Spent - that's me. For 10 hours today, I did little else but enter numbers into the CheeseheadTV Draft Guide. Combine measurables and testing results, Pro Day testing, RAS numbers, etc etc. I pretty much wore out my arthritic right hand and wrist with all that mouse scrolling and typing and copying and pasting and whatever. Then just to make it worse, I went and played a tennis match for 2 hours after dinner. During said match, I barely had power in my wrist to hit a decent shot, resulting in some pretty awful tennis. Now I'm back home icing my hand in between typing the words you are reading. Woe is me! (By the way, I always assumed that was purely a Shakespearean phrase, but a quick google search places it's origin in the King James Bible, which I guess is where Shakespeare borrowed it from).
Anyway, my point is not just to complain, but rather to let you know why this will be a very abridged version of Polluted Mindset. I ask for your forgiveness and throw myself at the mercy of the CheeseheadTV Reader's Court.
Moving on (and pausing to ice my hand)...
We had actual words form Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst on Monday (although still not a peep from Jonathan Gannon who is either mute, suffering from extended laryngitis or locked in closet at 1265 Lombardi Ave lest anyone be allowed to ask him a question).
LaFleur gave us the reason why he received a low grade from the players with regard to encouraging their input. Seems there were players not happy with their roles. I think it's safe to say some of those players are gone (Quay Walker & Romeo Doubs, for sure), Some likely remain (Dontayvian Wicks, Matthew Golden, Jordan Morgan). As LaFleur said, making a connection with players, communicating and clearly defining roles is the coaching staff's job. But it's up to the player to excel at his role and work to carve out a new role, if that's what he wants.
LaFleur said he went through an extensive evaluation process of the offense this offseason, stripping everything down and starting like it's year one all over again. Probably a great idea since year one was with Aaron Rodgers.
LaFleur claims he never had a direct conversation with Rich Bisaccia as to the reason he decided to leave. I'm having a hard time understanding how that never comes up when your "right hand man" you respect so much just decides to walk out on you. You don't ask why?
Brian Gutekunst had a few little tidbits for us. He revealed that the Packers have been trying to acquire Zaire Franklin for several years and that Benjamin St. Juste was a player he was hoping to draft.
Gutekunst again extolled his increased efforts towards addressing special teams over the last few years and he's not particularly wrong. It's definitely a mixed bag, but the parts that fans see the most, the returners and the kicker, have been the areas where they have had disappointments.
What I was most surprised by was Gutekunst openly admitting that the Packers did not do Jordan Morgan any favors by playing him everywhere but the spot he was drafted to play. I mean we all know this is the case, but I just found it interesting that he basically admitted publicly they hindered his development.
That's all I have folks. The hand is throbbing now, so I have to go ice it again. Don't let it ever be said that I won't play hurt!
Go Pack Go!