Wow. This is good news. I really wondered how committed the Pack would be to bringing Finley back. His attitude, his drops and the fact that the team carries 4-5 TEs on the roster led me to believe the Pack would be ready to let him go. My guess is that Mike McCarthy himself stepped up and demanded that the front office figure something out with Finley. McCarthy and Rodgers have both talked openly about the match-up issues Finley causes for defenses. And we all know that McCarthy’s entire offensive system is predicated on creating mismatches. So I’m guessing McCarthy talked Ted’s ear off about getting Finley re-signed at least for the near term…and Ted delivered.
In the end, I’m glad we re-signed Finley. I wasn’t so sure there for a spell last year, but the guy is a freakishly good athlete who can really help this team. Good move. I also like that we signed him to a shorter-term deal. Finley is injury-prone and the team may have some ongoing concerns about his behavior – two factors that could make signing him to a long-term deal extra risky.
This does bring up the issue then of what the Packers might do with the franchise tag. There is lots of talk of tagging Matt Flynn and then trying to trade him for a high draft pick like New England did with Matt Cassel a few years ago. I’m not in favor of doing this because it’s risky. And I also don’t see the Cassel/Flynn situations as really being the same. Cassel led NE to an 11-5 record and had an entire season’s body of work as evidence of his quality. Flynn has essentially played really well in 2 games in his career. I think there is a market for Flynn definitely, but risking getting stuck with a $14 million salary for a back-up QB just isn’t a good idea (even if it’s for just one year). Another major reason why I think the Pack will let Flynn walk is that they could get (I believe) as high as a 3rd round compensatory pick for letting him go. If this happens, my guess is that TT steps back and considers the fact that they got Flynn in the 7th round, so any compensatory pick higher than the 7th round would be OK with him.
The Packers might consider tagging Scott Wells. As I wrote the other day, I think Scott Wells’ value to our offense was finally, appropriately recognized last year by his Pro Bowl nod. The guy is a very good player and without him I think this offense would suffer. I read the other day that Don Banks at SI.com has the Packers going after center Peter Konz from the Badgers in the first round – primarily because Banks has noticed the Pack doesn’t seem to be doing anything to re-sign Wells. I think it’s possible that the Pack decides to tag Wells AND tries to draft Konz. It would be a succession-planning move of sorts. Konz could learn from Wells for a year and then Wells could get a nice contract elsewhere in 2013. In the end, I’m guessing the team would prefer to have the starting center return and the franchise tag would be an easy way to do this without having to commit to anything longer term for Wells.
packergeeks 
February 23, 2012 at 12:36 pm |
Well, hopefully he’ll take some of that money & by some “sticky gloves”. I’m sure there are injury & performance clauses in this contract, at least I hope so.. if not, they’ve over paid him & the other receivers are gonna wanna get paid too when their time comes.
February 24, 2012 at 3:43 pm |
Yeah, I was going to say $15 M for 2 years seems like a lot for a guy who didn’t seem like much of a factor last year, and spent 3/4 of the season before on IR.
If he can get back to beast-mode in 2012, it should be worth it, I think.
D∈T
February 24, 2012 at 9:15 am |
Don’t see Konz being around at #28. Uncle Ted would have to trade up to get him. I love Konz, a fellow Neenah Rocket who I would LOVE to see him play for the Packers.
February 24, 2012 at 1:37 pm |
actually scott i think you may be right on this. i was a bit surprised to see don banks drop him back so far in the draft. not only is he really good anyway, but UW also has such a good reputation with o-linemen that i can’t see him lasting much past the middle of round 1.
February 24, 2012 at 1:28 pm |
I think it’s very similar to Colledge a year ago. Wells is a solid but a replaceable player and TT just isn’t going to over-pay to keep him. If a team like AZ wants to pay a player like Colledge or Wells $6 million a year then TT is going to let them walk. Wells gets to test the market and with the big class of FA centers this year he might find the best offer is the one TT offered him a month ago.
February 24, 2012 at 1:33 pm |
i wouldn’t say it’s too much like the colledge situation because colledge was mediocre at best – and wells is coming off a pro bowl season (and 2 quality seasons before 2011). still, i think you may be right that tt decides to let wells walk.
February 25, 2012 at 11:04 am
Yeah, Wells is a better player. So, why would Wells accept less then Colledge got in FA? He won’t before FA. McGinn reported today that the Packers are offering between $4 and $5 million per year and Wells is requesting $7.5. Those are almost exactly the same #’s being batted about last year for Colledge with the higher # being in the $6 million range. TT would have had to over-pay to keep Colledge out of free agency and the same applies to Wells. Free agency proved Colledge correct last year and he got a deal well above what the Packers were offering. The difference I see is that I’m not sure the Packers feel they have as many replacements for Wells as they did for Colledge on the current roster. Maybe they are higher on E-DS then us fans realize.
The hope for the Packers is that with a fairly large class of free agent starting C’s hitting the market that Wells finds the market not as strong as he hoped. He might end up taking the deal TT offered before the draft as draft day can quickly take prior offers off the table.
February 26, 2012 at 1:22 am
Bottom line, is Ted has his plans, his ideas and the moves he wants to make. He’s not doing this blindly, he’s not just going in without a gameplan. He knows that if he can keep him for a reasonable price he will. He’s not overpaying. He rarely does.
By doing this, keeps our salary cap in check. As you begin to build a strong team, a well maintained salary cap is crucial in continuing the success of your team by keeping as much big names and great players as you can. When you have a ton of talent, and no money to pay, you quickly notice all that talent has left the building.
So TT is prepared. If he can’t get Wells to stay without overpaying, he won’t. Maybe he looks in FA to replace. Maybe he truly feels we got a starter already on the team as a replacement (I’m guessing its unlikely, and I think he regrets not making any moves on D line last year).
While TT hasn’t been perfect, no GM is or ever will be. Some moves or non moves do not pan out, or work out the way you were hoping. But the track record with TT is pretty incredible, and the foundation he’s laid with this team, to allow him to continue to bring in good football players is the right path to success. Because only in the last year or two have we been a bit tight on cap (due to the fact we are loaded with talent), and the talent has come from drafting and grooming players within, and turning UDFA into good football players.
I must say, with the talent this team currently has, and how we’ve been able to acquire it proves that we just need to trust TT knowing there’s a good chance it will be a good move for the Packers.
There may be a better GM in the league, there may not be, regardless we have a pretty dam good one that we can rely on to keep the success of the Packers. And that is what we fans want to cheer about, the Packers having success.
February 27, 2012 at 7:38 am |
A Bob McGinn tweet: The #Packers, nowhere in talks with C Scott Wells, met with agent (D. Rosenhaus) in Indy to discuss Texans UFA-to-be C Chris Myers.