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Green Bay Packers 2011 free agency tracker:

FB John Kuhn: RE-SIGNED WITH PACKERS

The Packers re-signed fullback John Kuhn on a three-year contract worth $7.5 million. The deal puts Kuhn amongst the highest paid NFL fullbacks.

While you may raise your eyebrows a bit at that, I think it actually makes sense. Kuhn contributed in multiple ways beyond blocking last season, including shouldering some of the running back responsibilities, catching passes, short yardage back and special teams contributor. Kuhn is also a popular player among fans and in the locker room.

Kuhn wanted back in Green Bay all along, but he played it smart and let the market set the price for him. With Houston making a strong push for Kuhn to replace the departed Vonta Leach, the Packers most likely paid Kuhn more than they would have liked. That’s not to say he’s not worth it. Kuhn is a valuable asset for the Packers to have in their hip pocket, but this does affect one of the tight ends being looked at as a possible H back.

He won’t be running the ball as much as last season, but I’d expect Kuhn to help cover for the loss of Brandon Jackson on third downs.

WR James Jones: RE-SIGNED WITH PACKERS

The Packers agreed to terms with Jones on a three-year deal worth $9.6 million.

It sounds as if Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver went to bat for Jones, and when teams in receiver market went elsewhere, Jones decided to come back with the Packers.  Read more... (1081 words + 22 images, estimated 4:19 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers 2011 Training Camp

This was certainly a week like no other in the Packers Universe. A full off-season’s worth of activity was compressed into a time period of seven days. Here’s a day by day account of the week’s events:

Monday: July 25th, 2011

- The NFL lockout ends and the players approve the new agreement.
- Packers immediately start reaching unofficial agreements with Undrafted Rookie Free Agents (UDFA)

Tuesday: July 26th, 2011

- Nick Barnett comes to Lambeau Field, meets with Ted Thompson and leaves with only memories of his 8-year Packers career. Packers save 5 million in cap space.

- Packers Announce the signing of UDFAs:

Diondre Borel, QB, Utah State (6-0, 199)
Anthony Bratton, S, Delaware (6-2, 200)
Ray Dominguez, G/T, Arkansas (6-4, 334)
Sampson Genus, C, South Florida (6-1, 315)
Tori Gurley, WR, South Carolina (6-4, 216)
Jon Hoese, FB, Minnesota (6-2, 238)
M.D. Jennings, S, Arkansas State (6-0, 185)
Elijah “Peanut” Joseph, ILB, Temple: (6-1, 243)
Elisha “Eli” Joseph, NT, Temple (6-2, 290) (officially signed on Friday)
Jamari Lattimore, OLB, Middle Tennessee State (6-2, 230)
Brandian Ross, DB, Youngstown State (6-0, 191)
Brandon Saine, RB, Ohio State (5-11, 220)
Theo Sherman, G, James Madison (6-3, 302)
Antoine “Shaky” Smithson, WR, Utah (5-11, 202)
Vic So’oto, DE/OLB, BYU (6-3, 265)
Kerry Taylor, WR, Arizona State (6-0, 198)
Chris Donaldson, DE, Oklahoma State (6-1, 300) (officially signed on Friday)  Read more... (750 words + 3 images, estimated 3:00 mins reading time)

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Let’s take a quick look at how the Green Bay Packers offense stacks up heading into training camp by breaking down each position individually. Packers training camp starts Saturday, July 30th in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Graham Harrell

The Packers head into the 2011 season with likely the best 1-2 combination at quarterback in the NFL. Starter Aaron Rodgers put up fantastic numbers for the third consecutive year, throwing for 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while narrowly missing out on becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in his first three seasons under center.

He didn’t let up once the playoffs started, as he threw for three scores in a win over Philadelphia then thrashed the Falcons in the NFC Divisional round with one of the more impressive playoff performances in Packers playoff history. He completed 86.1 percent of his passes that night (31-for-36) for 366 yards and three touchdowns. In the Super Bowl, Rodgers took home MVP honors for his 304-yard, 3-touchdown masterpiece against the NFL’s No. 1 rated defense. He’s a bonafide regular season MVP candidate heading into the season.

Concussions were Rodgers’ kryptonite, however, as he suffered two (at Washington, at Detroit) during the regular season. The latter kept him out of a huge matchup with the New England Patriots, but that allowed backup Matt Flynn to showcase his ever-improving skill set in primetime. Flynn put up Rodgers-like numbers, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 loss that turned out to be a jumping-off point for the Packers playoff run.  Read more... (2517 words + 1 image, estimated 10:04 mins reading time)

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One of the little quirks that set the Packers apart from any other team in the league at the moment is the Packers’ extensive use of fullbacks.  Where else but Green Bay can a fullback have the fans screaming his name every time he gets on the field?  Last year, the Packers turned some confused heads by keeping three fullbacks on the roster when some teams only keep one, that’s something straight from the Vince Lombardi and Jim Taylor era.

The Packers use the fullback position as something of a jack-of-all-trades player; for instance, John Kuhn alone played the role of blocking fullback, wing-T fullback, short yardage back, halfback, blitz pickup 3^rd down back, personal protector on punts, kickoff jammer and to add to that he was a threat on the red zone as a receiver.

Unfortunately, in the Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers era, this plan backfired a little. In essence, the 3^rd fullback stole a roster slot from the halfbacks, and when starter Ryan Grant went on IR after the season opener, the Packers were left scrambling for depth behind Brandon Jackson. The Packers managed to hide the issue with a late surge from James Starks and consistent short yardage from fullback turned folk hero John Kuhn. But the problem still remained, the Packers running game was never the same.

But lessoned learned, and probably in a way that many might not have considered; in the 2011 NFL draft, the Packers selected tight end DJ Williams from Arkansas in the 5^th round and Ryan Taylor from UNC in the 7^th round.  Read more... (957 words + 1 image, estimated 3:50 mins reading time)

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With NFL owners set to meet Tuesday in Chicago, a very important week in the sport’s labor situation is about to unfold. Optimism is starting to take hold in this lockout, and while I’d hesitate to say an agreement is imminent, things are finally starting to look like football will be played next season without interruption.

If an agreement is reached—and most of the NFL big-wigs, including Peter King and Adam Schefter, think sometime in July is the best bet—then the Packers and the rest of the NFL will have training camp as scheduled and the 2011 season will be played in its entirety. That also means that we will finally have some answers on the variety of questions about the team that we’ve all pondered over this lockout-striken offseason.

Let’s dive into the biggest questions surrounding the Packers in a post-lockout NFL world, starting with some obvious ones but ending with the most important question of all. And considering I already touched on James Jones in a previous post, I won’t touch that question again in this one.

Might the Packers Keep Five Tight Ends on the Roster?

The Packers are no strangers to having uncommon numbers at certain positions, as they’ve recently carried three fullbacks when most NFL teams only have one or two. Could next season see the Packers repeat this trend, but at the tight end position?

They certainly have the talent on board to pull it off.  Read more... (1545 words + 1 image, estimated 6:11 mins reading time)

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As is the case for nearly ever Super Bowl champion, the Green Bay Packers assembled a deep and talented roster for their 2010-2011 championship season.

However, unlike most champions, the Packers had to do it the unlucky way.

15 players—many important contributors—landed on season-ending injured reserve, and Green Bay had to call on the bottom of GM Ted Thompson’s emergency board for players to even field a full roster.

In the first of three articles ranking the Packers’ roster, you’ll find many of those players that no one expected to contribute.

Don’t let the rankings fool you, however. During the Packers’ Super Bowl season, every player on this roster was important to achieving the final goal.

Here are players 67 through 30. (Note: Players who ended on the practice squad are not included, but those who ended on the injured reserve are.) This will be followed up by players 29-11 and then finally, the top 10 players on the Packers roster.

67. CB Josh Bell: Landed on the injured reserve in mid-August with a knee injury and probably won’t be back next season. He might forever be known as the guy who gave up the game-winner to Mike Wallace and the Steelers in 2009.

66. CB Josh Gordy: Activated from the practice squad for the final nine games of the season but never saw the field. The Packers like Gordy however, and he’ll get another look as a project player and is probable to make the practice squad.  Read more... (1695 words + 1 image, estimated 6:47 mins reading time)

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In this second installment of our 2011 Draft Prep series looking at the Green Bay Packers’ needs by position, we are going to analyze how the running back positions (HB and FB) currently stand. Strengths, weaknesses, depth, and uncertainties will all be examined to determine the urgency of need in regards to next season.

This series is meant to help us figure out the needs of the team and how the draft could be used to improve the weaker areas. While Ted Thompson largely uses the “best player available” (BPA) approach, his decision to trade up or down the board is affected by what position players he would prefer to have. Additionally, the picking up of players in the later rounds and in undrafted free agency is often based on need, since the talent is less defined.

CURRENT PLAYERS:

#25 Ryan Grant
28 yrs. old / 4 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2011

#44 James Starks
25 yrs. old / 1 yr. exp.
Signed through 2013

#23 Dmitri Nance
23 yrs. old / 1 yr. exp.
Signed through 2012

#45 Quinn Johnson
24 yrs. old / 2 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2012

#32 Brandon Jackson
25 yrs. old / 4 yrs. exp.
Free Agent (tender offered)

#30 John Kuhn
28 yrs. old / 5 yrs. exp.
Free Agent (tender offered)

#35 Korey Hall
27 yrs. old / 4 yrs. exp.
Free Agent (no tender offered)

* Contract information acquired from RotoWorld.com  Read more... (1213 words + 1 image, estimated 4:51 mins reading time)

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