It Is Time For Packers To Get A (Pass) Rush Via Trade, Free Agency
By Chris Havel
The National Football League’s free-agent signing period opened with its typical flourish after midnight Friday.
Jacksonville paid big bucks for ex-Oakland receiver Jerry Porter. Philadelphia opened the vaults to acquire former New England cornerback Asante Samuel. Chicago caved in and backed up the Brinks truck to-resign linebacker Lance Briggs.
Meantime, the Green Bay Packers and general manager Ted Thompson conducted business as usual. That is to say they sat on the sideline, plotted strategy and waited to see what the NFL’s annual “Dash for Cash” might bring their way.
Fortunately Thompson is as shrewd as he is conservative.
The Packers’ GM executed a clever tag-and-trade maneuver by designating defensive tackle Corey Williams the team’s franchise player, and then promptly trading him to Cleveland for a second-round pick (the 56th overall) in next month’s draft.
It freed an additional $6.363 million under the salary cap to put the Packers approximately $24 million under the $116 million cap for 2008. It also laid the groundwork for a pre-draft or draft-day trade by giving Green Bay ample ammo. The Packers now hold three picks (the 30th, 56th and 60th) among the top 60 selections.
How Thompson chooses to proceed is anybody’s guess, but it certainly sets the stage for a move that seems tailor-made—as in Miami’s Jason Taylor—for Green Bay.
The Dolphins’ six-time Pro Bowl defensive end reportedly has grown weary of Miami’s constant losing and rebuilding. Taylor has spent his entire 11-year NFL career with the Dolphins, and after 2007’s dismal 1-15 win-loss record the future is dim.
Bill Parcells, the Dolphins’ new director of football operations, refuted a report by Yahoo! Sports.com that Taylor planned to leave for greener pastures this off-season. Parcells may indeed have plans for Taylor, but it seems more likely his claim that the report is “just another example of journalistic irresponsibility” is a smokescreen.
Parcells and the Dolphins need draft picks more than they need a 33-year-old defensive end better suited to a 4-3 scheme rather than Parcells’ favored 3-4 alignment.
The Packers’ situation is entirely different than the Dolphins’ following a 13-3 season that included advancing to the NFC Championship Game. While many so-called “experts” suggest Green Bay desperately needs help in its defensive secondary, the fact is the Packers need more help opposite Aaron Kampman at right defensive end.
The Packers didn’t merely lose to the New York Giants because cornerback Al Harris had difficulty with receiver Plaxico Burress. They lost because they couldn’t pressure quarterback Eli Manning into making game-changing mistakes.
Taylor, the NFL’s 2006 Defensive Player of the Year, still has more than enough juice to team up with Kampman as formidable bookend pass rushers. Taylor had 56 tackles, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception last season. Kampman was a Pro Bowl left end. Together they could wreak havoc.
The beauty of a potential trade for Taylor is twofold.
If the Packers acquire Taylor it would mean an immediate infusion of confidence, professionalism and leadership on the defense. It also would send an unmistakable message that the Packers’ GM believes his team is a player away from the Super Bowl.
Taylor’s presence also would make the safeties and cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Harris significantly better because they wouldn’t have to cover all day. In addition, Williams’ departure to the Browns could mean moving right end Cullen Jenkins back to his original defensive tackle spot. It also could mean cutting ties with aging pass-rush specialist Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
If the Packers don’t acquire Taylor they still have the extra second-round draft pick to shore up their depth at tight end, linebacker and the defensive secondary. They also still have Jenkins and KGB to alternate at right end, and that duo was good enough to get the Packers to the NFC Championship.
Taylor, in my opinion, very well could help the Packers get to the Super Bowl.
It is time for Thompson to make it happen.
Chris Havel is a freelance writer, best-selling author and host of northeast Wisconsin’s top-rated sports radio talk show, Sports Line, heard Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sports Radio 107.5 FM and 1400 AM THE FAN. He writes a weekly column exclusively for Packers Fan Tours’ Website throughout the 2007 season.
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