Packers 2022 Offseason Thread - Adams Traded to Raiders for 2022 1st and 2nd Rd Picks

[MoreTrife]

Why is Maurice Drayton still employed by the Packers?

At this point, I'm telling myself it's because they want to fill the vacant spots first before addressing the special teams. But I'm starting to think they might give Drayton one more crack at it...

Yeah I'm starting to get worried about that too but at the same time you just can't not replace him..... You just can't?.........................

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EDIT: Thought I was at the end of the thread!

They have to fire him. It will be too much of a distraction when training camp starts if he's on the staff. There's no heat on MLF/front office right now as it is essentially the off season but once OTAs and training camp starts, the questions will come why he is still on staff. "ST was a problem during season, and could be argued cost you a playoff game, why did you choose to stick with Drayton?" etc etc. Under a microscope. There's no way they want that..........I hope.

[Treebeard]

As posted on the MJS site:

Source: Maurice Drayton will not return as Green Bay Packers' special teams coordinator
Tom Silverstein
Packers News

GREEN BAY - In a move many expected after several critical mistakes in a 13-10 divisional-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has removed Maurice Drayton as special teams coordinator, a source said.

The Packers allowed a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, a blocked field goal just before halftime and a 45-yard kickoff return in the loss to the 49ers. Several player miscues during the game resulted in a devastatingly poor performance that proved to be a major reason the Packers were eliminated.

Drayton’s units ranked 32nd in the Rick Gosselin special-teams rankings, but the Packers didn’t give Drayton much help, especially on kickoffs, returns and long snapping. However, the rankings don’t consider those things and it would have been difficult for LaFleur to justify keeping the status quo on special teams.

[ReasonablySober]

At this point, I'm telling myself it's because they want to fill the vacant spots first before addressing the special teams. But I'm starting to think they might give Drayton one more crack at it...

Yeah I'm starting to get worried about that too but at the same time you just can't not replace him..... You just can't?.........................

Sent from my SM-G975U using RealGM mobile app

They have to fire him. It will be too much of a distraction when training camp starts if he's on the staff. There's no heat on MLF/front office right now as it is essentially the off season but once OTAs and training camp starts, the questions will come why he is still on staff. "ST was a problem during season, and could be argued cost you a playoff game, why did you choose to stick with Drayton?" etc etc. Under a microscope. There's no way they want that..........I hope.

He was fired earlier today.

[M-C-G]

As posted on the MJS site:

Source: Maurice Drayton will not return as Green Bay Packers' special teams coordinator
Tom Silverstein
Packers News

GREEN BAY - In a move many expected after several critical mistakes in a 13-10 divisional-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has removed Maurice Drayton as special teams coordinator, a source said.

The Packers allowed a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, a blocked field goal just before halftime and a 45-yard kickoff return in the loss to the 49ers. Several player miscues during the game resulted in a devastatingly poor performance that proved to be a major reason the Packers were eliminated.

Drayton’s units ranked 32nd in the Rick Gosselin special-teams rankings, but the Packers didn’t give Drayton much help, especially on kickoffs, returns and long snapping. However, the rankings don’t consider those things and it would have been difficult for LaFleur to justify keeping the status quo on special teams.

I feel for Drayton because I don't think the team did enough to put him in a position to succeed, but c'mon man, those ST units were ridiculously bad and there is no way you can keep him around after a Super Bowl Champion caliber team just ended there season on that.

[MickeyDavis]

We fired the last guy and promoted Drayton. If Rayna Stewart gets promoted I'll be pissed

[MickeyDavis]

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[M-C-G]

Jakeem Grant is a free agent and would instantly solve our special teams returner issue and gadget guy.

[Treebeard]

We fired the last guy and promoted Drayton. If Rayna Stewart gets promoted I'll be pissed

They really need to go "scorched earth" this time. New staff, different players on all the ST units.

Crosby's probably done. I'd bet some of his problems were LS and holder related, but much of kick failures still falls on him personally. Bjorkquez was usually better than Scott, but even that's damming him with faint praise. The return teams were seriously meh - Amari is not the savior..... The downfield parts of the kickoff and punting teams were just god awful - for the last decade.

[MickeyDavis]

We fired the last guy and promoted Drayton. If Rayna Stewart gets promoted I'll be pissed

They really need to go "scorched earth" this time. New staff, different players on all the ST units.

Crosby's probably done. I'd bet some of his problems were LS and holder related, but much of kick failures still falls on him personally. Bjorkquez was usually better than Scott, but even that's damming him with faint praise. The return teams were seriously meh - Amari is not the savior..... The downfield parts of the kickoff and punting teams were just god awful - for the last decade.

The whole kicking game was messed up. We got a new punter right before the season started and changed long snappers DURING the season. Crosby was 13-17 before that switch and 12-17 after. He did finish strong, making his last 7 FG but none were over 40 yards.

Scott's last year he averaged 45.5 yards per punt, Corey was one yard better. Corey did have a 3 yard advantage in net yards. Their inside the 20 numbers were about the same. Crosby illuded that the snap and hold were off on his misses but that's part of the ST coaches job to get that right.

[LittleRooster]

Jakeem Grant is a free agent and would instantly solve our special teams returner issue and gadget guy.

This


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[MickeyDavis]

Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi is being interviewed for their HC opening. If he doesn't get it I offer him BIG money to come to GB.

[Daver]

Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi is being interviewed for their HC opening. If he doesn't get it I offer him BIG money to come to GB.

After he was low balled here the 1st time i would be surprised if he comes back here

[M-C-G]

Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi is being interviewed for their HC opening. If he doesn't get it I offer him BIG money to come to GB.

After he was low balled here the 1st time i would be surprised if he comes back here

Based on what I have heard and read, he wasn't lowballed as much as he asked for a really high number because his family wasn't interested in relocating to Green Bay. No idea if that is true, but that story has been bounced about by a number of people that cover the Packers.

[MoMM]

Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi is being interviewed for their HC opening. If he doesn't get it I offer him BIG money to come to GB.

After he was low balled here the 1st time i would be surprised if he comes back here

Wouldn't you come back for a fat pay check? Also, Packers wouldn't call him to offer the same low money, they should be ready to offer what he desires or close to it.

[Ron Swanson]

If Mason's gone it'll be because of money/cap implications, not actual job performance. Not gonna completely absolve anyone on the ST unit, but I can't imagine anyone could look at the absolute **** show between the blocked kicks and holder issues and come to the conclusion that he was the problem. The previous two seasons under MLF and not under Drayton he was 38/40 on FG's (although he did miss 5 extra points).

[Treebeard]

If Mason's gone it'll be because of money/cap implications, not actual job performance. Not gonna completely absolve anyone on the ST unit, but I can't imagine anyone could look at the absolute **** show between the blocked kicks and holder issues and come to the conclusion that he was the problem. The previous two seasons under MLF and not under Drayton he was 38/40 on FG's (although he did miss 5 extra points).

He's been a far better kicker historically than he showed this season. You are correct about the cockups with the poor blocking, long snaps, and holder(Bojorquez had visible issues with handling and placing the ball). However, Father Time may be catching up to Crosby as well, as his range certainly seems to be diminishing on kickoffs and is there some carry over loss to accuracy?

[MoMM]

We fired the last guy and promoted Drayton. If Rayna Stewart gets promoted I'll be pissed

They really need to go "scorched earth" this time. New staff, different players on all the ST units.

Crosby's probably done. I'd bet some of his problems were LS and holder related, but much of kick failures still falls on him personally. Bjorkquez was usually better than Scott, but even that's damming him with faint praise. The return teams were seriously meh - Amari is not the savior..... The downfield parts of the kickoff and punting teams were just god awful - for the last decade.

The whole kicking game was messed up. We got a new punter right before the season started and changed long snappers DURING the season. Crosby was 13-17 before that switch and 12-17 after. He did finish strong, making his last 7 FG but none were over 40 yards.

Scott's last year he averaged 45.5 yards per punt, Corey was one yard better. Corey did have a 3 yard advantage in net yards. Their inside the 20 numbers were about the same. Crosby illuded that the snap and hold were off on his misses but that's part of the ST coaches job to get that right.

Is it that hard to know how to punt, hold and long snap? Or you can do it, or not. There aren't many variables, or there are? You have to throw/position the ball the right way or punt it to a pre-defined place not even defined by you.

[MickeyDavis]

If Mason's gone it'll be because of money/cap implications, not actual job performance. Not gonna completely absolve anyone on the ST unit, but I can't imagine anyone could look at the absolute **** show between the blocked kicks and holder issues and come to the conclusion that he was the problem. The previous two seasons under MLF and not under Drayton he was 38/40 on FG's (although he did miss 5 extra points).

He's been a far better kicker historically than he showed this season. You are correct about the cockups with the poor blocking, long snaps, and holder(Bojorquez had visible issues with handling and placing the ball). However, Father Time may be catching up to Crosby as well, as his range certainly seems to be diminishing on kickoffs and is there some carry over loss to accuracy?

Crosby had his worst year in 2012, worse than this past season. He was 21-33 on FG as opposed to 25-34 this year. He bounced back and had 8 solid seasons before this one. But he'll be 38 when next season starts. He's entering the final year of his deal. He'll count $4.735 million against the cap or $2.34 million if he's cut.

[Ron Swanson]

Crosby was 3/4 on kicks of 50+ yards this season (perfect 4 for 4 last year). I don't see much evidence of his leg dropping off. He's always had this weird issue with his kickoffs being short. Don't know how to explain it.

[ReasonablySober]

The tag and trade of Adams is going to be so tough to pull off.

If they choice is to trade Rodgers, things get a bit tighter as they need to hold onto his contract until after the March 16th deadline as trades are not allowed beforehand, even if a deal is reported earlier than this (as we have seen in past blockbuster deals). This means his cap savings if traded of $19.8 million would not be available until after free agency has begun, making signing free agents and their ability to wield the franchise tag much more difficult.

Davante Adams is an unrestricted free agent and there is talk about the Packers planning on placing the franchise tag on Adams to either force him to stay, or to trade him away for a premium package of draft picks. Their cap situation makes this very difficult to pull off. Similar to the timeline I discussed with trading Aaron Rodgers, the order of operations around the franchise tag is an obstacle given their large negative cap balance. To franchise tag Adams (it doesn’t matter if they intend to keep or trade him) the Packers would be charged $20.12 million against their salary cap and then need get past the March 16th deadline with this amount on their books. Depending on what other cap saving moves the Packers can/cannot pull off this becomes a daunting task as we get closer to the deadline and could ultimately prove to be near impossible. Even if they can work the numbers, there is a huge opportunity cost to having the $20.12 million tag on the books – they could probably bring back 4-5 other top free agents for this amount but instead risk allowing them to be exposed to outside suitors via free agency.