We’re days away from the Green Bay Packers season-opener.
Soon,we’ll find out the following about the 2015 Packers:
Can they bounce back after the Seattle collapse?
What’s the offense going to look like without Jordy Nelson?
Will Mike McCarthy giving up playcalling duties improve the defense and special teams?
Can someone out there get me tickets to the Thanksgiving night Favre retirement game that won’t cost me two mortgage payments?
For now,it’s on to the Packers Stock Report:
Rising
James Jones
Ladies and gentlemen,the Sleeveless Turtleneck has returned! You know how NBA teams and college basketball teams have their fans wear T-shirts of all the same color for select big home games? The Packers should do that for a game or two this season,only instead of matching T-shirts,everyone inside Lambeau puts on their best sleeveless turtleneck. When rumors began swirling that Jones and the Packers were talking,I initially wasn’t sold. But the more I thought about it,the more I came around. I trust James Jones to be better in 2015 than Myles White. As fun as it would be to see if White can develop into a player down the line,I’d rather go with a player who offers more upside right now.
Mike McCarthy
“We will kick Chicago’s ass.” That’s what McCarthy said at the Packers welcome back luncheon and it’s a great way to get Packers fans fired up for the season-opener. Thatta boy,Mike. Now go fix the special teams.
Ladarius Gunter
Just in case the Casey Hayward experiment on the outside goes kaput,Gunter has shown that he’s a legit option to replace him.
Steady
Julius Peppers
Do defensive players get any more “steady” than Peppers? He still adds a lot to a defense,even at his advancing age. Hopefully,another outside linebacker steps up early so the Packers can limite Peppers’ snaps and keep him fresh for later in the season.
Josh Sitton
Do offensive linemen get any more “steady” than Sitton? As long as his health holds out,I expect we’ll see another pro-bowl season from Sitton (and some colorful quotes in the postgame locker room).
A few days after the Green Bay Packers filled their socks in the final 5 minutes of the NFC Championship game,I wrote about how the Packers won’t have a shot at redemption until the NFL playoffs roll around the following season. Here’s an excerpt:
At this point,the regular season is basically a formality for the Packers. They’ll win between 10 and 13 games next season,contend for the division title,and be in the mix for a top-seed in the playoffs. Just like they are every season…But through it all,what happened on Sunday will linger in the back of my mind and the minds of all Packers fans. We’ll love what happens on the march toward another NFC North title,but we’ll constantly be looking ahead to the postseason,and wondering if it’s all going to be washed away by yet another playoff meltdown.
I was still all wound up about the collapse and depressed when I wrote that piece. I thought for sure my opinion would soften after a long offseason,a fresh crop of draft picks to root for,and the excitement of a new football season.
It hasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong,my excitement level for the 2015 Packers season is just as high as it always is. I can’t wait to watch this team every Sunday and count my blessings that I root for the greatest sports organization on the planet which just happens to have the best quarterback in the league and an impressive run of success over the last 20 years.
I’ll be absorbed by every game like I always am and dive right into the analysis,second-guessing and Twitter chatter before,during and after each tilt.
But through all the ups and downs that are about occur during this 2015 Packers regular season,I can’t shake the part of my brain that still thinks it’s going to be a formality.
Like I wrote in the above-quoted piece,the Packers will win between 10-13 games this season,be in the mix for a top seed in the NFC,and have people talking Super Bowl. Just like they do every season.
And instead of fully enjoying all of that wonderful positivity and week-to-week excitement,a large part of my brain will be looking ahead to the playoffs and the opportunity to truly avenge what happened in Seattle.
Aaron Rodgers throws for 350 yards and five touchdowns agaisnt the Bears? Cool. Can he do the same thing in the playoffs?
Undrafted LaDarius Gunter breaks out as a stud and leads all rookies in interceptions at Thanksgiving? Good for him. How’s he going to handle the pressure of playoff football?
Ty Montgomery is a beast on kick returns? Super. Hopefully the Packers special teams don’t get “Zooked” in January and lead the way to another playoff meltdown.
Unfortunately,nothing that happens between the months of September and the end of December will get the stench of Seattle out of my senses. Do I have this odd combination of negative/spoiled/entitled mindset if the Packers simply lost a hard-fought game to the better team in Seattle last season? Probably not.
But the Seattle meltdown,combined with other playoff-failings from the post-2010 Packers,make it really hard to not look ahead to January,even if Green Bay is on an incredible roll in October.
Per usual,the 2015 Packers regular season will be a tremendous amount of fun. Unfortunately,it’s also going to feel like somewhat of a formality.
As the Philadelphia Eagles marched up and down the field against the Green Bay Packers No. 1 defense on Saturday night en route to a 39-point first half,I kept telling myself,”It’s only an exhibition game…it’s only and exhibtion game…it’s only an exhibition game…”
And I was right. It was only an exhibition game. There’s no reason to overreact one way or another to a meaningless game in late August.
I know it’s only August,but am I wrong to be at least a little bit concerned that McCarthy is back to talking communications issues in the defensive backfield? The dreaded “communications issues” has hung around the Packers secondary since Dom Capers took over as defensive coordinator. They seemed to go away last season,thanks to an emphasis on trying to simplify calls and having a veteran group of defensive backs and just one rookie (Ha Ha Clinton-Dix).
I suppose it’s fair to assume that there are going to be communication issues during the exhibition season no matter what. After all,that’s what exhibition games are for — to try and work that stuff out. And the Packers do have some new rookie faces in the defensive backfield with Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.
But still,if you’re a Packers fan who’s been paying attention at all during the Capers era,you’re sick and tired of seeing the dreaded “communication issues” in the secondary quotes,whether they come in August,November or January.
Sam Shields,Morgan Burnett,Casey Hayward and Michah Hyde have been together for a while now. Clinton-Dix is also a year wiser. “Communication issues” should not be an issue for this group of defensive backs.
Here’s hoping the Packers get their communication issues worked out in the secondary. I don’t want to constantly hear the “communication issues” line from McCarthy this season and I don’t want to see Packers defensive backs sniping at each other and holding their hands in the air in confusion week-to-week after an opponent scores a touchdown.
I had the bright idea to do a running diary of the Packers third exhibition game Saturday night against the Eagles. I was pumped to offer my keen insight into players on the bubble and make other observations to share with all of you,the dedicated readers of CheeseheadTV.com.
Then Randall Cobb hurt his shoulder. Micah Hyde did something with his neck. And Bryan Bulaga went down with an ankle injury.
If that wasn’t enough,the Packers No. 1 defense got steamrolled and the special teams were in midseason form (meaning they were awful).
The Packers trailed 39-14 at halftime. Miraculously,no players were injured walking to the locker room.
At the half,I went to Home Depot and purchased a jackhammer,a gallon of lighter fluid and book of matches. After pummeling my laptop into tiny particles with the jackhammer,I lit the dust on fire for good measure.
So yeah,my live journal didn’t happen. Here are my only thoughts about Saturday night’s atrocity:
This exhibition season needs to end.
Now.
Forfeit the final game,and let’s start the damn season already.
Yes,the Packers are still Super Bowl contenders despite the exhibition season injuries and ugliness. But enough is enough. It’s time to play real games and end this s#!tshow of meaningless,but still dangerous,football.
Go Pack Go.
(Anyone have a laptop for sale at a decent price?)
Exhibition games are boring. Even when they involve the Green Bay Packers. If you’re looking to be a little less bored during today’s Packers vs. Steelers exhibition snoozefest,keep an eye out for these five things:
Can Don Barclay play tackle?
Even when Barclay got the nod at right tackle after Bryan Bulaga’s injury in 2013,I remained unconvinced that Barclay was a tackle. To me,his body type and playing style are much better suited inside. Now Barclay’s a year removed from an ACL injury. In the exhibition opener,he didn’t hold up very well at tackle. With David Bakhtiari likely out today,Barclay will get another shot to show improvement coming off an injury and re-assert himself as the Packers sixth offensive lineman.
Ladarius Gunter
Just watch him. See if you still think he’s for real. See if you think his slow 40 time will be exposed come the regular season. See if you think he’s got a legit shot of making the team and making some noise.
Can Jayrone Elliott put together another good game?
Ideally,I’d like to see Clay Matthews spend most of his time inside during early downs. That fantasy is much closer to being reality if there’s a credible outside linebacker to play opposite Julius Peppers. I don’t think Nick Perry and Mike Neal are the answer. I’m not sure Elliott is either,but he sure had a good game against New England.
The medical cart
Watch the medical cart closely. Make sure it stays on the sideline,where it belongs. If it fires up and moves,that means a Packers players has been injured. We don’t want any Packers players injured during silly exhibition games.
What’s up with Christian Ringo?
By all accounts,the Packers draft pick with the coolest name was going to be a project,one of those late-round flyers you take,stash on the practice squad for a season,and hope to get something out of them two years down the road. With all the injuries and suspensions the Packers are facing along the defensive,might Ringo be needed earlier than planned? It’s a long shot,but it’s something to keep an eye on. If the Packers are short-handed up front,they might need someone like Ringo to step up. Word is,Ringo’s been improving lately.
Welcome to the first Green Bay Packers Stock Report of the 2015 season.
For new readers,the stock report will run every Tuesday afternoon during the season. We’ll cover who’s rising,steady and falling. We’ll also be sure to make fun of the Chicago Bears,fans of the Minnesota Vikings fans and people who listen to Nickelback (Why people who listen to NIckelback? Because people who listen to Nickelback are almost as bad as the Chicago Bears and fans of the Minnesota Vikings. Almost.).
One thing to note before we start: The stock report isn’t necessarily a week-to-week evaluation. I try to use context from the previous couple of games when placing players in certain categories. So,if Jordy Nelson drops the first 50 passes thrown to him to start the season,then has a game where he catches 11 touchdowns,he might not necessarily end up in the rising category for his 11-touchdown game because of how miserable he played in dropping those first 50 passes.
For the first edition of the stock report,I’m focusing only on rookies. We’ll have plenty of space to cover the veterans as the season gets going.
On to the stock report:
Rising
Quinten Rollins
With nagging injuries slowing down Casey Hayward and Damarious Randall,Rollins bounced back from his own early injury and put together an impressive game in the exhibition opener. Scouting reports on Rollins indicated that he was a speed guy. He seems plenty fast,but he looked physical against New England as well. I liked it.
LaDarius Gunter
We’ve heard plenty about Gunter since camp opened and he backed it up against New England. Big,physical and full of potential. We’ll see if his slow 40-time eventually catches up with him,but so far,so good on Gunter.
Ty Montgomery
I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve seen from Montgomery so I’m not going to praise him too much because I don’t want to jinx things. Keep it up,young man.
Steady
Brett Hundley
How about that throw Hundley dropped in there to Montgomery against New England? Scott Tolzien has received most of the backup QB love this training camp,but Hundley looks like he’s holding his own.
Jake Ryan
Ryan wasn’t the name fans had circled on their middle linebacker wish list during the draft,but it’s hard to be disappointed with what we’ve seen so far. Odds are good Ryan’s impact will come on special teams during his rookie season,but I had no complaints with what I saw when he manned the middle of the defense against New England.
Falling
My ability to watch Packers games
My son turns 2 years old in early October and I have no idea how I’m going to be able to watch Packers games this fall. Last year,he was young enough where we could contain him to one room and let him do his thing while the game was on. Those days are long gone. He doesn’t spend more than 3 minutes in any one room now.
I have televisions in the family room,sun room and master bedroom,so I suppose one strategy could be to have them all tuned into the Packers game and hope he only goes to those three rooms (fat chance). Another strategy is putting up a gate and trying to contain him to just one room (this would work for a couple minutes before he got angry). I suppose we could give him the iPad and let him watch Bob the Builder or Thomas the Train while we drink beer and watch the Packers (it’d be effective,but wouldn’t win us any parents of the year awards).
If anybody has any other advice,I’m all ears. Otherwise,cross your fingers that he’s either A) infatuated with Aaron Rodgers at a young age and will actually watch the game or B) wants to cuss at the TV like his dad whenever the Packers screw up and will actually watch the game.
We’re at the point in the Green Bay Packers preseason where certain players are starting to generate hype,or prove or disprove that the hype they received during the offseason was justified or overblown. Let’s take a look at a handful of these players and see if they’ve lived up to their hype thus far.
If a player has yet to meet the hype,I’ll give a final verdict of “calm down.” If he is meeting the hype,the final verdict will be “Believe the hype.”
Keep this in mind: It’s early. Way too early to make final judgements. A player labeled as a “calm down” shouldn’t be written off as a lost cause. A player labeled as “Believe the hype” shouldn’t be immediately enshrined in Canton. There is plenty of time for “calm down” players to make a major leap upward,and plenty of time for “belive the hype” players to get knocked down a few pegs.
Davante Adams
Ever since Aaron Rodgers bragged up Adams during minicamp,people have assumed Adams will automatically ascend to being the next good-to-great Packers wide receiver taken after the first round of the draft. Well,Adams has been kind of quiet in training camp and he didn’t exactly light it up in the exhibition opener. I need to see more before I put a down payment on a seat on the Adams bandwagon. Final verdict: Calm down.
Ty Montgomery
When Ted Thompson takes a wide receiver in the second or third round,everyone assumes that receiver will turn into a stud. That was the chatter after Montgomery was selected,and I was fully prepared to be a contrarian and not be impressed. Well,Montgomery has converted me. The kid looks bigger than your typical slot receiver/kick returner type and I liked what I saw on Thursday. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
Offensive line
The Packers had one of the best offensive lines in football last season. After the Packers beat the Patriots in November,I said if the line continued playing like it was,the Packers would win the Super Bowl. Well,the line held up its end of the bargain,but the football Gods had other ideas in Seattle. Now that Bryan Bulaga is re-signed and the full line is back again,people are saying that this year’s version of the offensive line might surpass last season’s. David Bakhtiari struggled on Thursday,but he was probably as bored as all of us were watching the opening exhibition contest. If the Packers offensive line stays healthy,and that’s a big if,I do believe it will once again be one of the best units in the NFL,possibly better than last season. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
Packers short yardage/red zone woes
The first-team offense bogged down against New England in short-yardage and red-zone situation on Thursday. Sound familiar? To longtime Packers beat reporter Bob McGinn it did, who compared the team’s struggles in the exhibition opener to its failings in the NFC title game. Yes,comparing at conference championship game to the exhibition opener is silly,but short-yardage and red-zone issues are nothing new for the Packers under Rodgers and Mike McCarthy. That said,it’s far too early to label this Packers team as another that will struggle to pick up short-yardage first downs or touchdowns in the red zone instead of field goals. It’s a new season. Narratives from seasons past usually give way to new narratives that nobody was anticipating. The Packers will have their struggles in certain areas of the game. I’m not yet convinced it will be in short yardage. Final verdict: Calm down.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix can’t tackle
Clinton-Dix sure looked silly on New England’s long touchdown run on Thursday night. Clinton-Dix also had his lackluster tackling moments last season. But I’m not so sure Clinton-Dix’s issues are with tackling. He seems to be daydreaming on certain occasions,like on the two-point conversion in the NFC title game and being totally out of position on the Thursday night touchdown run. And even if Clinton-Dix did need to improve his tackling,how is he going to do it? The Packers don’t tackle in training camp and practices are never full speed. I’m not overly worried about Clinton-Dix’s tackling. I am a bit concerned about his attention span at certain times. Final verdict: Undecided.
Ladarius Gunter
Every season the Packers have at least one undrafted free agent who makes people wonder why he didn’t get drafted. This season,Gunter looks to be that guy. Reports from practice had Gunter making plays and flashing just about every day. He also had an interception on Thursday. Gunter is garnering plenty of hype for an undrafted rookie,but he’s earning it with his day-to-day performance. Therefore,we have no choice but to believe in this kid. Final verdict: Believe the hype.
The Green Bay Packers now have eight practices under their belt as they prepare for the 2015 season.
It’s impossible to make meaningful judgments after eight practices,or label individual players as booms or busts. But we can still take the temperature of the team as each practice concludes and reports come in about certain players who have stood out,fallen behind,or gotten hurt.
If the season started today,after only eight practices,here’s what I would consider the Packers biggest strength and biggest weakness.
(Note: Obviously,Aaron Rodgers is the Packers’ biggest strength. But writing these posts wouldn’t be much fun if we just listed his name over and over again.)
Strength
Wide receivers. Jordy Nelson doesn’t appear to be slowed down by offseason hip surgery. Randall Cobb still appears to be Randall Cobb after signing a fat new contract. Ty Montgomery looks like yet another receiver find for Ted Thompson. Davante Adams hasn’t gotten many balls in practice,but nobody is saying that he’s taken a step backward in his second season,either.
It’s shaping up to be another fun season for Packers wide receivers. The group has it all — talent,experience,depth,and a quarterback with the ability to elevate the entire group.
Weakness
Linebacker. It’s weird labeling a position group that includes Clay Matthews and Julius Pepper as a weakness,but I don’t have much of a choice. Nick Perry and Mike Neal have always been injury-prone and average players at best. Less than two weeks into camp,both players have already missed time with injuries. Matthews is also dinged up as he prepares for whatever inside or outside role he’ll be playing.
Other injured linebackers include Jayrone Elliott,Josh Francis and Adrian Hubbard.
Getting rid of A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones was supposed to be an addition-by-subtraction sort of thing. So far,the Packers have continued subtracting at the position thanks to injuries. As camp continues,we’ll see if the Packers start hitting the “+” button on their calculators at the linebacker position.
Other thoughts
I considered tight end for the weakness slot,but went with linebackers because the Packers receivers,offensive line and Rodgers should be able to compensate for not having a strong tight end group.
By most accounts,the Packers young defensive backs are showing promise. Defensive back would probably have gotten the weakness slot if I wrote this before camp started.
Would it have been crazy to list offensive line as the team’s strength? I don’t think so. If the Packers offensive line stays healthy and plays like it did last season,the Packers will win the Super Bowl.
In just a few days,the Green Bay Packers will open training camp and we’ll all be sitting at work,constantly refreshing Twitter to see which players are standing out,which players are struggling,and which players are injured.
Live-tweets from NFL training camps might be one of the most pointless exercises in the entire universe,but I can’t help myself. As soon as my timeline starts lighting up about a Packers undrafted free agent who is shining or a veteran who may have lost a step,I get sucked in and start following along.
When this inevitably happens a few days from now,here are three Packers players I’ll be paying particular attention to:
LB Clay Matthews
Is he lining up inside? Outside? What’s the ratio? Does he look healthy? How’s he holding up in pass coverage drills? Is he spending more time on pass rush moves or adding volume to his hair?
RB John Crockett
Will he live up to the fair amount of offseason hype he received? Is he getting enough carries behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks to really show what he can do? Could he contribute on special teams? Since he went to North Dakota State,does he talk like the people in the move “Fargo?”
B.J. Raji
Does he look as good in camp as he did in last year’s camp before the injury? How is playing strictly at nose tackle helping him? How is it helping the defense overall? How is Raji complementing Letroy Guion? Might we see Raji line up as a fullback in certain goal-line situations?
Bonus person to watch:
HC MIke McCarthy
Is he serious about giving up playcalling? What’s he doing differently at practice now that he’s not calling plays? What is he doing to shore up the special teams? WIll he keep the beard or shave it before the season starts?
What if the Green Bay Packers are beating the Chicago Bears 42-0 late in the second quarter of the 2015 season opener and President Obama finally decides that he’s had enough?
At halftime,the president/Bears fan announces a new program called the “De-Favreification of America.” To enact a little bit of revenge against Packers fans,Obama orders all video footage of Brett Favre destroyed. No more watching Favre torch the Bears for five touchdowns on a bum ankle. No more re-living the moment when Favre broke Dan Marino’s touchdown recrod. No more jumping for joy as Favre takes his helmet off and runs around the field after throwing a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXI.
No video highlights during the Favre ceremony when the Packers play the Bears on Thanksgiving. They’ll all be destroyed. Thanks Obama…
Obama orders the De-Favreification program to be implemented immediately,but after some intense lobbying and threats from Wisconsin cheese makers to discontinue nationwide cheddar production,Obama relents and says that Americans may vote for one Favre highlight to preserve. The rest must be destroyed.
Which highlight do you choose?
Here’s mine:
Favre-to-Sharpe in the 1993-94 playoffs will always be my favorite because it happened while I was hanging out with my grandmother when I was 12 years old. My grandmother’s Alzheimer’s had set in at that point in her life and my uncle was doing his best to take care of her.
I’d occasionally “babysit” my grandmother at her old farmhouse when my uncle had things to do. By “babysit,” I mean hanging out to keep my grandmother company and make sure she didn’t put herself in any danger. To a lot of 12 year olds,this might not sound like much fun,but I loved it. I didn’t mind answering the same questions over and over again from my grandmother,or having conversations that made no sense whatsoever. My grandmother didn’t recognize me and probably had no recollection of anything we talked about,but I knew she was better off by having me there to talk with. Even though I was a young,smart-ass 12-year-old,I also knew I needed to cherish all the time I could get with my grandmother. I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with her during her battle with Alzheimer’s for anything.
Anyway,the television in her old farmhouse had rabbit ears and poor reception. It picked up one channel,two on a good day. Thankfully,the Packers vs. Lions playoff game on CBS was the channel it picked up that day. It came in just good enough for me to follow what was going on.
I spent most of the game telling my grandmother about football. She would ask me for the 114th time if I needed something to eat,I would tell her about Reggie White. She’d ask where her husband was (who had been dead for several years),I’d tell her about Mike Holmgren’s West Coast offense. She’d get sad or upset about something. I’d try and get her to chant “Go Pack Go.”
That might sound silly,but any conversation with my grandmother was a good one at that point in her life. Anything to keep her engaged and talking. On that day it was the Packers. Other days it was hunting,farming or some family history or gossip.
Late in the game,Favre connected with Sharpe for the winning touchdown. I remember my exact feeling when Favre made that throw. “Why is he trying to throw the ball straight through the roof?”
On the old farmhouse television with its snowy screen,mismatched colors and general shakiness — it looked like all Favre was doing was launching the ball straight up in the air. Then the ball actually came down,landed in Sharpe’s hands,and I went crazy. I must have did 10 laps around the living room where my grandmother and I were sitting. I couldn’t stop pumping my fists and hollering.
I finally sat back down next to my grandmother. She asked: “Are you watching ball?”
“Ball” to my grandmother typically meant “baseball,” but I’ve convinced myself that in this particular instance,she meant football.
I told her yes,I was watching “ball,” then went on to explain how this guy named Favre just got the Green Bay Packers their first playoff win in a very,very long time.
She didn’t understand the significance of the moment. But neither did I. Little did I know that that pass would be the first of many distinct Brett Favre moments in my lifetime.
I’m glad I got to witness the first one with my grandmother.
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