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Ryan Taylor

1) Introduction: Ted Thompson raised a few eyebrows in April when he took Taylor just two rounds after selecting D.J. Williams at the same position. The Packers then had five tight ends, including Taylor, with a chance to make the final roster at the beginning of training camp. By September 3, Taylor and his four peers had, in fact, made the 53.

2) Profile:

Ryan Lawrence Taylor

Position: TE
Height: 6-2
Weight: 245 lbs.
AGE: 23

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: A special teams captain in two of his four years at North Carolina with experience playing linebacker, Taylor reminded some of Spencer Havner. If he was able to make the 53-man roster in 2011, most expected Taylor to play a similar role.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Taylor played on just 32 offensive snaps but did catch his first career touchdown pass in Week 14 against Oakland. It ended up being Taylor’s only catch of the season. To his credit on special teams, Taylor was active in 15 of 17 games and finished second on the team with eight total tackles.  Read more... (371 words + 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

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Brandon Saine

1) Introduction: After an up-and-down career at Ohio State, Saine signed with the Packers as undrafted free agent on July 28. During the 2011 preseason, no skill player saw more touches than Saine (25; 19 rushes for 51 yards, six receptions for 36). A big back that fits the positional mold of Ted Thompson, Saine was retained on the Packers 8-man practice squad to start the 2011 season.

2) Profile:

Brandon Croft Saine

Position: RB
Height: 5-11
Weight: 220 lbs.
AGE: 23

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: Expectations are never high for a player who starts the season on the practice squad. With both Ryan Grant and James Starks healthy, and third-round pick Alex Green showing a capacity to contribute on third downs and special teams, Saine looked destined to spend the 2011 season on the Packers’ practice squad.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Injury spawned him a chance. Saine was promoted off the practice squad on Oct. 31 following a season-ending knee injury to Green against Minnesota in Week 8. Saine didn’t get many opportunities (just 75 snaps) in the nine games he was active but did show an ability to both break tackles (team-high 2.7 yards after contact) and catch the football (10 receptions, no drops). His highest carry totals came against New York (six for 16 yards) and Detroit in Week 17 (eight for 28).  Read more... (399 words + 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

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It was to good to last…  Now the rest of the world knows that without Aaron Rodgers, the Packers wouldn’t just have a chance, they probably wouldn’t miss a beat.  With a 480-yard, 6 touchdown performance against the Lions yesterday, which are both Packer team records, Matt Flynn has perhaps become the most sought out free agent acquisition in the upcoming offseason.

Now comes the question of what general manager Ted Thompson should do with Matt Flynn; I think it should be apparent to everyone that Flynn has no place on the Packers 2012 roster, Aaron Rodgers is “the guy”, Flynn’s far too good to be a backup and it would be salary cap and team chemistry suicide to have both Flynn and Rodgers on the roster next season.  So should Thompson let Flynn walk with his best wishes or should he use the franchise tag on Flynn and hope to get something in return?

For using the Franchise Tag  Read more... (1139 words + 1 image, estimated 4:33 mins reading time)

• Quarterback is the most important position in football: There no way to hide a quarterback, either you have a star or you need one.  And there definitely aren’t 32 starting-caliber quarterbacks in the league.

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Packers GM Ted Thompson

At this point of the season, it’s safe to say most readers of this site probably know where every team in the NFC North stands and why they’re in the position that they’re in. So instead of updating everyone with information they probably already know, we’ll take a different approach by examining recent NFC North draft classes.

I went back and listed every team’s draft choices from 2008-11 and broke down each team by examining their picks in the following categories:

Current starters: How many players drafted since 2008 are currently starting? I was fairly liberal in labeling players as “starters.” For example, Jordy Nelson does not “start” for the Packers (until Jennings got hurt, anyway), but for all intents and purposes, he’s a starter.

Home runs: These players are absolute studs, already pro bowlers or force other teams to game-plan specifically for them.

Future stars?: These players are already good, but haven’t reached their ceiling. A pro bowl or more could realisticially be in their future.

Late-round discoveries: Players drafted in rounds 4-7 that contribute and play much better than a typical player drafted in rounds 4-7.  Read more... (1312 words + 1 image, estimated 5:15 mins reading time)

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Aaron Rodgers has hogged most of the highlights for the 11-0 Green Bay Packers this season, and rightfully so. The frontrunner for NFL MVP had to make a little room for some newcomers in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Lions, however.

Offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and linebackers Robert Francois and D.J. Smith stepped in after injuries to starters and left their mark on the Packers latest victory. Unknown players stepping up when needed has become a trend for the Packers over the last two seasons.

Who are these latest unknowns and where did they come from?

Evan Dietrich-Smith

How he got here: Cut by the Packers at the end of training camp in 2010, Dietrich-Smith resigned with Green Bay in Week 17 and remained on the roster throughout the postseason. The Packers originally signed Dietrich-Smith as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho State in 2009. He was the only undrafted player to make the team.

Why he’s here: Dietrich-Smith has the athleticism to play all three interior OL positions. He can also handle a zone blocking scheme. At Idaho State, the 6-2, 308-pounder started 44 games and received All-Conference honorable mention four times.  Read more... (765 words + 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)

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The rookies on the Green Bay Packers roster have yet to complete a half-season in 2011, but the bye week in Week 8 gave us an opportunity to gauge how the Packers’ first-year players look through seven games.

Snap-counts and statistics are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

T Derek Sherrod (R1)

The Packers wanted him to take hold of the left guard position coming into training camp, but that experiment died in a hurry when Sherrod couldn’t handle the switch. He’s a right or left tackle from this point on. The only major action Sherrod has seen this season came against the Falcons in Week 5. After Chad Clifton went down with a hamstring injury, Sherrod filled in at right tackle as Marshall Newhouse slid over to the left side. Of the 51 snaps he played, 36 came on passing plays, and Sherrod allowed just two quarterback pressures and no sacks or hits. That kind of snap distribution shows the confidence that the Packers have in their rookie at right tackle in pass protection. Sherrod also came in on seven snaps (five run, two pass) against the Broncos in Week 4.

WR/KR Randall Cobb (R2)  Read more... (1471 words + 1 image, estimated 5:53 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers signed rookie running back Brandon Saine from the practice squad to the 53-man roster after placing fellow rookie back Alex Green on IR, GM Ted Thompson announced Monday. The Packers also signed safety Anthony Levine and offensive lineman Paul Fenaroll to the practice squad and Cecil Newton was released.

The need for promoting Saine arose when Green tore his ACL in the first quarter of the Packers 33-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. The injury occured when Randall Cobb tripped into the back of Green’s legs during a kick return. Mike McCarthy announced last Monday that Green would be lost for the season.

A third-round pick from Hawaii, Green had just three carries for 11 yards and one catch for six yards in limited snaps this season. Depending on when surgery for the injury occurs, Green should be a full-go for 2012.

Saine (5-11, 220) was signed as an undrafted free agent on July 28 and won himself a spot on the Packers practice squad by rushing for 51 yards during the preseason. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection at Ohio State his senior year. He will wear No. 33.  Read more... (455 words + 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

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