Driver Hints at Future...

Donald Driver has been a long time favorite in Green Bay. He went from an unknown 7th round draft pick out of Alcorn State to the Packers' all-time leading receiver in yards and receptions. But as much as he has meant to Packer fans on the field, I feel that he has meant even more off of it. He's the kind of guy you want to root for, the kind of guy you want your kids to look up to, and the kind of guy you wish you were friends with (check out his website here: www.donalddriver80.com).

There has been speculation that 2011 was Driver's last season in Green Bay due to his worst statistical season since his rookie year and the emergence of younger receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Donald himself even seemed to be thinking that way the week after the Packers' disappointing loss in January. But comments he made recently lead me to believe that my thoughts about him are true. Driver is a Packer to the core...

“The organization knows what I’ve done on and off the field, and they want to keep me around as long as possible,” said Driver, WISN-TV reported. “If that means sitting down and taking pay cuts to stay around, then you take pay cuts to stay around. I’ve always said it’s not about the money for me anymore.

“What I’m pushing for is for my legacy to stay around in the state of Wisconsin and around the world forever. So the money’s not a big issue.”

Easily one of the classiest guys in the league, I personally hope that he is able to continue to wear #80 at Lambeau Field, win another Super Bowl, and be inducted into the Hall of Fame having worn the Green and Gold throughout his entire career.

GO PACK!

Flynn has Career Day, Packers tame Lions...15-1!

On a day where the outcome did not matter for the Packers, and Rodgers, Matthews, and Woodson could not be found on the back of any green jerseys on the field, Matt Flynn shone bright! I'll admit that circumstances beyond my control prevented me from being able to actually watch any of the game...but I wish that I had been able to. Here's the best i can do on my analysis:

Things I Liked

Matt Flynn - It's highly likely that the former 7th round draft pick earned himself a starting job in another town outside of Wisconsin on Sunday. Throwing for 480 yards and 6 TDs (both Packer franchise records) makes all Packer fans wish he still had some time left on his contract. My best guess is that he'll end up in Miami.

Jordy Nelson - Jordy has been extremely good this year. He tacked 3 TDs onto his already impressive total. Let's hope his momentum continues through the playoffs.

Chad Clifton - Clifton returned from his 10 week absence and played well. So well in fact that McCarthy did not waste any time naming him the starter at Left Tackle in 2 weeks. He played a total of 25 snaps.

Things I Didn't Like

Defense - The defense gave up 520 passing yards...520! I don't care how many turnovers you force, that's too many. I know that Woodson and Matthews weren't playing, but it's still not acceptable. If we end up playing the Saints in the playoffs, i have a bad feeling that the outcome will be different.

There you have it, the best I can do with the information available. The Pack play again in 2 weeks (1/15) at 4:30 EST. They will face the lowest seed remaining after this week's wild card games. More to come after next weekend...GO PACK!

Merry Christmas! Packers Sweep Bears, Clinch Home Field...

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. I know I did. It's always nice to see the Packers beat da Bears, especially when it's in convincing fashion. And it's even better when that victory comes with home field advantage in the playoffs. Now the road to Super Bowl XLVI goes through Green Bay. Here's my analysis of the Packers' 35-21 victory on Sunday night:

Things I Liked

Aaron Rodgers - He looked sharp again. Throwing for 280+ yards and 5 TDs. It was good to see that last week was a fluke.

Jordy Nelson - Jordy has been consistent this year and it was good to see him step up and grab a couple more TDs. We will need him to be productive to be successful in the playoffs.

James Jones - Jones looked great on Sunday. Grabbing 2 touchdowns and making catches in big spots. I believe this is what my blogging counterpart was thinking Jones would look like at the beginning of the season.

Offensive Line - The offensive line kept Rodgers clean all night. They only gave up 1 sack and it was in garbage time when Matt Flynn was in the game in the 4th quarter. Kudos to them for a great showing against a tough defense.

Special Teams - The coverage unit along with Tim Masthay and Mason Crosby bottled up Devin Hester. It was as if he was wearing Under Armor shoes...

Things I Did Not Like

Defense - The defense gave up over 400 yards again. Against a team with a bad offense who started their 3rd string RB and QB. The tackling was atrocious, there was no pass rush, and aside from 2 INTs the coverage was pretty bad too. I am really hoping that Capers has something up his sleeve to give us a shot in the playoffs.

JerMichael Finley - With the emergence of Tight End prominence in the NFL, there were high expectations for Finley coming into the 2011 season. He has not lived up to them. Coming into the game against the Bears, Finley had 11 dropped passes. I'm sure he recorded at least another 2 on Sunday. I don't doubt that Finley is an elite prospect and has the potential to be the best TE in the game, but he needs to work on his concentration. If he makes the catches that he needs to in big spots, the Packers may have still been undefeated and Finley may have a spot on the Pro Bowl roster. But as it stands now, his contract status is in question, and he is one of the leading players in the league in drops. We need him to step up in the absence of Jennings.

Overall it was a good game. The offense was in sync for the first time in a few weeks. Next week - a meaningless game against the Lions. Will the Packers play to win or rest their starters? That is the question. Go PACK!

Packers Embarrassed by Lowly Chiefs...Fall to 13-1

The first loss of the Packers' season came when nobody was expecting it. We had heard predictions of the Lions being the first and then the Giants and later the Raiders. But none of these were up to the task. No, it was the 5-8 Kansas City Chiefs that welcomed the challenge of facing an undefeated Packers' team. Less than a week after firing their head coach, and starting a recently acquired QB off of waivers the Chiefs looked more prepared, more motivated, and like the better team on Sunday afternoon. The Packers looked flat, unfocused, confused, and sloppy. It was embarrassing. Here's my analysis:

Things I Liked

Tim Masthay - Masthay was the one bright spot in the Packers' debachal of a game in Kansas City. He boomed every punt (he had several opportunities) and one even went for a career best 71 yards!

Things I Didn't Like

Aaron Rodgers - For the first time all season Rodgers completed less than 50% of his passes. He finished with an 80 QB rating. With the exception of the 2 TD drives, he looked nervous in the pocket, out of sync, off target, and had trouble finding open receivers.

Offensive Line - The o-line was beaten up badly. Even before the injuries started, they couldn't protect Rodgers. They opened some nice holes for Ryan Grant to run, but the Packers didn't run the ball that often. Then the injuries started. First Bulaga left witha knee sprain, then his replacement (Derek Sherrod) left for the season with a broken leg. This could be a HUGE problem for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Maybe Mark Tauscher is still available...?

Defense - The defense was not very good. Granted they came up with a handful of goal line stands, otherwise this game would have been even more lopsided, but they made the Chiefs look like a top tier offense. They couldn't tackle, they couldn't cover, and I dont remember them even getting close to Kyle Orton. In reality, the Chiefs have one of the worst offenses in the league and hadn't broken 10 points in over 3 weeks. Pathetic.

Receivers - It seemed like every time Rodgers threw a good pass, the receiver would drop it. And most of them came on 3rd downs. Finley dropped at least 3, Driver dropped 1 and so did Jones, Crabtree, and Nelson. The only player I saw catch all of the passes thrown to him was rookie Randall Cobb. This unit obviously missed Greg Jennings.

I could probably keep going with this, but it's starting to depress me. We're still 13-1 and one more win will give the Packers the 1st seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The season is not over, and if the patchwork offensive line can protect Rodgers at all then I think we will be fine for the playoffs. Jennings should return and this team has good veteran leadership and the ability to motivate itself and rebound from adversity. Up next, the Packers are at home with a chance to sweep the Bears and clinch home-field advantage. GO PACK!

Packers Stomp Raiders, Easily Move to 13-0...

The Packers quietly moved to 13-0 in the wake of the Bears collapse against the Broncos. The boys in green and gold are 1 win away from clinching home-field advantage. They have already clinched the NFC North Division Title and a 1st round bye. All it will take now is one more victory against either the Chiefs, Bears, or Lions to seal the deal. 46-16 is pretty impressive, here's my analysis:

Things I Liked

DEFENSE - I was shocked to see how well the defense played. True to their form, they picked off Palmer 4 times and forced and recovered a fumble to total 5 turnovers for the game. They also put significant pressure on Palmer, even though they were only able to record 1 sack it was enough to have an effect on the game.

RYAN GRANT - Grant looked like his old self for the first time all season recording 85 yards on 10 carries and 2 TDs. Hopefully he can be consistent and the Packers' running attack will be at full force going into the playoffs.

JORDY NELSON - Jordy has scored a touchdown in every home game so far this season. With Greg Jennings' knee in question, he will be expected to step up even more.

MASON CROSBY - Mason carried his weight yesterday by converting all of his Field Goals. It made me wish i had him on my fantasy team.

Things I Didn't Like

INJURIES - Greg Jennings and Brandon Saine were both injured in the 3rd quarter. Jennings' injury was to his left knee and could be serious. His status is still in question. Saine's looked to be concussion-like and I am not too concerned. I also noticed Ryan Pickett walking to the locker room but don't have any information on that. I noticed that McCarthy quickly pulled Rodgers after that and Matt Flynn finished the rest of the game.

The only other thing I thought i might want to write about here was the offensive line as they gave up 3 more sacks. But I noticed that Derek Sherrod (2011 1st round pick)was getting reps at Left Tackle. So this could end up being a good thing and I will hope for the best on the Packers o-line front. There you have it, my analysis. Next week the Pack travel to Kansas City to take on the now head-coachless Chiefs. GO PACK!

Last Minute Drive Inches Pack Past Giants - 12-0!

In a game that was the most nerve racking since week 1 when the Packers squeaked one out against the Saints, the Packers managed to pull through and crown themselves NFC North Division Champions. It was a sloppy game on both sides of the ball (but more on defense than offense), but the great teams always find a way to win...and the Packers have the look of a great team! Here's my analysis:

Things I Liked

Jordy Nelson - It's becoming common practice for me to include Jordy on this list. He made spectacular catches when other receivers couldn't hold onto the ball, and is becoming not only one of Aaron Rodgers' favorite targets but an elite receiver in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers - Anyone who had doubts about Rodgers' ability to lead a last minute, game-winning drive was silenced yesterday. Aaron made it look easy, completing 4 of 4 passing to make it an easy game-winning chip-shot field goal for Mason Crosby.

Donald Driver - The old man can still play the game. He was one of the few sure-handed targets that Rodgers had in New Jersey. And he was rewarded with 2 touchdown catches. The second of which was spectacular!

Clay Matthews - In an otherwise under-whelming defensive performance, the Claymaker was the one bright spot. He returned a beautifully anticipated interception for a touchdown, and had a sack/fumble that the Packers recovered at the end of the 1st half to stifle a NYG drive.

Things I Did Not Like

Defense - Wow are they bad!!! I can't believe the Packers have won any games, much less 12 with such a pitiful defense! They can't stop the pass, they can't stop the run, and they can't tackle! It's pretty amazing to watch.

Offensive Line - Granted the Giants have one of the best defensive lines in football and the packers are playing 2 players with less than 10 games of experience on the line, but the showing was not very good. There were no holes for the running backs to run through, and Rodgers was under duress the whole game.

Mason Crosby - I know that Crosby kicked the game winner and that he hasn't had to kick many meaningful field goals this year, but the missed 47-yarder at the end of the 1st half was very makeable and Crosby needs to make that for a few reasons. #1 - it gives the packers more of a cushion going into the 2nd half. #2 - it gives the packers the momentum of being the last to score. and #3 - he's getting paid to make those field goals.

Dropped Passes - Jermichael Finley was awesome and terrible. He had some big catches and good plays and some key drops that killed us. Greg Jennings dropped a couple of key passes as well (I was surprised they ruled the 4th quarter touchdown a catch), and i believe the final total was 6 drops for the whole crew. Unacceptable.

There you have it, my thoughts. Overall, the offense was sufficient. Rodgers posted his first game of the season with a QB rating under 110 (106.2), but I put the blame on the receivers and the o-line for that. I liked Clay's intensity on defense, but the rest of the unit was lacking. I'd especially like to see BJ Raji turn it up a notch. Next up, the Oakland Raiders at Lambeau. GO PACK!

Packers Do Enough to Squeak Past Bucs...10-0 and counting...

Thankfully, ugly wins count. It's the mark of a good team. When everything seems to go wrong and you still come away with a victory. The Packers did not look like an undefeated team yesterday against a sub-par Buccaneers squad, but a win is a win and the Pack are 1 step closer to making the playoffs. Here's my analysis:

Things I Liked

Jordy Nelson - He is becoming an excellent receiver, and just makes it that much harder for teams to defend the undefendable Packers' offense. I wish I had drafted him on my fantasy team.

BJ Raji - Raji didn't do anything special on Defense that I noticed. But it was fun to see him plow through the line on a 1 yard TD plunge for his 2nd career touchdown.

Tim Masthay - Masthay fumbled twice on the same play without being touched...normally this would be a bad thing. But anytime your punter scrambles for a 1st down rather than getting a punt blocked, it's a good thing. I laughed out loud, shook my head, and was happy when it happened. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

Donald Driver - Driver has quietly been having a solid season and is still an integral part of our offense. Didn't do anything spectacular, but had a few key catches that went relatively unnoticed. I think he deserves the credit for them.

Tramon Wiliams - Tramon came up with 2 Interceptions against the Bucs, making his season total 4. His 2nd also sealed the game for the Pack. As bad as this defense is, they seem to come up with a big play everytime it's needed.

Things I Did Not Like

Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers looked flustered and off target for a lot of the game. Granted he still threw for 299 yards and 3 TDs, but he also threw a costly INT. And when our defense plays that badly we can't afford for him to look bad at all.

Defense, defense, DEFENSE!!! - The defense was just flat out BAD. There is no excuse for there to be a wide open receiver on every play or for LeGarrett Blount to break 6 tackles and run for a 50+ yard TD. I keep expecting improvement, but it's just not happening.

Hopefully the defense comes to play on Thursday against the Lions. Happy Thanksgiving and GO PACK!

Packers Out-Shoot Chargers: Move to 8-0...

Wow, what an intense game! One much closer than it should have been. The offense was unstoppable and the defense couldn't make a stop. In the end all that matters is that the Pack came up with another win and are making it harder and harder for other teams to avoid a trip to Lambeau in the playoffs. Here are my thoughts on the game:

Things I Liked

Aaron Rodgers - He is playing out of his mind! Ask anyone who has ever wateched football for any significant amount of time and they will tell you that Aaron Rodgers isn't just a good QB...he's the best one in the NFL right now.

Interceptions - It was the one redeeming factor for the defense. 3 INTs and 2 of them returned for TDs.

Charlie Peprah - Yes, Peprah has been out of position a lot and missed some tackles this season, and he was out of position a couple of times when Vincent Jackson burned the Pack. But I am beginning to see some improvement in his tackling and coverage skills.

Jordy Nelson - Nelson has emerged as the clear cut #2 wideout, which poses major problems for opposing defenses.



Things I Did Not Like

Pass Defense - Wow, I can't really say anything else. They were just awful with the exception of the 3 interceptions, Phillip Rivers just ravaged them.

Tackling - This had been getting better in recent weeks, and I don't know if it was due to the rain or what, but it didn't seem like the defense could tackle Mike Tolbert at all. I'm surprised the Chargers didn't run him more often.

Sacks - Rodgers avoided some sacks with his feet, but it seemed like he was getting pressured a lot of the game. Again, I'm not sure if he's holding the ball too long or if the o-line is just not protecting him long enough but when we play a good team this is going to be a problem.

Charles Woodson - I don't know if it's his toe injury or if age is finally catching up with Woodson, but he is not the player he once was. He has definitely lost a step. He is a key to the defense and if he cannot play at a high level, the Packers will suffer. I expect CB to be a high priority in the 2012 draft.

That's pretty much it. I was very comfortable in this game until the 4th quarter when the pass defense all but disappeared. Next week the Vikings come to Lambeau...this is a Monday night game. GO PACK!

And Then There was One...Packers are 6-0

After a slow start, the Packers showed that they were the superior team in the 2nd quarter with 3 Aaron Rodgers Touchdown passes. The second half was quiet, leaving the final score at 24-3. Granted, the Rams have not won a game yet this season, so this is not really considered a big win. But every game is important, and this is a conference win that could end up being important in the seeding at the end of the season. Here is my game analysis:

Things I Liked

No Huddle Offense - The Packers' offense just seems to get better and become more complex every week. The no-huddle gives opposing defenses yet another thing to worry about when preparing for the most potent offense in the NFL.

Linebackers - Clay and the rest of the Packers' linebacking corps looked very good on Sunday against the Rams. Bradford was under duress for a majority of the game and Clay Matthews looked the best that I had seen him all season.

Scoring Defense - The D kept the Rams out of the end zone and gave up 2 field goal attempts (only 1 was successful). Bend but don't break has been how the defense has been described this season. I think that is accurate.

Things I Did Not Like

Dropped Passes - I noticed drops by at least 3 receivers on Sunday. Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, and Greg Jennings all dropped passes that hit them in the hands. Jordy's was on a 3rd down, and Jennings' drop resulted in an INT. We can afford to make these mistakes against the Rams, but when we face a legitimate team these situations could be the difference between a win and a loss.

Defense - The defense gave up over 400 yards again yesterday. This is not acceptable. Even though the Rams only put up 3 points, I would like to see the Defense show a little bit more pride in themselves and learn to wrap up and not miss tackles.

AJ Hawk - It was unacceptable to see Hawk's obscene gesture on the field after a first quarter sack on Sam Bradford. He needs to realize that he is on TV and he can't act however he wants. Apparently he will not be fined, although I think he should be.

Not much else to say here, the Packers were the better team from start to finish. Next week the Pack will be in Minneapolis to take on the Vikings. Will we see Christian Ponder make his first NFL start? More to come...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.

Too Many Weapons? Receiver Playing Time

James Jones may be questioning his decision to re-sign with the Packers for the 2011 season as he is 6th in the playing time rankings through 3 games (See Chart Below).

2011 Playing Time: Packers
Player Plays Pct.
Greg Jennings 166 of 204 81.4
Jermichael Finley 159 of 204 78.0
Donald Driver 112 of 204 54.9
Jordy Nelson 106 of 204 52.0
James Jones 38 of 204 18.6
Randall Cobb 36 of 204 17.6
Source: ESPN Stats & Information

I don't know why Jones has been riding the pine for the majority of the season as the Packers definitely made it a priority to re-sign him over other free agents (Cullen Jenkins). It could be his costly drops and mistakes in crucial game situations. Or maybe the other receivers have just looked better in practice. Regardless, I have been surprised to not see Jones on the field more.

As we've seen before, the Packers are only 1 injury away from a backup becoming a capable starter and Jones fits in to that category. There is also the question of how much longer Donald Driver will be able to keep up his amazing pace at the age of 36, in which case Jones would be the logical replacement unless it's Jordy Nelson. But the return of JerMichael Finley, the emergence of Nelson since the Super Bowl, and the presence of dynamic rookie Randall Cobb has put Jones on the bench 81% of the time through the first 3 games.

The Packers are the only team (to my knowledge) where the 6th receiver (including TE) could be a starter on almost any other NFL team. Jones' playing time will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. GO PACK!