Jim Rome says, "Rack 'em!"

i'm sure you already know, but bedard also cited you guys on jsonline

and also, i think this guarantees that thompson drafts a cornerback in the 2nd round. maybe even that jenkins guy in the first. which wouldn't help us shift to a 3-4, but it is an area we can't avoid finding some talent much longer.

This is the ghost of the Ryan Grant holdout back to haunt us again. The only problem - His agent doesn't realize how much the Favre situation contributed to Grant's contract. No Favre controversy and Grant was probably gone before pre-season last year.

Kevin Carter is in an area of extreme need. Keep the Focus!

Front Three

Jenkins - injury coming in. Cause for some concern

Pickett - Slowed by hamstring last year. Looked good at the end of the season

Jolly - Slow start, but overall played well last year. His best year as a Packer. Suspension and Texas Court is a concern

Harrell - Alas poor marshmellow

Thompson - Too Small for Front Three. Too slow for back four.

Malone - Please someone make me stop laughing.

I'm going to throw a monkey wrench in here. The idea that Thompson has been so successful in getting across to the team post-Sherman is if you play well, you will get rewarded. If you look carefully at the culture of the locker room under Sherman, particularly starting with Mike McKenzie on, it seemed everybody wanted to cash in or move on.

Yes, Grant's contract bonanza was an error. So was not having a decent guy in here to have leverage with while he was holding out. But allowing Williams to dictate the terms is a slippery slope that will likely open the floodgates.

My thought? Play you contract, realize with the change-up in defensive scheming that you will likely get a chance to establish yourself by the end of the season, and Thompson will likely give you a solid deal.

Go the route of Grant, Walker, or McKenzie, and it won't end well for anyone.

I really hope that TT plays hardball on this one. If he doesn't, you are going to see every guy with a little bit of playing time thinking he is worth 2 mil a year. Get real Tramon. Last time I checked, you signed the contract when you first came in, and were happy to do it. He's lucky a team signed him. Has he turned out to be a valuable asset to the team, absolutely. Can he help us in the future, probably. Is he worth more to the team than 460K, yes. But that is what contract negotiation is for when the time comes. Until then, keep you head down, work your a** off, and keep your mind on the important thing - the Super Bowl. If you're worth it, TT will give you the money. He's proven that with players like Kampman and Driver.
THis is an especially stupid time to do it seeing as he needs to know a brand new defense and will need all the practice can get if he is going to be a useful part of the defense. But I guess this proves that he's not concerned with that.
Leave him Ted and let him swing when it really matters and he has no substantial starting time.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Ryan Grant outrushed Derick Ward and Brandon Jacobds since he became a starter and his contract reflects that. He got Ward type money, which isn't spectacular compared to other starting backs. In fact, if he split carries he'd still be fairly compensated.

I understand your point about leverage - but just because you don't have to sign someone doesn't mean it's not in the best interest of the team.

Personally, if Orakpo, Raji and Brown (and the top 3 LT's) are off the board (and that's a big if) I'd like to see the Pack invest in Moreno (barring trading down). More and more teams are looking for a one two punch at RB and it would be nice to have some serious talent at the position.

None of this has anything to do with Tramon, though. Maybe TT "set a precedent" by signing Grant, maybe not. Sure, Tramon's agent might see it that way, but that doesn't make it true. While, I do believe Williams is good, he needs to get better to be considered irreplaceable. He gave up the most big plays in the secondary and quite a few touchdowns.

The fact is, if TT thinks he's worth a long term investment, he'll give it to him, if he thinks he needs to see another year's worth of play, then that's what he'll do. The real leverage is in TT's hands anyway. With a possible uncapped year in 2010 Tramon could be forced to acrue 6 years of time before becoming a free agent.

If he'd like to collect a big pay day, he better get into camp sooner rather than later.

Some are under the mistaken impression that Williams is under contract for this season, and that he simply does not want to perform. At least according to Bedard, that is incorrect; Williams has no contract, but has been tendered the minimum salary for the coming year, which he has indicated he will not sign.

That said, if he doesn't want to sign, I think the Packers should play hardball. I like Williams, and he has shown some promise, but he's not irreplaceable. He can't sign anywhere else, and he likely doesn't have a whole lot of cash banked yet, so he can't afford to stay out too long. Meanwhile, guys with his abilities can be found later in the draft, or even after- Williams himself was signed as an undrafted free agent.

Wynn, Lumpkin, and Jackson can provide a 1-2 punch. Moreno? Ick.

Precedents can be erased. The #3 CB doesn't quite have the leverage of the #1 RB.

Josh
I've posted a few times that I'm scared to death Moreno will be there at #9 and TT will take him. I'm in Atlanta and have followed this guy's career. I just don't see him making a big splash in the NFL. He's small, injured a lot and he's just not that fast. He's been caught from behind many times. He IS very quick with his direction changes, but I just can't see him as more than a situational player or kick returner. We have the #2 in the 1-2 punch in B. Jackson. We just have to commit to getting him more carries

This here is one of the major issues with the current CBA...

The Players union pissed on the undrafted free agent kids coming into the league, signing for comparative peanuts and having to earn their way onto a roster and into visibility. Not many make impacts, but for the ones that do and outplay their contracts, they have little leverage in securing a fair competitive salary. The Union decided to protect the ridiculous money that the high drafted players in exchange for trapping these blue collar players.

Personally, if I am Williams or Grant, I demand to get a fair contract paid.. not blockbusters but fair market value contracts.

People complain about the Grant contract, it is incentive loaded, so Grant has to perform to earn some of the lucrative numbers in that deal..

Personally, if you take care of these types of players, the ones that earn their payday first with performance, you will reap the benefits of players actually choosing GB over some of the other in the UDFA rookie market.. where some of the hidden NFL gems come from.

Pack93z is right. One other thing, slightly mentioned, is the CBA - which is just about dead, pending how the Owners & NFLPA decide to behave. As discussed on PTI, Wilbon's research has it around 50/50 on the Players thinking they need to grab the dough now, or not. I tend to believe him as he has a fair amount of contacts around the League on this. I do not believe most of what the Owners are putting out there as their Agenda for the CBA.
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If it was me, I'd give Tramon a decent "fair" offer, which (right now) would be better than a one-year minimum deal. He did step in for Al Harris in pretty good fashion, nailing 3 INT's pretty quickly (almost as if Big Al could just stay on the bench). That CB position hardly missed a beat and Harris wasn't fully healed when he did comeback. It's the replacement for Charles Woodson that I'm looking at. We may draft a CB in the higher rounds this year, I'm just not sold on the guy from Florida. as the record of other players from the school bears some payin' attention to as they hit the NFL.

If I am Williams I do not sign it.

The Grant deal was worth it, he is still cheap. If I am Williams I am asking for $1mil base plus major incentives for the next two years until I am not an R.A. If the league goes uncapped, and he does not get a new deal, this guy might get screwed worse than any other player in the league.

We are one injury away from needing him, but the jury is out as to how good he will be in Zone coverage. I am hoping even better than man...but who knows?