The one area the Green Bay Packers are clearly flying by the seat of their pants is at running back. With holdover Vernand Morency and rookie Brandon Jackson ready to duke it out for the starting job, the Packers’ success on offense hangs in the balance. Both have serious questions about them but in this corner it is clear it is Jackson’s job to lose. Morency couldn’t stay healthy if you threw popcorn at him. Jackson has an injury history of his own, just not yet in Green Bay.The Packers drafted Jackson in the second round of this year’s draft even though he was never a full time starter at Nebraska. He did lead the team in rushing last year and came out as a junior. Jackson may be better suited to the Packers one-cut and go scheme installed last year than Morency will ever be. You can bet he will be given every opportunity to be the starter.Other pretenders for running back are P.J. Pope and Noah Herron. Actually, Herron is a pretty good ball player and it would surprise me if he lost his third-down back job. Rookie DeShawn Wynn can pretty much book his ticket out of town after a horrible opening of training camp that followed a horrible OTA session in June. This time he couldn’t practice because of a tummy ache, then when he did practice he cramped up and had to be hauled off. What a joke this guy is. I can’t believe general manager Ted Thompson wasted a seventh-round pick on this loser. Every pre-draft sign said he was a loser and yet Thompson gobbled him up. Go figure?At fullback the Packers appear to be going with Brandon Miree giving the Packers their first all-Brandon backfield. Miree will face little competition from newcomers Korey Hall and Ryan Powdrell. Long gone is Packer legend William Henderson, who will be sorely missed in the locker-room, but not so much on the field. Henderson did his best last year but 12 years of banging heads will take it’s toll on the best of men, and Henderson was the best of men.There are those who say with this blocking scheme it doesn’t matter who runs the ball, the holes will be there. If only it was that simple. This is not the Atlanta Falcons or Denver Broncos who have running this scheme for years, plus, now days teams have more experience defending the scheme making it that much harder to implement.On paper the Packers have probably the worst stable of running backs in the NFL. Quarterback Brett Favre should be much more worried about this group than he was about the Packers not getting Randy Moss. If the Packers take a step back this year it will be because of the lack of a consistent running game, not the lack of receivers. Look for Favre, if he stays healthy, to throw over 600 times again this year. Not exactly the key to success in the National Football League.My guess is Jackson is the opening day starter but it pretty much ends up a sharing deal because neither Jackson nor Morency is capable of being “the guy”. In all reality, Herron probably should be the starter. If only he had more speed.Next up is receivers. I think the Packers have some real potential there.

by Al Davis

Defensive Line

The defensive line was already ok last season due to the likes of Aaron Kampman, Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins. Now with the drafting of Justin Harrell the line just got a little more stubborn against the run. The Packers were able to take a filer with Harrell because the defensive line was already ok but with the Viking getting Adrian Peterson and Chicago going full time with Cedric Benson, the Packers had to do something to off set those changes. But the inserting of Harrell will not happen until the Packers feel he is successfully recovered from biceps injury. The X factors are Corey Williams, Johnny Jolly, Colin Cole and Mike Montgomery. Unless there are injuries to the others Larry Birdine and Daniel Muir look to be practice squad players.  Another attempted improvement is the shifting of KGB back to a stage in his career where he was successful at rushing the passer and not a full time defensive end.  But soon to be 30 years old might be a telling sign to KGB and the Packers, that those days are over. This training camp will allow the coaches a early look see if KGB has it or not. The defensive line is more settled than the other two defensive areas but improvements were made. Will those improvements with Justin Harrell being added will be helpful this season or next. Again these gains will not be noticed until probably half way into the upcoming season. So Corey Williams will have to hold down the fort with Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole. So with that the Packers will keep defensive ends Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Hunter and KGB. Now if there were to be a change and KGB was gone then either Mike Montgomery or Larry Birdine will have the position.  The Packers will keep five defensive tackles, which should include Ryan Pickett, Corey Williams, Jolly, Cole and of course Harrell.

Linebackers

A lot of football experts say that the strength of Green Bay Packers 2007 defense will be the linebackers. They mention AJ Hawk and Nick Barnett, completely forgetting about Brady Poppinga. Last year Brady was coming of a similar injury that Marviel Underwood is coming off this year. So it took a while for Brady to gain confidence on the knee that he injured. By the end of the 2006 season, Brady was coming into his own. Now Brady is not as gifted as the other two linebackers but the fact that he wears his emotions on his sleeve will be a telling factor on how good this defense can be this year. Now an interesting piece of information that leaked out was that Abdul Hodge had a year long bout with a knee injury last year but didn’t go on the injured reserve. In the off season the injury knee didn’t require surgery, so the Packers are gaining an advantage there with Hodge coming back healthy. I am excited about the linebackers the Packers did get with and after the 2007 draft. See the linebackers may be the strength of the defense but there was no depth to speak of if one of the starters went down. The only decent replacement was Abdul Hodge for the three spots. Hodges top end speed was some where in the 4.87 seconds for a 40 yard dash, not good when you have to cover a tight end. So the only spot he could have backed up was middle linebacker. Now enter Desmond Bishop, Rory Johnson, and Juwan Simpson. Desmond Bishop is cut in the same mold as Abdul Hodge. Rory Johnson and Juwan Simpson have top end speed to cover the outside positions. All three would be an upgrade on the special teams as well. So how should this shake out. Believe it or not I have the Packers keeping seven linebacker on their squad this year. Why so many, that would be for the upgrade in the special teams coverage units. So Poppinga, Barnett and Hawk are the starters with Bishop, Hodge and Johnson and Simpson for depth.

Safeties

Now the scoop on the safeties are all over the place as to who will be projected as the starter and who will be the backups. There are opinions out there that have the rookie Aaron Rouse starting at strong safety. I am not one of them. I find that hard to believe because Aaron would have to understand the defense immediately and that usually never happens with a rookie. Aaron will make the team because of his ability on special teams. I feel everyone is not taking into consideration the fact that defensive coordinator Bob Sanders is on a short leash this year, because the defense was out coached several times last year and factor that in with Winston Moss, the linebacker coach, being elevated to assistant head coach. Meaning if the Packers defense comes out against Philadelphia flat that could mean the end of the line for Bob Sanders. Getting back to the topic, my thinking is that Bob Sanders will play it close to the vest this year with last years starter Marquand Manuel. That is unless Manuel is beaten out by either Tyrone Culver or Marvel Underwood. Those are the next two guy in line with the most experience in the current defensive system. I would have entered Atari Bigby in that mix, but it is always been a fact that Ted Thompson likes his draft choices to be on the team and limit the street free agents as much as possible. I give Atari a lot of credit because from reports he has done nothing but had the best off season in trying to gain the strong safety position this year. Safety position should shake out with Nick Collins at FS and either Marquand  Manuel or Tyrone Culver or Marviel Underwood starting at SS. Then Aaron Rouse will back up the SS position and the winner of the Tyrone Culver and Marviel Underwood battle will back up Nick Collins at FS. If the Packers defense comes out on fire as expected then Aaron Rouse will get some playing time to gain experience, most notably on early running downs.

Cornerbacks

You probably have heard it a million times already that the starters will be. Well one more time will not hurt. Ted Thompson will be patting himself on the back over and over this year for signing Charles Woodson last season, then giving Al Harris his contract extension. Three reasons for that is Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams of Detroit then there is Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad of Chicago and finally the Vikings with the drafting of Sydney Rice. The other major concern going into this off-season from a secondary standpoint was the nickel and dime positions. Now based on what happened last year after the major collapse of  “Batman” Carroll during the Philadelphia Eagles game.  The nickel back position was taken over by Patrick Dendy and many felt that over all he did a fine job for the limited time at the position. But experts were saying that there is always room for upgrades in the nickel and dime position in the secondary. Well with the only upgrade came from the signing of Frank Walker from the Giants, as a unrestricted free agent, and the return of Will Blackmon from a foot injury, the experts felt that the Packers still didn’t improve enough. I would have to disagree due to it takes more experience than athletic ability to be successful at either the nickel or dime packages and knowledgeable in the defensive scheme. Frank Walker has four years as a defensive back for the Giants and for the nickel that is important. Than either Patrick Dendy, Jarrett Bush or Will Blackmon can handle the dime package. One of the big questions going into this training camp is will the injury bug that Will Blackmon has had ever since joining the Packers last season. Right now Will Blackmon is recovering from a groin injury and was on the sideline, which didn’t make Mike McCarthy to happy. If Blackmon is to keep a roster position with the Packers, then this training camp he will have to be on the field more than on the sidelines with injuries. Cornerback situation should shake out with Charles Woodson and Al Harris starting and Frank Walker the nickel back and a dog fight between Patrick Dendy, Jarrett Bush and Will Blackmon for the final spot.  Either Antonio Malone or Tramon Williams will be on the practice squad when it is finished. 

Offensive Line

Well this area was being developed last year and is showing signs of life this year. The only new addition to the line this year was Allen Barbre. A tackle in college that will be project as a guard with the Packers, at least early on. Other than that, it’s the same as it was last year. Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz, Tauscher as the starting line up. Backing them up should be Colledge, Barbre, Spitz, Palmer, Moll. The X factors for the line this year go to Orrin Thompson and Junius Coston.  Possible practice squad players include Pat Murray and Travis Leffew.

Tight Ends

Bubba Franks still holds the hopes of the Packers in the upcoming season. The X factors to go Donald Lee, Zac Alcorn, Tory Humphrey and Clark Harris. This position needs as much upgrading going into 2008 draft as the cornerback position, due to the age of the starters. So here is my selections based on keeping three. Franks, Lee, Harris. But I hear that the Packers are thinking of using the tight end position more in their offensive philosophy. If that is the case then the Packers will keep four tight ends. Based on four would include, Franks, Lee, Alcorn, Harris

Wide Receivers

With the drafting of James Jones and David Clowney to go along with rest of a collection of blue collar guys that reflect the image that the Packers want to put on the field in the upcoming season. Clowney is a special teams guy from Virginia Tech. Remember there was another Virginia Tech player drafted by the Packers and that was Antonio Freeman, he was 6-1,198 and had a 4.42 in the 40 when drafted. Clowney is 6-0, 188 and had a 4.35 in the 40 after being drafted. David will be effective this year for the Packers. 

James Jones was drafted with someone else in mind, that player was Sterling Sharpe. Sterling was 6-0, 207 with 4.55 speed in the 40 yard dash. James Jones is 6-1, 207 with 4.59 speed in the 40 yard dash. Now with those to comparisons will see how effective they are when the season starts. I really believe Jimmy Robinson, wide receivers coach will have both ready, just like Greg Jennings was last year. We as fans already know about Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and their potential. The X factors go to Ruvell Martin, Carlyle Holiday, Koren Robinson. The other wide receivers are just camp bodies. The order that I see is Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Ruvell Martin, James Jones and David Clowney.

Quarterbacks

Well another season with Brett Favre will not be so bad. Couple of reasons, one we get to see him break some more of Marino and Elway records. Two, I like Brett in this scenario because he can calm down a young team and help guide the team as it still gets its feet under control. Three, continue development of  Aaron Rodgers to keep coming along slowly so that he will be able to immediately step into the position when Brett calls it a career. Ingle brings more of the conventional pocket passer to the table more than anything else. I like Ingle Martin but I am also intrigued with Paul Thompson. One of the main things that Mike McCarthy is trying to do this year differently from last year is based on rollouts away from the protection. Paul Thompson has caught the eye of the Packer coaches in that offensive phase of the game. Another thing that Paul Thompson does is that he was a wide receiver at Oklahoma as well. Now Thompson has to remind Mike McCarthy of Carlyle Holiday. Holiday was the QB at Notre Dame then turned WR when drafted by Arizona Cardinals. McCarthy has already stated that he loves QBs that can play other positions because they understand offensives quicker. If Thompson is not on the final 53, then expect him to be on the practice squad this year.

Running Backs

Finally the running backs position. Everyone fells there is great unrest at this position. Yeah we have inexperience working against the Packers at the moment. But both Vernand Morency and Brandon Jackson, will be ok after about four games into the season. Both will have successful seasons in the zone blocking scheme the Packers are running. Barring any major injury both of those running back should be at or near 1000 yards each. Now the major question is who will be the third halfback kept on the roster. The general experts are saying Noah Herron will keep his job. But if Green Bay is to keep a sound rushing attack throughout the season there needs to be a better runner than Herron in the backfield and that player is DeShawn Wynn. Wynn will be able to give the running game a new dimension that Herron couldn’t. That dimension is speed, something that Herron doesn’t have. At the full back position, I look for Brandon Miree to be backed up by Korey Hall. Only reason why Hall will be on the team is for his special teams ability. If Korey Hall wasn’t drafted I could easily see Ryan Powdrell being Miree’s backup instead. The players that are looking at practice squad are Corey White and Ryan Powdrell.

Overall this years team should be better at special teams, more of an overall defensive dominance, and just enough of a balance offense to control the clock in order to win games. We will have to see if that become true. Let training camp begin!!

Go Pack!!

by Joe Blackwell.

The Green Bay Packers closed the 2006 season with four straight wins to even their record at 8-8 and raise expectations for 2007. As usual, the Packers’ fortunes this year will rest pretty much on the play of Brett Favre. Certainly Favre has not been the same quarterback the last two years he was the first 15 years. The question is whether his less than stellar play is the result of the team around him or father time himself. My guess is somewhere in between.Favre’s number the last two years are borderline pedestrian. Last year he improved greatly on his interception total but it came at the expense of his completion percentage, which was an abysmal 56 percent. It would certainly behoove head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson to find Favre a running game. To have to throw the ball over 600 times a year like Favre did last year is ridiculous, especially for a 37-year old quarterback.

I still believe Favre is the best quarterback on the roster to lead this team and given the tools to succeed the Packers can win and he can be a difference in those wins. Favre has never been hurt seriously and while he did have a sore arm at the June OTA’s he seems to be in excellent shape for a man entering his 17th NFL season. If Favre can stay healthy again, the Packers’ quarterback will be the least of their problems.Behind Favre is still the great unknown. Former first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers has not been able to put any pressure on the Packers to get him on the field. They say Rodgers is getting better but unlike the Philip Rivers-Drew Brees situation in San Diego last year, there is no pressure on the Packers to get Rodgers in the lineup. If Rodgers was so good, it would not be hard to improve on Favre’s stats of the last two years, so to me that means Rodgers is not the answer when No. 4 hangs it up for good.

Behind A-Rodge is Ingle Martin, who by most accounts has not improved any over last year leaving the Packers in the market for a new third-string quarterback, even though Favre took a liking to this youngster last year, much unlike his relationship with Rodgers, but that’s another story. My guess is Martin’s days with the Packers are numbered as it would not surprise me if the Packers brought in a veteran quarterback to be third-string, like New England has done with Vinny Testaverde. Maybe a Daunte Culpepper or even a guy like Jeff George, who wants back in the game.The long term future of the Packers’ quarterbacks is a major question mark right now. As is has been the case for the last 15 years, if Brett goes down, the hopes of the team go with him. Maybe now more than ever.

Al Davis

Supplemental Draft Time is here and gone and the Green Bay Packers were serious about taking someone. Believe it or not it another defensive tackle. Most Packers fans are educated enough to know more than Football 101. So my thinking in writing this article is why is Ted Thompson and John Dorsey, head of college scouting interested in bringing another defensive tackle with training camp right around the corner.

As fans we all know the Packers already drafted, in the first round no less, a defensive tackle. Why another one. Is it because the medical staff is still afraid to giving the green light on Justin Harrell for physical play, I know they did give the green light for practicing when training camp starts. The Packers could still hold him out of the physical play by just playing it safe or is there really something still wrong with Harrell’s left bicep. If Green Bay is being cautious, you cannot blame them after spending the first round on him.

Another important reason for the addition could have been that Corey Williams is in the final year of his contract. Corey had a decent year in 2006; I think Ted Thompson wants to see if Corey can do it again coming off the bench. I know you can never have to many good defensive tackles. I just hope nothing serious happens to Justin Harrell this season. Like something that could force him onto the PUP list till October. But anyway the player the Packers were said to be interested in was Clifton Dickson from Florida State. The key reason why the Packers were interested in his services was due to his last workout before the supplemental draft. Generally scouts were saying that Dickson had great footwork and stamina during the workout, which was held in Florida, where it can get very muggy and hot. Dickson is just under 6-4 and his weight ranges from 310 to 320 and yet is able to still run a 5.10 second 40 yd dash.  If I am not mistaken Justin Harrell is around those numbers for the forty-yard dash. So now you may ask why Dickson wasn’t drafted. Again goes back to character issues, he had a couple of run ins with the law. Dickson has the ability to be a disruptive force and the Packers are counting on that, if they selected him, which they did not. Dickson played behind Broderick Bunkley, who currently is the starting right defensive tackle for the Eagles.

I feel the only reason Green Bay was interested in Clifton Dickson is that he is ready to play now with training camp two weeks away. He was in great shape at his workout that was held in Florida.  My gut feeling is the Packers wanted to make sure all bases were covered if something does happen to Harrell for an extended period of time. But what if I am wrong and Justin Harrell’s bicep is fine. Then the rotation is looking like: Pickett and Harrell then Williams and Jolly or Cole. Then the big question is the pecking order for the defensive line.

I am really surprised with this potential drafting and or signing. I mean I have not even discussed Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole or Ryan Pickett the other three defensive tackles. Mike McCarthy mentioned even after OTA’s were completed that both Jolly and Cole had both outstanding off seasons and should be in the mix for more playing time. What Green Bay has at least on paper is starting to shape up to be a formable unit. Let training camp begin. 

GO PACK!!!!

Joe Blackwell

The Green Bay Packers are less than two weeks from the start of training camp and it’s time to start gearing up for the beginning of a very important year for the green and gold, especially head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson. An offseason of discontent has left many Packers’ fans wondering how this team could possible improve on it’s 8-8 record of a year ago. Thompson said on draft day he could take a few blows, the question is, how many is a few?

The Packers could indeed be better this year than last and in the next week-and-a-half I will take a look at the team Thompson is bringing to camp and try to find out exactly how they can be better, if at all.

I also want to welcome you to the new Packernet web site and invite you to send us your comments on the new design. I also invite you to take advantage of the new features, especially the Picture Gallery in which you can upload your own pictures to share with us Packers’ fans all over. I will be putting up my massive collection in the next few weeks and over the course of the season I hope to have game day pictures up the same day.

I will also have Joe Blackwell’s pre-camp roster prediction up this week. Joe will helping out again this year with his take on the Packers and the NFL.

The Packers are one of the most mysterious teams in the league, nobody seems to have a handle on them. We’ll see if we can’t do something about that.

Stay tuned and I look forward to your comments as training camp and the season unfolds.

Al