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Versatility could be Casey Hayward's greatest strength.

Remember when the NFL was about taking your best 11 guys and putting them against the other team’s best 11 guys? Those days are over.

Well, kind of. You still want your best 11 against their best 11, but those 11 change throughout the game much more often than they used to.

Today’s NFL is all about matchups and sub packages. Of course, certain players are so good that they will never leave the field, but just because a guy doesn’t play all three downs doesn’t mean he’s an inferior player. It means his skills might be a better fit in specialized situations, perhaps as a pass rusher on obvious passing downs, a slot corner on third down or a run stuffer in short-yardage.

Sub packages also depend on a coordinator’s scheme and gameplan. On defense, most coordinators these days want to try and create as much confusion for the offense as possible. Causing chaos is always good, too. The coordinator is likely asking himself how he can maximize the skills of each of his players to achieve the general goal of creating confusion and causing chaos.  Read more... (735 words + 1 image, estimated 2:56 mins reading time)

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Sam Shields sends the Packers to the Super Bowl.

Think back to the beginning of the 2010 season for a minute. The Packers defense was coming off an embarrassing playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals and the secondary faced many of the same questions that the pass rush faces today.

But instead of answering those questions in the draft, Ted Thompson’s solution was to plug in an undrafted rookie free agent that few people had heard of and actually had more experience as a wide receiver than a defensive back. Sam Shields came into camp with the reputation as a speedster, and that’s about it. Besides his ability to run really fast, nobody knew much else about him.

“This is how you’re going to fix the secondary, Ted?” Packers fans asked.

“Yup,” Thompson replied before taking another sip from his bottled water and turning away.

“Improving from within” was a talking point that Thompson and Mike McCarthy hammered home through training camp and the preseason. By 2010, most reasonable Packers fans understood that Thompson was rarely going to sign a free agent or make a trade that grabbed headlines.  Read more... (685 words + 1 image, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)

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Surviving Sundays With No Packers Football

Last week I used this space to discuss dead wrestlers, concussions and the suicide of Junior Seau. It was some heavy and serious stuff, so serious that I didn’t have the will to keep the post going and talk about Packers news.

To make up for it, this edition of Surviving Sunday will be nothing but Packers.

Enjoy.

Rookie Camp
All eight Packers draft picks signed contracts and are participating in this weekend’s rookie camp. From a fan’s perspective, rookie camps and mini camps are a nice reminder that football season is getting closer, but that’s about it. It’s impossible for us outsiders to glean too much from offseason camps. The quotes from coaches are the same every year. Everybody looks great. Everybody is in amazing shape. Everybody looks real focused. Everybody just wants to help the team win. Yawn……

Alex Green and Ryan Grant
Alex Green wants to return by training camp according to Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. If he’s putting in the effort and work necessary to make it happen, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Green make it back for camp. It sounds like Adrian Peterson has a legit shot at playing in week one after ripping up his knee at the end of last season. Obviously, no two knee injuries are the same, but if Peterson can return that quickly, I like Green’s chances of being ready to go by August.  Read more... (665 words + 1 image, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)

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Minnesota Gophers RB and Packers undrafted free agent Duane Bennett.

If you’re looking for a position group on the Packers roster that might be infiltrated by an undrafted free agent, running back is a strong possibility.

Ryan Grant is likely gone, James Starks can’t stay healthy, Alex Green is coming off a bad knee injury and Brandon Saine is unproven. Here’s a look at the Packers 2012 undrafted free agent running backs and why they might have a shot at making the team.

Duane Bennett, RB, Minnesota
Height: 5-9
Weight: 213 pounds
Pro Day Results: 40-yd. dash — 4.62; 20-yd dash — 2.70; 10-yd. dash — 1.56; 225-lb. bench reps — 28; Vertical jump — 35.5″; Broad jump — 10’00″; 20-yd shuttle — 4.16; 3-cone drill — 6.92.
Career Notes: Finished with 2,126 rushing yards, 13th in Gophers history. … 639 rushing yards on 166 carries (3.85 avg.) senior season. … 96-yard kickoff return for TD against Wisconsin week 10 of senior season. … Blocked a punt and returned it for TD senior season. … Earned freshman All-Big Ten honors. … Sophomore season ended after two games due to knee injury.

Overview
Because I live in Minnesota, I get a chance to see the Gophers play on a regular basis. The Gophers are usually a chore to watch, but they had a few intriguing teams under Glen Mason. Using offensive lineman that were a bit undersized but extremely mobile, Mason built the Gophers’ offense around a running game that featured guys like Marion Barber III, Laurence Maroney, Thomas Hamner and Gary Russell.  Read more... (1197 words + 1 image, estimated 4:47 mins reading time)

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Junior Seau's suicide shocked everyone who pays attention to the NFL.

If the NFL wants a case study on how not to handle tragic situations involving past and current players, it should look no further than professional wrestling.

Here’s a small sample of well-known professional wrestlers who have died before the age of 50 since 1997: Bam Bam Biggelow, Eddie Guerrero, The Big Bossman, Hercules, Crash Holly, Road Warrior Hawk, Ms. Elizabeth, Mr. Perfect, Davey Boy Smith, Chris Benoit, Yokozuna, Chris Kanyon, Ravashing Rick Rude, Louie Spicolli and Brian Pillman.

All of those wrestlers died from suicide, drug overdoses, or health complications that many speculate were caused by years of abusing drugs, painkillers, steroids and/or alcohol.

If you used to watch wrestling, or just tolerated it while your kids or spouse watched it, chances are you recognize many of those names.

Now think back to your favorite Packers players from the 80s and 90s. What if 15 of them were dead, all before the age of 50, many from suicide, drug overdoses or health complications (likely) caused by abusing drugs and alcohol?  Read more... (961 words + 1 image, estimated 3:51 mins reading time)

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Frank Zombo is one Packers defender that could be on the chopping block.

If using almost all of his draft picks on defensive players wasn’t enough of a warning, Ted Thompson could re-enact Alec Baldwin’s brass balls speech from Glengarry Glen Ross on the first day of training camp if he feels the Packers defense hasn’t gotten the message.

Replace Cadillac with a spot on the roster. Replace steak knives with a spot on the end of the bench. Replace getting fired with getting cut.

Message received.

Of course, this message doesn’t need to be delivered to everyone on defense. Clay Matthews is probably the Alec Baldwin of the Packers D. He can point to his $975,000 watch and automatically command respect. Desmond Bishop and Charles Woodson can point to their own watches, which aren’t quite as big as Matthews’, but are impressive nonetheless.

Because of their ineptitude last season and infusion of new blood for the upcoming season, the following defenders who received regular playing time in 2011 could be on the chopping block. They’ll have to prove during training camp that they have the “brass balls” to play in the NFL.  Read more... (503 words + 1 image, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

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Packers should keep Bulaga at right tackle.

Mike McCarthy said this week that Bryan Bulaga will not move to left tackle and replace Chad Clifton. The coach said that Bulaga is “on the verge of becoming a pro bowler at right tackle” and will stay right where he is.

I’m fine with keeping Bulaga on the right side. Until recently, I’ve been in the “move Bulaga to left tackle” camp, but I folded up my tent and left that camp a couple months ago. To the faithful readers who argued with me in the comments section to keep Bulaga at right tackle: Congratulations. You helped convince me.

But mostly my change of heart can be attributed to Aaron Rodgers. I always contended that the Packers should have someone proven to protect the All-World QB’s blind side. Bulaga fit that description much more than Marshall Newhouse or Derek Sherrod. After all, those in the know have been telling us for years that left tackle is arguably the second most important position on offense. They even made a movie about it.

The game changes, though. Now, the best person to protect Aaron Rodgers’ blind side might be, well, Aaron Rodgers.   Read more... (431 words + 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

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