Then I think Thompson needs to step out of character again like with Woodson and Pickett and make a big Free Agent signing.

We have the money.

Here is the list of top 50;

http://nfltraderumors.co/2012-nfl-free-agents/

The options for Free Agency aren't great(by the way, of the Packers listed on the Free Agency list Finley checks in at #9, Flynn at #23 and Wells at #47....though that loud mouth punk isn't worth bringing back because at 24....meh, why bother unless nobody else wants him.

But I digress.


I realize there is a 1 in a 10,000 chance this happens.

But a couple guys who could make us a top 5 defense next year right out of the gate.

1-#5 FA Mario Williams. After playing in the 3-4 this year, rushing the passer as an OLB'er and the only freak his size capable of playing OLB'er at his size, he's used to it now for a year. There were also situations he put his hand on the ground in rushing situations. The thing is, he could OBVIOUSLY be franchised.

One thing we have going for us is that the Texans are apparently interested in Matt Flynn(this comes from sports talk radio, take it for what it's worth, but Schaub has been hit or miss). Even if they franchised Mario, a 1st+a future pick might get the job done, especially with Arian Foster rated as the #4 Free Agent, and a guy who might be the top FB in all of football.
Cost? Maybe 5 years 65 million 16 million guaranteed?

#2-Cortland Finnegan(#9Free Agent)
He's an elite CB. If Collins doesn't come back, you move Woodson to safety and slide in Cortland as the #1/2 Free Agent. He's absolutely perfect for GB. He's a PHYSICAL, in your face type CB who plays bump and run exceptionall well.
He's not on Nnamdi's level, but he fits what we do very well.
Cost? Maybe 6 years 60 million 15 million guaranteed?

#3-Calis Campbell
A 6'8 285 LB defensive end. A ideal size for a pass rushing 3-4 end. He could really fix our DL issues and we could save our 1st round pick.
5 years 45 million 12 guaranteed?

#4 Brent Grimes
He's an up and down CB, but he is a guy who can be a big time ball hawk. And signing him allows the Packers to address OLB'er/DL in the 1st and 2nd round fixing all three of the huge holes and hopefully getting us back to a top level D again.
Now I understand, the Packers don't spend on Free Agents, but Jesus Christ, we're literalrly ONE FUCKING DIFFERENCE MAKER away from being a Super Bowl champ on defense IMO. And if Collins DOES come back, it's that much more significant.



#5-Broddrick Bunkley DE in the 3-4, good pass rusher and should be much cheaper at maybe 4 years 24 million
or
#6 Anthony Spencer OLB'er
He's played in a very similar system and is a solid pass rusher and a good run stuffer.
Again, maybe 5 years 25 million 8-10 guaranteed for either of the last two.


I understand it's HIGHLY-HIGHLY unlikely that the Packers actually pursue any of these guys end up signing in Green Bay, and I am the Packers BIGGEST fan of the way they do things. I love how TT builds through the draft, I love the way the team has been built.


But Christ, we're a team that went 15-1 and lost in the playoffs with the 32nd rated defense.

Off-season plan

1-Sign a impact player at OLB'er/DE like Mario, A CB like Grimes or Finnegan, or a DE like Campbell.
2-Select an OLB'er, DL, CB, whatever you don't get in Free Agency. And if we get REALLY lucky, we can manage two first round picks.
3-Grab the other position not signed in the first two rounds or in free agency.
4-Re-sign Wells to a short term deal(3-21, 7 guaranteed)
5-Franchise Finley if we can do it without Flynn, if not, let Finley go. We'll still have a very good offense. Obviously when you look at Rodgers numbers WITH Finley and the attention he takes away from the rest of the WR, basically forcing a safety to play over the top of him with a LB'er under allowing Nelson to get so many big plays down the field.

You'll see an offense probably better than 2010, but a defense that could be as good as the 2010 D as well.



Unlikely, very-very unlikely, I know, but it was more understandable when we were building a team and not a player away. It was even more understandable when we had almost everyone coming back from a Super Bowl winning team, plus a half a team coming off IR, you can understand why he hasn't dipped into the FA market.




But does he owe it to us a little bit?

A defensive front 7 with
Matthews and Williams as the OLB'ers
Pickett/Raji/Darnell Dockett/Draft pick on the DL
And a secondary of
Williams/Finnegan/Shields as the 3 starting CB's with Woodson and Burnett playing safety.


Given that Rodgers has 5 WR's coming back that should be as good if not better than last year(sorry to say we might be better off with Gurley over Driver as a 6'4 target who's a beast on ST's and made an impact offensively in TC). Our Offensive line should be that much better with Newhouse given another year, Bulaga improving each year, Wells, Lang and Sitton given a full year to work together.

Even without Finley I think that's a top 5 offense. Maybe not the most effecient passign offense in NFL history, but good enough to win.





So, questions, is this another pipe dream, despite the fact that we're one player away from being a legit Super Bowl contender(obviously).

2-Would you do it with the contracts we have coming up? Maybe we could even entice Mario Williams to a 2 year 24 million dollar deal with 12 guaranteed in order to free up money when needed and give him a chance to bounce back and then go back on the FA market while we develop our own OLB'er?





So any chances at all you guys see Thompson changing his stripes and actually trying to put that one piece in place that could get us back to the top of the mountain? With as good of shape as we're in long term, a move like this couldn't hurt us too bad.

Clifton, Driver, Collins(hopefully not, but for this discussion he'd be gone), Hawk in 2 more years when other deals would be coming up. Flynn is also going to be gone. Pickett may well be looking at his last year in GB as he wasn't very effective either.


So with all the cap management steps we've taken, it seems to me, it may be worth blowing it up one time for one year in order to get a potential impactp layer along the lines of an elite CB/DL/OLB'er, etc..etc...

What. the. hell.

I would do whatever it take to get Super Mario. I doubt Texas wants Flynn though. They would have to let let him hit FA and we would have to pass on Finely, tag wells and be prepared to lose Raji next year.

Lol i just read you added Docket too.. hahahaha

That enter key is taking a beating. And isn't Finnegan a bitch?

RetardRon wrote:Lol i just read you added Docket too.. hahahaha

Not getting the joke.

Dockett would be agreat fit. He would be far more realistic as he's not on the level of the aforementioned players(though rated WELL, WELL above your hero Scottie Wells) and he would be a very good 3-4 DE.

RetardRon wrote:I would do whatever it take to get Super Mario. I doubt Texas wants Flynn though. They would have to let let him hit FA and we would have to pass on Finely, tag wells and be prepared to lose Raji next year.

I would NOT do whatever it takes to get Super Mario just to lose Raji the following years.

I WOULD go after Williams hard and then make damn sure we sign Matthews and Raji.


And I can't see the Texans really wanting Flynn either, I don't really see him being better than Matt Flynn, but Houston was listed as one of those teams that was interested among a long list of teams.

Part of the reason was they could dump Schaub fairly cheap, and they think Flynn would be ideal with their running game, defense and big TE's and then obviously Johnson on the outside.

Hard to say he's going to make much of a difference however when you already have a QB who's a fringe top 10 QB on a good year and a strictly average on a poor year(which is sorta what I see Flynn being).




Anyway, signing Mario just to lose Raji would be counter productive IMO. We'd be so fucking weak up the middle...unless we could A-draft a 3-4 NT, and then pick up an aging vet like Casey Hampton who at his best was one of THE best, and improve our rotation.

Again, insanely unlikely that we'd go after the top FA's. The Mario Williams, even though he couldn't be a more perfect fit to our defense which tends to be the case when you're that good.



Just seems like Thompson needs to actually change things up a bit. You don't get this window forever. The perfect storm doesn't come along every year, and when you're as talented as you are, but you're last in the league in passing D, maybe it's worth 2 more Super Bowls to just change things up, no matter how much they go against your instincts.

What. the. hell.

What the hell what? I guess I'm kinda done expecting valid responses from you other than guarantees of things that end up NOT happening.


By the way, if you're GOING to be a huge douche bag, at least try to come up with something original.

RetardRon wrote:Lol i just read you added Docket too.. hahahaha

Ahh....yeah, never mind. I always get Dockett and Bunkley twisted.


I meant Bunkley. Not Dockett.

"I get the official ok in March but I expect to be back and I can’t wait (to play again). I’ve been working out and I don’t have any restrictions (lifting weights) except for real heavy weight on my neck, other than that I’ve been working out like a beast to get ready to play again."

http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/collins-ex ... ay-in-2012

LOL, love one of the comments from the article:

"The coaching staff could always ask him to sit in coverage and play the football, no tackling. Would fit right in with the 2011 secondary."


This obviously is nothing official from a medical standpoint, but still good to hear obviously. He sounds a lot more confident than he has in the past about playing again.

RetardRon wrote:I would do whatever it take to get Super Mario. I doubt Texas wants Flynn though. They would have to let let him hit FA and we would have to pass on Finely, tag wells and be prepared to lose Raji next year.

RetardRon wrote:I would do whatever it take to get Super Mario. I doubt Texas wants Flynn though. They would have to let let him hit FA and we would have to pass on Finely, tag wells and be prepared to lose Raji next year.

I don't follow any of this logica. We couldn't have to lose Raji next year as Williams cap number would probably be about 12 million with a huge SB.

We're NOT losign Raji. It's most likely if we signed Raji that Matthews MIGHT be on his way out if we didn't get a team friendly deal.

The key to manipulating the cap is to hand out large signing bonuses, obviously a risk, but the Packers have a giant war chest just for this group of starts coming up on Free Agency. There are few NT who can do what Raji can do.




Would you care to explain why we'd have to pass on Finley. I've asked you this time and time again, but why would any of these moves mean that we'd lose out on Finley. Another example of you being smarter than every writer on every site that says that it's a foregone conclusion that we bring Finley back at LEAST at the franchise level.


Of course your "chukkness," is showing through here. He started with his non-stop Weeks and Hart bitching(and our prospects) and whe it was obviously he was all alone on an island and that he was obviously wrong, he just keep repeating it. 5.5 million dollars for a 24 year old who completely changes the offense...yeah, unreasonabe,


By the way, you read that artilce wher ethey attributed Nelson's big season in large to having J-Mike all year? Of course not. In fact, why bother, right?

EITHER FUCKING WAY.


We NEED-a impact player opposite of Matthews, we NEED to build up the defensive line. If that means spending our two 2 picks on DL, fine. Good with me. Get pass rush up the middle, Matthews doesn't get doubled as much and roll with So'oto a more talented, but raw version of any of the other OLB'ers we've tried to pair with Matthews.