Packers host Monday night opener for 2nd time in franchise history.
September 6, 2008
For only the second time in franchise history, the Packers will open up their season at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. That the first game of ‘08 comes against a chief division rival only adds to the excitement level.
Green Bay’s only other season-opener at home on MNF came on Sept. 1, 1997, against the Chicago Bears when the Packers were the defending Super Bowl champions.
Now the Packers are the reigning NFC North Division champions, and host a Minnesota Vikings team that many believe will provide the biggest challenge in the division this year, on a prime-time stage no less.
“It’s big for us,” wide receiver Donald Driver said. “This is a rival game that we know that everyone is watching, especially on Monday Night Football. No one else is playing football but us, so we’ve got to show the world.”
Last year the Packers won both games against the Vikings for the first time since ‘04, including the first shutout in the history of the series with a 34-0 win at Lambeau in November.
Since Mike McCarthy took over as head coach in 2006, the Packers have won all four games against Minnesota, and the four-game winning streak is their first since sweeping Minnesota in 1987 and ‘88. With a win on Monday, Green Bay would post its first five-game streak against the Vikings since 1983-85.
A storyline was added this offseason when the Packers filed tampering charges against the Vikings regarding their contact with then-retired quarterback Brett Favre. The NFL dismissed the allegations in an early August ruling.
“It’s about the players that are on the football field playing the game,” Vikings head coach Brad Childress said. “The rivalry is the rivalry. I don’t think people live in a vacuum, however. It’s a North Division rivalry and we’re playing the champions of the North.
“Obviously it means a little bit more because anytime you can beat a division opponent you get another game up in the NFC but you also do on a divisional opponent.”
The two teams have clearly been the class of the division in recent years, with either the Packers or the Vikings capturing the Central/North Division title 10 of the last 14 years.
“This is a very, very good way for us to start the season,” defensive end Aaron Kampman said. “It’s a great challenge and they’ve continued to improve, as we have, so it should be a great, great battle on Monday night.”
The Vikings, who finished second in the division behind Green Bay last season with an 8-8 record, made perhaps the most notable offseason acquisition in the league, adding NFL-sack leader Jared Allen in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs to an already formidable defense. The offense features last year’s NFC-leading rusher, Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson.
“We’re been waiting for this for a long time,” defensive tackle Ryan Pickett said. “This whole offseason we have been talking about this game, so we’re very excited to showcase what we can do. We want to be the No. 1 defense in the NFL this year, so it starts off if we can make a statement this week.”
The teams also have a great deal of familiarity from facing each other twice a season, including players and coaches that have been on both sides of the rivalry. Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell spent six seasons (2000-05) on Green Bay’s staff before joining Minnesota, and safety Darren Sharper (1997-2004), kicker Ryan Longwell (1997-2005) and wide receiver Robert Ferguson (2001-06) all began their careers in Green Bay.
“We know them well and they know us well,” cornerback Charles Woodson said. “We know their personnel. It will be a fun game, a tough game, and it’s a Monday night game. This will show how people act under the lights.
“This is the biggest and brightest during the season, the Monday night game, so we’ll definitely see where we are at as a football team going into a tough season.”
Green Bay benefited from a fast start in 2007, winning the first four games on their way to a 13-3 record and the division crown. With a schedule that includes six playoff teams from last season, the Packers know the importance of getting out of the gates this year with some success.
“I stay away from saying it is a tone-setter, but I would say that we always want to start fast,” Kampman said. “Every season we want to start fast. We’re at home, against a rival, a divisional opponent, so those are all things you want to do well against obviously.”
While admitting that he couldn’t think of a better way to open up the season, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will be making his first career start, was one of several players who said it is a little too early to gauge how the pecking order in the division will stack up based on just one game.
“It’s the first game and a lot can happen during the season,” Rodgers said. “There are injuries, momentum swings. You can get on a hot streak as a team, like the Giants did last year.
“The first game is good to see where you are at individually, but it takes really six, seven, eight weeks to see how a division is going to shape up.”
Even though it is only the first game of a long season, the Vikings’ Allen, who will be one of a handful of players on the field experiencing the rivalry for the first time Monday night, echoed the same feelings that many Packers players expressed this week as they looked ahead to the border battle.
“I think the more emotion you can put into a game, especially from the fans’ standpoint, it just makes the game that much more fun,” Allen said.
“Monday Night Football is always a fun game, and when you’ve got these kinds of rivalries, the atmosphere always gets cranked up another level. This is why we play football as football players.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Green Bay Packers finalize roster for 2008 regular season.
September 3, 2008
As he made the final roster cuts over the weekend, General Manager Ted Thompson still needed to shore up the long-snapping position on special teams.
He not only did that Monday, he made two other moves that showed how heavily special teams weighed on his mind at cutdown time.
Thompson signed veteran punter Derrick Frost, released over the weekend by Washington, to replace Jon Ryan. And then he spared special teams standout Tracy White by releasing fellow backup linebacker Abdul Hodge from a deep linebacking corps to make room on the roster for Brett Goode, the team’s new long snapper.
So while the Packers will enter Week 1 of the 2008 season with a new snapper, punter and holder on field goals (Frost replaces Ryan there, too), they’ll maintain some continuity on their coverage units with White, whose 33 special teams tackles over the past two seasons is tied for the top mark on the team with Jason Hunter.
“There is change, but there is always a little change this time of year, whether it be at running back like in past years or at punter and snapper here, so it’s just part of it,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to get better.”
Thompson noted the biggest improvement he’s hoping to see at punter is consistency. Ryan had two solid seasons in Green Bay, but the strong-legged CFL product had his ups and downs, and had struggled particularly in poor weather.
In Frost, a fifth-year veteran who spent one season in Cleveland and the last three in Washington as a full-time punter and holder, the Packers hope they’ve found a punter with better directional skills and the ability to perform in difficult conditions.
“He looks like the kind of guy that can kind of adapt in those situations, can kind of drive the ball when you need to and you have to against the wind,” Thompson said. “Some of that factored in.”
In a horribly windy game last December in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants, Frost had to punt nine times and averaged a respectable 37.6 yards (35.3 net), with three punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
With temperatures in the mid-30s and wind chills in the mid-20s at the evening kickoff time, Frost estimated the winds reached 40 miles an hour during that game, as evidenced by quarterbacks Todd Collins and Eli Manning combining to complete just 26 of 77 passes on the night.
“Those games are hard to make it out with terrible numbers sometimes,” Frost said. “Just a brutal situation. We had a couple of those.”
Despite NFL averages (41.4 gross, 36.4 net) similar to or slightly below Ryan’s (44.5 gross, 37.0 net), Frost’s directional and situational numbers are better. In his four seasons, Frost has placed 97 of 317 career punts (30.6 percent) inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, while having just 24 (7.8 percent) go for touchbacks. In two years here, Ryan placed 35 of 144 (24.3 percent) inside the 20, with 23 touchbacks (16.0 percent).
“I think the things I do well are some of the intangibles people don’t always notice,” Frost said. “I really do pride myself on holding and directional punting and just trying to be a well-balanced player. I think that’s what they like.”
Frost admitted he has had his own bouts with inconsistency, specifically tailing off in the latter portions of two seasons. The first time, his first year in Cleveland, he attributed to a strained ligament in his knee. Then last season, after averaging 45.9 yards on 17 punts through the first three weeks, he averaged just 39.5 yards the rest of the regular season to finish with a 41.0-yard average.
The bad-weather game against the Giants factored into that, but Frost said he learned a lesson in training and preparation as well.
“Last year, looking back on it, I think I kicked too many balls,” he said. “I think I wore myself out. I’m a real hard-nosed guy and I work really hard, and sometimes I don’t work smart, and this offseason I really focused on working smarter, not wearing myself out.
“I train hard too, and it’s not that I’m out of shape, but your body can only kick so many footballs. I think that was part of it.”
Frost was released over the weekend by the Redskins, who decided to go with rookie sixth-round draft choice Durant Brooks from Georgia Tech. He said he had workouts lined up with Pittsburgh and Seattle, and another was expected with New England, for the early part of this week when the Packers called and signed him right away.
“You have to trust your evaluations,” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s why we grade players. That’s why our personnel department goes to preseason games, and we have boards on both ends, not just the college draft but also the pro personnel, and this is just a matter of trusting your evaluations.”
As for holding on placekicks, Frost has just one week to work with the new snapper, Goode, and kicker Mason Crosby, which admittedly isn’t much time with the Monday night season opener against the Vikings fast approaching. But he’s confident they’ll get the operation down, and so is Crosby, who confessed neither he nor Ryan, one of his best friends on the team, saw this move coming.
“It’s one of those situations that’s the nature of the business,” Crosby said. “Jon was a great holder. I never had to worry about it, but it took time. It’s a trust you have to build.
“It’s the most important thing for my job. It’s what I depend on the most, making sure that snap and that hold is good. But obviously the guys they’re bringing in, we’re not going to have an issue I don’t think. We’re going to go out there, they’ve done this before, they have to get that snap perfect and the hold, and as long as it’s on the spot and leaning right I’m going to make sure I hit it through.”
Goode, an Arkansas alum and native who spent training camp in 2007 with Jacksonville but was not in a training camp this summer, said he was pouring concrete for a driveway in 93-degree heat in his home state when he got the call that the Packers had picked him up. He was brought in to replace J.J. Jansen, who injured his knee in the preseason finale last Thursday and went on injured reserve.
“It was an easy decision to get up and leave,” he said. “You don’t ever want to root for somebody to get hurt or to screw up, but everybody knows those things happen, and I’m just here to fill in in his place and do the best I can to help the team win.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Packers’ roster is finalized for 2008 season opener against Vikings.
September 2, 2008
As he made the final roster cuts over the weekend, General Manager Ted Thompson still needed to shore up the long-snapping position on special teams.
He not only did that Monday, he made two other moves that showed how heavily special teams weighed on his mind at cutdown time.
Thompson signed veteran punter Derrick Frost, released over the weekend by Washington, to replace Jon Ryan. And then he spared special teams standout Tracy White by releasing fellow backup linebacker Abdul Hodge from a deep linebacking corps to make room on the roster for Brett Goode, the team’s new long snapper.
So while the Packers will enter Week 1 of the 2008 season with a new snapper, punter and holder on field goals (Frost replaces Ryan there, too), they’ll maintain some continuity on their coverage units with White, whose 33 special teams tackles over the past two seasons is tied for the top mark on the team with Jason Hunter.
“There is change, but there is always a little change this time of year, whether it be at running back like in past years or at punter and snapper here, so it’s just part of it,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to get better.”
Thompson noted the biggest improvement he’s hoping to see at punter is consistency. Ryan had two solid seasons in Green Bay, but the strong-legged CFL product had his ups and downs, and had struggled particularly in poor weather.
In Frost, a fifth-year veteran who spent one season in Cleveland and the last three in Washington as a full-time punter and holder, the Packers hope they’ve found a punter with better directional skills and the ability to perform in difficult conditions.
“He looks like the kind of guy that can kind of adapt in those situations, can kind of drive the ball when you need to and you have to against the wind,” Thompson said. “Some of that factored in.”
In a horribly windy game last December in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants, Frost had to punt nine times and averaged a respectable 37.6 yards (35.3 net), with three punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
With temperatures in the mid-30s and wind chills in the mid-20s at the evening kickoff time, Frost estimated the winds reached 40 miles an hour during that game, as evidenced by quarterbacks Todd Collins and Eli Manning combining to complete just 26 of 77 passes on the night.
“Those games are hard to make it out with terrible numbers sometimes,” Frost said. “Just a brutal situation. We had a couple of those.”
Despite NFL averages (41.4 gross, 36.4 net) similar to or slightly below Ryan’s (44.5 gross, 37.0 net), Frost’s directional and situational numbers are better. In his four seasons, Frost has placed 97 of 317 career punts (30.6 percent) inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, while having just 24 (7.8 percent) go for touchbacks. In two years here, Ryan placed 35 of 144 (24.3 percent) inside the 20, with 23 touchbacks (16.0 percent).
“I think the things I do well are some of the intangibles people don’t always notice,” Frost said. “I really do pride myself on holding and directional punting and just trying to be a well-balanced player. I think that’s what they like.”
Frost admitted he has had his own bouts with inconsistency, specifically tailing off in the latter portions of two seasons. The first time, his first year in Cleveland, he attributed to a strained ligament in his knee. Then last season, after averaging 45.9 yards on 17 punts through the first three weeks, he averaged just 39.5 yards the rest of the regular season to finish with a 41.0-yard average.
The bad-weather game against the Giants factored into that, but Frost said he learned a lesson in training and preparation as well.
“Last year, looking back on it, I think I kicked too many balls,” he said. “I think I wore myself out. I’m a real hard-nosed guy and I work really hard, and sometimes I don’t work smart, and this offseason I really focused on working smarter, not wearing myself out.
“I train hard too, and it’s not that I’m out of shape, but your body can only kick so many footballs. I think that was part of it.”
Frost was released over the weekend by the Redskins, who decided to go with rookie sixth-round draft choice Durant Brooks from Georgia Tech. He said he had workouts lined up with Pittsburgh and Seattle, and another was expected with New England, for the early part of this week when the Packers called and signed him right away.
“You have to trust your evaluations,” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s why we grade players. That’s why our personnel department goes to preseason games, and we have boards on both ends, not just the college draft but also the pro personnel, and this is just a matter of trusting your evaluations.”
As for holding on placekicks, Frost has just one week to work with the new snapper, Goode, and kicker Mason Crosby, which admittedly isn’t much time with the Monday night season opener against the Vikings fast approaching. But he’s confident they’ll get the operation down, and so is Crosby, who confessed neither he nor Ryan, one of his best friends on the team, saw this move coming.
“It’s one of those situations that’s the nature of the business,” Crosby said. “Jon was a great holder. I never had to worry about it, but it took time. It’s a trust you have to build.
“It’s the most important thing for my job. It’s what I depend on the most, making sure that snap and that hold is good. But obviously the guys they’re bringing in, we’re not going to have an issue I don’t think. We’re going to go out there, they’ve done this before, they have to get that snap perfect and the hold, and as long as it’s on the spot and leaning right I’m going to make sure I hit it through.”
Goode, an Arkansas alum and native who spent training camp in 2007 with Jacksonville but was not in a training camp this summer, said he was pouring concrete for a driveway in 93-degree heat in his home state when he got the call that the Packers had picked him up. He was brought in to replace J.J. Jansen, who injured his knee in the preseason finale last Thursday and went on injured reserve.
“It was an easy decision to get up and leave,” he said. “You don’t ever want to root for somebody to get hurt or to screw up, but everybody knows those things happen, and I’m just here to fill in in his place and do the best I can to help the team win.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Packers’ 53 man roster for the 2008 season close to set.
August 31, 2008
The 53-man roster for the season opener isn’t quite set yet, but General Manager Ted Thompson addressed the roster as it stood on Sunday to a group of reporters in Lambeau Field’s media auditorium.
The long and short of it is the Packers have a somewhat surprise inclusion at running back, a void for the moment at long snapper, and a bevy of talented linebackers representing probably the deepest position on the team.
Here’s a quick look at those three segments:
Running back
Rookie Kregg Lumpkin, a non-drafted free agent out of Georgia, beat out not one but two veterans - Vernand Morency and Noah Herron - for the No. 3 halfback job.
Lumpkin got ample opportunity to show his skills during the preseason, leading the team with 38 carries for 153 yards (4.0 avg) and a rushing touchdown in the four games. He added seven receptions for 59 yards and another score, showing the coaching and personnel staffs his multi-faceted future potential.
“I thought Kregg was very steady,” Thompson said. “He was proficient in picking up in pass protection. He did a nice job on screens and getting out of the backfield. He obviously runs the ball hard. I thought he got yards after contact. I thought he had a very good training camp and preseason.”
It was not easy letting Morency and Herron go, however. Both had made significant contributions to the offense over two seasons each (Morency in 2006-07, Herron in 05-06) and had similar all-around skills at the position. But Thompson said the desire to keep two fullbacks - Korey Hall and John Kuhn - on the roster dictated they choose just one of the three halfbacks as depth behind Ryan Grant and No. 2 Brandon Jackson.
“Obviously Noah and Vernand have done an outstanding job here,” Thompson said. “They are unbelievable professional football players. They are skilled at what they do. They know what they are doing at all times, so you can put them in at different roles. Those two were extremely difficult decisions to make.”
Thompson added one additional piece of depth at running back on the practice squad, signing second-year pro DeShawn Wynn, who had been released in the first roster reduction to 75 players last week. Wynn, a seventh-round draft choice in 2007, was eligible for the practice squad because he had been on the active roster for only seven games as a rookie before going on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
Wynn rushed for 203 yards on 50 carries (4.1 avg) with four touchdowns last season but has had trouble staying healthy, going down with an ankle injury in training camp this year after rehabbing from the shoulder ailment last season.
“We’re all a little bit disappointed he’s been injured some, but he helped us win some games last year,” Thompson said. “I think he’s a talented back, and we’re going to put him back out there and let him compete some more.”
Long snapper
With rookie J.J. Hansen being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in the fourth quarter of the preseason finale against Tennessee, one position that has not been decided yet is long snapper.
Since the roster currently stands at 53 players, the team will have to make a corresponding move to make room to sign a snapper. Thompson did not confirm if the team had worked out any players for the position, but said the Packers are working on signing someone soon to handle the snapping duties.
“That’s something we’re still kind of working through,” Thompson said. “That’s part of the process. You juggle things around, you take something from here, you add something here, and you just kind of have to figure it out as you go.”
Thomas Gafford, who was with the Packers during OTAs and mini-camp but was waived early on in training camp, was waived yesterday by the Chicago Bears. It does not appear that will be the direction the team will go since Thompson said the team did not put a waiver claim in on Gafford.
Thompson added that he would probably not be confident going into a regular-season game using one of the players on the current roster as long snapper. Two players that have some experience snapping are guard/tackle Tony Moll and defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, though neither performed the duty during any preseason action this year.
Linebacker
One roster move will have to be made once a long snapper is signed, and based on sheer volume, it could come at the linebacker position. As of Sunday, there were seven linebackers on the 53-man roster, all veterans.
Behind starters Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga are free-agent signee Brandon Chillar, Desmond Bishop, Abdul Hodge and Tracy White. Bishop and Hodge, as middle linebackers, were thought to be battling for one backup spot behind Barnett, but both played so well during camp that they were kept, with Bishop playing some outside linebacker to test his versatility.
White is a veteran special teams ace who has also played linebacker in the goal-line defense the past couple of years, so all of them have proven they can contribute.
Whether or not they can all stick around remains to be seen. In addition to needing a long snapper, the Packers also have just three defensive tackles on the roster, not counting former tackle now end Cullen Jenkins and the other ends - Jason Hunter and Michael Mongtomery - who have played inside some during the preseason.
Hookscenter.com wire report (Spofford and Fanning).
Veterans Morency and Herron among final cuts for Packers.
August 31, 2008
The Green Bay Packers made the tough decisions at running back Saturday but might have delayed for a day or two making another at linebacker as they reached the National Football League roster limit of 53 players.
Vernand Morency and Noah Herron, both of whom once held the designation as “featured back” during their careers in Green Bay, were among 19 players released by the club before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Herron, 26, was the team’s leading ball carrier late in 2005 as an injury fill-in for Samkon Gado.
Morency, 28, entered training camp in 2007 as the nominal starter in the wake of Ahman Green’s signing with the Houston Texans before a patellar injury immediately dashed his chances.
Together with DeShawn Wynn, a four-game starter early in ‘07 who was cut Monday, the trio were beaten out by rookie Kregg Lumpkin, an undrafted free agent from Georgia.
Instead of keeping four running backs, the Packers remained a rarity in the NFL by keeping two fullbacks instead. Once again, the fullbacks will be Korey Hall and John Kuhn.
“They use a lot of two-fullback sets in short yardage,” an executive in personnel for another NFL teams said Saturday night. “And it gives them the flexibility on special teams to use those guys (Hall, Kuhn). But they left themselves a little bit thin as far as experience and special teams go.”
For the second straight year, general manager Ted Thompson wouldn’t explain his decisions on cut-down day. For at least 20 years before that, the decision-maker responsible for final cuts in Green Bay had been available to reporters.
The 53-man roster contained no long snapper, a void that probably will be filled within the next 24 hours. The rookie snapper, J.J. Jansen, was one of three players placed on the season-ending injured reserve list as the Packers removed 22 players from their 75-man complement.
Currently, the roster contains seven linebackers, but veteran Tracy White understands that he might be waived to make room for the long snapper.
“I’m here but I’m not here,” White said. “Ted Thompson called me and said I’m part of the team, whatever. They were telling me different things. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Monday will probably tell it all.”
Herron missed all of ‘07 following arthroscopic knee surgery. His value was as a utility back, plus he fared well on special teams in ‘06.
“I always thought Herron was solid,” one scout said. “Not real flashy. Just can do anything you need him to do. That will leave them a little vulnerable.”
Morency, who was acquired from Houston in September 2006 in exchange for Gado, played 235 regular-season snaps in ‘06 and then 182 in ‘07, primarily as the third-down back replacing Ryan Grant. The coaches raved about Morency’s pass blocking, and said he had regained some of the burst and explosiveness lost to that knee injury on the first day of ‘07 training camp.
Nevertheless, Morency also was seen apparently bickering with some of his teammates on the sidelines Thursday night against Tennessee. He wasn’t as powerful a runner as Lumpkin or as effective on special teams as Kuhn.
Lumpkin, 24, bounced back from a fumble in the exhibition opener and stamped himself as possibly the second best rusher on the roster behind Grant.
“He’s not an overpowering guy by any means but he’s somewhat strong and quick,” one scout said. “He will give you a good day’s work, but he’s not special.”
Four other Green Bay veterans were waived, including tackle Orrin Thompson, defensive tackles Daniel Muir and Conrad Bolston, and safety Tyrone Culver.
Thompson, who spent portions of three seasons in Green Bay, was beaten out by Breno Giacomini, a fifth-round draft choice. Barring injury, Giacomini probably will remain the ninth offensive lineman and be inactive most of the season.
“They’ll keep him alive and develop him,” one scout said. “Keep him from going somewhere else. Everybody’s looking for big guys.”
Another lineman, guard-center Junius Coston, went on injured reserve with a knee injury. The Packers’ efforts to trade Coston ended when he got hurt against the Titans.
The release of Muir, Bolston and former Texan Alfred Malone, as well as the placement of Rodney Allen (hand) on injured reserve, left only three pure defensive tackles on the roster. One of them, Ryan Pickett, didn’t take a snap in August because of hamstring and conditioning deficiencies.
Green Bay has flexibility because one of its six ends, 310-pound Cullen Jenkins, can play inside in base and does play inside in nickel. Also, Michael Montgomery and Jason Hunter have rushed inside on passing downs.
NFL teams have until 11 a.m. today to put in claims for waived players. By early afternoon, they’ll be notified by the league whom they were awarded in the claiming process.
Will the Packers add a defensive tackle?
“No,” one scout said. “There’s none to be had. Everybody is looking for those guys.”
Culver, the No. 3 safety in 2006, had an injury-free camp after missing all of ‘07 with a shoulder injury. He lost out to Charlie Peprah, a more physical third-year player.
Peprah, however, hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury Aug. 5. He is one of at least nine players with injury issues entering the practice week.
Wide receiver Brett Swain, a seventh-round selection, was the only member of the nine-man draft class not to crack the 53. His signing bonus was $57,610.
Joining Malone on the list of six “street” free agents waived were wide receiver Johnny Quinn, guard Ryan Keenan, fullback Corey White, linebacker Spencer Havner and cornerback Joey Porter.
Six rookie free agents were cut, including wide receivers Jake Allen and Taj Smith, tight end Joey Haynos, center Brennen Carvalho, linebacker Danny Lansanah and cornerback Scorpio Babers.
“They’ll keep Lansanah on practice (squad) because he can rush the passer, too,” one scout said.
Haynos, 6 feet 8 inches and 265 pounds, had a solid summer but lost out to Tory Humphrey, who gives the Packers at least a modicum of experience behind Donald Lee.
“Humphrey is the better athlete but Humphrey isn’t very tough,” one scout said. “They’ll put Haynos on practice squad. Humphrey probably will play more than (Jermichael) Finley right away but not down the road.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Packers fans have new code of conduct for 2008 at Lambeau.
August 30, 2008
The Green Bay Packers have enhanced Lambeau Field’s fan code of conduct for the 2008 season, the team announced today.
The fan code of conduct is designed to set clear expectations for fans and encourage a stadium environment that is enjoyable for all game attendees. Additional signage detailing the fan code of conduct will be posted in stadium parking lots, at concessions and in the concourses, and announcements will be made in-stadium. Code of conduct information also will be posted online on Packers.com.
“One of the Packers’ main goals is to provide a positive and enjoyable experience at Lambeau Field on gameday for all our fans, and this code of conduct enhances measures the club already had in place,” said Jason Wied, Packers vice president of administration/general counsel. “Unruly behavior can negatively affect a day at the game for our fans, and our stadium personnel will be watching for it. However, we’re also asking fans to help us out by notifying stadium personnel when such situations occur.”
The Packers fan code of conduct is intended to address behavior that detracts from the gameday experience. Guidelines for unruly behavior also are included in the season ticket holder handbook that is mailed out annually with tickets. Fans attending games are encouraged to report unruly behavior to stadium personnel so that it may be addressed.
Following is the Green Bay Packers’ Fan Code of Conduct:
The Green Bay Packers are committed to providing an enjoyable and safe game experience. Irresponsible conduct will not be tolerated at Lambeau Field and, in some cases may result in arrest and/or ejection from the game.
The following violations will not be tolerated:
• Fighting, taunting, or any action that may harm or endanger others in the stadium.
• Smoking in locations where smoking is prohibited.
• Intoxication or other signs of alcohol impairment that results in irresponsible behavior.
• Abusive or foul language and obscene actions.
• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.
• Any other conduct deemed to be beyond the bound of reason for a spectator attending a professional sporting event.
Event patrons are responsible for their conduct as well as the conduct of their guests and/or persons occupying their seats. Lambeau Field stadium personnel will intervene to support an environment where event patrons, their guests, and other fans can enjoy the event free from unruly behavior stated above. Event patrons and guests who violate these rules will be subject to ejection without refund and loss of ticket privileges for future games.
Stadium personnel and police officers working entry gates will be monitoring fans and may refuse entry to those demonstrating unruly behavior.
The Packers will utilize fan feedback to ensure the effectiveness of the code of conduct, as well as to explore further methods to enhance the program.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Rodgers throws TD on only pass as Packers lose preseason finale.
August 29, 2008
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers needed only one play to show that he’s ready to go. But Vince Young still doesn’t quite seem warmed up for the regular season, even after the Tennessee Titans’ 23-21 victory over Green Bay in Thursday’s preseason finale at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings on his first — and only — play from scrimmage, then spent the rest of the evening holding a clipboard and playing catch on the sideline.
“We’re definitely ready,” Rodgers said. “We had a good performance last week. One-and-done this week.”
Young made a few big plays but failed to capitalize on several scoring chances despite playing with good field position against the Packers’ defensive reserves.
Young drove the Titans inside the Packers’ 10-yard line four times in the first half, but Tennessee came away with only three field goals. Young led the Titans’ No. 1 offense to only two field goals in Tennessee’s three previous preseason games.
“We definitely have some things to work on,” Young said.
Young stood on the Titans’ sideline with a bandage on his right hand in the second half after bruising his thumb early in the second quarter. Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he didn’t expect Young to be limited in practice next week.
“He’s fine,” Fisher said. “He’s just got a bruise. He really could have finished.”
Fisher brushed off concerns about the first-team offense’s inability to score in the preseason, and said Young handled the offense well Thursday.
“He felt really comfortable with what he was doing,” Fisher said. “We’re disappointed that we couldn’t get the ball in the end zone, but sometimes when you play a preseason opponent in the regular season, you’re going to be selective about what you’re doing, as they were.”
Green Bay plays at Tennessee Nov. 2.
As Rodgers continues to calm fans’ concerns about his ability to replace Brett Favre, the Packers’ most pressing quarterback concern is who will be his backup.
After what started out as a rough night for the Packers’ pair of rookie quarterbacks, Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm, Flynn drove the Packers into Titans territory in the final two minutes and threw a 22-yard touchdown to Jake Allen to cut Tennessee’s lead to two with no time left on the clock.
The Packers had a chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion, but receiver Johnny Quinn was out of bounds when he caught Flynn’s pass in the corner of the end zone.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he remains comfortable with the plan to have two rookies backing up Rodgers. And he chalked up some of their early struggles Thursday to the Packers’ inability to fend off a fierce pass rush by Tennessee’s No. 1 defense.
But McCarthy also seemed to leave the door open to the possibility of adding a veteran backup before the start of the regular season.
“Those are all options,” McCarthy said.
After Rodgers left the game, Brohm and Flynn alternated in a string of three-and-out series in the first half, and both lost fumbles under a heavy pass rush.
But Flynn rebounded to throw a pair of touchdown passes in the second half, and Brohm had a potential touchdown pass called back on an instant replay review.
Brohm, a second-round pick out of Louisville, was expected to win the backup job in training camp. But Flynn, a seventh-rounder out of LSU, has outplayed Brohm in preseason games. McCarthy wasn’t immediately ready to commit to either player.
“It’s not about making a statement, but I did feel like I did what I had to do,” Flynn said. “It’s up to the coaches now.”
Young was 13-for-27 for 134 yards passing and ran three times for 57 yards Thursday. The Titans did manage to score a touchdown in the second quarter — on a 40-yard run by Vincent Fuller off a fake punt.
Kerry Collins replaced Young after halftime, immediately leading the Titans on a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by rookie Chris Johnson.
The Packers played without cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris, linebacker A.J. Hawk, defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, safety Atari Bigby and center Scott Wells because of nagging injuries.
Packers long snapper J.J. Jansen and guard Junius Coston left Thursday’s game with knee injuries.
The Titans were without linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton. John Vaughn kicked in place of the injured Rob Bironas.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Packers’ DL Johnny Jolly has drug case hearing push back.
August 28, 2008
Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly’s court hearing on felony drug possession charges has been moved to Sept. 16.
Jolly, 25, was arrested July 8 in Houston for possession of at least 200 grams of codeine. Shortly after his arrest, he posted $10,000 bond and was released. He has been on hand for the entire Packers training camp and is expected to be at the team’s exhibition finale tonight against Tennessee at Lambeau Field.
A Houston district judge had scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, but as of yet the case has not been reviewed by a grand jury to determine whether it should go to trial, according to Houston assistant district attorney Donna Hawkins. The prosecution has 90 days to present the case to a grand jury, but Hawkins said it was likely it would be heard before then.
The case will remain a complaint until a grand jury, made up of nine to 12 people from the Houston area, determines whether there is probable cause to take the case to trial. If the grand jury does not make a decision prior to the new court date, an examining trial may be held Sept. 16 to determine whether the case should be tried in court.
The grand jury will hear testimony and be presented evidence by prosecutors. Jolly may be called to testify if the grand jury feels it necessary.
At any time, Jolly has the option of reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Jolly has repeatedly refused to comment on the case. He is slated to be a starter in the middle of the defensive line and is considered one of the team’s up-and-coming players.
There’s always the possibility Jolly could be disciplined by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the personal conduct policy, but Goodell tends to wait until first-time offenders have their day in court before deciding if they should be punished.
This is Jolly’s first run-in with the law since joining the Packers as a sixth-round draft choice in 2006.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
McCarthy to limit Grant’s carries in 2008 preseason finale.
August 27, 2008
If he had his druthers, Ryan Grant would run the ball at will in the Green Bay Packers’ exhibition finale Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.
But Packers coach Mike McCarthy won’t allow it, not in a meaningless game like this and especially not in Grant’s first live action since running into the unyielding arms of the New York Giants’ defense seven months ago. He, like the rest of the Packers’ starters, will be in the game for about 10 snaps.
As eager as Grant is to prove he’s not a one-year wonder, he might have to get used to the concept of moderation because if McCarthy has his way, there won’t be many 30-carry nights for his starting halfback. As good as Grant was in his first season as a starter, McCarthy doesn’t want to see a premature end to his career.
“I don’t think he needs to carry it 30 times for us,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think he needs to carry it 25. I think 20 would be great. You have to be smart with a guy. You get him 20 carries a game, that’s being smart and productive. You can get him the ball some other ways through the passing game.
“I don’t want the guy to be a one- or two-year flash and be done with him. History supports that.”
At least the overall numbers do. A National Football League Players Association study released several years ago reported that the average career of an NFL player was 3.5 years in length. For a running back, it was only 2.6 years.
For every vintage running machine like Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Tiki Barber and Emmitt Smith, there are multiple side-of-the-road wrecks like Jamal Anderson, Domanick Davis, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams and Rudi Johnson, all of whom broke down under the strain of overuse.
It might not be music to Grant’s ears that he’ll be limited to around 300 carries this year, but the fact is last season he gained 1,159 yards in roughly 19 carries a game starting with the Denver Broncos game Oct. 29. Toward the end of the year, McCarthy started to incorporate backup Brandon Jackson into the lineup, which is something he plans on doing even more this year.
Grant, who missed all but six practices this summer because of a contract dispute and a hamstring strain, will make his exhibition debut against the Titans and then prepare to be the Packers’ main running threat for the season opener Sept. 8 against Minnesota. Although his carries will be limited, his overall number of touches might not be.
One of the ways McCarthy plans to increase Grant’s role without subjecting him to the pounding he takes running into 300-pound defensive linemen is to incorporate him more into the passing game. Last year, Grant caught 30 passes but had more than two catches in only four of the 18 games in which he appeared.
Playing with Aaron Rodgers, who is more likely to dump the ball off than Brett Favre, Grant could wind up being among the team leaders in receptions this year. Such a thing happened during the 2003 season, when Ahman Green rushed for a franchise-high 1,883 yards and also finished second behind Donald Driver in receptions with 50.
The problem is that Grant has basically missed two training camps with the Packers, last year because he was acquired in a trade a week before the opener and this year because of the contract and injury. Even his off-season program was affected this year because he was unable to practice without a contract.
Even though Grant has been in meetings and watching every snap at practice, he hasn’t been working on his timing in the screen game or taking on blitzing linebackers when he stays in the backfield.
“I would have liked to get him more experience in the passing game,” McCarthy said. “I don’t care what system you’re in, it’s the nuances of check-downs and timing and all that. You’d just really like to go through it with him.”
Grant said after evaluating his 2007 season — he rushed for 956 yards (5.1 average) and eight touchdowns in the regular-season — he thought there were things he could do a lot better. He proved to be a good fit for the one-cut, zone style of running game McCarthy favors, but there were times his balance wasn’t good and his timing was off.
The Packers worked harder on their screen pass this summer, but Grant wasn’t able to be a part of it, so he’ll be working from scratch when regular-season practice begins.
“You can get better at everything,” Grant said. “You evaluate yourself, you’re hard on yourself. There are a lot of things I did wrong and could get better on. Even plays that I did right I can get better on.
“I’m just trying to get more comfortable with certain plays. I wanted to feel comfortable with me doing everything. I want to be literally where I could be a quarterback on the field. I think the more you know, it slows the game down.”
Grant’s road back starts against the Titans and reaches highway speed Sept. 8. How far he has fallen behind and how far McCarthy is willing to go with him will be answered at that time.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Packers RB DeShawn Wynn released by Green Bay on first cut.
August 26, 2008
The Green Bay Packers placed defensive tackle Justin Harrell on the physically unable to perform list Monday and released running back DeShawn Wynn.
Green Bay also cut fullback Ryan Powdrell, wide receiver Chris Francies and offensive lineman Ryan Considine to trim its roster to 75 players before Tuesday’s NFL-mandated deadline.
Harrell was the Packers’ first-round pick last season but appeared in only seven regular-season games because of injuries. He sat out the first three preseason games this year with a back injury.
After being placed on the reserve/PUP list, Harrell cannot return to the active roster during the first six weeks of the season. After six weeks, Harrell will be eligible to practice with the team for up to three weeks. If the Packers return Harrell to their active roster later in the year, they will have to make another roster move to make room for him.
Wynn started four games as a rookie last season but also has struggled with injuries.
Hookscenter.com wire report.