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With the waters of free agency apparently still too icy for Ted Thompson to dip his feet into, there again just isn’t a whole lot going on with the Green Bay Packers at the moment.
So we at OBOD have decided to roll out a Friday round-up for you, a few Packers-related items of note that hopefully provide a good start to your weekend ahead.
(A few bits of weekend advice: Don’t mix alcohols, don’t drink and drive, look both ways before crossing the street and if she wasn’t good looking before you started drinking, that shouldn’t change because you’ve been drinking. You’re welcome.)
- No truth to Delhomme rumors
On Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirmed there was no truth to the interweb rumor that former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme would be visiting Green Bay.
Well that’s a relief, huh?
Continue reading Friday round-up: Old quarterbacks, new jerseys and dreadful commentators
Outside of an impending extension for Nick Collins (fingers crossed), there really isn’t much going on with the Green Bay Packers at the moment.
(Yes, I know they signed a receiver who spent most of last season in the Arena League, but I refuse to talk about it, okay?)
That being the case, I’ve decided to have a little fun with the other big Packers-related news of the day: the casting of Robert De Niro as Vince Lombardi in the biopic of Lombardi’s life, “Lombardi.”
First, let’s talk about De Niro – excuse me, Robert F’in De Niro. Seriously, this is a brilliant bit of casting. Don’t focus so much on the fact that De Niro doesn’t really resemble Lombardi. Instead, focus on the fact that he’s a brilliant character actor who is a master at crawling inside the skin of the people he’s playing (’cause, you know, he’s Robert F’in De Niro and all). Plus, last time I checked, the hair and makeup people in Hollywood are pretty good at what they do, so I’m sure Bobby will look a lot like St. Vincent in the movie. And he is going to crush this role, make no mistake.
Close your eyes. Now, imagine the man who played Jake Freakin’ LaMotta saying the following line: “I have never been on a losing team, gentlemen, and I do not intend to start now.” Yeah – pretty sweet, right?
Continue reading So, De Niro is in…but what about the other cast members?
Chris mentioned this morning he was hoping the Packers would take a serious look safety Ryan Clark before re-upped with the Steelers. However, all may not be lost at the position as Nick Collins signed his restricted free agent tender today, according Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein.
The deal is one-year for $3.3 million and takes Collins off the free agent market. The Packers previously placed the highest possible on Collins, a first and third-round draft pick compensation, so by signing the tender no team can come and offer Collins a deal anymore. While it seemed unlikely that a team would give up that kind of compensation to sign Collins, crazier things have happened and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities.
Signing the tender is news for three reasons. First, many times restricted free agents will not sign the tender and use it as leverage for a new deal. Secondly, Collins’ agent Alan Herman said today that signing the tender could be looked at as a good faith gesture and they are optimistic a long-term deal will be finalized soon. And lastly, by signing the tender Collins now cannot holdout from mandatory offseason workouts and mini-camps.
“Based on the tender Nick received and based on Nick’s desire to stay with the Packers and to take part in the offseason program, which is something he really wanted to do, he elected to sign the tender,” Herman told Silverstein. “Nick really likes it in Green Bay and wants to stay there. Hopefully, this will help us finalize a deal as we move forward.”
Herman also stated that he doesn’t think that it shouldn’t be long before a deal is done, possibly in the coming weeks. He probably is speaking the truth as it is hard to see Collins signing the tender if he didn’t think a long-term deal would be imminent.
There was no mention on what kind of terms each side are seeking in the new deal, but thanks to the Giants insanely giving Antrel Rolle $37 million over five years with $15 million guaranteed (I still believe Rolle has dirt on Coughlin), expect Collins’ deal to be around those numbers. Every year free agents are overpaid, but that is just the nature of the business.
Not surprisingly Thompson has been quiet so far this offseason, only making news by re-signing Clifton. However, just like last offseason when the biggest signing he could have made would be re-signing Greg Jennings, Thompson can make this year just as successful by signing Collins long-term. Looks like that might be sooner than later.
-Adam Somers
Let’s face it: Tuesday is the worst day of the week.
Sure, you’ve cleared that Monday hurdle well enough – perhaps with some help of your fond memories from the past weekend – but now what do you have to look forward to? Those weekend memories (if you can remember what actually happened) fade quickly, leaving you with two full days to get through before you can begin to get excited about the upcoming weekend.
That’s where we at OBOD come in.
We’re here with some Tuesday quick slants (copyright Adam Somers), a handful of interesting items that – hopefully – give you a little shot in the arm on this most dreadful of days.
Enjoy.
On Monday, Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press Gazette ran an article breaking down the numbers on left tackle Chad Clifton’s three-year, $20 million contract, signed on Friday.
(Quick aside: We probably don’t give the GBPG guys their full due here often enough. They’re very good, as well.)
After looking at it, I have to say this was a very good deal for the Green Bay Packers.
As always, get ready to deal with a lot of numbers here, okay?
The only real guaranteed money given to Clifton comes in the form of a $6.375 million roster bonus, which he will receive Wednesday.
Now, take a look at his salaries for the three years of the deal:
- 2010 – $855,000
- 2011 – $5.75 million
- 2012 – $5.25 million
The rest of the deal is composed of playing time and workout-related bonuses:
- 2010-2012 – $250,000 each year that he participates in the team’s workout program which, of course, is strictly voluntary. As far as I know, at least recently, Clifton has been a part of this program.
- 2010 – $100,000 total if he’s on the active gameday roster each week (or $6,250 per week).
- 2011-2012 – $250,000 total if he’s on the active gameday roster each week (or $15,625 per week).
Here, then, are Clifton’s cap numbers for the duration of the contract (if he hits all the various incentives, of course):
- 2010 – $7.580 million
- 2011 – $6.250 million
- 2012 – $5.750 million
Again, though, that’s only if he hits all the incentives. Clifton is almost a lock to miss at least a few games every year, so you can bring those cap numbers down a bit.
And, as I said Friday, there is pretty much no way Clifton sees the last year of this deal. He’ll be 34 by the time this season starts and my best guess is that this is, in reality, a two-year contract whether there’s a work stoppage in 2011 or not. That said, you can basically lop off all the money due Clifton in 2012. That makes it a two year contract worth a maximum of $13.83 million.
Also, Ted Thompson and chief negotiator Russ Ball did exactly what I thought they would. They frontloaded the hell out of the deal, choosing to pay Clifton the most money in the year that happens to be uncapped. Even if he completely breaks down physically – or gets beaten out at some point by the team’s No. 1 draft choice, Charles Brown (fingers crossed that Brown is the pick) – Green Bay is off the hook for most of the money. So the Packers could still cut Clifton after this season and not take much of a cap hit at all.
Finally, when you consider that Clifton made $6.37 million last season, his cap number for this season isn’t bad at all. An extra $1.2 million for a solid veteran who plays a crucial position (also one where Green Bay would have been left with nothing had he signed somewhere else) is not that much at all.
Nice work, Ted and Russ. Now if you guys would just pick up the phone and call Nick Collins’ people, we’d all feel a hell of a lot better.
-Chris Lempesis
So far, we at OBOD have covered the hell out of free agency as it relates to the Green Bay Packers and the rest of the NFC North.
(Okay, maybe we haven’t “covered the hell” out of it. But we’ve been good….solid….decent. Yeah, let’s stick with that – decent.)
But what about the rest of the NFL? After all, there has been activity outside of the division and, with it being Monday morning and all, it seems like a good time to expand our horizons and look at some of the other notable moves made. Some of these, of course, have Packers-related repercussions and we’ll mention them, as needed.
- Cardinals taking big steps back – After watching Kurt Warner retire awhile back, the Cardinals lost three more key players this past weekend. Arizona finally rid themselves of Anquan Boldin, trading the somewhat malcontent receiver and a fifth round pick this year to the Baltimore Ravens for third and fourth round picks this year. Boldin might have been a pain in the butt, but he’s also an elite talent who is as tough as they come. Steve Breaston is decent, but Boldin he is absolutely not (love this move for the Ravens, by the way, as Boldin finally gives them the big-time wideout they seemingly have never had). Another big loss comes in the form of middle linebacker Karlos Dansby – I remember seeing him do something big a couple of months ago, but I can’t remember what - signing with the Miami Dolphins (five years, $43 million with $22 mil guaranteed). Dansby, while not an elite ‘backer, is very good and was a great fit for that defense. The Cards also lost safety Antrel Rolle to the New York Giants (five years, $37 million with $15 mil guaranteed, more on that in a bit). It’s true that they replaced Rolle by trading a fourth round pick this year and a seventh next year to the New York Jets for safety Kerry Rhodes and that Rhodes is a good player. But Rolle was on the up and knew this scheme. It will take Rhodes time to learn it. Those moves, combined with Matt “Chubby Girls and Beer Bongs” Leinart now at quarterback, lead me to believe the NFC West is an open race. Well, unless you’re the Rams.
Continue reading Other thoughts on the first weekend of free agency
Friday morning, I provided a brief look at what the other three NFC North teams had been doing in free agency up to that point.
Now, with the weekend drawing to an end, it seemed like a good time to provide an updated look (and, as always, give some thoughts on it all). After all, it’s hard to find a division that was busier than the NFC North.
Chicago Bears - In terms of activity and dollars spent, the Bears have been the unquestioned kings of free agency thus far. On Friday alone, they dished out roughly $121 million to three players: defensive end Julius Peppers (six years, $91 million with $42 million in guaranteed money), running back Chester Taylor (four years, $12.5 million with $7 million in guaranteed money) and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna (five years, $17 million with $6 million in guaranteed money).
When you consider just how much pressure is on general manager Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith to win – and win now – the highly active approach was likely necessary (especially when you consider Chicago doesn’t pick until the third round this year).
If I’m a Bears fan (thank God I’m not), I like the Taylor and Manumaleuna signings. Taylor turns 31 in September, yes, but he’s only had season in which he carried the ball over 200 times (2006, when he ran for 1,216 yards in his first year in Minnesota). He’s got much more tread left on his tires than the average back that age. His role declined in Minnesota after 2006 due to the presence of that Peterson fella, but he’s still a crafty, tough runner who brings extra value as a pass catcher. Matt Forte is just not a No. 1 back and the Bears, as a team, were 29th in rushing yards per game last season (a paltry 93.3). Taylor will boost that number.
Manumaleuna – hate typing that name already – is a pure blocking tight end at 295 pounds. He should help in protecting Jay Cutler as he’s basically an offensive lineman. Plus, the Bears can now look into trading Greg Olson or Desmond Clark for added draft picks as new offensive coordinator Mike Martz really doesn’t use the tight end all that much.
Continue reading A look at the NFC North’s busy weekend
As Chris posted yesterday, Aaron Kampman was visiting with the brass of Jacksonville and was rumored to be have other teams interested in his services.
Cancel those travel plans.
The Jaguars announced this morning that they have signed the former Packer defensive end/linebacker, contract length and terms undisclosed as of yet. There is no doubt Kampman got paid handsomely, but it will be interesting to see how long this deal is. He’ 30 years old and coming off knee surgery, but it would surprise me if the deal was of the five year variety as Jacksonville ranked last in the NFL with 14 sacks last year. Kampman will be in his familiar spot of defensive end in the 4-3 scheme.
(Update, 7:05 p.m. Sunday: Michael C. Wright of The Florida Times-Union reports, via his Twitter page, that Kampman received a four-year, $26 million contract with $11 million guaranteed.)
So what does this mean for the Packers? On the field, not a whole lot. The writing was on the wall since mid-season, if not earlier, that it would be Kampman’s last year in Green Bay. He never fit in the 3-4 scheme and the transition to linebacker never worked. When he went down for the season against San Fransisco, the defense actually started to take off with Brad Jones stepping in. Expect Jones to have the inside track to start again in 2010, unless someone takes the position away from him. While he showed some flaws, his overall production and potential is too hard to ignore. So the Packers will be fine without Kampman on the field.
Off the field? Now that’s a different story. There has been no question that Kampman has been one of the leaders in the locker room for years. He never showed any dissatisfaction until last year when the team made the switch to a 3-4 and it was obvious he would be the one guy who be out of place. He also was a fan favorite and him and his family are involved in many projects in the community, so Green Bay loses a great citizen as well.
Interesting of note, Kampman now joins former high school teammate Brad Meester, who plays center for Jacksonville. As you recall, Kampman played under the late Ed Thomas at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa.
Tough to see a guy like Kampman leave the Packers as he should have some productive years left if he recovers fully from last year’s injury, but this was far from unexpected. He never fit in a 3-4 scheme and this might as well be his last contract in the NFL, so when you have a chance to get paid, you have to take it.
As always, stay tuned to OBOD as we will keep you updated on the last free agency news and all the big moves Teddy is sure to pull.
-Adam Somers
Saturday, 4:45 p.m.
After waiting a bit – and making some plans before breaking them – Aaron Kampman is finally putting himself out there for other teams.
Kampman visited with the Jacksonville Jaguars today, according to The Florida Times-Union. Friday, Kampman was all set to visit with the Philadelphia Eagles, although he apparently had a change of heart before making his trip.
The Eagles remain a team in play for his services, though, as do Seattle and Tampa Bay (I thought Detroit would make a run, but it signed Kyle Vanden Bosch on Friday instead). It should be noted that all four teams run a 4-3 scheme. As I’ve said before, this is the scheme Kampman wants to get back to as he likely has absolutely no interest in returning to the 3-4 that the Packers run.
Now that the initial wave of big signings has died down, the hunt for Kampman should heat up. I expect he’ll sign somewhere by Monday or Tuesday at the latest – and I don’t expect that signing to take place in Green Bay.
The interesting news on Mark Tauscher is that, well, there is apparently no news. There have been no real rumors of teams showing interest in him, including the Packers. I can’t figure out why, though. Yes, he’ll turn 33 before the season starts. But he was so valuable to Green Bay last season and I can’t imagine that every one of the 31 other NFL teams is set at that position – or, at the very least, couldn’t use an upgrade.
Tauscher is probably in the second-or-third wave of free agents, and things could very well heat up for him sometime around the middle of next week. By next weekend, he should have found himself a team to play for.
Again, I don’t expect that team to be the Packers.
-Chris Lempesis
Friday, 11:50 p.m.
For pretty much the entire afternoon today, it was sort of looking grim if you are a fan of the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay’s starting left tackle, Chad Clifton, was visiting with the Washington Redskins. The ‘Skins need a left tackle and have an owner (Daniel Snyder) who loves to overpay for aging veterans on the open market. Add to that the fact that Clifton and agent Jimmy Sexton had already balked at the Packers’ offer of $5 million a year and you had a scenario where Green Bay was surely set to lose the man who had owned the left tackle spot for more than a decade.
Plus, the Chicago Bears had just landed prized defensive end Julius Peppers (six years, $91 million with $42 million in guaranteed dough) and the Detroit Lions snagged end Kyle Vanden Bosch (four years, $26 million). Combine that with Jared Allen’s irritating presence in Minnesota and Green Bay was staring down the barrel at the following scenario: Six divisional games in 2010 against solid-to-All Pro-level pass rushers with, as of earlier today, no real left tackle to speak of.
My how quickly things change.
Clifton will indeed be returning to Green Bay, signing a three-year, $20 million contract ($7.5 million guaranteed) tonight. There are a few different layers to this story and I’ll attempt to cover them all now.
Continue reading Clifton’s signing brings some stability, but changes still in store for o-line
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