Rivera instead of Wahle...

[xpistofer]

was a headscratcher at the time, (Wahle is younger and can play tackle also). While I still think Rivera is a decent player, I wonder what Wahle would look like right about now...

 

[NorthTexan95]

was a headscratcher at the time, (Wahle is younger and can play tackle also). While I still think Rivera is a decent player, I wonder what Wahle would look like right about now...

I wonder how much Wahle signed for ... and how well he's playing in Detroit.

 

[mullet]

wahle is with the panthers............ their running game has struggled most of the year.
but, wahle couldn't be played worse than rivera - that would be hard to do.

 

[Eskimo]

I wonder how much Wahle signed for ... and how well he's playing in Detroit.

Wahle is in Carolina.

Allegedly we had no shot at him - however, I'm not sure we tried. We focused all our efforts on that waste of space Rivera.

I really think we would have been no worse off this year with Gurode at OG - we would have also had money this year to try and sign Hutchinson who will be a FA.

 

[parchy]

No, it wasn't a head-scratcher at the time. Rivera was coming off of 2 consective Pro Bowls and was easily a top 10 guard in the NFL.

Hindsight is great and all, but don't let it cloud your vision.

 

[jbsg02]

from what i know wahle has been great

 

[MapleLeaf]

Wahle is in Carolina.

Allegedly we had no shot at him - however, I'm not sure we tried. We focused all our efforts on that waste of space Rivera.

I really think we would have been no worse off this year with Gurode at OG - we would have also had money this year to try and sign Hutchinson who will be a FA.

...still problems lingering from his injury? The pre-press right after the FA signings was that he was a quality player.

Is this something that can improve with a offseason?

 

[AbeBeta]

Rivera seemed a better choice -- he was older but known as a team leader and a guy who really helped younger players. Of course, I think the plan was having him develop Rogers -- who despite being soft was talented. Petitti has a shot at being a good player -- but ideally he would have had more time to develop before seeing action

Rivera started slow because of his back injury. I don't think he is at full strength yet - and probably won't be until next year -- 30+ year olds don't just shut it down for several months and pop back at full strength.

I think it is hard for him to lead the young guys -- or even try to -- when he isn't playing so great himself.

This is your gamble when you get FA's -- lots of them bust -- mostly because by the time they become FA's they've already had a longer than average NFL career.

 

[Eskimo]

...still problems lingering from his injury? The pre-press right after the FA signings was that he was a quality player.

Is this something that can improve with a offseason?

I think most recognized that Rivera was a guy who a good but not great OG. If you talk to most Pack fans, Wahle was the better player. He is also 5 years younger and doesn't have two bad knees.

Rivera's effectiveness was likely compromised following his back injury. The discs are very important in bearing loads when in the upright position and his conditioning and strength were probably compromised significantly as a result of the injury. You can lift weights in different positions without putting the load on the discs but these exercises usually aren't good at developing the power and burst required of an OL.

Hopefully he'll be better next year because that albatross of a signing bonus has us married to him for probably two more years.

You'd have thought we'd learned our lesson about overpaying ageing OGs with health problems after the Larry Allen fiasco but apparently not.

 

[Zman5]

It's apparent Parcells hasn't done too well with picking OLinemen.

 

[Crown Royal]

Wahle was more expensive, especially because he could play tackle as well (though is a better guard). I would have loved Wahle, but I can't disagree with the economics, considering our spending in the offseason.

As far as Rivera - I'm not concerned. He isn't the problem on our OLine.

 

[InDakWeTrust]

No, it wasn't a head-scratcher at the time. Rivera was coming off of 2 consective Pro Bowls and was easily a top 10 guard in the NFL.

Hindsight is great and all, but don't let it cloud your vision.

Not to twist your words around parchy, but read this very slowly. And was is saying exactly what I'm thinking, a older Olineman on the decline. When we signed him for 5 years I was mad but I got over it by thinking he had 2 or 3 good years left, obviously I was wrong.

 

[parchy]

Not to twist your words around parchy, but read this very slowly. And was is saying exactly what I'm thinking, a older Olineman on the decline. When we signed him for 5 years I was mad but I got over it by thinking he had 2 or 3 good years left, obviously I was wrong.

So we weren't supposed to sign one of the best guards in the NFL because of a hunch the coaching staff might have had that he was on the "decline?" What was causing him to decline when we signed him other than age? When you factor in that in elite guards there is very little correlation between age and ability to perform at a high level, I don't see where the problem was here. He had back surgery like, what, a week after we signed him? That's not poor scouting, that's just piss poor luck. We caught Rivera on the down-slope of his career, but not ONE NFL scout thought it would be anywhere close to this steep. Pro-Bowl talent doesn't just disappear. And yes, that includes the 10+ plus teams that were willing to offer Rivera a fat contract on the spot.

Why do you think it took a record-tying $9 million signing bonus to bring Rivera in? It couldn't have been because most NFL teams had an interest in him, could it? Blame the Cowboys for the decision all you want, but it will continue to be baseless and without a shred of reason.

 

[TunaFan33]

was a headscratcher at the time, (Wahle is younger and can play tackle also). While I still think Rivera is a decent player, I wonder what Wahle would look like right about now...

*sigh* Why is everyone forgetting that Rivera injured his back(lifting weights) in the offseason? He wasn't able to getting back the same way lifting weights until recently.

Sheesh! You people love to throw stones.

 

[TruBlueCowboy]

In an interview, Ron Wolf said he liked Wahle better than Rivera. That's all I need to know. I wonder why Bill didn't talk to his old friend.

 

[InDakWeTrust]

So we weren't supposed to sign one of the best guards in the NFL because of a hunch the coaching staff might have had that he was on the "decline?" What was causing him to decline when we signed him other than age? When you factor in that in elite guards there is very little correlation between age and ability to perform at a high level, I don't see where the problem was here. He had back surgery like, what, a week after we signed him? That's not poor scouting, that's just piss poor luck. We caught Rivera on the down-slope of his career, but not ONE NFL scout thought it would be anywhere close to this steep. Pro-Bowl talent doesn't just disappear. And yes, that includes the 10+ plus teams that were willing to offer Rivera a fat contract on the spot.

Why do you think it took a record-tying $9 million signing bonus to bring Rivera in? It couldn't have been because most NFL teams had an interest in him, could it? Blame the Cowboys for the decision all you want, but it will continue to be baseless and without a shred of reason.

It might be the talent around him, or it might be our blocking scheme, or it might be his back injury. But a scout gives our GM an idea of the players' style of blocking and our HC must decide if it is worth that $9 million. That is where we messed up. Rivera isnt a mauler which seems to be our style of run blocking, so when he tries to lock up a guy more physical than him he loses. In Detroit he might be doing better, because at least they have that style of a blocking scheme.

It is more of the blocking scheme that is wasting his talent IMO. We have a TE' coach coaching our Olineman and it looks like it isnt going to be fixed anytime soon.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

April 06 draft, we will stock up on OL!