GREEN BAY -- I don't want to say it's back by popular demand -- that'd be an overstatement -- but since the Larry King style went over as well as it did, it's back. So, with the Packers opening preseason play Saturday night at San Diego and the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against Chicago a month away, here we go ...
I don't know what to make of Packers cornerback Charles Woodson. Part of it is the nature of the position, but the guy seems very up-and-down. One day after he was beaten for a 43-yard gain on a Brett Favre-to-Robert Ferguson bomb and looked horrible a couple plays later when he half-heartedly covered Donald Driver, Woodson made a great play to pick off Favre in 7-on-7 on Wednesday.
With all the talk about whether rookie Abdul Hodge will work his way into the starting lineup or if middle linebacker Nick Barnett will move to the outside, starting strong-side linebacker Ben Taylor gets lost in the shuffle. But the free-agent pickup had a nice play in practice to break up a pass to Bubba Franks, and after talking with him in the locker room following practice, he might be just what this defense needs -- a steady, solid, unselfish player. Even if he does get bumped to the bench, I bet he'll contribute nicely on special teams.
What in the name of Joey Jamison is wrong with Cory Rodgers? The rookie fourth-round pick has been Mr. Butterfingers fielding punts, drawing comparisons to Jamison, a 2000 fifth-round pick from Texas Southern who was fundamentally overmatched at the NFL level -- and cut after one preseason game. Not only couldn't he catch the ball, but the Packers passed on -- get this -- return man extraordinare Dante Hall, who went two picks later (153rd overall) to the Kansas City Chiefs that year. As then-general manager Ron Wolf puts it now, ``What a mess that was.''
I do like special teams coordinator Mike Stock's quote on how he's trying to help Rodgers, in addition to having him catch balls off the Jugs machine bef…
GREEN BAY -- After a three-day hiatus from my blogging about all things Packers, a hodgepodge of thoughts from Saturday night's scrimmage, Sunday's semi-day off and Monday's two practices, Larry King-style:
News: Ahman Green and his surgically repaired right quadriceps tendon go through individual drills, jog-throughs and 7-on-7s in Monday's practice. Views: A positive step, but I still have plenty of doubts. Let's see what he does in a game situation, which he hopes is Aug. 28 at Cincinnati. ...
News, part 2: Linebacker Brady Poppinga carries the same workload Monday, less than eight months after blowing out his left ACL. Views, part 2: The guy set rehab records with his work ethic, dedication and unparalleled intensity, so do not bet against him being ready on Sept. 10 for the opener against Chicago -- at least for special-teams duty. ...
I'm confused as to why so many fans are concerned about A.J. Hawk and wondering why he's such a disappointment because he hasn't had a huge impact in the first 11 days of practice. As I wrote in the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday, I think part of it is because Packers fans are conditioned for their high picks to be busts -- do the names Jamal Reynolds (2001), Terrell Buckley (1992) and Tony Mandarich (1989) ring a bell? This guy is not going to join them. ...
As for another rookie linebacker, Abdul Hodge, his college coach, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, insists he's a middle linebacker and can't play outside. And the Packers insist that they're going to play their three best LBs. Which makes you wonder, when will Nick Barnett move outside? ...
The team had better hope Charles Woodson sincerely wants to return punts, and stays healthy enough to do it all year. Rookie fourth-round pick Corey Rodgers looks as wobbly as those kids that catch meatballs thrown down from Bernie Brewer's chalet at Miller Park. Difference being, those kids usually catch a higher percentage. ...
Count me among the many who have been impressed b…Read more...
GREEN BAY -- The more time I spend around Charles Woodson, the more I wonder how he'll fit in around here.
Not only do I wonder about him on the field -- he's a Heisman Trophy winner and four-time Pro Bowler, but he's coming off a broken leg and I'm not sure how much he has left -- but whether Packers fans will like him. I suppose if he plays well, they'll love him regardless, but the guy doesn't strike me as what coach Mike McCarthy calls "Packer People."
He strikes me more as a mercenary who signed with the highest bidder. He's in Green Bay not because he wants to be, but because he's got $10 million worth of reasons to be.
For instance, on Thursday, I was asking around to do a run-of-the-mill advance of Saturday night's intrasquad scrimmage for the Wisconsin State Journal. For a lot of rookies and new guys, the fact that 60,000-plus people are going to show up for a glorified practice is a big deal.
Granted, Woodson isn't a rookie. He's in his ninth NFL season. But you'd have thought he might want to make a good first impression on his new fans.
So, Charles, you looking forward to the scrimmage?
"No," he replied. "Not at all."
Oh. Uh, why?
"I look at it as a business," he said. "I worked for one company, now I work for another company. And I'm just going to work every day. That's what they expect me to do. That's what I came here to do. I came here to help this team win ballgames. We're both coming from situations where we didn't win a lot of games."
To be fair, a lot of times players say what they think you want them to say. Woodson deserves points for being honest. Then again, given his reputation for publicly airing his grievances in Oakland -- remember his famous blow-up with coach Bill Callahan? -- I would have liked him to be more honest about another topic: Not playing on offense.
While McCarthy said part of the reason Woodson isn't getting to work at receiver was that Woodson's "plate was full" playing corner, nickelback and …Read more...
We so-called experts -- and trust me, when we apply that "expert" word to me, we're using it very loosely -- have spent a lot of time talking about a handful of question-mark positions on the Green Bay Packers' depth chart during the first seven days of practice.
But the position I wonder about the most is who'll start opposite Donald Driver at wide receiver.
Now, it's not like we've ignored the problem there. Tom Silverstein and Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pete Dougherty and Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and I have all addressed it in some form. But in the last several days, we've spent more time on other topics, like quarterback Brett Favre's outlandish most-talented-team remark; A.J. Hawk's marriage and $37.5 million contract; Ryan Pickett's car accident; and the uncertainty at left tackle behind Chad Clifton, who hasn't practiced since Sunday night because of a right knee problem.
To me, finding a suitable running-mate for Driver is the key to whether the Packers offense will be respectable or god-awful. I doubt they'll be fantastic -- even if halfback Ahman Green returns to form with the help of backups Najeh Davenport and Samkon Gado -- but if no one emerges at wideout, Favre will revert to his frustrated gunslinger ways, taking too many chances because he doesn't trust his skill position personnel.
That's why, if I were a Packers fan, I'd be excited about rookie receiver Greg Jennings. As I wrote in today's Wisconsin State Journal (www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports ) less than a week into training camp, Jennings, a second-round pick out of Western Michigan, has made the biggest impression of any player on the 90-man roster.
There was no missing Jennings on Tuesday night when he hauled in a 57-yard bomb from Favre during that night's practice, and there he was again on Wednesday afternoon, snaring a Favre pass on a crossing route and running away …
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