There's a lot of assuming here. Assuming there was someone available. Assuming the other team wanted to make a deal. Assuming they would be better than the current guys (and in reality, GB rarely plays with more than one ILB). Assuming they don't want too much in return. With all these big FA contracts in 2019, GB is really going to need young cheap draft picks next year and 2021 to round out the roster and fill holes they won't be able to afford filling in FA. I don't want to see them give up draft capital for a spot that is not even a full-time role.

Summers is even more of a liability.
But I agree on adding bodies to stop the run, add aome physicality. We're soft in the middle.
Need Montravius to step up like he's capable of.

I agree except I think Burks just needs playing time and I would even say that Martinez is a liability. We need a big body to play next to Clark and an inside backer and this defense would be set. I also woul like to see Summers get some snaps

I thought the price for Williams was a fair one and would have been happy to see the Packers make that deal particularly since Williams is only 25. Thought the prices on Sanu and Sanders were high given their ages (30 and 32 respectively) and contracts. Let's hope the injury bug doesn't bite the middle of our defense.

Don't forget his other major move this year, reading the Mike Daniels injury situation correctly and cutting him while he could still save substantial money. That'll help next year. Meanwhile Daniels has 2 tackles on the season and who knows if he'll ever be a healthy dominant player again. Could have easily extended the guy over the offseason and gotten no pushback from fans, would have been an easy PR win for him.

Amen to all of that.

If you fair catch the ball it goes to the twenty-five?
Really, since when?
If you fair catch the ball on a punt it stays WHERE you caught it (barring penalty) and has always been that way. Fair catching the ball has NEVER been allowed on kick-offs.
Duh

As noted by the others, downed kickoffs (which cannot have a fair catch) start at the 25. It used to be the 20. Most of the kickoff returns I'm seeing across the league that start in the endzone don't make it to the 25. My conclusion is that if the ball is in the endzone, don't return it.

Punts can be, and should be, fair catches. The vast majority of returns are under 7 yards and when you factor in turnovers, penalties, and injuries, I think you benefit from not trying to return punts. Guard against fakes, try to pressure a short punt, but don't return them.

If you keep an eye out for it, you'll see it in game after game all across the league.....a rookie or minimum wage guy on special teams makes a mistake that hurts you. Aside from the occasional long return, it's better to not return punts and kicks should only be returned if you have to.

This comment suggests that there were attractive deals on the table that Gute turned down. I don't know how we can come to that conclusion without knowing what the deals were. Gute trading two first rounders for OJ Howard would have been crazy, but maybe that was the asking price.

The patriots acquired the falcons 5th best offensive weapon for a 2nd rounder, and they traded away a high draft pick. I don't know that that's "doing whatever it takes to win".

So go join a Patriot forum. Why compare the Packers to the Patriots?

metanoia76 quote "Translation: the Packers organization is happy to be "competitive" instead of doing what it takes to win super bowls."
The way you get to the Superbowl IS by being competitive.

While Belichick is a superb gameplanner and team manager, one thing he is pretty average at, is drafting players. For him, it is no big deal to give up draft picks, and for him, it works.

I still believe in balance between draft and develop, and veteran acquisitions. Ted relied too much on draft and develop, Gute has restored the balance with a greater emphasis on acquiring veterans to fill key spots. I am more than happy with the moves Gute has made to this point. His veteran acquisitions this year have been stellar. They were expensive, but they were very good and importantly they were (comparatively) young.

There were several potential blockbuster acquisitions deftly sidestepped. These include a first round price for Washington's 31 year old LT Trent Williams or even 2x 1sts and a 4th for disgruntled Jags 25 year old CB Jalen Ramsey, or even the Pats 2nd rounder for 30 year old Mohamed Sanu.

It's worth noting that one big downside of getting vets in, is that they will immediately be on premium price contracts, while draft picks are relatively cheap for several years. This imposes a need for balance on prudent teams. Sometimes a high price is worth paying, as seems to be the case with the Smiths and Amos, all of whom are on healthy contracts, but it must be done judiciously and with an eye on the cap. The Packers have made their big moves, but they were made early this year, not at cutdown time.

I dont agree with that@ metanoia76. Looks to me that they stretched the cap just enough not to hang themselves and picked up really good players via free agency. At the beginning of the draft i wanted a Wilkens pick and or maybe metcalf...but the Savage pick turned out to be worth its weight in gold, same with the Jenkins pick. Between the coaching, the players handling adversity and playing as a team....it surpassed my expectations so far. I have no clue how deep this team can go, bit it been a really fun ride so far.

You can fair catch a KO.

It's funny how small Aaron Jones is perceived to be.

Adrian Peterson (220 lbs) and Zeke (225 lbs).

Aaron Jones is 207 lbs. Jamaal Williams is 201 lbs.

Sol,
Were you hibernating while Murphy sat back and 'Managed' the demise of a once great team by leaving TT and MM in charge for a few too many years?
Gute an LaFleur are each in their first year and doing very well, but I will never believe this would have happened if someone hadn't lit a fire under Murphy's a$$.

Exactly. If you could guarantee that a certain player makes the difference, that's one thing, but if the guy "might" do it, then I don't think it's worth it.

The thing about High School coaching is that you don't get free agency and trades. You've got what you've got, and you work with it. Focus on improving, so we don't have guys getting loose like Kelce did for the TD. Focus on getting guys on the ground instead of making extra yardage.

Keep giving it to the backs on offense. It's moving the ball, scoring points, and winning games. It keeps our defense off the field. It keeps Rodgers from getting hurt....it's November now, and he's still real healthy, and there's a lot of teams in the league that can't say that about their QB.

Adams IS a better player than we could add via trade. The 'other' WRs on the team only need to be targeted a few times a game. Use Jones and Williams and Adams as your primary ball movers. Take an occasional shot with MSV or Allison or Lazard or Kumerow…..or the TE.

This offense, after a slow start at Chicago and at home against Minnesota, is averaging over 30ppg. That's good enough to win with. And our defense, other than the Eagles game, has held everybody to 24 or less, including some pretty good offensive teams, and some of the points were garbage time, like Dallas and Oakland.

Don't fix what isn't broken. Stay the course. Don't change horses in the middle of a stream. Whatever old aphorism you choose, the point is the same. We can make all the changes we want in February....right now, let's trust our gut and see what the team can do.

Two guards were replaced.

When they cut Sheppard I was hoping Menenga would get the boot as well. Are the players only held to account? Hope we aren't establishing a buddy system for coaches like the former coach did. I have never seen an opposing team deliberately hit the kick off short to stop the other team from reaching the 25 yard line, that's pathetic and I blame the coaching on that. As bad as they were, it didn't happen under Zook or Slocum from what I can recall.
If the ST play remains at this level going forward, to show the players and the fans all are held to account, Menenga shouldn't be given second chances, he's already been given them and the trap door should await him as well.

My biggest criticism of the off season was not hiring ST Coordinator Darren Rizzi. The Packers were one of the few teams he was considering and he came to Green Bay. They knew his price and instead of having a contract with that price ready for signature, it was reported that they tried to haggle with him.

How much better would their STs be with Rizzi? I obviously don't know. But I do know if they had hired him, I wouldn't worry about the problems on STs being coaching-related.

It could very well be that they view additions such as Campbell (who can fill the void left by Raven Greene's injury) and Adams' return from injury as bolstering the game day roster.

I agree in the suspicion is that BG was being judicious at the deadline: he didn't want to overpay in draft capital for rental players he couldn't resign and would also threaten a big part of his salary cap rollover that he will need to keep some of these core FAs around for next year and beyond. He doesn't want to end up like the Bears with no draft capital and being forced to turn bonuses into guarantees just to create a little breathing room under the cap. I think it shows his eye is not just on 2019, but 2020 and 2021...that's encouraging to me.

Thompson may deserve criticism for not doing more in free agency, but he also deserves credit for not hurting the team by signing an expensive FA bust. It's two sides of the same coin.

The FAs that Gutekunst signed his first year.....Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson...…..how do people feel about them? This year, all four of his big FA picks have stayed healthy and played well...A+. Next year, it could be different.

This stuff that metanoia76 says about being "competitive" instead of "Super Bowl or Bust" misses the target, IMO.

If your organization wins the division, you've had a successful season. That's 8 out of the 32 teams. If you win the division, you get a home playoff game and all the revenue that generates from the gift shop, parking, etc. Hotels and restaurants make more money.

So EVERYBODY should be happy, except those who insist that only one team has a successful season every year. Additionally, once you're in the playoffs, a lot of it comes down to your overall health and the bounce of the ball and the whim of the official. You know that's true.

If you could say "This player will ensure we'll win the Super Bowl" then of course, he's worth getting. But you can't say that. At this point, we're one of the better teams in the NFC. We're winning the division. We should make the playoffs and we might advance. We might even get a first round bye. And that's with the players we have. I don't really see anybody out there who would have improved the overall result very much.

Also is this going to be the Favre/Rodgers situation all over again??

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