Packers 2020 Offseason Thread - Packers Talking Extension with Aaron Jones

[JayMKE]

The holes TT left were massive

This is really the story. Aaron Rodgers carried this team for a good seven years post the Superbowl, while the talent level kept dropping year after year. Masked a ton of really poor GM work.

And now Gutey made some good moves the past year to start filling up the tank again......however, just as he's doing that, Rodgers level is declining and will keep doing so.

This season reminded me a lot of 2007 and still does. We got to the NFC championship on a game manager Favre, but ultimately had to move on from him to take the next step. We're going to have to do the same with Aaron in the next 12-months. Going to be ugly.

That's going too far, unless Rodgers calls it quits out of the blue he's not going anywhere. He's not as dynamic as he use to be but he isn't the reason the team lost this game and there isn't any viable replacement on the horizon, start thinking about it sure but no reason to be in a hurry.

[paulpressey25]

but he isn't the reason the team lost this game and there isn't any viable replacement on the horizon, start thinking about it sure but no reason to be in a hurry.

Agree Rodgers is absolutely not the reason the team lost. But at the same time, his skill level has dropped a lot the past two-years, and it shouldn't be unexpected. Too many fans assumed he'd play great into his 40's like Brady (and to a lesser extent Favre and Brees). But those guys were crazy outliers.

Next year his cap hit is $21mm. That bumps to $36mm the year after. The team can likely get one more year of game manager out of him, and hope they can hit big-time on some personnel moves to help him.

Personally though, I'm seeing the end on the horizon. Don't see him being a highly effective starting QB at age 38.

[JayMKE]

but he isn't the reason the team lost this game and there isn't any viable replacement on the horizon, start thinking about it sure but no reason to be in a hurry.

Agree Rodgers is absolutely not the reason the team lost. But at the same time, his skill level has dropped a lot the past two-years, and it shouldn't be unexpected. Too many fans assumed he'd play great into his 40's like Brady (and to a lesser extent Favre and Brees). But those guys were crazy outliers.

Next year his cap hit is $21mm. That bumps to $36mm the year after. The team can likely get one more year of game manager out of him, and hope they can hit big-time on some personnel moves to help him.

Personally though, I'm seeing the end on the horizon. Don't see him being a highly effective starting QB at age 38.

I guess the question that needs to be asked of Aaron is how long does he actually sees himself playing. To me he never seemed like a guy that wanted to play into his 40s and I don't want to push him out the door, it hurt with Favre and that was with a viable replacement waiting on the bench so a clear & honest answer would help a lot in planning the future. The Murphy-Gute-LaFleur triumvirate would be committing suicide if they mess up the succession especially if Rodgers goes plays somewhere else with success for a few years. Perhaps if Rodgers is in it for the long haul he'd be open to restructuring. I just want to try everything possible to win with Rodgers before rebuilding, remember this was Rodgers first year in LaFleur's offense too so I haven't given up on him.

[RRyder823]

I dont hate the idea of drafting Tua if he falls to 30. I just wanted to say that.

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I don’t think he makes it out of the top 5 still.

One mildly bad prognosis on his physical can change that pretty quickly

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[RRyder823]

but he isn't the reason the team lost this game and there isn't any viable replacement on the horizon, start thinking about it sure but no reason to be in a hurry.

Agree Rodgers is absolutely not the reason the team lost. But at the same time, his skill level has dropped a lot the past two-years, and it shouldn't be unexpected. Too many fans assumed he'd play great into his 40's like Brady (and to a lesser extent Favre and Brees). But those guys were crazy outliers.

Next year his cap hit is $21mm. That bumps to $36mm the year after. The team can likely get one more year of game manager out of him, and hope they can hit big-time on some personnel moves to help him.

Personally though, I'm seeing the end on the horizon. Don't see him being a highly effective starting QB at age 38.

Rodgers may not be the ONLY reason the team lost to SF but he certainly gets a huge part of the blame. (majority goes to the run D)

9/12 passing for 64 yards with 1 interception and 2 fumbles in the 1st half doesnt get excused or brushed away simply because he made his numbers look prettier in the 2nd half as SF was protecting a massive lead

If Tua drops into the 20's I'm trading up to get him

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[HaroldinGMinor]

I'm not putting that botched snap on Rodgers

[RRyder823]

If the Packers can resign Bulaga on a reasonable deal and bring back Crosby I think they're set on their own FAs

In FA you target a guy like Green or Robby Anderson and hopefully and an ILB like Schobert.

Unless Gute is planning on breaking the bank on a TE the only realistic options are a guy like Hooper, development from Sternberger and/or the draft

They definitely need help on the dline but most likely theyll need to hit on a guy in the draft

Secondary is fine going into next year. King had a lot of ups n downs and Jaire fell off torwards the end but niether of those things are horribly unexpected for young guys and correctable with expierence

Depth is ALWAYS welcome everywhere

The heir apparent needs to be found either this year or next year at the latest. I love Rodgers but I'm having trouble getting behind the notion that another year in the offense is going to help him much. Outside of a few miss reads here and there his major problem most of the time this year was simply missing the throws. It wasnt him being a game manager or even just missing reads. He was simply not hitting guys when they where open much of the time

This team is all in all in good shape though going into the offseason. Even just hitting on a pair of moves puts them in good position for next season

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[BUCKnation]

Fantastic year to spend a few picks on WR.

[sdn40]

If you want to blame Rodgers for aging - so be it. He's the same age as Favre was for the infamous Giants playoff game. But I think it's unfair to expect the same production we've seen in the past with fewer weapons than he's had in a decade, all while aging. Give him some help or build a Top 5 defense. Blaming him is easy - and stupid.

[raysbookclub]

Rodgers said postgame that he thinks this is the start of a window for GB, and I think he’s right. Mostly because the NFC North is ripe for the Pack to win for a couple years. Min is good but has cap issues. Chicago went win-now with the Mack trade and their offense and defense regressed this year. Lions continue to struggle. We have a decent chance for a home playoff game and even a bye the next couple years.

Don’t want to be too reactive to one competitor in the offseason, which has bitten us before. Eg, Wolf drafting three straight CBs after passing on Moss and seeing Moss’s rookie year, TT drafting Datone Jones after the Kaepernick game.

We clearly need to improve the middle front of our defense. But we need to pick up the best players we can, all over the field. Too many needs to move up much in the draft unless you know you’re getting Revis or Ray Lewis or Moss. Otherwise pick 30 could be a ILB or WR or DL or OL or CB or even RB.

[BallinBucks420]

The holes TT left were massive

This is really the story. Aaron Rodgers carried this team for a good seven years post the Superbowl, while the talent level kept dropping year after year. Masked a ton of really poor GM work.

And now Gutey made some good moves the past year to start filling up the tank again......however, just as he's doing that, Rodgers level is declining and will keep doing so.

This season reminded me a lot of 2007 and still does. We got to the NFC championship on a game manager Favre, but ultimately had to move on from him to take the next step. We're going to have to do the same with Aaron in the next 12-months. Going to be ugly.

Lol nah Rodgers will be fine...He had absolutely no weapons this year besides Adams...hes got at least 2 to 3 solid years in him..to many holes to worry about a QB early unless someone you love is there...Im not gonna start saying stuff like Rodgers is done after an average year with what he had..we got to the NFC title game my god...were just a couple pieces away

[Finn]

I’m so annoyed because I don’t think SF is that good. This team has a long way to go yet this still feels like a missed opportunity because none of the final 4 teams are impressive juggernauts. I am such an optimist at heart but I am as down on Rodgers as I’ve ever been.

Would love for GB to be "not that good".

[LikeABosh]

I don't understand how you can say the 9ers "aren't that good". They're the most complete team in the league from the players to the GM

[Jollay]

ILB and second/third WR are usually fairly affordable in FA.

No reason why Gute can't plug some holes at about half/a third the cost of last years binge.

[Jollay]

Oh, cant believe I overlooked him before, hope Lewis comes back on a one-year. He really did some nice work this year behind the scenes. Perfect second/third TE and for running formations.

Unless we need the $ for an actual 1st string TE, I admit...

[MAC1987]

My offseason thoughts align with pretty much everyone. I do think we should go after Hunter Henry or Austin Hooper hard. I'm not sure what their blocking is like. I'm optimistic Sternberger will still be good, but he is young and having 2 potentially good TEs would be fantastic for the offense.

Resign: Bulaga and Crosby

Sign: Hooper/H.Henry, Robby Anderson/WR, etc.

Draft: Dline, ILB, WR, Oline

Since AROD is older and the window with him his short, i think you have to look hard at the WR, TE spot in Free Agency. I dont like Amari Coopers effort. I dont like AJ Greens injury history, but if Green is willing to take little less money do we look at him?

Need impact, proven playmakers for AROD.

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[WRau1]

Well, I guess the good thing is that our needs are pretty obvious so they absolutely should be addressed. This is the last year I'm giving Pettine, though.

[MAC1987]

My unrealistic answer for off season plans:

The question is how much did we really need ARod to be Godgers? Did he win us games or was it more MLFs gameplan and the running game?

ARod missed throws and missed the open reciever throughout the year.

Trade Aaron Rodgers to the Patriots? And sign Tom Brady? What?

Why? Well MLF could learn alot from Brady and MLFs gameplan seems to align pretty well with what he's done his entire career......this could also free up more cash for filling holes on Defense and WR/TE.

Remember this is 99.99% maybe even 100% not going to happen. But....would be interesting if Tom Brady still wants to play and gives us a few years to groom a rookie QB.

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[Treebeard]

Dougherty's take on the future:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/dougherty/2020/01/19/packers-need-another-busy-offseason-close-talent-gap-49-ers/4505472002/

Dougherty: Packers will need another busy offseason to close talent gap with 49ers
Pete Dougherty, Packers NewsPublished 11:54 p.m. CT Jan. 19, 2020 | Updated 1:09 a.m. CT Jan. 20, 2020

With a new coach and some big offseason moves, the Packers went from a bad NFL team to one of the better decent ones. But compared to the best, well, general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur have a long way to go.

Regardless, two things stood out in this beatdown: One, for as much credit as LaFleur deserves for his role in turning things around as a rookie coach and only a second-year play-caller in the league, he’s going to need a steep learning curve to catch up with his mentor, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who’s in his third season as a head coach and 11th as a play caller in the league. LaFleur lost twice to Shanahan this season by the combined score of 74-28, which can’t be explained by talent alone.

Second, the difference in speed between the two teams jumped off the field. Mostert was the fastest player in the game, and 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle are big and fast too. On defense, the 49ers’ front seven, which includes five first-round draft picks in the defensive line rotation, played a tick faster than the Packers’ offense.

The contrast with the Packers’ lack of speed at key positions was stark.

For one, they’re too slow at inside linebacker with Blake Martinez and B.J. Goodson. That position has been devalued in the NFL in the past 15 or 20 years as the league has become more passing oriented, but it might be time for that to change.

All three of the 49ers’ off-ball linebackers (Kwon Alexander, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw) were better and faster than anybody the Packers put on the field at that position. If the Packers are going to solve their run-defense issues, Gutekunst will have to spend some resources there, as well as on the interior defensive line.

The Packers also have a glaring lack of speed at receiver. Their one fast guy, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, played his way out of the rotation in his second season, and everyone else (Allen Lazard, Geronimo Allison, Jake Kumerow) is big but slow for the position.

Same at tight end (Jimmy Graham, Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan).

[rilamann]

but he isn't the reason the team lost this game and there isn't any viable replacement on the horizon, start thinking about it sure but no reason to be in a hurry.

Agree Rodgers is absolutely not the reason the team lost. .

Out of the 4 NFC Championship games Rodgers has played in, yesterday was probably his best game out of the 4.



I find it interesting that Rodgers has played in 4 NFC championship games and he has turned into Brett Favre@Dallas in every single one of them. He's been terrible and an absolute turnover machine in not 1 or 2 of them, but all 4. I know the apologists/homers will take the 1,000 foot view and say But he was playing against good defenses. But if you go back and look, he's thrown 7 INTS in the 4 games and almost all of them were Favre-like bad throws and he's missed a bunch of throws with a clean pocket to guys who were wide open.