-- Collins returning. Of course, this is kind of out of our hands. We'll know more in March, but whether or not Nick Collins returns will be our biggest offseason "acquisition" or lack thereof. Whether or not Collins returns in itself will decide whether we have one of the best safety duos in the league or are looking for safety help in the draft.

-- Franchise/trade Flynn. If we can get a 1st rounder for him and have two 1st rounders to upgrade our defense, that's beautiful. Even as the expense of losing Finley, which I would now argue is not going to be a huge loss to the team. We won a Super Bowl without him, this offense will go on without him. If you're talking about a $35-$50M investment, I'm now saying that money is better invested in the rest of the team.

-- Draft defense. There's not much more we can do offensively. Grant will probably be gone, you can take a look at a RB, but I'm okay with going forward with Starks/Green/Saine. Go ahead and draft an O-line project in the mid-rounds or later if you'd like, but there isn't much more we can do there after taking Sherrod/Bulaga the last couple years -- we will have to see how Sherrod rebounds. Defensive needs are plentiful. Pass rush is absolutely essential -- OLB and D-line primarily. A corner is not a bad play either, but all the coverage in the secondary does no good if the opposing QB can just sit back in the pocket all day and wait for someone to break free.

Jerel Worthy should be the target. Currently projected as a late first round pick. I think he can move up to the top 15. He is the guy that could be a difference maker from our draft position. He would allow Raji to move back onto the edge, is a great run defender, and is quick enough to get up the field on occasion and collapse pockets/sack the QB.

Finley doesn't really need to get paid. He's got hands of fucking STONE.

adambr2 wrote:-- Collins returning. Of course, this is kind of out of our hands. We'll know more in March, but whether or not Nick Collins returns will be our biggest offseason "acquisition" or lack thereof. Whether or not Collins returns in itself will decide whether we have one of the best safety duos in the league or are looking for safety help in the draft.

If Collins cant come back, it's time to move Woodson. He can't hang with guys like Cruz in the slot anymore. He is reduced to gambling all the time and while it leads to healthy amount of picks, it also leads to a unhealthy amount of 3rd down conversions and yards.

-- Franchise/trade Flynn. If we can get a 1st rounder for him and have two 1st rounders to upgrade our defense, that's beautiful. Even as the expense of losing Finley, which I would now argue is not going to be a huge loss to the team. We won a Super Bowl without him, this offense will go on without him. If you're talking about a $35-$50M investment, I'm now saying that money is better invested in the rest of the team.

The tag will be the big question this offseason... You have 3 options in Wells, Mouth and Flynn.. IF, and it's a big IF, you can negotiate a tag and trade with Flynn for at least a 2nd, thats the route. I dont want to get into all the scenarios in this thread because there is one for that, but I'm guessing now that it's about a 20% chance. If it's not Flynn, then it should be Wells. He was the best and most consistent performer on the OL all year. I could hear a case for Bulaga, but thats not the point. We face DET twice a year, interior linemen will be key to winning the division the next couple years.

You know how I feel about Finley... If, and i think the chances are high, he gets "Jones'd" in the FA market, I would bring him back on a cheap 3 year deal, but no fucking way I pay him top 5 or even top 10 money.

-- Draft defense. There's not much more we can do offensively. Grant will probably be gone, you can take a look at a RB, but I'm okay with going forward with Starks/Green/Saine. Go ahead and draft an O-line project in the mid-rounds or later if you'd like, but there isn't much more we can do there after taking Sherrod/Bulaga the last couple years -- we will have to see how Sherrod rebounds. Defensive needs are plentiful. Pass rush is absolutely essential -- OLB and D-line primarily. A corner is not a bad play either, but all the coverage in the secondary does no good if the opposing QB can just sit back in the pocket all day and wait for someone to break free.

I think Clifton retires and Grant is gone in FA... We already have the replacements on the roster in Newhouse / Sherrod and Green / Saine. The higher rounds must be defense. Last year we didnt make any move to upgrade LOLB or DE... There wasn't an obvious choice available so I am not placing blame, just saying it happened. With the cap on rookie contracts, it's going to be tougher for TT to do his trades to move down and acquire quantity, I think thats a good thing this year.. We need starters and we need them now.

I don't know whats available in terms of FA's, but we know not to hold our breath.

It's clearly gotta be defense, defense, defense in the offseason. And the good news is we can upgrade at pretty much any spot there. On the D-line, can get an end to replace Wynn/Neal, or get a nose tackle and move Raji back to end where he showed so much success last season. Inside linebacker seems pretty set with Hawk and Bishop, plus both Francois and DJ Smith seemed to step up fine when needed. But OLB opposite Matthews can/needs to be upgraded with a playmaker pretty easily.

For the secondary, you have to hope Collins returns and pair him with Burnett. If he does, secondary isn't as big a need, though you may look at a corner with time to develop behind Woodson. If he doesn't, then you can get a safety, or CB and move Woodson to safety.

RetardRon wrote:If Collins cant come back, it's time to move Woodson. He can't hang with guys like Cruz in the slot anymore. He is reduced to gambling all the time and while it leads to healthy amount of picks, it also leads to a unhealthy amount of 3rd down conversions and yards.

Agreed. He got burned A LOT this year, and committed even more penalties. Not only is he a far stride from defensive POY, he was a liability for a lot of the season.

Macha Man wrote:

RetardRon wrote:If Collins cant come back, it's time to move Woodson. He can't hang with guys like Cruz in the slot anymore. He is reduced to gambling all the time and while it leads to healthy amount of picks, it also leads to a unhealthy amount of 3rd down conversions and yards.

Agreed. He got burned A LOT this year, and committed even more penalties. Not only is he a far stride from defensive POY, he was a liability for a lot of the season.

I think the party is over in terms of the Packers playing Nickle 80% of the time.. They did that to get Wood and Shields both on the field on early downs but it's just not paying dividends like it did during our Super Bowl run. He isn't getting to the QB like he has in the past, so let that rusher be someone else.

From safety, he can still blitz, play in the box on run support and just be a play maker.. The main difference is you can keep him out of man coverage.