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Will Packers LB recover from his injury and be on the team come September?

This story from Tyler Dunne in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop is extremely well written. After reading it, you can’t help but like the guy even more than you probably already do.

In the story, Bishop says one of his goals is to win defensive player of the year in 2013.

Unfortunately, as entertaining as the story is, it doesn’t really address the main question I have about Bishop as the Packers open OTAs: What are the odds that he’s actually on the team once the season starts?

Reports surfaced during the NFL draft that the Packers were trying to trade Bishop. Several moves the Packers made in the offseason — bringing back A.J. Hawk, re-signing Brad Jones for $4 million, adding another inside linebacker in the draft — made it appear that the Packers might not be too confident in Bishop’s chances of returning from the torn hamstring he suffered last preseason.

“Trade or release Bishop?” you’re probably asking. “But I thought he was supposed to boost the Packers physicality and automatically improve the inside linebacker corp?”

In a perfect world, that’s exactly what would happen. But how perfect is the Packers’ world when it comes to injuries lately? Not very. J.C. Tretter, one of Green Bay’s fourth-round draft picks, just snapped his ankle in a fumble-recovery drill. Two of the past three seasons have seen the team ravaged by injuries. The scuttle around the Packers is that Ted Thompson won’t hesitate to jettison players who are hampered by injuries.  Read more... (461 words + 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

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On the Waterfornt – Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront:” You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.

One thing about getting so heavily involved in research for the NFL draft is that you get emotionally attached to certain players. You call them “my guys” or “my sleepers” or “my late round steals.” As the draft unfolds, these players are always on your radar. As the Packers pick approaches,’ you’re eagerly hoping and praying they will still be available so the Packers can take “your guy” and justify your belief in how “perfect” he is for the Packers.

The reality of the situation is, these two separate worlds (NFL GM reality & Draftnik Fantasy) only occasionally intersect to deliver what you want. This year’s draft was worse than usual for this draftnik. The previous two years, the Packers drafted several of “my guys.” Derek Sherrod, Randall Cobb, Lawrence Guy, Nick Perry, Casey Hayward, BJ Coleman. In all, it was a pretty good haul. This year I got Datone Jones and Johnathan Franklin (but not where I expected him) and then no other player remotely on my radar.

But it’s not my loss, it’s theirs. They could have been Packers. They coulda had class. They coulda been contenders. They coulda been somebody, instead of bums, which is what they are, let’s face it.  Read more... (715 words + 3 images, estimated 2:52 mins reading time)

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Packers GM Ted Thompson made a total of four trades during the 2013 NFL Draft.

With the 2013 NFL Draft now in the books, let’s take a look at what “Trader” Ted Thompson did with his eight original picks to turn them into eleven total selections. He made a total of four trades, three of which being “down” and the final one being a trade “up.” Overall, he gained eight picks for the price of five, netting three.

Below I’ve detailed each of the trades, as well as updated what the draft board looked like at that moment. Picks in bold are the ones that were added during the trade, while the struck-through selections were already made by that point.

Original Draft Picks:

1. Round 1, 26 (26)
2. Round 2, 25  (55)
3. Round 3, 26 (88)
4. Round 4, 25 (122)
5. Round 5, 26 (159)
6. Round 5, 34 (167) [comp.]
7. Round 6, 25 (193)
8. Round 7, 26 (232)

Trade #1 (DOWN):

Gave the San Francisco 49ers No. 55 (Rd. 2) for Nos. 61 (Rd. 2) and 173 (Rd. 6).

1. Round 1, 26 (26): Datone Jones, DE
2. Round 2, 29  (61)
3. Round 3, 26 (88)
4. Round 4, 25 (122)
5. Round 5, 26 (159)
6. Round 5, 34 (167) [comp.]
7. Round 6, 5 (173)
8. Round 6, 25 (193)
9. Round 7, 26 (232)

Trade #2 (DOWN):  Read more... (553 words + 1 image, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before I begin, I’m going to offer you a short list of resources that I used in my own personal education of this topic. These have really helped me piece everything together, and I highly suggest checking them out. It takes some time to digest, but it will be worth it in the end:

• Ask the Commish.com – NFL Salary Cap FAQ
• OverTheCap.com – A Guide to the NFL Salary Cap
• Packers.com – “Pass the test and you’re a cap master”
• spotract.com – NFL Player Contracts, Salaries, and Transactions

So where do we begin?

The idea of a Salary Cap is essentially a two-fold mechanism: (1) even the playing field of NFL teams to create parity (competition) within the league, and (2) prevent the escalation of player salaries in the era of free agency. In 2013, each team has a salary cap of $123 million, which was determined using a complicated calculation based on the “All Revenue” stream for the league. The salary “floor” for 2013 is 89% of the cap, meaning each team must at least use up roughly $109.5 million of the allotted $123 million.  Read more... (1114 words + 2 images, estimated 4:27 mins reading time)

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It’s free agency time in the NFL, also known as the the perfect opportunity for Packers fans to take a nap for two weeks.

Sure, it’s been mildly entertaining trying to figure out if the Packers did, or did not, sign Steven Jackson. And it’s been somewhat amusing following Greg Jennings and his mysterious tweets as he navigates the free agency waters, possibly back to the Packers.

But none of those things bring as much joy to my heart as mocking and ridiculing the Packers NFC North opponents for their offseason signings, roster cuts and trades.

Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings traded Percy Harvin to Seattle for a first round draft pick and a couple other draft picks. They also cut veteran defensive back Antoine Winfield and resigned right tackle Phil Loadholt.

Isn’t it cute how Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is trying to act like Ted Thompson? Suddenly the Vikings are all about the draft and getting younger.

Let’s see how long Spielman is able to stick with this philosophy. Remember that the Vikings quarterback is Christian Ponder and owner Zygi Wilf has a new stadium opening in a couple years that he’ll want filled to capacity with drooling rubes in helga horns and goldilocks braids.

What if Ponder continues to stink and the Vikings take a step backward? Is Wilf patient enough to give Spielman enough of a leash and allow this draft and develop philosphy to take shape?

I doubt it.  Read more... (584 words + 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

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It’s back, one of the best NFL Draft Guide values out there and the only one geared to Packers fans. Brought to you by the fine folks at CheeseheadTV, with contributions from yours truly and other more talented writers and draftniks, this Packers-centric guide to the 2013 NFL Draft is a must-have for any Packers fan.

You’ll get 100 pages of feature articles, interviews, predictions and most importantly, player profiles and rankings. Even better, it’s all catered to Packers fans and how each player would fit into Green Bay’s schemes, including their 3-4 defense. We also have a Packers-specific mock draft (note who predicted Nick Perry as the Packers’ first pick) and a breakdown of every position on the roster.

But don’t take my word for it, check out the 2012 guide in it’s entirety below.

Pretty cool, huh? Can you believe it’s only $5.99 if you pre-order order now? Just visit the  Cheesehead TV shop to order and ensure your copy gets delivered to your inbox by March 29 and you don’t have to pay full price after our release date.

Here’s what the cover of the 2013 Guide looks like:

PACKERS NFL DRAFT GUIDE

On Sale Here – Only $5.99

Follow Jersey Al:

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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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With the NFL rumor mill ablaze during the combine, multiple sources have reported/claimed/inferred/guessed/made up/straight up fabricated news that Greg Jennings was a candidate for the franchise tag (Jennings did not receive the tag after all that) and that the Packers were getting sick of Jermichael Finley’s off the field antics and on the field inconsistency are were looking to part ways with the tight end, whether that be from trade or ultimately by cutting him.

• Option 1: Packers do nothing; Greg Jennings enters free agency and Jermichael Finley plays out his contract: This is probably the most realistic situation given Jennings’ recent comments and the historical inactivity of general manager Ted Thompson when it comes to free agent signings.  Jennings believes he’s worth $12-14 million and I’m certain the Packers disagree with that; while Jennings isn’t likely to get a contract average even close to that, he will probably get some higher offers than what the Packers are willing to offer.  On the other hand, it appears as if the Packers are still mixed on their feelings about Jermichael Finley; his up and down performance coupled with his off the field antics (such as throwing his quarterback under the bus), have apparently left some in the Packers’ front office sour.  Unfortunately, Finley also possess the capability to single-handedly break a defense and the Packers will likely give the mercurial tight end one more year to prove he’s worth the money.  Probability: Very likely

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