PEPPERS NO MORE, BUT HOPE FOR A RAVEN

Well, the Lambeau faithful can forget about Julius Peppers wearing green and gold next year. Those dreams have come to an end as Carolina has put the franchise tag on him this afternoon, which means he will be paid near $16-17 million in 2009. It has been widely publicized that Peppers wants to be traded, to a team who plays the 3-4, and he has named the four teams to which he would accept being traded (though only the Cowboys have been made public). But with the amount of money the Packers have to spend under the cap, do not expect Ted Thompson to make a run for a deal. He is known not to indulge in big free agent contracts, and if a trade were to be made, a long term contract would most definitely ensue. This will not happen in Green Bay, unfortunately.
However, Baltimore has placed the franchise tag on Terrell Suggs, which will also cost them a hefty penny. This could limit their abilities to resign Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard. Many Packer fans have been calling for a hot pursuit of the former Badger Leonhard, and it is a possibility. We need a safety, and he knows the 3-4 from being in Baltimore. However, Rex Ryan has moved from being defensive coordinator for the Ravens to the new head coach of the Jets, and Leonhard may be inclined to follow his coach up the east coast. Ray Lewis and Bart Scott are both tremendous linebackers, but both play the inside. The Packers are looking for Nick Barnett to recover from his ACL injury and play alongside AJ Hawk in the middle. Outside LB is more of a priority. Lewis and Scott are also both being rumored to consider moving up the coast to New York to follow former coach Rex Ryan. The only way I see either Lewis or Scott coming to GB is if Dom Capers wants to move Hawk to the outside. Leonhard is more of a possibility, but you can't forget TT's lack of tendency to make a play in the market.

NOT FAR FROM TRANSITION TO 3-4?

Pat Kirwan over at NFL.com started a short series of updates he will be giving on the Packers transition from 4-3 to 3-4. And the title of his first article is "Packers not far off from making 3-4 defensive conversion work." Kirwan talks about how it took Dallas nearly 2 years, New England three first round picks on the line, and the Jets a few years to get the right personnel in place for the 3-4, and he argues that the Packers may be much closer than most people think.

At nose tackle, Kirwan thinks Ryan Pickett is more than adequate to get the ball rolling, but he believes he needs a young backup to rotate in and give him some rest. As for the outside linebackers, Kirwan says that Aaron Kampman is even more suited for the switch from DE to OLB than Greg Ellis was for the Cowboys. He states that Kampman should be the least of the Packers' issues in the conversion." I'm not fully on board with that idea yet. Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar are currently slotted to fill the spot opposite Kampman, but Kirwan suggests the Pack might look towards the draft for this spot as well, citing the names of Larry English, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, and Brian Orakpo (Brown and Orakpo would be converted DE's as well).

The defensive ends the Packers currently have for the 3-4 are Cullen Jenkins, who should fit in just fine, and Mike Montgomery, who is a question mark and has a lot to prove. Kirwan says that the Packers should make a play in free agency for the Cowboys' Chris Canty or the Chargers' Igor Olshansky. I guess he's not very optimistic about Julius Peppers coming to Lambeau. At strong inside linebacker, A.J. Hawk should excel, as long as Ryan Pickett can hold down the middle and keep demanding double teams. At weak ILB, Nick Barnett, as long as he recovers from his ACL injury, should be just fine.

Finally, in the secondary, this is where I truly question Kirwan. He says that there isn't much conversion from 4-3 to 3-4. It has been well documented that the Packers bump-and-run corners will need to learn to sluff off and play a lot more zone, something that Al Harris and Charles Woodson may struggle with. He believes that if the Packers make a free agent signing in the front 3 and draft a ready to play outside linebacker, they could make the transition in under one year. That is a VERY bold statement, and I'd like to see the green and gold make a few good moves and picks before I'm ready to jump to such a conclusion.