Jennings and Rodgers a dynamic duo

The Green Bay Packers locked up their number two most important player this week by making Greg Jennings the second highest paid wide receiver in the NFL. I don’t have any problem comparing Jennings with Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals, all both of them do is make big plays. And in Jennings case, he has one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks also locked up for the foreseeable future and nothing but big things can be expected of both. This has the makings of a record-breaking combination that rarely happens in today’s NFL.

This is another example of the Packers taking care of their core players and not risking money on over-the-hill or never-have-been free agents. Rodgers got his money last year, Jennings this year. I expect guys like Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Johnny Jolly to be next. I think the Packers will hold off on Nick Collins, whose value has dropped with every day he missed learning the new defense this offseason. The Packers are deep in the secondary and unlike last year with running back Ryan Grant, I doubt very highly that they will give in to Collins. Colledge and Spitz are more important if you ask me. Keeping Rodgers healthy should be top priority.

One thing is sure and that is Jennings will not be an Antonio Freeman and disappear after getting big money. Jennings is a class act and sets a huge example in the locker room and on the field. The Packers certainly got a steal when they took him with the 52nd in the 2006 draft. All he has done from day one is start and average 16 yards a catch and hauled in 24 TDs in three years, 21 of them coming in the last two seasons alone. The guy is a big play machine and if he and Rodgers stay healthy the Packers are going to be tough to stop.

If it was my money, I’d lock up Colledge and Spitz next, and try to steal Ryan Pickett and Atari Bigby for a reasonable price and let Collins and Aaron Kampman play a few games in 2009 before making a decision. The later two are not happy and do not appear all that thrilled about the new defense, so no need to rush to pay those guys. If it turns out they excel in the new scheme then the Packers will take care of them.

Man I can’t wait for the season to begin. I think training camp is going to be very positive and expectations will be high as well. With all that has transpired since the end of last season’s disappointing 6-10 record it is hard to argue the Packers haven’t taken huge steps in the right direction. The fruits of their labor will not begin to be known for another six weeks, but as an owner, I like the way my team is shaping up. Confidence is high.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 10:54 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Rocky70

    Or how about a little perspective from Jerry Rice. Surely you respect his opinion even if it differs from your own.

    http://blogs.startribune.com/vikingsblog/?p=3021
    _____

    What happens if he does struggle or is not healthy with a team that is built to win now?

    Rice: ”Then everything backfires. You’ve got a major problem. Also you have to look at the scenario that happened in New York. If he pretty much distances himself completely from the players, then all of a sudden you’re going to divide the players because a lot of the players are going to say, ‘Hey, Tarvaris Jackson should be in here or Sage.’ You don’t want this to divide the team. So this could really backfire.”

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Apples and oranges Rocky. Hallstrom said if you lose both your starting guards you’ll have trouble for years. Something that’s obvious even to someone not in the loop. He knows line play better than we do but the results of TT’s dropping Wahle and Rivera without having backups ready to take over are still with us. The other point is Hallstrom is a fan, OF THE PACKERS, Tark never was and never will be.

  • packer_bob

    Rocky,

    Did you even read the Hallstrom article? He spoke positive about Bart Starr, said James Lofton was one of the best athletes he was ever around, mentioned offensive and defensive players he played with in the 80′s by name, complimented Mike Holmgren on building the offensive line, so what in the hell are you talking about when you say he didn’t have a good thing to say about anyone?

    Oh, that’s right, he also praised Favre and took a couple of jabs at management. So clearly he’s ancient history. He’s not even in the loop anymore. He actually played for 12 years but anybody that doesn’t blog about the potential of Brett Swain to become the 5th receiver is clearly out of touch! Probably doesn’t even know what a computer is.

    And for a guy that wants to talk about the future you bring Tarkenton back up and now Jerry Rice from a VIKINGS blog about the guy you accuse everyone else of talking about incessantly? Wow!

    By the way, the context of the Rice quote is in the case that he would struggle on a “team built to win now.” Rice’s answer: that would be bad. Well, no shit, captain obvious. It’s called a calculated gamble; using Jackson or Rosenfels on a team “built to win now” isn’t without risk either or they wouldn’t be looking to fill the void. The Bears changing gears with Cutler is a gamble, but obviously they wouldn’t have done it if they felt Orten was their man.

    They’re risks, Rocky. Men with stones take them once in awhile.

  • JeffN

    Hallstrom’s comments didn’t seem very well thought out. He sounds like a lot of other guys I hear who are pissed off about everything that has happended lately because somebody didn’t do everything his/their way. He talks about the past and bitches about the future. Sound familiar?

  • Punk

    Well then p_b lets just say TT had stones for letting Wahle and Rivera get away. As Mark said, it didn’t work out. The Favre/TT arguments are past trite. TT also then had stones for letting Favre go and in my estimation that worked out. As far as I’m concerned thats what a rebuild is, one hell of a big gamble. Some of you never want to consider it but $$ do matter and all of the guys let go were a cap reliever. At least we have the resources to resign the 3, 4, and 5 yr guys we want to keep now. I think its a bunch of baloney when I hear arguments like keeping or letting guys go depending on who drafted them. No GM in the league is keeping people simply because they drafted them. Doesn’t make any sense.

  • packer_bob

    I take it his comments aren’t well thought out because you don’t agree with them?

    Most ex-NFL players are going to talk about when they played, in fact it was probably that he was asked directly about those subjects. What’s really unclear to me is why the various TV networks, radio stations, etc. keep getting ex-players exactly like this to give their “expert” opinions on the NFL. Obviously once you’re retired you’re ancient history and your views are invalidated.

    Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Emmet Smith, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson, Chris Collinsworth, etc. etc. etc.

    All old men—they should all be put in one big room with their rocking chairs and their dribble cups! Hell, they don’t know anything, they probably don’t even blog! Still do their calculations with an abacus and a piece of chalk!

  • packer_bob

    Punk,

    Letting 2/5 of a dominant line go with no replacements is a helluva gamble, I’ll give you that. I don’t give him credit on the Favre deal though, as to me it was clearly what he wanted for awhile. Stone’s would have been being up front about it and just flat out saying we don’t want him back about 2 season’s ago.

  • Steve Cheez

    OK, so maybe Wahle has been serviceable since we let him go. But what did Rivera ever do? Whether we kep him or let him go, he was done.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Steve Cheez, offensive lines need the cohesion of playing together. Like Hallstrom said you can pull out a piece but both guards replaced by rookies and never-weres was a disaster. I’d like to see our present O-line solidify and play as a unit for at least the entire preseason and stop moving players around. It looks like our tackles and center are changing this year also, so it’s going to be even harder to put a group together.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    I’ll never forget what Jerry Kramer wrote about a rookie hotshot center. When Starr called the snap he was amazed that he was slower than everyone else on the line repeatedly. The rest of the line thought it was funny because they all anticipated every snap together by a split second as a unit. That’s what we have to develop.

  • JeffN

    PB I also think TT has a lot of stones to stick with his plan. He has not caved into what Packer fans want. Instead he stays with what he thinks will work. Even when he has got boo’ed on draft days by the fans he still sticks to his plans. Gotta give a guy credit for that. Now I know a lot of people turn that around and say well he hasn’t signed any big named FAs so he doesn’t have balls. Well his plans all along have been to resign players that are already on this team and what we are about to see next year as we have discussed, he is going to have to use all the cap space to resign all the contracts that are coming up next year, Kampman, Picket, Collins, Spitz, College. His plan is working out and this team is poised to be really good over the next few years and longer with the plan that TT has used. Sure it took a long time but it’s working out now and this is the team that we have and it’s pretty exciting now. I know people are disappointed with last year but we have nothing but exciting things going forward.

    I would also point out that it took a lot of stones to let Ahman Green go and sign a huge contract elsewhere. It took a lot of stones to let Rivera go and sign a huge contract elsewhere. Both of those players did nothing after they left. Good call IMO. Wahle left and signed a huge contract and was servicable I agree. We can debate Wahle all you want but Carolina ended up letting him go because they couldn’t afford a guard that was servicable with a huge contract.

    While I’m on my soap box I would also state that once the o-line gets used to playing next to each other and settle in at their positions we are going to have a really good o-line even if Tauscher and Clifton don’t play this season. I also think that people are going to start to notice now that it’s not our 2 guards that are the weakness in the o-line anymore it was the tackles last year.

  • JeffN

    What would fans reaction be if they gave Ahman Green and Rivera each a huge contract? Then everyone would be complaining that TT signed those guys and they didn’t do anything productive after that. TT would have gotten criticized letting those guys go or keeping them. Those are the people I would call arm chair GMs. You always got to look at things both ways and look at what a person’s real intentions are.

  • Punk

    In the end it always comes down to $$ and SENSE! And its all based on probability.

  • Rocky70

    @ JeffN & Punk

    I couldn’t have said it better myself. Good rebuttals.

    Obviously what we have here is part of the Packer Fanbase are excited about now & what the future holds.
    The other portion (small minority) are still not over the events of 2008. They dwell on ancient history & continue to argue lost causes related to BF.

    The irony is simple. I haven’t changed my view of GB in decades. I’ve supported them through the bad & the good. That won’t change. However, what happens when GB kicks ass in 2009 & beyond? How will the Favre Apologists then justify their abandonment of their team?

    How can you possibly be a fan of any team when you’re looking for anyway possible to trash the team ?? Who needs fans like you, we already have to deal with Viking & Bear Fans.

  • JeffN

    Rocky, I like the rivalry of Bear and Viking fans. The think I”m getting sick of is the small but loud contingent of pissed off Packer fans.

  • packer_bob

    I’ve never argued that we should have kept Green. It was pretty clear that he was losing it and should have only been retained at a reasonable price. I don’t know anybody at the time that was saying we should have payed anywhere close to what Houston payed. So I don’t call that a ballsy call on TT’s part, but I will say he made the right decision there.

    As far as Rivera and Wahle, you guys all want to play the hindsight game. It goes something like “Rivera had injuries 2 years after we let him go, so therfore it was the right decision.” Does Thompson have a crystal ball? If Jennings suffers a career ending injury next year does that mean he made a mistake to re-sign him? I’d also point out that Wahle was all-Pro the season after we let him go and is still in the league. You guys must have watched the line play of the Carolina Panthers with a great deal of attentiveness after 2004 since I keep seeing the word “serviceable” attached to Wahle’s name. Didn’t know enough people payed enough attention to interior offensive lineman for other teams to apply adjectives to 4-5 years of play.

    Thompson let the interior of our line go following the 2004 season and we’ve been searching for answers ever since. I’m well aware you can’t sign resign everyone and am not suggesting we should try. I thought it was folly at the time to let them BOTH go and a guy that actually did the job for 12 years apparently feels the same way.

    Some of you on here seem to be so enamored of Thompson you act like nothing he’s ever done is wrong or that it’s even ambiguous or debateable. He was right when he tore up the line, he handled Favre perfectly, he was right to not get Moss for a bag of chips. Well, when is all this being right going to payoff in the win column? For me it better be this year.

  • Rocky70

    @ MARK

    I’ll ask again.

    “But TT has said he has regrets about Moss.”

    This line needs a link or a quote. I read alot. Never have I seen anything close to your assertion.

    If you’re going to make statements of this type, you need to support them. It’s difficult to take your posts seriously if you’re making up stuff. Comprendo?

  • packer_bob

    Rocky,

    So if I don’t think Thompson walks on water somehow I’m not a Packer fan? I’ve said recently on this board that he hasn’t been terrible but he hasn’t been great either. Evidently if I don’t bow at the ankles and think the man can do wrong I’m not a fan of the team?

    What a blow, to be cast into the lake of non-believers by one such as yourself. I guess Hallstrom doesn’t support the team either?

    By the way, I’ve said repeatedly I am optimistic about this season and think we should have at least 9-10 wins. What I’ve also said is that if we sub .500 again I think it’s time for a change.

  • packer_bob

    It’s hard to take you seriously Rocky, when you post anti-Favre quotes from a Vikings site. Alot of the “ancient” history I’ve been talking about lately has to do with the wisdom of letting 2/5 of a great line go and whether or not passing on Moss was a good idea. You seem to be the one that can’t let it go.

    Way to bypass my comments on the Hallstrom article by the way. For a guy that keeps saying he reads alot, you seemed to miss a few things.

  • Rocky70

    @ JeffN

    I agree. I like the back & forth & resentment with Bear & Viking Fans also. That’s the way it is suppose to be. As Packer Fans you defend your team against all other fans of the opposition.

    I also agree that it is getting very tiresome to have to deal with that portion of the Packer Fan base that has lost their allegiance to their team. Can you imagine fans at the HS or college level dumping on their teams? I’ve been an avid PackerFan for decades & I never thought that a portion of that fanbase would become so enthralled with one player that they would turn on the team itself.

  • Punk

    I will not dump on a guy for making A mistake, or two, in a dedicated effort to improve over all. Still think TT was brought in to rebuild because we weren’t winning it with what we had. Hell, I once sent one of my kids to school in a Chevy Chevette, GMs first throwaway car. I know, I know, the team he inherited had a better record than since hes been here. Things change, you adapt and adjust, get used to it!

  • Rocky70

    Sorry PB but the story about Rice & his comments is actually all over the web including MJS, PFT, SI, ESPN, etc. etc. – You’ll be more informed if you expand your web experiences.

    Hallstrom said some good things about former Packers & retired players. My comment was he said nothing good about today’s players. In fact, he didn’t even know the names of some of them. AJ is the LB he was referring to. Hallstrom’s comments fit your mind-set almost perfectly. He talked about the past & failed to focus on the positives of today’s team. He’s no more a 2009 PackerFan than you are. Sorry, it is what it is.

  • packer_bob

    “Lost allegiance to their team.”

    You’re right, I’m not a Packer fan anymore, that’s why I spend so much time reading about them and posting here, because I hate them but I’m a masochist.

    Disagreeing with some of the actions of management is not equivalent to dumping on the team. Or, since you’re such an impeccable supporter of the Packers were you on here defending Mike Sherman on the Joe Johnson or Cletidus Hunt moves, lol.

    Quit being such a pompous ass, Rocky. Go a few posts up where I talked about the how’s and why’s of being a fan, as per Punk/Larry. Your predilection for attacking anyone who doesn’t see eye to eye with you as not a fan is the last resort of a guy who can’t argue. It’s a give up move.

  • packer_bob

    Your link to the Rice comments says “viking-blog” on it. Your original post did not say he had nothing good to say about modern players, it said anyone. Sorry, but it is what it is.

  • Pack4life

    On a more serious note. A Minneapolis Judge has blocked the suspensions of the DTs Williams. Each time a Minnesota Judge has blocked the rules when no one else involved got this treatment. These judges need to be investigated and disbarred they are probably Viking season ticket holders. All the other players had to serve the suspensions, what ever happened to equal protection under the law?

  • packer_bob

    By the way, if you read the Hallstrom article, he said good things about Rodgers, Kampman and by extension Barnett. The context in which he was talking about the current Packers was December of 2008, while we were busy sliding to a 6-10 record. How many positives was he supposed to be talking about?

    Perhaps you should focus your reading endeavors on quality and not quantity.

  • packer_bob

    Pack4life, you’re saying Minnesota judges are blocking an NFL suspension? Do you know on what grounds?

  • Punk

    Had to laugh at Philbin’s comment “Footballs not that complicated.”, as he walks around w/ an 80 page playbook. Granted he was talking in reference to an OL player, but the step up to the NFL, for anyone, has to be more than just the speed of the game. It amazes me that so many of you (not me) think this running a team thing is so easy w/ so many simple solutions; its as if a decision “here” has no affect on “there”. Don’t think so!

  • packer_bob

    Never said it was easy, Punk. Matt Millen was a great player and an announcer that demonstrated considerable insight and understanding of the game and we all know how well he did!

    These guys have a very tough job–they also get paid pretty well to do it though, so I don’t have alot of sympathy for them. Some decisions are tough and I’ll say it could go either way. The ones I feel are fairly obvious decisions and just blunders are the one that stick in my craw and I don’t let go of.

    Not that I’ve spent alot of time talking about it, but dumping our punter last year for Derrick Frost, a castoff from the Redskins, and the Harrell pick leap to mind in addition to some of the other well worn subjects.

  • Punk

    Harrell is an enigma for sure, but the Favre, Moss, Whale, Rivera, Green, discussion is moot at this point. The real discussion shouldn’t be going on forever about “what if”, it should be about this team as it is and do we like it or not? Is this a good team or not? Is it a 13-3 team or a 6-10 team? None of us really know; all we can look at is the current roster and how does it stack up, man for man, with the rest of the Division. There aint gonna be no more dynasties guys.

  • packer_bob

    I’m all for talking about this team but we are in that woeful period between the end of OTA’s and the beginning of training camp. Talking about who’s going to do what seems a little pointless to me until we have something to talk about. If you’d like to start a new subject, feel free.

  • Pack4life

    The Judge says they can play while further appeals go on.

  • packer_bob

    Hell, that could be forever if they’re anything like normal appeals.

  • JeffN

    I’m not sure what happened with the whole Derrick Frost and Jon Ryan thing. Either something happened behind the seens or TT just made a big mistake. Ok fine so TT screwed up on Jon Ryan and Justin Herril. Fine big deal. TT isn’t perfect but he still has put together an excellent football team for this year. Herril still could prove us all wrong. We have some excellent years ahead of us with this young team with a lot of really good players that are going to stick around for a long time. So what if a few mistakes were made.

    Both 13-3 and 6-10 are ancient history when it comes to what happened “last year” vs “what will happen this year”. 1 year is ancient history in the NFL. 6-10 has no bearing on what this team will do this year. We could end up 12-4 or 13-3 this year. I would rather focus on that then a few mistakes a guy made. If you point out all the guy’s mistakes you also got to point out all the good things he did to be fair.

  • packer_bob

    I’ve given him credit for a good draft this past off-season, Woodson and Pickett have both been valuable pick ups, Jennings was a steal in the second round, and I said just a few posts ago letting Green go as opposed to over paying him was a good decision. Obviously, we’re in good shape as far as cap goes so his fiscal management is good too.

    You guys have to quit acting like I never give him credit. Let me say it yet again: I have severe problems with some of the things he’s done but on balance with the positives (finding Ryan Grant out of nowhere is another positive) that rates him fair to middling in my book. I think we’re all looking forward to a good season, but let’s not start giving him credit for something that hasn’t happened yet, hmm? Some of you guys act like we’ve already done something in 2009. My last memory of something that counts is 6-10.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Packer-bob, forget trying to reason with TT loyalists. We all know what you posted and we all know it’s reasonable. They’re obviously not Packer fans, they’re TT fans and he doesn’t even suit up. He’s not the worst or the best. He’s learning on the job like the rookie GM he is. Nobody but his family could be as blind to his failings as the TT fans. As for the rest of us, we have to hope he improves with experience, so his loyalists don’t have to keep posting lame excuses for him. And, trash us for daring to point out his mistakes.

  • JeffN

    Well when the Pack wins the superbowl within the next 2 or 3 years you won’t be calling him a rookie then. Also he got Seattle to the Superbowl. I wouldn’t call him a rookie.

    Another thing is he took a cupboard bare team and turned it into a cupboard full team. You just watch this season. They will be back on top.

  • JeffN

    Mark, PB doesn’t need advice from you. While some of his points are a stretch many of them are good points even if I don’t agree. PB can hang with the big guns on this board like Rocky, Punk, Legat, and myself. ;-) LOL In any case you can disagree with me to if you want.

    The only thing I ever said I found questionable about PB was betting against the Pack but we talked about all of that already.

  • packer_bob

    OK, can we all kiss and make up now?

    Getting back to Punk’s post a few back—

    As far as how good we are this season, that’s just it, it is anybody’s guess.

    If we want to talk hypothetical’s, what’s everybodies opinion on how long Driver keeps playing at a high level before he starts showing his age. That guy has been a hero of mine over the years for his work ethic and toughness.

    Jennings has clearly supplanted him as the best receiver on the team and is the more dangerous big play threat but Driver still has alot of value as a possession and over the middle receiver imo. Plus I think he brings energy and a tough mindset to the receiving corps by his example.

    What are the opinions on him this next season and how long he stays with us or in the league?

  • Punk

    Given the way he takes care of himself I give him 4 more – all as a starter.

  • packer_bob

    All with us do you think, Punk?

  • packer_bob

    Link for anyone that reads to read the details of the Vikings’ Williams boys and their legal status:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Ams6qg8VSp9MfYoaFbjJSVs5nYcB?slug=ap-nflsuspensions&prov=ap&type=lgns

  • Punk

    Yep, I get the impression that if MM/TT tell him he has been replaced, he would retire. Don’t know enough about his background to know where else (like near his home town) he would play. REGGIE

  • Punk

    Somehow hit a wrong key!!! Started to say that REGGIE went south simply because it was near his true home. We all know several “retirement” age players and too many QBs who thought they could keep going for just one more shot with another team. Montana, Unitas, Testeverde, Mc Mahon, and others come to mind. Shoot, even Rice; but somehow I don’t see Driver doing it. I think they all know they’re through, its just that one more payday syndrom and the I’ll show them attitude. Very rarely works.

  • Punk

    Re Williams’: What do you expect from a legal system that sends Al Franken to the US Senate? Watch Jolly get the book thrown at him in Texas. Hope not!

  • iccyfan

    Mark Says: “forget trying to reason with TT loyalists. They’re obviously not Packer fans, they’re TT fans and he doesn’t even suit up. He’s not the worst or the best. He’s learning on the job like the rookie GM he is. Nobody but his family could be as blind to his failings as the TT fans. As for the rest of us, we have to hope he improves with experience, so his loyalists don’t have to keep posting lame excuses for him. And, trash us for daring to point out his mistakes.”

    I hope this is “tongue in cheek”!?! IMO, NFL GM’s are like umpires in a baseball game – if they do their jobs well nobody notices them! With a few exceptions, they shun the spotlight while team owners, head coaches and players bask in the glow (which is as it should be). Coaches often have poor relationships with GM’s, as they think they can do both jobs. In some cases they can (Belichek); oftentimes it’s disasterous (Sherman). The continued rehashing of TT’s “mistakes” gets tiresome because there’s not a GM in this league who can’t be criticized with the benefit of hindsight….

    If you throw out names of the top GM’s in the game, anybody with internet access can list “mistakes” they’ve made over a span of five years.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Larry, you sound a little bitter. Coleman did a rotten job and I think it’s funny that you would put the blame anyone else. But I got a good laugh just thinking of all the neat stuff you could have posted. Seriously, I think the Williams’ should serve their suspensions like anyone else and you’re right about the phony court order but I’ve seen that other places. Maybe they’ll just serve it out later in the year. Goodell would really have to cave to let them get off.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Iccy, it was written out of frustration that you guys are so willing to overlook his mistakes. We criticize everyone else, why not him?

  • Punk

    I think the real danger here, Mark, is that the Judiciary gets involved – again – beyond the confines of the law. I wont even comment on the MINN voter(s) who collectively started this whole thing. Anyway, who is going to be first to take a shot at TT for not jumping at that list of FAs. I wonder if they come with their own walkers?

  • packer_bob

    Punk,

    Montana had some success with the Chiefs, I wouldn’t put him in the Unitas/Namath category of completely washed up but hanging on. Testeverde and McMahon hung on but knew their roles. I never got the sense of desperation from them that they might reclaim past glory.

    Rice, on the other hand, really tried to hang on. I think he went from the Raiders, where he had some success, to the Seahawks for a couple before being released, to the Broncos for a try out where he got cut prior to the season. Not that I blame him, mind you, but I get the feeling with his ego that if he could make a team as a 5th WR right now he would.

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