Packers chat with Pete DoughertySkip to main content

Packers chat with Pete Dougherty

Submit your questions for Pete's live chat Wednesday at noon CST.

    Evaluate this strategy. Sign Nick Kwiatoski from Bears. Reach on a 1rd Linebacker, Reach on a 2nd Round WR, and best player available the rest of the draft. This hurts the Bears, shores up weaknesses and doesn't kill the cap.
    OK, let's get right to it. Kwiatkoski appeared to play well for the Bears and could be a possibility, depending on price of course. I wouldn't do it to weaken the Bears, I'd only do it if the Packers think he's pretty good, then weakening the Bears is just a bonus. There might end up being several stopgap ILBs like him available once teams finish cutting guys for cap reasons before the start of the league year. I'm thinking the odds are decent that ILB and WR will be their first two picks, not necessarily in that order. But you never know who might be available, or whether Gutekunst might trade out of the first round, etc. .
    Hi Pete, Thanks for the chat! Rookie WRs and TEs need some adjustments to be difference makers. Right? Should Packers get some helps on these positions from FA even though they are middle tiers?
    Yeah. Now, it does seem in the last couple years rookie WRs are contributing a little more -- Samuel in SF is a good example -- but generally speaking you're right. I could see them signing a relatively inexpensive slot receiver, for instance, and a second-tier TE. IMHO they also need a run stopper on the DL for early downs. They'll need a tackle, too, if they don't re-sign Bulaga.
    Pete----thank you for continuing to do your chats. they are great. The Packers defense was average and their special teams were terrible. The retained both coordinators. Good decisions or not? #52 was a bust for 3 years in college and was a bust his first year with the Packers even though he was pick number 12 in the draft. How come Gutey does not get any flack for wasting such a high pick? He also had only one hit in his whole 2018 draft and again no flack? thank you.
    The decision to keep the coordinators, I guess in the end I get it. Mennenga's special teams did one thing well -- they didn't get penalties. And the return game improved once they got a competent returner late in the year. With Pettine, if I were LaFleur I'd have made a change if there was somebody out there I knew and really liked and knew I could get. But short of that, I probably wouldn't have, then you're starting all over after building the roster for a couple years to fit this scheme. I have to think LaFleur and Pettine had a long, hard discussion about run defense, because that performance against SF was a catastrophe. That can't happen again. This is a passing game, but you still have to be able to handle a really good running game at least OK. I have to think they came to an  understanding there. As for Gary, he did not have a promising rookie year but you gotta give him at least a second season before declaring him a bust. So far, he's been the player he was in college -- lots of talent, but the play doesn't match. Let's see how things stand a year from now. Gutekunst has taken flak for the '18 draft. But the team's success last year cushions the blow, because the object, after all, is to win, regardless of how you get there.
    Hey Pete, Outside of Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, do we have any avg players at the skill positions? By average I mean league average at that position. Care to rank who you have most hope for out of all of these players not named the above? The only guy I have any real hope in becoming better than avg is Sternberger. I was excited about MVS and Kumerow, but not anymore. What about ESB? I guess since I haven't seen him in year two....
    I'm curious to see St. Brown next season. He finished '18 ahead of Valdes-Scantling, so if he'd kept improving maybe he'd have been as good as Lazard or better. I'm not sure what to make of Tonyan. He seems to have some ability, runs pretty well, and he made that nice catch along the sidelines in Dallas but then got hurt on that play and didn't do much even after he came back. Not sure if he pretty much is who he is at this point, or if he still can improve a lot. Sternberger, as you suggest, probably is the best bet of the group. I don't know if Dexter Williams will be reliable enough to blossom, this will be a big offseason for him.
    Hey Pete, any chance Dorsey or Wolf come back to Pack? Do you think they are chaffed with GB?
    Just a gut feeling, I'd bet against either ever returning. You never know how things are going to turn out, circumstances change. But it just feels like that's not happening as things currently stand. I have to think Wolf will catch on with someone after the draft, if not before. With Dorsey it's probably a matter of whether he wants to wait for a GM job to open next year, or if he'll take like a senior adviser position.
    No doubt Gutekunst has a plan and it will start to reveal itself over the next month. What Packer FA he wants to bring back, those he will let go, who he'll let test the market to determine the cost and which outside FA that he'd like to sign. Before the fact who do you think he'll try to sign before FA? Who does he encourage to test the market? Who does he let go? And what positions in outside FA do you think he'll be looking to add players from? Thanks for the chat Pete
    I'm thinking he'll re-sign Crosby and try to re-sign Bulaga, though I just don't have a good feel on how Bulaga will go. Not sure if he'll move on from Tramon Williams or go one more year with the ageless wonder. I have to think Martinez walks. I'm thinking guys like Fackrell and Allison and Campbell will test the market. If I'm Gutekunst I'm looking hard in the open market at ILBs, WRs, TEs, interior DLs and T (if Bulaga doesn't re-sign).
    Hi Pete, Thanks for the chats! Do you expect Gute will stick with his standard on WRs, big and fast? And good locker room guys? Is there any other profiles he has focused on or should focus on this year, eg, route running, intelligent, quickness, based on Moore, MVS and StBrown?
    I'm wondering that myself. He obviously loves big receivers, and I get why. The big catch radius if really attractive. But the Packers need to get more explosive, and if that means drafting someone a little smaller, I'm thinking they should do it. All those qualities you mention are important, but more than anything they need explosiveness.
    Why can’t we play Rashaun Gary at DE.? Gary - Clark - Lowery
    Would be an upgrade. Wasn’t he used this way in college????
    I wonder if he's best suited to play as an inside rusher in the nickel. Really, he's probably most natural as a 4-3 end. Gutekunst has likened him to Za'Darius Smith, an OLB on early downs who can move inside or move around on passing downs.
    Are you watching the xfl at all? How many xfl players do you think make a 53?
    On the first weekend I watched maybe 10 minutes of one game -- it was Seattle and whoever they were playing, near the end of the game when they had mics picking up Zorn calling plays and talking to his guys -- and maybe five of another. I can't say I'm very interested in it. I'm sure some XFL guys will make NFL rosters, either at the start of camp and when injuries hit. How many? I'd just be taking a wild stab at it. Maybe 20?
    Hi Pete, Last I heard neither Gary nor Burks was going to get off season surgery. Is that a good thing, or would they be better off in the long run with surgery? Any other notable off season surgeries going on now?
    I have to think not having surgery at this point is a good sign. Not that Gary, for instance, won't need surgery on his shoulder down the road, maybe he'll aggravate the injury. But the fewer surgeries, the better, and if they don't think he needs it this offseason they must think he's doing pretty well.
    With MLF view that each player contributes 1/11, how good would we have looked last year with 1/11 of TJ Watt, Jared Cooke and Taysom Hill. We had two of the three on our roster and chose Kevin King and Vince Biegel over TJ Watt? Do you think the current GM would have made the same decisions?
    No idea what Gutekunst would have done if he was running the draft the Watt/King year. Criticizing the Packers for not taking Watt is totally fair, he was there for the taking and they moved back, and then the next pick a team that runs basically the same scheme the Packers were running took him. He's really taken off. If they had picked Watt, they wouldn't have signed Preston Smith, so they'd have that money to work with at other positions (though they'd also have to get ready to pay Watt). King has talent and helped them last season, but obviously he's not Watt. The only thing with Hill is, I don't know if they'd have ever used him like Payton has, so he might have just rotted on their bench.
    Any idea how much of MLF's offense was installed last year? I have read there is much more to come. Any convesations with those in the know on this matter?
    We'll learn more about that in the offseason, but LaFleur said there are a lot of finer points in the offense that he didn't have time to get to last season that he will this year. The one example he mentioned in his postseason press conference was the no-huddle.
    Thank you for the chat, Pete!

    Do you think that Jamaal Williams will be the #2 running back on the depth chart when the regular season starts, or will the Packers bring someone else in to play alongside of Aaron Jones ahead of Williams?
    I'm thinking both. Williams is a viable No. 2/3, he's good in the passing game and is a tough, physical runner between the tackles. But the difference between him and Jones is pretty big. I'm thinking they should be looking to draft an RB who's more dynamic to help split time and be an option if Jones gets hurt. With how big the run game is in LaFleur's offense, they need to replenish RB almost every year, keep talent in the pipeline, those guys are so susceptible to injury, and you can't have the offense take a big dropoff if you lose one.
    Pete I am curious has the role of the inside LB changed dramatically because of the new offenses and why do you think the Packers haven't addressed the position adequately?
    Sure seems like it's changed, or that a position that's been undervalued league-wide for years is now being valued more again. It's a hard position because you have to be big and explosive enough to handle the physical part of run defense, but fast and agile enough to cover really good receiving RBs and TEs. That's a rare skill set, hard to find. The Packers aren't the only team that devalued ILB for years as the game became more passing oriented, but they have neglected it for a long time. Have to think they use a high pick -- ie, in the first two or three rounds -- at that position this year.
    How much money did each player receive for making it to the NFC championship? Do practice squad players receive anything? What do the Packers receive for hosting a playoff game (I believe that the ticket sales go to the NFL)? Thanks for hosting the chats each week.
    Just looked it up, players on division winners received $31,000 each, the wild-card qualifiers $28,000. The divisional round participants received $31,000 each, the championship participants $56,000 each. The SB winner gets $124,000 each, the loser $62,000.
    Hi Pete,
    Aside from Kicker or Punter what one or two positions are the easiest in the NFL where a a rookie can come in and make an immediate impact? What one or two positions are most difficult to come in and make an immediate impact?
    Easiest are maybe DL, RB and CB. Aside from QB, seems like the hardest are WR and TE. ILB probably one of the tougher spots, too.
    Hi Pete! More weapons on O will obviously help, but what do you think about being consistently more up-tempo? I understand AR is about the best there is at reading D, but with the sophistication of today's D's I would think it's more of a calculated guess. Maybe being the first year in a system contributed, but the old habit of snapping at 1 or 0 continually surfaced. Wouldn't making the snap less obvious provide more of an advantage?
    I'm not sure there's a clear-cut answer to that. There are big advantages for the QB to letting the clock run down. He can see the defense come out of its disguise, so he has a much better feel for what's coming. The downside is, if you run it all the way down the defensive line can watch the play clock and get a jump on the snap. And the tempo slows, as you suggest. But experienced QBs can get a lot from forcing the defense to in essence declare what its going to do as the clock runs down. I'm thinking that mixing it up is probably a good idea. The 49ers seemed to mix it up and had their share of plays snapping the ball with 10 or 8 seconds on the play clock.
    G-day Pete, the last time Gute had 10 picks he used two late picks on a P and LS. Considering the inconsistency of J K Scott would you be surprised if he used a late pick on a punter? Any other positions (like QB) that you think he might take a flyer on with a late pick?
    I guess I'd be a little surprised if he drafted a punter. Scott's talented, and if Gutekunst wants to bring in competition I'd think he could find somebody for that outside the draft. That's just my thought. I'd probably draft a QB somewhere in there if I'm him, like Wolf used to almost every year.
    I attended the combine a couple years ago and am considering again. They had us seated in the corner of the end zone in the nosebleed seats and I wasn't in a good position to see the video boards and it was too far from the field to even read the numbers. Mostly it was just boring and not worth the 2 1/2 hour drive. Don't know if you'll be there or if you have in the past but I'm wondering if you have any suggestions to make my next trip a better experience. Thanks Pete
    I won't be at the combine -- Tom Silverstein, Jim Owczarski and Olivia Reiner are handling the combine for us; Ryan Wood and I are attending the owners meetings in late March. I don't have any suggestions for you, I haven't been to the combine for probably three years now. As interested as I am in football, I wouldn't pay to attend the combine.
    Have to think he's a luxury they can't afford unless they think he's a future Hall of Famer. Sounds like he's going later first round, and they just have too many other priorities to take him at 30 IMO.
    many of the UFA's sign big money deals on day one of free agency. Do their agents get (quasi) offers ahead of time from other teams?
    Yeah. The legal tampering period starts two days before guys can sign, but I'm sure agents already are talking with teams who might be interested in their guys, and those talks really pick up at the scouting combine. It's against NFL rules but everybody does it.
    Hello Pete, It's always an honor to get to ask you a question although I know with the time restraints and your other obligations, you can't get to every question you're asked each Wednesday, but I've been lucky and flattered to have quite a few of my questions answered this past season. Last week I asked that now that we're in the FA time of the year and with the numerous mock drafts out there, does anybody in the Packers hierarchy really read and ponder what the "Arm Chair QB's" with their personal blogs have to say about WHO the Packers should draft and/or go after in FA? I'm sure you and your colleagues local reporting of the team merit more scrutiny from 1265 Lombardi Ave. Thank you.
    I'm sure they look at them but more just to see what other are thinking about where guys are going to go. For instance, Thompson said that in the year he drafted Rodgers, he looked at a mock draft (I'm guessing by Kiper or somebody like that) that had Rodgers falling all the way to the Packers. So Thompson said he went back to look at tape of Rodgers just make sure he liked Rodgers as much as he did going through the draft process (and thinking there's no way Rodgers would be available), in case that happened. It happened. They use all their sources -- scouts with other teams, media, etc. -- to try to determine where guys are going to get drafted to help set their game plan for the draft.
    despite all the mock drafts, won't the pick really come down to best available football player or trade back with a team wanting the fifth year option?
Powered by Platform for Live Reporting, Events, and Social Engagement