Barnett Insurance?

Lost in the draft euphoria, what with our defense ready to dominate ;), is the fact that there is a very good chance Nick Barnett will not be ready for the season opener, or indeed for the first few games of the season. With today's announcement that the Steelers have cut inside linebacker Larry Foote, I don't think it would be the world's worst idea to kick the tires there and bring him on board, if a Packer-friendly contract could be arranged.  He has experience in the system Capers is installing and is still playing at a fairly high level. I, for one, would feel a whole lot better heading into the opener with Hawk and Foote starting inside than say with Hawk and Bishop.

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.

__________________________

0 points
 

Comments (13)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Kramer64's picture

April 28, 2009 at 11:23 am

Sure, nows the time to load up on bodies.

0 points
0
0
Ron LaCanne's picture

April 28, 2009 at 01:30 pm

Let's not forget the OLine. That's MM's achilies heal. Preston may help but the draft is all gamble. And gambles usually take some time to develop, if at all. No help there. A good(servicable veteran)FA would be nice.

0 points
0
0
DaveK's picture

April 28, 2009 at 03:10 pm

Seahawks removed the franchise tag on OLB Leroy Hill. I think he played the strong side mostly in Seattle and was pretty effective and could get after the QB a bit. It's interesting that two pretty good LB's hit the market the week after the draft.

0 points
0
0
bomdad's picture

April 28, 2009 at 03:45 pm

If Bishop is not ready after a full camp at MLB, they still have Chillar to play the other ILB for a spell. Or they can play some 4-3 until Barnett is back. Not a big fan of getting a high priced vet in for a couple of games when Bishop should be ready. If he's not ready, he gets cut.

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

April 28, 2009 at 04:35 pm

Who said "high priced"? And no way can Chillar go inside. Too small and horrible at the point. He's OLB all the way. He can cover and can rush the passer half way decently. He would get killed inside...

0 points
0
0
bomdad's picture

April 28, 2009 at 04:47 pm

DaveK said Leroy Hill, anyone garnering a franchise tage will want big money. Foote wont want to come be a stop gap knowing he's out when Barnett comes back. I'd rather let it ride on Bishop, and I forgot to mention Lansannah. Investment in these guys has got to pay off.

0 points
0
0
WoodyG's picture

April 28, 2009 at 05:12 pm

Foote has already said he wants to play in Detroit. Yes, that's correct, Detroit. How smart can he be ???

Barnett did not play well even before his injury. I think Bishop gives him a run for starter even if Barnett were completely healthy.

You might as well get used to changes on the defense in 2009. Dom is now in charge & has no loyalties to anyone. Why do you think both Raji & Matthews are now GB Packers ???

0 points
0
0
JoeBuck's picture

April 28, 2009 at 06:05 pm

There was an article in the Wisconsin State Journal a couple months back that quoted McCarthy as saying Hawk would be playing the strong side, "mike" position, essentially switching roles with Barnett. At this point, I'd have to believe Bishop is behind Hawk, not Barnett. Maybe they slide Hawk over and put Bishop in the "Thumper" role. I think he'd be tremendous in that role.

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

April 28, 2009 at 06:14 pm

Woody I completely agree about no one being safe, and I also agree that Barnett was less than stellar evenwhen healthy last year. But the fact remains that anyone the Packers put opposite Hawk at ILB would be inferior to Foote, who, by the way, has never stated himself that he wants to play in Detroit. A friend (fromDetroit) and his agent (generating interest) have stated it, but Foote himself actually denied saying it once the story appeared Super Bowl week.

I think he could be had and I think TT would do the team a disservice not to at least investigate.

0 points
0
0
WoodyG's picture

April 28, 2009 at 06:26 pm

This is a quote from the detnews.com.
If it's on the NET, it must be true, right??

"Detroit is always No. 1," said Foote, a Pershing grad who recently bought a home in the area. "I mean, my agent is talking to them about me coming home, and we'll go from there. But no question about it, that's my first choice."

Another point: Your man (and mine) K. Carter was in Detroit today talking with the Lions. - I thought you made that phone call to TT yesterday ??

0 points
0
0
WoodyG's picture

April 28, 2009 at 06:35 pm

The story was posted today.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090428/SPORTS0101/904280423/1126/Ex-Ste...

I don't know how to make it an active url. You'll have to copy & paste. Never mind. It worked.

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

April 28, 2009 at 07:39 pm

Well well - I stand corrected.Here I was quoting Super Bowl week. Look at Woody dropping the latest knowledge... ;)

As for Carter, all I can say is (sigh)...

0 points
0
0
WoodyG's picture

April 28, 2009 at 08:37 pm

This Packer Fan was definitely elated when TT traded up & took Matthews.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa271/poirotgrl/Classic%20Films/Freak...

0 points
0
0