Packers chat with Ryan Wood
Monday, Jan. 1 transcript
3rd & 7 37yd
3rd & 7 37yd
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Ryan: While I don't think Hundley's effort can be faulted, he clearly lacks the skills needed to run the Packers offense. What bothers me is that the Packers had three training camps to assess his capabilities and clearly overestimated them. Is that on the Quarterbacks coach? MM? TT? Someone should be held accountable for his lack of development and/or overestimating his abilities after three training camps and two offseasons.
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Ultimately, any roster decisions falls on the general manager. Now, especially when it comes to quarterbacks, Mike McCarthy's voice is usually heeded. In this case, judging his public statements, it's clear McCarthy expected Brett Hundley would be more productive than he ultimately was. But it's still incumbent on the GM to make roster decisions. The mistake made was not creating competition for the backup spot. Hundley was anointed without any real position battle. If there was, perhaps the Packers retain Taysom Hill, instead of the handful of players who served no real purpose on the 53 throughout the season. But that's all hindsight. This offseason, it's clear the Packers need to establish competition for the backup job.
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How in the world is TT not on the hot seat after failures with drafting, FA's & overall personnel decisions, in drafts sick with OLB & TE talent he in effect, ignored both positions. 3rd rnd. for Biegel wasn't good enough and despite the Bennett & Kendricks sighnibgs we needed a young TE talent.
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We don't technically know the Packers won't make a change at GM, but I would be surprised. To answer your question, it's because the organization values continuity. It puts a high prominence on keeping key personnel positions consistent. With that said, I think this is an ideal offseason to change GMs. This team clearly needs a different approach to free agency, and a new GM would also have ample draft capital because of the compensatory haul. Just don't expect to see that change.
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As I just stated, it's an ideal offseason to change GMs for many reasons. Now, whether you role your eyes at this or not, reality is Ted Thompson belongs in the Packers hall of fame. The organization owes him a huge debt of gratitude not only for drafting Aaron Rodgers, but the way in which he has led the team throughout the past decade. But, yes, I think it's time for change. As for Mike McCarthy, he's a top-10 coach in the NFL, and would be quickly hired if the Packers let him go, which they won't and shouldn't. The future is obviously uncertain for Brian Bulaga with a second torn ACL in his career. Neither Jordy Nelson or Clay Matthews performed up to their contracts this season, but the Packers have much more leverage to renegotiate with a receiver than an edge rusher. Clay Matthews is a good player, if no longer a superstar, and the Packers need more good players on the edge, not fewer. For that, they can't cut Matthews, and there goes their leverage. Nelson is a good player too, especially with Rodgers throwing him passes. But the Packers have much more developmental talent at receiver than edge rush, hence their added leverage should they decide to approach a restructure this offseason.
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Both are easy. For McCarthy, his quarterback was overwhelmed at the NFL level, and teams don't win when that happens. For the training staff, injuries are an epidemic in the game. Some teams gets lucky for a season, as the Packers did in 2014, but every team will have their season changed because of injuries. You can't pin that on one training staff.
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You're not wrong. Of the young guys that will be carried into the offseason, I'd most closely look at Vince Biegel and Reggie Gilbert. Think they've seen enough from Kyler Fackrell to not expect anything more than special teams, which they can find much more easily than a pass rusher.
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Really can't buy the injury bug or bad luck arguments anymore. This is YEARS of a loaded IR. Is is the way we are assessing in drafts? How we're training? Off season conditioning? I think we've all just come to accept the physical breakdown/softness now, and that's not how champs are built.
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I'm not sure, exactly, what they would do, but Eliot Wolf would be an obvious inclusion on the short, short list. He's the candidate who would make most sense to me. But the Packers could also go toward the business side and promote Russ Ball. Brian Gutekunst and Alonzo Highsmith can't be ruled out either. Both are qualified to lead an NFL's personnel department. That's the good thing for the Packers; they're flush with in-house candidates.
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Maybe, but I wonder. Burnett said yesterday there's been no conversations with the Packers regarding an extension. There's still time, but at this point it makes sense for him to carry into the open market, where he will find value for his services. The Packers are also well stocked at safety, and presumably drafted a Burnett replacement in the second round when they selected Josh Jones last spring.
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