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!

Rodgers MVP, Cobb Play of the Year

During a somewhat uneventful weekend for Packer fans, there was one bright spot. The 2011 NFL season awards given out on Saturday evening. The Packers brought home some impressive hardware. The most coveted award in football (outside of the Lombardi Trophy) was given to the most impressive QB in the game. That's right, it's no big surprise that Aaron Rodgers is the MVP. Drew Brees made things interesting at the end of the season with his video-game-like statistics, but it did not sway voters. Rodgers finished with 48 out of the 50 votes for the award. Brees took home the Offensive Player of the Year award. So, in an otherwise disappointing season, it's at least a little bit comforting to see the leader of the Pack named the NFL's best player.



A-Rod was not the only Packer to be honored in Indianapolis this weekend however. The 2011 Play of the Year went to Rookie WR/Return Specialist Randall Cobb for his 108 yard kickoff return during the 1st game of the season. It's remarkable to me that there were not any better plays this year. I personally thought that Jerome Simpson's front flip into the end zone would have won it, but it was cool to see Cobb get recognition for his own acrobatic performance.



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!

8-0 Becomes 9-0 as Pack Stomp Vikings

Sorry for the late post, but with it being a MNF game and things just being a little hectic this week, I am a little behind schedule.



This game was never in question. 45-7 is convincing no matter who you are. Here's my analysis:

THINGS I LIKED

Aaron Rodgers - I think Rodgers has been on this list every week so far and for good reason...Nobody in the league is playing as well as #12. 4 more TDs puts his total at 28 through 9 games. 28 is a really good number for 16 games!

Randall Cobb - It has to be the most improved part of the Packers' team this year, I'm talking about the return game. Cobb took a 1st quarter punt 80 yards for a TD and nearly took another later in the game. This guy has the potential to change a game and that's huge! He also had 3 catches. Good to see him getting more involved in the offense.

Defensive Intensity - The whole defense looked good. They held Peterson to 51 yards and blitzed on over 70% of their plays! Dom Capers must have listened to Charles Woodson.

Clay Matthews - Clay was dominant for the first time all season. He posted 2 sacks, bringing his total to 5 for the year. He also looked great in coverage and on run support. I hope to see this continue going forward.

Charles Woodson - Woodson looked like himself on Monday for the first time all season. He was all over the field and looked like the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. My only knock on Woodson is that he dropped a sure pick 6...I'll forgive him though.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE

Muffed Punt - Cobb is a huge Boom or Bust. He either returns a punt for a TD or muffs it and gives the other team a 1st down inside the red zone. In this case, it did not affect the game. But when it comes to playoff time, this could kill us.

Offensive Line - Rodgers was sacked 3 times. It didn't seem to me on any of them that he was holding the ball too long. The line needs to improve to keep Rodgers on his feet. Especially with some good defensive lines on the upcoming schedule (Lions, Giants, Bears...oh my!).

Jared Allen - I just don't like him.

A sweep of the Viqueens is always sweet! 9-0 is sweet too. Next up, the reeling Buccaneers at Lambeau on Sunday. GO PACK!

Packers Outlast Vikings - Move to 7-0...

I have to admit, it was bittersweet for me to watch the Packers pull out a close one against the Vikings yesterday. One one hand, I always want to see the Packers blow the queens out of the water by 50 points. But on the other, Christian Ponder is from my Alma Mater (FSU) and I enjoyed seeing him play well. With that being said, I hope that Ponder's success was temporary and that the Vikings only win against the Bears and Lions for the remainder of the season.

It was disappointing to see the slow start from the Packers, awesome to see the great 3rd quarter 20-point explosion, and then nerve-racking to see them allow the queens back into the game in the 4th. I will elaborate below...

THINGS I LIKED

Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers is playing out of his mind through 7 games this season! He is the only QB in NFL history to post 7 straight 110+ point QB Ratings to start the season (Is it too early to start talking about MVP candidates?). He only had 1 off-target throw vs the Queens...AMAZING!

James Starks - After only posting 20 yards in the first 3 quarters, Starks turned on another gear on the final drive of the game by gaining 3 first downs and guaranteeing the Packers' victory...give the o-line some credit here too.

Randall Cobb - I love that the Packers are starting to use Cobb more. His 42 yard punt return showed his dynamic ability to change the game. I also noticed that he lined up as a RB and took a handoff from Rodgers in the 3rd quarter. I'm expecting him to continue to get more looks in the offense.

Charles Woodson - Woodson added 2 INTs to his amazing career total. This guy can still play and is definitely the best player in the secondary with the injuries to the other guys back there.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE

Roughing the Passer - I didn't see very many bad calls, but the "roughing the passer" penalty on Clay Matthews was one of the worst calls I've ever seen. I think the league needs to have disciplinary actions for officals who blow calls like that. Luckily it did not affect the outcome of the game.

Run Defense - Up until last week, I thought the Packers weakness was the pass defense because they hadn't given up too many yards on the ground. Adrian Peterson posted 175 yards! I know he's probably the best RB in the league, but with a Rookie QB making his first start, you would have thought that we would have keyed on Peterson a little bit more. Poor tackling didn't help this.

Drops - I counted 3 drops...it's becoming an epidemic. Hopefully this will get fixed over the bye, because it could come back to bite us if it happens in critical game situations going forward.

Randall Cobb on Punts - I love his ability to return punts and that he has no fear. But it finally caught up to him. I'll excuse this one as a one-time rookie mistake. But muffed punts are not acceptable.

There you have it, my thoughts. I am happy about the win, and happy that we have a bye this week to get healthy. Bring on the Chargers (in 2 weeks)! GO PACK!

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!

1-0! A Solid Start to a Title Defense...

Packers 42 - Saints 34. The opening game of the 2011 NFL season was nothing short of a thriller. In fact, it came down to the last play of the game where the Packers' worn out defense made a crucial stop on the goal line to bring home the victory and start the season off 1-0. There were a lot of positives in the game, and a few negatives. Here's my take:

THINGS I LIKED-
Randall Cobb - Easily the biggest surprise of the game, the rookie WR out of Kentucky dazzled us all with his 2 touchdown performance. He took in a 35 yard catch and run on a slant (which he admitted after the game was a mistake in that he ran the wrong route) and brought back the first kick return TD for the Packers in over 10 years from 108 yards deep (which he admitted after the game, by team rules, he should have knelt). In spite of these 2 "mistakes", Cobb proved to be another valuable weapon in the arsenal that is the Packers' potent offense.

Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, throwing 3 touchdowns in the first quarter. Granted, he slowed down after that and missed a few throws. But all in all, Rodgers looked sharp and is poised for a great season.

JerMichael Finley - Finley was not as involved as I anticipated he would be, and McCarthy could be easing him back in due to his minor injuries. But when he was on the field, he was impossible for the saints to cover. There is no team in the league that can cover the Packers' receiving corps.

Offensive Line - I will admit that I was concerned about the line going into the season because of the issues I noticed in the pre-season. Even though they gave up a few sacks, I thought that overall they did a pretty good job of protecting Rodgers and opening up running lanes. I believe that they will continue to improve going forward.

Running Backs - It was hard to determine who was the better RB last night. Grant started off the game well, and just when it seemed like he was the sure fire starter, James Starks took over and looked even better. I think that this will cause problems for opposing defenses knowing that they can't just try to cover the pass anymore and will have to deal with the Packers' in 2 different dimensions.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE-

Missed Tackles - I don't have the exact number, but I'm guessing it was somewhere in the teens. There were several occasions where the defense looked like they were going to make a stop, they were in position, and then bounced off of the ball carrier. This is actually the reason why Tramon Williams is now injured. If AJ Hawk makes the tackle, Tramon is still healthy...This will need to be improved upon if the Packers are going to be successful this year.

Tramon Williams' Injury - The worst part about this is that it could have been completely avoided. We do not know how serious it is yet, but it could potentially have a big impact on the season. Jarrett Bush is a decent CB, but is a significant drop off from Williams. We will keep our fingers crossed that Tramon will be back on the field soon.

3rd Downs - It seemed the defense could not get off the field on 3rd downs. They either missed a tackle or let a receiver get wide open. Granted the saints offense is good and Brees is an elite QB, but elite defenses need to be able to make stops more often than the Packers did last night.

There you have it. My thoughts. It was a great win for the Packers and all-in-all I think the things I didn't like are fixable and will be addressed and improved upon in the coming weeks. For now I am going to enjoy being 1-0 and watching football the rest of the weekend! GO PACK!