Packers not above the fray of win-at-all-costs mentality

Mark87

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http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...ll-costs-mentality-b99604933z1-339139291.html

I am going to post this one as a whole here. If your going to go all holier than thou ...don't keep reading. My comment is simple. It's a business and not always a pleasant one.

It made no difference to me that the Green Bay Packers made no financial commitment to Colt Lyerla a year and a half ago.
Once the Packers signed the former Oregon tight end as a free agent in May 2014, the blunt truth was the organization would and did compromise its standards on character and should be categorized as just another win-at-all-costs team in the National Football League.
Lyerla's signing, not long after his invitation to a post-draft rookie orientation camp, was in response to a gaping hole at tight end. The Packers knew by then that Jermichael Finley's career was over because of a cervical injury.
In Lyerla, they were picking up one of the most talented tight ends in the draft without a penny of guaranteed money. The Packers were trolling the depths for a blue-light special. They decided the reward for the won-lost record was worth the risk to their reputation as an organization.
Lyerla easily had been the most controversial and least-liked player in the draft. Many general managers and personnel directors vehemently stated they would never bring Lyerla to camp, even as a free agent.
No team ever did, either. Only Green Bay.
Unlike defensive lineman Letroy Guion, whose troubled past was somewhat obscured by legal maneuverings and the Florida judicial system, Lyerla's record was readily available.
In April 2012, three men accused Lyerla of assaulting them for no apparent reason in Oregon, according to a police report. They claimed he was either extremely drunk or under the influence of drugs, which led to him pushing them to the ground. Charges later were dropped.
In March 2013, Lyerla tweeted: "The parents of the kids that supposedly died in the sandy hook situation are liars." It was in reference to the Connecticut school massacre in which 26 people had died three months earlier. He claimed it was all a conspiracy.
In October 2013, Lyerla was suspended for one game by Oregon because of a violation of team rules. The next day, he quit the team.
Five days later, Lyerla had his driver's license suspended.
Two weeks later, police caught Lyerla snorting cocaine inside his parked vehicle. He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to 24 months of probation, 10 days in jail and 40 hours of community service.
At the time, in a series of several tweets, I made the point that Lyerla had no business being on an NFL roster, especially a community-owned team such as the Packers.
In a series of rebuttal messages and emails, what I assumed to be mostly Packers fans blistered me for refusing to afford Lyerla, a player with the obvious physical skills to help the Packers, a second chance. I saw it as a fourth or fifth chance, and Green Bay should not be a halfway house.
As an organization, the Packers were riding high then and, with an undefeated record through six games, are riding even higher now.
The majority of fans think the Packers can do no wrong, or at the very least deserve the benefit of every doubt. The team's decision-makers are well aware of this, and thus are able to make whatever moves they want confident they will be supported in the court of public opinion and by the largely benign media corps in Wisconsin.
At the same time, the personnel and coaching departments in Green Bay understand there is no owner with millions invested in the team that is apt to fire people on the spur of the moment.
Lyerla's career was over a week into training camp because of a serious knee injury. The Packers reached an injury settlement worth $142,588 on Aug. 26 of last year.
His release came just in the nick of time, too. On Sept. 7, he was arrested in Oregon on suspicion of DUI. Not long ago, he was in Europe seeking a career as a rugby player.
The year before, the Packers brought back defensive end Johnny Jolly in another personnel decision borne of football expediency at the risk of shame for the organization.
At the time, the defensive line in Green Bay was one of the NFL's most undermanned. Jolly, 30, had been a solid starter in 2009. The Packers knew him as a person.
Jolly was a felon who did about six months in prison after being arrested a third time in October 2011 for violating his six-year probation sentence and nullifying deferred adjudication.
His arrests, relapses and NFL suspension stemmed from involvement with codeine. He entered rehabilitation, was reinstated by the league and eventually was re-signed by the Packers with no guarantees on a $715,000 contract.
Jolly faded away in 2014 as an unrestricted free agent who couldn't find another taker. It's entirely possible the Packers wouldn't have signed Guion in March 2014 for one year at $985,000 ($100,000 guaranteed) if Jolly hadn't suffered a cervical injury late in the 2013 season.
The Minnesota Vikings drafted Guion in the fifth round in 2008. When coach Mike Zimmer took over in January 2014, he listened as some of the team's holdover coaches and scouts talked about Guion.
Ultimately, Zimmer decided he didn't want Guion in his locker room or playing on his defense. The Vikings released Guion on March 6, removing his $3.95 million base salary from their cap.
Zimmer regarded Guion as a character risk and a player with limited mental acuity. The Vikings were well aware of the many times Guion forgot or misplaced his phone, keys or paycheck. More than once, his forgetfulness occurred in games at Lambeau Field.
According to a source, however, the Vikings did not know of the domestic disputes between 2011 and 2013 involving Guion that were detailed by the Journal Sentinel in a story last Sunday.
Guion was never charged with domestic violence. Rather, he was charged with battery counts arising from a pair of domestic violence incidents.
In Guion's most serious incident, a police officer in Florida responded to a battery call in February 2013 from Krystal Troutman, the mother of his daughter. According to the police report, Guion pushed Troutman to the ground; when she got back to her feet, Guion struck her in the jaw.
The report stated that Guion also punched Troutman's boyfriend at the time, Martius Holland, in the back of the head, and that he fell face first to the ground. Holland filed a civil suit against Guion last year, seeking damages for injuries.
Guion received deferred prosecution for two counts of misdemeanor battery after paying fines and avoiding trouble with the law for six months.
These incidents and others involving Guion were presented to the team by the Journal Sentinel about a month before publication.
Through a team publicist, general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy declined to comment. Through another team publicist last week, team president Mark Murphy declined to answer questions regarding Guion.
On Monday morning, McCarthy didn't answer directly when asked when he learned of the criminal charges from domestic violence incidents faced by Guion.
McCarthy used the word "garbage" to describe his reaction to the impeccably reported, balanced account.
On Monday afternoon, the Journal Sentinel's Michael Cohen, one of the two writers on the Guion story, was on the sidelines covering practice. Rob Davis, the team's director of player engagement since 2008, continually gestured and stared in Cohen's direction.
When Cohen was looking down at his roster taking player attendance, Davis came over and placed his head about a foot from Cohen's head. Startled, Cohen introduced himself to Davis and extended his hand.
"No, we haven't met," said Davis, refusing to shake Cohen's hand. "And I don't want to know you."
Later, Davis told me he confused Cohen with another reporter. That's a reporter he has known for about 20 years and outweighs Cohen by at least 50 pounds.
"I got nothing to say about that," said Davis. "I wasn't messing with him ... why would I be angry? I've got nothing to be angry about."
Davis, a one-time bouncer for Dennis Rodman, is part of the team's inner circle and a first contact for players, wives and girlfriends on all types of issues. One interpretation is Davis bullied Cohen, and in a league with many anti-bullying initiatives his actions were regrettable, to say the least.
It's possible the Packers' three top decision-makers won't comment specifically because they're embarrassed about their vetting practices.
One source close to the team said the Packers didn't know about Guion's domestic disputes during his years in Minnesota. An NFL source said the Packers probably checked with NFL security during the 11-day period Guion was unsigned but indicated it was entirely possible the league didn't know, either.
Even if the Packers did know, Guion's deferred prosecution makes it appear as if the battery case never happened, a plus for them in courting public reactions.
As a division rival, the Packers couldn't just pick up the phone and find out about Guion from the Vikings, either.
When Guion was arrested Feb. 3 in Florida for having three-quarters of a pound of marijuana, an unloaded gun and $190,000 in cash in his truck, my first reaction was the Packers must be thinking they now would be able to re-sign Guion for considerably less money.
That's exactly what happened on March 31 when Guion came back to the Packers for one year at $2.75 million. Just $400,000 was guaranteed.
If the Packers didn't do their homework on Guion in 2014, did they do it this year?
Probably not, said a high-ranking official for another NFL team, because the Packers knew Guion well at this point and would have had no interest in chasing possible ghosts that might disqualify him from returning as one of their valued players.
The management in Green Bay could have said no to Jolly, Lyerla, Guion and even tight end Andrew Quarless after his arrest July 4 on allegations he discharged a handgun twice outside a Miami Beach parking garage.
Not only didn't the Packers do that, a source said the team also never even gave serious consideration to not re-signing Guion. The Packers took no punitive action, and judging from my anecdotal reaction their fan base is glad they didn't.
Would I have offered Guion continued employment in Green Bay this spring knowing what I know now? Not a chance.
Enabling players is a way of life across the league. Where once a failed drug test for marijuana in college was an enormous red flag, teams couldn't compete today if they erased everyone with a positive test on their résumé.
Dallas, Seattle, Oakland, New England and Washington are among the teams willing to assume the highest degree of character risk. Few if any teams still hold the line against having players with problematic backgrounds.
It's a fact of the business that some of those best at football aren't the best at life. Having too many choir boys doesn't work, either.
"There's days I'll go home and say to my wife, 'We are in a sleazy business,'" an NFL assistant coach with more than 25 years of experience said last week.
He's right, and the Packers are part of it.
In house, they like to boast about the so-called "Packer Way," and all that the organization believes that represents. The Packers cultivate a holier than thou image, and their followers eat it up.
The truth is, the Packers are like just about every other franchise when it comes to looking the other way and hoping for the best when it comes to procuring problem players.
 
Packers can talk about Packers People all they want. Truth is there is no such thing just as such as their is no such thing as the Patriot Way. All teams are dirty to some level and because coaches and front office personel know they need to win now to keep their jobs they will do anything and sign whoever they need to so they can win and keep their jobs. Us fans as much as we would want the Packers to take the high road we still can't expect them to win. You have to often pick one or the other and usually winning will win out unless the player screws up so bad the team has no choice but to move on. Would I have preferred the Packers not to sign Guion? Yes, but I do prefer more the anything else for them to win the Super Bowl. So if there has to be a rotten egg or two in a few dozen that leads to a championship so be it.
 
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The last part of the article sums it up
In house, they like to boast about the so-called "Packer Way," and all that the organization believes that represents. The Packers cultivate a holier than thou image, and their followers eat it up.

The truth is, the Packers are like just about every other franchise when it comes to looking the other way and hoping for the best when it comes to procuring problem players

The messenger here is not the problem here. But many fans will shoot the messenger because they feel the organization is beyond reproach. Yes it's not just in this case but in many others also.

And many fans will continue to blast other organizations for transactions. BuT refuse to look in the mirror when the green Bay Packers do business the same way. And you can't have it both ways.

Players are "Packer .People." As long as they help you win. And the goes beyond what was written in this article Fans wanted randy Moss and lynch in green Bay but when they ended up in new England and Seattle they became character risks. Double standard. And don't get me started on other organizational gaffes

As was mentioned in the article pro football is a filthy busines. As dirty in green Bay as it is in Dallas or Seattle.
 
Good article, and it took some serious stonage to write it.

I can't comment on the accuracy, because a lot of the information is in the realm of stuff I would have no firsthand knowledge. But even if some of the details are flawed, the theme is solid, and I believe his point is well-made. I can't disagree with anything he said. Thank you for posting it.
 
I just cut Guion and move along. He's not a superstar at all. Why let this grow into a PR mess ? As for the last article Underwood got cut and they moved on so again why not just cut bait and avoid the distractions ?

Agree that GB isn't as clean as many think. Everyone is trying to win a SB. Everyone will get an edge at all costs. Some get caught but the majority never do. Pro sports is a dirty business about greedy)
 
Isn't The Packer Way littered with bad boys ... Hornung boozing and betting, McGee boozing womanizer, Ray Nitzchke was a bully? I have no problem having a core of character guys and a few talented troubled players you permit on the team hoping they improve in a team environment while helping win games.

I do think Davis went overboard with it.
 
The Packers do seem to avoid character risks in the draft, but aren't immune to signing the occasional guys with some "issues" to help them win. TT just seems to hate to take that kind of risk with his draft "currency". That's probably the only way in which they may rise a little above the rest of the league.

Beyond that, they essentially behave just like everyone else and maybe are more accepting of problems among "their own". I'm actually fine with that. If the player is a good player and teammate then I see no reason for them to be cut until it impacts the job.

Now, the most disturbing part is the Rob Davis part of the story. Why the hell would he think what he did was a good idea. The organization can get past the Guion publicity, but I hope the media, including the national media hold their feet to the fire about how they are reacting to the story.
 
Isn't The Packer Way littered with bad boys ... Hornung boozing and betting, McGee boozing womanizer, Ray Nitzchke was a bully? I have no problem having a core of character guys and a few talented troubled players you permit on the team hoping they improve in a team environment while helping win games.

I do think Davis went overboard with it.

I always thought, even then, that the Hornung and McGee behavior was just Boys Being Boys - rules violated, but nobody got hurt. 50 years afterward, I'm surprised Ray was mentioned - is this something new? Again, from back then, the thinking was that he was a ferocious MLB be pussycat off the field.
 
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