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A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: LB A.J. Klein

Player Information:

A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
6-1″, 250 pounds
Hometown: Kimberly, WI

STATS:

NFL Combine:

40yd dash: 4.66
Bench: 20 reps
Long Jump:  9’5″
(injured his knee in pass coverage drills)

Pro Day: (still favoring his knee)

Vertical jump: 33″
Short Shuttle 4.35
3-cone drill: 7.09

News and Notes:

Klein was an All-State pick from Kimberly, Wisconsin, having led his team to two straight State Championships. After not receiving an offer from the Badgers, Klein chose Iowa State over Northern Illinois. Klein played special teams as a true freshman and and then was a three-year starter at linebacker. Klein showed uncanny consistency, finishing with 111, 117 & 117 tackles in those three seasons. Klein also returned four interceptions for TDs in his college career, tying an FBS record.  Klein was named All-Big 12 in 2012 and the co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.

What they’re saying about him:

CBSSports.com: “Excellent key and diagnosis skills. Reads the action and gets a jump-start, often beating blockers to the ball. Better than advertised speed to the flanks and in pursuit downfield and is a quick accelerator, able to slip through gaps to make plays at the line of scrimmage.” “…Could be viewed by some as a bit of a ‘tweener as he lacks ideal athleticism for the outside and does not take on and shed blocks as well as preferred to remain inside. Usually has to give ground to release from blocks once his opponents get their hands into his chest.”  Read more... (686 words + 3 images, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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Defensive Backs Charles Woodson, Nick Collins, Charlie Peprah

Packers Defensive Backs: We’re back with the third of this series where we examine each Packers position group as it currently exists. Today we finish the defensive side of the ball by examining the Packers’ secondary. As before, this article will examine three main points from the Packers’ perspective: where we are, where we want to go and what we need to do to get there.

Previous installments can be found here:

Packers Defensive Line:

Packers Linebackers:

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Charles Woodson (1st round)
Tramon Williams (undrafted)
Sam Shields (undrafted)
Jarrett Bush (undrafted)
Davon House (4th  round)
Brandian Ross (undrafted)

Nick Collins (2nd round)
Morgan Burnett (3rd round)
Charlie Peprah (5th round)
M.D. Jennings (undrafted)
Anthony Levine (undrafted)

While this position group has six undrafted players, only three are regulars and overall there is better representation near the top of the draft than in the defensive line and linebacker groups. That’s especially true if you count Pat Lee, a second round choice the Packers recently allowed to leave via free agency.

The Packers’ secondary had a tough time in 2011. As a group, they gave up 71 plays of 20 yards or more, and a lot of those were significantly more than 20 yards. The Giants alone had four plays over 40 yards in two games against the Packers. Yes, it was not pleasant.  Read more... (2303 words + 3 images, estimated 9:13 mins reading time)

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Packers Linebacker Clay Matthews III

Packers Linebackers: We’re back with the second of this series where we’ll examine each Packers position group as it currently exists. We’ll be addressing three main points from the Packers’ perspective: where we are, where we want to go and what we need to do to get there.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Clay Matthews (1st round)
A.J. Hawk (1st round)
Desmond Bishop (6th round)
Brad Jones (7th round)
D.J. Smith (6th round)
Erik Walden (6th round – is a free agent)
Robert Francois (undrafted)
Frank Zombo (undrafted)
Vic So ‘oto (undrafted)
Jamari Lattimore (undrafted)

Much like the defensive line spot, Ted Thompson has built this position group from the bottom of the draft up. Eight out of ten players came from the 6th round or later. I suppose that’s a bit of a necessity in today’s salary-capped NFL, especially with salaries for offensive skill players going through the roof. But it’s still a bit startling when you examine a roster closely and really see how a team is built.

Let’s start with Clay Matthews: Matthews could have been nicknamed “Fast and Furious” his first two seasons, taking the league by storm with 23.5 sacks. While sacks get the attention, getting stops in the run game are almost of the same value to coaches. To that end, Matthews was certainly lacking. There’s no better evidence than the now famous sound byte from the Steelers’ sideline during the Super Bowl. A Steelers coach is heard telling his offense they’re going to run at Matthews all day, because all he wants to do is rush the passer – he doesn’t want to play the run.  Read more... (1782 words + 3 images, estimated 7:08 mins reading time)

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Winston Moss is being rumored as a coaching candidate in Oakland.

It’s nothing more than speculation at the moment, but Green Bay Packers inside linebackers coach and assistant head coach Winston Moss is being rumored as a potential candidate at head coach or defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders.

Speculation regarding Moss comes on the heels of Oakland’s hire of former Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie as their new general manager. Pro Football Talk added fuel on the fire earlier today when they reported that McKenzie will be given the power to fire head coach Hue Jackson if he so pleases.

The majority of new GMs want their own hire at head coach, so the possibility exists that McKenzie could show Jackson the door. If he went that route, Moss would likely become one of McKenzie’s leading candidates to take the job. Most believe that McKenzie will keep Jackson, who led the Raiders to an 8-8 record in his first season, as the head coach, however.

But even if Jackson is retained, Moss could be a candidate for the Raiders’ looming defensive coordinator vacancy. Chuck Bresnahan, the incumbent at the position, is widely assumed to be done in Oakland after this season. At this point, a move to defensive coordinator looks like the most likely scenario for Moss to leave Green Bay for Oakland.

A veteran of 11 seasons in the NFL, Moss played four years in Oakland from 1991-94. The linebacker led the Raiders in tackles in ’93 and was a three-time defensive captain.  Read more... (419 words + 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

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Last season AllGreenBayPackers.com received an exclusive peak inside the Packers locker room before they faced the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome. Through tireless reporting and source development, we were granted access to the locker room on the first day of training camp last weekend. Here’s what went down.

All the Packers coaches are gathered in the locker room. Mike McCarthy arrives

McCarthy: When are the players supposed to get here? I thought everyone was so excited to have football back. Why are they not in here already?

Winston Moss: They’re all in the Hall of Fame down the street, staring at our Super Bowl trophy. I sent Capers to go get them. The players are frightened by his hair, so they’ll probably come running back here once they see him coming.

The locker room door opens and players start coming in. Rodgers has a perfect tan, and is accompanied by two beautiful young women – one blonde, one brunette – both with tattoos on their lower backs. Tom Crabtree walks headfirst into the wall because he was Tweeting instead of paying attention to where he was going. Ryan Pickett and Howard Green start punching each other over who gets to go through the post-practice buffet line first.

McCarthy: Didn’t we hire an ex CIA agent to spy on these guys and keep them in line during the lockout?

Moss: We actually hired the entire CIA. But Obama got wind of it and ordered his agents to abort the mission. Obama’s a Bears fan, ya know.  Read more... (853 words + 1 image, estimated 3:25 mins reading time)

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It had the anticipation, nerves and hype of a Green Bay Packer playoff game. There are just two problems with this scenario.

The NFL lockout remains in effect (although hopefully not much longer) and the date is June 16, not January 16.

The excitement was over the unveiling of the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship rings.  Tonight was a different kind of night, given that the players and coaches have barely interacted since they got back from Dallas, but it’s a night none of the players or fans who were following along on Twitter will likely ever forget.

Like a great movie, the occasion had it all: Drama, laughter, nervousness and an ultimately very sweet payoff.  Yours truly was even sucked into the drama of the evening thanks to one of my soon to be patented poorly timed and poorly worded jokes. More on that later.

Since the event was private, no media were allowed inside the Lambeau Field Atrium until after the event. This was a night solely for the players in coaches.  We were treated to some “pre –game” coverage on NFL Network but sooner than later the players were inside the stadium, ready for the festivities to begin.

Without any media, the obvious question on Twitter became “Which player would be the first to tweet a picture of the ring?”  The early favorite was tight end and new fan favorite Tom Crabtree with Nick Barnett not far behind.   Another thing that got a chuckle out of me were all the tweets that said Aaron Rodgers had arrived…..solo.  Read more... (1011 words + 2 images, estimated 4:03 mins reading time)

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The complete list of World Champion Green Bay Packers players and coaches on Twitter (As of April, 2011).

For a continually updated list of Packers on Twitter, go to: PackersTwitterverse.com.

Current Players/Coaches:

Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12)

Adrian Battles (@AdrianBattles64)

A.J. Hawk (@OfficialAJHawk)

Anthony Levine (@MrTr3_4)

Anthony Smith (@antkingsmith)

Atari Bigby (@20ataribigby)

Brandon Jackson (@bjackson32)

Brett Swain (@BrettSwain)

Bryan Bulaga (@BBulaga)

Clay Matthews (@ClayMatthews52)

Cullen Jenkins (@CullenJenkins)

C.J.Wilson (@cjwilson95)

Desmond Bishop (@Desbishop55)

Dimitri Nance (@DNance31)

Diyral Briggs (@BigBaby_50)

Erik Walden (@Ewalden5050)

Greg Jennings (@GregJennings)

Jermichael Finley (@JermichaelF88)

Josh Gordy (@4_flat)

Marshall Newhouse (@MNewhouse74)

Mike Neal (@mneal96)

Morgan Burnett (@MoBetta_42)

Nick Barnett (@NickBarnett)

Nick Collins (@nickthepick36)

Quinn Johnson (@QuinnJohnson_45)

Ryan Grant (@RyanGrant25)

Sam Shields (@stickyshields9)

Spencer Havner (@SpencerHavner)

Tim Masthay (@TimMasthay)

T. J. Lang (@TJLang70)

Tom Crabtree (@TCrabtree83)

Tramon Williams (@HighRizer38)

Winston Moss (@MeanOgreDude)

If I have missed anyone, please let me know…

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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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