I am not sure Love's blindside wingman is on the Team yet. For a good stretch of their tenures, Favre and Rodgers had the best two LTs in Packer history, Chad Clifton and David Bakhtiari.

That is almost as amazing as having two HOFer QBs back to back. And I believe the LT/QB combos are directly linked.

Walker had a decent sophomore year...beat out Nijman (I guess) but he's not better than Tom.

And if, as expected, the Packers draft an OT in the first 3 rounds, I could see the rookie competing at RT and Tom being the next legacy LT.

Or, perhaps the rookie, like Clifton and Bak before him, comes to camp and simply takes the LT job and keeps it for years. And the next LT/QB pairing legacy begins.

It could be Walker continues to grow and becomes that LT. I just don't see the him nearly as impressive as Chad and David were by year two in both run and pass. Tom certainly looks the part.

And when you play your best 5, the best of the best should be at LT.

Nice article as usual Al.

Yes it is time to move on from DB. He has been great for us but injuries have taken their toll. He will be remembered as one of our best OT's ever.

I like the youth movement and hope this draft mirrors the last draft as far as success goes.

I agree with you, and have felt this way for the past year, that 2025 is the real year for our success based on our CAP issue. Yes, we can kick the can down the road this year, if need be, and that could change if 2025 is the year for us or not. I am fine with what Gute does this year--drafting and possible signing of free agents.

Personally I'm a BIG fan of the Hafley hire. I've wanted to move away from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme for years. I think the Packers already are setup nicely for the switch, especially on the D-Line. I can't wait to watch Karl Brooks & Van Ness in the 2024 season. I think they both hit double digit sacks in their 2nd seasons.

I've also voiced my desire for the Packers to hire new strength and conditioning coaches for years. I know nothing about Aaron Hill but I don't believe he can be any worse than what the Packers have had for the last several years. Maybe, just maybe, he can help Christian Watson stay on the field this year. I'd love to see Watson, Doubs, Wicks, Reed, and Melton ALL healthy for all or most of the games this year and see what happens.

I'm with Al on the 2025 season. It's in 2025 when I think this Packers team puts it all together. I thought that before last season and I still do although I do believe this team has a very good chance for 2024 too. Hey, lets hope our new strength and conditioning staff can help keep everybody for the most part on the field.

1997 SB loss vs 2014 NFCCG loss...

I voted the SB loss but I still can't watch either game. I also can't watch the 1998 loss to the 49ers (Holmgrens last game as HC). Jerry Rice fucking fumbled the ball CLEAR as day a few plays before the game winning TD pass. A pass that NEVER should have happened in the first place.

#SF SUCKS!

Bahk= release and re-sign?
Forget playing with the jets.
A true Packer with a lot of Pride.
IMO- Bahk got money he never earned.
And he won't get much more elsewhere.
So let's say he just wants one more shot to be Bahk.
He might solve a Depth problem, for sure.
It might not be whats best for him. (Body)
But I don't think he's looking at it that way.

IMO- there is more to the hiring of Hill than we know.
Sure a lot of veterans had injury issues.
But this looks like Due diligence to me.

Contracts expiring-
If the goal is the super-bowl.
It's not about the can down the road.
Love needs a new contract.
And Jones is staying.

I think the success of the young players that started ( all the time or as injury subs) made the Packers rethink how much they are willing to invest in free agency,considering the cap situation.
They really started playing better against KC with Ballentine and Valentine. I wonder how deep of a plunge they will take at LB and safety?
I’m not sure they can financially afford to get the people they may really want. I think Gutekunst will get it right.

Good job as usual AL. As much as I hate to see it happen I think it's time to move on from Bahk. He's been a great player and a great Packer. I don't think that his body can hold for an entire NFL season any longer. If the Packers can rework his contract or release and re-sign him at the right price maybe give him a chance for one more season but I don't think it will work out.

At best Back is being discussed as possibly being traded for a day 3 pick. That should tell us everything we need to know right there. Maybe Back decides to retire
Either way I would prefer to see Bahk finish his career as a Packer. I'm grateful for all of the great games that he has given us as fans.

Our new strength coach should be an improvement. The Packers have floundered for years in that area.

I've been targeting 2025 as the season for an SB run for the Packers. Our young players will have the experience, Love will be in his 3rd season as the starting QB and the Packers will have cap space to sign solid FAs to fill any gaps in the roster. Let's see what 2024 brings first. Thanks, Since '61

I was encouraged that the Packers elected to take their financial medicine with Savage, Nixon and Nijman. I think it is a near certainty that they move on from Bakhtiari. The remaining questions are Campbell and Preston Smith, two higher priced, older players. I think Campbell is likely a cut and I am hoping Preston gets to finish his current contract in Green Bay (three more years including 2024) provided he fits with Hafley's new defense. Campbell has not performed up to his contract over the past two seasons while Smith has been a consistent performer for the Packers.

These cap moves do not bode well for the signing of any significant free agents in 2024 however. It appears 2024 is going to be another draft and develop year for Gute. I hope he hits on as many picks this year as he did last year!

I still want Bakh on the GBP.

Gutey and Ball need to have Some honest conversations with him.

If he will stay he will need to greatly modify his contractual requirements.

If Bakh is going to attempt a comeback, it should be with the GBP, he needs to get right physically and fiscally for that to happen.

I think the GBP investment of a roster spot is manageable since Bakh has shown as recently as opening day vs duh bares that he can do an outstanding job IF he can stay on the field.

Incentive laden show-me deal with GB please.

Al, I was shocked that the Packers could get all the way to the Super Bowl and lose. That just couldn't happen to the Packers! Pluss, that year I went to SF and watched them wipe out the 9ers in the championship. After that SB I realized it was possible and it didn't shock me as bad as it was in '14. At least we didn't beat ourselves in the Super Bowl, we got beat by a good Denver team and were in it till the end. The '14 game was a total melt down and we deserved to lose to a worse team.

I too am looking at 2025 and beyond to make our run(s). Not only will our young players have experience and our cap will hopefully be in order to keep what we need and pay for what we don't have, but the Cowboys and Niners will be old (minus Purdy and WR's) but with less cap room. Hell, the Lions/Rams QB situation will probably be worse off in 2025 and on as well. 2024 should be about continuing to heat the iron so we can strike in 2025.

The Bakhtiari call is a tough one and it is why being a GM in the NFL is a crazy-ass job. Wish it were as simple as "can he still play?". The price, performance, durability and future of the O-line all come into play. His may be a tougher call than moving on from Aaron Rodgers. Of course, Rasheed Walker made it doubly difficult. Do you put his development on hold while you take another chance on a perennial All-pro? I think the only way I bring D.B. back is if his contract reflects the recognition of risk in some manner.

Although 2025 still looks like more of a potential peak year than 2024, I think 2024 has to be regarded as a potential Super Bowl year after how close they came to beating the 49ers in the playoffs. I don't think strength of schedule makes much difference because the schedules vary so little from one team to the next, and you don't know for sure how well your opponent will play until you actually play them. If a team is any good, they will make the playoffs, and at that point strength of schedule no longer matters anyway. It's nice to get a higher seed, but we saw what that got us in 2021 and 2022.

Chris Gizzi holds a Bachelors degree in Human Behavior and Leadership from the Air Force Academy, and several additional certifications from fitness and strength-related organizations. He played linebacker in the NFL.

Aaron Hill has a master’s degree applied kinesiology-sport and exercise science from Minnesota. He played linebacker in the NFL.

I hope that we bring in a FA at safety to bridge the gap and draft behind him. Im hoping we see a change of emphasis at RB behind Jones and lose the H back role for a genuine block first TE or preferably a true FB, which is all that Deguara seemed to be last year and ineffectively.

Im hoping we face the fact that Myers isn’t very good and we need to get better at RG. Im still uncertain about Rhyan, but he’s the 5th OL by default at this point. That is not sustainable in terms of talent or depth. I am still not sold on our OL coaching. The oft claimed improvement was really partly Runyon getting a lot better late, opponents and Jones’ stellar efforts in Dallas.

Improve now when the team is on the rise at the skill positions, do not accept reliable but ineffective. Now is the time to face that and build to give our QB the best possible platform for the coming years.

On D I still find reasons to both like and doubt Hafley. I like s lot if his attitude, he’s a guy who likes to win on D not to try not to lose. He’s also apparently much more attuned to what skills his players have and trying to utilize them as opposed to shoehorning a scheme regardless.

I don’t really care about the 3:4 versus 4:3. To the extent base is played, both have seen success and failure. It’s more about the pieces and how they are used. In terms of our overall current roster, I think we can run either. Whether we run a classic hand down or a hybrid 4:3 and to what extent remains a legitimate question.

As to a Single High Safety approach, I think that’s going to help as long as it’s not universal. Barry was far too predictable and inflexible in the other direction. Im hoping that Hafley is (and he would alter his scheme by opponent at Boston) much more situationally astute and willing to adjust in game and by opponent.

What I do like with this roster is that he likes to press more often than not. That is a much better approach for Jaire and it’s what Valentine and Stokes need to play. It’s also key to seeking to see the D make s positive impact through turnovers and time of offensive possession.

I don’t know how the team see Campbell’s health in the context of his performance last season and for the future. Regardless, we seem set up to remake the entire center of our O. I think Walker will thrive in a more offensive capacity. I think we are going to go bigger in the slot and put more emphasis on it. We obviously have a blank canvass at S. That’s the one position I’d like to see is sign a competent FA. I’d also like to see us draft high to build a pipeline to replace him.

It’s going to be a very interesting off season from a personnel perspective. What, if anything, we do in FA as well as how we draft. That will tell us if they have adapted at RB and faced up to the IOL weakness in protect and run blocking. It will also start to shed light on what Hafley’s D will look like.

We won’t learn much about how good a choice he was till well into the season, by which time we should start to see if we have taken steps to ensure a consistent ground attack to pair with our passing game and protection for Love. The new D likely takes a while to bed in, they typically do.

It’s going to be an exciting year and hopefully one where our D starts to make consistent plays supporting an O that is only becoming more flexible and multi dimensional. We have the chance to go from good to fearsome over this season if we draft well again, LaFleur really capitalizes on the skill Position depth and Hafley proves competent.

Roll on the new league year.

As you discussed David Bakhtiari situation for almost entire article, I would like to add just few thoughts on his situation. I believe he is true Packer and that he would like to finish his career with Packers. All those talks how Packers should trade him to Jets falls immediately in the water - Jets play on artificial turf - and we all knows that David is not willing to play on that kind of surface. He is the loudest critic of that surface. No matter who plays with or on Jets... Second, as far we knows, Packers left David to try to solve his issue with his knee. They did not call him (as far as they stated that they did not) and they are patiently waiting to hear from David what his health status is and what are his plans. I feel that is the right approach, as David showed that he is trully high quality person, by solving his health issues in silence... If David can not play any more because of the health, maybe he would like to stay with Packers in some form of assistant OL coach position. Well, that is just idea with no suppurt for it in facts! Why? Because he will still be part of the team, around the football and I believe he might teach young guys many little, but important things about OL play.

I would rather have open, honest and brave guy who will tell you his opinion no matter what, than any slimy sycophant who just wants to keep his kjob/position on the team.

If David's playing time is over I would like to have him with organization. Of course, if he is willing to embrace new position, whatever position will be offered....

"If this is an early indication that the Packers are willing to take their medicine now and do less can-kicking to future years, I'm all for it." I am also all for it.

We spent at least 3 years going "all in". It is going to take more than one year to unwind all that "can kicking". Last year we had A-Rod's 40M dead money, this year we will have Bakh's 20M dead money. Save some of that cap space to resign our last two draft classes, or when we are trying to repeat as Champions:) You can't go "all in" every year. If we want the option to go "all in" in the future, we need to make room for that now.

I'd skip the high-priced free agents this year, I'd even skip the mid-priced free agents unless we get great value. Try to find a diamond in the rough. Best case scenario, you get someone like Campbell in '21. Otherwise you get (say) safety play similar to this year (but for much less than we paid Savage).

We can view the Hill hire as mining a team that sits above the Packers, or we can view it as LaF going back to the Saleh-Shanahan-Mike LaFleur well and picking someone they're all familiar with. Whatever the case, they're trying something and I give them credit for that. Keep in mind that it wasn't just the Packers who were beset with soft-tissue injuries in 2023. They seemed to be worse than normal, league-wide.

I was impressed with Al's sensitivity re: Bakhtiari. Maybe I'm missing an empathy chip, but I am 100% fine with moving on.
He has essentially been unavailable for 3 years-

The Bay Area is very innovative when it comes to health and medicine. There is a tremendous churn of new ideas re: the importance of sleep, diet, non-harmful exercise, the latest in strength training, cold plunges, heat exposure, etc. The best of the best compete to train and work @ Stanford & UC San Francisco. I'm fairly certain Aaron Hill has been exposed to these concepts.

Bakh - The guys a warrior but highly risky to hold a roster spot. On his current contract terms, that is more than impossible. Like someone said above, mgt needs to have a heart to heart with him about staying on a much lower contract. And playing him over promising, younger players is just not the best way forward for GB.

We can't and shouldn't spend much on 2024 FAs. The 3 void contracts is a step in the right direction. Find a reliable vet at safety and back him up with youth. Lets get our finances in order for (1) the Love contract extension and (2) a serious 2025 run.

Campbell was a great find in 2021 but his injuries are making him impractical to keep at this salary level. He appears to be another cut / casualty.

The depth of the Oline scares me. And I still think Myers is not a true, starting center. We need to draft well here for sure.

General Manager of the Jets, Aaron Rodgers, may come up with a sweet deal for Dave. How about playing only 6-7 away games on grass-only fields? I think the Jets practice on grass.

One of the hot rumors right now is Savage being signed by the Bears to replace Eddie Jackson. And I say good! That means that (a), he won't be returning to Green Bay, and (b), it's always fun to watch other teams eat our leftovers (I'm surprised the Vikings aren't also getting into the action somehow).

I can't wait to see the partial facelift the defensive backfield is going to get.

I really hope Hill comes in and keeps key players on the field. That is what we need the most. We have had too many key players miss significant playing time the last few years.

There are 2 areas our team needed a significant boost from non players.

1 -We needed a boost from our Defensive scheme/play calling. We needed someone that would be more aggressive. Someone that isn't predictable.

2 - We also needed an improvement from our injuries. One way to improve from having injuries is improving conditioning and strength. Also the right foods can help. Injuries will happen and there is nothing you can do to prevent some of them. But if you can control certain ones, that can change the season.

I don't know anything about Hill. But I hope he is the right person for the job!

Daniel Jeremiah has mentioned Iowa CB Cooper DeJean as a possibility for GB.

The time is right for Bahk to take his curtain call - after a long and illustrious career. Multiple re-constructive surgeries have taken their toll. Time for his final walkdown - while he is still literally able to. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.

For years, hamstrings have been the great unsolved mystery in the Packers strength and conditioning room. Good luck to Aaron Hill. I hope he enjoys Japanese puzzle boxes.

Even by allowing the Savage, Nixon and Nijman contracts to expire - the Packers still may have a limited fund to procure an unspectacular FA or two. Thinking one at S and one at LB. Still, half steam ahead for this season!

Good read on NFL.com today about defensive pressure and how it was used , mentions how the playoff teams used it and how it was used against Love by the 49 ers, which wasn't much.

It's a great testimony to our new anti-injury coach (at least as part of his job) that he is committed to working with all of the players on the roster (stars to subs) with great attention to their well-being.
That's the Hill guys want to die on.
***
As relevant to building up the entire roster of the Packers is the reason for sadly having to let go of Bakh.
I'm passionate about keeping good Packers as long as possible, but as players decrease with age while wanting an increase in salary, it's a tough call for the team.
The decision to not keep Bakh is fairly simple to make, even if not easy.
More difficult is the decision regarding the still dynamic Aaron Jones, although he has been willing to work with the Packers as far as contracts. Also, our new anti-injury coach may help to keep him healthier (as he may have done with McCaffrey) although this would mean a judicious resting of Jones during the season to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
A third guy is Preston Smith, who seems an impressive veteran presence on a very young defense, and well worth retaining at the right price -- if the Packers think he can still do the job at his currently high level.
***
Finally, as a big supporter of Jordan Love since the controversial drafting of him, I'm hoping he'll take less with his new contract as a strong gesture for his teammates to rally around him to win a Super Bowl.
We need to show our admirable QB respect, even love -- but how much can one person reasonably spend in a lifetime, anyway?
If Love will go with about $42 million per year instead of $52 million, he can still afford to have plenty of cake while eating it, too, plus also increasing his opportunity of getting some championship rings as the icing on the top.
Cake is much better with icing, IMO, especially if the writing on the top is, "Super Bowl Champions."
Love would not only immediately endear himself to fans and teammates with such generosity, but also set himself up to surpass his superstar predecessors at QB for the Packers in the glory of triumph and as the stuff of legends.