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The Packers will visit with free agent DB Mike Adams later this week.

The meeting will occur Tuesday or Wednesday. Adams, a 28-year-old with some starting experience, would add depth at safety and play special teams.

Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel


http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/40583072.html

In just a matter of days, the NFL free-agent defensive line field has been whittled down to its ordinary core, leaving the Green Bay Packers to sift through the remains and decide whether they can find a bargain.

The leftovers are slim enough that the Packers will make a play for a safety before they take on the task of building up a rather thin defensive-line group.

In the next day or two, they will visit with Cleveland unrestricted free-agent safety Mike Adams, a part-time starter last year whose strength is coverage. According to an NFL source, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Adams is scheduled to meet with Packers officials to discuss the possibility of joining their organization.

Adams came into the league as an undrafted free agent, fought his way into the starting lineup in San Francisco in his second year but wasn't offered a contract after his third and wound up signing with the Cleveland Browns. Last year, he was a core special teams player and worked in a rotation with Sean Jones and Brodney Pool.

In 67 career games, he has 23 starts, seven interceptions and two sacks. He's quick enough to cover receivers in nickel alignments but he doesn't fit the mold of a big-hitting, "in-the-box" safety.

In both San Francisco and Cleveland, he played in a 3-4 defense, which makes him appealing to the Packers. None of their safeties has 3-4 experience and if Atari Bigby doesn't come back from an injury-marred season, Adams would be an option to start alongside Nick Collins.

The Packers' other safeties are Charlie Peprah and Jarrett Bush, both of whom are under contract for another year.

Adams is not a big-splash kind of free agent, but at this point there aren't a lot of difference-makers left. The Packers' biggest need is at defensive end and nose tackle and they continue to look over what's left after Tennessee's Albert Haynesworth, Dallas' Chris Canty and Arizona's Antonio Smith signed big-money deals.

The Packers have had casual conversations with the agents for San Diego's Igor Olshansky, Baltimore's Marques Douglas and New England's Mike Wright, according to league sources. But they are far from engaging in contract talks, let alone settling on days when the prospects might visit.

Their strategy appears to be to take their time and make sure they don't overbid for players who would have to compete to become starters.

Olshansky and Douglas both played end in the 3-4 defense and would not have trouble making the transition. Wright has played end and tackle for the Patriots and would be well-suited for end in the Packers' scheme.

Olshansky, 26, and Wright, 27, are unrestricted free agents. Douglas, 31, was released by the Ravens on Friday after playing in 16 games with them last year.

Of the three, the 6-6, 309-pound Olshansky is the only one who was a regular starter last year. He played in 16 games with 13 starts and compiled 29 tackles and two sacks.

He is a big, strong run defender with limited lateral movement, which is a bit of a negative because the Packers' ends won't be standing still slugging it out with tackles, the way most 3-4 ends do.

In coordinator Dom Capers' scheme, they play just one gap and have to be able to engage the guard as well as the tackle.

The Packers did not show any interest in San Francisco plugger Ron Fields, who signed with Denver on Monday.

Yawn.

Well, at least he can replace Jarret Bush.

Probably be our only free agent signing so we should celebrate now and make this a 100 page topic.

aren't 6th and 7th round picks supposed to be your special teams players ? We want this guy because he can play special teams ? Who was it who claimed Tt was a great judge of talent?

Is Tt trying to feed the press a bone by actually bringing in a free agent to showcase in green bay next week?

if this guy is even considered as a possible starter at safety, the packers are hurting.

what's the definition of casual conversations ? At a college, a coach always has an assistant coach who is a great recruiter. Since Tt is not a personal type of guy, one would think he would have hired either a coach or a personnel assistant known for attracting player who want to play for him and his team. TT's philosophy about not wanting to overspend for a FA is flawed. I can see not spending for a guy projected to be third deep at his position. but he needs to spend money and overpay for starters. and he needs to start going after free agents on the firt day rather than waiting two months to start the process. Players waived in may/june are not players worthy of going after.

TT might as well sign fred taylor and claim he signed an all pro running back.

Taylor was already signed by the Patriots, Reed.

-Woodson
-Pickett
-Chillar
-Bigby

I'm not saying that TT is a godly free-agent signer, however, other than Manuel, none of his big signings have been anywhere near busting. Walker was the closest thing to it otherwise and he made up for it with the cheap signing of Bigby which until his injury turned out to already have been worth it for the price.

Everyone is right, we need to make a signing or two probably to get us where we need to go and I'm starting to get impatient because I think our lines might be thin if he doesn't. At WR, QB, S, CB, kinda LB, and kinda RB he has done an excellent job at bringing in talent. I wish he'd overpay for some fillers on the lines.

MD kind of jokes/points to us overrating Thompson because he has only taken us to the playoffs 1 out of 4 years. Well, I think most would agree some rebuilding was necessary for year 1, and the growing year was year 2. Year 3 was the "we're here" stage, and year 4 was a huge step back. This season is getting towards a make-or-break for me because we need to prove that year 4 was an aberration. Personally, when you make a move like the Capers one, it is curious that you don't make a move or two on the lines to make sure that it is a smooth move, because another down year is going to cause serious turmoil amongst fans and get some impatience going. Most joke about his "always rebuilding" style, but it seems to me that with the way he built, our QB, RB, WR, and S should all be entering their prime while LB, CB, and DL, OL are in the mid-to late of their primes. I think he needs to grab some vets or draft lights out on the lines(arguably two of the most important spots) to get this team where it needs to be. I hope he knows what he's doing. I totally agree with his style of building mostly through the draft considering that that is how teams like Pittsburgh and early New England were built, but if he isn't going to adapt to a few blunders and misses, then I'm going to lose faith.

jsonline wrote:The Packers' other safeties are Charlie Peprah and Jarrett Bush, both of whom are under contract for another year.

I like how they completely forgot about Rouse.

I wish I could forget about Rouse. And Bush. Ugh.

But, speaking of Rouse, am I the only one who thinks he would be better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3? His size, athletic ability, and coverage skills just don't scream safety to me.

Anyway, I'd like to see the Packers sign this Adams fellow. For one, it would hopefully mean less Jarrett Bush. For another, it would allow the Packers to sub Adams in for Bigby in certain packages and in special situations. If Adams' speciality is coverage, it would make sense to pair Collins and Adams on 3rd and 20's, for example.

I did something similar in my Madden franchise, and it worked well. Not that that means anything or lends any credibility. Just sayin'.

Rockmaninoff wrote:I wish I could forget about Rouse. And Bush. Ugh.

But, speaking of Rouse, am I the only one who thinks he would be better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3? His size, athletic ability, and coverage skills just don't scream safety to me.

I'm with you, Rouse was brutal last year

El Duderino wrote:

Rockmaninoff wrote:I wish I could forget about Rouse. And Bush. Ugh.

But, speaking of Rouse, am I the only one who thinks he would be better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3? His size, athletic ability, and coverage skills just don't scream safety to me.

I'm with you, Rouse was brutal last year

I agree, Rouse had a season to forget. I think it's too early to completely forget about him, I do like his size, and he is a good athlete. It'll be interesting to see if the new coaching staff and scheme can use him in a more productive way or help him progress.

Rockmaninoff wrote:But, speaking of Rouse, am I the only one who thinks he would be better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3?

Personally, I had wondered since before we even drafted him if he would move back to linebacker in the pros (which he originally played in college). So I'm sort-of with you in that regard. I think it'll be interesting to see what they do with him in the new scheme.

Rockmaninoff wrote:I wish I could forget about Rouse. And Bush. Ugh.

But, speaking of Rouse, am I the only one who thinks he would be better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3? His size, athletic ability, and coverage skills just don't scream safety to me.

Anyway, I'd like to see the Packers sign this Adams fellow. For one, it would hopefully mean less Jarrett Bush. For another, it would allow the Packers to sub Adams in for Bigby in certain packages and in special situations. If Adams' speciality is coverage, it would make sense to pair Collins and Adams on 3rd and 20's, for example.

I did something similar in my Madden franchise, and it worked well. Not that that means anything or lends any credibility. Just sayin'.

That would make sense looking at his body, but in watching him play his main weakness by far is his terrible run support. He takes bad angles and is a terrible tackler because he goes in too high. He'd be even worse at OLB in a 4-3 than he is at SS.

I don't think Rouse has much of a future in the NFL at any position.

Ayt hit it on the head. He must not have taken a geometry class in middleschool because he has no recognition of pursuit angles. Dude justs goes for the kill hit every tackle and that just doesn't work in this league.

Ayt wrote:I don't think Rouse has much of a future in the NFL at any position.

Wouldn't exactly surprise me. He hasn't shown much of any discernible skill thus far. But I am curious to see if they find a place for him in the 3-4.

I don't think Rouse has much of a future in the NFL at any position

I agree with this and with you on his miserable tackling. Even besides the tackling, he's such a long strider and he struggles in any coverage that isn't deep safety.

He's going into his third season. He's had some really good games and some really bad games. I'm going to hold off on saying he doesn't have a future in the NFL for now.

CharlosVllnueva wrote:Personally, when you make a move like the Capers one, it is curious that you don't make a move or two on the lines to make sure that it is a smooth move, because another down year is going to cause serious turmoil amongst fans and get some impatience going.

The Capers hire is job security for TT and MM. If they have another down year, they'll say it takes a few years to install a new defensive system. And if that happens, I'm worried that most Packer fans are too loyal to see through that crap.

HercegSlavonac wrote:

CharlosVllnueva wrote:Personally, when you make a move like the Capers one, it is curious that you don't make a move or two on the lines to make sure that it is a smooth move, because another down year is going to cause serious turmoil amongst fans and get some impatience going.

The Capers hire is job security for TT and MM. If they have another down year, they'll say it takes a few years to install a new defensive system. And if that happens, I'm worried that most Packer fans are too loyal to see through that crap.

Packer fans aren't that loyal. See: Brett Favre saga. The remaining ones that aren't Jets fans will stick through it. He's going to have to be held accountable at some point if things slide more. Personally, I am predicting a successful year and have confidence that whichever moves they make will get them there. I think they were a lucky 10-6 team in 2007 and a very unlucky 9-7 or 10-6 team in 2008.

Anyone that uses the hyperbole that he wants this team to fail obviously didn't see the Favre saga. I support a majority of his previous free agent moves because the team was showing consistent improvement. However, with a different system in place, players falling apart, injuries, and most of all urgency...he needs to get aggressive offseason. Not seeing it thus far.

CharlosVllnueva wrote:However, with a different system in place, players falling apart, injuries, and most of all urgency...he needs to get aggressive offseason. Not seeing it thus far.

No he doesn't. Big free agent spending doesn't work. Drafting well, keeping your own valuable players, building a foundation that can sustain success...that's the only model that works.

DrugBust wrote:

CharlosVllnueva wrote:However, with a different system in place, players falling apart, injuries, and most of all urgency...he needs to get aggressive offseason. Not seeing it thus far.

No he doesn't. Big free agent spending doesn't work. Drafting well, keeping your own valuable players, building a foundation that can sustain success...that's the only model that works.

Agreed. Do you think he'll have a job after the season with no player worthy of starting at DE opposite Jenkins, though?

Trust me, I'm as much of a "build solely through the draft" guy as you are.