I'm inclined to believe that with pass rush, comes better safety play.

That should be priority #1.

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I love it. Well done RaiderPride! Yeah, I do think he is worth it. If we could afford $11M for Charles, we can certainly afford $9M for Jairus Byrd. We have $26M in cap room. We can easily do this, and still sign Jordy next year, and Shields this year.

Pass rush should improve with Datone Jones and Josh Boyd entering their 2nd years. I'm sure we will add to them in the draft.

PackFanWithTwins,
I do think we can win with a top S talent like Byrd added to our D. We will be adding pass rush this draft, I'm sure of it. DL, OLB, ILB. If we sign a S like Byrd, it would really put us in a position to win, absolutely. Since we lost Nick Collins, we've been one of the sorriest defenses in the NFL. Our explosive plays given up are far in excess. We must add top S play to this defense, to get ourselves back to where we want to be.

With a more stout D, some ball hawking, and some solid coverage, we will be able to win many of those important games we lost. We just need to get off the field and get the ball back into Aaron & Eddie's hands… I don't think we are that far away, but we've got to get better players in these positions: S, DL, OLB, ILB.

(Now I have to vent)

I do think this is all wasted energy though. Sadly enough. Ted will never pull that trigger. I am really getting down on him for not using all the means at his disposal to improve this team. And, I'm a big Ted fan, but this has been disheartening. I am seeing wasted opportunities every year. Meanwhile, we stick with subpar players because they are our own: Finley (really, a TE who always proclaimed himself a top talent and never, ever really was. Never led the league at his position, never really cracked the top 5), Mike Neal, Brad Jones, AJ Hawk (yeah, he was improved this year, but from two hellacious seasons in a row 2011-2012). Why MD Jennings had a job in Green Bay this season is beyond me. He sucked last year, and didn't show any improvement, at all, this year. He actually was worse!

CJ Wilson? For the love of God!!!

Cut these players that don't produce! Don't re-sign them! WTF, Ted?!!

For the last 3 years we have been entering our off seasons in need of improved talent at Safety, DL, OLB, ILB. We kept MD Jennings, we drafted Datone Jones in the 1st Round, then didn't play him, we were forced to play UDFA Andy Mulumba because we can't keep another 1st Round pick, Nick Perry healthy, and we can't keep Clay Matthews healthy either. Can't keep the completely lost in coverage Brad Jones healthy either. Giant elephant in the room AJ Hawk has been slowing, took a pay cut, always shows up though and keeps his job, because he can set up our D and make the calls, for one of the NFL's worst defenses… Go figure that one.

This front office needs to get their shit together, and start adding some top talent, and cutting off the players who aren't getting the job done. And, they need to better prepare their players, keep them healthy and do a better job of putting them into positions for success. This personnel staff and this coaching staff has a responsibility to do a better job, if we are to truly contend again.

Add the Safety Byrd, and there is one piece of the puzzle addressed. A really important one. Do we want a rookie learning from a struggling Morgan Burnett? Put a solid… no, one of the best Safeties in the NFL next to him. Keep Sean Richardson as a backup and 3rd S. Done. Next.

I'm really tired of Ted fucking around with this. I would love to see him make a change here, a change in his philosophy. Adding Woodson and Pickett in Free Agency was a very important part of us winning SB XLV. Those two players helped to keep us competitive, contenders. Another top FA signing or two could do the same. This isn't a bad team, they just need some help. Veteran help. Tramon Williams said it himself. He knows. Change. Adjust. Make it happen Ted. Find the very best FAs to help your team, and get them signed! Bite the bullet, while you have Aaron Rodgers. Win some Championships eh!

Thank you to my friends here at PackersHome for allowing me to vent... this has been driving me freaking nuts.

I would guess that LeRoy Butler would disagree. You can't put a hack back there and expect solid coverage, even with a top pass rush. And, MD Jennings is a hack. Why he was back there this season I will never know. He was awful.

Of course a good pass rush will help any secondary, but it won't help MD Jennings. 0 passes defensed. 0 INTs in 2013. 17 games. wow. And, we ranked #8 in the NFL in sacks this season with 44. We ranked #4 in the NFL in sacks in 2012 with 47.

In 3 seasons MD Jennings has 1 INT and 2 passes defensed. Three seasons. 50 games including the playoffs. 1 INT and 2 passes defensed.

Reminds me of that show… LOST IN SPACE! "Warning, Warning! Danger, Danger!"

Bush playing value tends to zero so if Byrd can produce an infinitisimal contribution then his value tends to infinite.

Since 9mill < infinite then the answer to your question is Yes.

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$9 Million isn't that much seeing we are paying Tramon $7.5 million this year.





So I can see us restructuring Williams to free up more space. This is the fun time of year because it's ike Christmas until the Grinch (TT) steals all of our dreams of a top FA.

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Too funny dhazer. It could be great. Maybe it will. Have to see how the offseason plays out.

If that's true, it's not a tough call at all. Byrd is a bargain at that price. He's what? 26 years old? 2 times in the Pro Bowl? That's less than Woodson who was a lot older; It's a lot less than several other DBs mentioned above. A $9 million a year contract, especially for a relatively young guy, can be structured to keep the cap number way down - maybe $4-5 million.

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I get the feeling he gets the franchise tag.

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I really don't understand the love for Richardson at safety, at all. I understand he's no MD Jennings, which that in and of itself is a huge positive. But I still haven't seen much positive from the guy. He looks like an average 3rd or 4th string safety AT BEST. I understand he's coming off an injury and all that, but still. If the Packers go into next season expecting Richardson to be an effective starting safety, it's going to be another long year of safety play. I suppose he could make an astronomical jump this off season, but that seems highly unlikely to me. In reality, he'll probably improve a little, and still be an average back up safety, at best. Personally, I thought Banjo looked a little better, and even that wasn't great. The Packers have to get substantially better at that position unless they find a way to have four elite pass rushers, which obviously isn't going to happen either.

There's not a safety on the Packers roster that should be starting other than Burnett, and he's only average, too. The Packers need to find their number one safety, because right now, they don't have one.

He can play at the LoS and stuff the run. Then again, with his spinal history that could be an injury waiting to happen.

Anyway, he still hasn't had a real TC, iirc.

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