AllGreenBayPackers.Com

On this day when we honor our fallen heroes, I’ve made an executive decision – no Packers talk today.  Just a heartfelt thank you to all who have served our country, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We honor your memory every day, not just today.

Here’s a video worth watching. Only six minutes of your life…

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Surviving Sundays with no Packers Football

Adam Czech is away in enemy territory this weekend (Chicago). Evidently, they don’t allow any Packers writing on Sundays in Chicago, so I’ll be filling in.

Before he left he mentioned he’d be going to Mike Ditka’s restaurant and not soon after, the news came across the wires that the Bears would be retiring Ditka’s #89. Cooincidence? Or is Czech a Bears double agent? An investigation shall commence.

In the meantime, when I heard the news about Ditka, my first reaction was, “what the heck took them so long?” Shouldn’t this have been done many years ago? He’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer and a Super Bowl Champion as both a player and a coach for the Bears. This should be a no-brainer, right?

Well, it seems that, unbeknownst to me, The Bears have a little problem when it comes to retiring numbers. Seems they have retired too many – more than any other team in the NFL!

Ditka’s No. 89 is the 14th jersey number to be retired by the bears, joining, No. 3 (Bronko Nagurski), 5 (George McAfee), 7 (George Halas), 28 (Willie Galimore), 34 (Walter Payton), 40 (Gale Sayers), 41 (Brian Piccolo), 42 (Sid Luckman), 51 (Dick Butkus), 56 (Bill Hewitt), 61 (Bill George), 66 (Clyde “Bulldog” Turner) and 77 (Harold “Red” Grange).

I can make a case for seven. Some of the others were chosen for sentimental reasons rather than talent. Some had the talent, but were not even with the Bears that long.  Read more... (669 words + 3 images, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)

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Forza Tavecchio!

Here’s an interview with Packers kicker Giorgio Tavecchio I’m pretty sure you haven’t read – unless you’re a Packers fan in Italy.  Journalist  Giovanni Marino, a fan of American football from the Italian newspaper site La Repubblica, had a conversation with Giorgio recently, to talk about his early experiences as a Green Bay Packer.

As an added bonus, I’m going to translate it into English for you! Isn’t that nice?

You won’t have to go use Google translate, which composed a bunch of strange sounding English sentences when I gave it a try on the original article on LaRepublica.it. If you can read Italian, by all means, read it there.

Here goes:

The second part of Giorgio Tavecchio’s dream has just begun. “And I don’t want to wake up,” he jokes with his usual good humor and an admirable calmness. The young Italian is in Green Bay, and has just started a few days of  long preseason workouts, which will prove decisive for his future. He is looking to steal the spot of Mason Crosby, Packers kicker and owner of  a disappointing season last year. A chance at a spot in the NFL is so close, yet still so far away for the young hopeful from Milan. “My experience in San Francisco was important, I know what to do and I will. Then we will see what will happen,” he says with hope but with a great sense of realism. Here is the story of his early days with the most successful team in the United States.  Read more... (1220 words + 3 images, estimated 4:53 mins reading time)

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Wait, is that a wide receiver over there?

Shhhhhh… be vewy, vewy qwiet… It’s wabbit wide receiver season…

Trapper Ted is up to his old tricks., i.e.,  his normal off-season compulsive collecting of no-name wide receivers. On Wednesday, the Packers signed Alex Gillett, a 6’1″, 214lb former QB turned receiver from Eastern Michigan.

That brings the number of wide receivers currently on the Packers roster to eleven. That may seem like a lot at first glance, but it’s actually fairly normal for the Packers. I know this because I remember calling a few years in a row for the Packers to carry one less wide receiver on the camp roster so that they could bring in a second placekicker to make Mason Crosby actually, you know, earn his spot.

But no, we can’t waste a precious roster spot on a second kicker, I kept hearing. Well lo and behold, look what the Packers have done this season. Hey, they even went out and got an Italian kicker – Mama mia!

But before this veers off into another epic Crosby rant (I’m kind of due, aren’t I), let’s get back to the subject at hand.

The argument in favor of bringing so many receivers to camp has always been that they need camp bodies to run routes during practices so the main receivers don’t get worn out. I totally bought into that theory, but still felt it was a waste with the Packers only keeping five wide receivers – until last year.  Read more... (541 words + 3 images, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

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Three recent Packers draft picks talked about their selection by the Packers, their talents and how they fit.

Nate Palmer, 6th round pick, OLB Illinois State

J.C. Tretter, 4th round pick, OL, Cornell

Datone Jones, 1st round pick, DE, UCLA

Follow Jersey Al:

          Follow @JerseyAlGBP           Add to Circleson

Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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2013 NFL Draft

The ALLGBP.com team is back and busy breaking down the latest Packers happenings in our ALL PAckers Talk Podcast.

Your hosts review the Packers 2013 draft, including the surprising fall of  Eddie Lacy into their arms in round 2.  You’ll learn more about this year’s undrafted free agents and which ones have the best prospects of making this year’s roster.  We debate if Charles Woodson could possibly be headed back to Green Bay and what’s really behind the team moving Bryan Bulaga and Josh Sitton to the left side of the offensive line.

Which of the Packers’ NFC North foes had the best draft?  Will Green Bay have enough left in the bank to keep some of the expiring contracts after this season?  Listen in as they break it all down!

Join the writers at AllGreenBayPackers.com for a fast hitting discussion of all things Packers. Be sure to check out ALLGREENBAYPACKERS.COM, where we are “All Packers All the Time.  Browse Packers Talk Radio Network for more Packers podcasts from the best Packers bloggers on the internet.

Follow Jersey Al:

          Follow @JerseyAlGBP           Add to Circleson

Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Packers RB DuJuan Harris – Forgotten Man?

It was only a month before the NFL draft that Mike McCarthy was singing the praises of DuJuan Harris:

“Oh he’s going to play for us next season. That’s his responsibility if he wants to be the starter…  Once he got ready, I felt great about the way DuJuan finished the season. Looking forward to having him for an offseason and look for good things for him.”

March was a good month for Harris. You couldn’t go two clicks of the mouse without finding a feature on Harris. JSOnline did a feature piece on him and what he was doing to prepare this offseason. Our own Adam Czech posed the question, “Real Deal or Flavor of the Month?”

And then the draft happened.

The Packers added not one, but two dynamic running backs in the first four rounds of the draft. Before a down has been played, Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin are already being described as the “Thunder and Lightning” tandem the Packers haven’t seen since Hornung and Taylor.

Rob Reischel of JSOnline.com wrote a fine piece the other day titled, “There’s a Storm Brewing in Packers Backfield.” It was a well-written and informative piece, but I had one problem with it; there wasn’t even a mention of DuJuan Harris. He’s suddenly the Rodney Dangerfield of the Packers’ backfield.  Read more... (540 words + 3 images, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

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