Official 2008 Green Bay Packers Thread: G-Force UNITE!!!

[ProfessaPackMan]

Thought I go ahead and get a thread started for the 08 season.

Damn I wish training camp got here faster. Feeling like a kid on Christmas morning right now. Especially after last season.

Time for Prince Rodgers to take over the controls of this Offensive Machine.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Previewing the Cornerbacks

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The maxim dates at least to legendary Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown, and probably further: Better to cut ties with a player a year too early than a year too late. That’s something the Green Bay Packers had to consider carefully this offseason at cornerback, where Al Harris is coming off a Pro Bowl season, but also is 33 and finished his season with a bad game in the NFC championship against the New York Giants’ tall and gifted Plaxico Burress. The Packers’ defense is predicated on fielding cornerbacks who can hold up down-in and down-out in press coverage against wide receivers who represent some of the best athletes in the NFL. Harris has played well for the Packers since they traded a second-round pick for him and a fourth-round pick in 2003, but the question is, at his age — he turns 34 in December — will he be the same player that he has been? Or will the inevitable decline with age make a noticeable hit this year? The Packers projected little or no decline, because they brought Harris and 31-year-old Charles Woodson back as their starting corners for the third straight season. “He’s got quickness,” General Manager Ted Thompson said of Harris. “He knows how to play the game, he loves challenges, he’s got that gunslinger mentality. All the things you need to play corner, he has.” Harris has a major factor for and against him in his quest to continue playing quality football at one of the NFL’s most difficult positions: He keeps himself in tremendous physical condition, but he never had great speed to begin with, and that’s the first thing that goes with age at a position where speed is vital. Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers’ secondary coach, compares Harris favorably with former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback James Hasty, who was a 13-year starter in the NFL. Schottenheimer was a defensive assistant coach with the Chiefs from 1995 to 2000, and Hasty was an inveterate worker who played in the Pro Bowl under him at 32 and 34. Schottenheimer sees Harris, who at 183 pounds this offseason was 5 pounds lighter than he played last year, as capable of playing as well as Hasty did at that age. “Lionel (Washington, the Packers’ cornerbacks coach) and I were talking the other day, and it’s an absolute remarkable situation to say Al looks better to us right now than at any time since we’ve had him,” Schottenheimer said. “His weight’s down, his understanding of how to do things is getting better all the time. We’re excited as heck about him.” For the past several years, Harris has matched against the opponent’s best receiver and relishes the role. Whether that will continue remains to be seen after the 6-foot-5 Burress had 11 receptions for 151 yards, mostly on fade routes on which the two were left to battle for jump-ball type throws, in the NFC championship game. “I thought that was a day where one guy had a heck of a game, but I don’t think it was necessarily an indication that Al’s skills have diminished,” Thompson said. “A lot of those plays were bang-bang, and the other guy made some plays. We’re not overly concerned about that.” Woodson also is getting long in years for a cornerback, so the Packers have to begin developing successors. For this year, he and Harris will remain among the team’s most valuable players as long as they play at last year’s level because of their crucial press-coverage roles in defensive coordinator Bob Sanders’ scheme. Woodson has the makings for longevity because he came in with the elite athletcism and size (6-1, 200 pounds) that gives him more of a cushion as he declines with age. He’s also shown his mettle by playing through a painful shoulder injury in 2006 and toe injury later last season, and though he was only a Pro Bowl alternate last year, some NFL scouts thought he had a better season than Harris. Behind them, the Packers think they’ve found their nickel back for 2008 and possibly even a future starter in plucky Tramon Williams, who bolted ahead of the pack of backups during offseason workouts. Williams entered the NFL with Houston in 2006 as an undrafted and undersized rookie out of Louisiana Tech, but after two offseasons in the Packers’ workout program, he’s up to 191 pounds (at 5-11), and has shown mental toughness, quickness and rapidly improving cover skills. “That’s unbelievable to me that he was an undrafted player and released by another team,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re just very, very fortunate. He can be (a starter down the road) and then some. As long as he keeps working the way he’s been working, absolutely. He’s very, very talented.” The top prospects behind him are rookie Pat Lee, a second round draft pick; third-year pro Will Blackmon, who might be more valuable as a return man; and Jarrett Bush, a third-year pro who lost the nickel job last year. Though Lee sometimes looked lost in offseason practices and took his rookie beatings, he flashed enough to go into training camp with a shot at winning the No. 4 cornerback job. “I think he’ll be a good player,” Thompson said. “He’s got very good balance, he’s a really nice athlete. He’s got the ability to be physical at the line of scrimmage.” At safety, three players — incumbent starters Nick Collins and Atari Bigby and second-year pro Aaron Rouse — will fight it out for the two starting jobs. Collins and Bigby are clear front-runners, but the Packers might play Rouse even if he isn’t a starter because his size (6-4) allows him to match up with some of the big, athletic tight ends. The Packers remain high on Collins though he hasn’t blossomed into the playmaker they’ve projected since Thompson drafted him with a second-round pick in 2005. Collins might be the Packers’ fastest defensive back and has been an excellent tackler in the run game, but last season he dropped five potential interceptions and had no takeaways. “We hope we can get more big plays out of him, because he’s one of the most talented players we have on the whole defense,” Schottenheimer said. Bigby is a big hitter with relatively crude cover skills who played his best at the end of last season. He had a couple boneheaded plays last year that brought into question his maturity — at Denver he was penalized for delay of game for kicking a dead ball and for a personal foul for an obvious late hit, and at Dallas he was hit with two costly personal fouls for grabbing the face mask. But if he avoids those types of errors in camp and plays like he did in the playoffs, when he led the Packers with 15 tackles in two games, he’ll be hard to beat out. “I know people see (Bigby) as a guy that’s kind of loose and laid back,” Schottenheimer said, “but trust me, that young man is all about football and playing it well. He just likes to have a little fun doing it.”

[ProfessaPackMan]

Previewing the Defensive Line:

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By the start of the 2007 regular season, defensive tackle probably was the Green Bay Packers' deepest position. They were so deep there that this offseason, General Manager Ted Thompson decided not to gamble big money on the productive and versatile Corey Williams because of concerns he'd get complacent after a big payday. Instead, Thompson put the franchise tag on Williams, then traded him for a second-round draft pick. It looked like a great deal. Since, the Packers have sustained two setbacks that have left them vulnerable in the middle of the defensive line: First, Justin Harrell, last year's first-round draft pick, hurt his back early in the offseason and spent the spring and summer rehabilitating from surgery rather than improving his raw skills. Then, Johnny Jolly, whose emergence last season made Williams expendable, was arrested in July for possession of 200 grams of codeine, leaving him subject to possible jail time and suspension for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. Suddenly, things look shaky at the crucial position group where defensive play starts. Look at what the Packers were saying earlier this summer, well after Harrell's surgery but before Jolly's arrest. "I'm expecting big things out of Johnny," said Bob Sanders, the Packers' defensive coordinator. And of Harrell: "He needs an offseason, and we weren't able to get it. He's going to have some work to catch up." The Packers were banking on Jolly and Harrell to be major players this year, but now, there's some question what they'll get from each. The matter is of no small importance, not only for run stopping but because Sanders' defensive scheme is predicated on fielding a front four that doesn't need an abundance of blitz help to put pressure on the quarterback. An inside rush is critical to that effort. With Aaron Kampman (27½ sacks in 2006 and 2007 combined) and passing-down rusher Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (9½ sacks last season), the Packers have two players to provide solid pressure from the outside. But a push from the middle of the pocket is just as important, and the Packers are looking to improve on their middle-of-the-road sacks percentage last year, when they ranked 13th in the NFL. Williams (seven sacks) was their most productive inside rusher last season. "When we've been successful in this (scheme) is when we've been able to rush four and cover, and not blitz a lot," said Robert Nunn, the Packers' defensive tackles coach. "That's when we've got to have somebody step up and be that other rusher inside." Jolly was perhaps the best candidate to join Cullen Jenkins inside on passing downs, so if he's suspended for any part of the season, it would be costly. Second-year pro Daniel Muir (6-foot-2, 312 pounds), a surprise undrafted rookie who made the final roster last year, is another possible inside rusher, though he missed most of the offseason workouts because of a pectoral injury. Conrad Bolston (6-3, 315) and Alfred Malone (6-4, 312), late-season additions to the Packers' practice squad last year, and fourth-year pro Colin Cole are the other defensive tackles on the roster. Jolly is the key, because the Packers see him as an ascending player heading into his third season if he's recovered from the injury that ended his 2007 season in the 10th game, and if he avoids a lengthy suspension. The sixth-round draft pick from 2006 was blossoming into a havoc-raiser in the trenches and has the makings of a core player worthy of a long-term contract. "You don't have to jerk on that chain very hard to get bit," Nunn said of Jolly. "He's a very aggressive player and was off to a great start (last year)." The Packers are looking for Harrell not so much as a pass rusher, though his strength and size (6-4) make him a potentially solid bull rusher, but as a potentially dominant run stopper. Considering the Packers like to rotate defensive linemen to keep them fresh, there will be plenty of snaps for Harrell if he can sharpen his crude technical skills in training camp and early in the season. The question is, how much ground can he make up? "For him to get his timing and rhythm back, it's going to take a while," Nunn said, "and when he starts in (camp), he's going to be way behind again, even more so than Johnny. The back thing, that's a concern. How many reps you can get him during training camp to get that timing, get that conditioning back? That's the biggest concern." All the uncertainty means Jenkins could find himself playing defensive tackle more than he expected after his highly successful move to defensive end on early downs late in the 2006 season. Last year, Jenkins didn't miss a game but had a disappointing season in which he played with injuries that left him a shell of the player he was at the end of '06. He had only one sack last season, when he played defensive end on early downs but not as much tackle as expected on passing downs, though he did knock down nine passes. Whether he'll play more at end or tackle this year will be dictated by what happens with Jolly and any injuries, and plus any favorable matchups the Packers find for him. "As far as a team just lining up and running right at us, he's a very good run-stopping defensive end," Nunn said. "But he can match with anybody across the defensive front, kind of like we used Corey last year. We moved him around, and it helps to have someone that can do that." In Kampman, the Packers have one of the most complete defensive ends in the NFL who's been worth every penny of the four-year, $21 million contract he signed in 2006. Gbaja-Biamila also showed he's more valuable as a part-time pass rusher than as a full-time defensive end, even if it means his salary is inflated this season at $6.15 million. The Packers' one addition to their defensive line is rookie end Jeremy Thompson, who carries the distinction of being the first player Thompson has traded up in the draft to acquire. The Packers were surprised Jeremy Thompson was available early in the fourth round, so Ted Thompson spent an extra fifth-round pick to move up 11 spots to get him. Jeremy Thompson has the length (6-4, 270) NFL teams value in outside rushers, and though he's not eye-startlingly explosive, he has intriguing outside pass-rush potential because of his ability to get his shoulder low and turn the corner at top speed. He wasn't a huge sack man in a Wake Forest scheme that didn't turn loose his pass-rushing skills — he had only 6½ sacks as a senior — so he's something of a projection. "Needs time to develop," Nunn said, "but he's flashed some very good things. Very smooth athlete."

[ProfessaPackMan]

Previewing the Running Backs:

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No doubt a run game needs decent blocking, if not better, to succeed. But Ryan Grant showed last year that a running back can do more for an offensive line than a line can do for a back. For all the Green Bay Packers might preach about the team role in juicing up the run game the second half of last season — and yes, the offensive line blocked better as the season went on — there’s no hiding from the facts: The Packers didn’t have a run game defenses had to honor until by process of elimination Grant rose from the bottom of their depth chart to become their primary runner. He was simply a better pure back, and a better fit in the Packers’ zone-blocking system as well, because of his decisiveness and combination of speed and power than Brandon Jackson, DeShawn Wynn and Vernand Morency. “There’s the old saying, you can make the right decision or you can make the decision right,” said Joe Philbin, the Packers’ offensive coordinator. “(Grant) has the ability to make the thing right, and he did most times. Wasn’t perfect, but nobody is.” General Manager Ted Thompson’s decision to spend a seemingly desperation-priced sixth-round draft pick to get Grant from the New York Giants just before the start of the regular season turned out to be a gold strike. The move was crucial not only for last year’s 13-3 season and trip to the NFC championship game last season, but for giving the run game solid footing for the next couple of years as well. Grant, while not an elite back, looks like a legitimate No. 1 halfback. Though as of this writing he still had not reached an agreement on a long-term contract with the Packers, there still is every reason to think his unusual circumstance should get settled before or shortly after the start of training camp, because both sides need each other. Grant has the leverage to demand a multi-year deal with significant guaranteed money because he’s far and away the Packers’ best back and a player they need to aid Aaron Rodgers’ transition to starting quarterback. The Packers can’t afford to have him sit out because of a contract squabble. But he needs financial security now, because as an over-aged second-year pro – he’s 25 and is entering his fourth year out of college football – he might be on, or at least precariously near, the downside of his career when he reaches unrestricted free agency at age 28 in the spring of 2011. That long road to unrestricted free agency undercuts his leverage and gives him plenty of incentive to compromise. As far as his importance to the team, the numbers tell the story: Going into the Packers’ game at Denver on Oct. 29, when Grant became their halfback after a first-half injury to Wynn, they ranked last in the NFL in rushing. By the end of the regular season, they were 21st in rushing yards and 12th in yards per carry. More to the point, Grant’s 929 yards rushing in the last 10 regular-season games ranked second in the NFL over that span, behind only San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson’s 947 yards. At 6-1 and 225 pounds, Grant is a physical, slashing-type runner with surprising breakaway speed – he had two runs of more than 60 yards. “He made quick decisions with the ball in his hands,” Philbin said. “Much like a quarterback, a running back in this system has to do the same thing. He did that, and he ran it physically. Those are the two best attributes he brought to the run game. And I think our line got better. As many good things as he did, in the first five weeks with Brandon (at halfback) I don’t know if he would have had the same productivity running behind the same stuff Brandon was running behind. It was ugly. I remember the first Giant game (in Week 2), two or three times we had (defensive) guys four yards in the backfield. My goodness.” Jackson, in the meantime, probably will be the top backup, or at least he has the Packers excited about that prospect after having one of the best offseasons of anyone on the team in the coaching staff’s eyes. The second-round pick last season was a disappointment as a rookie, when he didn’t show well as the starter in the first three games (a 2.6-yard average on 38 carries), after which he missed four games because of a shin injury. He showed neither patience nor decisiveness running behind admittedly bad blocking, and therefore didn’t seem to have the burst the team saw on his college videotape at Nebraska. But coach Mike McCarthy has been talking up Jackson’s offseason gains more than any other player this summer, and the Packers expect to see a far more confident back than last season when the pads went on in training camp. Jackson also has the makings of an excellent receiver – he showed excellent hands in camp last year – and at the least is the leading candidate to be the Packers’ third-down back and occasional spot-duty replacement for Grant. “I like him as an every-down back, I’m serious,” said Edgar Bennett, the Packers’ running backs coach. “This kid has gotten better and better and better. Even some of the guys on defense have come up and said, ‘EB, this kid is different from last year in the beginning of the season.’ You mature, you grow, you develop. He was a junior coming out (of college), a young kid. It took time. But I believe he sees it, he gets it and the sky’s the limit for him.” Behind him, Wynn, undrafted rookie Kregg Lumpkin, Noah Herron and perhaps Morency are the candidates for the No. 3 halfback. Wynn in particular will be a case study for how much a player can grow and change from college. At the University of Florida, Wynn was an elite recruit who ended up a major disappointment because of a poor work ethic, hard-to-coach attitude, and unending problems with injuries. The halfback-thin Packers last year were intrigued by his combination of size (5-10, 232) and natural running talent – he had runs of 38 and 44 yards last season – but also grew weary enough of his constant ailments to put him on injured reserve after that Denver game because of a shoulder injury. The coaching staff is talking up Wynn’s burgeoning professionalism this offseason, citing that he didn’t miss any offseason workouts and was regularly seeking guidance from the strength and conditioning staff. But his history means he still has a lot to prove in training camp in terms of commitment and toughness, as well as special-teams play, to make the team. “He’s very strong, he’s one of the strongest guys on the team,” Bennett said. “I believe he’s mentally tough. But he has to be dependable, that’s what it’s all about in order to be a true pro. We’ve seen a number of guys come through here with all the talent in the world, but for some reason it didn’t pan out. This kid, he’s moving in the direction we need him to move in to be successful and productive and help us win football games.” The Packers didn’t draft a running back so they signed Lumpkin (5-11, 228) out of Georgia as a priority free agent. Lumpkin also was an elite college recruit, but his career was diminished by injuries, including a torn anterior-cruciate ligament in 2004 and then a broken thumb and knee injury that limited him to six games last year. He averaged 4.9 yards a rush for his career and showed enough running instincts in offseason practices that the Packers are quietly intrigued by him. “I like him, because he has size, quick feet, good vision, burst, soft hands,” Bennett said. “He’s physical. Obviously we need to put the pads on to truly evaluate certain areas, but I think he’ll break tackles. I’ll reserve comments until I see him in pads, but some of things I saw on his college tape, it’s going to be exciting to see that kid in training camp.” Herron, a fourth-year pro coming off a knee injury that sidelined him all last season, can’t be written off either because of his sound play and knowledge of the offense, though he lacks the pure running talent of the others. Morency, 28, faces an uphill battle because of chronic patellar-tendon problems. At fullback, starter Korey Hall and John Kuhn are back but face real competition from practice-squad returnee Corey White, who’s a fullback-halfback hybrid, and powerful Ryan Powdrell, whose ’07 season ended in training camp because of a knee injury but at 260 pounds is a true road grader.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Previewing the Receivers:

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Ted Thompson made sure Aaron Rodgers has a well stocked arsenal in his first season as successor to Brett Favre at quarterback. But then this past April, Thompson used his first draft pick, a second-rounder and No. 36 overall, on Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson. Add the 6-foot-4 Ruvell Martin, and the Packers have versatile receiving corps that should give Rodgers every chance to succeed, especially if Nelson adjusts quickly to the pro game and contributes as a rookie. “We have some guys that can get downfield, we’ve got some size, we’ve got some guys with some speed,” said Joe Philbin, the Packers’ offensive coordinator. “Greg (Jennings) is kind of silky and smooth and probably faster than you think. It’s a nice group.” Jennings was a revelation last year after his promising rookie season in 2006 took a downturn because of a sprained ankle sustained in the sixth game. He appears ready to take over the Packers’ No. 1 receiver this year ahead of Driver, the 33-year-old marvel who led the team with 82 receptions last season. Though he’s not tall (5-11) or a straight-line blazer, Jennings is a big-play threat with outstanding skills running after the catch – six of his touchdown receptions ranged from 41 yards to 82 yards. Jennings (53 receptions) finished last season second in the NFL in average yards per catch (17.4, behind only Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes’ 18.1) and tied for fourth in touchdown receptions (12). He and Driver form a dynamic pair of starters, and the Packers think with Jennings they could have one of the NFL’s emerging special players. “No question in my mind (he could be special),” said Jimmy Robinson, the Packers’ receivers coach. “To me we have two No. 1 receivers.” Just like last year, though, coach Mike McCarthy is likely to deploy three-, four- and even five-receiver sets regularly to exploit his depth and give defenses a big playbook to defend. That means the No. 3 receiver, almost surely Jones or Nelson, will see the field plenty, as could the No. 4. Jones has a major edge in that battle because he’s had a full season at a position where rookies often struggle to make much of an impact – NFL passing games are far more complex and nuanced than in college. Jones, a surprise third-round pick last year, proved early in his rookie season he was a capable player and finished with 47 receptions (14.4-yard average), though he hit a rookie wall and had only seven catches in the last five regular-season games. Still, he’s the strongest of the Packers’ receivers at 6-1 and 218 pounds – he did his bench-press test this offseason at the linebackers’ weight of 275 pounds instead of the 235 pounds the other receivers used, and his 13 repetitions put him at about the average strength for a linebacker, according to strength coach Rock Gullickson. Despite some drops late last season, Jones also is a natural hands catcher, which bodes well for his future. “I think he’s had a great offseason,” Robinson said. “Hasn’t missed a thing, works extremely hard in the weight room. The proof is going to be in the pudding though, he’s got to get out there and show you’re going to be more consistent, be more technique conscious, you’re going to catch the ball more consistently, and I think he will. I’d be very surprised if we don’t see a new and improved James – and I think he was pretty good last year.” However, the Packers think Nelson can make a strong run for the No. 3 job even as a rookie after catching 122 passes as a senior last year. He’s a big target (6-3) with good long speed and both the route-running skills and strength (217 pounds) to get open and keep defensive backs off the ball. He’s the rare rookie who in his first offseason learned all three main receiver positions (X, Y and Z), which suggests he’s a natural receiver and should increase his chances of getting on the field. The only other rookie receiver in recent years to learn all three positions before training camp was Jennings, who was one of the most polished rookie receivers the Packers have had in training camp since at least the early 1990s. “(Nelson) is a bright guy,” Philbin said. “He’s got some things he needs to work on obviously, but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t compete for that (No. 3) position.” Martin has earned the respect of the coaching staff the past two years with his hard work and regular improvement, and developed a strong chemistry with Rodgers with their regular work on the scout team. He figures to get his chances somewhere over the course of a long regular season. Also, the Packers like the developmental prospects of seventh-round draft pick Brett Swain, who caught the ball extremely well for most of the offseason practices until having a poor last day. The Packers also had a makeover at tight end behind Donald Lee, who surpassed Bubba Franks to become the starter last season. Lee caught 48 passes, which was third-best on the team, and won himself a four-year contract extension last season worth $11.88 million. But both Franks and the No. 3 tight end at the end of the season, Ryan Krause, were cut in the offseason. Thompson drafted Texas’ Jermichael Finley in the third round, but after only three years in college he’s an especially young prospect who might need some time to contribute regularly. An intriguing potential backup is Tory Humphrey, whose career to this point has been a washout because of injuries – a hamstring injury that limited him to seven games in 2006, and a broken lower leg last year that finished his season on the first day of training camp. Though he’s short (6-2) for the position, he ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash coming out of college, flashed good downfield receiving skills in training camp in ’06, and at 255 pounds has been a sound blocker when healthy

[ProfessaPackMan]

Where's roadman and pfunk? I know I'm the only one who excited that camp starts tomorrow.

[RAZRr1275]

GO PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ProfessaPackMan]

Time to go to work.