FA is as hit or miss as is the draft. I think the bigger problem is the lack of true balance with talent acquisition. All we really add are draft picks and UDFAs. Many of our other FA signings have been in the lower tiers with the exception of Saturday and Benson, who we whiffed on.
Looking at record alone for the past 3 seasons is almost akin to turning a blind eye to the other areas of need that have gone unaddressed through FA or trade, as Rodgers, we've realized clearly overcompensated for those areas left without talent upgrades both on offense and on defense.
A GM can't get his entire team via the draft, and expect them all to be better than other teams who apply a more balanced approach. I question how many games we would have won, how successful we would have been without Pickett and Woodson over that span, two very important FA acquisitions. Holding dear to your picks and re-signing them can create problems as well, as we've seen with AJ Hawk and Brad Jones. I believe a balance of draft choices, veteran FAs and key trades for players at positions of great need might prove to be a better solution to rounding out and improving this Packers team.
How effective is it to re-sign your own players when they've proven to have been unable to close the deal? Unable to stop better talent? Unable to beat the contenders, the teams who have gone onto win SBs? We knew coming into this season that OT, LB and S were huge issues. We really lucked out with the play of Bakhtiari. Many of us knew Brad Jones was not the answer in the middle, and questioned the players we had lined up at FS. When Bulaga went down, we really ought to have added a high quality player there via trade or FA. Knowing we weren't adding FS via the draft, we should have made a trade, and Jairus Byrd was available. I would guess a Byrd trade could have easily netted us two more wins, maybe three this season.
Trades are tough, as it takes two to Tango. I'm not saying this is easy, at all. The FA thing, as I said, is as hit or miss as the draft. But, it would be nice to see them trying. Our staff should have been able to readily see our shortcomings that Rodgers overcame with his own play, and those areas of the team should have been addressed a bit more aggressively. Its not like we are going to have Rodgers forever. Gotta strike while the iron is hot, and Aaron was indeed hot.
Balance. That would be nice to see.
And, as the article attests, "developing players like no one else…" I just don't see it. Our player development looks somewhat marginal under McCarthy, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Originally Posted by: play2win