
Chad Rinehart (G) - Chargers to Chargers
TJ Ward (DB) - Bengals to Broncos
Nate Collins (DT) - Bears to Bears
Vonte Davis (CB) - Colts to Colts
Brent Grimes (CB) - Dolphins to Dolphins
Rashad Jennings (RB) - Raiders to Giants
Jeremy Maclin (WR) - Eagles to Eagles

So far for Packers:
Sam Shields (CB)
Jamari Lattimore - Transition Tag

Packers Free Agents - Let the Signing Begin

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - Free Agents are FREE!

Free to negotiate with other teams!

Free to go for more $$$$$$$$$$!

Free!  Free!  Free!

Remember the players the Packers stand to lose!!

The players I want to re-sign?

John Kuhn  (No more then 3 million a year)

Evan Dietrich-Smith (No more then 5 million a year)

Matt Flynn  (No more then 2 million a year)

Jermichael Finley (if healthy)  (No more then 4 million a year)

Johnny Jolly (if healthy)  (No more then 3 million a year)

Mike Neal  (No more then 3 million a year)

Jamari Lattimore  (No more then 2 million a year)

James Starks  (No more then 2 million a year)

Of course, it is all about the money!

NFL Free Agent Tracker

Check out this site below:

NFL Free Agent Tracker by CBS

This website does a nice job of ranking NFL free agents and keeping an up-to-date view of signings!

The Month of March Will Begin To Change The Packers of 2014

Here we go!  March 2014!  What will the NEW Packer 2014 Team look like?  What do we know now?

1 - Free Agents are:

As of the first week in March there is not a lot of free agent news.  

Some basic math:

Out of 22 starters, it looks like 8-9 are free agents!  That to me is scary!

Offense - Finley (TE), Jones (WR), Kuhn (FB), & Dietrich-Smith.

Defense - Picket (DT), Raji (DT), Shields (CB), Jolly (DE), Neal (DE/LB)

Both James Jones & Sam Shields seem to be headed to other teams.  I do sense, that the Packers would like to extend Jordy Nelson & Randall Cobb contracts.  My gut feeling is most of the list you see above will be gone.  That concerns me!!!

2 - Salary Cap - 

Looks like the Pack is about 35 million under the salary cap.  Part of that will hopefully go to the free agents above!  And maybe a free agent pick up from another team!  Also, I see some other players that could be cut in the future to save money?  As young players come in, older players hit the road.

So, changes are coming!  The good news, the Pack have money to work with signing & re-negotiating contracts!  Bad news, we may lose some great Packers - Kuhn, Jones, Shields, ……………  Welcome to life in today's NFL!

Latest Packer News & Rumors!

OK!  Here we are at March 1!  What is the latest gossip?

Sam Shields Will Test The Market

This will add another defensive issue.  One positive last year was the corners.  Williams & Shields as starters.  Hayward hurt, but is a great ball hawk & slot coverage man.  Some depth with House, Hyde, & Nixon.  Shields was the "speed" guy.  But, the sound of the article was Shields was asking for tooooo much - Franchise him $11 million - or a contract getting $9-11 million per year?  Looks like we have three choices: 1 - Use a player already on the roster, 2 - Draft a cornerback, or 3 - sign another corner free agent for less, say $6-7 million per year? Brett Grimes, Aqib Talib, or Alterraun Verner?

Johnny Jolly has neck surgery!

Here we go again!  Nick Collins, Jermichael Finley, now Johnny Jolly!  Half way through the season, Jolly was showing great leadership & emotion (WHICH THE PACKER DEFENSE NEEDS!!)  He was also a force for the run defense!  What will be the outcome of the neck surgery?

Browns - D'Qwell Jackson
The Browns released him because he was due an $8 million bonus this year and if the Packers acted quickly before free agency starts, they could maybe get a steal. I would think a three-year deal worth around $15 million would get it done and personally I think it would be worth the investment.

Need to do more research on this one!

And last, but not least - Mack Drafts!  They are never even close after the first few picks, but I found one I like!

Packer Mock Draft

I love a safety in the draft!  This draft suggested Calvin Pryor out of Louisville?  But, the combine showed issues!

Louisville FS Calvin Pryor

Bear with us a minute, as Pryor still will be one of the first two safeties off the board. But if he wanted to make a "Look at me! Look at me!" statement and end any doubt as to the top safety, he failed. He ran a 4.58 40-yard dash, which is fine, but his vertical jump (34.5 inches) was nothing special and his broad jump (9 feet, 8 inches) was one of the five worst by a defensive back. In short, he didn't show that he was an explosive athlete. And speaking of short, he measured in at a shade above 5-11; he was listed at 6-2 at Louisville.

What?  Louisville listed him at 6'2" & the NFL combine measured him at 5'11"!  Also, no explosion in the vertical & broad jump!  FLAGS!  MAYBE ANOTHER SAFETY?

Linebacker at the second pick?  Like it!  But, Chris Borland, ILB our of Wisconsin?  Love the fact it was Wisconsin & he hustles & is durable.  But, second round?  I think 3rd of 4th round maybe.