AllGreenBayPackers.Com

D.J. Williams

1) Introduction: When the Packers selected D.J. Williams in the fifth round last April, most were quick to say that “the rich were getting richer,” with the assumption that Williams—the Mackey Award winner in 2010—would step right into a role in the Packers already deep and talented offense. That may still happen in time, but Williams didn’t add much to the Packers’ offensive pot during his rookie season.

2) Profile:

David Edward Williams, Jr. (D.J)

Position: TE
Height: 6-3
Weight: 254 lbs.
AGE: 24

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: In the shorts and helmet start to training camp, Williams looked like a player that was actually going to have an impact on the Packers offense. How could Mike McCarthy possibly keep a guy that looked this good off the field? Once the pads came on and the game sped up, however, Williams quickly reverted into the 5th round rookie he really was. He was then plagued by mental miscues during the preseason, and it was clear by the start of the season that Williams needed time before becoming a bigger factor in the Packers’ offensive plans.  Read more... (492 words + 1 image, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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Packers TE Jermichael Finley led his position in drops with 14.

It might be difficult to say that a team that won 15 regular season games went through many “struggles,” but the truth is that the 2011-12 Green Bay Packers had their fair share of significant flaws that were successfully covered up for most of the season. In the end, all four of them came back to bite the Packers in their 37-20 loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round.

The weaknesses I speak of could be summarized by a high percentage of Packers fans. But while those defects pass the eye test, they also pass the stat test. Using numbers from Pro Football Focus, we can take a closer look at just how poorly the Packers played in certain areas of the game this season.

Missed tackles: 109  Read more... (983 words + 1 image, estimated 3:56 mins reading time)

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The Packers' 2011 season went up in smoke Sunday against the Giants.

It was never supposed to end like this for the 2011 Green Bay Packers.

No, Sunday’s 37-20 result wasn’t supposed to happen after the greatest regular season performance in franchise history, a 15-1 mark that can now only be topped with 16-game perfection.

It couldn’t have happened after seeing the Packers come out on the victorious side of 21 of 22 games, including a franchise record 19 in a row, that ensured they’d be hosting their first postseason game since 2007.

There was no chance it could end after watching the offense score 560 points, which was good for five touchdowns a game and finished as the second-highest single season scoring unit in NFL history.

And it was never an option after witnessing their 28-year-old quarterback, fresh off a Super Bowl MVP and perfectly positioned in the prime of his career, throw 45 touchdowns and set a new NFL record for passer rating in just 15 games.

All the stars seemed aligned for the Packers to win their second straight Super Bowl, the one definitive sign that this team would forever be remembered in the annals of NFL history and that the dynasty of 2010′s was taking shape right before our eyes.  Read more... (1203 words + 1 image, estimated 4:49 mins reading time)

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OK, I’m having a little problem here. Admittedly, I’m still pretty shocked about the Packers loss to the Giants. I sat down to write a post-mortem, but I’m just staring at this blank computer screen and pondering where to begin. So, I think I’m going to need some audio and video aids to help me express my feelings…

Mike McTrautman: It’s over Johnny. It’s over.

John “Rambo” Rodgers: Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don’t turn it off! It wasn’t my war! You asked me, I didn’t ask you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn’t let us win!

Um, yeah, the Giants… Again.

As much as we all rejected the comparisons to 2007, the rosy-cheek Coughlin, Manning-face Eli and this band of underdog Giants marched onto Lambeau Field and once again took away what rightfully belonged to the Packers – another win on the way to the Super Bowl.

Both times, it was more than a loss, it was an embarrassment. In the 2007 playoffs, the Giants came into the frozen Green Bay tundra and won a game in elements only the cold-hardened Packers could supposedly withstand. The image of a thoroughly frozen and not wanting to be there Brett Favre (on the sideline just before he would go in and throw his final pass as a Packer) still haunts me.  Read more... (667 words, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)

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The Giants pointed their ship to the NFC Championship Game with a 37-20 win over the Packers. (Photo: Darron Cummings, GBPG)

The Green Bay Packers (15-2) picked an awful time to play their worst game of the 2011 season, and the New York Giants more than capitalized on it Sunday in knocking the defending champions out of the playoffs with a 37-20 win at Lambeau Field in the NFC Divisional Round.

Here are five observations from the game:

1. Capping a tough week

There was some this week, including Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who opined that the Packers could be more focused on Sunday in light of the terrible tragedy that struck that the Packers family early this week. But maybe those people underestimated how difficult the transition could be from a Friday funeral to a Sunday football game.

The Packers made their fair share of mental mistakes on the offensive side of the football—dropped passes, missed throws, back-breaking fumbles—that were very uncharacteristic of the Packers in 2011. Could that have partly been due to a week of grieving for the Philbin family and missing their offensive coordinator? Professional football players get paid a lot of money to separate the two, but these guys are human beings, not football robots.  Read more... (1074 words + 1 image, estimated 4:18 mins reading time)

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The NY Giants roll into Green Bay today, brimming with confidence they have what it takes to beat the Packers. If you listen to the NY media, Giants fans and even some players, it’s practically a done deal. The Packers, however, have other plans for New York.

Still reeling a bit from the tragic death of Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin’s son, Green Bay will be an emotional bunch today. Philbin will be back in the coaches’ box, assuming his usual game day responsibilities. On the other side of the ball, Dom Capers had some no-holds-barred film sessions with the Packers defense this week, and reportedly, nobody escaped unscathed. Let’s hope they rise to the occasion today.

Packers’ inactives:

QB Harrell, CB House, OLB Francois, T Taylor, TE Williams, NT Green, LB So’oto

Francois is the only one scratched due to injury. Some surprises at the bottom of that list. most people on Twitter are shocked at Green being inactive, with the vaunted Giants running game coming to town. Green, however, has done very little of impact over the last half of the season. He is a huge body, but hasn’t been productive. He was handled faitly easily by the Giants OL in their last meeting. This must also mean Capers is planning on running plenty of nickel today or possibly even psycho.  Read more... (1246 words + 1 image, estimated 4:59 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers could have had an easy game against the New York Giants when they played in week 13. But their own mishaps turned what should have been a comfy win in enemy territory into a nail-biter requiring Aaron Rodgers to come to their rescue.

I happened to be at that game in person. There were three things that struck me about the Packers’ play that day. Ater watching the replay on NFL Network last night for the first time, It just reinforced what I had seen in the stadium.

The Packers hurt themselves in three main ways in that game. I’m confident that if they can “clean it up”, the Packers will be hosting the Saints or the 49ers in the NFC Championship game at Lambeau. Here are my THREE DONT’S:

1) Don’t give up the big play.

Officially, “big plays” are defined as plays of 25 yards or more.  The Packers secondary went the extra mile against the Giants, giving up 3 pass plays of over 40 yards in their first meeting. All three led to scores, a total of 17 points handed to the Giants.  This falls very nicely into something I read today in the Wall Street Journal’s sports pages (yes they cover sports – from a purely analytical view).  Read more... (681 words + 1 image, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

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