Packers training camp is only a few weeks away, which means it’s time to get excited.
And worry.
Any good fan worries. It’s normal. You get excited about all the possibilities of the upcoming season, but you also can’t help but fret over certain worst-case scenarios that could play out and ruin the season.
Some people might call this worrying “negativity.” Those people are wrong. They worry just as much as you, and their way of coping is by criticizing others who worry openly.
What’s your biggest worry about the Packers as training camp gets closer?
I suppose Aaron Rodgers’ good fortune running out and missing multiple games with an injury is always a concern, but I tend to not worry about injuries so much because you literally have no ideal from year to year what a team’s injury luck might be.
For me, I worry about impact players in the middle of the Packers defense. A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Morgan Burnett and either Jerron McMillian or M.D. Jennings will likely be roaming the middle of the field for the Packers on defense.
Do any of those players strike fear into opposing offenses?
It’s nice to have an impact player up the middle to wallop somebody and force a fumble or range across the field and make a pick to change the momentum of the game or make up for shortcomings in other area’s of the defense.
Hawk definitely isn’t that type player. We’re not sure yet about Jones, but I don’t have my hopes up. Burnett is a good player, but hasn’t yet ascended to playmaker status. McMillian and Jennings are unknowns, but again, I wouldn’t get my hopes up — especially about Jennings who is really small.
So, there’s your does of negativity for the day. Or what some people call negativity and I call worrying like any normal fan would.
I do think the Packers defense will be better, but I’d be a lot more confident if their players up the middle had at least one proven playmaker. Hopefully Jones, Burnett or McMillian/Jennings ascends this season and makes all my worrying for not.
Packers News, Notes and Links
Clay Matthews says he is ready to be more of a leader. You know it’s time for the offseason when the “Player A hopes to be more of a leader this season” stories start popping up. Just once, I’d like to see a player say, “You know what? I am not going to be more of a leader this season. Instead of making inspirational speeches before games, I’m going to take a nap and catch up on episodes of “Downton Abbey.” When young players come to me searching for wisdom, I’ll send them to McCarthy because he’s the coach and gets paid to lead. I’m paid to make tackles and sack quarterbacks.”
Speaking of leadership, for anyone who needs guidance in how to shoo away annoying celeb hunters, Aaron Rodgers does a pretty good of it here. Lombardi Ave. asks if Rodgers is really worth following around with a camera for TMZ footage. What sort of salacious thing does TMZ think Rodgers might do? Get caught sneaking into a limo with Brett Favre? Accidentally leave his playbook at a VIP booth in a swanky club? Intervene before an intoxicated and shirtless Ted Thompson leaps on a table and starts dancing to “Let me see your hips Swing?”
Sam Shields and Casey Hayward are listed as No. 15 on Jason Wilde’s list of most important Packers. Even though Wilde cheated and listed two players at No. 15, his annual list is a must-read and a good way to get up to speed before Packers training camp opens.
Zach Kruse takes a look at what a contract extension for Randall Cobb might look like now that Victor Cruz signed an extension with the Giants. The Packers are also reportedly looking at extending Morgan Burnett. Good. Burnett isn’t the big-play machine that Nick Collins was (yet), but he’s solid and has remained healthy after missing most of his rookie season. Sign him now before he realizes he’s worth more than what the Packers are offering.
Acme Packing Company has started making predictions about the Packers roster. As of now, the only thing I’m predicting is that the Packers will have 47 players active on gameday.
Our own Jason Perone was a guest on Brian Carriveau’s Railbird Central this week. Jason has a voice that can both soothe a crying child and hold the attention of a grown Packers fan. I call him the Barry White of Packers podcasters. A big thank you to Brian for having the entire ALLGBP.com crew on Railbird this summer. If you aren’t already listening to Brian’s show, shame on you. Catch up on past episodes here.
Non-Packers Links and Other Nonsense
At least Louis CK made Forbes’ list of the 10 highest paid comedians. The other nine are about as funny as me.
I had one crazy ex-girlfriend, but I don’t think she was Anna Benson crazy.
John Lunness was molested by a priest as a child, then grew up to become a priest himself. Jeff Pearlman does a Q&A with Lunness and it’s fascinating.
We’re less than three weeks away from the start of training camp, and already narratives are being formed and talking points are being accepted as fact about the 2013 Green Bay Packers.
From now until the start of camp, I’ll Fact Czech (see what I did there? Heh.) some of these narratives and presumed truths and use my unmatched Packers wisdom to see if they hold up.
Uh oh. I already noticed a statement that didn’t pass the Fact Czech test: My Packers wisdom is not unmatched. It is matched by many, and surpassed by many more. But that doesn’t stop me from appointing myself as the official Packers Fact Czecher of the Universe.
Here we go.
Statement: The Packers defense is soft.
Does it pass the Fact Czech test? No.
I get where people are coming from when they say the Packers defense is soft. I even say it myself, sometimes.
But when we say the Packers defense is soft, what we’re really saying is that the Packers defense is bad.
How many defenses in the history of football have been both good and soft? Zero, that’s how many.
When the defense goes out and lays another egg against New York or lets Colin Kapernick run all the way to Tomah, Wis. and back during a playoff game, we want an easy answer as to why that happened.
“Well, the Packers D is soft! That’s why it happened! If they were just tougher, they could stop these teams! Duh!”
What does it mean to be soft on defense? Does it mean players are scared to tackle the ballcarrier? Does it mean they run away when a lineman tries to block them? Does it mean they cry when Adrian Peterson dips his shoulder and tries to pick up a few extra yards? Does it mean they shudder in fear before running onto the field before the next defensive series?
Nobody know what makes a defense soft. It’s just a word that comes to mind when describing a bad defense.
What does it mean to be tough on defense? Typically, defenses that don’t let other teams score a lot of points — exactly what a good defense is supposed to do — are labelled as tough. Tough is another adjective for good. What makes a defense tough? Do they eat nails before the game? Do they cagefight each other for recreation? Do they wear short sleeves when temperatures dip below zero? Do they punch, kick, stomp and spit on opposing players?
Nobody knows what makes a defense tough. It’s just an easy word used to describe a good defense.
Sometimes defenses get beat because they’re not as good as the other team. The other team’s offensive line is bigger and stronger than the Packers’ defensive line. The tight ends and running backs are too much for the linebackers to handle. The quarterback is too accurate or fast to be stopped. The offensive coordinator is one or two steps ahead of the defensive coordinator.
Saying a defense is soft is akin to saying Team A got beat by Team B because Team B “wanted it more.” It’s silly. I’m sure Team A wanted it just as much as Team B, but they weren’t as good as Team B on a particular day and got beat by the better team.
Don’t say the Packers defense is soft, just say they’re bad. We don’t know what soft means. And if the Packers defense has a good season in 2013, don’t say they’re tough, just say they’re improved, or even good.
Saying the Packers defense is soft does not pass the Fact Czech.
Do you ever wonder if the marketing machines behind professional sports franchises make fans stupid? Or are professional sports fans already stupid, and the marketing machines give fans exactly what they’re asking for?
I was thinking about this while covering the Yankees beating the Twins (yet again) earlier this week at Target Field. Between almost every pitch, the Twins blasted some type of music over the stadium sound system or tried to entice a chant out of fans by playing some other type of sound effect. During every between-inning break, something silly like kiss-cam or a dance-off party played on the stadium video board.
It’s like the Twins didn’t think their fans had the mental capacity or attention span to pay money to attend a baseball game and actually, you know, watch the baseball game. Part of the beauty of baseball is the downtime between pitches and breaks between innings. You can follow and enjoy baseball while still chatting with friends or explaining the game to your 10-year-old son or daughter.
It’s hard to do any of that with yet another T-shirt toss (shiny objects!) going on or a song (wow, noise!) playing that tries to coax the audience into participating in some sort of generic sing-a-long.
I’m picking on the Twins, but the Packers haven’t been much better in this area the last couple of seasons. I haven’t been going to Packers games for very long, but even from when I first started (2007) to now, I’ve noticed a drastic change.
During the playoff win over the Vikings last season, I don’t think 10 seconds went by without the Lambeau PA announcer screaming at fans to get loud, or some type of gimmicky chant/song was played over the sound system to entice people to do…something, I guess.
It shouldn’t be this way. There are plenty of sports fans who are fans of the actual sport and the game being played on the field…right? Or am I naive and out of touch? Do the fans who attend today’s sporting events — even Packers fans — need all of these silly bells and whistles that have nothing to do with the actual game to keep them entertained?
A little bit of nonsense is fine. Go ahead and play the Go Pack Go! sound effect often. Sing “Roll out the Barrell” before the fourth quarter. I’m not trying to say that the stadium sound system should remain totally silent at all times.
But don’t beat it into the ground and cheapen the entire experience. Garbage like the G-Force pregame ritual, Seven Nation Army intro and the piped in sounds of old heavy metal songs to try to rile up the crowd between plays need to be removed from Lambeau.
That kind of stuff is acceptable at a minor league baseball park or Arena Football game, but not at the greatest sports venue on planet Earth.
For some reason, the Packers gameday brass thinks stuff like this enhances the gameday experience. It doesn’t. It drags it down. It makes it annoying. It’s distracting.
Packers fans have had the good fortune to watch one of the best teams in football for the last 20 seasons. Don’t distract us from the quality of what’s happening on the field on gameday by treating us like idiots with everything that’s happening off of it.
Packers News, Notes and Links
Just like the Super Bowl season in 2010, several Packers are playing for a new contract this season. Will the desire to get paid coax big seasons out of guys like B.J. Raji, Sam Shields, Jermichael Finley and Evan Dietrich-Smith? I don’t know if I subscribe to the “contract year” theory — the theory that players play better when they aren’t signed for the following season — but I don’t think it hurts for certain guys to have a little extra motivation, either.
Acme Packing Company asks which team do you hate losing to the most? For me, it’s the Bears. Whenever the Packers lose to the Bears, it’s usually a ragged and ugly game filled with a bunch of penalties and fluky plays. When the final score is displayed, I always wonder how in the hell the Packers just lost to that horsebleep team. I’m guessing the Vikings will be at the top of a lot of people’s lists. Yes, I’m pissed when the Packers lose to the Vikings as well — mainly because Vikings’ fans have the collective IQ of an empty Mountain Dew bottle full of dead mosquitoes — but sometimes when you lose to players like Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss or angry old-man Brett Favre, you just tip your hat and try to get the next one.
Jacob Westendorf at Packerstalk.com asks if the Packers can afford to have Randall Cobb as their primary returner. Sure they can, if he’s head and shoulders above the next guy in line for the job. In a perfect world, Cobb would not be the primary return guy, but unfortunately, the world is not perfect. We’ll see if anyone steps up to take the job in training camp.
Brian Carriveau opines about the lack of depth at safety for the Packers. I agree with everything Brian says. But if I had a quarter for every time I was worried about guys I’ve never heard of being able to step in and play for the Packers if called upon, I’d have a stack of quarters piled higher than the new south end zone addition at Lambeau Field. Worrying is what fans like me do. Making sure the Packers have good, quality young players that add depth to the roster is what proven GMs like Ted Thompson do.
If you’re as sick of the offseason as I am, be sure to check out this handy offseason survival guide from Dan over at Packerpedia.com. My personal favorite is No. 9.
Profanity is getting smarter? Obviously, the author of this piece has never attended an NFL football game (or sat next to me on my couch while watching the Packers).
I guess typewriters are becoming cool again. Ok…..
Tramon Williams on the ground with an injured shoulder is something Packers fans do not want to see in 2013.
Injuries suck. Injuries suck worse when they occur to players who suit up for the Green Bay Packers.
What makes injuries even more sucky is that the serious ones linger into the following season, or lead to once-good players getting released (hello, Desmond Bishop).
The Packers have had a bunch of players go down with serious injuries since 2010. Many of those players are gone, many are still around and are still feeling the effects of those injuries today.
Which Packers could be battling lingering injuries in 2013? Unfortunately, too many:
Tramon Williams
After a Super-Bowl run where Williams elevated himself to near the top of the list in the “Who’s the best CB in the NFL?” debate, he jammed his shoulder early in 2011 and hasn’t been the same since. He hasn’t been bad, just not as good as we thought he’d be after the Super Bowl win. Williams talked openly about the nerve damage in his shoulder bothering him in 2011 and it’s unclear if it still dogged him in 2012. Nerve damage doesn’t sound like much fun, or an injury that automatically heals itself. The fact that Williams recently turned 30 probably doesn’t help his shoulder much, either.
Davon House Speaking of shoulders, Davon House also had problems with his. After playing much of last season in a shoulder harness, House had surgery in the offseason and now says he feels better than ever. Unfortunately that’s what every player coming back from an injury says. You never know what’s going to happen when surgery is involved, though.
Alex Green It’s not easy returning from a torn ACL. It takes most players two seasons to get back to where they were pre-injury. Every now and then, a guy will go Adrian Peterson and come back even stronger than he was before. Alex Green was not as good as Adrian Peterson before he hurt his knee in 2011 and he defintiely wasn’t Adrian Peterson his first season back in 2012. Will the knee still bother him in 2013? If it does, he might not make the team. It’ll probably come down to how comfortable the Packers are with James Starks’ always-nagging injuries and how they feel about Green’s knee.
Andrew Quarless Speaking of bad knees, Quarless completely wrecked his in 2011. It was so bad that he missed all of last season. The Packers need a tight end who can block and help their new running backs. Can Quarless and his rebuilt knee be that tight end?
James Starks Name a part of the human anatomy and it’s probably bothering Starks. His entire body is a nagging injury.
Nick Perry I haven’t heard anything that indicates Perry’s wrist injury that cut short his 2012 season could linger into 2013, but who knows for sure. I kind of liked what I saw from Perry when he was healthy. He looked lost at times and didn’t have much diversity in his pass-rushing moves, but he was a rookie playing a new position. What did you expect? He’s got the raw talent to be a stout complement to Clay Matthews. Hopefully the injury doesn’t hold him back.
Derek Sherrod Sherrod’s leg snapped in half. That’s more than just a nagging injury, that’s a quality of life concern. Nobody seems to have any idea if Sherrod will ever return and be a contributing player. If he doesn’t, hopefully his leg is fully healed and he’s able to at least live a normal, pain free, life.
Eddie Lacy The rookie from Alabama fell to the Packers late in the second round of the draft because of his injury history. One of those injuries required toe fusion surgery — toe fusion surgery! — that just sounded ridiculously painful and not good. At least Lacy played through most of his injuries. Will that mean anything in the NFL, where the level of play is multiplied and even minor injuries can seriously impact a player’s performance? I’d rather not find out and keep Lacy injury-free.
Is Packers LB Sam Barrington the latest draft steal for GM Ted Thompson?
NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell had high praise for Packers seventh-round draft pick Sam Barrington on Tuesday.
Speaking with with Doug Farrar of Yahoo Sports on the Shutdown Corner podcast, Cosell called the 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker from South Florida an “athletic kid,” whose “athletic ability was a second- or third-round pick.”
“I think this kid has a chance, and certainly to stick on special teams because of his athleticism,” the highly respected Cosell said. “But I thought he was far more athletic than a lot of linebackers I watched and I was surprised he was not talked about.”
Cosell also said he did some additional research on Barrington and found out that he may have dropped in the draft because of issues diagnosing plays and learning on defense, but that’s impossible to know for sure.
Barrington was also arrested four times at South Florida — all for driving with a revoked or suspended license. Getting arrested four times generally doesn’t help one’s draft stock, either.
Barrington’s numbers improved every season at South Florida, culminating with 80 tackles, two forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks in 11 games as a senior.
His 40-yard-dash time at the NFL combine was a ho-hum 4.89 seconds, but improved to 4.69 seconds on South Florida’s pro day.
After Packers GM Ted Thompson picked Barrington, he called him a “good value.” That’s about as boastful as you’ll hear the tight-lipped Thompson get about a pick he’s made.
The Packers have had success with seventh-round draft picks in the past. Is Barrington the latest steal for Thompson?
“I was really surprised that he was not drafted until the seventh round,” Cosell said. “The more I watched him the more I liked his game. I wouldn’t call him explosive, but he was athletic with really good movement. I always defer to film as opposed to 40 times, and I thought he played as an athlete.”
To survive this particular Sunday, I don’t want to write about Desmond Bishop officially signing with the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers getting shafted on the NFL top 100 list or Aaron Hernandez (allegedly) murdering a guy(s). Instead, let’s do a Packers hypothetical:
If Packers GM Ted Thompson calls you tomorrow, rattles off the names of two players, and says he absolutely has to cut one of them and is calling you for advice, what would you tell him?
Here are the scenarios:
Tramon Williams or Casey Hayward? I’d keep Hayward and cut Williams. Not an easy choice because I’m not as down on Williams as others, but I’ll take the young guy who isn’t as afraid of contact as Williams has been lately. Having young CBs like Sam Shields and Davon House on the roster would also help cushion the blow from losing Williams.
Mike Neal or Jerel Worthy? One guy is prone to injuries, the other is actually injured. I’m keeping Neal and cutting Worthy. Neal has showed flashes of being really damn good when he hasn’t been in the trainer’s room. Worthy didn’t show me much last season when he was healthy — not enough explosiveness. I know Worthy is young and defensive linemen need time to develop, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I like a healthy Neal over a healthy Worthy.
Jermichael Finley or James Jones? Now this is a tough one. I want to say I’d cut Finley and keep Jones, but for some reason, Finley still strikes fear into other teams. You still see coverage shifted to account for No. 88 even though he hasn’t been what I’d consider a playmaker in his career. He’s been a decent enough tight end, but not really a playmaker. Jones seemed expendable until he went nutso last season and I like his ability to go up and catch a jump ball every now and then. I also value a good wide receiver over a one-dimensional tight end, so I’d cut Finley. I might live to regret that decision, though. It’s a tough one.
Adam Czech, Jersey Al, Kris Burke, Chad Toporski, Thomas Hobbes, Jason Perone or Marcus Eversoll?
Jersey Al is up against the blogger salary cap and needs to cut one of his writers. Who gets the pink slip? Al won’t cut himself, nor should he because he built this empire into what it is today and is a living legend in Packers’ online universe. He can’t cut Chad because Chad just published the awesome series on the Packers defense and is in the prime of his career. Thomas stays because he’s really smart, and draws in the segment of our audience that refuses to join Twitter. Jason stays because he’s got a lot of potential and has the best podcast voice of our entire group. Marcus and Kris are another pair of up and comers and don’t count much against the cap. That leaves me, the guy who mixes in pro wrestling and text baseball simulations with his Packers writing. I’m also old and frequently hold out and ask Al for more money. If Al had to let one of us go, it’d probably be me. Uh oh, I better call my lawyer and my agent, just in case…
Packers News, Notes and Links
There is no reason to read anything else this Sunday besides Chad Toporski’s series on the Packers defense. Start here and be sure to read all of the installments. Seriously, forget all the other nonsense swirling around the NFL and the Packers at this moment in the offseason and just read Chad’s series. It focuses on football (imagine that?!) and will make you a smarter fan after reading.
I wasn’t kidding. All you need to survive this Sunday is Chad’s series on the Packers defense. Now, go read it!
If you’re a fast reader and still need something to help you survive this Sunday, listen to this ALLGBP.com podcast featuring guest Wes Hodkewicz from the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
If you need a little bit of drama on your Sunday, I suppose you could read this post from TotalPackers.com going off about ESPN, Internet police, and other stuff
A reasoned and measured look at the lightning rod known as Jermichael Finley can be found over at Acme Packing Company.
Non-Packers Links and Other Nonsense
If you still need something to get you through the day, watch this compilation of Ric Flair going nuts or this full Metallica concert from the …And Justice for All tour.
LeBron James won his second consecutive NBA title with the Miami Heat on Thursday night and cemented his status as one of the greatest players of all time (at least among sane people).
I hated “The Decision” as much as anyone else, but I’m also over it. I don’t necessarily cheer for James now, but I make sure to appreciate him when I watch him play. James is an amazing, amazing, amazing athlete, and it’s a lot more fun to soak in what he’s able to do on the court instead of just calling him names and hating on him.
Anyway, James’ second title got me thinking: How many more titles will it take for Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to be considered an all-time great? He’s already considered great, but he’s not yet at all-time great status with the likes of Starr, Montana, Brady or Unitas.
Then I started thinking some more (always dangerous): Why do we need to attach an arbitrary number of titles to greatness? If Rodgers keeps producing like he has, but doesn’t win another title, should that significantly diminish how we view him in the context of greatness?
I suppose you have to have some criteria to separate certain great players from other great players in subjective arguments like this one, and titles might be a part of it.
You also have to factor in eras and the rules attached to each era. Defenders in today’s NFL can’t make contact with a WR beyond five yards, hit a QB too high, hit a QB too low, hit any player in the head, or fart too loudly in the direction of the quarterback. How many yards would Montana or Unitas throw for if those rules applied back when they played?
I guess I’m trying to say that while it’s sometimes fun to get into these debates about greatness and which player is greater than the other, don’t forget to actually enjoy the greatness while it’s happening.
Rodgers is on a roll right now. Soak it in.
There will be plenty of time to make comparisons down the road.
Packers News, Notes and Links
In a Q&A with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Packers coach Mike McCarthy called questions about his team’s toughness a “load of nonsense.” I love that phrase. If I were a politician, I would use it to discredit everything my opponent said about me. Perhaps the lack-of-toughness narrative has been overdone this offseason, but it has some merit. Injuries impacted the Packers toughness last season, but I can’t erase the images of Adrian Peterson doing whatever he wanted against the Packers defense. Until those images go away, I’ll think the Packers need to get a little tougher.
The Packers held a news conference to go over some of the new security measures announced recently by the NFL. Seatbacks and cushions are fine as long as they don’t have pockets that can conceal anything. Size regulations on purses and bags haven’t changed, but they need to be clear. Fans that require bags for special medical equipment will have a special gate to go through. Basically, the NFL will not be satisfied until a) everyone shows up to the game naked, or b) everyone just stays home and watches from their couch.
The Packers officially cut Desmond Bishop on Monday. Is everyone else as excited as I am to have Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk as the Packers starting inside linebackers? And by excited, I mean, pissing in your pants with fear? Repeat after me: In Ted we trust…In Ted we trust…In Ted we trust…
Aaron Rodgers wants to cut the number of times he’s sacked in half. THEN GET RID OF THE DAMN BALL!!!! Actually, Rodgers’ sacks don’t bother me as much as they bother most people. Obviously, getting sacked is not an optimal strategy for success, but Rodgers makes a lot of plays when he holds the ball a little longer and buys himself some time. As long the big plays keep coming, I can tolerate a couple of extra sacks.
John Rehor has the full Packers training camp schedule over at Packerstalk.com. While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest podcast from the ‘Ol Bag of Donuts crew.
Non-Packers Links and Other Nonsense
RIP James Gandolfini. “The Sopranos” was the first show I ever became obsessed with.
Here is a disgusting story about “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes losing his “muffler.”
Here are 9,486 ways that president Obama’s press secretary gets around answering journalist’s questions.
Could Tramon Williams fall victim to Ted Thompson’s axe before next season?
Packers fans have seen a lot of big names and sentimental favorites either cut or allowed to sign elsewhere in free agency over the last two seasons.
The most recent casualty was Desmond Bishop. The inside linebacker’s exit came after guys like Greg Jennings, Charles Woodson, Tom Crabtree and Scott Wells were given their walking papers or not resigned in the last two offseasons.
Of course, losing name players always gets a certain segment of Packers fans riled up. Never mind the fact that the vast majority of players cut or not resigned by Packers GM Ted Thompson have gone on to do very little once they’re picked up by another team. The initial shock of losing a player who fans have formed some type of connection with usually causes some sort of backlash.
So, who’s next? Which one of our beloved Packers will be axed by the evil Thompson or not resigned because Packers salary cap whiz Russ Ball says, “Screw the fans! This guy isn’t worthy half of what he’s asking!”
Here are some possible candidates (I tried to limit it to players that the fans generally like. Hence, Jermichael Finley was not included):
CB Tramon Williams Throwing Williams’ name out there makes me feel like Skip Bayless, but consider: 1) Williams will be 31 next season; 2) He’s due to make $6.9 million in 2014; 3) He hasn’t been able to repeat the success he had in 2010; 4) The Packers have a lot of young talent in the secondary; 5) He’s been bothered by a bum shoulder going on two years now. Kind of sounds like a prime candidate to fall victim to Thompson’s axe, doesn’t it?
FB John Kuhn If the Packers had any sort of confidence in the pass-blocking ability of the running backs currently on the roster, I think they would wave bye-bye to Kuhn and his $1.8 million salary today. Packers fans boo Kuhn whenever he touches the ball, anyway, so maybe they wouldn’t be too upset about this. Wait…oh, they’re saying “Kuuuuuuhn!” Never mind, fans would be pissed. But Kuhn isn’t going anywhere unless one of the young backs shows the immediate ability to read blitzes and be a shut-down pass blocker.
WR James Jones This is a contract year for Jones, and if he has another season like he did in 2012, he’s going to want a big fat deal. Aaron Rodgers had to lobby to bring Jones back the last time he was a free agent, and even then, Thompson didn’t budge until Jones found out that nobody else besides the Packers wanted him. I wouldn’t put Jones in the fan favorite category yet, but if he’s rolling in November like he was last season, he probably will be. At least, he will be enough of a favorite to cause a little bit of an uproar when Thompson lets him sign an overpriced deal with the Vikings.
DL Ryan Pickett Next season will be Pickett’s 14th. He’s a one-dimensional space-eater that still does what he does well, but can you see Thompson re-signing a 35-year-old fat guy? I suppose it’s possible if Pickett has another good season in 2013 — hell, anything is possible if the price is right — but I wouldn’t count on it.
Who did I miss? Remember, it has to be a player that the fans like, a guy you think has a legit shot of being cut between now and the start of next season, or not re-signed next offseason (For example, I think the Packers will re-sign B.J. Raji, so I didn’t include him on the list).
It’s time for me to stop writing about the Packers and start my work day before my boss takes out his axe and cuts me.
Profootballtalk.com asked fans to vote on their Packers Mt. Rushmore this week and it created some interesting debate on Twitter and talk radio.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept, the Packers Mt. Rushmore needs to consist of four people. It can be players, coaches, executives or whomever that you feel is one of the four most important people in Packers history.
This is a tough one. If there was an actual Packers Mt. Rushmore, it would need to go on the side of a very large mountain because four people is much too small.
As much as I love guys like Ron Wolf and Bob Harlan and acknowledge that the Packers might not be around without folks like them, I don’t know if I can put executives on a Mt. Rushmore. Isn’t putting executives on a Packers Mt. Rushmore kind of like putting Abe Lincoln’s chief of staff on the actual Mt. Rushmore instead of Abe Lincoln himself?
I’m also not sure coaches belong on a Mt. Rushmore. But that means leaving off Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau, which is just asinine.
If I knew that people wouldn’t burn down my house for leaving Lombardi and Lambeau off, I’d probably put Don Hutson, Bart Starr, Reggie White and Brett Favre on my Packers Mt. Rushmore. When the people arrived with torches and pitchforks to take care of me after leaving off Lombardi and Lambeau, I’d remove Hutson and White for the two legendary coaches.
Football will always be about the players to me. You absolutely have to have a good front office and coaching staff to make everything work, and I’ll say it again that the Packers are not the Packers without the executives and coaches I’ve already mentioned (along with many others).
But in the end, you have to wear a jersey and helmet instead of as suit and tie to make my Packers Mt. Rushmore.
Let us know who makes your Packers Mt. Rushmore in the comments section.
(And don’t yell at me too much for leaving Lombardi and Lambeau off my pre-torches and pitchforks Packers Mt. Rushmore.)
Packers News, Notes and Links
Jason Wilde reported this week that the Packers will release LB Desmond Bishop. Of course, this irked a lot of Packers fans who remember Bishop as the team’s best defensive player in 2011, before he blew up his hamstring in the 2012 preseason. It’s not like Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy get together each day and talk about what really good player they can cut today. There’s a reason Bishop’s likely gone, and it’s because the Super Bowl-winning coaching staff and general manager think he won’t be nearly as effective as he was pre-injury. Time will tell, but cutting players approaching 30 and coming off injuries rarely backfires for the Packers.
McCarthy is happy with the new crop of young players so far. That’s saying a lot since the Packers have had some impressive young groups of players over the years. It looks like the talent is there with this year’s group, now they need to not get struck down by the Packers’ horrible luck with injuries.
As we did this week, Acme Packing Company took a look at the Packers ILB depth.
Piggy-backing on the Packers Mt. Rushmore concept, which Packers number would you retire? I would retire William Afflis’s No. 62. Why? Because in addition to playing for the Packers, Afflis went on to become Dick the Bruiser, a famous pro wrestler.
Packerstalk.com knocked it out of the park again this week. Here’s an interview with rookie RB Jonathan Franklin conducted by the ALLGBP.com crew and here’s John Rehor writing about the latest Brett Favre developments.
Non-Packers Links and Other Nonsense
Jerry Seinfield’s web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is back and Sarah Silverman was the first guest on the new season. Excellent stuff.
I’d like to hear what the racially insensitive uncle would say about all them damn tattoos and earrings on pro sports players these days.
This book about people (sounds like a lot of hippies) hijacking planes in the 60s and 70s sounds awesome.
Could Tom Clements be the next Packers assistant to become a head coach?
John Schneider to Seattle. Reggie McKenzie to Oakland. John Dorsey to Kansas City.
A lot of talented executives have left the Packers front office for general manager jobs with other teams over the last three years.
Joe Philbin has been the only Packers assistant coach to land a head coaching gig in that time period. Philbin departed as offensive coordinator and took over as Miami’s head coach after the 2012 season.
There’s plenty of talent on the Packers coaching roster. Linebackers coach Winston Moss and safeties coach Darren Perry have been loosely linked to head coach openings in the past. Current offensive coordinator Tom Clements is also highly regarded for his role in the Packers’ offense and the development of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Edgar Bennett has received some publicity lately as a firey up-and-comer. Kevin Greene is also an intense guy that could catch the eye of a general manager who wants a motivator as a head coach.
It’s impossible to predict which way the wind will blow on the assistant coach open market. One season an assistant might be the next big thing and a cinch to become a head coach. Then his team falters, he doesn’t get offered a head coaching job, and we never hear from him again.
Even Dom Capers was whispered to be on some team’s head coach lists after the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Can you imagine anyone offering Capers a head coaching job now? Doubtful, but if the Packers make a drastic turnaround on defense, you never know.
I consider myself an obsessive NFL fan — not just a Packers fan — and even I never heard of Mike McCarthy when the Packers hired him. Now, he’s one of the most successful head coaches in franchise history.
If I had to guess, I’d guess that Tom Clements gets a shot at being a head coach before any other assistant. Guys that understand offense and the quarterback position will always have an advantage in today’s NFL. Based on what little I know about Clements, he also seems to have the demeanor to be a strategic and level-headed coach.
But that’s just a guess. If you told me Moss or Bennett would make better candidates than Clements, I couldn’t argue with you. I’m just hoping that all of the Packers coaches do such an awesome job in 2013 that they all might end up as head coaches in 2014.
Which Packers assistant will be the next to become a head coach?
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