If Finley can only be very productive with Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and James Jones are on the field, than that makes him an average tight end, imo. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Not all players are elite. But a truly great tight end will still produce. The rest of the Packers surrounding cast is still really good, including the guy throwing him the ball. There should be more room for Finley, but he simply doesn't get a lot of separation and has developed a pattern of untimely drops. It is what it is, but it's too bad he hasn't been able to consistently produced at the same level he showed earlier in his career.
The Packer's can easily make it by with just an average Finley, but not for long with that price tag. He's not getting paid like an average tight end, and the Packers aren't going to have much cash to spare.
As for his comments, it's not a matter of whether what he has ever said is right or wrong. I just don't like to hear that kind of stuff continually spoken to the media, especially given some of his previous comments. Keep it in house. Any statement he makes to the media isn't likely to help the on-field production, so what's the point? The risk vs. reward isn't worth it. If he was producing big time, I really wouldn't care what he said, within reason. But when a player isn't producing much, I really don't want to hear their opinions of their teammates performances. I'm sure others feel differently.
Originally Posted by: doddpower