If you truly think that Rodgers and Cutler are interchangeable in this discussion, then I’m sorry.
As a Packer fan, I’m very well aware that we’ve been ridiculously blessed at the quarterback position for the past 20 years. I’m old enough to have lived through the David Whitehurst and Randy Wright eras, after all.
You would have let the best QB in the NFL go? :eek:
There are roughly 29 teams that would kill to have him as their starter.
You can’t be serious, comparing Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. Or if you are, your Bear fandom has gone too far for any rational discussion.
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I’m going to enjoy the post-Rodgers era, too many Packers fans act like spoiled rich kids preaching to the poor single mother about how to spend their money and time. The second coming of the Majkowski era will be wonderful.
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I’m guessing you thought much the same when the Favre era was over too. The Packers were smart enough to draft Aaron Rodgers while they had an elite QB already on their roster, and it worked out great. Too bad the Bears weren’t smart enough to have other options ready.
I see the message was lost in the noise.
I’m pointing out that the Packers are a middling team with the best QB in football gobbling up $20M+ in salary cap. The Bears are a middling team with a fair-to-middling QB gobbling up $17-$18M in salary cap.
If you’re making the case that the Bears would have been smarter to invest say $8-10M of that money in their defense instead of Cutler, and that doing so is better for the team’s chances of winning a Super Bowl you may very well be right. However, the Packers, even with a truly elite QB, are STILL a middling team. Seems like the logic should still apply.
If pricey QB = shoddy defense and no depth, then both the Packers and Bears have the same illness with very similar results. Over the last 2 seasons, the Packers are exactly 1.5 wins better than the Bears.
Rodgers = Cutler + $3M + .75 wins/year. I’m trying to hoist you on your own petard. The Pats, Broncos and Saints have all had similar issues getting over the hump following big QB paydays and the Ravens probably aren’t challenging anyone any time soon.
Sure, you can sit back and say the Bears should have taken the alternate route, and maybe they’d end up as the Seahawks with a stud rookie QB, great defense and ton of depth and balance but they also could end up like the Browns. I attribute far more to the difference between the two organizations to dumb luck than to skill when it comes to drafting QBs. Also, don’t forget, Russell Wilson hasn’t won jack shit yet. You know who has? Eli Manning, an overpaid average QB with turnover issues.
You’re failing. Miserably.
No, the Packers without Aaron Rodgers are a middling team. The Packers with Aaron Rodgers are a Super Bowl Champion, 3 in a row champions of the NFC North, and one of the better teams in the NFL.
That is some serious cherry picking right there, just covering the last 2 years while ignoring the Super Bowl Championship and their 15-1 season. Again, you make it hard to take you seriously when you have to resort to that kind of cherry picking to try and make a point. It’s even more laughable considering that Rodgers was out for 7 of those games.
Aren’t you a vikings fan?
Packers 2013 Season Review:
Overall:
Another NFC North divisional championship followed by a playoff loss. While the championship is nice, expectations are raised for the Packers so a first round playoff loss is not something to celebrate, it’s something to bemoan. Injuries were, once again, a huge factor, losing both their best player on offense (Rodgers) and their best player on defense (Matthews) for long parts of the season, and losing Sam Shields in the playoff game. A nice season (especially beating the Bears and watching the Lions self-destruct), but nowhere near the standard to which the Packers should hold themselves.
Offense:
The big story on offense was the arrival of Eddie Lacy, the PFWA Rookie of the Year. He’s fun as hell to watch run, and added some much needed balance to the offense. The loss of Randall Cobb, Jermichael Finley, Brian Bulaga, and Aaron Rodgers for chunks of the season was tough on the offense, but Jordy Nelson had a great season and the offensive line played better than in recent years (they were the 12th ranked O Line according to Pro Football Focus). Rookie LT David Bakhtiari, forced to start thanks to an injury) did well for a rookie, but really came apart and was dominated when it mattered most, against the 49ers. Still, with Lacy and some health, I expect great things next year for this offense.
Defense:
Dom Capers, once again, comes under scrutiny for another year with another sub-par defensive showing. When this team needed to count on their defense to win games, they couldn’t. An otherwise solid performance against the Niners in the playoffs was destroyed by their inability to make the big interception (Micah Hyde! Nooooooo) or stop the long 5 minute drive to win the game with the field goal. Morgan Burnett was given a long term contract and didn’t live up to it at all, and the other safety position was a rotation of bad. There were also under-performances and inconsistency all along, with Raji not being a game breaker often enough, no one stepping up as a pass rushing OLB, and Datone Jones, Jerel Worthy, and Nick Perry not being healthy/playing well enough. Still, there is some talent there (Mike Daniels may make Raji replaceable), and Johnny Jolly had a nice comeback, so there is hope for the future. If they can stay healthy and stop missing tackles that is.
Coaching:
McCarthy has done a stellar job with the offense, but his failure to deal with Rodger’s injury and the first quarter and a half of the Niners game were huge failings. There is certainly room for speculation that he is only as good as his starting QB. I also have some questions regarding his failure to develop players on the defensive side of the ball.
GM:
I’m a huge Thompson fan, but he clearly made a huge mistake in the handling of his backup QB position, a mistake that cost them quite a few games. And while I’m a fan of his draft and develop philosophy, last year (and again this year) was an excellent time to make a free agent move to get more talent on the defensive side of the ball (it sure would have been nice to have a John Abraham or Glenn Dorsey this year. And why the fuck didn’t they give Kerry Rhodes a look?). Still, it’s hard not to cut him some slack considering the talent he’s drafted have been injured. First rounders Brian Bulaga, Derrick Sherrod, and Nick Perry have all missed significant time, second rounders Jerel Worthy and Casey Heyward likewise.
Offseason outlook:
Their biggest immediate issue is which of their free agents will be signed long term, which will test their market value, and who might return cheaply. Elderly Ryan Pickett, BJ Raji, Jermichael Finley, James Jones, Sam Shields, John Kuhn, and Evan Dietrich Smith are the big names who are unrestricted and need to be considered. Personally, I think Shields and Dietrich Smith are the must haves, while a soft market hopefully will keep Pickett around. Finley is a tough call and Kuhn is a fan favorite, but not irreplaceable. Raji will be an interesting decision, with the cost/benefit analysis being a bit out of my league. He’s pretty important, but if he expects a huge payday, the Packers might let him go. If Jolly resigns and the Packers have faith in Mike Daniels, they may make Raji expendable.
As far as their draft needs, safety is a huge need, with Burnett not rising to his paycheck and McMillan and Jennings sucking and Richardson being injured. With Finley looking like he’ll be gone and his backup Quarless being an unremarkable free agent, they could look at the TE position (although I like that Brandon Bostick, if he can develop). Finally, the Packers have shown you can’t have enough D linemen or OLB’s.
Final thoughts:
All told, a pretty good season that fell short of the desired result. A 3 point loss at home in the first round of the playoffs was tough to handle; great teams win those games. I had predicted an 11-5 record (I did not predict an injury to Rodgers though), and they were well short of that, but they did the NFC North title. And as always, there is hope for next year.
Shields is a definite, definite , definite must have. While Kuhn is replaceable, I still think they should keep him, even if it means paying a SLIGHT premium. Agree about Dietrich-Smith as well. I would like to keep James Jones to be honest, but I don’t think the price will be right, somebody will probably overpay for him. I think we should go TE in the first round in the draft if possible (assuming, of course, Finley is done). Raji I almost think is a must to keep, but again it is all about the price you pay for him and also what the possible options are, I don’t have a good grasp on that, but you need that middle line guy. What we really need, IMO, is more pressure on opposing QBs from someone other than Matthews, who is great but also seems injury prone. I am not convinced we don’t have the talent in the secondary, especially when Hayward comes back, but I feel like our schemes are terrible. But I would love to get some more experience back there.
As for the season, it is what it is, our biggest weakness was the inability to stop offenses, especially in critical moments. Our defense lacks something, we don’t get enough turnovers, and we don’t play with enough mean, I think. it is probably a defense that is somewhat complacent because they have been bailed out by the offense so much. I wouldn’t mind Capers going if for no other reasons than to shake the defense out of this malaise they seem to be in. Is Wade Phillips available?
If “playing with enough mean” is close to “not missing tackles” and “getting the ball carrier down quickly”, I would agree. Too often players are bouncing off LB’s and DB’s for more yardage, or they get dragged for the first down. A big hitting safety and more athleticism in the LB crew would help a lot. But I think the biggest problem was a lack of turnovers. The Packers were 10th worst in turnovers, and 5th worst in interceptions, which isn’t good at all. A good part of that was Burnett’s goose egg in interceptions and missing Casey Heyward, but still, if your defense is going to not be great in yards allowed, they need to at least get more turnovers.