Packers Ink Jeff Saturday

This has been a really exciting offseason so far. If only the games were a little closer...

Peyton Manning is released by the Colts...He signs with the Denver Broncos...

Colts clean house...release Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, other household names...

Tim Tebow is traded to the Jets...wait...is he? Yes, he is...

And the biggest news of the week for the the Green and Gold...Jeff Saturday signs with the Pack!

This is huge news for the Green Bay faithful. With the departure of Scott Wells, there was a gaping hole in the middle of the offensive line. In my humble opinion, I think that the o-line is the most important part of our team. Rodgers can't throw if he doesn't have time, receivers can't catch if Rodgers can't throw, and we can't win if we can't throw and catch...

The signing of Saturday gives the Packers a stopgap to groom a young center. I will assume that Ted Thompson will make it a priority in this year's draft to get a center. Saturday allows for the ability to not have to trade up in the 1st round to try to get Konz out of UW. I don't have details on the contract yet, but it's exciting news and I feel much better now. GO PACK!

Packers Dominate Broncos - Remain Undefeated

The defending Super Bowl champions looked like a well-oiled machine against the now 1-3 Denver Broncos, pummeling them with a score of 49-23. Here are my game notes:

Things I Liked

Aaron Rodgers - Anytime a QB throws for 400+ yards, 4 TDs, and runs for another 2...it impresses me. Rodgers has moved into elite status this year to join the likes of Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and I don't think I would even take one of those guys over him.

Mike McCarthy - We have been critical of McCarthy here at the Malnarn regarding his play calling. He tends to get conservative to try to protect a lead rather than building on it. Mike kept his foot on the gas against the Broncs and drove them into the frozen tundra!

Motivation - This team looks motivated to repeat. I don't see any complacency or apathy in the game. They want to win and are motivated to do what it takes to do it.

Things I Didn't Like

Pass Defense - Again, the pass defense gave up too many big plays. The Broncos aren't a good deep passing team and yet, the secondary still allowed them to gash them with big gains on several occasions.

Dom Capers - It seems to me that he has become the conservative playcaller. I don't know if it's that he's lazy or that opposing offenses are figuring out his schemes, but I'm not seeing the multiple-look dynamics that he used over the past 2 seasons.

That's really it. Not much can be said about a 49-23 blowout except that the Packers were obviously the better team and I don't think it will be long before Brady Quinn or Tim Tebow replaces Kyle Orton as the starter in Denver. Bring on the Falcons on Sunday night! GO PACK!

Jordy Nelson - #2 WR??

The Packers gave Jordy Nelson a contract extension this week, making him a higher paid WR than James Jones. Nelson has certainly made more of an impact on the field this season and is seeing much more playing time than Jones. All signs are pointing to Jordy replacing Donald Driver as the #2 WR on the roster, especially after Driver tweaked his knee Sunday against the Broncos.

Packers Outplay Bears, Move to 3-0

It's always nerve racking for me leading up to the Packers-Bears matchup. Especially the one at Soldier Field. There aren't many things that can slow down the Packers' potent offense, but the bears defense and the crappy field in Chicago seem to do a decent job every year.

But it seemed like McCarthy and the Packers had a great gameplan ready this time to kill the bears...Here are my thoughts:

WHAT I LIKED:

JerMichael Finley - This is the most obvious of anything that we saw in the game. Finley finally showed the dominance we have been expecting of him all season. I expect this to be a trend that will continue and the Packers' offense will only get better the more that Finley is involved in it.

Ryan Grant - Grant put up 89 yards on 15 carries. We had thought up until yesterday that Starks was starting to move into the featured back role for the Packers, but seeing Grant play well is a good sign for us.

Matt Forte - We have agreed all week that the Packers' focus needed to be to stop RB Matt Forte and that if the defense could do that, it would be a W for the green and gold. Forte had 2 yards on 9 carries and only a couple of catches for minimal yardage...impressive.

Morgan Burnett - With the loss of Nick Collins, someone in the secondary needed to step up. Burnett looked great yesterday with 2 INTs. Let's hope this continues.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

Charlie Peprah - I understand that Peprah is a significant downgrade from 3-time Pro Bowl Safety Nick Collins, but Charlie was out of position, missed tackles, and was the reason for several big plays for the Bears. I expect him to improve, but we are lucky that it didn't result in a closer game or a loss.

Penalties - Thankfully none of these killed us like they did in the Packers-Bears game last October, but there were too many false starts and delay of games. Simple mental errors that can easily be avoided.

Bryan Bulaga - Bulaga's injury raises concerns with our already shake offensive line. Marshall Newhouse is the backup, and while he didn't make any glaring errors that I saw, I have a feeling that if Bulaga's injury is lingering we may be in for some trouble.

Pass Rush - The Pack's D amassed 3 sacks and a few more hits on Cutler, but I was not impressed. With the Bears depleted offensive line, I was expecting Jay to be on his back all afternoon. This needs to improve for the Packers to get to Super Bowl XLVI.

Special Teams - The crazy play the end of the game concerned me, we got lucky with the holding call. But I just don't understand why we would kick the ball to Hester at all. Crosby needs to kick touchbacks every time and Masthay should just kick the ball out of bounds.

All in all, I am very happy with the win and it's great to be on top of the division (in a tie with the LIONS?! Crazy!). I feel a lot better after the win yesterday than I did before. Bring on the Broncos! GO PACK!