Jace Sternberger

Pokerbrat2000

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Tonyan wasn't a big producer until last season, when it all seemed to fall in place for him. This may or may not happen for Sternberger, but it's too early to write him off.

I agree and I wasn't trying to write Sternberger off at all, but he definitely has an even bigger uphill battle to breakout/prove himself because of Tonyan's breakout season, as well as the draft investment in Deguara. Not to mention the resigning of Lewis.
 

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I’m thinking if you are a borderline player and you fail to volunteer, you do so at considerable risk. If I were GM, I’d strongly consider it a negative.

Yeah, I'm sure that happens with GMs and obviously borderline players will always benefit from being with the coaches and staff more often. However, I don't think it's anywhere close to BS if a person doesn't show up for something that is specifically labelled voluntary. It might be stupid, but not BS.
 

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Okay, let me state right off the bat that I think Tonyan is a very reliable and good tight end. That being said, the guy averaged 36.6 yards receiving per game, which was good for 15th among tight ends last year, which isn't what I would consider a "breakout". In 2019m that 36.6 yards per game would have been good for 13th among tight ends and would have been 16th in 2018.

I am NOT trying to say that Tonyan is a bad tight end, he's a very reliable tight end that will get the yards Rodgers gives him but he won't get much more. That's perfectly fine. I don't think he's become a player that Sternberger cannot overtake. Now, I don't think Sternberger WILL overtake him simply because Tonyan is more athletic and, at this point, obviously a better route runner and receiver. I also do not think the Packers currently have a top-10 tight end in the NFL, though I hold out hope that Tonyan might be able to improve his tackle breaking ability and become a more dangerous receiver.
 

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Okay, let me state right off the bat that I think Tonyan is a very reliable and good tight end. That being said, the guy averaged 36.6 yards receiving per game, which was good for 15th among tight ends last year, which isn't what I would consider a "breakout". In 2019m that 36.6 yards per game would have been good for 13th among tight ends and would have been 16th in 2018.

I am NOT trying to say that Tonyan is a bad tight end, he's a very reliable tight end that will get the yards Rodgers gives him but he won't get much more. That's perfectly fine. I don't think he's become a player that Sternberger cannot overtake. Now, I don't think Sternberger WILL overtake him simply because Tonyan is more athletic and, at this point, obviously a better route runner and receiver. I also do not think the Packers currently have a top-10 tight end in the NFL, though I hold out hope that Tonyan might be able to improve his tackle breaking ability and become a more dangerous receiver.

Weren't you the guy who just rated Desmond Howard as the 4th greatest Packer of all time? :unsure:

I was the one who used "breakout season" to describe Tonyan, so I will defend it. I was mostly looking at what he did from one season to the next. However, if you look closer at his stats, he faired really well to the top TE's in efficiency.

2019: 10 catches/100 yds/1 TD

2020: 52/586/11 TD's

In 2020 he tied Kelce for most TD's for a TE in the NFL, despite being the 24th TE in the league in targets (59), Waller had 146. Even with fewer targets than 23 others, he was still 13th in the league in both yards and receptions.

So yes, Tonyan did make a huge individual jump from 2019 to 2020. Also, if you actually break his stats down more than just your yards/game and look at # of targets, he fared pretty well compared to many of the top TE's.
 
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Lewis dropped 41% of the 17 passes thrown his way.

You understand that a drop isn't the same as not coming up with a catch when being targeted, don't you?

The only part about Sternberger that that we know for sure is that injuries haven't been kind to him and when he has been healthy, he hasn't really stood out. So if those 2 don't change, then Sternberger will be competing with Deguara for snaps. I think Deguara might have the nod right now, at least he did in the first game of the season last year. He took 24 snaps, Jace only 12. Deguara was featured heavily in an H-back and move tight end role and did a little bit of everything in an array of multiple-tight end packages against the Vikings that day. I think I remember one play where he took out two Vikings on a block.

Deguara is coming back from a significant injury as well. It will be interesting to see how the depth chart at tight end sets up behind Tonyan and Lewis entering the season.

Tonyan wasn't a big producer until last season, when it all seemed to fall in place for him. This may or may not happen for Sternberger, but it's too early to write him off.

I agree it's too early to write Sternberger off but he possibly needs to show some progress to even make the roster.
 

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Had to watch that DeGuara block, as well as the execution of that play several times before I noticed Elgton Jenkins, playing RT on the play. Watch him and what he does to Vikings LB Eric Wilson (#50)! All around just a beautiful play and MLF's offense on full display.

Jeeesh and I thought Martinez was prone to getting shoved back! Jenkins has just turned out to be a stud! I love JA, but Jenkins for now, might be my favorite Gute draft pick.
 
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I’m thinking if you are a borderline player and you fail to volunteer, you do so at considerable risk. If I were GM, I’d strongly consider it a negative.
In any normal year I would agree with you, but this season still is under the canopy of Covid so I understand the players' concerns.
 

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In any normal year I would agree with you, but this season still is under the canopy of Covid so I understand the players' concerns.
Yeah and at the time they were making their decisions to play or not, there was no vaccine on the horizon and doom and gloom was (correctly) predicted for the winter. This year will be completely different, with the vaccine available to every player.
 

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Yeah and at the time they were making their decisions to play or not, there was no vaccine on the horizon and doom and gloom was (correctly) predicted for the winter. This year will be completely different, with the vaccine available to every player.

Agree. I also understand players reasons for opting out of things when it comes to the health of themselves or their family. But I don't understand those that just don't attend because they didn't feel the need or some other excuse. These guys, even the lowest paid, make a buttload of money in comparison to the rest of us. If you can't commit to some team things, after 2-3 months off, I would be making notes on your dedication if I was a coach.
 

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In any normal year I would agree with you, but this season still is under the canopy of Covid so I understand the players' concerns.
Really? Not in my mind. If I was a coach or GM and a player used COVID as the reason for not showing up for voluntary team activities I’d be inclined to looking at replacing him.
 

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Agree. I also understand players reasons for opting out of things when it comes to the health of themselves or their family. But I don't understand those that just don't attend because they didn't feel the need or some other excuse. These guys, even the lowest paid, make a buttload of money in comparison to the rest of us. If you can't commit to some team things, after 2-3 months off, I would be making notes on your dedication if I was a coach.
Yeah and it's good for these guys to remember what a physically challenging sport this is. The weak ones quickly find the exit doors. Opting out last year was fine, but conditioning has to continue, staying current with the game plan has to continue. No one in this sport (or any sport) gets to take a year off. We'll find out when these guys return, who took the layoff seriously. Devin Funchess sat out last year, and I'm anxious to see how he performs this summer. Although I'm pretty sure the coaches have a way of stying on top of these things.
 

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Really? Not in my mind. If I was a coach or GM and a player used COVID as the reason for not showing up for voluntary team activities I’d be inclined to looking at replacing him.

To be clear, I disagree with this because it's just a bad take on many levels. Not the least of which is that these activities are VOLUNTARY.
 

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To be clear, I disagree with this because it's just a bad take on many levels. Not the least of which is that these activities are VOLUNTARY.
To be clear, I’m referring to 2021. I understand about last year at this time. We know a lot more about this virus now and have vaccinations for it.
 

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I have to admit that I don't like calling something "voluntary" when if you are on the edge; they hold it against you if you don't show up. Not sure how to handle it but I think it is a cop out because the two sides could not agree. Maybe just not have it. That would give the advantage to the team that has serious players who actually work watching film etc. during the off season. Just an idea because the "voluntary" thing does not work for me. Either call it a practice or don't have it. Maybe veterans of 5 years or more are not allowed.
 

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I have to admit that I don't like calling something "voluntary" when if you are on the edge; they hold it against you if you don't show up.

What's Jimmy Johnson's quote on this?

In his first year with Dallas, Cowboys Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson cut a marginal player for falling asleep during a meeting. When asked what he would do if his starting quarterback Troy Aikman fell asleep in a meeting, Johnson said, “That’s easy. I’d have gone over and said, ‘Troy, wake up.’”
 

Pokerbrat2000

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What's Jimmy Johnson's quote on this?

In his first year with Dallas, Cowboys Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson cut a marginal player for falling asleep during a meeting. When asked what he would do if his starting quarterback Troy Aikman fell asleep in a meeting, Johnson said, “That’s easy. I’d have gone over and said, ‘Troy, wake up.’”


Funny and lots of truth to this I am sure. Aaron Rodgers could probably do several things that wouldn't get him kicked off the team, but a player that is lowest on the 53 man roster might have to do everything right and one slip, might just be what sends him packing.

So just like anything in life, you might be able to get away with being late, skipping, mouthing off, etc. but if all the negatives start adding up and out weighing the positives, you might find yourself in a hole deeper than you can dig your way out of.

As a fan, I don't have the same scorecard that the team has to keep track of all these things, so when I hear a negative about a player, I may react in a different way than the team would.
 

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Funny and lots of truth to this I am sure. Aaron Rodgers could probably do several things that wouldn't get him kicked off the team, but a player that is lowest on the 53 man roster might have to do everything right and one slip, might just be what sends him packing.

So just like anything in life, you might be able to get away with being late, skipping, mouthing off, etc. but if all the negatives start adding up and out weighing the positives, you might find yourself in a hole deeper than you can dig your way out of.

As a fan, I don't have the same scorecard that the team has to keep track of all these things, so when I hear a negative about a player, I may react in a different way than the team would.
Your last point is especially spot on. We don't have the same scorecard as Gluten, MLF, and other people in the organization. So in the end, I trust their judgements. Well almost always.........not quite.
 

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Your last point is especially spot on. We don't have the same scorecard as Gluten, MLF, and other people in the organization. So in the end, I trust their judgements. Well almost always.........not quite.
I always defer to staff & management until they give me reason to not trust their judgment. I NEVER take fans or the national media side seriously if it conflicts with those I trust and have proven track records. The fans and media are not worthy of being taken seriously. They don’t know Jackson Schmidt about what’s going on in the building.
 

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I always defer to staff & management until they give me reason to not trust their judgment. I NEVER take fans or the national media side seriously if it conflicts with those I trust and have proven track records. The fans and media are not worthy of being taken seriously. They don’t know Jackson Schmidt about what’s going on in the building.
True for just about all sports. Overall, I've been happy with the way Gluten has handled personnel, with the exception of last year's first round draft pick. And even then, there may have been previous conversations, observations that we don't get to see. I don't like the decision, but something must have motivated it, and Gluten isn't stupid. And hey, last year was another 13-3 season and 2 or 3 boneheaded plays/calls away from the SB. Fans in other cities would be very happy to have a team like that.
 
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I always defer to staff & management until they give me reason to not trust their judgment.

Actually you always defer to staff and management no matter what.

True for just about all sports. Overall, I've been happy with the way Gluten has handled personnel, with the exception of last year's first round draft pick. And even then, there may have been previous conversations, observations that we don't get to see. I don't like the decision, but something must have motivated it, and Gluten isn't stupid. And hey, last year was another 13-3 season and 2 or 3 boneheaded plays/calls away from the SB. Fans in other cities would be very happy to have a team like that.

Gutekunst spending last year's first rounder on a different position might have been the difference needed to beat the Bucs in the NFCCG though.
 

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