How I Sit on Sitton

The opening game is just a couple days away and the Packers roster is now set. I'm not happy with some of the moves made by General Manager Ted Thompson, but what else is new. I have learned to live with it. However, I'm very much not happy with some innuendo put out by Head Coach Mike McCarthy concerning the biggest move made on cut down day.

Packers Pro Bowl Guard Josh Sitton

The elephant (not Julius Peppers and Datone Jones) in the room  is the release of 3-time Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton to the Chicago Bears. Yes, the Chicago Bears, of all people, considering the one thing the Bears offense needed was a guard and Thompson handed them one on a silver platter.

 

Bears' Pro Bowl Guard Josh Sitton

Sitton is 30 years old coming off, what I thought was a subpar season because of a continuing back issue. But he lost 20 pounds hoping that would help and he still was voted to the Pro Bowl and as a 2nd Team All-Pro. So what do I know?

 

There are five things that are pertinent in this transaction. First, he was under contract as is the other guard T.J. Lang for one more season. And that is significant for two reasons. A. If he left after the season the Packers would have gotten a third or fourth round pick as compensation. B. If it was the cost then Lang would have released also. He wasn't.

 

When asked why he cut Sitton Thompson was his eloquent self, “I’m not going to go there. Not right now, no. I will say this. Josh Sitton is a heck of a football player and a good teammate. He’s one of the better picks I’ve ever made. (Remember it's all about Ted). While these decisions are never easy, this was done with a focus on what is best for the team and the growth of the offensive line. We wish Josh and his wife, Kristen, all the best in the future." And that with a dollar gets you a cup of coffee and banished to Da Bears.

 

Second, it seems the decision to cut Sitton was made during the offseason and not for personnel reasons, but for personal reasons.

 

Last year after the regular season loss to the Cardinals when Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times Sitton had these comments, “I think the philosophy of our offense has changed or needs to change or whatever you want to say. We need to be a team that goes out there and runs it 30 times a game. When you get games like this, obviously you can’t do that. And a lot of the games we’ve been in this year have gone this way [with the team falling behind] and we haven’t been able to do that [in the run game]. But I think our recipe for success, yeah I think it has changed.”

 

Two days later a very miffed McCarthy lashed out, “Josh Sitton needs to play guard” instead of bellyaching about play calling."

 

When training camp began Lang confirmed that both he and Sitton were told recently that the Packers would not negotiate with either of them during the season on new contracts because the team planned to focus on re-signing some of its younger players first. Between the words. Good Bye.

 

Earlier this week a very terse McCarthy made these statements after the release of Sitton.

 

“There’s a lot of things that go into this decision. This wasn’t just one thing. I think anytime you make decisions, you have to look at everything that’s involved. ’m not going to sit here and go through every variable, every component of our program, but each player is evaluated. Every person that touches the locker room has always been evaluated because the locker room is the most important room in our building, frankly, in my opinion. Decisions are made all the time about trying to improve and continue the flow of growth for our football program.”

 

McCarthy mentions the locker room and reading between the lines seems to indicate Sitton ran himself off the team and it had nothing to do with his back or contract or the play of Lane Taylor. If you asked the locker room (i.e. the players) nobody thought Sitton was a cancer. It seems only McCarthy did at first and Thompson backed him up. THIS IS NO WAY TO RUN AN ORGANIZATION.

 

Before training camp opened would have been the perfect time to trade Sitton and that would have solved two problems. First, the Packers would have gotten something back instead of bupkis. Second, Sitton would have ended up somewhere else instead of the Bears.

 

An analogy could be the story of Vince Lombardi trading All-Pro center Jim Ringo after a true or urban myth story of him asking Lombardi to deal with his agent. No matter how it actually came about Lombardi traded Ringo and fullback Earl Gross to the Eagles for Lee Roy Caffey and a No. 1 draft pick (Donny Anderson) instead of NOTHING.

 

Lombardi knew the art of the deal and Thompson is a lightweight compared to Lombardi. And it seems thin skin got in the way of good business decisions. I find this development very disturbing and so should the Trust in Tedders and CEO Mark Murphy and the Board of Directors.

 

Personal feelings should never supersede good business sense. Thompson says over and over again that all his decisions are business decisions but now it seems that is just another thing he lies about. Lyin' Ted Indeed.

 

Third is the re-signing of Lane Taylor to a two-year $4.15 million contract during the offseason more than doubling his salary as a career reserve, but it foreshadowed the release of Sitton.

 

McCarthy seems all on-board with this decision to cut Sitton who had missed just two starts in seven seasons and replace him with the fourth-year Taylor who has two starts to his name and played terrible both times.

 

“I have all the confidence in the world in Lane. He’s earned this opportunity. I think he’s done a very good job particularly in the run blocking phase of his game. The pass protection and some of the things — particularly how we do it and what we do — is something he just needs some game experience at. That’s part of the leap when you make changes. But with that, it’s an opportunity to grow.”

 

Fourth is the assessment of. The adulation from Thompson, McCarthy and that well-known kissass Larry "The Rock" McCarren (his lips have been attached to Thompson's ass so long he needs industrial strength ChapStick to just get through his radio and TV broadcasts) about Taylor is ludicrous.

 

Have they watched him play? I have and he is not ready for prime time. A competent General Manager has an adequate replacement for players he trades or cuts and in this case the best we have is a hope and a prayer Taylor isn't terrible.

 

Lane And His Beautiful Family

Taylor seems like a nice guy and has a beautiful family, but so far he hasn't proved he can do the job. Let's hope the Jaguars' Malik Jackson and Roy Miller don't spend the day in Eddie Lacy and Aaron Rodgers' faces Sunday.

 

Fifth, when McCarthy was asked if the Packers were better after Sitton was cut he said, “I don’t think it’s fair to say that about anybody. I believe there are positions in football that are primary positions and some positions not to that level. It’s just like any profession, when you outline job responsibility and what you’re asking each position to do, there are some positions you put in front of the others. I think we all understand that the quarterback position is the most important position in football; that goes without being said. To sit there and say, are you a better team or not a better team because of one player? We haven’t even played a game yet. So this is about growth for our football program. Every decision we make is in the best interest of improving all aspects of our program. This is not about one player. This about our football team.”

 

Hey, Aaron, You Do Know Guards Aren't Important Don't You

Really. We just found out a few things. First, offensive guard is not important. Tell that to the most important position man Aaron Rodgers himself. I think he might differ. Second, McCarthy has amnesia. The Packers lost one player last year in Jordy Nelson and the offense fell apart. One player DOES make a difference.