AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Can Rodgers surpass the two Super Bowl rings won by Bart Starr?

Every time quarterback Aaron Rodgers sits down for an interview, Green Bay Packers fans move forward in their seats to see or hear what the face of their beloved franchise has to say.

Rodgers recently sat down with Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and talked about a wide variety of subjects, ranging from what he was doing with his $35 million signing bonus to revisiting his plummet in the draft in 2005.

However, there was one thing that Rodgers told Dunne that sticks out.  When Dunne asked Rodgers if winning multiple rings drives him, he replied with the following:

“For sure. Bart has two Super Bowl rings. Brett (Favre) has one. And I have one. I’d like, when I’m done, to have the most rings. I don’t know if it’s possible to get as many championships as Bart has, but maybe I can equal him in rings.”

Rodgers is right about Starr.  Starr won five championships including two Super Bowls and it will be tough in this day and age for any quarterback to win five Super Bowls.  However, equaling or surpassing Starr in Super Bowl titles is a feasible goal for Rodgers.  Read more... (1133 words + 1 image, estimated 4:32 mins reading time)

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McMillian appears to be a frontrunner to claim one of the starting safety spots

One of the position battles that is and will continue to be a heavy focus in Green Bay is at safety.  Entrenched in one starting role is Morgan Burnett, who enters his fourth season and appears poised to take a step forward in becoming one of the team’s best defensive players.  The other safety position is still up for grabs amongst Jerron McMillian, M.D. Jennings and Sean Richardson.  This week, the team also signed undrafted free agent David Fulton from Chowan University (in North Carolina for those wondering).

With safety having been one of the team’s bigger needs heading into last month’s draft, the question seemed to be not “if” but “when” they would address the position.  Among the top prospects were Texas’ Kenny Vaccaro, LSU’s Eric Reid, Florida International’s Jonathan Cyprien and Florida’s Matt Elam.  Surely one of those would be available when Green Bay picked at the 26^th spot.  That pick came and went, along with 10 others, and not one safety was selected.

Packers General Manager Ted Thompson has had a knack for standing pat at a position that he feels already has the depth and talent necessary to be effective.  In 2010 and after starting running back Ryan Grant went down early in the season, the team seemingly needed another option.  Marshawn Lynch and DeAngelo Williams were both rumored to be available via trade.  Instead, Thompson stuck with the rotation of Brandon Jackson, John Kuhn and James Starks.  It’s no secret, by now, that Thompson prefers his own players and to develop them versus playing in free agency year in and year out.  It appears that the Packers are, once again, exercising that mindset at safety.  Read more... (1127 words + 3 images, estimated 4:30 mins reading time)

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Neal saw more time at outside linebacker at Tuesday’s OTA’s

The Green Bay Packers resumed OTA’s and one of the big stories from today’s practice was defensive end Mike Neal, who lined up at outside linebacker during a portion of today’s activities.  He was also with the OLB’s as well as the defensive ends during position drills.  Neal spent some time at OLB last week as well.

It should be noted that there are some question marks at outside linebacker, especially in those who are proven at the position.  Behind starter Clay Matthews is Nick Perry, Dezman Moses, Nate Palmer and Andy Mulumba.  Perry is expected to re-assume the other starting OLB spot when the season begins, although he still is not 100% back from a wrist injury that ended his rookie season after just six games.  Moses filled in some last year after being signed as an undrafted free agent, but doesn’t appear likely to make a big jump.  Palmer was the Packers’ sixth round selection in this year’s draft and, while the team seems very high on him, he has yet to play a down at the NFL level.  Mulumba was an undrafted free agent that the Packers signed immediately following the draft and, like Palmer, has yet to play a down at the pro level.  Green Bay lost OLB’s Erik Walden and Frank Zombo to free agency.

It’s too early to tell if the team has seen enough to think that Neal can move outside on a more regular basis, but he clearly did enough last week to get another look.  Read more... (760 words + 3 images, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

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We’ve all seen the numbers. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked a total of 51 times in 2012 – more than any other NFL quarterback – and 55 times if you count the playoffs. It eclipsed his previous record of 50 sacks in 2009 and brings his five-year total as a starter to 202. His lowest sack count in that span was 31 in 2010, the same year they won the Super Bowl.

Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling that Packers fans have in response to this data. Arguably the best player in the game right now is on his back way more often than he should be, and we are all left wondering why. Well, perhaps some fans are looking more for an answer to “who” than for “why.”

Who is to blame for this risk to our precious franchise quarterback? Who can we channel our anger towards when we’re yelling at the 60-inch plasma television?

Unfortunately, that’s not easily answered. But we can give you some suspects to choose from . . .

(don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll below…)

SUSPECT #1: The Blockers (Offensive Line, Running Backs, etc.)

In most cases, the offensive line is usually who we shout profanities at immediately after Aaron Rodgers gets sacked. After all, when it comes to the passing game, their number one responsibility is to protect the quarterback long enough for him to complete a pass. If he goes down, then it means they failed.  Read more... (1498 words + 7 images, estimated 6:0 mins reading time)

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Packers WR Randall Cobb.

Breakout WR/HB/KR/PR Randall Cobb touched the ball 159 times and amassed a Packers franchise record 2,342 all-purpose yards in 2012.

It was quite the season for the second-year talent out of Kentucky, and very necessary. Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson all missed significant time with injuries. Cobb, along with James Jones, stepped up to fill the void left by Jennings and Nelson and helped negate the Packers struggles running the ball.

But 159 touches is a lot for a player who is 5-foot-10 and 191 pounds. Cobb injured his ankle and missed the season finale against the Vikings. He also managed just six catches for 31 yards in two playoff games and was taken off of punt returns against the 49ers, only to see rookie Jeremy Ross muff one deep in Green Bay territory that led to a San Francisco touchdown.

I was at the wild-card win over the Vikings and watched Cobb limp around on that ankle. He was hurting. The explosion wasn’t there.

With Jennings gone, it’s assumed Cobb will have an even bigger role in the offense. His role probably will be bigger, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll touch the ball 159 times again.

Cobb was targeted 104 times in 2012, the most since Jennings’ 125 targets in 2010. If Nelson stays healthy, and Jones repeats his stellar 2012 season, perhaps that number will come down a bit.  Read more... (632 words + 1 image, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)

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Packers rookie offensive lineman J.C. Tretter

If I put the over/under on the number of rookies the Packers will have starting on the offensive line for the regular season opener at 0.5, would you take the over or the under?

What if I changed the season opener to week 10, but kept the over/under at 0.5?

If you believe some of the scuttle out of the Packers rookie mini-camp, recent draftees David Bakhtiari and J.C. Tretter are in the mix to start at right tackle. There’s also an outside chance that Tretter or undrafted rookie free agent Patrick Lewis of Texas A&M could give presumed starter Evan Dietrich-Smith a challenge at center.

If I had $100 burning a hole in my pocket, I’d take the under for the season opener and the over for week 10.

I don’t think Mike McCarthy wants to start a rookie right away. Ideally, I think he’d like to see Marshall Newhouse, Derek Sherrod or Don Barclay win the job. That’s not to say the rookies won’t get their fair shot. I’m confident they will.

But unless one of the rookies blows the veterans out of the water, McCarthy probably wants the young guys to develop a bit before getting tossed on the field to protect the league’s highest-paid player.  Read more... (529 words + 1 image, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

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Undrafted rookie running back Angelo Pease

It’s only been a few days and already the rookies are making an impression on Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy.  That’s what players are supposed to do and especially guys who are anything but guaranteed a roster spot.  That, alone, isn’t earth-shattering news.

But as we have seen before, this team has had success finding some gems in the undrafted free agent pool.  One such player is running back Angelo Pease.  During the first day of drills, McCarthy was so caught off guard by one of Pease’s runs that he thought he was watching second round draft pick Eddie Lacy.  It’s pretty safe to say that Lacy is a lock to stick on this year’s roster.  For Pease, who rarely saw the field for a very good Kansas State team last season, that comparison is a good early sign.

Here is what McCarthy had to say after practice:

“That’s a big time cut. Frankly, I thought it was Eddie Lacy, the way he dropped his weight and hit the hole,” McCarthy gushed. “Those are things we’re looking for.”

Now again, it’s only one moment and one practice.  There is a long way to go, but if he’s worth a mention in a post-practice recap, we may want to keep an eye on him.  Read more... (448 words + 3 images, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

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