Packers checking out DE Chris Canty

[MickeyDavis]

Hey we've made the playoffs as often as the Bucks and Brewers over the last 4 years. TT must be doing something right.

[paulpressey25]

We will beat this dead horse for the next six-months. If TT can get this team to win 10-11 games next year and be competitive, he'll deserve plenty of credit. He'll have proven that he is a great drafter and that FA is a fools game. It will be a pivotal year.

[xTitan]

Uh, again, I completely understand wanting a potential employee to visit.

And his agent says he would have if TT bothered to call or email.

Until you get me any info to the contrary, thats apparently what happened.

Its funny, Ron Wolf reversed the notion that GB was a terrible destination for a FA--now all the sudden GB is the worst place on earth again? When did that happen?

And if it did happen, its because the word is out that TT is cheap

Both Adam Schefter and Don Banks have both said that the Packers have asked Canty to visit from the start of free agency, look at the above Banks quote....he even said in his quote the Packers were going to offer more money...why wouldn't the agent visit tonight? The answer is pretty simple, his client, a native New Yorker, never wanted or intended to leave the west coast....Adam Shefter said that...............so, lets recap, you keep quoting a snake like agent and i have quoted to national sources....read between the damn lines, he did not want to be here.

Reggie White made GB a destination, he recruited Sean Jones, Keith Jackson and everyone else.....the Packers got White because God told him to take the most money and that came from GB. You actually make my point, the GM has little to do with recruiting it is the coaches, players, personnel etc. You might also want to look back at the Charles Woodson situation, he has said he NEVER wanted to come to GB, but the simple fact was they were one of the few teams that wanted him and were able to recruit him away from Tampa.

[ReasonablySober]

We will beat this dead horse for the next six-months. If TT can get this team to win 10-11 games next year and be competitive, he'll deserve plenty of credit. He'll have proven that he is a great drafter and that FA is a fools game. It will be a pivotal year.

The last ten years aren't evidence enough?

[xTitan]

Don't get me wrong, I want the Packers to be a player in free agency and EXPECT TT to do something, even if it is bringing in some quality depth to compete. My simple point is that it is not the Packers fault the way the whole Canty thing went down. I think it is not only reasonable but should be expected that player you are going to invest that much money in, visit your organization so you know he would be a good fit. I think a GM should be fired if he was so stupid as to blindly spend that kind of money. If GB does nothing at all in free agency I will be as pissed as everyone else.

[MajorDad]

and you guys wonder why I've hated Tt so much and long before teh favre fiasco. all the good free agents are signed within 72 hours. and Tt hasn't even seen or talked to any free agent. not one free agent came to green bay this weekend. and this is not the first year T t has acted this way. it's the way he always treats free agency.

a free agent is a free agent because he wants to feel wanted. he also wants more money than his previous paycheck. Tt has never gone out of way to make any free agent feel wanted. the only reason Woodson chose green bay over tampa bay was Tampa bay wanted woodson to switch positions to safety and Woodson wanted to remain a CB. tampa bay did TT's job for him.

I can understand a president of a company's desire to save that company money. but when you have money to spend and you have glaring needs in that company, you either spend money to fix those needs, or your company goes under. If the Governor of Wisconsin was provided $10 million to spend on salt for roads , and he decided to just save that $10 million and spend zero money for salt on roads, he'd be impeached in December for total negligence and lack of planning. Well, TT has over $10 million to spend to fix the glaring holes of the packers, yet he prefers to spend nothing and just save that money for the future and to provide financial flexibility. it's as if he feels he's doing us a favor by saving that money.

Then again, if you were Tt why spend any money? Green bay tickets are already sold out. green bay fans have a long history of coming to games whether the packers are good or bad. So why spend money to try to put a good team on the field? from an economic viewpoint it makes no sense to spend an y money if yo u know fans will still buy tickets even if you have a last place team. Even if the packers went 0-16, they would still sell out all of their games and next year's games as well. Even at 0-16, all that packers merchandise continues to be a top seller. and how much additional revenue does hosting a play-off game actually produce? there is no pressure on tT to put forth a winner or to spend any money. TT has been doing it this wa y before he arrived. obviously the higher packers' brass must realize this and approve of his way of doing business.

There is more to being a GM than just balancing the books. i' m not a huge fan of his eye for talent either. his drafts have not yielded very many all pro players. I don't like the stat of those who say the players he drafted start. he could have drafted better players to start. when you send your all pro guards and qb packing, and cut your defensive lineman and trade your dbs away, somebody has to start. So his draft picks start chiefly because there is nobody left. it doesn't mea n the y were grea t picks.

In today's world, a GM has to be able to sell his team and community to prospective free agents. he has to go out of his way to bring them to green bay and he has to be able to close a deal. frankly, when it comes to being able to close a deal, TT is out of his league. TT can't compete with other skilled GMs to lure players to green bay. Minneapolis, Cleveland and buffalo are not better places to live or play over green bay. yet they find a way to lure players in and sign them.

it's not about the money. it's about TT. No veteran free agent wants to be treated the way Tt treated favre. His treatment of favre the past 3 years has backfired right in his face. Nobod y wants to come and pla y for TT. If Tt was smart he'd take a que from Bowden's resignation, and remove himself from the franchise. he adds nothing to it other than being a great accountant.

what's worse than TT's inactivity is that he's getting zero pressure from above to be more agressively trying to sign free agents.

[El Duderino]

Don't get me wrong, I want the Packers to be a player in free agency and EXPECT TT to do something, even if it is bringing in some quality depth to compete. My simple point is that it is not the Packers fault the way the whole Canty thing went down. I think it is not only reasonable but should be expected that player you are going to invest that much money in, visit your organization so you know he would be a good fit. I think a GM should be fired if he was so stupid as to blindly spend that kind of money. If GB does nothing at all in free agency I will be as pissed as everyone else.

"Last night I thought he might sign with the Packers," Blank said. "The problem is I couldn't pin them down on a number. That was a legitimate concern. They had not made an offer before that. So you have to take the bird in the hand.

"It's possible Green Bay would have made an offer that was better or worse or the same. I don't know. It was too risky (too wait)."

Blank said he started out speaking with personnel official Reggie McKenzie and then began discussions with negotiator Russ Ball. But he said the Packers would not commit to a number because they had not done a physical or met with Canty.

Blank said he informed them of the offer he received from the Giants, and if the Packers had given him a competitive offer he might have sent Canty for a visit. He said Canty liked the Packers because of their 3-4 scheme, which he has played in since his college days.

But Blank never spoke to general manager Ted Thompson, which he figured was a sign that the Packers didn't have an urgency to get a deal done.

"If I could have gotten something in an email then at least I would have a number," Blank said. "I'd have something I could hold them to. But they wouldn't commit anything."


Sounds like to me that Canty would have came in for a visit if the Packers would have bothered to send the parameters of what they were willing to pay Canty, but with no idea what we'd be willing to give his client, Blank didn't want to risk leaving NY only for him to send Canty to Green Bay for an offer that may have been clearly below what the Giants were offering. Doesn't strike me as to much to ask.

Either way, i pretty much expected Thompson to not sign anyone in free agency except for maybe a backup or two that doesn't cost much. His track record is what it is, he's not much of a fan of spending money in free agency.

That's fine, he can operate how he wishes. Ted does need to win this year though IMO, yet another season watching the playoffs would have me consider replacing him if i was the owner. If the team wins though, he'll get credit from me. Pro sports is a bottom line business, how any GM with full power goes about building a team isn't nearly as important as their win/loss records. If Ted wants to pretty much only use the draft to acquire talent, so be it, but for me at least, his draft picks better produce because 4 out of 5 years watching the playoffs shouldn't be acceptable.

[El Duderino]

IMO it doesn't sound like Canty's agent did all he could to get his client the best possible offer........unless the client never really wanted to play anywhere but NY.

NY may have some issues to deal with as well....seeing Canty is making more than Tuck, Osi, and Kiwanuka.

That's how the NFL works, salaries go up every year and some guys of higher skill get passed on the pay scale. That said, i wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two, the Giants spice up the contract for a guy like Tuck if he keeps producing, it happens often in the NFL. I've seen on a different board some questioning why the Giants would sign Canty given the DL talent they already have, but it makes sense to me. The last two years a huge part of their success has been that they've been very strong on both lines of scrimmage and they've had quality depth. That's why unlike the Packers, when Strahan retired and Umenyiora got hurt last year, they had the quality depth to keep playing well up front and not fall apart like the Packers DL did when Jenkins got hurt. Now this year they'll not only have a very good starting front four, they have the depth all along the front four to keep guys fresh and handle an injury or two that likely will happen over a long season.

As for Canty only wanting to play in NY, i also assumed that was the case, but i'm not longer so certain. The agent sure makes it sound like that Canty was open to playing here, but there has been varying reports on this subject.

[automatic44]

Wow! it's pissing me off how so many of you guys keep getting upset at how we never have the "ideal" off-season. It seems like the only thing that would please you is if we went out there and just made big deals. That strategy has worked really well for Washington, Dallas, Minnesota, San Fransisco, Oakland, Cleveland, etc. etc. While teams who build through the draft, like Thompson, have found consistent success. Teams such as Pittsburgh, Philly, Baltimore, Indianapolis, San Diego, and New England. I know we haven't had the instant success everybody expects, but thats what happens when you build through the draft. It takes time. Thompson has shown he has an eye for finding talent, but it seems as if everyone wants to magnify his blunders (which every GM has) and throw him to the dogs. Yea, i would have liked it if we got Canty, but we didn't, and the fact we didn't isn't exactly Thompson's fault. Yea, call a GM crazy for wanting the coaching staff to meet with the guy and get a physical before investing $7 mil a year in him. and to be honest, if Canty had his heart set on NY, my only guess is he was using GB and SEA as leverage.

[MickeyDavis]

While teams who build through the draft, like Thompson, have found consistent success.

Yes if you think playoffs once every four years is consistent success.

[notoriousTJ11]

IMO it doesn't sound like Canty's agent did all he could to get his client the best possible offer........unless the client never really wanted to play anywhere but NY.

NY may have some issues to deal with as well....seeing Canty is making more than Tuck, Osi, and Kiwanuka.

Canty's agent did what was smart. The Packers refused to make a deal until he came in which probably wouldn't have happened til mid week and even then who knows if the Packers would have even fielded a competitive offer. They took the best offer as it stood instead of playing the waiting game and perhaps let the Giants sign someone else and then he has to sign a smaller contract knowing he passed on the best offer ahead of time.

The Packers are in no rush to make a move right now and probably won't be active in FA til closer to the draft.

[blueedwards]

Call it Bloody Sunday.

A couple hours after losing Colin Cole to the Seattle Seahawks, the Packers lost the player they coveted in free agency, defensive end Chris Canty.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger and the New York Daily News, the New York Giants signed Canty for six years and $42 million, including $17.25 million guaranteed.

"I’m excited about getting the opportunity to come here and be a part of this team and this organization," Canty, a native of The Bronx, told Giants.com. "I’m so happy. The Giants have a great winning tradition, and I am excited to come here and have a chance to win a championship."

The signing caps a monster three-day free agent spending spree for the Giants, who nabbed linebacker Michael Boley and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard. Canty and Bernard will be the defensive tackles, with Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck at end. With that potentially fearsome foursome, the Giants have emerged as the clear favorite in the NFC in 2009.

The signing also caps a horrible day for the Packers. Cole would have been a key cog in their defense with his ability to play defensive end and nose tackle, but losing him to Seattle — a top suitor for Canty — would have been fine if they had signed Canty.

Instead, Canty liked the Giants’ offer enough that he didn’t want to take a trip to Green Bay to take a physical and meet with team officials to see if there was mutual interest in working out a contract. The Packers were interested in Canty, but not enamored with him enough to simply give him a contract offer without talking to him first. So, with the Giants’ offer on the table and no financial figures coming from the Packers, Canty decided to take the money rather than travel to Green Bay with the possibility the Giants would give that money to someone else.

Curiously, Blank said he never talked to general manager Ted Thompson, dealing with only director of football operations Reggie McKenzie and negotiator Russ Ball.

“It’s a weird situation because in fairness to the Packers, they haven’t even met Chris," Canty’s agent, Brad Blank, told Packer Report earlier in the day. “They haven’t given him a physical. They can’t really make the deal on the phone. We can discuss parameters and I can tell them what’s going on in New York and they can say they’ll be competitive, which is essentially where we’re at."

Without Canty and Cole, there aren’t many places to turn for defensive line help in free agency, and there is no one of Canty’s combination of age (26), size (6-foot-7, 305 pounds), acclaim and 3-4 defense experience.

Some of the next-level players are San Diego’s Igor Olshansky (6-6, 309, will be 27 in May), a former second-round pick who didn’t play well in the Chargers’ 3-4 last season, New England reserve Mike Wright (6-4, 295, will turn 27 this month) and Pittsburgh’s 36-year-old Orpheus Roye. Or, the Packers can wait and see if the Giants release Fred Robbins (6-4, 317, will turn 32 this month).

At this point, though, the Packers are counting on Cullen Jenkins and Justin Harrell to be healthy, Johnny Jolly to stay out of jail and a young player like Alfred Malone to take a big step forward. It’s a precarious position, but the games don’t begin for another six months and the NFL draft is in eight weeks. Obviously, defensive line is a bigger need than it was just a few hours ago.

The Giants’ had an obvious reason to sign Canty away from the NFC East-rival Cowboys. In nine career games against New York (including playoffs), he tallied four sacks and 33 tackles.

"Chris is an athletic, big man who can play anywhere in our front," Giants general manager Jerry Reese told Giants.com. "He gives us a lot of flexibility in that respect. Our defensive line did a very good job last year, but without Osi and (Michael Strahan), we seemed to get worn down late in the season and we weren't able to generate the kind of pass rush that we’re accustomed to. Hopefully, with the addition of Rocky and Chris, and with Osi coming back, that won't happen again."

http://gnb.scout.com/2/843427.html

[HercegSlavonac]

Thompson has shown he has an eye for finding talent, but it seems as if everyone wants to magnify his blunders (which every GM has) and throw him to the dogs.

Why do you give TT credit for having an eye for talent?? The guy stocks up on draft picks, in the hopes that one of his picks hits. When you average 10-12 picks in a draft, sooner or later you have to get a star. He got lucky with Aaron Rodgers falling in his lap, and he did great with Greg Jennings. Other than that, all he has done is stock up on draft picks and hope that some hit. To me that's not an eye for talent, that's a person playing the numbers.
The only credit I'll give TT is the salary situation he has put the Packers in, but that doesn't win games and get you in the playoffs.

[blueedwards]

Thompson has shown he has an eye for finding talent, but it seems as if everyone wants to magnify his blunders (which every GM has) and throw him to the dogs.

Why do you give TT credit for having an eye for talent?? The guy stocks up on draft picks, in the hopes that one of his picks hits. When you average 10-12 picks in a draft, sooner or later you have to get a star. He got lucky with Aaron Rodgers falling in his lap, and he did great with Greg Jennings. Other than that, all he has done is stock up on draft picks and hope that some hit. To me that's not an eye for talent, that's a person playing the numbers.
The only credit I'll give TT is the salary situation he has put the Packers in, but that doesn't win games and get you in the playoffs.

Well ya have to figure we lost like what 6 games by 3 points or less. Also he got rid of that lousy punter and got Frost. Plus like most know no one wants to go to Green Bay unless we foolishly over pay. We got 9 picks. I think TT can get that up to 15 picks.

[MickeyDavis]

I had a chance to talk with Mason Crosby last month. He said changing holders a few days before the season started was shocking. He said he not only had to get used to a new long snapper (with Rob Davis' retirement) but a new holder as well. I asked him if there was a big difference between holders and he said hell yeah, everyone doesn't it a little differently and it doesn't take much change in how the ball is placed to affect kicks.

[Rockmaninoff]

Nice move by the Giants. They're adding 'mid level' free agent pieces in an attempt to push the team back into contention. They are retooling.

What the Packers are doing, is rebuilding. A guy like Canty probably isn't going to mean the difference between 6-10 and 12-4. Sure, he would make the team better, but most likely up to the point of mediocrity. It looks like TTBoy won't overpay for that.

But conversely, if Ted is at peace with running it into the ground naturally, then he better make the right draft picks in the next two years.

Ted must be feeling pretty comfortable, if his approach to this year's free agent crop is any indication.

[dedned]

Maybe we can put an end to Canty wanting to play in NY over GB. From JSonline:

Peter King sat in all weekend with Chris Canty's agent, Brad Blank -- was that you Peter, breathing heavy in the background? -- and said this was Blank's initial list: 1. Washington, 2. Tennessee, 3. San Francisco, 4. Seattle, 5. Denver, 6. Dallas, 7. Miami, 8. Green Bay, 9. New York Giants.

[ReasonablySober]

Nice try. Here is what King wrote:

In his living room, Blank, the preppy 48-year-old former Brown roommate of John F. Kennedy Jr., alternated between ESPN and NFL Network on the TV as free agency dawned. On a legal pad he had sketched out the teams he felt were the best shot for Canty. In order, they were:
1. Washington, 2. Tennessee, 3. San Francisco, 4. Seattle, 5. Denver, 6. Dallas, 7. Miami, 8. Green Bay, 9. New York Giants.

It had nothing to do with where he wanted to play. The list were the teams Blank thought would combine need with likelihood of offering a deal fro Canty. With Tuck, Osi, Kiwi and Alford it's understandable why Blank would feel NY wouldn't have any interest.

[El Duderino]

I love the signing for the Giants, they have an outstanding overall group of defensive lineman that should be able to be stout vs the run, pressure the passer, have a rotation that keeps everyone fresh, and are covered if an injury or two hits the DL. Mix in the quality offensive line they've put together, they might have the best combo of offensive/defensive lines in the NFL, so they'll win plenty of games. I'm envious of the way they've built their team around being so strong in the trenches, with both quality and depth. Plus, they've done an outstanding job finding RB's on the cheap. I forget who their GM is, but he deserves a raise.